Xiao Yan

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Transmigration and the Far North

Xiao Yan transmigrated to Douluo Continent and became Xiao Xiao’s older brother. His original Twin Martial Souls were the Heavy Xuan Ruler and Nine Fire Heavenly Plate. He retained knowledge of the original Soul Land story and Battle Through the Heavens, using it to identify opportunities and avoid dangers 1 6 19.

At twelve, he entered the Far North with Tian Meng to recruit the Ice Empress. After Tian Meng restrained her with his million-year shed skin, Xiao Yan offered her a route to godhood and three minutes to decide. She accepted rather than face her approaching four-hundred-thousand-year tribulation, becoming his Soul Spirit and providing his third Martial Soul 1 2 3 4.

Return to the Xiao Clan

After obtaining his fourth Soul Ring, Xiao Yan returned to the clan’s new home in Xiaoshan City. Xiao Zhan proposed sending both siblings to Shrek Academy for protection and resources, but Xiao Yan refused. He distrusted the academy’s treatment of outsiders and believed its original-story teaching had squandered Xiao Xiao’s Twin Martial Soul talent 5 6.

He subsequently traveled to Star Luo City, purchased the cursed Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife, and began slowly purifying it with Bone Spirit Cold Flame. During the same journey, he supplied Xiao Xiao with cultivation resources and helped her obtain a Rock-Armored Stone Turtle as her third Soul Ring 8 10 11 12.

Conflict with the Ling Clan

The Ling Clan demanded sixty percent of the Xiao Clan’s medicinal-herb transport profits, relying on its connection to Shrek Inner Academy disciple Ling Luochen. When she confronted the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan challenged her to a life-and-death duel and defeated the Level 51 Soul King while at Level 45 7 14 15.

He spared her after she conceded. The Ling Clan stopped interfering with the business, dismissed its patriarch, and underwent a purge. Xiao Yan then arranged for Ling Luochen to guide Xiao Xiao’s cultivation and combat training over three years, working around her academy schedule 15 16.

Sun Moon Royal Academy

Xiao Yan chose the Sun Moon Empire to study Soul Guidance Technology, investigate ways to strengthen his Martial Souls, and explore a possible new home for his clan. The Ling Clan helped arrange his exchange-student credentials, and he left Xiaoshan City after the New Year 17 19 21.

At the Sun Moon Royal Academy, he studied Soul Tool theory, metal materials, Soul Power circuits, and crafting. His circuit research directly informed his Ring Fusion experiments. After passing the Level 1 Soul Engineer assessment, he received Xuan Ziwen’s recommendation to Kong Deming and eventually became Kong Deming’s personal disciple 25 27 29 30.

Snow Empress and Gold of Life

Three years later, Xiao Yan attempted to absorb the Snow Empress Embryo under Kong Deming’s protection. The operation drew political danger: Xu Tianran sought his death and recruited assistance from the Holy Spirit Cult and Body Sect. Xiao Yan recognized these factions as potential threats before entering seclusion 30 31 32.

The Snow Empress agreed to become his Soul Spirit. Their fusion elevated him to Level 73 and enabled the Eternal Ancient Ruler form. His subsequent testing placed his short-term explosive combat power on par with an ordinary Titled Douluo 34 35.

At Jing Hongchen’s mansion, he absorbed a small amount of the purified knife’s Gold of Life and reached Level 76. He then planned to add rings to his Ice Empress Martial Soul, pursue the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well’s Immortal Herbs and the Earth Dragon Sect’s Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, and say goodbye to Meng Hongchen before departing 36.

Appearance

• Features: Handsome face, sword-like brows, dark eyes, and an aloof, frosty bearing following his mergers with Tian Meng and the Ice Empress 6 14.
• Clothing: Frequently wears a fitted black outfit, with a Storage Soul Tool at his waist 11 14.
• Scorpion tattoo: An Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion covers nearly his entire back; its legs curl around his ribs, its pincers rest behind his shoulders, and its tail follows his spine 4.
• Crystalline arms: Dense, mung-bean-sized hexagonal grains cover his arms. These enhance Bone Spirit Cold Flame when he channels it through them 4.
• Flame mark: A white flame mark appears between his brows as his first Heavenly Flame refinement approaches completion 6.

