Hu Gan

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Hu Gan (琥干)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Jia Nan Academy, Outer Academy
Occupation/Role	Outer Academy Deputy Headmaster; also addressed as Vice President 1 6
Cultivation	Dou Zong 26
Family	Grandfather of Hu Jia 16
Status	Alive as of his latest appearance 26
First Appearance	Mentioned in Chapter 1; appears in person in Chapter 6 1 6

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Peak Dou Emperor	6	His established cultivation when he discovers Lin Chen has reached Peak Dou Ling.
Dou Zong — simulated future	15	In Lin Chen’s second simulation, takes a Sect Breaking Pill and becomes Jia Nan Academy’s fourth Dou Zong expert.
Dou Zong — actual timeline	24 26	Takes the Sect Breaking Pill obtained for him by Lin Chen. His successful breakthrough is confirmed when he visits Lin Chen without Dou Qi Wings and stands in midair.

Background / History

Raising and Training Lin Chen

When Lin Chen first entered Jia Nan Academy, Hu Gan gave him a meal and later supplied a Xuan-class cultivation method. According to Lin Chen, Hu Gan declined both his request to call him “Dad” and his attempt to become a formal disciple. Nevertheless, Hu Gan personally trained him, and Lin Chen came to regard him as an adoptive father 6 13 19.

Hu Gan also taught Lin Chen the advanced Xuan-tier movement technique Flame Burst Step. Their close association prompted rumors that Lin Chen was his illegitimate son; the passages present this as student speculation, not established parentage 7.

Supporting Lin Chen’s Inner Academy Entry

Hu Gan requested Lin Chen’s public alchemy lesson at the Outer Academy. Shortly afterward, he summoned him to collect the rewards for the Inner Academy Selection Tournament and discovered that his cultivation had abruptly risen to Peak Dou Ling 1 5 6.

Learning that the Lesser Life Devouring Pill had left Lin Chen with only three years to live, Hu Gan directed him toward an Azure Nether Longevity Pill in the Book Collection Pavilion. He also arranged direct Inner Academy admission, bypassing the Fire Energy Hunting Competition so Lin Chen could begin tempering his unstable Dou Qi in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower 6.

Hu Gan escorted the selection’s five highest-ranked students to the Pavilion and warned them that Inner Academy life depended on personal strength rather than background. Lin Chen secretly chose the Ninefold Phoenix Flame Art instead of the longevity pill, then told Hu Gan he had obtained and consumed the pill 7 8.

At the Inner Academy entrance, Hu Gan opened the spatial gateway, gave Lin Chen a Blue Fire Crystal Card, and instructed him to report to Elder Huo. His concern persisted after the transfer: Su Qian later revealed that Hu Gan had approached him for another Azure Nether Longevity Pill 11 19.

Breakthrough to Dou Zong

Lin Chen visited Hu Gan with a bottle of undiluted Earth Core Body Tempering Milk and reported his Heavenly Flame refinement, Dou Wang breakthrough, and appointment as an honorary elder. Hu Gan was relieved that Lin Chen’s lifespan and cultivation foundation were no longer immediate concerns 21 22.

Lin Chen subsequently obtained a Sect Breaking Pill from Xun’er and sent Zi Yan to deliver it. Hu Gan swallowed the pill, reflecting that he was becoming increasingly indebted to the young man he had raised 23 24.

After successfully reaching Dou Zong, Hu Gan visited Lin Chen and acknowledged the pill’s contribution. He gave him a purple Fire Crystal Card and sixth-rank magical beast inner armor before leaving to report his breakthrough to the First Elder 26.

Simulated Future

In Lin Chen’s second simulation, Hu Gan correctly interpreted the gift of a Sect Breaking Pill as a sign that Lin Chen intended to leave the academy. After confronting him, he accepted the decision. Su Qian later handed Lin Chen a token belonging to President Mang Tianchi; Lin Chen understood that Hu Gan had arranged it to help him in the Central Plains 15.

The same simulation showed Hu Gan protecting Lin Chen after the theft of the Green Lotus Core Flame. He sent five Snake-People elders flying and overpowered Yun Yun, warning them against attacking anyone from Jia Nan Academy 15.

