Song Qi

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Song Qi (宋奇)
Alias(es)	Manager Song, Steward Song, Elder Song 4 10 11
Gender	Male 4 38
Apparent Age	Around sixty at his first appearance 4
Affiliation	Hundred Herbs Hall 4 11
Occupation/Role	Manager of Hundred Herbs Hall’s Mountain Market shop; martial mentor and protector to Su Yan 4 36
Cultivation	Apparently reaches the Origin Nurturing Realm after recovering from old injuries 49
Family	Lifelong bachelor; has no children 36 38
First Appearance	Chapter 4, “Mountain Market” 4

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Blood Moving Realm, also translated as Blood Shifting Realm — regained	36	Reveals his recovered strength while protecting Su Yan, knocking Gu Hong outside and forcing him to retreat. His lingering injuries still require treatment.
Origin Nurturing Realm — apparent breakthrough	49	Following treatment with the Sinew-Mending Meridian-Continuing Pill, his physique becomes robust and black strands appear in his graying hair. Su Yan concludes that he has recovered and advanced, then congratulates him.

Background / History

Humble Origins and Old Injuries

Song Qi came from humble circumstances. Hundred Herbs Hall’s shopkeeper selected him from a crowd of refugees, giving him the opportunity that eventually led to his position. He later recalled working himself nearly to exhaustion and still needing half a month to begin Skin Refining 11 16.

He once lost a fight by half a move because of a weakness in his martial abilities. His recollection names Gu Changfeng, whom he intends to confront after reaching Origin Nurturing. Old injuries stalled his cultivation for years, while internal interests within Hundred Herbs Hall and rival factions obstructed his efforts to recover 36 37 38.

Discovering Su Yan

Song Qi first takes an interest in Su Yan when the boy sells an unusually intact yinred root. He notices that its small extraction marks do not resemble tool marks and suspects an unconventional gathering method. He gives Su Yan the Hundred Herbs Diagram, hoping the boy might eventually find blood tendon flowers 4.

Repeated deliveries of valuable herbs reinforce his interest. After testing Su Yan’s knowledge and learning of his martial ambitions, Song Qi offers guidance in exchange for searching for the flowers, promising to purchase them at thirty percent above the usual price 6 10.

Song Qi provides the recommendation before receiving any flowers and does not require a successful search. His calling card allows Su Yan to bypass the Golden Ape Martial Hall’s usual preliminary conditioning period and enter as an outer disciple 11 12.

Mentor and Protector

As Su Yan progresses, Song Qi gives increasingly detailed instruction in stance training, martial mastery, and nourishment. Su Yan’s thoughtful gift of pastries delights him, while the boy’s rapid comprehension convinces him that the relationship is worthwhile even without the blood tendon flowers 15 16 24.

When Su Yan finally brings the flowers, Gu Hong attempts to claim them for the Little Mountain Society and attacks Su Yan after being refused. Song Qi intervenes and drives him away. Su Yan then gives Song Qi the flowers without payment, acknowledging his guidance and openly asking him to become his backer 36.

Song Qi offers lodging, protection, and introductions to old acquaintances. Recognizing that the Golden Ape Martial Hall’s skills alone may leave Su Yan with weaknesses, he considers asking other experienced martial artists to teach him. He introduces Su Yan to Xu Zhongdao specifically to secure further support 37 38.

Recovery

For years, Song Qi secretly collected ingredients for the Sinew-Mending Meridian-Continuing Pill, including second-tier savage beast bones, blood tendon flowers, sinew-growing grass, and thirty-year blood ginseng. Xu Zhongdao agrees to refine the medicine once the ingredients are complete 38.

The theft of Hundred Herbs Hall’s medicinal herbs prompts Song Qi to accelerate treatment preparations. Xu Zhongdao, assisted by Su Yan, successfully produces three pills. Song Qi gives one to Su Yan as his share, insisting that it can strengthen his foundation and repair hidden injuries from external conditioning 48 49.

By the following day, Song Qi has recovered and apparently entered Origin Nurturing. His planned confrontation with Gu Changfeng remains a future intention rather than a completed encounter 38 49.

Appearance

• White beard and elderly features: Initially appears around sixty, with a long white beard, strong steps, and a subtly imposing presence 4.
• Lean, scarred physique: Beneath his robes, his torso is powerful and sharply muscled, covered in scars and marked by some age-related wrinkles 40.
• Robes: Appears in a black robe when accompanying Su Yan into town and a blue robe during later training 37 40.
• Post-recovery changes: Black strands emerge amid his graying hair; his frame becomes robust and his aura steady 49.

