Xiao Yan

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Former Prodigy and Cultivation Decline

Xiao Yan's grandfather and Nalan Jie arranged his engagement to Nalan Yanran before she was born. After the Xiao Clan lost its Dou Wang patriarch and relocated from the imperial capital to Wutan City, the Nalan Family maintained the match because Xiao Yan's talent suggested he could eventually become a Dou Huang 3 4.

His cultivation began regressing three years before the engagement dispute. Xiao Zhan spent substantial clan resources trying to cure what appeared to be a strange illness, provoking resentment among the clan's elders and other members. By the Nalan party's visit, Xiao Yan was openly mocked, and the Second Elder deliberately omitted his seat from the reception hall 2 3.

Engagement Dispute and Three-Year Agreement

When Nalan Yanran arrived to dissolve their engagement, Xiao Yan defended his father against Nalan Sheng's insults. He rejected Qi Gathering Powder as compensation and challenged the elders' attempts to decide the matter for him. He also argued that Nalan Jie, as a surviving elder who had arranged the marriage, had to approve its dissolution 3 4.

The confrontation escalated when Nalan Yanran offered additional pills and admission to the Misty Cloud Sect. Xiao Yan declared that he wanted to kill her, but restrained himself after Nalan Sheng threatened consequences for the entire Xiao Clan. He ultimately accepted a public challenge at the Misty Cloud Sect in three years: if he lost, he would agree to dissolve the engagement publicly 4 5.

Rather than abandon cultivation, Xiao Yan regained his confidence. With Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, he resumed advancing and vowed to repay the humiliation inflicted by both Nalan siblings 6 19.

Auction and Damaged Trust

Xiao Yan posed as an elderly, black-robed alchemist to auction Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid through the Mittel Auction House. Nalan Sheng bought the bottle for fifty thousand gold coins, outbidding Xiao Zhan; Xiao Yan privately welcomed the outcome because his father had avoided paying for it 21 22.

Nalan Sheng subsequently identified him by his ring and accused him of concealing his cultivation and alchemical abilities. Xiao Yan tacitly accepted an accusation of auction collusion to protect his father, then began questioning whether Yao Lao had deliberately caused his regression as a test 23 24.

Nalan Sheng spread the claim that Xiao Yan was secretly a Second-Rank Alchemist. Yao Lao reinforced that reputation by giving Xiao Yan credit for pills he refined himself, hoping to repair their damaged relationship. The resulting sales strengthened Xiao Zhan's position and allowed Xiao Yan to gather cultivation resources openly 24 25.

Rise of the Xiao Clan

Xiao Yan's growing reputation alarmed the Jia Lie and Ao Ba Families. Their leaders hired a Da Dou Shi assassin to kill him, but the assassin failed and died. The mysterious alchemist behind Xiao Yan retaliated by killing both families' leadership, after which the Xiao Clan absorbed their businesses and became Wutan City's foremost clan 25 76.

The clan continued supplying Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid through the Mittel Auction House. Ya Fei later arranged an order for ten bottles on Nalan Sheng's behalf 76 77.

Loss of Yao Lao

At ninth-stage Dou Qi, Xiao Yan was approaching the point at which Yao Lao intended to teach him the Flame Mantra. Yao Lao regarded that method—and its ability to evolve through Heavenly Flames—as his best chance of overcoming Nalan Yanran before the Three-Year Agreement expired 108.

Nalan Sheng infiltrated the Xiao Clan, stole its Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade Fragment, and attacked Xiao Yan while posing as a Soul Hall Protector. Yao Lao attempted to escape through Possession, but Nalan Sheng extracted and captured his soul, seized the Bone Flame Ring, and left Xiao Yan unconscious and barely breathing 108 109.

Ling Ying carried Xiao Yan away, and he later awoke under Xiao Xun'er's care. Believing the attacker belonged to the Soul Hall, he learned of its Dou Sheng experts and backing from the Soul Clan. Although initially despairing, he resolved to reach Dou Sheng and rescue Yao Lao 109 110.

Appearance

• Hair: Short 2.
• Face: Refined, delicate features 2 23.
• Clothing: Wears black during the Xiao Clan reception; uses a concealing black robe and black conical hat for his alchemist disguise 2 21 23.

Personality

Xiao Yan is fiercely protective of his father. His resistance to the engagement breakup centers on the public humiliation it would inflict on Xiao Zhan, rather than an insistence that Nalan Yanran marry him. He refuses to exchange his father's dignity for compensation, even when the clan elders favor accepting it 3 4 5.

