Characters / Qian Qiu - Yan Wushi

Qian Qiu Character Index
Main Characters (Shen Qiao, Yan Wushi) | Sects of the Jianghu (The Three Demonic Sects, Daoist Sects) | Nations and Kingdoms

Yan Wushi (晏无师)

Voiced by: Wu Lei (animation, audio drama)

"When you are reduced to a truly desperate state, isolated and betrayed by everyone around you, will you still not harbor any grudges against others and insist on repaying people with kindness?"

The leader of the Huanyue Sect and a practitioner of the demonic path of martial arts. He also serves as the imperial adviser to the emperor of Zhou. He saves Shen Qiao's life not out of kindness, but to see if he could corrupt the pure-hearted Daoist's views.

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Tropes A-C

• The Ace: In terms of skill, Yan Wushi is second only to the likes of Qi Fengge and Hulugu, who are known to be the most powerful masters by far. Qi Fengge noted that in time, Yan Wushi would eventually come to surpass him. Hulugu also notices that even at the latter's age, Yan Wushi still has more than enough potential to elevate his abilities to unsurpassed heights.
• Act of True Love:
  • When Hulugu sought Shen Qiao out to avenge Kunye's death, Yan Wushi challenges Hulugu to a duel to ensure that Shen Qiao would not be encounter any further trouble in his journey to Xuandu Mountain, even though his demonic core hasn't yet fully recovered, coupled with the fact that no one is certain, not even himself, if he'll survive the battle.
  • On a smaller scale, adopting a baby deer and giving it the same Affectionate Nickname he gives Shen Qiao seems to be already a telling sign to his men that his feelings for Shen Qiao are completely sincere.
• Actually Pretty Funny: When Yan Wushi gets kicked out of a gambling house alongside Shen Qiao after the latter unknowingly cheated, he immediately starts doubling over in laughter.
• Adaptation Dye-Job: In the novel, he's described to be wearing black or dark robes, but he wears purple robes in the donghua.
• Adaptational Wimp: Played with. Yan Wushi's abilities do not get a downgrade in the donghua, but the adjustments to the plot have him suffer a more severe case of qi deviation prior to getting ambushed in the Coiling Dragon Conference due to being poisoned some time before his duel with Ruyan Kehui.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: While Yan Wushi still betrays Shen Qiao in the Animated Adaptation like he did in the novel, the circumstances surrounding said betrayal are nowhere near as cruel.
  • In the novel, Yan Wushi met with Sang Jingxing in secret and offered to hand Shen Qiao over to him in exchange for his sword, mainly out of curiosity to see if the act would finally break Shen Qiao's spirit and make him give up on his morals. After giving Shen Qiao a brutal Friendship Denial as well as a speech about how he has lost his worth, he left and never looked back. The most that the reader gets of him feeling bad about it is in one of the extras, which states that he did feel some remorse for his actions and hints that his actions weighed on him more than he was aware of. But even then, said remorse was not enough to make him change his mind. On the other hand...
  • In the donghua, Sang Jingxing is the one who approached Yan Wushi and gave him his sword, offering to help him with his worsening qi deviation if the latter gives Shen Qiao to him. Yan Wushi goes through with the deal, but the donghua makes it clear he does it with both hesitation and regret. After seemingly leaving Shen Qiao to his fate, he saves Shen Qiao from certain death after the latter destroyed his core to fight off Sang Jingxing, and leaves him at Bailong Temple. Although Yan Wushi gives Shen Qiao the same Breaking Speech he gave him in the novel, it's strongly hinted in the adaptation that he only said those words to give Shen Qiao enough cause to want nothing more to do with a man who betrayed him.
• Ascended Extra: Downplayed. While he is one of the two protagonists, both the audio drama and the Animated Adaptation expand his role and appearance in the overall plot.
  • The audio drama adds some scenes that weren't in the original novel to show what Yan Wushi has been up to in some of the arcs that focus mostly on what's happening to Shen Qiao.
  • The Animated Adaptation features him in some of the scenes from the novel that he was originally absent in.
• Adaptation Personality Change: While his core personality is kept intact, the donghua doesn't make him as cold-hearted as he is in the novel. He also tends to snark more often than his novel counterpart, and even long before the events of the second half of the novel, he's more prone to teasing and making flirtatious remarks at Shen Qiao than he originally did.
• Affectionate Nickname: There's the rare occasion when Shen Qiao calls him "Yan-lang", but only in bed.
• Ambiguously Bi: Yan Wushi enjoys the sight of beautiful people, with the novel not making any explicit mention of a specific gender; although one of Yan Wushi's internal monologues has him remark on how countless man and women have offered themselves up to him.
