Xiao Yan

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Xiao Yan (萧炎)
Alias(es)	Little Yanzi, used by Yao Chen 45; Flame Emperor in the future remembered by Xiao Yi Xian 44
Gender	Male
Age	Ten years old; possesses the mature soul of someone in his twenties or thirties 17
Affiliation	Xiao Clan of Wutan City 17 22
Occupation/Role	Xiao Clan young master; cultivator and Yao Chen’s alchemy disciple 22 24 26
Cultivation	Seven-Star Dou Zhe, latest explicitly documented level 46
Status	Alive 46
First Appearance	Mentioned in relation to Yun Yun’s original romance 10; first on-page scene in Wutan City 17

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Dou Zhe	17	Former cultivation level before six months of unexplained Dou Qi loss.
Eighth Stage of Dou Qi	17	Regresses from Dou Zhe despite daily training. His cultivation is still declining.
Flame Mantra acquired	24	Becomes Yao Chen’s disciple and chooses the cultivation method for its limitless possibilities. No immediate realm advancement is stated.
Flame Mantra basics mastered	26	Begins alchemy instruction. Before absorbing any Heavenly Flames, the method functions at High-grade Yellow Tier.
Dou Zhe restored	33	Returns to his former peak with Yao Chen’s help; Xiao Zhan celebrates with a banquet.
Seven-Star Dou Zhe	46	Xiao Yi Xian notices that his cultivation has advanced far beyond the One-Star Dou Zhe level she expected from her previous-life memories. The intervening breakthroughs are not individually shown.

Background / History

Loss of Cultivation

Xiao Yan is a young cultivator of Wutan City’s Xiao Clan whose childhood body houses an adult soul. Once regarded as a genius, he becomes the target of widespread ridicule after his Dou Qi starts disappearing. His father and the clan elders examine him but cannot identify the cause 17 22.

For six months, newly refined Dou Qi vanishes from his dantian, reducing him from Dou Zhe to the eighth stage of Dou Qi. He continues cultivating every morning through the Basic Breathing Technique, preventing an even steeper decline. Xiao Xun’er remains beside him and comforts him when he describes an unexplained feeling that something has been taken away 17.

Dissolution of His Engagement

Nalan Yanran’s grandfather arranged her engagement to Xiao Yan before she was born. After she becomes the Misty Cloud Sect’s tenth-generation sect master, Chen Yang brings her to the Xiao Clan to dissolve it, arguing that their circumstances and lack of mutual affection make them unsuitable partners 20 22.

Xiao Yan briefly feels the weight of losing his fiancée but is neither crushed nor openly confrontational. He accepts Chen Yang’s reasoning and returns the Nalan Family’s betrothal token. Both parties exchange their tokens peacefully, formally ending the engagement 23.

Apprenticeship and Recovery

Chen Yang awakens Yao Chen by pouring Dou Qi into Xiao Yan’s bone ring, then conceals himself. Xiao Yan discovers that Yao Chen’s secret absorption of his Dou Qi caused his decline. Although initially furious, he uses Yao Chen’s offer of repayment to request an apprenticeship 24.

Yao Chen makes an exception to his vow never to accept another disciple, impressed by Xiao Yan’s candid ambition. Xiao Yan immediately performs the apprenticeship ceremony and selects the Flame Mantra. He remains grateful to Chen Yang for uncovering the cause of his condition, while keeping Yao Chen’s existence unspoken when they return to the clan hall 24.

Under Yao Chen’s instruction, Xiao Yan learns the Flame Mantra’s basics and begins studying alchemy. His restored cultivation prompts Xiao Zhan to host a celebration for Wutan City’s major clans 26 33.

Meeting Xiao Yi Xian

While hunting magical beasts near Wutan City, Xiao Yan struggles against a Stone Armor Ape and sustains several wounds. Xiao Yi Xian joins the fight, using poison attacks to help him defeat it; Xiao Yan delivers the finishing blow with his Heavy Xuan Ruler 44 45.

Despite an inexplicable sense that they have fought together before, he remains cautious toward the unfamiliar woman. After Yao Chen explains her Woeful Poison Body, Xiao Yan becomes concerned about its potentially fatal consequences and remembers the ingredients needed for a lasting solution 45 46.

Appearance

• Child’s physique: Has a ten-year-old body despite his adult soul 17.
• Mature expression: Lacks the sunny openness of an ordinary youth; his gaze carries unusual resolve 22.

Personality

Xiao Yan is persistent and resilient. He continues training despite losing the fruits of his effort and enduring insults, with his mature inner perspective helping him withstand the humiliation. The end of his engagement causes only a brief downturn before he reassures his father and accepts the separation 17 23.

He is openly ambitious, seeking strength, recognition, and the freedom to enjoy life. Yao Chen appreciates his honesty and decisiveness. Xiao Yan also values loyalty: he rejects Xiao Mei’s renewed attention after his recovery and prefers Xun’er, who never abandoned him during his decline 24 33.