Personality

Song Qi combines practical calculation with sympathy for people attempting to rise from poverty. His initial help serves his search for medicinal ingredients, but Su Yan’s circumstances remind him of his own origins. He treats the recommendation as both goodwill and an investment in a promising youngster 11.

His manner is blunt and sometimes intimidating: a cold snort is enough to frighten Bai Shan into silence. With Su Yan, however, he becomes patient and affectionate, answering questions freely and offering guidance as though teaching a younger family member 4 24.

He values sincerity more than expensive gifts. Su Yan’s pastries and refusal to sell the blood tendon flowers deepen his attachment, while his generosity remains tempered by a belief in self-reliance. He gives Su Yan a valuable healing pill but refuses to bankroll his cultivation 15 36 49.

Song Qi is also stubborn about his own grievances. Despite Xu Zhongdao’s warning that Gu Changfeng has enjoyed years of cultivation advantage, he refuses to abandon his intended confrontation 38.

Abilities & Skills

Azure Goat Stance Art

• Has attained greater mastery, also rendered as major mastery, of the Azure Goat Stance Art 37.
• Integrates stance training into ordinary movement, with breathing and muscles following the art even when he simply walks 24.
• Demonstrates the union of form and intent through movements that make Su Yan perceive him as an azure goat bounding through the landscape 24.
• While training, produces surging blood and qi described as rumbling like thunder 40.

Martial Strength and Assessment

• Immobilizes the untrained Su Yan with one hand while examining the strength of his tendons and bones 11.
• Recognizes changes in Su Yan’s cultivation through his movement, stance, and physical toughness 15 23 36.
• Defeats Gu Hong during the confrontation over the blood tendon flowers 36.
• Moves so quickly toward the completed healing pills that Su Yan cannot clearly follow him 48.

Martial Instruction

• Corrects the Golden Ape Stance Art by emphasizing an ape’s presence and the unity of essence, qi, and spirit—not merely imitation of its shape 15.
• Teaches Su Yan to incorporate stance principles into footwork, Monkey Fist, and everyday movement 24.
• Explains the distinction between beginner, minor mastery, major mastery, and transformation-level technique proficiency 24.
• Recognizes real combat as a necessary final step toward greater mastery 37.
• Acknowledges his limits once Su Yan’s Golden Ape Stance reaches a mastery level comparable to his own Azure Goat Stance; seeks broader instruction for him instead 37.

Herbal Knowledge and Cultivation Guidance

• Evaluates medicinal plants for condition, weight, and potency; handles poisonous yinred root directly while a faint glimmer flows across his skin 4.
• Tests herb identification through the differences between three-line red and blood tendon flower 10.
• Recommends earthhorn vine, blood velvet fungus, stonefang ginseng, Redskin Powder, and savage beast meat for body tempering 15 29.
• Warns that rapid advancement without sufficient nourishment can damage the body 16.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Calling card — His recommendation secures Su Yan accelerated access to training at the Golden Ape Martial Hall 11 12.
• Hundred Herbs Diagram — Gives Su Yan a copy to improve his gathering knowledge and encourage further treasure-plant discoveries 4.
• Blood tendon flowers — Long-sought medicinal ingredients supplied by Su Yan for treating his old injuries 36 38.
• Sinew-Mending Meridian-Continuing Pills — Three are successfully refined for his treatment; he gives one to Su Yan 48 49.

Relationships

• Su Yan — Begins as a promising herb supplier and becomes a cherished junior, martial protégé, and beneficiary of Song Qi’s protection. Su Yan’s gift of blood tendon flowers strengthens their bond 4 24 36 49.
• Xu Zhongdao — Long-standing friend and Hundred Herbs Hall’s pill-chamber chief steward. Refines Song Qi’s healing medicine and supports Su Yan at his request 38 48.
• Bai Shan — Subordinate at the Mountain Market shop; follows Song Qi’s instructions regarding Su Yan’s visits and purchases 4 10.
• Hundred Herbs Hall’s shopkeeper — Early benefactor who selected Song Qi from among refugees 11.
• Gu Changfeng — Personal adversary associated with Song Qi’s remembered defeat and intended vendetta 37 38.
• Gu Hong — Hostile member of the Little Mountain Society whom Song Qi drives away after his attack on Su Yan 36.
• Golden Ape Martial Hall — Allied institution where Song Qi’s name carries enough weight to obtain special consideration for Su Yan 11 12.

Notable Quotes

“Not just instinct. It becomes part of your body, with form and intent united.” 24

“Don't just make me your backer. If you've got what it takes, become mine.” 49