Heavenly Horned Ant

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

The Heavenly Horned Ant Clan regards the Nine Heavens as its homeland. Accounts of its earlier history place its ancestral lands in the Immortal Domain, where a catastrophe nearly destroyed the clan. Other rumors attribute its departure to an invasion, sinister contamination, or expulsion by people who feared that contamination. These explanations are presented as rumors rather than settled history 20.

Yan’s family suffered heavily during the war against the Foreign Realm. He Wushuang killed younger members of the family, while their mother died in an ambush. Their father withdrew with grievous injuries, and their unborn younger brother’s damaged origin prevented his birth, leaving him dependent on continued nurturing 4 5 16 18.

Appearance

• Humanlike form: Yan appears as a handsome young man, distinguished from humans by the single horn atop his head 4 8.
• Battle clothing: After recovering from the He Wushuang battle, he and Yu wear crimson-black battle garments 7.
• Berserk state: His eyes become crimson and emit blood-red light. At full power, divine energy and indestructible patterns spread from his body into the surrounding void 21 43.

Personality

Yan is fiercely proud of his lineage and refuses to surrender its honor. Against He Wushuang, the siblings reject both retreat and enslavement even when defeat appears unavoidable. Nevertheless, Yan explicitly rejects relying on ancestral fame as a substitute for proving himself in battle 4 20.

His confidence does not prevent him from acknowledging a worthy opponent. After Qi Yuan forces him out of the arena, Yan openly accepts the loss and proposes another battle after reaching the King realm. He welcomes difficult fights as opportunities for transformation rather than treating defeat as the end of his path 22.

Yan is deeply loyal to Lin Yue and the Nine Heavens. He pledges to follow Lin Yue, publicly calls him invincible, and later helps sustain the realm’s resistance for ten thousand years during Lin Yue’s absence 9 22 43.

Abilities & Skills

Ultimate Divine Strength

Yan inherits the Heavenly Horned Ant lineage’s exceptional physical power. For this race, the body itself serves as its strongest weapon and precious art 3 4.

• Shatters Ku’s Absolute Defense and kills him with a punch 3.
• Catches and crushes a Foreign Realm opponent’s halberd barehanded, then kills two enemies with one punch while rescuing Yang Zhong 9.
• The lineage’s fully developed strength can exceed that of ordinary kings, but this does not by itself confer a King-realm cultivation base 31.

Berserk Transformation

The clan’s highest bloodline secret art raises its already immense strength beyond its usual limits 4 21.

• Produces crimson eyes, intensified divine power, and spatial distortion 4 21.
• Allows Yan to unleash his full strength against Qi Yuan 21.
• Helps his divine strength resist an Immortal King’s domain during the later war 43.
• Does not guarantee victory: He Wushuang defeats both siblings despite their use of the art 4 5.

Indestructible Scripture

Yan cultivates the clan’s supreme body-refinement scripture. By the later war, he possesses half of the scripture and has developed insights of his own 5 43.

• Reinforces his body and fists with undying, indestructible divine patterns 5 21.
• Combines with ultimate strength to strengthen both offense and defense 10 43.
• Supports his Dao-Destroying Divine Fist, which he drives directly against an enemy’s Heaven-Slaying Halberd 43.
• Is not absolute protection: He Wushuang’s attacks leave Yan’s body close to shattering 5.

Strength Domain

The divine strength radiating from Yan’s body forms a force field that distorts space and interferes with hostile techniques 10 18.

• Prevents divine abilities weaker than the domain’s strength from reaching him 10.
• Naturally manifests as an Extreme Dao domain after his transformation in the ancestral grounds 18.
• At full power, affects surrounding laws and draws down lightning 21.
• Can be overcome by sufficiently powerful attacks; it is not unconditional immunity to all arts 10.

Battle-Driven Transformation and Endurance

Heavenly Horned Ants grow through life-and-death combat, emerging stronger after injuries. Yan repeatedly benefits from this trait 4 7 43.

• Recovers from his battle with He Wushuang with a transformed body and higher cultivation 7.
• Suffers comparatively little visible damage after fighting Qi Yuan, despite losing under the arena rules 22.
• Repeatedly transforms throughout ten thousand years of resistance 43.

Primordial Spirit Vulnerability

The lineage’s primordial spirits are comparatively weaker than its extraordinary bodies, creating an obstacle to a perfected Immortal King Dao fruit 8 22.