His caution does not exclude compassion. He keeps his distance from Xiao Yi Xian even after her assistance, yet worries about her condition once he understands its dangers. He denies romantic feelings when Yao Chen teases him about that concern 45 46.

Abilities & Skills

Basic Breathing Technique

His early cultivation method refines the world’s Dou Qi to nourish his muscles and bones 17.

• Supports physical conditioning and daily cultivation.
• Cannot prevent Yao Chen’s hidden absorption of his newly formed Dou Qi 17 24.

Flame Mantra

A cultivation method supplied by Yao Chen, described as having limitless possibilities through its ability to devour Heavenly Flames 24 26.

• Initially operates at High-grade Yellow Tier before devouring any Heavenly Flames 26.
• Xiao Yan masters its basics before beginning alchemy training 26.
• Yao Chen gives him a fabricated explanation about depleted vital essence and “kidney deficiency”; this is a prank, not an established requirement of the method 26.
• No Heavenly Flame absorption by Xiao Yan is documented in the supplied events.

Alchemy

Yao Chen teaches Xiao Yan hands-on and recognizes his talent as the greatest he has ever encountered 26.

• Receives instruction without Yao Chen holding back his knowledge.
• Is regarded as a potential heir to Yao Chen’s alchemical skills.
• No formal alchemist rank or completed pill is documented 26.

Heavy Xuan Ruler Combat

Xiao Yan uses the Heavy Xuan Ruler while hunting magical beasts 45.

• Finishes the Stone Armor Ape after coordinating with Xiao Yi Xian’s poison attacks.
• No named ruler technique is shown in this encounter 45.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Bone Ring — Houses Yao Chen’s soul. His absorption of Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi from within it causes the six-month regression 24.
• Heavy Xuan Ruler — Weapon originally belonging to Yao Chen, later wielded by Xiao Yan. Its early appearance alerts Xiao Yi Xian that events differ from her remembered history 45 46.
• Storage Ring — Holds supplies, including the cloth he uses to clean his Heavy Xuan Ruler after battle 45.
• Betrothal tokens — Exchanged with Nalan Yanran to formally dissolve their engagement 23.

Relationships

• Xiao Zhan — Father and Xiao Clan head. Investigates his cultivation loss, worries about the broken engagement, and celebrates his recovery 17 23 33.
• Yao Chen — Master and former unwitting source of his cultivation decline. Accepts him as a disciple and teaches him the Flame Mantra and alchemy 24 26.
• Xiao Xun’er / Gu Xun’er — Childhood sweetheart and steadfast supporter. Xiao Yan values her loyalty, but scolds her after she strikes Nalan Yanran. She subsequently protects him from her father’s anger 17 25 33 44.
• Nalan Yanran — Former fiancée. Their arranged engagement ends peacefully through the return of both families’ tokens 20 23.
• Chen Yang — Facilitates both the breakup and Yao Chen’s awakening. Xiao Yan feels gratitude and reverence toward him, unaware that Chen Yang has also considered using him as a scapegoat for Soul Hall attention 18 24.
• Xiao Mei — Older cousin who renews her pursuit after his recovery. He avoids her because he considers her status-minded 33.
• Xiao Yi Xian — New combat ally whose devotion originates in her previous life. Xiao Yan initially treats her as a stranger but becomes concerned about her poison constitution 32 45 46.
• Gu Yuan — Xun’er’s father. Initially wants to punish Xiao Yan for upsetting her, but relents when she accepts responsibility and defends him 25.

Alternate-Timeline Connections

These details belong to Xiao Yi Xian’s previous-life memories, not Xiao Yan’s current achievements or marital status.

Connection	Remembered history
Flame Emperor / Dou Di	Xiao Yan eventually becomes the continent-renowned Flame Emperor and a Dou Di 44.
Yun Yun	His first love, but their romance never reaches union because of her ties to the Misty Cloud Sect 32.
Cai Lin	Marries Xiao Yan and becomes his first wife 44 45.
Gu Xun’er	Marries him, bears his children, and is described as his second wife 44 45.
Xiao Yi Xian	Loves him but never becomes his partner after leaving their relationship to fate 44.

Notable Quotes

“Take me as your disciple and teach me your skills.” 24

“I want to trample everyone who looks down on me beneath my feet, become a powerhouse like you, drink the strongest liquor, ride the fastest horses, and bed the most beautiful women.” 24

Trivia

• The narration explicitly credits Xiao Yan’s protagonist halo with preserving his apprenticeship to Yao Chen and acquisition of the Flame Mantra despite Chen Yang’s interference. It is not presented as a consciously controlled technique 24.
• Xiao Yi Xian briefly suspects he has been reborn because of his accelerated cultivation and possession of the Heavy Xuan Ruler, but finds his treatment of her as a stranger inconsistent with that theory 46.