Bai Yuan Zhi — Lord Xue Ying

Bai Yuan Zhi is Water Rites Town's resident mage and the teacher of Dong Bo Qing Shi. Initially protective of his own cultivation time, he accepts Qing Shi after Xue Ying obtains a rare ingredient and becomes a long-term member of the Dong Bo household. The early evidence is intact and has no identity collision; his offensive spell repertoire is not shown. (Chapters 13–87 and 170)

Biography

Snow Eagle Territory and Black-Wind Cliff

When Xue Ying asks Bai Yuan Zhi to teach Qing Shi, the elderly Star-rank mage is reluctant to divert energy from his own advancement. He agrees after Xue Ying obtains the fresh heart of a Silver Moon Wolf King, a material Bai needs, and later moves to Snowrock Castle as Qing Shi's instructor. During Xiang Pang Yun's attack, Bai reads the destructive traces of the battle, helps the castle's riders withdraw, and then identifies Xue Ying's use of the Myriad Existences realm after the assassin dies. (Chapters 13–15, 26–30, and 61–73)

Bai remains at the castle after Xue Ying's return and defers to the younger man's vastly higher status. Over subsequent years he uses Dong Bo Clan resources to advance to Silver Moon rank, while his role as Qing Shi's teacher and witness to Xue Ying's youth gives him a special place in the clan despite being less distinguished than its leading combatants. Xue Ying later asks Yu Jing Qiu to give Bai cultivation pointers. (Chapters 73, 87, and 170)

Appearance and personality

Bai is over ninety at introduction, with lightly creased skin and a long black beard reaching his stomach. He wears a loose white robe and is once shown meditating barefoot in the winter wind. He values magical advancement and scarce materials, but is also perceptive and appropriately humble when Xue Ying outgrows him. (Chapters 15, 26, 65–71, 87, and 170)

Abilities and cultivation

At introduction Bai is a Star-rank Great Mage. His spiritual power can sense the dangerous, tightly withdrawn Qi within Xue Ying, and his trained observation lets him estimate battle level from displaced rocks and ambient Qi before recognizing the flames of the Myriad Existences realm. These are detection and analysis feats; the corpus gives no named personal spell or direct battle. (Chapters 15, 26, and 65–71)

With Dong Bo Clan resources, Bai reaches Silver Moon rank by Chapter 170. The text explicitly places him below the clan's outstanding talents and does not demonstrate a higher breakthrough, so Silver Moon is his latest evidenced cultivation state. (Chapter 170)

Relationships

Dong Bo Qing Shi: Personal disciple whose education brings Bai into the Dong Bo Clan and gives him lasting standing there. (Chapters 13–15, 29–30, and 170)
Dong Bo Xue Ying: Patron who fulfills Bai's material condition, later surpasses him completely, and continues supporting his cultivation. (Chapters 15, 26, 65–71, 87, and 170)
Xiang Pang Yun: Attacker whose battle with Xue Ying Bai observes and analyzes while helping Snowrock Castle's people escape. (Chapters 61 and 65–73)
Lord Si An: Local official whose investigation and urgent arrival Bai recognizes at Snowrock Castle. (Chapters 73 and 87)
Yu Jing Qiu: Transcendent mage whom Bai greets respectfully and from whom Xue Ying requests future guidance for him. (Chapter 170)

Items

Silver Moon Wolf King's heart: A fresh rank-four magic-beast material Bai needs badly enough to make it one condition for accepting Qing Shi. The local item manifest assigns no separate article, and the surviving text does not state the experiment or spell for which he uses it. (Chapter 15)