Xuan Zi

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Shrek’s Senior Guardian

Shrek Academy nurtured Xuan Zi for both his Godly Taotie Bull Martial Soul and his background, which was free of competing clan or sect ties. His master was Mu En’s senior brother, making Mu En his martial uncle 84 225.

By the time of the disastrous Death’s Hand mission, Xuan Zi’s standing within Shrek was second only to Mu En’s. He was the Shrek Inspection Corps’ sole deputy commander and had led the academy’s tournament representatives for nearly fifty years. He was also first in line to succeed Mu En as Sea God Pavilion Master 224.

Early Support for Chen Ping

Xuan Zi initially recognized Chen Ping’s unusual combination of character, ruthlessness, and martial soul evolution. He encouraged Wang Yan to study that evolution, including whether similar research could help Ma Xiaotao’s Evil Fire Phoenix 37.

Chen Ping’s cooking became the basis of their early arrangement: Xuan Zi paid for his meals at Shrek’s counter eight, while Chen Ping gave Xuan Zi’s orders priority whenever ingredients were available. Xuan Zi also challenged the boy’s confidence in securing a Core Disciple training slot 40.

After Ma Xiaotao’s Evil Fire endangered Chen Ping, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong, Xuan Zi carried the unconscious Xiaotao out of Sea God Lake and rebuked the elders responsible for watching her. He then pressed Yan Shaozhe to accept responsibility for compensating the students 72.

Xuan Zi strongly favored keeping Chen Ping in the Martial Soul Department, recognizing his potential to create his own martial school. Mu En overruled the departments’ competition for him, insisting that Shrek support his talents in both martial arts and Soul Tools. Mu En also told Xuan Zi to trust Chen Ping rather than pry into his secrets 100 127 128.

Selection Tournament and Mission Failure

Xuan Zi supervised the Core Disciples’ reserve-team selection through a collective melee, with the last seven remaining declared the winners. After Chen Ping’s performance, he explicitly told him that Shrek expected him to compete as a reserve member and lead the team five years later 182 190.

During the Death’s Hand Bandit Group mission, Xuan Zi remained outside while the students entered the mountain. He rushed to intervene after sensing the Zhongli brothers, but did not know the hidden entrance’s location and had to bore through the mountain from above. The Inner Court students survived, but suffered serious damage to their Seas of Consciousness; Chen Ping also narrowly escaped death 211 218 221 223.

The incident compounded an earlier disaster associated with Zhang Lexuan’s group. At the subsequent Pavilion meeting, Xuan Zi accepted responsibility, offered to resign all his posts and surrender his possessions, and attempted to remove his own soul bones. Mu En forcibly stopped him and instead ordered him to teach in the Outer Court 223 224 225 536.

Atonement and Renewed Responsibility

Xuan Zi struggled to find a way to apologize to Chen Ping. Cheng Gang’s intrusion provided an opportunity to protect him directly: Xuan Zi subdued the intruder and kicked him more than a thousand meters into the sky. He later stopped Lang Ya and Yu Tao from forcibly recruiting Chen Ping into the Body Sect and appeared openly during the tournament final to deter interference 283 301 302.

His Outer Court lessons earned praise for their depth, although students complained about his filthy clothes and unwashed feet. He subsequently helped exploit Shrek’s mineral deposits by using his bull horns to break through mountains. Even after mining machinery reduced the need for his direct labor, he continued supervising mining sites and improving their safety and productivity 348 365 474.

When Long Xiaoyao demanded the thousand refinement metal process, Xuan Zi accepted a wager requiring him to endure three attacks. The first caused severe internal injuries despite forcing out his Martial Soul Avatar. Although Chen Ping treated him with the Gold of Life and Qian Duoduo urged him to surrender the metal, Xuan Zi refused, believing the technology essential to resisting the Sun Moon Empire 479 480.

Acting Pavilion Master

By the meeting concerning Thousand Refinement Battle Armor, Xuan Zi had become acting Sea God Pavilion Master. His grooming improved, and he later displayed a more dependable approach to reviewing intelligence and directing academy affairs 528 752.

His responsibilities extended beyond combat. He guarded Chen Ping’s attempt to absorb a God-Given Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, participated in cooperation talks with the Body Sect, and recognized the industrial value of Chen Ping’s undead workforce for mining and metallurgy 556 717 783.

