Luo Yan

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Luo Yan (洛言)
Alias(es)	Aha; “Sparkle” (disguise) 15 18 24
Gender	Male
Martial Soul	Elation Mask 1 11
Affiliation	Former work-study student of Notting Junior Soul Master Academy and Dorm Seven; independent traveler 2 11 14 31
Occupation/Role	Author and architect of the “Aha” rumors; former student 18 23 24
Status	Active; traveling independently after leaving Notting City 31 32
First Appearance	Chapter 1: Who Laughs First, Loses

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Innately Full Spirit Power; Level 14, one-ringed Tool Soul Master	1, 4, 11	Obtained his first Illusion Fox ring alone after four days of preparation outside the Soul Hunting Forest. He calls it a hundred-year ring to Xiao Wu, while later accounts describe it as roughly four hundred years old. 1 2 5 11
Level 20	14	Reached the threshold for a second spirit ring and requested early graduation from Notting Academy. 14
Two-ringed Soul Master; yellow first ring and millennium purple second ring	15, 29, 31	The Elation Mask killed a millennium Shadow Leopard on its own; Luo Yan absorbed its ring smoothly and awakened Floating Life Like a Dream. 15 29 31

History

Luo Yan arrived near Notting City as an innately full-spirit-power child with an unusual mask martial soul. Before enrolling, he waited four days outside the Soul Hunting Forest, studied an Illusion Fox’s habits, and built a trap to immobilize it. The Elation Mask unexpectedly emerged on its own and bit the fox to death before Luo Yan could finish it with a spirit-power-infused spike. 1 5

He met Xiao Wu while she was surrounded by nine soul masters. Rather than fight conventionally, Luo Yan declared a contest in which “whoever laughs first loses,” then used his first spirit skill to disorder the attackers’ soul power once they triggered his rule. He privately recognized Xiao Wu as a hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit in human form, but withheld that knowledge for his own amusement. 1

At Notting Junior Soul Master Academy, Luo Yan joined Tang San and Xiao Wu in Dorm Seven. He became a disruptive but valuable member of their group: he encouraged Tang San to explore Blue Silver Grass’s binding potential, helped defend Dorm Seven from Xiao Chenyu’s group, and formed a prank-focused partnership with Xiao Wu. 3 5 7 11

Despite routinely skipping class, Luo Yan ranked first among the first-year students. After reaching Level 20, he applied for early graduation and left Notting City without accepting Tang San’s request to become sworn siblings with him and Xiao Wu. 12 13 14 15

Appearance

Luo Yan’s ordinary appearance is deliberately understated; he is seen in plain grey clothing with a clean face and often carries himself like an idle traveler. His presentation changes drastically when he wears the Elation Mask or uses Floating Life Like a Dream to assume alternate forms. 5 15 16

• Often wears the Elation Mask, which alters his voice and manner. 1 21
• Frequently carries melon seeds or sunflower seeds, even during confrontations. 4 9 10
• Uses disguises extensively, including the red-clad persona “Sparkle” and a dark-blue-haired youth. 15 17
• Created nearly twenty different identities while moving through Heaven Dou City’s poorer districts. 17

Personality

Luo Yan is theatrical, provocative, and deeply entertained by absurdity. He reframes danger as a game, turns enemies’ boasts into traps, and treats public embarrassment as both comedy and leverage. His humor is rarely accidental; he carefully observes people, waits for the right “momentum,” and engineers situations in which targets condemn themselves through their own actions. 1 6 7 11

Behind the carefree behavior is a patient, calculating survivor. He hunted stronger spirit beasts through preparation rather than force, uses aliases and misinformation strategically, and understands how fear, gossip, and public attention can be converted into influence. 5 17 23 25

He is capable of quiet compassion, such as paying an injured vegetable vendor without making the aid feel like charity and confronting Snakehead’s extortion of Grey Tile Lane. However, he avoids emotional commitment, refuses Tang San’s sibling request, and repeatedly leaves his friends without warning. 13 16 17 31

