Lianshan Xin

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Lianshan Xin has lived two lives. His memories of his previous life include a modern society governed by law, university admissions, online novels, and games. In Great Yu, he initially dreams of becoming a wandering swordsman, but prolonged martial training produces little progress and nearly exhausts his family’s savings 1 2 3 11 15.

His father, Lianshan Jingcheng, operates Spring Revival Hall; his mother, He Miaojun, comes from a wealthy family that fell on hard times. Her chronic illness and the family’s vulnerability to powerful neighbors help drive Xin toward official service. He sees authority as an alternative source of security when personal martial strength remains out of reach 1 3 14 15.

His father was originally an orphaned village shepherd saved and taught by an unnamed Wandering Healer. After examining his family’s circumstances, Xin resolves to find and repay that benefactor and address the vengeance owed on his mother’s side 37 38.

Personality

Xin is ambitious, pragmatic, and openly interested in rank, wealth, and cultivation resources. He treats patronage as an exchange of value rather than charity: he supplies useful ideas, identifies what a superior needs, and distributes benefits to secure followers. Nevertheless, he refuses to undermine Kong Ningyuan by publicly claiming credit for an idea he had freely given him 2 6 15 21 22.

His devotion to his parents outweighs reverence for imperial authority. He accepts the danger of taking a treasure needed by the Crown Prince because it can cure his mother, and he tells his parents that the family will share either his success or its consequences. Qi Shiyun considers this disregard for imperial privilege especially suited to her lineage 14 17 20.

He combines persistence with a provocative sense of humor. From age twelve, he practices martial arts at seven almost every morning, regardless of weather, yet he also enjoys exposing hypocrisy, needling stronger people, and showing off his success to the neighbors. His caution has limits: when he judges a threat unacceptable, he can act ruthlessly, including killing Dai Yueying despite her offers of submission 6 18 33 34 35 39.

Abilities & Skills

Innate Secret-Seeing Gift

• Occasionally sees scenes from another person’s past while looking at them. He disguises the ability as keen observation rather than revealing its supernatural nature 2 8.
• Exposes President Qu’s concealed activities and Lin Xiangwen’s attraction to Heavenly Sword 5 6.
• Reveals Dai Yongzhen’s agreement to raise Blood Guanyin’s child, providing crucial information about Dai Yueying’s origins 30.
• Shows a private conversation revealing that Huang Jingji is sterile and that Luo Panlan knows it 42.
• Activates unpredictably and has refractory periods. Xin cannot reliably trigger it and recognizes that he must not build every contingency around it 5 6 43.
• Hopes to discover its activation pattern and turn it into an active skill; his theories about its greater potential remain unconfirmed 43.

Dragon Aiders Cultivation

• Possesses the spiritual-root talent required for immortal cultivation despite his poor Martial Dao aptitude, according to Qi Shiyun 11.
• Cultivates dragon energy, also called imperial energy. Proximity to court struggles and dealings with people of great providence can accelerate the lineage’s progress 25 26.
• Shares cultivation benefits with Qi Shiyun through the lineage’s cooperative inheritance; her own master benefits indirectly from Xin’s advancement 24.
• Must refine the dragon energy within his Qi Condensation cultivation before moving further along the ordinary lineage path 25.
• Learns that political failure can mean rebellion and clan extermination, while success can make a practitioner a kingmaker 24 25.

Dragon-Slaying True Intent

• Acquires the lineage’s most lethal and taboo True Intent by killing Dai Yueying, whose imperial bloodline becomes cultivation material 26 35 36.
• Initially suffers from a mismatch between his Qi Condensation cultivation and the stronger power transforming within him 35.
• Regulates the power through secluded cultivation and learns to contain most of its outward sharpness 36 50.
• Comprehends the inheritance’s original Dragon Subjugation secret and concludes that Qi Shiyun practices an incomplete version 36 37.
• Understands that continuing along this path requires further dragon-slaying; otherwise, his progress will stop at True Intent. He also recognizes that his current strength cannot challenge Great Yu’s accumulated foundations 37.

Investigation, Persuasion & Patronage

• Secures an academy recommendation by giving Kong Ningyuan an idea involving the story of yielding pears 2.
• Obtains the academy’s entrance examination through his gift and uses that knowledge to bargain with President Qu 4.
• Wins Qi Wenbin’s cooperation by connecting his need for cultivation supplies with Steward Qu’s knowledge of the Qu Family’s stockpiles 12.
• Undermines Dai Yongzhen’s faith in the Demon Cult by contrasting its leaders’ wealth with unpaid ordinary disciples 30.
• Offers to manage confiscated wealth and procure Qi Shiyun’s cultivation materials, making himself useful beyond combat 15.
• Builds loyalty through resources, shared merit, and personal bonds rather than immediately resorting to poison-based control 21.

Martial & Medical Training

• Studies the Falling Goose Sword, also called the Falling Goose Sword’s “Falling Goose”/“Falling Goose Sword” manual in his exchanges with Dai Yueying; his sword aptitude remains unimpressive to Heavenly Sword 19 22.
• Uses the Basic Cultivation Method to guide the Qi Condensation Pill’s energy instead of allowing it to surge unchecked 24.
• At peak Qi Condensation, projects and reshapes true qi, forming a dragon that he confines within his palm 36.
• Learns medicine from his father in childhood, including how to make Corpse-Dissolving Water. His medical aptitude is limited, and he prioritizes martial training and study 35 46.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Ornately decorated longsword — Used during his unsuccessful early martial training; he tosses it aside after accepting his lack of progress 1.
• White Deer Grotto Academy admission letter — Delivered by Kong Ningyuan as the return on Xin’s earlier assistance 2.
• Gold leaves — Secretly given by his father before he leaves for the academy 4.
• Millennium Snow Lotus — Obtained from the Qu Family’s storeroom with Qi Shiyun’s permission and given to his parents for He Miaojun’s treatment 14 17 37.
• Qi Condensation Pill — Refined by the Celestial Master, awarded by Heavenly Sword, and consumed under Qi Shiyun’s guidance 22 23 38.
• Qu Family spoils — Banknotes and confiscated resources that he helps manage and distribute to support cultivation and Nine Heavens operations 15 17 22.