• Ambition Is Evil: Subverted. In spite of his belief that all Humans Are Bastards, his goal is to unite the demonic sects once more as well to help Yuwen Yong unite the divided regions of China, the latter of which would be hugely beneficial to the common folk. Even if he harbors said goal for purely pragmatic reasons, it's a lot more than what can be said for the other cultivators, whose motives are far more self-serving and/or detrimental to the nation's stability.
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  • Yan Wushi gives one to Shen Qiao after the latter refuses to have a demonic core implanted into his body as a circumventing remedy for his damaged meridians. Even Shen Qiao has no choice but to say "yes" to the question, although he does manage to prove him wrong later when Yan Wushi's predictions soon come true, by the latter's own hands, no less.
    Yan Wushi: The reason why you're able to persist in carefully following your Daoist core and refuse to give up your so-called principles is because you still haven't experienced a situation in your life where you are so desperate that you find it absolutely intolerable, am I right?
  • When Shen Qiao expresses worries about Yan Wushi fighting Hulugu, Shen Qiao says that he would naturally be concerned about his friend being in such a situation. Yan Wushi then asks him if he'd be just as worried if it was anyone else in his shoes, to which Shen Qiao can't answer.
• At Least I Admit It: Yan Wushi believes that all humans are selfish and cruel, but he never once considers himself an exception.
• The Atoner: While Yan Wushi tells Shen Qiao that he doesn't regret what had happened between them and to not take anything he does for him as atonement for his past actions, he nevertheless protected Shen Qiao from his enemies many times over even though he has nothing left to gain from it, and even takes Shen Qiao's place in fighting the final Big Bad of the novel.
• Awesomeness by Analysis:
  • Yan Wushi is the only one who doesn't take Shen Qiao's defeat to Kunye in face value and suspects that there's something awry with the outcome of their battle, since someone who was chosen by Qi Fengge to be his successor wouldn't be so easily or badly defeated, let alone injured, by just anyone.
  • Part of the reason why Yan Wushi has a strong political foothold is his savviness when it comes to matters involving both business and the court. His keen awareness on how people would plan and act and the ensuing outcome is what allows him to be one step ahead of his enemies almost all the time.
• Ax-Crazy: Lampshaded by Shen Qiao when he wonders if Yan Wushi has a few loose screws in his head. He's even called a shen jing bing, a term used to refer to a mentally ill person.
• Baritone of Strength: He speaks in a rich and deep voice that rings with authority, confidence and power, befitting his status as one of the strongest martial arts masters alive.
• Bad Samaritan: Zigzagged. While Yan Wushi helps provide Shen Qiao sanctuary after his fall, he makes it clear from the beginning what his intentions are with the other. He's even amused when Shen Qiao states that he intends to repay the other man's kindness, and responds by reiterating his reasons for even rescuing Shen Qiao in the first place.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: Yan Wushi always fights with his bare hands. It's revealed later on he used to fight with a sword, but he had to surrender it after he was defeated by Cui Youwang. This led him to create the Chunshui Zhi Style, which allows him to fight without the need of a physical weapon. Even after he betrays Shen Qiao by exchanging the other to Sang Jingxing for his sword, he never uses it again.
• Beneath the Mask:
  • Despite acting as aloof and arrogant like he always is, Chapter 75 hints that he is more bothered than he lets on about Shen Qiao mourning Xie Ling, his past self, who he sees as naive and weak.
  • The audio drama shows a scene which implies that Yan Wushi is more affected than he realizes by his betrayal of Shen Qiao — when he's served a dish of braised beef and cat ear noodles, a dish that Shen Qiao had ordered for him in the past, he tells the servant to take the food back.
  • Despite his arrogant attitude, his nonchalance towards the dangers of life, and how he is generally not the most sentimental person, he does show a hint of emotional vulnerability when he pulls Shen Qiao in a deep embrace when the latter shows fear and concern about how he might die in his fight against Hulugu. In the audio drama, he even tells Shen Qiao to wait for him since he has something to tell him after he's done fighting Hulugu; but given that Shen Qiao is already unconscious by this time, it's strongly hinted that Yan Wushi is saying these words to assure himself (and not Shen Qiao) that he'll survive the battle, at least for Shen Qiao's sake.
• Benevolent Boss: At worst, he's stern, but he's otherwise shown to be fair. The extras also hint that so as long as his people accomplish what they're tasked to do, they get generously paid. The only subordinate who he is shown to be outright mean to is A-Qing, although this is only due to Shen Qiao's kind treatment of the young boy.
