Pei Ye

Biodata

Power Progression

Pei Ye’s Dragon Tongue arena stages are distinct from ordinary Meridian Tree growth. Several comparisons below describe his borrowed physical power, not cultivation he achieved independently 23 25 35.

Background / History

Pei Ye was a gifted apprentice at Fenghuai’s martial school. Lin Lin taught him his first fighting techniques, and Pei Ye won the Mid-Autumn Martial Meet at fourteen, receiving a well-made longsword as his prize. His performances were memorable enough that Cheng Feng later recalled opponents failing to last ten moves against him 3 5 6.

His prospects changed when his dantian seed ruptured. Uncontrolled true qi damaged his internal organs, leaving recurrent attacks of intense pain. Treatment exhausted his parents’ inheritance and forced him to sell the family house. As he struggled to earn a living, he became increasingly isolated from his former martial-school companions. Lin Lin spent two months nourishing his injured meridians with true qi, while Lin Jue continued visiting and supporting him 2 3.

For two years, Pei Ye lived in a shabby courtyard with the disabled Grandpa Yue. He prepared food and medicine, wheeled the old man indoors, and practiced Yue’s sword art. Although his technique steadily improved, he initially mastered only its outward movements rather than any complete form 1 2 11.

Appearance

Pei Ye is unusually tall, with a straight posture, clear, handsome features, and a lingering youthful look. When introduced to the visiting officials, his composed bearing is described as neither servile nor arrogant 16.

• During his illness: Becomes thin and haggard from pain, treatment, and the struggle to support himself 2.
• Everyday clothing: Initially wears straw sandals; changes into boots and a practical outfit before going to defend the County Office 1 5.
• Torchworld Cult mark: A fiery symbol is branded into the flesh of his forehead. It disappears after the confrontation with Wu Zaigu 5 14.
• Dragon Tongue infection: Deep-blue energy appears in the blood vessels of his right forearm and spreads toward his upper arm. When activated throughout his body, it produces crawling blue markings 14 17 23.
• Under the Immortal Lord’s control: His body displays golden pupils, claw-like transformations, and rapidly closing wounds 38.

Personality

Pei Ye is cautious about favors and strongly conscious of debt. Black Chi’s extraordinary assistance initially makes him suspicious precisely because he cannot imagine how he could repay it. Rather than accepting miraculous benefits without question, he asks whether he is being used. Once their arrangement is explained, he explicitly promises to repay the help that saved his life and enabled his revenge 13 14.

His confidence survives the loss of his cultivation prospects. Martial arts are something he loves, not the sole foundation of his life; fishing, roaming the mountains, and gathering locust blossoms also bring him pleasure. Even while injured, he imagines eventually facing his idol Yan Feiqing with a sword rather than watching from the audience 16.

He is quick-thinking and composed, but his pride can affect his decisions. In the arena, he insists on defeating the old fighter through ordinary hand-to-hand skill rather than using Quail Head. Conversely, when survival demands it, he borrows the ability without hesitation. He recognizes the danger of power he does not own and prefers strength cultivated steadily through his own effort 25 27 35.

His compassion is practical: he treats the wounded black cat, cares for Grandpa Yue, and hesitates to abandon Jing Ziwang to Qiongqi. At the same time, the Dragon Tongue’s consumption of human bodies disgusts him, even when he tells himself that the creature—not he—is doing the eating 1 20 33.

Abilities & Skills

Snowy Night Flying Goose Sword Form

Grandpa Yue’s sword art requires the wielder’s emotional state to harmonize with the sword. Its five intents are the fear of lost feathers, deep winter’s bitter cold, separation from the flock, a snowy night’s stillness, and the desperate struggle to take flight 12 15.

• Clouded Sky Obscures Eyes, Lost Feathers: The first mastered form. Its state of mind strips away confidence in talent, planning, and strength, asking whether the wielder can still swing a sword when reduced to their weakest self 12.
• Snowy Night, Fallen Life, Soul-Shattering Terror: The second form, used against a composed pursuer. It tests the ability to strike after even steadfast courage has given way to panic and confusion; its use causes terror to appear on the opponent’s face 33.
• Heart-directed sword intent: Ming Qitian identifies the art as a sword of the highest order whose intent reaches into the enemy’s heart rather than remaining within the wielder 15.
• Physical limitations: Exceptional technique does not erase a large gap in strength or sensory information. Wu Zaigu initially defeats Pei Ye’s swordsmanship by plunging the cellar into darkness and disarming him 11.

Quail Head

Quail Head makes Pei Ye’s mind exceptionally clear and presents surrounding movement in minute detail, with flames, rain, and sound seeming to slow. Black Chi lends the ability but states that it is not originally its own 9 14.

