Cui Chan

Overview

Cui Chan (崔瀺), widely feared and respected under the moniker Embroidered Tiger (绣虎), was the first disciple of the Old Scholar (文圣老秀才) and the paramount National Teacher (国师) of the Great Li Dynasty (大骊王朝). A peerless strategist, chess grandmaster, and the architect of the "Shigong" (事功 - Practicality/Merit) school of thought, Cui Chan defected from his master's orthodox Confucian lineage to forge a ruthless but effective path for humanity's survival.

He was the central mastermind who transformed the Great Li Dynasty from a minor vassal state into a continent-spanning empire. When the Monster Race of the Manhuang Heaven invaded the Haoran Heaven, Cui Chan orchestrated the defense of the Eastern Aquarius Continent (宝瓶洲), utilizing everything—including his own life, his soul, his junior brothers, and the very landscape of the continent—to repel the apocalypse.

Appearance

In his youth, Cui Chan was an exceptionally handsome, high-spirited scholar who radiated brilliance. During his tenure as the National Teacher of Great Li, he often appeared as an elderly, composed Confucian scholar (儒衫老者). Following his decision to split his soul, a portion of his spirit inhabited a young, flawless physical vessel with a red mole between his eyebrows—a boy who would eventually forsake the name Cui Chan and become known as Cui Dongshan (崔东山).

Personality

Cui Chan was defined by his overwhelming intellect and his profound pessimism regarding the world and human nature. Unlike his junior brother Qi Jingchun, who believed in the inherent goodness of people, Cui Chan viewed humanity through a cynical, utilitarian lens. He fundamentally believed that relying on individual moral purity was insufficient to save the world; instead, strict laws, calculated merits, and an unyielding system were required.

He was pragmatic to the point of cruelty, willing to sacrifice millions of lives, countless reputations, and his own soul to achieve his strategic goals. He harbored a disdain for pedantic scholars who sat in their studies discussing high-minded morality while the world burned. Despite his ruthless methods and his reputation as a "traitor" to his lineage, Cui Chan's ultimate goal was always the preservation of humanity and the Haoran Heaven. He did what he believed no one else had the courage or the cruelty to do.

History

Early Life and the Old Scholar

Cui Chan was born into a wealthy family and became the very first disciple of the Old Scholar back when the latter was just a poor, unknown teacher in a humble alley. Because the Old Scholar was impoverished, Cui Chan often provided the financial support for his master's early teaching days. As the eldest disciple, Cui Chan frequently acted as a substitute teacher for his junior brothers, including Qi Jingchun and Zuo You, helping lay the foundation of the Wen Sheng lineage's immense academic success. During this era, he also famously traveled to Baidi City (白玉京) and played the legendary "Auspicious Cloud Game" (彩云局) against the demonic mastermind Zheng Juzhong.

Defection and the Great Li Dynasty

Recognizing the impending threat of the Manhuang Heaven and disillusioned by the orthodox methods of the Confucian Temple, Cui Chan developed the "Shigong" (事功) doctrine. This philosophy prioritized concrete results and systemic efficiency over personal moral perfection. When this ideology clashed fundamentally with the teachings of his master, Cui Chan defected, bearing the infamy of a traitor. He traveled to the northern fringes of the Eastern Aquarius Continent and became the National Teacher of the Great Li Dynasty, guiding its emperors to conquer the continent and establish a unified, militarized front.

Soul Splitting and the Shujian Lake Trap

To circumvent an ideological bottleneck and prepare for all eventualities, Cui Chan split his soul. One half remained the elderly National Teacher steering the Great Li empire, while the other half inhabited a young body (Cui Dongshan) to oversee the Lizhu Grotto-Heaven and interact with the newly chosen closed-door disciple, Chen Ping'an.

To test Chen Ping'an's Dao heart and determine if the young man was truly fit to inherit Qi Jingchun's hopes, Cui Chan orchestrated a brutal moral dilemma at Shujian Lake (书简湖). He manipulated events around Gu Can to force Chen Ping'an into a seemingly unsolvable conflict between rigid law and personal loyalty, forcing the young man to break and rebuild his own philosophical foundation.

The Haoran-Manhuang War

When the Manhuang Heaven breached the Sword Qi Great Wall and invaded the Haoran Heaven, Cui Chan's centuries of planning culminated in the defense of the Eastern Aquarius Continent. As neighboring continents like Tongye and Fuyao fell rapidly, Cui Chan rallied the Great Li military and the continent's cultivation sects. In a historic court assembly, he declared, "Those willing to catch the falling sky, please stand" (愿挽天倾者，请起身), cementing the continent's resolve.