• Berserk Button: He's hinted to get offended when someone makes a comment about his age, as seen in his reaction when Huo Xijing addresses him with the term lao ren jia (老人家), which one uses to politely address their elders.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Xie Ling may be the kindest and gentlest of all of Yan Wushi's split personalities, but if needed, he can act just as cold and merciless as Yan Wushi himself.
• Brutal Honesty: He's always straight to the point, and is oftentimes — more often than not, even — caustic with his words.
• The Cameo: Yan Wushi has a brief appearance in Chapter 129 of Wushuang when he encounters Feng Xiao and snipes at him.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You: He's on the receiving end of the trope. One of the reasons that Shen Qiao saves Yan Wushi after the latter got ambushed and nearly killed is because he's one of the few people who stand in the way between the jianghu's political stability and complete chaos and war. He even admits to himself that had it not been for that, he'd have shared the other sects' sentiment of wanting Yan Wushi dead.
• Challenge Seeker: As Shen Qiao had put it, Yan Wushi is a gambler down to his bones. One of Yan Wushi's most forefront traits is that he loves a good fight, likes taking his chances in situations where the odds are highly against him, and achieving goals that others would believe to be Beyond the Impossible. Likewise, he seeks of a Worthy Opponent that stands on equal footing with him, which is part of what fuels his ambitions with the Zhuyang Ce.
• Character Development: Downplayed. He and Shen Qiao start falling in love with one another over the course of the plot, but the Love Redeems trope is averted in their romance as Yan Wushi's personality and beliefs do not suddenly turn a 180. However, while he still remains the same person that he always was, he's more willing to acknowledge that kindness and virtue does exist and that there is someone in the world who is truly good, and his love for Shen Qiao allows him to make compromises for someone else for once.
• Character Tics: In the donghua, he tends to either dust his clothes or wipe his hands after a fight. This ties to how the novel hints at him being a Neat Freak.
• The Chessmaster: He is extremely calculative and knows how to come up with various schemes to attain what he wants or work situations to his favor.
• Cleavage Window: A rare male example; in the donghua adaptation, his robes are open enough to reveal a decent portion of his chest. However, the trailer for the second season shows that his new attire is more modest in comparison.
• Compelling Voice: He attempts to use a skill that coaxes out whatever darker intentions Shen Qiao might have early on as he tries to tempt the other. Shen Qiao quickly catches on and Yan Wushi uses this ability less, but still tries when he thinks the other has lowered his guard.
• Cordon Bleugh Chef: While Yan Wushi can cook just fine, one of the Lunar New Year extras shows that he can also make some rather strange concoctions, such as mixing tangyuan into lamb stew, and creating a "medicinal" soup that's made of literal toxins and the essences of poisonous animals.
• The Corrupter: He tries to get Shen Qiao to give up on his ideals and embrace immorality more than once.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: Downplayed. Even before they were officially together, there are times when Yan Wushi suddenly shows up when others get a little too close to Shen Qiao. However, this trope starts to become more genuine as he falls in love with Shen Qiao, and he becomes quick to show displeasure towards anyone who gives Shen Qiao a bit too much admiration, including but not limited to, men, women, children, and even himself.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Anyone who tries facing against Yan Wushi head-on ends up being soundly beaten without much effort on the latter's part, and only very few are able to give him a hard time in a one-on-one fight.
• The Cynic: He's suspicious of everyone around him, and he believes that all humans, including himself, are selfish and evil by nature and that anything resembling good is false and fleeting.

Tropes D-K

• Dark Is Not Evil: Played with. He wears dark robes and is often callous and cruel, but he isn't necessarily evil. He just prefers to do whatever he wants either out of amusement and curiosity, or just because he's so powerful he can get away with it.
• Deadpan Snarker: His penchant for making witty and scathing remarks is unmatched.
• Death of Personality: Yan Wushi's soul split apart into several different personas as a result of his damaged qi after he was ambushed. However, Shen Qiao notes that his split personalities will soon disappear once Yan Wushi's core has healed enough, which is exactly what happens.
• Defiant to the End:
  • During the ambush, when his core shatters completely and right before he's knocked unconscious, Yan Wushi spits blood on Xueting's face and laughs at him.
  • In the donghua, before Dou Yanshan could try to raise his sword at him, Yan Wushi smiles at him in a threatening manner and dares him to just try.
• Depending on the Artist: His appearance in the novel (including its reprints and other editions), audio drama, and donghua are all different from the other; and the only consistent aspect of his many designs is the white streaks in his hair.
• Determinator: He possesses an indomitable will that never bends under any circumstances. And in more mundane matters, he is driven to win over Shen Qiao despite the fact that he made it nearly impossible for Shen Qiao to trust him again.
