Xuan Zi

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Xuan Zi (玄老) 1
Alias(es)	Taotie Douluo; Chicken Leg Douluo. “Old Beast Xuan” and “Grand Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult” are reader-given nicknames referenced by Gao Ren, not actual affiliations 1.
Gender	Male 1
Affiliation	Shrek Academy; Sea God Pavilion; Shrek Inspection Corps 2
Occupation/Role	Sea God Pavilion Master, succeeding Mu En; previously deputy Pavilion Master. Also identified as deputy commander of the Shrek Inspection Corps and Gao Ren’s teacher 2 22.
Cultivation	Level 98 Super Douluo 2 5
Martial Soul	Godly Taotie Bull 1
Soul Rings	Nine, including one Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring 14 15
Status	Alive; assumes leadership of the Sea God Pavilion 22
First Appearance	Chapter 1, “Gao Ren” 1

Background / History

Rescuing Gao Ren

Xuan Zi knew Gao Ren’s parents through their work in Shrek Academy’s cafeteria. When Evil Soul Masters attacked them during a visit to their hometown, he happened to be in a nearby city and responded to their distress flare. He saved the infant Gao Ren, though the boy’s parents were killed. Gao Ren’s earliest encounter with him was being held in his arms while he wept 1.

Years later, Xuan Zi hurried back immediately after an inspection mission to conduct Gao Ren’s Martial Soul Awakening. He discovered that the boy’s Overlord Drumstick strengthened physical vitality and that his second Martial Soul produced wine capable of increasing spiritual power. He consequently called Gao Ren a “Treasure-type” Soul Master 1 2.

Apprenticeship and the Drinking Ban

Xuan Zi offered to take Gao Ren as his disciple. Before accepting, Gao Ren negotiated a condition: his teacher must listen when he warned that something absolutely must not be done. Xuan Zi agreed without hesitation, asking only to eat Gao Ren’s drumsticks every day 2.

He personally secured a roughly five-hundred-year-old Tireless Ostrich for Gao Ren’s first Soul Ring. The resulting Overlord’s Belly-Filling Leg allowed Xuan Zi to feel full for the first time in over two hundred years, moving him to tears 3 4.

His celebration afterward went badly. After drinking more than a thousand jin of Gao Ren’s wine, he discovered that his Soul Power could not expel its effects. He remained unconscious for a full day and night and missed the annual Sea God Pavilion meeting. Mu En subsequently banned him from drinking the wine during missions and limited his drinking at the academy 5 6 7.

Protecting His Disciple

Xuan Zi arranged for Gao Ren to practice cooking in the Outer Court cafeteria, using the kitchen as a mimicry cultivation environment. Gao Ren’s complaint about eating standing up also prompted him to confront Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo. His pressure secured tables and chairs for the students of both departments, earning widespread gratitude 7 8.

When Ma Xiaotao’s Evil Fire began flaring beside Sea God Lake, Xuan Zi immediately kicked her into the water before she could lose control near Gao Ren. He then proposed using Immortal’s Drunk to strengthen her spiritual power and prolong her ability to remain lucid. Intoxication also discouraged the excessive cultivation that aggravated her condition 11 12.

Inner Court Expedition

Xuan Zi agreed to bring Gao Ren on an Inner Court Soul Ring expedition after consulting Mu En. Determined not to let his disciple spend the night in the forest, he flew the party directly to the core zone and personally subdued the students’ prospective Soul Beasts. His intervention enabled Zhang Lexuan to absorb a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring while in peak condition 13 14.

The party then encountered the Scarlet King and the Emperor Auspicious Beast. Xuan Zi activated his Martial Soul Avatar to cover the students’ retreat but avoided fighting. Instead, he helped Gao Ren settle the confrontation by offering Overlord Drumsticks 14 15.

He supported Gao Ren’s friendship with the Auspicious Beast and trusted her promise to provide a suitable Soul Beast for his second ring. Before leaving, he gave the beasts a Storage Soul Tool to preserve their food—also anticipating their help with Gao Ren’s future Soul Rings and Soul Bones—and carried his exhausted disciple home 16 17 19.

Becoming Pavilion Master

Xuan Zi accompanied Gao Ren when the boy tested his cleansing food on Mu En. He witnessed the purification of the Dragon Core’s savage aura and recognized the Core, which Mu En had previously offered to help other cultivators 20 21.

At the ensuing emergency meeting, he supported Gao Ren’s appointment as a Sea God Pavilion observer. Mu En then retired and named Xuan Zi his successor. Asked about his first initiative, Xuan Zi sought Gao Ren’s advice and adopted his proposal for public toilets and bathhouses near the dormitories 22.

Appearance

• Ordinary appearance: A disheveled old man, introduced carrying a half-eaten chicken leg. His hands are repeatedly described as greasy from eating 1 8.
• Martial Soul Avatar: A creature over thirty meters long with a sheep’s body, tiger’s teeth, clawed human hands, and enormous ox horns more than five meters long 15.
• Avatar effects: Dense yellow light surrounds him, while his nine Soul Rings become halos moving between his horns 15.

Personality

Xuan Zi is boastful, blunt, and accustomed to solving problems through overwhelming force. His appetite frequently dictates his priorities: he evaluates prospective Soul Rings partly by whether they might improve Gao Ren’s food, and cooking lessons double as opportunities to obtain new dishes 2 3 7.

His attachment to Gao Ren is nevertheless genuine. He saves him as an infant, returns specifically for his awakening, accepts his unusual apprenticeship terms, and continually watches over his safety. This protectiveness can become excessive: during the Inner Court expedition, he removes nearly every danger himself, depriving the students of the combat experience they expected to gain 1 2 11 14.

