Blade's Story

Profile

As Yingxing

Yingxing was a short-life craftsman from a world destroyed by the borisin. After arriving on the Xianzhou, he became an apprentice of Huaiyan and rose to become the Luofu's Furnace Master. He later joined the High-Cloud Quintet and forged many of their weapons. Following the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae, Yingxing was transformed into an immortal being and afflicted with mara, leading him to become consumed by resentment and eventually take on the identity of Blade.

As Blade

Blade is the immortal identity assumed by Yingxing after the events of the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae. After escaping the Luofu and losing most of his memories, he was recruited into the Stellaron Hunters by Elio, who promised him an eternal end to his life. As a member of the Stellaron Hunters, Blade became a wanted fugitive of the Interastral Peace Corporation and repeatedly crossed paths with the Xianzhou and his former companions. He later traveled to Planarcadia as part of Elio's script, ultimately sealing Shuhu within himself and becoming a Supplicant of the Phantasmoon Games.

Appearance

Blade is a tall man with waist-length dark blue hair with red tips and red-orange eyes.

He wears an oriental-styled black tailcoat with red clothed insides and gray trousers. The tailcoat is embroidered with gold and dark blue colors, and he wears a black belt alongside a styled metal decoration on his left thigh. He also wears a black glove on his right hand, black shoes, and bandages can be seen wrapped around his right arm, right thigh, around his torso underneath the coat, and on his left hand.

History

As Yingxing

As a child, Yingxing's homeworld was destroyed by the borisin and transformed into one of their weapons nurseries. He somehow made his way to the Xianzhou aboard a merchant vessel,^[1] where he was discovered by Master Huaiyan of the Xianzhou Zhuming's Artisanship Commission and taken on as his apprentice. Yingxing vowed to forge weapons for the Cloud Knights in order to avenge his home and family. He proved to be an exceptionally talented craftsman, earning accolades at a remarkably young age and being described as incredible at his work.^[2]

Sometime after Yingxing forged his first sword, his junior frater Hanguang asked why he, as a short-life species, had traveled all the way to the Xianzhou to learn the art of craftsmanship. Yingxing told Hanguang about his background and how his weapons would outlive him, allowing them to avenge his family who had fallen to the borisin. Hanguang later stopped him from naming the sword "New Blade: Zero One," following the Cloud Knights' standard-issue naming template, quoting Huaiyan's words that a blade's name carries its destiny. Yingxing then named the sword "Departure."^[3]

During his time on the Zhuming, Yingxing met the leader of the Galaxy Rangers, La Mancha, who was visiting the Zhuming. La Mancha offered to teach him how to fight and invited him to join the Galaxy Rangers, though Yingxing refused both offers. He stated that his life was too short to strike down his enemies himself, but the weapons he forged would far outlast him and complete the task in his stead.^[4] Together, he and Huaiyan forged Ashveil's cane and prosthetic arm.^[3]

Yingxing later met Baiheng when she was assigned to a delegation tasked with requesting arms and reinforcements from the Zhuming for the Yaoqing's Heroncrest Fleet, which was occupied fighting the borisin. Yingxing was tasked with receiving the delegation at Radiant Zenith and escorting them to his master at Flamewheel Forge. Along the way, Baiheng spoke with the shy and insecure boy, whom she began calling Little Yingxing, and he eventually opened up to her about his past. Once they arrived, Huaiyan was willing to allocate three hundred fighter jets, twenty thousand thunder crossbows, and twenty thousand devastator glaives in response to Helm-Master Qingying's request for reinforcements, but only a dozen or so personnel.^[2]

Though Yingxing was shy in his youth, he grew more confident as he matured and was described by many as an arrogant man.^[5][6] Over time, Yingxing forged hundreds of weapons, four of which became his most famous: Shard Sword, Starfall Reverie, Cloud-Piercer, and Luer (renamed by Baiheng to simply "Recurve Bow").^[3] While attempting to forge Shard Sword, he created a flawless and razor-sharp yet brittle blade, which he hid away in shame. Huaiyan would later discover the unfinished blade and keep it.^[7]

The weapons were subsequently used by members of the High-Cloud Quintet. After being introduced to the quintet by Baiheng, Yingxing was presumably inducted into the group by Jingliu. At first, Jingliu was not fond of his defiant nature, but when they met again, he was able to craft weapons that astonished the master craftsmen and earned him the Artisanship Commission's title of "Furnace Master."^[1][8] Although he did not fight on the front lines, Yingxing was still present during battles alongside military engineers.^[9] At some point, he forged a restraint for the Ten-Lords Commission that would one day be used to restrain Hoolay after he was defeated by Jingliu and imprisoned.^[7]