Relationships

• Lianshan Jingcheng — Father and medical teacher. Xin seeks to share the family’s financial burden, draws him toward Nine Heavens-backed business, and relies on his treatment skills 2 21 35 45.
• He Miaojun — Mother. Her illness is a major reason for his pursuit of power; he places her recovery above the Crown Prince’s interests 14 17.
• Qi Shiyun / Third-Place Qi — Cultivation mentor, direct superior, and patron. Grants him the Snow Lotus, accepts him into her lineage, and benefits unknowingly from his killing of Dai Yueying 14 22 24 35.
• Zhang A-Niu / Heavenly Sword — Senior patron. Rewards Xin’s merit, permits direct reports in serious matters, and offers protection against powerful enemies only if Xin supplies solid evidence 22 50.
• Kong Ningyuan — Friend and early political ally. Provides the academy recommendation; Xin later encourages reconciliation with his father and remains on his side against Kong Sanlang 2 6 10 41.
• Du Jiu — Bodyguard and trusted subordinate. Helps investigate the Dai household and obeys Xin’s orders to dispose of the bodies without reporting through the usual chain of command 12 28 35.
• Qi Wenbin — Bodyguard turned follower. Initially resents Xin as a presumed privileged young master, then pledges support after Xin points out a route to cultivation resources 12 35.
• Dai Yongzhen — Former teacher and Demon Cult member. Xin breaks his faith in the cult and allows him to choose his own death; Dai asks him to care for Yueying 30 32.
• Dai Yueying — Former acquaintance and would-be romantic partner; Thousand Faces’ disciple and an imperial princess. Xin rejects her renewed advances, distrusts her offers of submission, and ultimately kills her 19 32 33 34 35 36.
• Huang Jingji — Thorn Gang leader who becomes a prospective subordinate. Xin helps expose his infertility and promises to seek a restorative technique while encouraging him to remain undercover 39 42 44 45.
• Zeng Ningbing — Potential adversary who believes Xin took the academy nomination intended for her. Xin learns that she is also the Second Prince’s beloved confidante 44 48.
• Crown Prince — Enemy created by Xin’s decision to use the Millennium Snow Lotus for his mother rather than surrender it for the prince’s treatment 14 37.
• Thousand Faces — Demon Cult opponent whose academy network Xin is assigned to investigate. The elder also orders his disciple to investigate Xin 17 26.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Academy Admission and Entry into Nine Heavens

• Receives recommended admission through Kong Ningyuan, giving his family enough apparent backing to make President Qu reconsider bullying his father 2 3.
• Refuses to postpone entry despite the academy purge following its deputy headmaster’s exposure as Thousand Faces 4.
• Meets Heavenly Sword and exposes Lin Xiangwen’s secret, disrupting the audience before presenting his practical reasons for seeking Nine Heavens patronage 6 7.
• Reports his discoveries about the Qu Family, requests rewards, and insists on protection for his parents before assisting the investigation 8.

Qu Family Investigation and the Snow Lotus

• Helps question Qu Junjie and Steward Qu during the raid, using the family’s hidden resources to secure Qi Wenbin’s cooperation 12.
• Chooses the Millennium Snow Lotus for his mother despite the political danger, committing himself to Qi Shiyun’s lineage 14.
• Takes responsibility for handling spoils and offers to finance Qi Shiyun’s cultivation needs 15 17.
• Receives foremost merit, a business opportunity for his father, direct service under Qi Shiyun, and the Qi Condensation Pill that ends his longstanding bottleneck 21 22 23 24.

Dai Household Investigation and Princess-Slaying

• Suspects Dai Yueying’s changed behavior, orders surveillance, and warns that Thousand Faces could infiltrate Nine Heavens itself 19 21.
• Searches the Dai residence with Du Jiu and Qi Wenbin; a concealed letter confirms Dai Yongzhen’s Demon Cult connection 28.
• Confronts his former teacher and uses both persuasion and his innate gift to uncover the circumstances behind Yueying’s upbringing 30 32.
• Kills Yueying rather than trust her submission, orders both bodies dissolved, and gains Dragon-Slaying True Intent 33 34 35.
• Discovers the Dragon Subjugation inheritance during seclusion, then tells his parents that the exposed Dai father and daughter committed suicide 36 37 38.

Golden Scale Alliance and the Succession Struggle

• Accepts Huang Jingji’s apology without personally taking his gifts, instead proposing two days of free neighborhood banquets 39.
• Uncovers the truth behind Huang’s infertility and recruits his cooperation against the Golden Scale Alliance and Kong Sanlang 42 44 45.
• Learns that the alliance’s expansion is tied to the Second Prince’s imperial ambitions and that Zeng Ningbing’s hostility carries political weight 47 48.
• Promises Heavenly Sword evidence strong enough to justify action. The impending arrival of young Nine Heavens heirs leaves him little time to strengthen his position 50.

Notable Quotes

“Father, a man supporting his family with a skill, bowing his head and forcing a smile outside the home for their sake—that isn't shameful. Making the whole family suffer for the sake of his own petty pride—that's shameful.” 2

“Most importantly, who would become a rebel when they could become a lord official?” 7

“If you present the Millennium Snow Lotus to the Crown Prince, you'll only receive his reward. If you grant it to me, you'll have everything I am.” 14