He also rescued Chen Ping’s group from Feng Ling and other evil soul masters, bringing Chen An through the escape Portal at Chen Ping’s request. His departing attack killed three evil soul masters and badly injured Nether Thunder Douluo and Sky Centipede Douluo 693.

Defense of Shrek City

During the Beast Tide, Xuan Zi took responsibility for confronting Di Tian while the other elders organized Shrek City’s defense. His newly developed Taotie Armor allowed him to injure Di Tian, but could not overcome the gap between them. When Di Tian shattered the armor and pursued him to deliver a killing blow, Xuan Zi activated the Sea God’s Mark and drew on the power of former Pavilion Masters 884 886 892.

The borrowed power restored his injuries and raised him temporarily to the pinnacle of rank 99. He subsequently sealed Di Tian, severely taxing his own bloodline. Xuan Zi later stated that he had held off Di Tian for a full day and night, but had been unable to borrow any further power from the Golden Ancient Tree afterward 892 904 940.

During Ye Xishui’s later assault, Xuan Zi fought with Ning Tian’s enhancement. Ye Xishui broke his left arm, wounded his abdomen, and attacked too rapidly for him to repair his armor. Merciful Begonia Douluo then completely healed his injuries with a single thousand-year Soul Skill. Xuan Zi survived and later helped report Shrek’s wartime developments to Mu En 948 949 950 962.

Appearance

• Build and features: Tall and burly, with weathered features, bronze skin, and disheveled hair and beard; his hair is later described as white 190 218 513 883.
• Earlier clothing: Filthy or tattered robes, worn straw sandals, and exposed, dirty ankles. His gourd and chicken drumstick are recurring accessories 348 474.
• As acting Pavilion Master: Wears plain cloth robes and keeps his formerly unruly hair in better order 528.
• Martial Soul Possession: Gains spiral bull horns with a jade-white sheen, earthen-yellow eyes, and mysterious dark-gold patterns across his chest 479 480 884.

Personality

Xuan Zi is indulgent, blunt, and frequently casual even when exercising considerable authority. Food and drink dominate his everyday habits, but he also recognizes determination in younger Soul Masters: Chen Ping’s hunger to improve helps persuade him to finance the boy’s meals 38 40 182.

His greatest flaw is negligence rather than a lack of strength. The mission disaster occurs even while he is drinking chicken soup instead of alcohol. Faced with the consequences, he displays profound shame and self-reproach, eventually attempting to surrender everything Shrek has given him 211 218 221 224.

His loyalty to Shrek is unwavering. Mu En considers that devotion genuine even while condemning his failures. Xuan Zi gradually redirects his remorse into teaching, mining, and leadership, and later risks his life rather than abandon technology or people vital to the academy’s future 225 474 480 752 892.

Abilities & Skills

Godly Taotie Bull

• Martial Soul Possession: Greatly enhances his physique; against Long Xiaoyao, he grows to ten meters tall before activating his Avatar and develops enormous bull hooves 480.
• Martial Soul Avatar: Takes the form of a creature with a goat’s body, eyes beneath its armpits, tiger teeth, human claws, and immense bull horns. His Avatar exceeds thirty meters in length during the confrontation with Long Xiaoyao 480.
• Destructive strength: Can tunnel through a mountain in roughly a minute and use his horns for large-scale mining 218 348.
• Aura and roar: His bellow momentarily halts the advancing Soul Beast army during the Beast Tide 884.

Close Combat and Soul Power Control

• Possesses Self-Created Soul Skills, placing him among the few Shrek Soul Masters able to develop their Martial Soul’s inherent characteristics to that extent 100.
• Forces Zhang Peng, himself a Super Douluo, to activate his Martial Soul Avatar using only soul-power-coated punches before employing Martial Soul Possession 477.
• Uses level 98 pressure to subdue Lang Ya and Yu Tao 301.
• Can lift, support, or pull others at a distance with soul power 72 341 693.
• Flies unaided at exceptional speed, although Flying Soul Tools offer greater speed and energy efficiency 40 223 476.

Energy Armorization — Taotie Armor

A technique originating with the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King and passed to Xuan Zi by Chen Ping 886.

