Li Yang

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

In his previous life, Li Yang served in the military and fought drug traffickers at the border. While he was away, a village tyrant’s family abused his relatives; the tyrant’s son violated his younger sister, and reporting the crime proved useless because the perpetrator’s uncle held a senior police position. Li Yang returned home, killed all ten members of the tyrant’s family, surrendered, and was executed by firing squad 1 19 24.

After transmigrating, he entered the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect and spent time as a nominal disciple, where Liu Changfu looked after him. Despite unremarkable aptitude, his willingness to risk his life in the Outer Disciples Competition earned Lu Feng’s appreciation. He became Crane-Cry Peak’s only personal disciple without connections or a powerful background 2 4.

His cultivation remained slow: he spent over a decade in Qi Refining. During those years, he accumulated extensive experience fighting evil cultivators, including encounters in which enemies took a senior brother and a Sword Cultivator friend hostage 9 26 29.

Appearance

• Face: Handsome and resolute, with more martial severity than Gu Zang’s softer appearance 21.
• Bearing: Radiates killing intent and an intensity described as righteousness bordering on the sinister 21.
• After Foundation Establishment: His healed skin acquired a warm, jade-like luster 21.
• Disguises: Used a face mask in Yongning Commandery and later adopted Qin Feng’s handsome, imposing appearance for the secret realm expedition 21 30.

Personality

Li Yang openly admits that he craves slaughter. He seeks legitimate grounds for killing to preserve his identity as a righteous cultivator, and regards anyone who directs killing intent at him as an enemy he should not spare if he can defeat them. His desire to kill coexists with a conviction that punishing evil protects future victims 2 5.

He judges conduct rather than status, beauty, or affiliation. He killed his own junior sister, opposed his master’s protection of her, and attacked supposedly righteous prodigies whose battles devastated mortal villages. Lu Feng recognizes the purity of this resolve, while Gu Luoyuan calls him a psychopath whose methods embody demonic cultivation 4 17.

His refusal to yield to hostage-taking is particularly severe. He believes surrendering an advantage endangers both rescuer and hostage, and would rather give a captive a swift death and avenge them than allow prolonged suffering. Ning Qingfeng’s illusion demonstrates that he applies the same principle to himself: when used to coerce a senior sister, he sacrifices himself rather than enable the fiend 26 27.

Despite his apparent recklessness, Li Yang understands limits. He explains that his boldness in Yongning Commandery depended on restrictions keeping higher-realm cultivators away, and readily submits when confronted by Ning Qingfeng’s overwhelming true body. He also retreats when depleted and when his companions cannot sustain further fighting 26 47.

He dislikes socializing, political maneuvering, and being used as someone else’s shield. Nevertheless, he shows affection toward Xiao Feng, acknowledges his own extremism, and remembers Ning Qingfeng’s bodily transformation as a debt he intends to repay 10 19 28 40 41.

Abilities & Skills

Killing-Intent Perception

Li Yang was born with exceptionally keen sensitivity to killing intent, a central part of his talent for slaughter 2.

• Detects hostility even when an opponent conceals it behind friendly behavior 2.
• Locates enemies inside obscuring blood mist without seeing them 18.
• Anticipates sneak attacks by sensing sudden increases in murderous intent 18.
• Identifies weak points in an enemy encirclement by finding where killing intent and fighting will are weakest 46.

Slaughter Sword Intent

His accumulated killing intent reinforces his sword intent, giving his attacks enough sharpness to penetrate defenses above his cultivation realm 3 8.

• Destroys human puppets internally and breaks protective artifacts 7 8.
• After Foundation Establishment, releases blood-red threads infused with sword intent, cutting surrounding vegetation through his aura 21.
• Pierces Yuan Sha’s Hundred-Battle Demon Body and leaves sword intent that shreds the target’s meridians 36.
• Grows stronger through killing, but does not ordinarily raise his cultivation directly 39.
• Cannot compensate for every disadvantage: Xuan Shi initially overwhelms him in direct clashes, while Golden Eyes inflicts severe injuries before his breakthrough 12 18.

Sword Dao and Nascent Sword Heart

While attempting Foundation Establishment, Li Yang rejected the Blood Sea Asura Sword Art’s original foundation-building approach because it placed slaughter rather than the sword at its core. Understanding his own sword intent allowed him to form the nascent shape of a sword heart 20.

• Places sword intent above killing intent: slaughter assists his Dao rather than governing it 20.
• Combines spiritual energy, killing intent, and sword intent into a blood-sea-like foundation without sinister evil 20.
• His pure Sword Cultivator nature calms the initially hostile Phoenix Sword, whose spirit later accepts him during battle 22 23.

Sword Maneuvering and Formation Command

Li Yang learned sword maneuvering without a teacher and excels at directing coordinated Sword Cultivator attacks 16.