He is not incapable of restraint or planning. He recognizes the strategic consequences of killing the Scarlet King, negotiates rather than escalating their confrontation, and devises a practical use for Immortal’s Drunk in managing Ma Xiaotao’s condition. He also responds to Gao Ren’s criticism of academy customs instead of defending tradition automatically 8 12 15.

Despite claiming to fear neither heaven nor earth, he becomes visibly anxious when Mu En learns that drinking caused him to miss a meeting 6 7.

Abilities & Skills

Godly Taotie Bull

His Martial Soul combines formidable combat power with an increasingly voracious appetite 1 3.

• Can instinctively take control of his body to seize appealing food 1.
• Makes feeling full increasingly difficult as his cultivation grows; he went over two centuries without experiencing fullness 3 4.
• Provides exceptional eating and drinking capacity, though it does not prevent Immortal’s Drunk from incapacitating him 5 7.
• Is incompatible with cultivating through Mu En’s Dragon Core, despite Xuan Zi being strong enough to withstand its aura 21.

Martial Soul Possession and Avatar

Xuan Zi uses Martial Soul Possession for direct combat and his Seventh Soul Skill: Martial Soul Avatar for full transformation 14 15.

• Knocks a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast unconscious with a single elbow strike after possession 14.
• Uses his Avatar’s overwhelming pressure to shield the expedition party from the Scarlet King 14 15.
• Deliberately holds back during the confrontation; his goal is evacuation, not killing the Scarlet King and provoking a Beast Tide 15.

Spiritual Perception

His spiritual power supports both Soul Beast hunting and close protection 3 11 14.

• Locates suitable Soul Beasts across a wide area; the expedition passage describes Super Douluo perception as reaching at least ten thousand meters in every direction 14.
• Monitors Gao Ren and his surroundings even when the boy is out of sight 11.
• Detects the earliest signs of Ma Xiaotao’s Evil Fire backlash 11.
• Distinguishes between purifying Evil Fire in her body and merely suppressing the Evil Fire within her Martial Soul 20.

Soul Power and Earth Manipulation

He controls opponents and transports others without relying solely on physical contact 1 3 14.

• Awakens Gao Ren’s Martial Soul using Soul Power alone, requiring no awakening tools 1.
• Immobilizes a Tireless Ostrich through Super Douluo pressure 3.
• Binds Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts with earth elements 14.
• Carries Gao Ren through the air and draws him into his arms with Soul Power 3 20.

Food-Type Cultivation Guidance

His instruction emphasizes producing food that people can actually consume and benefit from 3 7.

• Recommends cultivating the drumstick Martial Soul before wine because food suits more consumers 3.
• Selects the Tireless Ostrich for its endurance and rapid Soul Power recovery 3.
• Uses cafeteria work as mimicry cultivation and treats cooking proficiency as an essential Food-type skill 7.
• Provides relatively little formal training beyond cooking, basic Soul Beast knowledge, and running, leaving Gao Ren considerable responsibility for his own cultivation 10.

Equipment / Items

• Storage Soul Tool — Holds food, wine, bowls, and a wine dipper. Xuan Zi ordinarily carries more than ten cubic meters of food when traveling 2 4.
• Eighth-level Flying Soul Tool — Transports Gao Ren and twelve Inner Court students to the edge of the forest’s core zone in about ten minutes 14.
• Soul Beast hunting knife — Lent to Gao Ren for his first Soul Beast kill 3.
• Gifted Storage Soul Tool — Given to the Auspicious Beast and Scarlet King to keep their drumsticks fresh 19 22.

Relationships

• Gao Ren — Rescued child, disciple, and daily food provider. Gao Ren respects him while attempting to restrain his dangerous habits; Xuan Zi openly prides himself on the boy’s progress 1 2 13.
• Mu En — Martial uncle and predecessor as Pavilion Master. Mu En disciplines his drinking and entrusts him with Shrek’s leadership 6 7 22.
• Gao Wei — Longstanding cafeteria acquaintance and Gao Ren’s uncle. They celebrate the boy’s apprenticeship together and both succumb to his wine 1 5.
• Ma Xiaotao — Student whose Evil Fire he monitors and helps manage. His protective intervention saves Gao Ren from a possible outbreak but leaves her complaining about his excessive force 11 12 20.
• Zhang Lexuan — Inner Court student he assists in obtaining a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring; he also entrusts her with leading the group away from the Scarlet King 14.
• Scarlet King — Former Beast Tide opponent and wary negotiating counterpart. Their confrontation ends peacefully through Gao Ren’s food 15.
• Three-Eyed Golden Lion — Initially a potential danger to his disciple, later a cooperative acquaintance whose promise to repay Gao Ren he defends 16 17 18.
• Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo — Academy administrators he pressures into reforming cafeteria seating 8.

Notable Quotes

“If you tell me not to do something, it must be something you'd hate. If you'd hate it, then I simply won't do it.” 2

“Ah Ren... How am I supposed to live without you from now on?” 4

“Often, Soul Beasts keep their word better than humans do. The Auspicious Beast said she'd repay A-Ren, so she will.” 17

Trivia

• Gao Ren’s fears about Xuan Zi losing twelve disciples and causing eight deaths come from his knowledge of the original story. Those deaths have not occurred in this version; the depicted expedition proceeds under Xuan Zi’s unusually intensive protection 1 12 13 14.
• Feeling full does not stop Xuan Zi from eating. After his first Belly-Filling Leg, he consumes roughly 150 additional Overlord Drumsticks 4.
• His major student-welfare reforms begin with Gao Ren’s complaints about ordinary necessities: somewhere to sit while eating, and adequate toilets and bathing facilities 8 22.