Personality

Xiao Yan is ambitious, self-assured, and unwilling to surrender his independence for institutional protection. He pursues godhood from the outset and rejects Shrek Academy partly because he refuses to place his future under its control. His confidence is matched by caution: after capturing the Ice Empress, his first priority is leaving before the disturbance attracts other Ferocious Beasts 1 2 6.

His approach to cultivation is analytical and experimental. Rather than rely on luck when choosing Xiao Xiao’s Soul Ring, he gathers detailed information and considers her future combat style. He likewise studies Soul Tools for their underlying principles, not merely their immediate firepower 11 20 27.

He is strict but affectionate toward Xiao Xiao, mixing demanding training with teasing and rewards. Although he outwardly refuses responsibility for Huo Yuhao’s Soul Hunt, he secretly assigns Xiao Zhong to protect him. He later reassures Xiao Xiao that her compassion was not a mistake 8 12 18.

Abilities & Skills

Heavy Xuan Ruler

A heavy, mental-attribute weapon Martial Soul used for crushing strikes, shock waves, and flame-coated attacks 4 13 14.

• He initially lacks a dedicated ruler-combat technique and fights with saber-like methods while developing his own style 13.

Nine Fire Heavenly Plate and Bone Spirit Cold Flame

Each Soul Ring added to the Nine Fire Heavenly Plate can activate a Heavenly Flame. Bone Spirit Cold Flame, unlocked through Tian Meng, remains the only fully activated flame documented 1 35.

• Combat: Coats the Heavy Xuan Ruler in white flame combining scorching heat and extreme cold; neutralizes Ling Luochen’s ice mist and freezing currents 13 14 15.
• Refinement: Burns impurities from Soul Power, strengthens the body, and removes medicinal toxins from cultivation pills 6 28.
• Cultivation assistance: Carefully controlled wisps help Xiao Xiao purify and condense her Soul Power 8.
• Purification: Gradually removes the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife’s curse, though the initial half-hour attempt clears less than one percent 10.
• Flame domain: Gives him control over fire within its area. Maintaining it alongside the Eternal Ancient Ruler and Extreme Cold Snow Domain sharply increases consumption 35.

Flame Mantra

A cultivation method unlocked through the Nine Fire Heavenly Plate. It replaces the less suitable Xiao Cauldron Meditation Method and can develop toward Heaven Tier; its documented early form is High Yellow Tier 6 19.

• Refines Heavenly Flames while improving Soul Power quality and transforming his physique 6 16.
• Supports a burst-combat state by burning Soul Power through the plate 6.
• Each burned level grants roughly a ten-percent strength increase, but the expended cultivation must be rebuilt rather than naturally recovered 6.
• Xiao Yan anticipates a Heavenly Flames Physique after fully refining Bone Spirit Cold Flame; its completion is not established 16.

Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion and Ultimate Ice

The Ice Empress provides Xiao Yan’s third Martial Soul, stronger physical foundations, and exceptional control over ice 3 4 14.

• His ice mastery lets him locate Ling Luochen through her concealing mist and counter her ice-attribute techniques 14.
• Ultimate Ice: Thinking Mode supports calm analysis of Soul Rings and their Soul Power pathways 27 28.
• Ultimate Ice stabilizes the Heavy Xuan Ruler during fusion experiments, although prolonged use in the experiment risks frostbite 18.
• The early imbalance between Ultimate Ice, Bone Spirit Cold Flame, and the mental-attribute ruler forces him to moderate his cultivation speed 4 13.

Multiple Casting and Ring Fusion

Xiao Yan develops these methods by studying Soul Skill circulation with Tian Meng and applying principles learned from Soul Power circuits 18 19 27.

• Multiple Casting: Combines Soul Skill releases for an estimated thirty-percent combat improvement. Initially unreliable and dependent on further practice 19.
• Early Ring Fusion: Weaves Mountain Suppression into Qian Jun, improving combat power by about fifty percent 20.
• White Dragon Breaks the Night: A named attack combining the first two skills with Bone Spirit Cold Flame, producing a white flame dragon 20.
• Fusion framework: Divides the process into resonance, compatibility, and completion, focusing on common Soul Power nodes rather than physically joining rings 27.
• Ring Detonation: A proposed unstable, accelerated variation. Tian Meng and the Ice Empress warn him to master fusion first; successful use is not documented 27.

Snow Empress’s Crown and Eternal Ancient Ruler

The Snow Empress grants a seven-hundred-thousand-year seventh ring and the Snow Empress’s Crown Head Soul Bone 34.

