Zi Yan

Biodata

Background / History

Zi Yan grew up alone in dangerous wilderness and mountain forests, without parents or anyone to teach her. She survived by eating medicinal herbs, but her limited knowledge often led to stomach pain and even unconsciousness. Her strong physique helped her survive these mistakes 14.

She ate transformation grass before meeting Sun Qi, giving her a human appearance despite her magical-beast nature. Su Qian encountered her while she was searching for food and persuaded her to visit Jia Nan Academy by promising plenty to eat 10.

Zi Yan had never seen her parents and initially did not know that she belonged to a clan. After learning that she was an Ancient Void Dragon, she showed little interest in seeking her people. She feared that a large clan would impose rules on her and preferred the freedom of traveling with Sun Qi 20.

Appearance

Zi Yan appears as a small girl with a porcelain-doll face, purple hair, and purple eyes 11.

• Hair: Worn in two purple ponytails 10 11.
• Eyes: Repeatedly compared to purple grapes 11 20.
• Stature: Initially half a head shorter than Sun Qi; after his growth during cultivation, she barely reaches his shoulder 13 16.
• Dou Qi Wings: Pale violet wings of light 13.
• Physical development: Still losing her baby teeth during the visit to Qingshan Town 29.

Personality

Zi Yan is blunt, quick-tempered, and eager to fight. She resents being treated as a helpless child, threatening Liu Qing after he repeatedly calls her a kid and becoming disappointed when Lin Xiuya explains that he does not want a battle. At Jia Nan Academy, her habit of beating older students eventually makes them flee at the sound of her voice 11 12 15.

Food strongly influences her decisions. Promises of good meals bring her to Jia Nan Academy, and the scent of medicinal herbs draws her into its restricted storehouse. She initially dismisses the idea that taking the herbs counts as stealing, although she later feels embarrassed about abusing Su Qian’s hospitality 10 13 14.

Despite her unruly behavior, Zi Yan is fiercely loyal. When confronted over the storehouse incident, she shields Sun Qi and takes responsibility for bringing him inside. She also values personal freedom, choosing his company over the possibility of returning to an unfamiliar clan 15 20.

Abilities & Skills

Cultivation and Flight

Zi Yan is already a fifth-tier magical beast when she arrives at Jia Nan Academy. Her pale violet Dou Qi Wings establish her Dou Wang-equivalent strength to the Inner Academy’s students and elders 11 13.

• Can fly using Dou Qi Wings 13 21.
• Remains at the fifth tier when examined by Yao Chen 23.
• Her cultivation is high enough that the academy’s elders struggle to find anyone other than its head who could teach her 15.

Spatial Bloodline Ability

Zi Yan possesses an innate ability that allows her to bypass spatial formations, including the array protecting the Inner Academy elders’ courtyard 13 14.

• Passes through a spatial array while bringing Sun Qi with her 13.
• Can tear a person-sized opening in the courtyard’s array with a light pull of her hands 15.
• Her demonstration is initially mistaken for the space-shattering power of a Dou Zong; Sun Qi clarifies that it is a bloodline ability, not her cultivation realm 15.

Physical Strength and Durability

As an Ancient Void Dragon, Zi Yan has a powerful body and exceptional punching strength. The narration describes her as a king or emperor among magical beasts 14 28.

• Sends the Dou Wang elder Liu Ying flying with one punch and knocks out one of his teeth 14.
• Engages Elder Hao, another Dou Wang, after he attempts to capture her 14.
• Kills a Dou Ling with a single punch during the Eight Gates assault 18.
• Shatters Yun Ling’s twenty-foot earth-attribute stone saber barehanded and sends him flying backward 28.
• Survives dangerous mistakes while eating unfamiliar herbs, though they can still cause pain or unconsciousness 14.

Treasure and Herb Detection

Zi Yan can locate medicinal resources by scent, allowing her to find the academy’s herb storehouse shortly after arriving 11 13.

• Detects the scent of “treasure” from elsewhere in the Inner Academy 11.
• Follows the smell by stopping periodically to sniff the air 13.
• Cannot reliably identify suitable herbs by herself; she asks Sun Qi to help her choose food after learning of his medicinal knowledge 14.

