Xiao Yan

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Xiao Yan (萧炎)
Alias(es)	Future Flame Emperor
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Xiao Clan of Wu Tan City
Occupation/Role	Xiao Clan disciple; Nalan Yanran's arranged fiancé
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
First Stage of Dou Qi	3	Began cultivating at age four, sensed Dou Qi in under half a year, and broke through to the first stage.
Second Stage of Dou Qi	1 3	Reached the second stage by age five; his annual-test result establishes him as the Xiao Clan's foremost young prodigy.
Third Stage of Dou Qi	13	Reached at age six.
Fourth Stage of Dou Qi	13	Reached at age seven.
Fifth Stage of Dou Qi	13	Reached at age eight.
Seven-Stage Dou Qi	13 15	Reached at age nine; learned and used the high-grade Yellow-tier Iron Mountain Fist.
Dou Zhe	3 27	Broke through at age eleven, fulfilling the expectations surrounding his talent. His Dou Qi began draining away not long afterward.
Third Stage of Dou Qi (regressed)	27	Fell back to the level he had possessed at age six because he could no longer retain cultivated Dou Qi.

Background & History

Early prodigy

Xiao Yan began cultivating at four and rapidly became the Xiao Clan's hope for revival. By age five, his Second Stage of Dou Qi result drew admiration throughout Wu Tan City; he openly enjoyed the attention and developed a sense of superiority over his peers 3.

Despite possessing a mature soul and memories from a previous life, Xiao Yan behaved impulsively in childhood. At five, Nalan Chenfeng caught him attempting to visit Gu Xun'er’s courtyard at night; Xiao Yan claimed that he wished to study Dou Qi with her, but his guilty reaction made Chenfeng distrust him 1. He later admitted to having ulterior interest in Xiao Mei while claiming to be testing his Dou Qi on her, prompting further punishment from Chenfeng 5.

Chenfeng repeatedly used “sparring” as an excuse to overpower him during his stay at the Xiao Clan. Xiao Yan was unable to resist because Chenfeng was stronger and backed by the politically influential Nalan Clan, but the humiliation gave him a lasting desire to surpass his future brother-in-law 5 6.

Rise and public defeat

At nine, Xiao Yan reached Seven-Stage Dou Qi and became the undisputed genius of the Xiao Clan’s younger generation. He accepted the clan youths’ flattery and expected to become a Dou Zhe before twelve 15.

Chenfeng’s return shattered that confidence. During a public spar, Xiao Yan used Iron Mountain Fist but was first tripped through Chenfeng’s concealed Time Stop ability, then completely stopped by Chenfeng’s superior Dou Zhe strength. Xiao Yan conceded after realizing that Chenfeng stood an entire major realm above him 16.

Fall from grace

After advancing to Dou Zhe, Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi began to drain away whenever he cultivated. Neither the Xiao Clan nor the alchemist hired to examine him could identify the problem, and he eventually regressed to the Third Stage of Dou Qi 27.

His former admirers turned on him, while Xiao Ning attempted to exploit his weakness through public provocation. Xiao Yan refused a spar he knew he could not win and restrained his anger even after being shoved, showing greater self-control than he had possessed as a celebrated prodigy 27.

Agreement with Nalan Chenfeng

Chenfeng found Xiao Yan alone in the back mountain and offered him encouragement, describing his suffering as a “heaven’s trial.” Although Chenfeng knew that Yao Chen within the Bone Flame Ring was responsible for the disappearing Dou Qi, he withheld that information 28.

In exchange for future support and protection during crises, Chenfeng demanded that Xiao Yan promise to fulfill several unspecified requests that would not be immoral or beyond his ability. Xiao Yan accepted despite his uncertainty, grateful to receive respect during his lowest period 28.

By the time Chenfeng left for Qingshan Town, Xiao Yan had begun acknowledging that his former arrogance had worsened his isolation within the Xiao Clan. He remained anxious about his engagement to Nalan Yanran, but Chenfeng left its future unresolved 29.

Personality

Xiao Yan is talented, proud, and highly responsive to recognition. His early cultivation success gave him confidence after an unremarkable previous life, but also made him arrogant toward weaker peers and overly certain of his future 3 15.

His mature soul does not consistently translate into mature conduct. As a child, he rationalized his actions toward Xun'er and Xiao Mei as Dou Qi “experiments,” while privately admitting motives beyond cultivation 1 5.

His decline forces a change in outlook. Though humiliated and enraged by the Xiao Clan’s treatment, he refuses to recklessly accept a losing fight with Xiao Ning. He later recognizes that being smug and contemptuous helped create the hostility he now faces 27 29.

Abilities & Skills

Dou Qi Cultivation

Xiao Yan’s natural cultivation talent is exceptional, allowing him to rise from first-stage Dou Qi at four to Dou Zhe at eleven despite the Xiao Clan’s limited resources 3 13.

• Reached Second Stage of Dou Qi by age five 3.
• Was expected to become a Dou Zhe before twelve after reaching Seven-Stage Dou Qi at nine 15.
• His cultivation is currently crippled by an inability to retain Dou Qi; continued training produces no lasting progress 27.
• The true cause is Yao Chen’s hidden absorption of his Dou Qi through the Bone Flame Ring, a fact Xiao Yan does not know 28.

Iron Mountain Fist

A high-grade Yellow-tier Dou Technique of the Xiao Clan, available to cultivators who reach Seven-Stage Dou Qi 16.

• Concentrates Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi into a powerful forward punch.
• Its force was considered difficult for ordinary Eighth- or Ninth-Stage Dou Qi cultivators to receive directly 16.
• It proved ineffective against Chenfeng’s Dou Zhe-level defense during their public spar 16.

Equipment

• Bone Flame Ring — A ring worn by Xiao Yan that contains Yao Chen. Its hidden occupant drains Xiao Yan’s cultivated Dou Qi and is connected to plans for rebirth 28.

Relationships

• Nalan Chenfeng — Future brother-in-law, childhood disciplinarian, rival, and later conditional ally. Chenfeng repeatedly beat Xiao Yan under the guise of sparring, then offered support after his cultivation collapsed in exchange for future favors 5 6 28.
• Nalan Yanran — Arranged fiancée from the Nalan Clan. Xiao Yan becomes increasingly worried that his decline will make him unworthy of the engagement 5 29.
• Xiao Zhan — Father and Xiao Clan leader. Xiao Zhan supports and protects Xiao Yan despite his loss of talent, while the clan’s political dependence on the Nalan Clan limits how openly he can oppose Chenfeng 5 35.
• Gu Xun'er — Childhood acquaintance whose courtyard Xiao Yan repeatedly attempted to visit at night. Chenfeng arranged for Xiao Yu to monitor Xiao Yan and protect Xun'er 1 3 4.
• Xiao Yu — Clan elder sister who was assigned to watch Xiao Yan and later intervened when Xiao Ning was harassing him 3 27.
• Xiao Mei — A girl Xiao Yan approached while claiming to test Dou Qi; she once publicly declared that she would marry him, but avoided him after his fall from prominence 4 5 27.
• Xiao Ning — Formerly intimidated by Xiao Yan’s talent and strength; later attempts to humiliate him after his regression 3 27.
• Yao Chen — Hidden occupant of the Bone Flame Ring. Yao Chen drains Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi as part of a larger plan, causing the decline that reshapes Xiao Yan’s life 28.