Frank

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Training and Rivalry

Frank and Otto studied under the same master and possessed comparable talent. Their lifelong competition produced no decisive overall winner. In their youth, both entered an Alchemist Conference as second-rank alchemists but failed to reach its third round 50 141.

As they grew older, they extended their rivalry to teaching. Frank accepted Xue Mei, the only daughter of the prominent Xue Family, while Otto took the city lord’s daughter, Lin Fei. They originally planned three years of instruction before their students attempted the first-rank examination. Lin Fei’s decision to try after only one year prompted Frank to bring Xue Mei as well, despite both teachers estimating their disciples’ chances of success at only ten to twenty percent 50.

Meeting Xiao Yan

At the guild entrance, Frank questioned Xiao Yan’s claim that several months of self-study had enabled him to refine a first-rank pill. With more than forty years of alchemical experience, Frank considered that claim implausible, but offered to recommend him if he could demonstrate his ability 50.

Xiao Yan’s Myriad Beast Spirit Flame changed Frank’s judgment. Entranced by his first sight of a Heavenly Flame, Frank nearly touched it before Xiao Yan withdrew it and warned him of the danger. Frank apologized and granted the recommendation, while emphasizing that Xiao Yan still had to pass through his own skill 51.

Frank personally presided over the examination. Although he initially regretted Xiao Yan drawing the exceptionally difficult Cyclone Qi Pill formula, he watched the young alchemist complete it after replacing a shattered examination cauldron with one condensed from Dou Qi. Frank briefly considered accepting Xiao Yan as a disciple, then rejected the idea because his own instruction might hold such exceptional talent back 52 53 54 55.

Acquiring the Child Flame

After the examination, Frank negotiated for a small wisp of Xiao Yan’s Heavenly Flame—not the flame seed bound to his body. His original purpose was to display it at the guild and let other alchemists see a Heavenly Flame firsthand. Otto joined the purchase to share both its expense and its credit 55 56.

After learning that sustained nourishment might eventually make the child flame absorbable, Frank decided to preserve it for a future fifth-rank alchemist from Black Rock City. The guild installed it in a central viewing area, but Frank and Otto then argued over whose name should appear first on its commemorative plaque. Xiao Yan proposed placing their names on opposite sides 57 65.

Frank also informed Xiao Yan that Gu He had left for the Tagor Desert to investigate Heavenly Flame clues. This caused Xiao Yan to change his destination from the Imperial Capital to the desert 65.

Supporting Xiao Yan at the Alchemist Conference

When Xiao Yan later reunited with Frank at the Alchemist headquarters, Frank was scolding Xue Mei for exchanging a complete fourth-grade formula for Peach Blossom Flame. He dropped the matter after Xiao Yan explained how the flame could accelerate her development 140.

Frank and Otto supervised Xiao Yan’s third-rank assessment, which he passed on his first attempt, and registered him for the conference. They also assigned him Black Rock City’s sole internal recommendation slot. A strong result would improve the branch’s funding after several disappointing conferences had put it at risk of cuts 140 141 143 149.

Frank estimated Xiao Yan’s chance of winning at eighty to ninety percent. During the conference, he advertised the guild’s child flame to other branch presidents and produced a Recording Jade as proof. Despite offers of pills and formulas, he refused to sell it 143 152 153.

Appearance

• Elderly man: Introduced with a gentle voice and described as an old man 49.
• Alchemist insignia: Wears four silver ripples marking his fourth-rank qualification 49.

Personality

Frank is generally patient and tactful. Rather than expelling Xiao Yan for an apparently impossible claim, he gives him an opportunity to provide evidence. He is also willing to revise his judgment and acknowledge when another person’s potential exceeds his ability to teach them 50 51 55.

His composure is less secure around Heavenly Flames and Otto. His fascination with Xiao Yan’s flame nearly leads him to touch it recklessly, while his rivalry with Otto produces frequent bickering over disciples, purchases, and public recognition 51 56 65.

Frank combines institutional pride with generosity. He enjoys making neighboring guild presidents envious, but chooses to reserve the child flame for a talented future successor rather than claim it for himself 57 152 153.

Abilities & Skills

Fourth-Rank Alchemy

• Has practiced alchemy for over forty years and can reliably produce fourth-grade pills 50 58.
• Knows how to refine the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill 55.
• Produces a pill bearing pill patterns, a sign of superior quality associated with purity exceeding ninety percent 58.
• Can refine ironwood spirit leaves up to nine times, reaching approximately ninety percent purity—a benchmark Xiao Yan surpasses in a single refinement 146.

Dou Qi and Flame Manifestation

• Possesses Three-Star Dou Ling cultivation 50.
• Is one of only two alchemists in Black Rock City capable of manifesting flame outside a cauldron at the time of Xiao Yan’s first examination 50.
• Uses a streak of Dou Qi to activate the concealed mechanism opening the guild treasury 56.
• Cannot safely touch Xiao Yan’s original Heavenly Flame; Xiao Yan warns that contact could burn him to ashes 51.

Examination Supervision

• Oversees the first-rank assessment, administering random formulas, a two-hour limit, and three sets of ingredients per candidate 52 53.
• Can jointly supervise a third-rank assessment with another fourth-rank alchemist. Frank and Otto are the only two people in Black Rock City who meet that requirement 52.
• Exercises this qualification alongside Otto to examine Xiao Yan at the headquarters 140 141.

Child-Flame Preservation

• Regularly feeds the guild’s Myriad Beast Spirit Flame child flame with fire-attribute magical beast cores 153.
• After roughly a year of nourishment, its blood-red color becomes more intense than when it was acquired 153.
• Preserves it as a guild resource; the supplied passages do not show him absorbing or wielding it 57 152 153.

Equipment / Items

• Fourth-rank alchemist robe and insignia — Displays four silver ripples denoting his qualification 49.
• Recording Jade — A pure white jade bead containing a recording of the guild’s child flame inside its formation; used to substantiate his claims to other branch presidents 153.
• Child-flame display cauldron — Frank supplied the cauldron holding the flame in the guild’s main hall. The display is enclosed by a Dou Qi barrier and surrounded by railings 65.
• Guild treasury access — Frank is the only guild member authorized to open the treasury 56.

Relationships

• Otto — Fellow disciple of the same master, lifelong rival, and collaborator in guild affairs. They share the child-flame acquisition and Xiao Yan’s assessments, but dispute credit even for joint achievements. Frank claims a contest record of 513 wins and 509 losses against him 50 56 57 65 140.
• Xue Mei — His disciple and the Xue Family’s only daughter. He trains her in alchemy and closely monitors her progress, though his fascination with Xiao Yan briefly leaves her feeling overlooked 50 51 140.
• Xiao Yan — A young alchemist whom Frank recommends, examines, trades with, and sponsors for the conference. Frank regards his talent as too great to be limited by becoming his disciple 51 55 140 141 143.
• Fa Ma — President of the Alchemist General Association. Frank greets him with a respectful bow at the conference 150.

Notable Quotes

“However, possessing a heavenly flame only proves that you have great potential. Whether you can pass will depend on your own abilities.” 51

“If our Black Rock City Alchemist Guild produces a fifth-rank alchemist one day, I'll give it to them.” 57