• Sword flight: Initially relied on talismans; Foundation Establishment enabled faster, more natural flight without them 1 23.
• Seven-Star Sword Formation: Led Su Hen and five other Sword Cultivators against evil fiends and prodigies; required their combined strength to destroy a Golden Core projection 15 17.
• Ten Directions Sword Formation: Took command of trapped Sword Cultivators, directed talisman strikes, and killed more than a hundred enemies 46.
• Prepared escape: Lured attacks into a chosen point in the confinement array, creating the breach used to escape a concentrated assault 47.
• Limit: He explicitly knows little about arrays generally; his battlefield formation command does not amount to broad array expertise 39.

Divine Sense and Mental Resistance

His divine sense reached four li immediately upon Foundation Establishment, exceeding the stated ordinary range of ten to one thousand meters. He speculated that living two lives might explain it, but this was not confirmed 20.

• Resists Shen Lou’er’s charm through his exceptionally resolute Dao heart 1 2.
• Breaks illusions offering justice for his family, reconciliation, pleasure, and immortal wealth 24.
• Is not immune to emotional manipulation: Gu Zang’s domain draws him into visions of his family’s suffering until the Phoenix Sword awakens him 23.

Flesh Nirvana and Battle Cultivation

Ning Qingfeng’s fire remade his flesh rather than merely cleansing it. His wider, more resilient meridians support faster absorption, denser spiritual power, stronger bursts, and prolonged high-intensity output 28 35.

• Continues using the Blood Sea Asura Sword Art after adapting his foundation to his own sword Dao 28 39.
• In the secret realm, substitutes accumulated killing intent for spiritual power in his attacks 47 48.
• Cultivates while Ning Xi handles movement, leaving his meridians free to absorb spiritual energy 48.
• This method avoids the normal conflict between absorbing energy and releasing power; an error could still disrupt his energy circulation 47 48.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• First-rank, six-pattern Spirit Sword — His early weapon. Damaged against Golden Eyes and later broken; its accumulated sword intent persisted after it lost spirituality 18 20 23.
• Phoenix Sword — Ning Qingfeng’s high-grade, sentient sword. Initially resisted him, then embraced his slaughter during battle and awakened him from Gu Zang’s illusion. Its spirit supplied power beyond what his low cultivation alone could unleash; it remained a borrowed weapon, not his own 22 23.
• Second-grade, eight-pattern Spirit Sword — Reforged by Ling Wujie from the sword engraved with “Ye”; used against Chu Du 31 34.
• Captured flying sword — Seized Chu Du’s five-element-nurtured sword with his bare hand, refined it, and used it for flight during their duel 34.
• Lu Feng’s Sword Talisman — Manifested his master’s phantom and killed the Moonlit Holy Land cultivator. Its effective strength depended on Li Yang’s sword mastery, not simply his realm 6 18.
• Foundation Establishment Pills — Received a seven-pattern pill from Lu Feng and an eight-pattern pill from Ning Xinyao during the crisis preceding his breakthrough 6 19.
• Disguise masks — Used to conceal his appearance and impersonate Qin Feng; Qin Ge later supplied a Hundred-Flower Mask 21 30 39.
• Qin Feng’s soul blood — Given by Qin Ge so Li Yang could control Qin Feng and enforce his obedience 39.
• Spatial-Shift Talisman — Supplied by Qin Ge for the secret realm expedition 39.
• Sword Alliance token — Given by the expert later identified as Senior Zi Chen; used to establish his identity before taking command of the Ten Directions Sword Formation 25 46.
• Soul Lamp — Lit in the Fate Soul Hall after Foundation Establishment made it possible to separate soul blood without damaging his foundation 29.
• Collected spoils — Regularly takes defeated enemies’ storage rings and resources. Ning Qingfeng’s fire destroyed his earlier accumulated spoils, leaving him broke before the arena challenges 8 28 35 39.

