Wan Household

Biodata

Background / History

The Wan Household originated approximately a hundred years earlier, when its ancestor rose from beggary after obtaining a mysterious Beast Taming Technique. He used those abilities to establish beast-fighting arenas where martial artists could train, attracting even talented visitors from the imperial capital 15.

Unlike the recently established Xu Household, the Wan Household possessed numerous disciples and businesses spread throughout the Great Yan Imperial Dynasty. Its reputation grew further when Wan Rongzhe tamed a fourth-tier Demon Beast—equivalent in strength to a human Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivator 14 15.

Members

Businesses & Facilities

Beast-Taming Grounds

• Provide real Demon Beasts and simulated environments for martial training, offering a safer alternative to hunting in the mountains 17.
• Normally station beast tamers nearby to intervene when participants face danger, although berserk beasts sometimes kill their handlers or challengers 17 23.
• Charge substantial fees for access to training rooms 21.

Beast-Fighting Arenas

• Stage lethal contests between Demon Beasts, with the surviving beast declared the winner 17.
• Generate revenue through attendance, training, and betting pools. Their success makes the Wan Household the wealthiest of Canglan City’s four great lineages 17 19.
• Maintain detailed records of individual beasts’ combat strength. Wan Butong exploits this information when arranging wagers against Liu Wuxie 18.
• Suffer a sharp decline in business after the household’s rigged operations are exposed 33.

Largest Arena

• Hosts the Hundred Demon Gathering and occupies an area dozens of li across, with the Sunset Mountain Range behind it 15.
• Has four gates: one reserved for Demon Beasts and three for human visitors 15.
• Contains multiple fighting platforms beneath covered walkways, with spectators seated above the arenas 15 17.

Hundred Demon Gathering

• Held when the household brings in new Demon Beasts, promoting its arenas and beast-taming services 14.
• Invites major lineage heads, talented young martial artists, and distinguished visitors from the imperial capital 14.
• Divides its program into beast fighting and beast taming. The gathering attended by Liu Wuxie initially advertises ten beast fights with optional betting pools 17.

Abilities & Methods

Beast Taming Technique

The household’s inherited specialty subdues Demon Beasts by identifying and exploiting their weaknesses 15 23.

• Produces outward obedience through forced submission rather than genuine loyalty 23.
• Leaves beasts resentful and prone to attacking when an opportunity arises; household beast tamers are sometimes devoured 23.
• Its greatest documented achievement is Wan Rongzhe’s taming of a fourth-tier Demon Beast 15.
• Liu Wuxie publicly surpasses its demonstrated methods by making the Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger submit willingly 23.

Arena Manipulation

The household uses privileged information, covert signals, and drugs to influence contests 18 20 21 23.

• Covert signals: Beast tamers communicate information through gestures recognized by the household’s highest ranks 18.
• Demon Frenzy Pill: Given to the Blood-Patterned Lion on Wan Zhuoran’s signal. It increases combat strength fivefold, temporarily bringing the lion’s might to the second tier 20 21.
• Hallucinogenic Powder: Secretly delivered to the Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger by an arrow after Liu Wuxie tames it, driving it berserk and raising its cultivation 23.
• Withdrawal of safeguards: The tiger’s handler leaves before an iron cage traps Liu Wuxie inside. The household claims the cage protects spectators and promises to open it if he concedes 22.