• Disguised in Drag:
  • At one point, while trying to escort him back to Chang'an in secret, Shen Qiao resorts to putting Yan Wushi in women's clothing to avoid him from being recognized.
  • While infiltrating the imperial palace to rescue Puliuru Jian's children, Yan Wushi disguises himself as a maid alongside Shen Qiao and Bian Yanmei; although he takes the extra measures of shrinking his bones and wearing a mask made from the skin of another human's face.
• Double Entendre: He likes speaking this way around Shen Qiao, mainly as a way to tease the other, and to also mess with any eavesdroppers who may get the wrong idea. This later turns into something genuinely more flirtatious on his end.
• The Dreaded: He is both respected and feared by other cultivators, as his mere presence leads everyone in the vicinity to hesitate on making a move. At one point, when a cultivator haughtily declared they wanted to fight Yan Wushi, they immediately turned tail after seeing him in action, with a few others calling them out on their hypocrisy.
• Elemental Motifs: Water.
  • Among the five Chinese elements (wu xing), water is recognized as the most yin element, as water is described as cold and quiet, representing the resting time of winter.
  • Water is also known for its capacity to flow, making it simultaneously flexible, powerful, reserved and dangerous.
  • It's recognized among China that those whose astrology is characterized by the element of water are born with great intuition and both an analytical and observational mind, combined with a powerful charisma and an adaptive capability.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Hinted at. Even though Yan Wushi is completely aware that he's being lured into a trap, part of what made him agree to attend the Coiling Dragon Conference was the rumors that one of the items being auctioned in the event belonged to his mother.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Downplayed. Yan Wushi is cold, ruthless, and not the most empathic person around, but compared to the other people of the demonic sects, he doesn't go out of his way causing havoc and threatening order just because.
  • In the donghua, he's one of the very few sect leaders who's not keen on helping the people of Beimu (Tujue) conquer the Central Plains. He says outright that whatever they're planning, they're certainly up to no good.
• Evil Laugh: While he's more amoral than outright evil, he has a habit of laughing or chuckling often, and it tends to sound sinister. The donghua takes his penchant for laughter up to eleven.
• Fatal Flaw: His pride. It's what made him walk into an ambush that he knew was waiting for him because he was so sure that he would emerge as the victor, only for him to greatly underestimate his opponents and nearly die for it.
• A Father to His Men: Downplayed. Yan Wushi is a Stern Teacher to his disciples and while he doesn't exactly regard them as family or even as friends, one way or another they still are his disciples. He even asks Shen Qiao to look after them in case anything happened to him, and while Yan Wushi states that people are either worthless ants or worthy opponents in his eyes, the narration clarifies that his disciples are an exception to either categorization.
• Fire/Water Juxtaposition: Invoked in Yan Wushi's abilities. While his Chunshui Zhi Style is most often associated with water, the Fenglin Yuandian is associated with fire (particularly in the donghua). This makes sense since the fenglin is a portmanteau of the fenghuang and the qilin, and both are Chinese mystical creatures that are sometimes featured with flames.
• Foil: To Shen Qiao. While he believes that everyone will be corrupted at some point, Shen Qiao believes everyone has goodness in them. This piques Yan Wushi's interest in the other and saves the other's life just to see if he would live long enough to have his ideals be proven wrong. It's the two's contrasting beliefs that sets up most of their interactions.
• Forceful Kiss: Most of the kisses between Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi are stolen by the latter, with Shen Qiao taken by complete surprise and/or trying to resist his advances, at least until they officially become a couple.
• Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: In spite of Yan Wushi's betrayal, Shen Qiao chooses to not hate him and even saves him from certain death. That being said, just because he doesn't hate the other man doesn't automatically mean that he trusts him either, and he always keeps Yan Wushi at arm's length, regarding him with suspicion moreso than he did before.
• Friendship Denial: One of the crueler examples. When Shen Qiao expresses that he's beginning to see Yan Wushi as a friend, moments later Yan Wushi paralyzes him and hands him over to Sang Jingxing. To drive the knife even deeper, Yan Wushi bluntly tells him that what he seeks is not a friend but a Worthy Opponent, and he doesn't see Shen Qiao as that at all.
• The Gadfly: He enjoys messing with others, especially Shen Qiao, just to see what will get a rise out of the Daoist priest. Even when Shen Qiao believes he's dying at the end of the novel, Yan Wushi can't help but play dead for a little longer just to hear Shen Qiao promise he'll do anything for the other if he would wake up.
• Graceful Loser:
  • When his final attempt to break Shen Qiao's spirit and prove his ideals wrong fails, Yan Wushi takes it in stride and admits that he's actually impressed that Shen Qiao managed to exceed his expectations.