• Resists Immortal Lord Spirit Summoning and allows Pei Ye to sever the ritual’s connection to him 9.
• Breaks unfamiliar attacks into readable movements, giving him a decisive advantage against an evenly matched arena opponent 25.
• Can be activated directly by Black Chi to save him from an unexpected concealed weapon 27.
• Initially expires after twenty-four hours; after the pact, it remains borrowed, and Black Chi can refuse access. Pei Ye still notes that its useful duration is too short 13 21 25.

Hand-to-Hand Combat

Pei Ye combines Lin Lin’s foundational instruction with strong physical gifts, fast reactions, and an unusual instinct for an opponent’s fighting style 3 23 28.

• Uses an adaptable approach that supplements defense with attack while preserving room to respond to sudden changes 23.
• Employs wrist control, joint manipulation, knees, punches, and environmental positioning when fighting without a sword 2.
• Uses Inverted Golden Hook, redirecting a disrupted aerial attack into a kick to the top of an opponent’s skull 24.
• Learns during combat: as the old arena fighter’s unfamiliar routines become clearer, Pei Ye closes defensive gaps and turns the match in his favor 27.
• Reads opponents through vivid combat impressions, such as an old wolf or an unfathomable cliff, and uses these impressions to shape his tactics 27 28.

Dragon Tongue and Dragon Blood

The resident Dragon Tongue supplies spectral-blue liquid that strengthens Pei Ye’s body and feeds on other hosts. At first, it functions differently from ordinary true qi 23 24.

• Localized enhancement: He can direct the liquid into particular limbs to increase their strength, including concentrating it in his legs for an explosive attack 18 23 24.
• Recovery: The liquid restores him between arena matches, while dragon blood later supports recovery during the pursuit 25 32.
• Devouring: Abdominal tentacles consume opponents, increasing the cocoon’s level and Pei Ye’s available power 24 25 27.
• Early limitation: He cannot use it for true qi’s many external applications, such as projecting energy or channeling it into implements 23.
• Loss of control: The cocoon encourages aggression, and the seed later interferes with his movements. Its emerging consciousness ultimately takes control of his body 23 30 37.

Frost and Flame

The incubating seed and dragon blood grant Pei Ye powers beyond ordinary physical enhancement 29 33 35.

• Produces dark-blue flame after escaping the cult’s ritual site 29.
• Freezes and shatters an attacker during the seed’s first growth 33.
• Receives instruction in Chi Flame from Black Chi 34.
• Forms frost blossoms from thin air and draws on external mystic energy through the shoot in his abdomen 35.
• Recognizes that these powers come from the entity within him and threaten to overwhelm his own fragile consciousness 35 37.

Tracking and Investigation

• Follows Lin Jue’s abductor across flooded fields and a river, distinguishing the pursuer’s desperation from the abductor’s comparatively effortless stride 3.
• Examines Lin Lin’s wounds, footprints, discarded cups, and bloodstained garments to reconstruct the attack and abductions 3.
• Connects Qiongqi’s seed, the cult’s cocoon, and the Dantian Seed Immortal Method while imprisoned 25.
• Joins the coordinated search for the object sought by the Immortal Lord’s possessed hosts 43.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Mid-Autumn prize longsword — Won at fourteen. Has a hundred-forged blade, a red-cord hilt, and a cowhide-wrapped rosewood scabbard. Pei Ye originally avoids using it for routine practice 5.
• Lin Jue’s sword tassel — Blue-green silk with a small engraved jade cylinder. He removes and safely stores it before facing the cult, since it could obstruct combat 5.
• Sword Talisman — A small white-jade sword given by Ming Qitian. Channeling true qi into it allows contact with her 15 31.
• Little Flood Dragon Heart — Retrieved from Shen Yanping’s body after reading the accompanying letters. The Dragon Tongue consumes it before entering Pei Ye’s abdomen 9 12.
• Concealed iron shard — Taken from the old arena fighter after his attempted surprise attack. Pei Ye hides it in his mouth rather than reporting the forbidden weapon 27.
• Zhu Gaoyang’s iron talisman — Presented under the identity “Zhang Siche” as escape protection, but releases immense Sword Qi with Pei Ye at its center as part of Zhu’s diversion 27 29.
• Zhu Gaoyang’s sword, scabbard, and jade pendant — Zhu lends him the superior sword to fight their pursuers, then gives him the scabbard and pendant before staying behind to intercept the Purple-Robed Men 32 34.

