Wang Yan

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Wang Yan (王言)
Alias(es)	Teacher Wang 35
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Shrek Academy, Outer Court Martial Soul Department 34
Occupation/Role	Senior theory teacher; Class One homeroom teacher; accompanying teacher for Shrek’s competition team 34 68 111
Cultivation	Soul King 72 111
Martial Soul	Dragon Pattern Staff 36
First Appearance	Chapter 34, “Setting Out to Hunt Soul Beasts! A Lost Ancient Language” 34

Background / History

Recovering Lost Knowledge

Wang Yan specializes in Martial Soul theory and seeks to recover knowledge preserved in ancient texts. He believes sect secrecy caused valuable cultivation discoveries to disappear when their owners fell. Finding that Lu Yi understands Ancient Writing gives him a potential collaborator for translating and organizing Shrek’s extensive collection 34 35.

He invites Lu Yi into theoretical research, citing the Body Sect’s development of a method to unlock Body Martial Soul potential as an example of how one discovery can transform cultivation. He offers to recommend Lu Yi for exceptional Core Disciple admission, but accepts his decision to finish the freshman assessment with his teammates first. Recognizing his own impatience, Wang Yan agrees that cultivation should remain Lu Yi’s priority 35.

Class One and Translation Work

After the freshman assessment, Wang Yan becomes Class One’s homeroom teacher. His application is motivated partly by Lu Yi’s translation ability and partly by his research interest in Huo Yuhao’s Body Martial Soul. He commissions translations at 1,000 Gold Soul Coins per book, paying from his own pocket 66 68 69.

Zhou Yi initially serves as his assistant. When Zhang Lexuan replaces her, Wang Yan feels uneasy about having a Soul Douluo serve beneath him while he is only a Soul King. Zhang’s modesty reassures him: he retains responsibility for ordinary lessons and theory, while she handles practical combat instruction 71 72.

Body Martial Soul Research

With Lu Yi’s help, Wang Yan studies a text describing the conditions for a Body Martial Soul’s Second Awakening. Its requirements include severe physical and mental torment, extreme pressure, and near-death experiences. Although he had hoped to nurture Huo Yuhao and prove himself to Xuan Zi, he cannot bring himself to impose those trials on his student 73.

He pauses the translation assignments, pays Lu Yi 10,000 Gold Soul Coins for his work, and promises to include his name when the book is published. By this point, their relationship includes familiar joking as well as research cooperation 73.

Personality

Wang Yan is enthusiastic about research but capable of acknowledging when his ambitions place unreasonable demands on a student. His initial pressure to recruit Lu Yi gives way to practical support, and his interest in Huo Yuhao’s potential does not override his reluctance to subject the boy to cruel awakening trials 35 73.

He is cautious about student safety and willing to adopt unfamiliar methods. During the tournament, however, that caution sometimes becomes restrictive: he refuses Lu Yi’s request to study opponents personally, both to avoid increasing the students’ anxiety and to maintain consistent rules for the team. He later admits that established habits have limited his tactical thinking 121 153.

Abilities & Skills

Martial Soul Theory

• Studies Body Martial Souls, including their potential for Second Awakening 68 73.
• Recognizes the research value of otherwise unreadable ancient cultivation records 34 35.
• Can advocate for exceptional Core Disciple admission, though his authority remains that of an Outer Court teacher 35.
• Relies on Lu Yi to translate Ancient Writing rather than reading the texts independently 69 73.

Soul Beast and Soul Ring Assessment

• Prioritizes compatibility over ring age, warning Lu Yi against pursuing a thousand-year Second Soul Ring merely to match Wang Dong 35.
• Explains that a Second Soul Ring is normally about 300 years older than the First; Whale Rubber can increase the allowance, but he advises keeping the difference within 700 years 35.
• Selects a familiar, comparatively safer entrance into the Star Dou Great Forest and rejects several unsuitable beasts before identifying a promising candidate 35 36.
• Identifies Lion Mastiffs, explains their violent courtship behavior and bloodline history, and assesses their strength-boosting ability and subsequent weakness 37.
• Recognizes Meng Hongchen’s Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad and the danger its poison poses to Shrek’s remaining fighters 155.