Relationships

• Lu Feng — Master and Crane-Cry Peak’s peak master. Their conflict over Shen Lou’er reveals Li Yang’s unwillingness to compromise his sword Dao. Lu Feng subsequently provides cultivation resources, arranges his secret realm disguise, and warns him about the suspected slaughter legacy 4 6 29.
• Liu Changfu — Fellow disciple who cared for Li Yang when he was a nominal disciple. His murder gave Li Yang a personal reason to execute Shen Lou’er 2.
• Shen Lou’er — Junior sister and daughter of the Six Desires Demon Venerable. Li Yang escorted her safely to Myriad Phenomena City, then killed her for murdering disciples to advance her constitution 1 2 4.
• Ning Xinyao — Third senior sister and companion in Yongning Commandery. Frequently clashes with his methods but rescues him, supplies breakthrough resources, and comes to admire the strength of his heart 6 19 22.
• Xiao Feng / Ning Qingfeng — Xiao Feng reminds him of his previous-life younger sister. He kills her while she is being used as a hostage, then learns she was Ning Qingfeng’s innocent mortalized body. Ning Qingfeng tests him, burns him once in repayment, and grants him bodily nirvana 19 25 26 27 28.
• Ning Xi — Junior sister and secret realm partner. He initially refuses to shield her from suitors, but later accepts her company because of his debt to Ning Qingfeng. Her escape talismans, healing, and movement support enable his battlefield cultivation 40 41 48.
• Su Hen — Fellow Sword Cultivator and formation companion. Apologizes for abandoning Li Yang when the Seven-Star Sword Formation collapses, then refuses to stand aside during the secret realm battle 18 25 48.
• Qin Feng — The disciple whose identity and secret realm place Li Yang assumes. Becomes his controlled servant and eventually takes him as a role model rather than continuing his obsession with his five senior sisters 29 39 48.
• Ling Wujie — Sect master. Stops Li Yang’s lethal clash with Sect Master Peak’s third senior sister, reforges his sword, and has him face revenge-seeking visitors under Qin Feng’s identity 31.
• Xuan Shi — Heaven-Devouring Devil Palace Demon Scion and adversary. Li Yang rejects his attempt to recruit him as a follower and defeats his battlefield manifestation by exploiting his devouring technique 11 12.
• Gu Zang and the Demon Venerables — Enemies drawn into the Yongning Commandery crisis. Gu Zang protects Bai Nishang and summons his master, while the Six Desires Demon Venerable seeks revenge for Shen Lou’er 4 18 23 25.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Shen Lou’er’s Execution

Ordered to escort Shen Lou’er, Li Yang concludes that her “loss of control” is an excuse for deliberate murders. He postpones his attack until reaching Myriad Phenomena City, confronts her in Su Yao’s courtyard, and defeats her. When Lu Feng’s consciousness fragment intervenes, Li Yang draws his sword against it; Lu Feng withdraws after recognizing his disciple’s pure sword intent. Li Yang decapitates Shen Lou’er and burns her remains, provoking her father’s revenge 1 2 3 4.

Yongning Commandery

Sent to investigate demons with Ning Xinyao, Li Yang attacks evil cultivators even when they use mortal hostages to delay him. He enters the White Household’s guard-selection contest, defeats Xuan Shi inside the Asura Battleboard, and joins Bai Nishang’s bridal escort. Her collusion with the attackers leads him to pursue her and confront the gathered prodigies whose fighting devastates mortal settlements 6 7 8 11 12 15 17.

After the Seven-Star Sword Formation collapses, he stays behind and suffers near-fatal injuries. Ning Xinyao shelters him while he establishes his foundation. Armed with the Phoenix Sword, he cuts down the attacking prodigies and ultimately kills Xiao Feng along with the Six Desires Demon Venerable’s split soul rather than yield to hostage coercion 18 19 20 23 25.

Only afterward does he discover that the crisis was a planned encirclement by the Mystic Heaven Sword Sect, Sword Alliance, and Dao Alliance, and that Ning Qingfeng’s mortalized body had been caught in it innocently. Ning Qingfeng tests his principles, resurrects the dead mortals, and burns him to ashes before he awakens with a transformed body 25 27 28.

Impersonating Qin Feng

With Crane-Cry Peak’s secret realm places exhausted, Lu Feng arranges for Li Yang to enter using Qin Feng’s vacant place and identity. On Sect Master Peak, his hostility toward its entitled disciples brings him close to another lethal confrontation before Ling Wujie intervenes 29 30 31.

Still disguised, he faces visitors seeking revenge on Li Yang. He kills Chu Du, an unnamed Golden Core challenger, and Yuan Sha in the cultivation-equalizing Life-and-Death Arena, deliberately presenting deceptive weakness to encourage further challenges. Qin Ge afterward entrusts the real Qin Feng to him as a servant 35 36 39.

Ancient Immortal Secret Realm

After entering a realm that reduces participants to mortals, Li Yang rebuilds his cultivation alongside Ning Xi and Qin Feng. Killing a hostile native reveals rules granting power through slaughter and warning participants not to become its slaves. Ning Xi’s soul-searching also exposes that natives can acquire participants’ abilities by killing them 44.

At Rockhold Commandery, Li Yang intervenes against the Myriad Venom Dynasty, rescues trapped Sword Cultivators, and turns their formation into an effective counterattack. He then fights with Ning Xi’s support while cultivating, reaches the seventh Foundation Establishment layer, and takes up the Phoenix Sword again to enter the Golden Core battlefield 46 47 48.

By the ensuing pursuit, he has reached Foundation Establishment great perfection. His killing of hundreds of Foundation Establishment opponents and more than ten Golden Core experts makes him a celebrated figure among the Heavenly Origin Dynasty’s cultivators 49.

Notable Quotes

“I fear neither power nor karmic consequences. Where the sword point reaches, my sword Dao extends!” 20

“If every sword cultivator were like me, those nominal disciples wouldn’t have died!” 5

“If you step onto the path of cultivation, don’t be selfish like your young mistress, but don’t be extreme like me, either. Live a good life.” 19