Zhou Yan

Biodata

Power Progression

Zhou Yan’s B-rank classification describes his flame ability, while Awakening Stage and Divine Knowledge Stage describe his cultivation 4 33.

Background / History

Zhou Yan grew up with Lin Jin in the Jiangcheng Orphanage. The two were bullied at school and struggled to make a living after graduation. Before awakening, Zhou Yan expected an ordinary future of low-paid work, saving for marriage, and settling down. They remained close into adulthood and had frequented the same barbecue restaurant since high school 8 32.

He initially lived on the fifth floor of an old, six-story residential building without an elevator. Although the Paranormal Bureau later assigned him accommodation, he preferred returning to his own apartment. He eventually moved into Lin Jin’s villa, choosing a room beside the master bedroom 2 7 31.

Appearance

• Build and face: Thin, with a round face and eyes that narrow into slits when he smiles 2.
• Field clothing: Wears a Paranormal Bureau combat uniform and carries a standard combat saber at his waist 39.
• Distinguishing mark: Bears Lin Jin’s Flying Thunder God Mark on his shoulder 7.

Personality

Zhou Yan is loud, excitable, and irreverent, frequently trading insults and mock family titles with Lin Jin. He swings quickly between boasting about his powers and being astonished by his friend’s abilities. Good food, a comfortable home, and his new salary delight him: receiving twenty thousand yuan prompts plans for a replacement phone and a barbecue feast 2 4 31.

His joking manner does not diminish his loyalty. When Lin Jin declines to explain his changed demeanor and powers, Zhou Yan accepts his privacy and reaffirms their brotherhood. During captivity, he worries about Lin Jin walking into Dark Moon’s trap. He also persists with training despite frustration over hand seals and the pain of sparring with Lin Jin’s clone 8 33 34 48.

He is particularly nosy about Lin Jin’s relationship with Su Qianxue. He interprets her attention as romantic interest, encourages Lin Jin to pursue her, and continues teasing even after it earns him a doubled training load 31 35.

Abilities & Skills

Flame-Type Superpower

Zhou Yan’s innate ability manifests as fire and is rated B-rank by the Paranormal Bureau 4.

• Initially activates instinctively under mortal threat; he cannot immediately reproduce the same output at will 2.
• Learns to maintain, resize, and transfer flames between his hands through controlled energy circulation 2 3.
• Can use his supernatural energy to perform Fire Release techniques taught by Lin Jin 3 4.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

His principal demonstrated attack compresses supernatural energy before releasing it as a fireball from his mouth 4.

• Uses the hand-seal sequence Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger 9 33.
• Initially breaks the Mirror Demon’s mirrors, but cannot prevent them from regenerating 9.
• Later destroys an early B-rank Resentful Shadow with a fireball over one meter across 33.
• Remains dependent on hand seals; while training toward Lin Jin’s demand of four seals per second, he reports managing only two and a half 31 33.

Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame

A large-area technique that releases a sweeping wave of fire 9.

• Melts the Mirror Demon’s mirrors and collapses its mirror space, allowing Team C to escape with four missing students 9.
• Is not fully mastered when first used and exhausts Zhou Yan’s entire energy reserve 9.

Combat Training and Limitations

• Trains to prepare his hand seals immediately when confronted with danger 7.
• Receives additional combat instruction through sparring with Lin Jin’s Shadow Clone 34.
• Cannot learn Lightning Release from his fire-attributed ability; Lin Jin also explicitly tells him he cannot learn Amaterasu 2 9.
• Has not reached the Source Energy Stage. Lin Jin estimates three to five years of normal cultivation, while offering combat training as a faster route 34.

Flying Thunder God Mark

The mark is Lin Jin’s technique, not Zhou Yan’s own teleportation ability 7.

• Provides a spatial coordinate that allows Lin Jin to teleport to his shoulder 7.
• Can be activated by channeling Zhou Yan’s energy into it to alert Lin Jin during an emergency 8 9.
• Is vulnerable to interference: Dark Moon’s spatial countermeasures make Lin Jin’s perception of the mark extremely faint 46.

Equipment / Items

• Standard combat saber — Newly issued before his deployment to Qingjiang City; carried at his waist 39.
• Paranormal Bureau combat uniform — Worn for field deployment 39.
• Mobile phone — Used to call Lin Jin for help during the Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger encounter; previously disabled during the Skin-Shedding Ghost ambush 9 20.
• Pay Card — Issued upon joining the Bureau, with his first month’s twenty-thousand-yuan salary paid in advance 4.

Relationships

• Lin Jin — Childhood best friend, sworn-brother-like companion, teacher, and later housemate. Zhou Yan calls him “Little Lin,” respects his secrets, and repeatedly relies on him for emergency rescues 2 8 20 31 49.
• Chen Feng — Team C captain. Directs Zhou Yan’s field assignments and praises his contribution to rescuing the missing students 8 9.
• Liu Yang, Li Tong, and Sun Hao — Team C colleagues who accompany him on investigations. All three, along with Chen Feng, are severely injured when Dark Moon abducts him 8 19 46.
• Su Qianxue — Bureau group leader who initially approaches him about recruitment. Zhou Yan enthusiastically promotes a possible romance between her and Lin Jin; she later informs Lin Jin of his disappearance 3 31 35 46.
• Dark Moon Organization — Enemies who exploit his closeness to Lin Jin, abducting him as bait for an ambush 39 47 48.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Awakening and Bureau Recruitment

• Calls Lin Jin after a shadowy creature pins him down in bed and his newly awakened flames incinerate it. Lin Jin visits, confirms his awakening, and begins teaching him energy control 2.
• Initially asks for time to consider Su Qianxue’s recruitment offer, then joins the Paranormal Bureau on Lin Jin’s advice for access to training and protection 3 4.
• Divides his time between Bureau duties during the day and Fire Release lessons at night 4.

First Field Mission

• Joins Team C’s investigation into four missing students at Jiangcheng No. 3 Middle School. His Majestic Destroyer Flame destroys the Mirror Demon’s space and enables the rescue 8 9.
• During the subsequent Skin-Shedding Ghost ambush, activates his shoulder mark after his phone is disabled. Lin Jin arrives and kills the attacker with Amaterasu 9.

Azure Glow Mountain

• Accompanies Team C to investigate abnormal energy and encounters an A-rank Saber-toothed Thunder Tiger. The squad attempts to retreat, but the tiger pursues them 19 20.
• Calls Lin Jin, only to discover that the tiger is his friend’s subordinate and claims to have been playing with them 20.

Villa Life and Further Training

• Moves into Lin Jin’s villa and continues studying under him. His teasing about Su Qianxue leads Lin Jin to double his training requirements 31.
• Demonstrates his improved strength by killing the Resentful Shadow at Sunshine Garden, then begins punishing clone-assisted combat training in hopes of advancing faster 33 34.

Dark Moon Abduction

• Leaves with Team C to support a mission in Qingjiang City. Dark Moon attacks the squad on its return journey, severely injuring his teammates and taking him hostage 39 46.
• Is held wounded, bound, and gagged, with a black talisman suppressing spatial fluctuations. Dark Moon demands that Lin Jin come alone to an abandoned chemical plant 47 48.
• Lin Jin bypasses the plant’s Void Lock Talisman Seal using Kamui and transports Zhou Yan into the Kamui Dimension before confronting the captors 49.

Notable Quotes

“Anyway, no matter how much you change, you're still my brother. We grew up together. That bond is real.” 8

“With him around, our lives are as good as safe.” 9