Tactical Analysis and Soul Tool Integration

• Understands that Lu Yi’s Group Invisibility is most effective in team battles and does not automatically solve individual or smaller-format matchups 129.
• Supports using Soul Tools to supplement Martial Soul abilities and protect students 122.
• Evaluates equipment for both immediate combat use and its research value to Shrek’s Soul Tool Department 123.
• Encourages Xu Sanshi to test a shield-and-sword style without demanding that he successfully change his established habits 123.
• Increasingly consults Lu Yi for unconventional plans rather than relying solely on his own experience 149 153.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Dragon Pattern Staff — His Martial Soul, summoned when he investigates a disturbance during the Soul Beast hunt 36.
• Ancient texts and Shrek reprints — Research materials entrusted to Lu Yi for translation; the Body Martial Soul text survives through a later academy printing whose original source is no longer traceable 69 73.
• Starlight Auction House admission card — Used when bringing the team to purchase competition equipment 122.

Relationships

• Lu Yi — Student, paid translator, research collaborator, and increasingly trusted tactical adviser. Wang Yan supports his Soul Ring hunt, credits his scholarly contribution, and comes to rely on his unexpected solutions 35 69 73 149.
• Huo Yuhao — Student whose Body Martial Soul is central to Wang Yan’s research. His concern for Huo Yuhao prevents him from pursuing the harsh Second Awakening methods described in an ancient text 68 73.
• Zhang Lexuan — Assistant homeroom teacher and combat instructor. Their division of responsibilities preserves Wang Yan’s theory classes while giving students specialized practical training 72.
• Zhou Yi — Original assistant homeroom teacher, later replaced by Zhang Lexuan after her classroom misconduct is exposed 66 71 72.
• Xuan Zi — His martial grandmaster; Wang Yan is identified as Xuan Zi’s grand-disciple. He reports promising students to him and accompanies the team on the Hand of Death operation 58 106 111 175.
• Xu Sanshi — Competition-team student whom he encourages to supplement his defensive style with an offensive Soul Tool sword 123.
• Ning Tian — Shrek student to whom he appeals during negotiations for Lu Yi’s prospective Lion Mastiff Soul Ring 37.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Lu Yi’s Second Soul Ring Hunt

• Offers Lu Yi unusually careful Soul Ring selection, effectively extending Core Disciple-level assistance before his formal selection 35.
• Finds a roughly thousand-year-old male Lion Mastiff suited to Lu Yi’s request for increased strength and Soul Power 36 37.
• Negotiates with Ning Tian after her uncle incapacitates both Lion Mastiffs, appealing to their shared Shrek affiliation rather than escalating the dispute 37.

Hand of Death Operation

• Asks Lu Yi to clarify his warning of heavy casualties, recognizing his own responsibility for student safety 111.
• Hands command of the Inner Court fighters to Ma Xiaotao while leading the seven Reserve Team members behind them 111.
• Enters the cave under Lu Yi’s Disillusionment Charm and Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection Sharing, then orders the reserve students to eliminate the remaining bandits 112.
• Tends the less severely injured Main Team members after the Corpse Explosion disaster; Xuan Zi takes the four seriously injured members back to Shrek 113.

Soul Fighting Tournament

• Studies opponents while directing the students to return to cultivation, declining Lu Yi’s request to join his observation work 121.
• Arranges an academy-funded auction outing for suitable Soul Tools and accepts Wang Dong’s refusal to participate 122.
• Considers forfeiting dangerous match formats against Zhengtian Academy rather than risking the reserve students against its three Soul Kings 129.
• Learns from Lu Yi’s proposal to conceal only one fighter during a team battle; the successful tactic exposes a limitation in his habitual thinking 153.
• Considers ending the individual matches after Meng Hongchen’s poison incapacitates Shrek fighters, then urges Lu Yi to forfeit his match against Xiao Hongchen and let Ma Xiaotao fight instead 155 157.
• Helps select the tournament’s Soul Bone rewards, but feels guilty that he still understands Lu Yi’s needs too poorly to choose confidently for him 161.

Notable Quotes

“You should know that any breakthrough could change how Soul Masters cultivate. But to protect their standing, those sects kept every such discovery secret. Most were buried alongside them when they fell.” 35

“It's because suitability always matters more than age. For Soul Masters, Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skills are the real dividing line.” 35

“When I publish the book, I'll put your name on it.” 73