  • He readily acknowledges that he paid the price for greatly underestimating his opponents and moves forward without making any further fuss about it.
• Hidden Depths: Aside from being a skilled cultivator, he's also extremely savvy in both politics and business.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: It's only after Yan Wushi betrays Shen Qiao, to which the latter repaid the favor by saving his life nevertheless, that his affections for Shen Qiao start to become deeper and more genuine. But because he already betrayed the other's trust once, it takes a lot of time and effort before Shen Qiao could open up to him again.
• Honest Advisor: While his reasons for serving Yuwen Yong are more for his personal benefit than anything else, Yan Wushi nevertheless serves his role well and has zero intentions of overthrowing the emperor and taking his position for himself.
• Humans Are Bastards: What he firmly believes, which conflicts with Shen Qiao's ideals. He spends about half of the story trying to prove the other wrong.
• I Hate Past Me:
  • Almost literally in this case, as Yan Wushi harbors extreme jealousy towards his Split Personality who embodies how he Used to Be a Sweet Kid, since Shen Qiao shows more kindness and gentleness towards Xie Ling than he ever did towards Yan Wushi.
  • Yan Wushi is also jealous towards A-Yan, who represents him when he was a teenager, albeit not to the same degree as with Xie Ling, partly because Shen Qiao is more guarded towards the former.
• I Love You Because I Can't Control You: Reconstructed. Shen Qiao's ideals and pure-hearted nature captures Yan Wushi's interest, but he nevertheless believed that like everyone else, Shen Qiao is just as susceptible to giving up his morals once he's lost everything and everyone he's valued. When Shen Qiao exceeds his expectations and manages to prove him wrong once and for all, he earns Yan Wushi's respect for being able to stay true to himself even after being pushed through the worst circumstances. As a result, Yan Wushi starts to see Shen Qiao in a different light and genuinely falls in love with him. And while Yan Wushi is determined to win Shen Qiao's affections and won't be satisfied with just remaining his friend, he wants Shen Qiao to return his feelings on his own terms and of his own will.
• Image Song: The lyrics of first ending theme of the audio drama is written from Yan Wushi's point of view, as the song narrates his curiosity towards Shen Qiao and how said curiosity eventually comes to blossom into affection and love the more he learns about Shen Qiao's character.
• Insane Troll Logic: Yan Wushi is a master of the trope. There is no winning in a debate with him, as he will always find some way to twist the argument in his favor and provide a rationale that is, for all intents and purposes, ridiculous and makes no sense; yet he always manages to make it seem like it actually is reasonable. Shen Qiao even lampshades the trope by saying that he should have been named Zong Youli, which means "always has a reason".
• Insufferable Genius: Yan Wushi is extremely arrogant and condescending towards almost everyone he encounters, and he knows that he has a tendency to aggravate the people around him. However, no one is able to deny that his arrogance is not unfounded, as he's one of the most powerful fighters of his or any other generation.
• I Regret Nothing: He tells Shen Qiao that he has no regrets over betraying him to Sang Jingxing even when they're firmly on the same side now, although this is because he is the type of person who doesn't want to mull over what had already happened. However, an extra chapter reveals that Yan Wushi did feel a bit of remorse for stabbing Shen Qiao in the back.
• It Amused Me:
  • Many of the things he does are purely for amusement or to satisfy his curiosity. For example, he decides to spare the person who tried to kill him because he says it would be more fun to send his people to harass him every now and then and let him live in fear for the rest of his life of the day when Yan Wushi decides to stop toying with him and finally take his revenge.
  • This is also the main reason Yan Wushi saves Shen Qiao at the start: he wants to see whether or not someone as pure as Shen Qiao can be corrupted by the harshness of the world.
• Jerkass to One: Inverted; he treats everyone with flippant disregard, regardless of their rank and power. Shen Qiao even receives this treatment for a while, but once Yan Wushi starts to fall in love with him, he becomes more gentle in his approach towards Shen Qiao, though he acts like his usual arrogant self around everyone else.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • His cynicism and his beliefs about the worst of humanity are not unfounded, and he often makes fair points whenever he and Shen Qiao discuss or debate about human nature.
  • Shen Qiao, who is quick to show anger when anyone dares insult Qi Fengge in any way, doesn't disagree when Yan Wushi criticizes Qi Fengge for his decision to spare Hulugu due to putting Honor Before Reason.
  • When Yu Ai asks Shen Qiao why he keeps on trying to fight back against him, Yan Wushi dryly lampshades that it's only common sense for anyone to run away when they realize that they'd be held prisoner otherwise.
• Just Toying with Them: A lot of the scenes in the novel and its adaptations feature him messing with others, Shen Qiao included.