Later simulated reports stated that Earth Demon Old Ghost severely wounded Hu Gan during an invasion of the academy. Han Feng’s subsequent attack nearly killed Hu Jia. Lin Chen invoked Hu Gan’s kindness in raising him when persuading Gu Qingyang to help him avenge the academy 16.

Appearance

• Elderly, with white hair and a white beard 6.
• Wears white robes when visiting Lin Chen after his Dou Zong breakthrough 26.

Personality

Hu Gan is stern, blunt, and easily provoked by Lin Chen’s irreverence. He sharply condemns pill-driven advancement when he believes it is damaging the boy’s foundation, but follows his reprimands with concrete assistance: locating a longevity pill, arranging safer cultivation conditions, and funding tower training 6 8 11.

He values self-reliance and cautions students against trusting connections to carry them through the Inner Academy. With Lin Chen, he combines this practical outlook with parental concern, urging him to temper his recklessness. His gratitude is similarly reserved: after reaching Dou Zong, he disguises valuable gifts as a “spare” card and a “worn-out” suit of armor 7 8 26.

Abilities & Skills

Dou Qi Control

Hu Gan can release powerful pressure and manipulate objects with Dou Qi 6.

• Slides a chair behind Lin Chen with a sweep of his sleeve.
• His angry outburst destroys that chair; a later eruption of Peak Dou Emperor pressure cracks his study’s table 6 22.
• In the simulated future, overwhelms five Snake-People elders and Yun Yun after reaching Dou Zong 15.

Spatial Access and Movement

Hu Gan uses Dou Qi to activate the Inner Academy’s spatial gateway 11.

• Opens an entrance approximately seventy or eighty feet across for incoming students 11.
• After becoming a Dou Zong, appears amid spatial ripples, stands in midair without Dou Qi Wings, and departs with another ripple 26.

Cultivation Instruction

Hu Gan personally trains Lin Chen and recognizes the risks in his rapid advancement 6 19.

• Supplies Lin Chen’s original Xuan-class cultivation method 6.
• Teaches Flame Burst Step, an advanced Xuan-tier movement Dou Technique 7.
• Recommends the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower to temper unstable Dou Qi 6.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Blue Fire Crystal Card — Gives Lin Chen a third-tier card containing 2,000 Fire Energy points for Inner Academy cultivation 6 11 12.
• Earth Core Body Tempering Milk — Receives one bottle of the undiluted treasure from Lin Chen; its use by Hu Gan is not shown 21.
• Sect Breaking Pill — Obtained by Lin Chen from Xun’er, delivered through Zi Yan, and consumed to reach Dou Zong 23 24 26.
• Purple Fire Crystal Card — Gifts it to Lin Chen after his breakthrough. Grants access to the tower’s ninth level; Hu Gan explicitly warns him away from the forbidden final level 26.
• Sixth-rank magical beast inner armor — Gifts Lin Chen crimson, scale-patterned armor capable of withstanding attacks from sixth-rank magical beasts 26.

Relationships

• Lin Chen — Foster-father figure and cultivation mentor. Lin Chen regards him as an adoptive father despite Hu Gan’s earlier refusal to formalize that relationship, and repays his care with rare cultivation resources 6 13 21 26.
• Hu Jia — Granddaughter. In the second simulation, she narrowly survives Han Feng’s attack on Jia Nan Academy 16.
• Su Qian — Fellow academy leader overseeing the Inner Academy. Hu Gan consults him about Lin Chen’s lifespan and future 13 19.
• Zi Yan — Knows her through the academy; Su Qian introduced them when she first arrived. She later acts as the messenger delivering his Sect Breaking Pill 13 23.
• Liu Fei — Incoming Inner Academy student whom he warns against relying on Liu Qing’s reputation. She privately resents his preferential treatment of Lin Chen 7 11.

Notable Quotes

“Only making yourself strong counts as true ability.” 7

“Chen’er, what is too rigid breaks easily. With this habit of constantly courting danger, you’ll suffer a serious loss sooner or later.” 8

“Who dares lay a hand on someone from my Jia Nan Academy?” — During Lin Chen’s second simulation. 15