An Qing

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

An Qing is the emperor’s cherished daughter, with six older brothers. Her birth delighted the emperor, and her exceptional sword aptitude made her a celebrated talent throughout Great Xia. Despite the imperial family’s affection for her, she privately feels that genuine familial closeness is scarce within the palace 18 19 32.

Before their meeting at Huai City’s tournament, Xia Yu saved her life in the Ten Thousand Demons Forest. She later recognizes him as the plausible source of the Xia clan’s heavenly phenomenon and seeks him out as a sparring opponent 16 41.

Appearance

• Face: Flawless oval face, dark brows, phoenix eyes, a delicate nose, and pearly teeth 16.
• Hair and clothing: Long hair and a flowing white dress 16.
• Bearing: Cool, noble, and likened to an immortal when she descends onto the tournament platform 16.
• In combat: Surrounded by interweaving sword light, with her hair and skirts billowing as she stands within her domain 18 19.
• Reputation: Described as Great Xia’s greatest beauty 36.

Personality

An Qing is usually cold and aloof, but intensely competitive. She presses Xia Yu into sparring, tests him with an unsuppressed sword strike, and initially struggles with losing to someone two major realms below her. She nevertheless admits defeat; his determination then helps her recover her resolve and advance in sword cultivation 16 18 19.

Her curiosity about Xia Yu extends beyond his combat strength. After investigating his background and witnessing his alchemy, she asks about his secrets, then apologizes for overstepping when he declines to explain. Around him, her reserved manner gives way to teasing, laughter, and concern 19 33 34 36.

She values the warmth of Xia Yu and Xia Yao’s sibling bond. Their affection contrasts with her experience of palace life, and she later welcomes Xia Yao as an older sister rather than insisting on court etiquette. Her loyalty to Xia Yu does not prevent her from giving an impartial account of the academy conflict 18 36 46.

Abilities & Skills

Swordsmanship and Sword Qi

• Wields a longsword and can use her fingers as a sword to release sword Qi 18.
• Creates defensive curtains of sword light 19.
• Combines countless streaks of sword light into a colossal sword over a hundred feet long and more than ten feet wide 18.
• Her full-strength strike severely injures Xia Yu; she expects it could severely injure or kill an ordinary first-level King Realm cultivator 18.
• Acknowledges that she cannot match Xia Yu at equal cultivation 18.

Sword Domain

• Possesses a King Realm domain focused on offense, manifested as a luminous ring filled with moving sword light 18 19.
• Uses the domain to strengthen her combat abilities and support defensive sword-light formations 19.
• Her domain and sword curtains fail to stop Xia Yu’s all-out spear thrust before her breakthrough 19.

Sword Intent and Clear Sword Heart

• Had already comprehended elementary sword intent before fighting Xia Yu 19.
• Attains a clear sword heart by embracing fearless advancement without fixation on victory, defeat, life, or death 19.
• Advances to intermediate sword intent through the same epiphany; An Youguo later recognizes and praises this achievement 19 46.

Cultivation Control and Flight

• Suppresses her cultivation to the first level of the Spirit Origin Realm for an equal-realm spar 17.
• Can rise into the air, hover, and fight while airborne 17 18 19.

Constitutional Knowledge

• Recognizes that pills only suppress Xia Yao’s unusual condition rather than cure it 18.
• Identifies a resemblance to the water-fire coexistence body, also called the water-fire dao body, based on information from Shangguan Ming Yue 19.
• Does not know the exact cure herself; directs Xia Yu to Ming Yue instead 19.

Imperial Authority

• Uses her status to protect Xia Yu during sudden enlightenment, prompting Huai City’s lord to deploy guards against interference 17.
• Invokes the rules governing academy disputes to demand that elders stay out of conflicts between juniors 41.
• Her authority has limits: Zhang Xinyi refuses to abandon the academy’s claim for revenge and threatens to appeal to the emperor 41.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Longsword — Used to channel sword techniques and form defensive sword-light curtains; its name and grade are not given 19.
• Ordinary sword — Used after Xia Yu switches to an ordinary spear; both weapons shatter during their clash 18.
• Jade pendant — Given to Xia Yu as a personal credential to present to Shangguan Ming Yue at the Martial Saint Academy 19.
• Token — Displayed to Lu Tianxiang at the Huai City tournament, causing him to fall to his knees; its specific name is not stated 16.
• Medicinal pills — Keeps pills ready to treat Xia Yu’s injuries and offers them after her sword-light attacks hit him 18 19.

Relationships

• Xia Yu — Her rescuer, sparring rival, and close friend. She protects him publicly and accepts the affectionate address “Sister Qing,” calling him “Little Brother Yu.” Their interaction becomes flirtatious, and onlookers interpret her behavior as romantic interest 16 17 20 36 41.
• Xia Yao — Accepts her as an older sister and rejects formal bows between them. Both are eighteen, but Xia Yao’s August birth makes her older 36.
• Shangguan Ming Yue — Close friend whom she calls “Sister Ming Yue.” Credits Ming Yue’s advice about fighting to one’s limits and relies on her knowledge of unusual constitutions 19 32.
• Reigning emperor — Her doting father. Before her closeness with Xia Yu, he was the only person accustomed to seeing her coy, pouting manner 32 36.
• An Youguo — Imperial ancestral patriarch. Praises her intermediate sword intent, chooses her to recount the academy conflict, and takes her away afterward 46.
• Xu Weilin — An admirer who considers her his ideal partner. Her concern for Xia Yu intensifies his determination to kill him 32.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Huai City Tournament

• Rejects Xia Longfei’s claim to have summoned the heavenly phenomenon and challenges Xia Yu instead 16.
• Protects Xia Yu’s sudden enlightenment by declaring him under her protection and threatening anyone who interferes 17.
• Leads him outside Huai City for their duel 17.

Duel and Search for Xia Yao’s Cure

• After Xia Yu surrenders to her overwhelming sword strike, makes information about saving his sister conditional on defeating her 18.
• Loses to his next all-out attack in a single move, then achieves her sword-cultivation breakthrough 19.
• Directs him to Shangguan Ming Yue in Capital City and supplies her jade pendant to secure an introduction 19.

Capital City and the Pill Academy

• Rushes to find Xia Yu after Duanmu Wenshan reports his clash with the Martial Saint Academy; follows him to the Dao-Seeking Academy 31 32.
• Watches him refine pills and agrees to help his sister after he promises to repay her 33 34.
• Secures a promise that the imperial family will receive thirty percent more pills at ten percent less cost, then meets Xia Yao as family 36.

Conflict Between the Academies

• Intervenes to prevent an academy-wide battle, citing both Xia Yu’s rescue of her and the rules against elder interference 41.
• Cries out when Martial Saint Academy elders attack Xia Yu 45 46.
• Gives An Youguo a complete account without favoring either academy or distorting events. He reasserts the rules and leaves with her 46.

Notable Quotes

“At the same cultivation level, I'm no match for you. But I want to know where your limits lie.” 18

“We're both Xia Yu's older sisters, so that makes us family. Why would family need to bow to each other?” 36