Years of ridicule leave him resentful and capable of explosive anger, but he can restrain himself when retaliation would endanger his clan. Ge Ye specifically notices how quickly he regains control after Nalan Sheng's threat 4 5.

His determination survives both cultivation setbacks and Yao Lao's capture. Nevertheless, Nalan Sheng's manipulation makes him more guarded toward his teacher: he fears that an undisclosed test could have ruined his life had he failed to endure it 24 110.

Abilities & Skills

Cultivation

• Uses Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid while soaking in a bathtub to accelerate his early-stage cultivation 19 108.
• Advances from fourth-stage to ninth-stage Dou Qi during the documented training period 19 108.
• Has not yet returned to Dou Zhe when Yao Lao is captured 108 109.

Soul Perception

• Detects an unusual sensation from the black iron fragment containing Suction Palm 7.
• Yao Lao associates this sensitivity with exceptional soul perception, though he judges Nalan Sheng's perception slightly stronger at that time 7 8.

Alchemical Apprenticeship

• Receives guidance from Yao Lao and handles the sale of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid 7 21.
• His reputation as a Second-Rank Alchemist does not establish independent mastery: the first- and second-rank pills sold under his name were refined by Yao Lao 24.
• Yao Lao intended to teach him the Flame Mantra after he reached One-Star Dou Zhe; that instruction had not occurred before the capture 108.

Possession — Yao Lao's Assistance

• Yao Lao can possess Xiao Yan through a Heaven-Tier Dou Technique and temporarily unleash Dou Wang-level power through his body 25.
• Yao Lao uses Possession during their attempted escape from Nalan Sheng 108.
• This borrowed power depends on Yao Lao and is separate from Xiao Yan's own cultivation 25 108.

Disguise

• Impersonates an elderly alchemist using concealing clothes and a deliberately hoarse voice 21 23.
• The disguise fails when Nalan Sheng recognizes the ring on his hand 23.

Equipment / Items

• Bone Flame Ring — Yao Lao's residence; forcibly removed by Nalan Sheng during the attack 108 109.
• Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid — Cultivation aid used throughout his recovery 19 108.
• Purple Gold Card — Receives the auction proceeds of 47,500 gold coins after the five-percent fee 24.
• Black Demon Cauldron — Seized with the Bone Flame Ring; its use by Xiao Yan is not shown in the supplied passages 109.
• Flame Splitting Wave Ruler — Listed among the opportunities intercepted when Nalan Sheng takes the ring; Xiao Yan is not shown mastering it 109.

Relationships

• Xiao Zhan — Father and principal supporter within the clan. Spends clan resources seeking a cure and prioritizes Xiao Yan's interests at the auction; Xiao Yan repeatedly defends his dignity 2 3 22.
• Xiao Xun'er — Childhood sweetheart and steadfast ally. Supports him during the engagement dispute, cares for him after the attack, and vows to help him reach Dou Sheng so her clan will accept their marriage 2 4 5 110.
• Yao Lao — Teacher and source of alchemical and combat assistance. Their trust is damaged by Nalan Sheng's manipulation, but Xiao Yan remains determined to rescue him after his capture 7 24 25 110.
• Nalan Yanran — Arranged fiancée and opponent in the Three-Year Agreement. Her public attempt to end their engagement becomes a major motivation for his training 4 5 19.
• Nalan Sheng — Adversary who humiliates him, intercepts opportunities, undermines his trust in Yao Lao, and eventually captures his teacher while concealing his responsibility behind a Soul Hall disguise 3 7 24 109.
• Ya Fei — Auction-house intermediary who handles his spirit-liquid sale and later coordinates business with the Xiao Clan 21 24 77.
• Ling Ying — Rescues him after Nalan Sheng's near-fatal attack 109.
• Three Great Elders — Hostile clan authorities who humiliate him and favor accepting the Nalan Family's compensation 2 4.

Story Role

• Displaced destined protagonist: Nalan Sheng remembers that Xiao Yan was destined to become a Dou Di in the original storyline. This is an expected future, not a realm Xiao Yan reaches in the supplied chapters 1.
• Source of Villain Points: Humiliating Xiao Yan, damaging his relationships, and taking his destined opportunities reward Nalan Sheng's system 3 5 7 24 109.
• Mistaken rescue target: After the capture, Xiao Yan aims to rescue Yao Lao from the Soul Hall, unaware that Nalan Sheng engineered the attack 109 110.

Notable Quotes

“Nalan Sheng, I won't let you insult my father!” 3

“Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. Do not bully the young for being poor!” 5

“Nalan Yanran, Nalan Sheng, just you two siblings wait. In three years, I'll repay every last bit of the humiliation you inflicted on me.” 19