In his final, supreme gambit, Cui Chan confronted the Manhuang mastermind Zhou Mi (周密) across continents. He temporarily merged his own cultivation with the remnant 14th-realm will of his deceased junior brother Qi Jingchun, and actively utilized Zhou Mi's stolen three million books to artificially elevate his own realm. Through this unparalleled calculation, he thwarted Zhou Mi's advances and ensured the survival of the Eastern Aquarius Continent, eventually passing away and leaving the mantle of National Teacher to Chen Ping'an.

Cultivation & Abilities

• Ascension Realm (飞升境): Cui Chan was a supreme cultivator who reached the Ascension Realm. Upon reaching this height, he obtained the natal word "Chan" (瀺).
• Temporary 14th Realm: During the climax of the war against Zhou Mi, Cui Chan managed to momentarily wield 14th-realm power through a complex array of conditions, including hijacking Zhou Mi's literary manifestations and synergizing with Qi Jingchun's lingering Dao.
• Unparalleled Strategy (事功学问): His true power lay not in raw martial or magical force, but in his mind. He could calculate the flow of karma, destiny, and warfare across continents centuries in advance.
• Soul Manipulation: He possessed the rare and dangerous ability to perfectly split his soul, creating two distinct entities capable of independent thought, cultivation, and philosophical growth.

Relationships

• The Old Scholar (文圣老秀才): His master. Though Cui Chan rebelled and claimed to cut ties, a deep, unspoken bond remained. The Old Scholar privately defended Cui Chan's character to others, recognizing the terrible burden his first disciple had chosen to bear.
• Qi Jingchun (齐静春): His junior brother. They were ideological opposites—optimism versus pessimism. Yet, their contrasting methods ultimately formed a perfect, silent coordination that saved their home continent.
• Cui Dongshan (崔东山): The fragment of his own soul that developed into a separate entity. Cui Dongshan retained the more juvenile, eccentric aspects of Cui Chan's original personality and eventually became Chen Ping'an's student.
• Chen Ping'an (陈平安): His youngest junior brother. Cui Chan treated him with extreme harshness, subjecting him to life-threatening trials and mental torture. However, this was Cui Chan's twisted way of acting as a "Dao Protector," ensuring Chen Ping'an was unbreakable before handing him the reins of the continent.
• Zhou Mi (周密): His ultimate intellectual rival from the Manhuang Heaven. The two engaged in a continent-spanning game of chess that decided the fate of two worlds.

Quotes

• "愿挽天倾者，请起身。" (Those willing to catch the falling sky, please stand.)
• "不破坏规矩的前提下，只有棋盘无限大，才有这种可能性，不然休作此想。" (Under the premise of not breaking the rules, only if the chessboard is infinitely large is there such a possibility; otherwise, banish the thought.)

References

• 剑来5：山水有相逢, 第一章 — 遇上: Supports Cui Chan revealing his soul-splitting technique, creating the young boy who would later be named Cui Dongshan.
• 剑来10：他乡遇故知, 第二章 — 新年新气象: Supports Cui Chan's origins as a wealthy youth who became the Old Scholar's very first disciple.
• 剑来12：人间仰望, 第四章 — 请君入瓮: Supports Cui Chan's orchestration of the Shujian Lake moral trap to test Chen Ping'an's Dao heart.
• 剑来13：陇上花又开, 第二章 — 世间人事皆芥子: Supports the Old Scholar's assessment that Cui Chan was incredibly intelligent but fundamentally pessimistic about the world from the very beginning.
• 剑来22：原挽天倾, 第三章 — 朱敛问拳: Supports Cui Chan's famous declaration in the Great Li imperial study ("Those willing to catch the falling sky, please stand") to rally the continent against the Manhuang invasion.
• 剑来24：新酒等旧人, 第七章 — 最高处的山巅境: Supports Cui Chan reaching the Ascension Realm and obtaining the natal word "瀺".
• 剑来25：天地皆同力, 第六章 — 只驱龙蛇不驱蚊: Supports Liu Shiliu's recollection of Cui Chan playing the Auspicious Cloud Game against Baidi City's Zheng Juzhong.
• 剑来27：风雪夜归人, 第三章 — 春风得意: Supports Cui Chan's ultimate confrontation with Zhou Mi, where he utilized Qi Jingchun's remnant will and the enemy's three million books to achieve a temporary 14th Realm state.
• 剑来52：无忧此乡甲, 第二章 — 若无其事: Supports Chen Ping'an succeeding Cui Chan as the National Teacher of the Great Li Dynasty following Cui Chan's passing.