• Kick the Dog: The reason Yan Wushi gave Shen Qiao to Sang Jingxing in exchange for his old sword wasn't because he suddenly wanted his sword back; it was a deliberate act to break Shen Qiao's spirit by showing him that he was worth less than a sword that he doesn't even bother to use again when he reclaims it. This bites him in the ass later on when Shen Qiao wonders why he hasn't brought his sword with him, and since Yan Wushi already fell in love with Shen Qiao by then, he refrains from telling Shen Qiao the truth lest he permanently destroys the little trust he has left in him. The narration even describes him acknowledging that he never expected that he'd end up digging himself into a pit.

Tropes L-Z

• Lack of Empathy: Compassion does not exist in the man's dictionary. As Shen Qiao puts it best:
  Shen Qiao: He's not cruel-hearted. He just doesn't have a heart for others. He treats everyone in this world equally heartlessly — he's not particularly kind to anyone.
• Love at First Sight: Downplayed as both Xie Ling and A-Yan share Yan Wushi's memories, but even when they first emerged after Yan Wushi's injuries caused his soul to divide into multiple personas, both split personalities immediately take a shine to Shen Qiao. A-Yan even goes so far as to offer to love and cherish Shen Qiao if Yan Wushi is unwilling to.
• Love Confession: The words "I love you" are never exchanged between the two, since the author stated that their kind of love is one that's never said to the other but is already understood. That being said, at some point in the novel, Yan Wushi tells Shen Qiao that he's his one and only weakness now, and in another occasion he tells Shen Qiao that his heart belongs to him. Both instances are the closest one can get to an explicit confession of love in the novel.
• Love Epiphany: Although his attitude and opinion towards Shen Qiao slowly began to change over the second half of the novel, it's only in Chapter 90 where he fully realizes, and subsequently accepts, that he has grown to care for Shen Qiao more than he would like to admit.
• Loving Bully: Even after Yan Wushi genuinely falls for Shen Qiao, he still can't help but pick on the latter and see what would get a rise out of the other man. Granted, his teasing is more light-hearted this time around, even though it gives little comfort to Shen Qiao.
• Meaningful Name:
  • His first name translates to "without a master".
  • The name of his Signature Move means "fingertips of spring water". At first, it sounds like an Ironic Name due to how deadly and destructive the technique actually is, but Qi Fengge describes why it earned its name by reciting a poem verse: "The tender wave of the spring water pities the reflection on it, that all of the infatuation has turned to dust." In other words, the way that Yan Wushi uses his qi to disrupt someone else's qi and obliterate their offense and defense in a manner to dispersing water into vapor is what Qi Fengge meant by the "infatuation" being "turned to dust" by the "spring water".
• Meaningful Rename: His birth name is Xie Ling, but later on, he changed his name to Yan Wushi.
• Misanthrope Supreme: Downplayed. Yan Wushi sees humanity as evil by nature and that it's only a matter of time for those with morals to be crushed and broken by the harshness of society. However, unscrupulous and selfish he may be, this belief doesn't spur him to embark on a murderous spree. He may not hesitate to take a life if it would benefit him, but he still is more interested in ensuring that the nation lives in an era of peace and stability and not one of chaos and anarchy.
• Mr. Fanservice: The Animated Adaptation often provides some generous shots that focus on his bared chest, repeatedly reminding the audience of how Yan Wushi has quite the sculpted and muscular figure.
• Mysterious Past: While the novel provides a detail or two on some of his history with the other cultivators, very little, if any, information is given about his past as Xie Ling and of what turned him into the person he is today. Even Meng Xishi herself deliberately chose to not elaborate on Yan Wushi's past. However, it is hinted that Yan Wushi's past might be marred with tragedy, as the official synopsis of the novel described Yan Wushi getting to where he is today by "walking through mountains of corpses and oceans of blood".
• Neat Freak: Yan Wushi immediately reacted with murderous intent when Shen Qiao unintentionally coughed blood on his clothes, and he doesn't like sharing his bowl or his cup with others. Shen Qiao even makes sure to give him clean chopsticks and his own separate bowl whenever the two eat together.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: One of the reasons Yan Wushi surrendered Shen Qiao to Sang Jingxing was because he no longer deemed him as a Worthy Opponent after learning that the damage to Shen Qiao's cultivation cannot be repaired. However, his attempts to have Shen Qiao learn the Zhuyang Ce beforehand are what allowed Shen Qiao to reform a new cultivation base and recover back to his full power after he destroyed his original core.
• No Sense of Personal Space: The physical distance he puts between himself and Shen Qiao whenever they interact is, more often than not, far closer than necessary. In the donghua, a lot of scenes have him lean really close to Shen Qiao and outright whisper in his ear.