Relationships

• Tian Household — Principal ally against the Xu Household. The two lineages coordinate hired attacks, pursue Liu Wuxie, and target the Xu Household’s mine and weapons businesses 33 37 38 42 45.
• Xue Household — A powerful imperial-capital family whose patronage the Wan Household seeks. Wan Zhuoran arranges Xue Yu’s invitation to the gathering to secure that protection 15 19 22.
• Xu Household — Initially has limited dealings with the Wan Household. A reported marriage proposal is rejected by Xu Yilin the previous year; relations later become openly hostile 14 19 24.
• Liu Wuxie — Wins the household’s wagers, exposes its methods, and declares that he will destroy it within one month. He subsequently kills its pursuit force and helps defeat its mining-camp assault 23 39 40 44 45.
• Pill Treasure Pavilion — Supplies pills essential to the household’s continued prosperity. Master Huo uses the threat of cutting off supplies to secure one month of protection for Liu Wuxie 24.
• Song Household — A higher-ranked rival whose members the Wan disciples initially hesitate to offend. Later, Xue patronage puts the Wan Household in a position to potentially surpass it 16 22.
• Qi Enshi — Canglan City’s lord prefers to let the Wan Household destroy the Xu Household rather than risk acting directly against Baili Qing’s interests. Zhou Hu also places both household heads at a conspiracy meeting in the City Lord’s Estate 28 37.
• Stone-Breaking Army — The Wan and Tian households offer ten million gold coins for attacks on the Xu Household; Zhou Hu admits that the army has robbed its goods 37.
• Langya Hired Mercenary Corps — Hired alongside Tian forces for the night assault on the Xu Household’s purple-gold mine 41 42 50.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Hundred Demon Gathering

• Initial confrontation: Wan Butong joins Tian Yequan in flattering Xue Yu and belittling Liu Wuxie. Master Huo intervenes on Liu Wuxie’s behalf and orders Lei Tao to beat the offending Wan and Tian disciples 15 16.
• Losing wagers: Wan Butong loses 500,000 gold coins in the first wager and another million when the Blazing Flame Eagle defeats the One-Horned Python. He collapses from rage 18 19.
• Wan Zhuoran’s challenge: Wan Zhuoran offers a ten-million-gold wager, demanding that Liu Wuxie dissolve his marriage agreement with Xu Lingxue and leave Canglan City if he loses. Liu Wuxie changes the stake to one hundred Spirit Stones 19 20.
• Public cheating: Despite receiving a Demon Frenzy Pill, the Blood-Patterned Lion loses to Liu Wuxie’s Iron Centipede. Wan Rongzhe stops the beast fights rather than risk further losses 21.
• Attempted killing: The household traps Liu Wuxie with the Raging Flame Earth-Splitting Tiger, then sabotages his successful taming. He kills the berserk tiger, breaks out, and slays twelve attacking disciples, including Wan Rongzhe’s nephew 22 23 24.
• One-month reprieve: Master Huo prevents the household from killing Liu Wuxie and Xu Lingxue. Wan Rongzhe agrees to wait one month, threatening to kill Liu Wuxie afterward 23 24.

Campaign Against the Xu Household

• Economic offensive: With arena business declining, the Wan and Tian households seek to cut off the Xu Household’s purple-gold ore supply. Their promise not to kill Liu Wuxie does not prevent attacks on Xu property 33.
• Pursuit force destroyed: Joint household fighters search the Sunset Mountain Range for Liu Wuxie. He attacks their camp at night, terrorizes the disciples, and kills the Wan elder and remaining fighters 38 39 40.
• Mine assault defeated: Wan Yiyun joins Tian Qihong and Langya’s mercenaries in attacking the mining camp. Liu Wuxie kills Langya and turns the battle against the attackers, while Xu guards block the exit 41 42 44 45.
• Workshop raid repelled: A separate joint attack on the Xu Household’s weapons workshop meets Xu Yilin’s prepared defenses, inflicting heavy losses on both attacking lineages 45.

Stone-Breaking Army Investigation

• Questioning: An imperial investigation team spends two hours at the Wan Household while investigating the missing soldiers. It leaves without finding evidence against the household 47.
• Unexpected setback: The household is astonished when both the Pill Treasure Pavilion’s master and Qi Enshi clear the Xu Household of suspicion. By this point, Liu Wuxie no longer considers the Wan and Tian households serious threats, focusing instead on possible Xue Household retaliation 50.