Xie Lian was born a prince of Xian Le, a prosperous nation overflowing with resources, art, and culture. He grew up beloved by his kingdom, though he was always a bit unconventional—indifferent to politics and wealth, but deeply convinced he could improve the lives of ordinary people. He trained in cultivation from childhood at the prestigious Huang Ji Temple, where he met Mu Qing, who would later become one of his most trusted generals. Mu Qing started out doing temple chores until Xie Lian vouched for him and got him formal training.
Despite his royal upbringing, which easily could've made him arrogant, Xie Lian developed into someone remarkably grounded. He treats everyone as equals regardless of rank, shows genuine compassion freely, and doesn't much care what others think of him—though he somehow still manages to find himself in awkward situations that leave him uncertain whether to laugh or cry. He's loyal to his friends and genuinely willing to help even people he's clashed with before.
What's striking about Xie Lian is that even after witnessing humanity and the divine at their absolute worst, he still chooses to believe in people's goodness. Sometimes this works against him—he misjudges personalities or refuses to accept evidence that someone he trusts might not be trustworthy. But he's also strategically sharp when it matters, staying calm under pressure and seeing through deception thanks to hard-won experience. There's one notable exception to his usual composure: he gets completely flustered around Hua Cheng's romantic advances, which fans often note is amusing given how perceptive he otherwise is about hidden motives.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