• Not Good with Rejection: Downplayed. It's not that he reacts poorly at the prospect of being rejected, it's that he is not the type of person who will take a refusal as it is and leave it at that. If he's rejected, he will continue to persist until the other party surrenders to him.
  Even if I did not use my status or my martial arts to oppress people, there were countless men and women who offered themselves up to me. This is the first time in my life that I have focused my heart and efforts on a single person. If I still am not able to lay hold of him with ease, then I have truly wasted the earlier years of my life, and might as well kill myself by ramming my head against a wall.
• Not So Above It All: While he already has quite the sense of humor, he doesn't protest to the idea of crossdressing as a way of disguising himself.
• Older Than He Looks: Although he's obviously older than a teenager, one might be surprised to learn that he's already in his forties. Though when taking into consideration that Shen Qiao is in his thirties and a few extras from both the novel and the audio drama make it clear that they're at least ten years apart, Yan Wushi is already likely in his fifties by the time the main plot kicks off.
• Opposites Attract: He became interested in Shen Qiao's pure ideals as they were so different to his own, and he ends up falling in love with the other.
• Pass the Popcorn: There are multiple scenes (especially in the donghua) where Yan Wushi will casually sit aside like he's watching a play as tense arguments and bloody fights are about to go down.
• Pet the Dog: While he doesn't qualify as a good person in any way and often has his moments of indulging in outright sadism, there still are some moments where he shows his warmer and more human side.
  • While Shen Qiao settled his unfinished business in Xuandu Mountain, Yan Wushi took in a deer as a pet, and he's shown to be gentle and playful with it. Likewise, the deer is also attached to Yan Wushi.
  • When Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi get kicked out of a gambling house after the former unknowingly cheated, Yan Wushi casually gave all their ill-gotten wealth to a beggar.
• Proud Beauty: He may not brag about how charming he is, per se, but he definitely thinks highly of his appearance. In his brief cameo in Wushuang, while he does concede that Feng Xiao is handsome, he thinks that the latter is only second to him in terms of good looks.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Subverted for the most part, but his mercurial nature aside, Yan Wushi often displays a juvenile sense of humor and can be surprisingly immature when he gets jealous.
• Purple Is Powerful: In the donghua. His robes are purple, his spiritual energy also glows purple, and he's one of the most powerful martial artists in the jianghu.
• Quality over Quantity: The reason the Huanyue Sect only has two disciples so far is that Yan Wushi will only accept people he deems capable enough to be taken under his tutelage, and his standards for a worthy disciple are high to begin with.
• The Quiet One: Xie Ling doesn't speak much and can even go an entire day without saying anything.
• Real Men Can Cook: This is also a given for most martial arts masters, as they're often thrust into situations where they need to cook their own food since they don't always have servants around to do it for them. On one occasion, Yan Wushi cooks some fish soup to feed to Shen Qiao, who finds the dish tasty enough.
• Red Baron: Yan Wushi is also known as the "Demonic Sovereign", a moniker that he's not fond of.
• Reverse Arm-Fold: In the donghua, he often walks with at least one hand behind his back.
• Rule of Three: As it turns out, Yan Wushi had already considered having Shen Qiao join his sect long before. The first instance is in the main story. Then the audio drama reveals that around two decades ago, Yan Wushi abducted Shen Qiao on a whim and gave him a similar offer. Then later, one of the novel's extras revealed that on the day Qi Fengge adopted Shen Qiao, Yan Wushi noticed the child and asked Qi Fengge to give him the child if he wasn't interested in taking him in as a disciple.
• Self-Made Man: He achieved his status and power all on his own merit, without relying on any kind of connections even once to help him get ahead.
• Seme: Or gong in Chinese terms.
• Silver Fox: Downplayed. He's already of a mature age that part of his hair has now turned gray, and he is described In-Universe to be handsome. He is good-looking enough that even Feng Xiao from Wushuang feels threatened by his appearance.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Yan Wushi is strongly hinted to have had past relations with other people, such as when Yan Wushi mentally remarks how several men and women alike had offered themselves to him; and on a seperate occassion, Bian Yanmei recalled how Yan Wushi had several flings in the past. In addition, many characters In-Universe are also quick to assume that Shen Qiao is Yan Wushi's "male escort". Either way, the novel explicitly describes Shen Qiao as the only person who Yan Wushi feels love for.
• The Social Darwinist: In Yan Wushi's eyes, there are only two types of people: those who are strong enough to be his Worthy Opponents, and those who are no more than worthless ants.