Relationships

• Yue Muzhou / Grandpa Yue — Sword teacher and disabled elder in Pei Ye’s care. Teaches the Snowy Night Flying Goose Sword Form and helps him understand its emotional foundations 1 5 15 49.
• Lin Lin — First fighting instructor and cherished benefactor. Sustains Pei Ye’s injured meridians for two months and originally plans a future for him under Shen Yanping at Little Cloud Mountain 3 6.
• Lin Jue — Close friend and steadfast supporter after his injury. Exchanges gifts with him, makes his sword tassel, and continues visiting when others withdraw. Her death leaves grief that revenge does not remove 3 5 16.
• Black Chi — Rescuer and Shared Fate Pact partner. Lends Quail Head, travels to save him despite initially fleeing too far away, and sacrifices itself against the consciousness possessing him 14 21 27 37.
• Ming Qitian — Swordswoman who recognizes the quality of his sword art and gives him a means to contact her. Later fights the Immortal Lord within his Mindscape Realm; witnessing her swordsmanship becomes an enduring influence on his life 15 31 38 39.
• Zhu Gaoyang / “Zhang Siche” — Ally first encountered under a false identity in the cult’s cavern. Lends him energy, uses him in an escape diversion, and is then carried to safety by Pei Ye. Ultimately stays behind to delay their pursuers 22 29 30 34.
• Shang Lang — Teaches him how to direct spectral-blue energy by first letting him feel the movement of true qi 17 18.
• Xing Zhi — Examines his infected arm, proposes treating its energy like true qi, and later works with him in the search across Fenghuai 17 43.
• Chang Zhiyuan — Fenghuai magistrate who recognizes Pei Ye’s courage and judgment. Authorizes his role in White Bamboo Village and encourages him to improve his reading 15 18.
• Shen Yanping and Feng Zhi — Officials who offer protection and a possible future discipleship before both die in the County Office attack 6 7 9.
• Cheng Feng — Younger admirer who remembers Pei Ye’s tournament victories and helps him when his injury flares during their escape. His death forces Pei Ye to confront anger directed at himself 6 8 9.
• Meng Jiao — Childhood friend whose disappearance near White Bamboo Village leads into the encounter with Qiongqi 18 20.
• Supreme One True Dragon Immortal Lord — Enemy whose seed develops inside Pei Ye and whose consciousness takes over his body 29 37 38.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Torchworld Cult Sacrificial Rite

• Treats a wounded black cat shortly before a supernatural summons draws him out of his home. A black chi dragon intervenes in his dream, and Pei Ye survives an attack by two white-robed abductors 1 2.
• Seeks Lin Lin’s help, discovers his death and Lin Jue’s abduction, and learns that his own forehead mark belongs to the Torchworld Cult 3 5.
• Takes refuge at the County Office, but a black-robed killer destroys its defenses. After returning with Cheng Feng’s body, he recovers the Little Flood Dragon Heart and awakens Quail Head 7 9.
• Confronts Wu Zaigu in the ritual cellar. At the brink of defeat, he masters the first sword form, kills Wu Zaigu, and absorbs the transformed Old Xiangzi through the Dragon Tongue 11 12.
• Brings Wu Zaigu’s severed head to the coffins of his parents, then later attends Lin Lin and Lin Jue’s funeral 12 15.

White Bamboo Village and the Flame Arena

• Joins the expedition investigating a tiger that has killed more than twenty villagers. Meng Jiao’s transformed body becomes Qiongqi, which defeats Jing Ziwang and carries Pei Ye into the mountains 18 20 21.
• Is confined as captive 24 in a cavern where Dragon Tongue hosts must kill one another to advance. Forms an alliance with “Zhang Siche” and survives successive arena matches 22 24 25 27 28.
• Discovers that Zhang Siche is Zhu Gaoyang in disguise. During Zhu’s diversion, Qiongqi transfers its seed into Pei Ye, forcing Zhu to rescue him instead of seizing the beast 29.

Pursuit and Possession

• Carries the wounded Zhu Gaoyang toward Fenghuai while the seed begins interfering with his body. Ming Qitian’s Sword Talisman becomes their means of seeking help 30 31 32.
• Fights successive cult pursuers, develops the second sword form, and awakens freezing powers as the Meridian Tree begins growing 33.
• Escapes after Zhu stays behind, then is rescued by Black Chi. A prepared ambush wounds Black Chi, and the consciousness inside Pei Ye emerges as the Immortal Lord 34 36 37.
• Remains trapped within his own mind while Black Chi dies opposing the invader. Ming Qitian’s sword attacks cut away the shadow over his Mindscape Realm until the Immortal Lord transfers his will and stolen power into Qiongqi 37 38.

Search in Fenghuai

• Returns to activity at the County Office and joins the search for an object sought by the Immortal Lord’s hosts 41 43.
• Visits Master Huang with the black cat on official business, obtains a copied manuscript, and questions whether stopping the Immortal Lord could justify sacrificing Bowang Prefecture 44 45.

Notable Quotes

“It’s exactly because I’m penniless now that I have to reckon everything clearly.” 13

“You saved my life last night, and avenging my blood debt today also depended on Quail Head’s power. Whatever happens, I will repay that kindness.” 14

“Supreme One True Dragon Immortal Lord... let’s see just who is whose food.” 1