Abilities & Skills

Elation Mask

Luo Yan’s martial soul is a rare mask-type spirit whose nature does not fit conventional classifications. It has acted independently on multiple occasions, including killing both the Illusion Fox and Shadow Leopard that became Luo Yan’s spirit rings. 5 15

• Can be summoned directly over Luo Yan’s face. 1 11
• Alters his voice into layered, unsettling echoes. 21
• Has displayed autonomous predatory behavior toward spirit beasts. 5 15
• Its true classification remains unclear; Luo Yan himself claims not to know whether he is a support- or battle-type soul master. 24

Pledge of Delusional Joy

Luo Yan’s first spirit skill establishes nearly imperceptible rules or contracts. A target who fulfills the stated condition receives a punishment determined by Luo Yan; the contract may also contain a concealed condition favorable to him. 2 6

• Can be activated without visibly summoning his martial soul or displaying spirit rings. 2 6
• Caused nine soul masters’ soul power to become disordered after they violated his “whoever laughs first loses” rule. The effect is temporary. 1
• Forced an academy leader into uncontrollable laughter whenever he repeated “work hard,” ending only when the audience applauded. 6
• Made a bullying student involuntarily reveal humiliating secrets when he next spoke after mocking another student. 7
• Compelled people falsely claiming to be Aha to publicly confess they were frauds upon seeing the “real” Aha. 25
• Requires targets to trigger the condition within Luo Yan’s rule; he cannot simply impose punishment without that trigger. 2 6

Punchlines and Physical Enhancement

Completed pledges grant Luo Yan “punchlines,” initially of unknown purpose. He later suspects that accumulated punchlines are strengthening his physical attributes. 2 10

• Kicked a pebble with enough speed and precision to strike Liu Long’s wrist and disrupt his weapon technique. 10
• Noticed that his strength had exceeded his intended output during the same intervention. 10
• The connection between punchlines and physical growth remains Luo Yan’s own working theory. 10

Floating Life Like a Dream

Luo Yan’s second spirit skill absorbs surrounding emotions as willpower. He can use that willpower to disguise himself, influence reality, and create simulated entities; stronger emotions produce more convincing and substantial creations. 15 30

• Creates alternate appearances and identities, including “Sparkle.” 15
• Produces constructs such as Paper Dolls, a Ghost Bride, and a giant serpent. 30 32
• Uses mist, apparitions, and shifting sensory effects to disorient or terrify opponents. 27 29 32
• Divided his willpower into seven strands to create simultaneous Aha manifestations across Heaven Dou City. 25
• Gains willpower from public laughter, fear, argument, and excitement. 23 25
• Can overwhelm himself with accumulated willpower, forcing him to withdraw after major spectacles. 25
• His creations can become tangible enough to strike or fight, but Luo Yan states that he restrained them from truly harming Tang San and Xiao Wu during their test. 30

Observation, Planning, and Improvisation

Luo Yan relies heavily on reading patterns, exploiting terrain, and directing other people’s decisions.

• Predicted a student would drop his books by noticing his uneven grip, shifting center of gravity, and repeated knee movements. 7
• Correctly identified Xiao Wu’s feint and follow-up attack before Tang San recognized it. 4
• Built layered traps from pits, vines, rocks, and sharpened wood to hunt an Illusion Fox beyond his direct combat ability. 5
• Gave Tang San practical advice that shaped his understanding of Blue Silver Grass as a binding and control tool. 5 8
• Uses fiction, rumor, and incomplete serial stories to manipulate public attention across Heaven Dou City. 18 21 23

Equipment / Items

• Storage Bracelet — Received from Ning Rongrong as collateral during their book transaction; Luo Yan considers its storage function especially useful. 20
• Cultivation elixirs — Gifted by Ning Rongrong in repayment for his previous help. 24
• Aha manuscripts — Writes and distributes sensationalized accounts of powerful historical figures to create public fascination, argument, and laughter. 18 21 23

