Xiao Ze

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Xiao Ze (萧泽) 1
Alias(es)	Nine Nether Star Lord; Nine Nether Dou Di; Chief of the Nine Stars 5 6
Gender	Male 1
Origin	A soul from Earth who awakens on the Dou Qi Continent 1
Affiliation	Xiao Clan 1
Occupation/Role	Xiao Clan protector and cultivation mentor; introduced as its secluded young lord and system-assigned “Hidden Elder,” with the latter identity explicitly marked false 1 2 4
Cultivation	Initially Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint; later explicitly described as Peak Dou Zun 1 23 24
Previous-Life Identity	Identifies himself as the reincarnation of the Nine Nether Dou Di, foremost among the nine ancient star lords 5
Status	Physical form faded; subsequently sacrifices his final remnant soul to open the Emperor Gate 25 27 28
First Appearance	“Hidden God of the Xiao Clan” 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint	1	Starting cultivation granted upon binding to the Xiao Clan Revitalization System; not attained through an on-page breakthrough.
Nine Nether Wind Flame acquired	2	Awarded for completing “Shock the Clan.” The nineteenth-ranked Heavenly Flame possesses wind and fire attributes and grows by consuming cold energy.
Nine Nether Wind Flame refined; initial saint-grade Dou Qi	3	Survives meridian burning, soul fusion, and source return. Dou Qi quality improves without a major increase in quantity; technique compatibility rises by 30% and Heavenly Flame fusion potential by 50%.
Nine Nether Wind Flame evolution: 20%; Nine Flames Return to Origin Art, second stage	10	Xiao Yan’s success in the Cliff Flame Abyss completes the shared quest, granting a 10% flame-evolution increase and unlocking the art’s second stage.
Nine Nether Wind Flame evolution: 40%; Nine Flames Return to Origin Art, third level	12	Victory in Wutan City grants another 20% evolution increase, the third level of the art, and an Emperor Flame Body-Guard Formation.
Peak Dou Zun — later stated cultivation	23 24	Explicitly named while supporting Xiao Yan remotely. The supplied chapters do not explain the difference from his initial Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint cultivation.
Flame seed and remnant-soul existence	25 27	His physical form fades after aiding Xiao Yan’s fusion. A flame seed remains beneath the shrine and later manifests his spectral figure.
Final remnant soul expended	27 28	Reverses the ninth link of the Nine Nether Chain Formation to open the Emperor Gate.

Background / History

Arrival and Recognition

Xiao Ze awakens in the Xiao Clan’s forbidden back-mountain chamber as a soul from Earth. The system assigns him the identity of Xiao Zhan’s younger brother and overwhelming starting cultivation. When his aura alarms the clan elders, he establishes his authority with an ancestral jade token bearing the direct bloodline’s Dou Qi mark 1.

Xiao Zhan later explains that his younger brother left twenty years earlier to seek the path to Dou Di and had not been heard from since. At the annual clan test, Xiao Ze shatters the Testing Stele and publicly pledges to defend the clan. His first mission reward, the Nine Nether Wind Flame, becomes his principal weapon 2 4.

Securing Wutan City

The flame’s refinement draws attention from powers beyond Wutan. Xiao Ze rejects the elders’ suggestion that fear should dictate the clan’s future, promising to make it the Jia Ma Empire’s foremost clan within three years and challenge the Central Plains within ten. He kills Hall of Souls deacon Hun Li and two accompanying Dou Zong, then begins preparing protective formations 3 4.

During the ensuing espionage campaign, he destroys enemy hideouts, recruits eight surviving Blood Shadow Riders as the Dark Flame Guard, and binds surviving Gu Clan spies to deliver his warning. For the larger assault, he evacuates the clan’s younger generation, spreads false information, and prepares layered flame traps 6 7 11.

Xiao Ze and Xiao Yan defeat a coalition led by a Nine-Star Dou Zun Hall of Souls elder, Yun Zhen, and Xue Tu. Xiao Ze uses his blood and flame formation to protect Wutan’s inhabitants, although the city is left in ruins 12.

Restoring the Emperor Road

Xiao Ze teaches that the Emperor-Banishing Lock has prevented advancement beyond Dou Sheng for ten thousand years. Gathering nine Heavenly Flames and awakening nine-star resonance can break the seal. He reveals his identity as the reincarnated Nine Nether Dou Di and gives Xiao Yan the complete ninefold Flame Mantra 5.

