Zhao Yifan

Zhao Yifan is the foremost sword Chosen of the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto and one of Meng Hao's strongest generational rivals.

Biography

Dao Child on Planet South Heaven

Zhao Yifan enters the struggle around the ancient Daoist temple as the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto's leading Dao Child. He is among the few Chosen whose power gives Meng Hao an immediate sense of danger. At the temple gate, Zhao compresses his sword qi into a central blade surrounded by a lake of smaller swords, forcing Meng Hao to yield ground; Meng Hao's second true self, wielding a Time Sword, is required to drive him back. Zhao responds to Meng Hao's victories not with caution but with growing anticipation. He lives to fight, awakens first from the temple's vision, and immediately resumes the pursuit. (Chapters 810–819)

The expedition develops their rivalry without personal hatred. Zhao pursues Meng Hao through the temple's lethal restrictions because of the legacy and because Meng Hao has proven worthy of his sword. Their exchanges establish a pattern repeated later: defeat wounds Zhao's confidence, but the desire to test his Dao against a stronger opponent brings him back. (Chapters 821–827)

Trial of the Three Great Daoist Societies

On the Dao Seeking Ancient Road, Zhao finishes first and enters the arena tournament as a favorite. He advances through increasingly powerful opponents to meet Fang Mu—Meng Hao's assumed identity—in the final. Their battle forces Meng Hao to draw deeply on his cultivation and even the dangerous Devilish will within him. Zhao loses and suffers both severe injuries and a damaged Dao heart, while Meng Hao's identity remains fixed in his mind as the standard he must surpass. (Chapters 861–882)

True Immortal rematch

Zhao repairs his Dao heart and waits for the era of true Immortal Ascension. He opens ninety-seven Immortal meridians, a result that would have dominated his generation if Fang Wei had not appeared at the same time. Meng Hao's far greater tribulation makes that newly restored confidence falter, yet Zhao does not retreat permanently. When he learns that Meng Hao and Fang Mu are the same person, he arrives for a third contest and draws his sword without hostility: both men understand the battle as a test of their respective Daos. (Chapters 957, 964, 967–972, 984, 987–988)

Zhao begins with an Azure Dragon made from more than ninety Sword Dragons, then escalates through five named sword strikes and the Five Cleaving Swords. The secret magic creates illusory meridians and raises his effective power beyond 140 meridians for a short time. His final sword is broken by Meng Hao's punch, but Zhao's conclusion differs from his earlier defeat: he smiles bitterly because his heart has not been defeated and he has proved himself capable of baring his sword at Meng Hao. He remains to witness the following challenges rather than collapsing under the result. (Chapters 988–991)

Appearance and personality

Zhao Yifan is presented through the austere image of a sword cultivator: controlled bearing, concentrated sword qi, and an illusory azure sword appearing in his hand when he prepares to fight. The text gives no extended portrait beyond the visual language of his techniques.

He is intensely competitive but not needlessly cruel. Combat is the means by which he measures his Dao, and a worthy opponent excites him even when that opponent threatens his status. His first major defeat becomes an inner Devil and fractures his confidence; his growth lies in returning to the same challenge after rebuilding himself. By the true-Immortal rematch, he can accept defeat without allowing it to define his heart.

Abilities and cultivation

Ninety-seven Immortal meridians

Zhao's true Immortal Ascension opens ninety-seven meridians, placing him among the foremost blazing suns of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. The meridians power his Sword Dragons and provide the base that his secret techniques temporarily amplify. (Chapter 964)

Sword-qi lake

He condenses sword qi into a great blade surrounded by a lake of smaller swords. The formation concentrates pressure at its leading point and is dangerous enough to force Meng Hao away from the temple gate. (Chapter 815)

Azure Dragon sword manifestation

More than ninety Sword Dragons merge into a gigantic Azure Dragon whose claws rend the void. It is a large-scale expression of his meridians through the Sublime Flow sword Dao rather than a summoned living creature. (Chapter 988)

Cloud Sealing Sword and five strikes

Using his Cloud Sealing Sword, Zhao takes five steps and delivers Felling the Mortal, Shocking the Spirit, Severing the Immortal, Shattering the Ancient, and Trampling the Heavens. Together they form the five-taloned claw of a Sword Dragon, layering successive increases in force into one combined attack. (Chapter 988)

Five Cleaving Swords

The Sublime Flow Sword Grotto's Immortal Realm secret magic creates illusory Immortal meridians. Swords Cleave the Heavens fills the sky with tens of thousands of blades; Immortal: Why Sever the Mundane World raises his power still further; and Who Is Most Honored in Heaven drives him beyond the equivalent of 140 meridians. The enhancement is temporary and strains his body, while its illusory souls are inferior to souls produced by true meridians. (Chapters 988–989)

Dao-heart recovery

Zhao's recovery after the tournament is not a combat technique, but it is essential to his strength. He repairs both his injuries and his damaged confidence, then converts the memory of defeat from paralysis into motivation for a cleaner rematch. (Chapters 957, 989)

Power progression

Relationships

• Meng Hao: Final-round and true-Immortal rival whom he openly challenges.
• Zhou Xin: Fellow Sublime Flow Sword Grotto Chosen.
• Li Ling'er: Fellow leading Chosen in the tournament and true-Immortal generation.

Items

• Cloud Sealing Sword: Zhao's apparently ordinary personal sword, used to deliver his five-step sequence and channel the Five Cleaving Swords. Its importance lies in how fully it carries his sword Dao rather than in elaborate ornament. (Chapter 988)