Relationships

• Xiao Wu — Travel companion, Dorm Seven ally, and fellow member of the self-styled “Notting Academy Fun Duo.” Luo Yan knows her true soul-beast identity but keeps it secret; she is angered by his repeated disappearances yet remains eager to find him. 1 7 13 26
• Tang San — Close friend and frequent target of Luo Yan’s teasing. Luo Yan’s advice influences Tang San’s development of Blue Silver Grass, while Tang San is one of the few people who openly worries about Luo Yan’s isolation. 3 5 8 31
• Yu Xiaogang — Curious and wary observer of Luo Yan’s exceptional martial soul and millennium second ring. Yu Xiaogang urges him not to become an unreachable “shadow” for Tang San and Xiao Wu. 4 8 31
• Ning Rongrong — Business partner and confidante who suspects he is Aha. She purchases his writings, provides a storage bracelet and elixirs, and receives his promise to share future work. 20 24 26
• Dugu Bo — Potential debtor. Luo Yan offers to solve the Dugu family’s hereditary poison in exchange for one future favor, exploiting Dugu Bo’s concern for Dugu Yan to force negotiations. 21 22
• Aha — A mocking, seemingly supernatural voice or influence connected to Luo Yan’s mask, willpower, and dangerous schemes. 13 15 22
• Wang Sheng — Dorm Seven associate whom Luo Yan quietly assists against Liu Long while insisting that Wang Sheng must fight for his own confidence. 9 10
• Zhu Zhuqing — A guarded fighter Luo Yan meets after intervening in her pursuit by a black-clad woman who calls herself her sister. 32

Major Arcs

Notting Academy

Luo Yan enters Notting Academy with Xiao Wu, joins Tang San in Dorm Seven, and becomes the group’s unpredictable strategist. He helps establish Xiao Wu’s authority over the academy’s working students, influences Tang San’s control-oriented combat thinking, and gathers punchlines through pranks and conditional punishments. 2 5 7 11

Early Graduation and the Masked Figure

After reaching Level 20, Luo Yan leaves Notting City to travel. During his departure, he acquires a millennium Shadow Leopard ring and awakens Floating Life Like a Dream, allowing him to operate publicly through elaborate disguises and the “Sparkle” persona. 14 15

Heaven Dou City and the Aha Phenomenon

In Heaven Dou City, Luo Yan observes poverty, privilege, fear, and public apathy before commanding a crowd to smile. He then creates the Aha literary phenomenon through fabricated histories, anonymous serials, false biographies, birds, apparitions, and forced public confessions from impostors. 16 17 18 23 25

Ice and Fire Dual Excellence Well

Luo Yan approaches Dugu Bo during a poison backlash and uses psychological pressure rather than direct combat. He proposes several brutal theoretical solutions to the Dugu family curse, then secures Dugu Bo’s promise of a future favor if he can truly cure Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan. 21 22

Return to Notting City

Luo Yan returns to Dorm Seven by frightening Tang San and Xiao Wu with a supernatural prank, then reveals his millennium second ring and emotion-made constructs during a spar. After Yu Xiaogang confronts him about his influence over his friends, Luo Yan prepares to leave again rather than settle into their lives. 27 29 30 31

Notable Quotes

“This is a competition, not a fight. Fighting is something barbarians do, and competing is something civilized people do.” 1

“Fun relies on ‘momentum’. When the momentum isn’t there, forced fun isn’t sweet.” 7

“Everyone, crack a smile.” 17

“Qian Daoliu loved Bo Saixi, Bo Saixi loved Tang Chen, and Tang Chen... loved Qian Daoliu!” 18

Trivia

• Luo Yan asked Tang San thirty-seven questions during their short walk from the academy administration office to Dorm Seven. 3
• He placed first in the first-year examinations despite being notorious for skipping class. 12
• His only recorded lost point came from a question asking what to do upon meeting a hundred-year spirit beast in the wild. 12
• He commonly treats melon seeds as both a snack and a visual prop while watching conflicts unfold. 4 9 10