Xiao Yan

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Xiao Yan is the eldest young lady of the Xiao Family. Her father married into the family, so she uses her mother’s surname. Her mother and Chu Ge’s mother are biological twin sisters, making Xiao Yan and Chu Ge blood-related cousins. They were born on the same date, only minutes apart, with Xiao Yan being older 2 8 21.

She trained alongside Chu Ge from childhood and showed exceptional learning and cultivation talent. According to his assessment, she could already have entered the Black Iron Realm if she had devoted herself to martial arts. Instead, she pursued her ambition of becoming a doujin artist 3.

Under the pen name Chu Xiao, she became a well-known, highly accomplished artist who earns substantial fees. By eighteen, her accumulated allowance, comic income, holiday money, and birthday gifts total 89,726,352.23 yuan. Despite this, she considers her savings insufficient and continues saving; her intended purpose is not revealed 3 21.

Appearance

• Build: Petite, with the narration describing her as shorter than Chu Ge’s shoulder 1.
• Hair: Wears twin tails when first introduced 1.
• Clothing: Frequently wears Lolita dresses; chooses a black Gothic dress and little leather shoes for the Lakeside Park hunt 1 8 19.
• Expressions: Often bares her small canine teeth when irritated by Chu Ge’s teasing 2 19.
• Reputation: Recognized as one of East Sea’s three great beauties 1 8.

Personality

Xiao Yan is playful, cheeky, and fond of entertainment. She repeatedly invokes her few minutes of seniority to demand respect as Chu Ge’s “older cousin,” while their conversations routinely turn into teasing contests. Jokes about her height are particularly effective at provoking her 1 2 12.

Her apparent pennilessness contrasts sharply with her wealth. She often offers to treat Chu Ge to grilled sausages but expects him to pay, and she leaves a debt of 24.50 yuan unpaid. Her commitment to saving is strong enough that she drinks water to suppress her hunger rather than spend money when her refrigerator is empty 1 3 19 21.

She applies far more discipline to art than to cultivation. She draws in class, at home, in the car, and during tournament downtime, often shutting out her surroundings completely 10 18 24.

Despite her privileged upbringing, Xiao Yan is approachable and does not put on airs with Xiao Lan. She comforts others through jokes and food, and her concern for Chu Ge includes caring for him when he collapses and hoping his hidden abilities will keep him safe 16 22 23 24. Her confidence can also become recklessness: after provoking a demonic beast, she is chastened by a patrol officer’s warning about the consequences for her family 19.

Abilities & Skills

Enhancement

A three-star active trait that increases all of Xiao Yan’s attributes by 30% 2.

• Improves strength, speed, defense, and endurance together 3.
• At the 90th level of Qi and Blood, raises her strength from approximately 9,000 jin to nearly 12,000 jin 3.
• Gives her combat power at the threshold of an ordinary early-stage Black Iron cultivator without actually advancing her realm 3 11.
• Produces a faint layer of light around her when activated 19.
• Does not protect her automatically: Chu Ge restrains her with Blue Silver Grass while she is playing around and has not activated it 3.

Scythe Combat

Xiao Yan learned to use a large scythe after remembering Chu Ge’s offhand remark that Gothic girls should carry one 19.

• Kills a berserk Scarlet-Eyed Giant Rat with a single overhead strike while using Enhancement 19.
• Uses footwork, evasive movement, and sweeping attacks against the subsequent rat pack 20.
• The weapon’s extreme weight tires her hands during prolonged carrying, despite her strength being sufficient to lift it 19.
• She and Chu Ge can only barely hold off the pack; they require the patrol team’s intervention 20.

Drawing

An accomplished doujin artist with more than ten years of practice 3 25.

• Creates comics under the pen name Chu Xiao 3.
• Works digitally with a tablet and stylus, including while travelling 18.
• Sketches a spear-wielding figure from the competition scene before Chu Ge’s match with Ye Han 25.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Black scythe — A top-grade Bronze Weapon forged from thousand-year-old cold iron. It is approximately her own height and weighs 6,666 jin 19 20.
• Drawing tablet and stylus — Her regular tools for comic work and sketches 18 21 25.

Relationships

• Chu Ge — Younger cousin, childhood training companion, and neighbor. She frequently stays in his apartment and cares for him after finding him unconscious. She has romantic feelings for him; he recognizes her question about whether he would mourn her as a confession, but regards their blood relationship and the likely family and social opposition as barriers to accepting it 2 4 16 19 21.
• Chu Xuan — Uncle. He treats her gently, offers to intervene if anyone troubles her at school, and reminds Chu Ge to look after her while their mothers are travelling 18.
• Xiao Lan — Friend whom she met through visits to the Chu Martial Arts School. They watch Chu Ge’s competition together; Xiao Yan reassures her, shares snacks, and treats her to grilled sausages 22 23 24.
• Lin Luyin — Chu Ge’s former fiancée and a placement-exam opponent. Xiao Yan initially admires her Evasion trait and later concedes their match to ensure Lin Luyin faces Chu Ge in the final, supporting her own bet against him 2 8.
• Lin Lan — Patrol officer who helps rescue her and Chu Ge from the rat pack. Xiao Yan praises her afterward and suggests sending a commendation banner 20.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Awakening and Class Placement

• Tries to comfort Chu Ge after his apparently unsuccessful awakening, then follows him home after learning he has obtained Blue Silver Grass 1 2.
• Becomes his first test opponent for the trait. Caught without Enhancement active, she remains suspended in the vines overnight before he releases her the following morning 3 4.
• Easily wins an early placement match, but later surrenders to Lin Luyin because she has bet that Lin Luyin will defeat Chu Ge 7 8.

Lakeside Park Rat Attack

• Accompanies Chu Ge to hunt demonic beasts on the eve of the East Sea Martial Arts School Competition 18 19.
• Steps in front of him, activates Enhancement, and provokes a berserk rat before killing it. A patrol officer warns her that such behavior could attract further attackers 19.
• Fights beside Chu Ge when more than a dozen rats emerge. Both jump into the lake at his warning just before the patrol team’s fireball strikes the battlefield 19 20.
• After returning home, she destroys a completed drawing in frustration. Meanwhile, Chu Ge struggles with the romantic implications of her earlier question about her death 21.

East Sea Martial Arts School Competition

• Takes leave from school to cheer for Chu Ge and reassures Xiao Lan that he will win 19 22.
• Suspects that his unexplained speed comes from a second awakened trait, having personally witnessed his Blue Silver Grass. She does not disclose that ability when Xiao Lan asks about his talents 23 24.
• Joins Chu Ge, Yang Wei, and Xiao Lan for duck-leg rice after Chu Ge wins the championship. She helps reassure Xiao Lan that an ordinary life devoted to enjoyable work and food is not inferior to the dangerous martial path 25.

Notable Quotes

“Chu Ge. … If I died, would you be sad?” 19

“He lost, that’s all. As long as he’s okay.” 24

“Exactly. Martial artists fight and get hurt every day. It’s much more comfortable to paint and eat snacks.” 25