• Compresses soul power into tangible armor that combines defense with concentrated close-combat strength 886.
• Incorporates a soul core into one eye of the Taotie image on its breastplate 886.
• Prevents Di Tian’s lingering Ultimate Darkness from entering his wounds, while enabling a punch that breaks more than a dozen scales and draws blood 886.
• At level 98, remains incomplete: his head is uncovered and the breastplate’s second eye is empty 886.
• Can be shattered by sufficiently powerful attacks; sustained pressure can deny him time to repair it 892 949.

Sea God’s Mark and Borrowed Pavilion Power

• Calls upon the accumulated power of former Pavilion Masters who willingly Returned to the Tree 892.
• Temporarily restores his injuries, raises him to the pinnacle of rank 99, and completes his armor with a helmet and an illusory second soul core 892.
• Functions only within Shrek City 892.
• Requires accepting the obligation to Return to the Tree after death 892 940.
• Cannot be repeatedly relied upon: following the Beast Tide, Xuan Zi reports being unable to draw any further power from the tree 940.

Flame-Driving Divine Bull

The skill of Xuan Zi’s fifty-thousand-year right arm soul bone and his only fire-attribute offensive soul skill 693.

• Creates an orange-red divine bull that charges in a straight line, launching or impaling enemies with its horns 693.
• Can be detonated, allowing Xuan Zi to strike enemies while completing a withdrawal 693.
• The soul bone also increases his bloodline’s purity, a major reason he chose to absorb it 693.

Teaching and Martial Soul Analysis

• Gives lessons considered more profound than those of some students’ clan or sect elders 348.
• Identifies Wu Feng’s ability to combine Dragon Transformation with her external palm bone and personally tests the resulting attack 341 346.
• Recognizes the tactical exploitation of a Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear’s limited speed and evaluates the students’ progress accordingly 339.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Gourd — Used for wine, but also holds Chen Ping’s chicken soup and, later, tea 182 211 508.
• Red Flying Soul Tool — Supplements his natural flight, increasing speed while conserving energy 476.
• Fifty-thousand-year right arm soul bone — Grants Flame-Driving Divine Bull and improves bloodline purity 693.
• Sea God’s Mark — Enables his temporary access to the Golden Ancient Tree’s stored Pavilion Master power 892.
• Golden chicken-drumstick weapon — Shapes the golden spear summoned during the Beast Tide into a giant drumstick; also uses a huge golden drumstick to block Ye Xishui’s attack later 892 948.

Relationships

• Mu En — Martial uncle and senior authority. Stops Xuan Zi’s attempted self-mutilation, imposes his teaching punishment, and pushes him to become capable of carrying Shrek’s future 224 225.
• Unnamed master — Mu En’s senior brother. Xuan Zi is especially distressed by the prospect of disgracing his late master’s teachings 225.
• Chen Ping — Cook, beneficiary, and later an important colleague. Their relationship is damaged by the mission disaster but continues through Xuan Zi’s protection, Chen Ping’s healing, and the transfer of Energy Armorization 40 221 283 480 886.
• Wang Yan — Secretary selected by Xuan Zi; works with him on student evaluation and martial soul research 37 84 100.
• Qian Duoduo — Fellow Shrek leader who fiercely condemns Xuan Zi for endangering Chen Ping, but later tries to stop his potentially fatal wager with Long Xiaoyao 223 480.
• Wu Feng — Younger Soul Master whom he assists after soul bone absorption and helps assess her new Dragon Claw 341 346.
• Du Busi — Initially confronts him over the treatment of Body Sect members; later participates alongside him in cooperation talks and Shrek’s defense 329 717 912.
• Di Tian — Principal opponent during the Beast Tide; forces Xuan Zi to exhaust both his armor’s defenses and the Golden Ancient Tree’s borrowed power 886 892 940.

Notable Quotes

“As the team leader, I cannot shirk responsibility.” 224

“As long as I have a breath left in me, I will protect Shrek City from these beasts.” 884

Trivia

• Mu En caught Xuan Zi eating Buddha Jumps Over the Wall near the student dormitories and subsequently claimed one pot from each delivery 40.
• Chen Ping is described as the first person ever to receive a share of Xuan Zi’s chicken legs 190.
• Xuan Zi wagered that he would stop drinking at the academy if Chen Ping correctly predicted a Soul Bone drop from the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. The bear yielded an external right palm bone 339.
• Xian Lin’er’s Level 3–5 Bull-Head Mining Machines combined Sun Moon Empire engineering blueprints with a design inspired by Xuan Zi’s Godly Taotie Bull form 365.