Xuan Zi

Biodata

Background / History

Xuan Zi once led Zhang Lexuan’s twelve-person cohort into the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain Soul Rings. His negligence resulted in eight deaths and injuries to the four survivors. The disaster left him burdened with persistent guilt, which he attempted to escape through drinking 28 31.

Despite this failure, Xuan Zi remained indispensable to Shrek Academy. With Mu En concealing his survival and avoiding action because of injuries that shortened his remaining lifespan whenever he intervened, Xuan Zi served as the academy’s publicly visible rank-98 protector 28.

Appearance

• Disheveled elderly man: Frequently appears dirty and poorly groomed; his hand leaves a black print on Huo Tian’s clean robe when he pats his shoulder 2 28.
• Beard: Huo Tian briefly sets it alight to wake him after an exhausting night on Flame Island 41.
• Habitual accessories: Often holds a wine flask or gourd and a chicken leg, including while asleep on the Sea God Pavilion’s conference table 27 31 33.
• After his separation on Flame Island: Rejoins Huo Tian with torn clothing and a filthy face after repeated Soul Beast encounters 40.

Personality

Xuan Zi is habitually lazy, fond of food and alcohol, and careless about his surroundings. He repeatedly sleeps on the Sea God Pavilion’s conference table, spills wine over it, and dozes during meetings. His drinking persists despite Mu En’s reprimands; Xuan Zi believes he cannot sleep properly without getting drunk because of his guilt over the students who died under his supervision 28 31 32.

His unreliability coexists with genuine loyalty to Shrek. He readily intervenes when Huo Tian’s bloodline awakening becomes dangerous and spends an enormous amount of Soul Power helping suppress it. His concern for Yan Shaozhe is equally direct: signs of his possible death leave Xuan Zi visibly distressed, and seeing him captive prompts an immediate attempt to rush forward 28 41 43.

Abilities & Skills

Godly Taotie Bull

Xuan Zi’s Martial Soul manifests alongside nine Soul Rings when he intervenes in Huo Tian’s bloodline awakening 41.

• Channels immense Soul Power into Huo Tian to slow the awakening and help suppress the resulting Evil Fire 41.
• The intervention exhausts him so thoroughly that he collapses and falls asleep afterward 41.

Rank-98 Soul Power

Xuan Zi is a rank-98 Super Douluo and one of Shrek Academy’s principal defenders 28.

• Physical strength: After helping defeat the 150,000-year Blazing Fire Sparrow, he lifts the entire beast and throws it toward Huo Tian 3.
• Flight: Travels through the air on long-distance expeditions and while searching Flame Island 33 40 41.
• Combat limits: A swarm of Sea Soul Beasts forces him to flee; after losing more than half his strength, he is pursued by two 100,000-year Fire Hornets that he would not normally fear 40.
• Relative strength: After Huo Tian reaches level 87, Xuan Zi is no longer confident he can subdue him. The narration establishes that Huo Tian’s bone armor and domain have already placed him above Xuan Zi 40.

Dual Soul Cores

Xuan Zi possesses two Soul Cores that continuously replenish his Soul Power 40.

• Sustain him during prolonged flight on Flame Island, where flying mysteriously drains Soul Power 40.
• Do not prevent severe depletion after repeated battles and extended travel 40.

Perception and Soul Power Signaling

Xuan Zi uses mental power and Soul Power to investigate his surroundings and assess others 28 34 40 41.

• Detects Huo Tian’s cultivation growth upon his return to Shrek and later identifies his level-87 strength 28 40.
• Broadcasts Soul Power fluctuations with Huo Tian to seek a response from the missing Yan Shaozhe 41.
• Identifies traces of the Bright Phoenix’s aura and recognizes that its abandoned feathers have been present for at least two days 41.
• His mental probing is disrupted by the mist surrounding Flame Island, which absorbs mental power and causes backlash 34.

Equipment / Items

• Complete set of six Soul Bones: Already fused into his body. Their differing origins prevent him from reproducing Huo Tian’s bone armor; forcibly removing fused bones would damage his cultivation and foundation 32.
• Class 8 Soul Tool shield: Carries it during the expedition into the Divine Fire Phoenix Bird’s territory 43.
• Wine flask / wine gourd: Regularly carries one while resting, traveling, or attending Sea God Pavilion proceedings 2 31 33 40.

Relationships

• Mu En — Shrek’s senior authority, who repeatedly reprimands him for drinking and has become increasingly disappointed in his negligence. Xuan Zi fears his punishment, while Mu En remains conscious of how much the academy depends on him 28 31.
• Huo Tian — A close younger associate whom he escorts on Soul Ring hunts and helps during an uncontrolled bloodline awakening. Their familiarity includes teasing, scolding over his drinking, and Huo Tian burning his beard to wake him 2 28 40 41.
• Yan Shaozhe — Fellow Shrek elder and expedition companion. Xuan Zi helps search for him after their separation and becomes distraught when evidence suggests he may have died 2 41 43.
• Huo Yutong — Huo Tian’s disciple. Initially disgusted by his filthy appearance, she later travels with him and helps discover Yan Shaozhe’s bloodstained uniform 28 41.
• Zhang Lexuan — A member of the cohort he negligently endangered during a Soul Ring expedition; the resulting casualties remain a source of lasting guilt 28.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Blazing Fire Sparrow Hunt

• Accompanies Huo Tian, Yan Shaozhe, and Ma Xiaotao to Blazing Fire Valley to secure Huo Tian’s seventh Soul Ring 2.
• Works with Yan Shaozhe to reduce the 150,000-year Blazing Fire Sparrow to near death, then throws it to Huo Tian for the finishing blow 3.

Return to Shrek and Pavilion Assembly

• Meets Huo Yutong when Huo Tian returns after a year away, then leaves the Sea God Pavilion to patrol Shrek City 28.
• Receives a reprimand from Mu En after being found asleep over spilled wine before a pavilion assembly 31.
• Becomes animated by Huo Tian’s Vermilion Bird Bone Armor, claiming that such armor would let him defeat a rank-99 Limit Douluo. This remains speculation: his existing Soul Bones make obtaining comparable armor impractical 32.
• Remains commander of the Inspection Corps when Huo Tian is appointed its deputy commander 32.

Flame Island Expedition

• Joins Yan Shaozhe in escorting Huo Tian and Huo Yutong toward Flame Island. The surrounding mist disrupts their detection and separates the party 33 34.
• Escapes Sea Soul Beasts, reaches the island heavily depleted, and accidentally provokes Fire Hornets while drinking. He eventually finds Huo Tian’s camp by following the smell of grilled meat 40.
• Helps suppress Huo Tian’s first bloodline awakening before joining the search for Yan Shaozhe. Bright Phoenix feathers, blood, and a discarded uniform lead them toward the central volcanic region 41.
• Enters a vortex with Huo Tian and Huo Yutong, arriving unconscious with his head embedded in mud. Huo Tian pulls him free 43.
• Finds Yan Shaozhe wounded and bound in a plaza, but Huo Tian stops him from charging into a trap. After the Divine Fire Phoenix Bird reveals its god-level cultivation, Xuan Zi remains with Huo Yutong while Huo Tian enters a separate realm to fight it 43.