• Extreme Cold Snow Domain: Suppresses targets with Ultimate Ice and can freeze the consciousness of enemies with insufficient spiritual power 34.
• Mental protection: The Head Soul Bone fulfills his need to protect his mind; his spiritual power can rival a Soul Douluo’s after the merger 34.
• Eternal Ancient Ruler: Combines the Heavy Xuan Ruler’s close-range power with the Nine Fire Heavenly Plate’s Heavenly Flame techniques 34.
• Limits: His current strength cannot fully express the domain. Simultaneously sustaining the ruler form and both domains is costly, with the snow domain also drawing on spiritual power and the Snow Empress’s origin 34 35.

Soul Engineering

Xiao Yan combines photographic memory, flame-control experience, Tian Meng’s assistance, and Ultimate Ice-enhanced composure to learn Soul Tool construction rapidly 26 27 28.

• Passes the Level 1 assessment in three hours against a six-hour limit 29.
• Becomes a Level 6 Soul Engineer within the following three years 30.
• His Level 6 rank does not represent mastery of the entire field: at that point, he can produce only one defensive Level 6 design 30.

Equipment / Items

• Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife / Gold of Life — Bought for 103,000 Gold Soul Coins, with 30,000 coins accepted as compensation for its undisclosed curse. He finishes purification a year and a half before absorbing its life force 10 36.
• Gold of Life absorption limit — A small portion raises him to Level 76 and makes ordinary absorption of a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring physically manageable. He must digest the stored life force before taking more; excessive absorption could make him burst 36.
• Blood Crystal Protective Bracelet — A Level 6 defensive Soul Tool given by Xiao Zhan to shield him from lethal attacks 19.
• Storage Soul Tool — Carried at his waist; stores possessions including the carving knife 10 11 36.
• Cultivation pills — Uses Mystic Water Pills and Soul Ascension Pills to accelerate cultivation; purchases ten Soul Ascension Pills for 100,000 Gold Soul Coins 10 28.

Relationships

• Xiao Xiao — Younger sister and pupil. He accelerates her cultivation, plans her Soul Rings, and arranges Ling Luochen’s instruction so she can grow independently during his absence 8 11 16 18.
• Xiao Zhan — Father and principal family supporter. Funds his pursuits, respects his decisions, and provides exchange credentials and defensive equipment 6 7 17 19.
• Xiao Zhong — Trusted protector, addressed as “Uncle Zhong.” Accompanies the siblings on their journeys and watches over Huo Yuhao at Xiao Yan’s request 4 12.
• Tian Meng / Sky Dream Ice Silkworm — Million-year Wisdom Soul Ring, Soul Spirit, and research partner. Unlocks Bone Spirit Cold Flame, recruits the Ice Empress, and assists with spiritual observation and fusion experiments 1 2 18 19.
• Ice Empress — Soul Spirit and source of his third Martial Soul. Shares his pursuit of godhood and helps stabilize his experimental techniques 2 7 18.
• Snow Empress — Agrees to become his Soul Spirit and provides his seventh Soul Ring and Head Soul Bone. Sleeps in a white cocoon in his Sea of Consciousness after fusion 34.
• Ling Luochen — Former opponent turned collaborator and Xiao Xiao’s teacher. Xiao Yan also removes her residual Evil Fire and tests ways to improve her Martial Soul with Bone Spirit Cold Flame 15 16 19.
• Kong Deming — Master and protector. Accepts him as a personal disciple and supervises the dangerous Snow Empress Embryo absorption 30 31 32.
• Wang Chengyuan — Exchange-program teacher who handles his arrival and enrollment and helps him seek advanced instruction 22 23 29.
• Xuan Ziwen — Offers interim guidance and recommends him to Kong Deming 29.
• Huo Yuhao — Encountered during Xiao Xiao’s Soul Hunt. Xiao Yan publicly declines to manage his ring search but secretly arranges protection 12.
• Meng Hongchen — Called “Mengmeng” by Xiao Yan; he intends to say goodbye to her before his next journey 36.

Notable Quotes

“I don't change my given name when I walk or my surname when I sit. I'm Xiao Yan of the Xiao Clan!” 14

“I don't think so. But it's certain that combining Martial Souls with Soul Guidance Technology makes them stronger.” 17

“One day, all under heaven will heed my voice!” 20