After the Wutan battle, he extracts memories from the Hall of Souls elder’s remnant soul and discovers the Hall of Souls and Gu Clan’s joint involvement in sealing the Emperor Road. His own emperor soul cannot fully gather while the Heavenly Flames remain incomplete 13.

As Xiao Yan pursues the flames and Pure Lotus Tokens, Xiao Ze works from the ancestral shrine. He activates the Chain Formation’s seventh link, eighth ring, and ninth ring in succession. The Emperor-Banishing Lock is reported as thirty percent loosened, then ninety percent loosened 18 19 21 22 23.

Sacrifice and the Emperor Gate

Xiao Ze repeatedly spends his emperor blood to support Xiao Yan. He sacrifices thirty percent of his Dou Di blood during the Fallen Heart Flame fusion and later suffers visible injuries after confronting the Ancient Emperor Guards 15 16.

Further remote interventions cost him blood essence, strength, and life force. He collapses after helping Xiao Yan survive the Emperor Flame Abyss, then lends karmic power during the Purifying Lotus origin’s final ordeal. His physical form fades after witnessing Xiao Yan’s success 23 24 25.

Following Xiao Yan’s victory over the Nine Nether Lightning Tribulation, Xiao Ze manifests from the remaining flame seed. He merges his final remnant soul into it and reverses the Chain Formation’s ninth link, opening the Emperor Gate as his last gift 27 28.

Appearance

Xiao Ze appears to be a young man barely into his twenties, despite the clan’s account of his twenty-year absence. His features convey aloofness and nobility 1 4.

• Clothing: Black robes, frequently described billowing in the wind 1 2.
• Hair: Dark hair worn loose at his awakening and tied behind his head at the clan test 1 2.
• Eyes: Abyss-deep, seemingly containing a sea of stars; wind and flame swirl within them when he uses his power 1 9.
• Build: His Fire Spirit avatar is tall and slender 9.

Personality

Xiao Ze initially treats his extraordinary starting power as an opportunity to claim treasures, reach Dou Di, and enjoy his second life. He even imagines competing with Xiao Yan for emperorship while helping him repay the humiliation of his broken engagement 1.

His protectiveness is uncompromising. He responds to threats with lethal force, but also turns defeated enemies into useful subordinates through seals and contracts. His defenses rely on intelligence, evacuation, deception, and prepared terrain rather than raw power alone 7 11.

As a mentor, he emphasizes control over strength and insists that Xiao Yan face trials independently. His early plan to use Xiao Yan’s flame hunt for his own Dou Di foundation gradually gives way to pride in Xiao Yan’s independence and increasingly costly sacrifices for his survival 6 8 19 24 27.

Abilities & Skills

Nine Nether Wind Flame

Xiao Ze’s principal Heavenly Flame combines wind, fire, extreme heat, and extreme cold 2 3.

• Ranked nineteenth and capable of evolving by devouring cold-attribute energy 2.
• Burns soul-devouring chains and destroys hostile souls 4 16.
• Breaks sealing formations; his Fire Spirit avatar uses it to dismantle Blood-Eyed Old Ghost’s altar trap 9.
• Forms weapons and constructs, including a long saber, firebirds, tornadoes, and a combined wind-and-fire dragon with Xiao Yan 6 12.

Flame Hunt Spirit and Fire Spirit Avatar

• Flame Hunt Spirit: A falcon-shaped wind-and-fire construct with a wingspan of roughly three feet. It detects concealed hostile auras, ignites concealment runes, and burns souls 7.
• Precision limits: Described as targeting concealed auras rather than ordinary objects, although heat from an attack still vaporizes wine and chars a tavern’s beams 7.
• Fire Spirit avatar: Allows Xiao Ze to intervene away from his main body; it rescues Xiao Yan and destroys the altar’s attackers 9.

Formation Arts

Formation	Function
Heavenly Flame Domain	Nine flame rings slow time and greatly amplify soul perception within the secret chamber 5.
Nine Nether Soul-Severing Formation	Blocks communication, concealment, and escape techniques 7.
Nine Nether Flame Formation	Protects inhabitants, lays traps, and channels emperor-blood assistance across great distances 11 12 15.
Nine Nether Chain Formation	Uses underground fire veins to imprison enemies; its nine layers twist space and disrupt laws. Also transmits power to Xiao Yan and helps loosen the Emperor-Banishing Lock 16 21 23.
Reversed ninth link	Converts Xiao Ze’s final remnant soul into the power needed to open the Emperor Gate 27 28.