Relationships

• Sun Qi — Closest companion and frequent combat partner. Their first meeting destroys the herbs she has just gathered, but they quickly bond through treasure hunting and food. He selects better-tasting herbs for her, shares medicinal pills, and agrees to help her find food. She later insists on accompanying him beyond Jia Nan Academy 10 13 14 20.
• Su Qian — Benefactor and disciplinarian. He brings her to Jia Nan Academy with promises of food, later confines her to the elders’ courtyard to stop her harassing students, and ultimately permits her to travel with Sun Qi under the academy’s protection 10 15 16.
• Yao Chen — Sun Qi’s teacher and a source of medicinal pills. He recognizes her unusual magical-beast bloodline but does not identify her exact species during their first meeting. He later refines her collected herbs into pills 23 25.
• Xiao Yan — Sun Qi’s junior brother and a fellow traveler during the expedition toward the Misty Cloud Sect 23 24.
• Liu Ying and Elder Hao — Academy elders who fight her after discovering the storehouse intrusion. Once the misunderstanding is resolved, Elder Hao tells her and Sun Qi to ask for food rather than break in 14 15.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Arrival at Jia Nan Academy

• Meeting Sun Qi: Zi Yan finds him after he falls from a spatial rift onto her freshly gathered herbs. Su Qian treats his injuries and brings both of them to the academy 10.
• Inner Academy confrontation: While searching for treasure, she is repeatedly stopped by Liu Qing. Sun Qi intervenes before she attacks him; she later reveals her Dou Wang strength, shocking the assembled students 11 12 13.
• Storehouse intrusion: She takes Sun Qi through the elders’ spatial array and begins eating medicinal herbs. Their attempted departure leads to clashes with Liu Ying and Elder Hao 13 14.
• Resolution: Zi Yan takes responsibility before Su Qian. The elders discover that only low-level ingredients are missing and allow the pair to request food in the future 15.
• Campus troublemaking: With little to occupy her, she tricks older students into fights and beats them. Complaints lead Su Qian to restrict her movements 15.

Black-Corner Region Campaign

• Han Feng investigation: Helps Sun Qi gather information on Han Feng’s residence and routine in fewer than five days, then watches the perimeter while Sun Qi carries out the assassination 17.
• Eight Gates assault: Takes responsibility for the faction’s subordinates while Sun Qi pursues Yuan Yi. She fights one Dou Wang and several Dou Ling; a later scene shows her killing a Dou Ling with one punch 17 18.
• Departure: Returns to Jia Nan Academy with Sun Qi, then insists on joining his onward journey because academy life has become too dull 19 20.

Wutan City and the Misty Cloud Sect

• Xiao Clan visit: Accompanies Sun Qi to find Xiao Yan. She silences the panicking clan elders and later follows Sun Qi out of Wutan City, where he exposes Ling Ying’s pursuit 20 21.
• Meeting Yao Chen: Complains that she has not eaten dinner while Sun Qi reunites with his teacher. Yao Chen briefly jokes that she is Sun Qi’s daughter before acknowledging that they are different species 23.
• Misty Cloud Sect expedition: Immediately volunteers when she hears that another fight is planned. During the confrontation, she attacks Yun Ling and breaks his stone saber with a punch 24 28.

Magical Beast Mountain Range

• Qingshan Town: Questions the attention paid to Xiao Yi Xian and objects when Sun Qi attributes the difference to Zi Yan’s youthful appearance 29.
• Planned lion king encounter: Becomes excited when Sun Qi announces his intention to recruit the tier-six Amethyst Winged Lion King. She imagines defeating it, ruling the mountain range, and finding treasures in its cave; the following morning, she eagerly urges Sun Qi to set out 30.

Notable Quotes

“I did it, so I’ll take responsibility.” 15

“I don’t want to go back. Who knows, they might restrict my freedom. I’d rather stay with you.” 20

“What do you mean, steal? We’re magical beasts. There’s no such word as ‘steal’ in our dictionary.” 13