• Something Only They Would Say: When Yan Wushi pretends to be Xie Ling to mess with Shen Qiao, Shen Qiao isn't fooled because Xie Ling calls him only "meiren-gege" and not "A-Qiao".
• Split Personality: The effects of his damaged qi causes his soul to temporarily divide into multiple personas, each representing specific aspects of his character.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Just because a person started to fall in love with someone they previously looked down on, it doesn't mean that the other will immediately reciprocate their feelings, especially if the former had greatly wronged the latter in the past prior to their change of heart. This is exactly what happens between Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi after Yan Wushi gave Shen Qiao to Sang Jingxing. To his credit, Yan Wushi is aware that his past actions have made it a lot harder for Shen Qiao to trust him again and take him seriously, which is why he exercises endless patience with Shen Qiao as he tries to win the other man over, even when Shen Qiao repeatedly continues to brush him off and give him the cold shoulder.
• Sweet Tooth: As Xie Ling, he's fond of tang ren, although even as an adult, he's not averse to eating sweets.
• The Tease: If he has one hobby he enjoys indulging in, it's teasing and flirting with Shen Qiao. At first, he does simply so he could see what would tick Shen Qiao off, but later on, it becomes one of his ways of expressing his affections.
• Third-Person Person: A variation: Yan Wushi often refers to himself as "this venerable one" (本座), which is a testament to how prideful he is.
• Thrill Seeker: He seeks out other strong martial artists who pique his interest and who he can test his abilities against. The primary reason he saves Shen Qiao's life besides seeing if he could corrupt him was because he heard of how powerful Shen Qiao was and wanted to see it for himself.
• Tsundere: As Yan Wushi's affection for Shen Qiao evolves into something deeper and more genuine, for a while, some of the instances he acts with his usual aloof and devil-may-care attitude is hinted to be a mask he puts up around Shen Qiao to as he has yet to fully come to terms with his developing feelings for the other man.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid:
  • Xie Ling, who is one of the fragments of Yan Wushi's shattered consciousness, represents Yan Wushi's personality when he was still a child. Shen Qiao observes that Xie Ling is a lot more innocent, gentle, and sweet-natured, a far far cry from how he is as Yan Wushi.
  • Even A-Yan, another alternate personality that embodies how Yan Wushi was like when he was a teenager, is nowhere near as cold-hearted as his present self.
• Villainous RRoD: When Yan Wushi gets ambushed by the leaders of the other sects, they begin to overpower him and gradually destroy his qi, causing him to suffer a cultivation backlash that would have been fatal if it were not for Shen Qiao's interference.
• Villain Protagonist: Not quite, but he comes close, especially with his cold and apathetic personality and his jaded outlook on life. What subverts this trope is that even though he's capable of cruelty, has committed his fair share of immoral actions, and carries plenty of ambitions, his end goals are far from nefarious.
• Vocal Evolution: A variation. Wu Lei gives Yan Wushi a Baritone of Strength in both the donghua and the audio drama, but his voice in the donghua doesn't sound as deep as it does in the audio drama. However, in both adaptations, his voice drops to a really low range whenever he gets completely serious in a fight.
• Voice Changeling: After his consciousness got split into different personalities, the register and tone of Yan Wushi's voice changes drastically depending on which personality has taken over at the moment.
• We Named the Monkey "Jack": Later on, when Yan Wushi takes in a deer as a pet, he names it A-Qiao. He even teases Shen Qiao about when the other gets visibly jealous and annoyed.
• We Want Our Jerk Back!: Subverted. When Yan Wushi temporarily developed multiple personalities as a result of his damaged qi, Shen Qiao gets along with Xie Ling and A-Yan, both of whom represent Yan Wushi's personality in the past, but he treats Yan Wushi himself with a colder shoulder.
• When He Smiles: Inverted. Whenever Yan Wushi smiles in a gentle and soft manner rather than make his usual taunting sneer, everyone who sees it is bound to get incredibly unnerved, especially considering the kind of character Yan Wushi is. Even Shen Qiao is horrified the first time Yan Wushi smiled at him that way.
• Worf Had the Flu: After barely surviving the ambush, Yan Wushi has a harder time fending off anyone who would try to kill him again, since both his injuries and the damage in his demonic core are so severe that he still needs more time to fully recover.
• World's Strongest Man: While he is ranked second among the strongest martial artists at present, many are quick to agree that Yan Wushi is only behind the likes of Qi Fengge and Hulugu. By the time of the finale, Yan Wushi is undoubtedly the most powerful martial artist alive.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Yan Wushi claims that this trope is his motivation for betraying Shen Qiao, when he realizes that the damage to Shen Qiao's meridians are permanent. Although an extra reveals that he simply did it more out of morbid curiosity than anything else.

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