Soul Power and Emperor Blood

• His soul power exceeds that of others at his initial level, allowing him to suppress the Nine Nether Wind Flame’s spirit 3.
• A golden Soul Vessel, condensed from a Dou Di remnant soul, subdues the flame’s attacks on his consciousness 3.
• His body has been tempered thirty-six times with Dou Sheng blood essence, strengthening his meridians and bones 3.
• Emperor blood repairs Xiao Yan’s meridians, stabilizes his flame seed, and improves flame compatibility 9.
• Repeated blood and origin expenditure leaves Xiao Ze injured; invoking emperor-seal power with his later Dou Zun body ultimately costs his physical existence 16 24 25.

Cultivation Instruction

• Imparts the complete Flame Mantra, described as the ninefold Burning Heaven Art and a key to breaking the Emperor-Banishing Lock 5.
• Uses Dou Di blood to unlock Xiao Yan’s first level, raising him from Two-Star to Six-Star Dou Zhe 5.
• Teaches the Nine Transformations of the Heavenly Flame, stressing the coordination of wind and fire 6.
• Provides the third stage of the Nine Flames Return to Origin Art, “Fire-Fusing Foundation Building,” for Xiao Yan’s emperor flame seed 13.

Xiao Clan Revitalization System

• Grants his starting cultivation and issues clan-defense, Heavenly Flame, and Dou Di inheritance missions 1 5 6.
• Detects hostile agents and tracks flame evolution, mission completion, and relationship values 6 12.
• Unlocks the Heavenly Flame Compendium after his first refinement 3.
• Offers one wisp of Dou Di origin for collecting nine flames and reopening the path; this is a promised reward, not a documented breakthrough for Xiao Ze 5.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Ancestral jade token — Verifies the Xiao Clan’s direct bloodline and secures the elders’ recognition 1.
• Soul Vessel — Golden cauldron within his soul sea, used to suppress Heavenly Flame spirits 3.
• “Dou Di’s Record of Bearing Heaven” jade slip — Presented while explaining the sealed path and imparting the complete Flame Mantra 5.
• Three Dou Zun golden cores — Taken from the defeated coalition leaders and placed in the ancestral shrine to anchor the clan’s fortune; later used in a flame-summoning ritual 13.
• Ancient Emperor Token Talisman — Obtained after Gu Yue’s defeat and incorporated into shrine preparations; Xiao Ze identifies its combination with the Nine Nether Token as a means of opening the Emperor Fire Trial Grounds 16 17.
• Emperor Flame Body-Guard Formation — Awarded after the Battle of the Burning City 12.

Relationships

• Xiao Zhan — Introduced as Xiao Ze’s elder brother and the Xiao Clan patriarch; confirms Xiao Ze’s twenty-year absence 1 4.
• Xiao Yan — Initially his nephew, disciple, and prospective rival for Dou Di. Their bond reaches the system designation “Entrusting Life and Death” after fighting together; Xiao Ze later sacrifices his remaining existence for him 1 5 12 27.
• Xiao Xun’er — Intrigued by his strength, aura, and mysterious flame. The system records affection at 25 and later admiration at 40; no established romance is shown 2 3.
• Xiao Li — Clan elder who first challenges his identity, then recognizes the ancestral token and becomes a loyal supporter of his defense preparations 1 11.
• Dark Flame Guard — Eight surviving Blood Shadow Riders compelled into service as the clan’s covert force 7.
• Hall of Souls — Principal enemy, seeking his flames and cultivation teachings; its attacks lead to repeated clashes and the discovery of the Emperor Road conspiracy 4 12 13.
• Gu Clan — Attempts to monitor, control, or execute him and Xiao Yan; Xiao Ze destroys its spies and confronts its Ancient Emperor Guards 6 7 16.

Relationship Inconsistency

• The early passages explicitly identify Xiao Ze as Xiao Yan’s uncle, and Xiao Yan continues calling him “Uncle” through the Ancient Emperor Guards encounter 1 4 16.
• Some intervening narration calls them “father and son.” From the Heart-Burning Hall onward, direct dialogue also presents Xiao Ze as Xiao Yan’s father. The supplied chapters do not explain this change 12 22 23 24.

Notable Quotes

“Fear solves nothing. Only strength can keep others from coveting what is yours!” 4

“I didn't come to fight over who owns a Heavenly Flame. I came... to rewrite the rules of this Dou Qi Continent.” 3

“With my remnant soul, open another gate for my son—the Emperor Gate!” 27