• The clan uses Soul-Guiding Lotuses to nourish and temper primordial spirits 8.
• The protection afforded by their bodies depends on avoiding immediate destruction of the primordial spirit 22.
• Yan’s ambition to enter the King realm remains an aspiration, not a confirmed achievement in the supplied chapters 22 43.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Battle armor and garments — Yan’s armor is destroyed during the He Wushuang battle. He later wears crimson-black battle garments and returns from another victory in shattered armor 5 7 15.
• Ancestral horn key — Carries a horn from an earlier Heavenly Horned Ant ancestor, refined into a key that opens the formation protecting his father’s residence 17.
• Soul-Guiding Lotus — Yan and Yu provide one to help treat Lin Zhong’s injuries; their clan also uses the lotus to strengthen primordial spirits 8.

Relationships

• Yu — Elder sister and closest battle partner. She shields him from He Wushuang’s devastating punch; together they later lead the Nine Heavens’ resistance 5 9 43.
• Lin Yue — Rescuer, companion, and trusted leader. Yan follows him into battle, trains with him, and regards his strength as a source of faith. Lin Yue saves him again upon returning as a king 5 9 18 22 44.
• Old Heavenly Horned Ant — Father and mentor. He guides Yan’s further transformation and considers Yan and Yu his children most likely to surpass him 17 18 20.
• Little Heaven-Horned Ant — Unborn younger brother. Yan and Yu help nurture him before departing again for the battlefield 18.
• He Wushuang — Enemy responsible for killing younger family members. Defeats Yan and Yu together and nearly kills them before Lin Yue intervenes 4 5.
• Qi Yuan — Respected rival. Wins their arena match by forcing Yan outside the formation; Yan acknowledges his strength and seeks a future rematch 21 22.
• Yang Zhong — Battlefield ally whom Yan rescues. Yang Zhong subsequently follows him and helps gather spoils 9.
• Bai Ni — Protector who intercepts a Foreign Realm Immortal’s sword strike aimed at the siblings 10.

Story Role / Major Arcs

First Battles and Rescue

• Yan kills Ku, and he and Yu eliminate the other prodigies surrounding them 3 4.
• He Wushuang then overwhelms the siblings despite their berserk art and Indestructible Scripture. Lin Yue blocks the finishing blow and takes over the fight 4 5.
• After further Immortal King attacks, the trio escapes through the Wheel of Yin and Yang and recuperates beside a lake 7.

Reinforcing the Nine Heavens

• The siblings’ arrival at Border City prompts the guards to ring the Divine Bell, honoring a lineage many had believed exterminated 8.
• Yan rescues Yang Zhong in Qingwei Heaven, then joins Yu and Lin Yue in spearheading a counterattack 9.
• Their victories draw escalating enemy attacks, including intervention by an Immortal, but they survive and later defeat several Emperor Clan experts 10 11 15.

Return to the Ancestral Grounds

• Yan and Yu bring Lin Yue to Boundless Heaven to search for their injured father 16 17.
• While Lin Yue undergoes cauldron tempering, the siblings receive their father’s guidance and complete further transformations 18.
• Yan and Yu lose to Lin Yue in sparring despite their awakened Extreme Dao power, then return with him to the damaged Border Pass 18.

Immortal Domain Arena Battles

• Yan challenges Ao Zun’s disparagement of the Nine Heavens, while Yu defeats Ao Zun and several other visitors 20 21.
• Yan fights Qi Yuan evenly before being driven outside the formation. He accepts the rules-based defeat without renouncing his ambition to reach kingship 21 22.

Ten-Thousand-Year Resistance

• Following Lin Yue’s disappearance, Yan and Yu take up the battle standard and lead resistance for ten thousand years 43.
• Foreign Realm kings target the siblings to extinguish the clan’s surviving frontline representatives. Gu Xiu and two other kings gravely wound them 43.
• Lin Yue returns as a king, heals the siblings, and shelters them with the exhausted Nine Heavens defenders inside his divine universes 44.

Notable Quotes

“My sister and I do not use our ancestors’ fame as a crutch for arrogance. If you disagree, face us in the arena, and I will grant you defeat!” 20

“I lost! So there are still worthy opponents out there. You’re strong! Let’s fight again once I enter the King realm!” 22