Yingxing grew close to the other members of the Quintet and would regularly drink and spar with them.^[10][11] During his tenure on the Luofu, he underwent the trial to become Furnace Master. Despite being sabotaged when his materials were replaced with rotten scrap, he still managed to create a delicate and ingenious mechanical lion, earning the title of the Luofu's Furnace Master by following his master's teachings: "Waste not the bounty of the world, but perfect it through craft."^[7] At some point, fellow member Dan Feng, the High Elder of the Xianzhou Luofu's Vidyadhara at the time, allowed Yingxing to enter the Dragon Palace at Scalegorge Waterscape to repay a favor.^[12]

In the Year 7379 of the Star Calendar,^[10] in an event that would later come to be known as the "Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae," Dan Feng caused turmoil by "stealing" the power of the Abundance and altering the Transmutation Arcanum,^[13] thereby committing the foremost of the ten unpardonable sins on the Xianzhou with the help of Yingxing.^[11] The event took place in the aftermath of a devastating war against Shuhu, an Emanator of Yaoshi, during which Baiheng lost her life.^[14] Their tampering with the Ambrosial Arbor resulted in the creation of a draconic beast, and due to Yingxing's involvement and the use of Shuhu's flesh in the process, he was transformed into an immortal being and afflicted with mara.^[8][11] As a result, Yingxing developed an immense resentment toward Dan Feng and, in turn, his reincarnation, Dan Heng.^[15]

In the aftermath of the Sedition, Yingxing was imprisoned, and La Mancha offered to break him out, though he refused.^[3] At some point, he managed to escape the Luofu, but lost most of his memories in the process.^[16] During this time, he was discovered by Jingliu, who taught him swordplay while also killing him repeatedly to remind him of the karma of his past actions.^[17] He subsequently sought out Dan Heng with murderous intent, pursuing him across multiple Interastral Peace Corporation spaceships.^[6] No matter how many times they fought, and no matter how often Dan Heng killed him in self-defense, Yingxing would always return to continue the pursuit.^[18]

Some time after this, he was discovered by Elio, who saw a use for his immortality, and was convinced to join the Stellaron Hunters in exchange for a deal,^[19] promising to bring an "eternal end and final funeral" to his life and everything he had ever hated.^[20]

As Blade

As Blade and a mmember of the Stellaron huntes, he became a wanted fugitive of the IPC, stacking up a bounty of 8.13 billion credits.^[21] He would take part in several events such as the Jepella Rebellion on Jepella. While driving with Firely tor escue Kafka, he revealed to her the future Elio had foreseen for him was still a blank slate.^[22] Eventually, Blade willingly allowed himself to be captured by the Xianzhou Luofu forces to ensure that the Astral Express would come into contact with the Xianzhou Alliance, setting the stage for their eventual encounter with Nanook. Soon after his capture, Kafka contacted the Astral Express and asked them to visit the Xianzhou Luofu and clear their names, as the Luofu authorities believed that the Stellaron burst aboard the ship had been caused by the Stellaron Hunters. Kafka, however, denied that the Hunters were involved.^[23][24] Soon after the Express arrived on the Luofu, they learned from Jing Yuan that Kafka had also entered the ship in search of Blade.^[25] After Kafka was tracked down and captured, Fu Xuan took her to the Matrix of Prescience to interrogate her. Blade then appeared and rescued her, after which the two left together.^[24]

As Dan Heng attempts to sneak onto the Luofu, he is spotted by Blade and Kafka. Upon seeing Dan Heng, Blade's mara begins to worsen, prompting him to attack him. Yanqing, noticing the confrontation, comes to Dan Heng's aid, but Blade soon stabs Dan Heng with his Shard Sword, causing Dan Heng to revert to his original High Elder Vidyadhara form. Blade subsequently reveals Dan Heng's true origins as the successor to Dan Feng, prompting Yanqing to attempt to subdue both of them at once. Kafka then intervenes and uses Spirit Whisper to stop the trio from fighting.^[26] Before leaving the Luofu, Blade has a moment of reconciliation with the remaining members of the High-Cloud Quintet: Jing Yuan and Jingliu, as well as Dan Feng's reincarnation, Dan Heng. Before the group disperses, Blade asks Jingliu to kill him. Although Jingliu insists that her blade will not kill him, Blade states that it is a "due" she owes him and that he intends to repay her for her teachings. Unable to defeat her, the two ultimately part ways.^[8]

Following Elio's script, Blade makes his way to Planarcadia, where he was originally intended to meet the Synwish Syndicate to obtain their Mask of Elation. However, the Xianzhou delegates, Yao Guang and Tingyun, intercepted them, and the Mask of Elation was subsequently forcefully placed on Sunday by Yao Guang.^[27] Using his newly enhanced tuning techniques, Sunday was able to pinpoint Blade's location and asked Dan Heng to follow one of his crows to find Blade and keep an eye on him. According to Yao Guang's foresight, Blade would eventually give in to his violent tendencies. Blade acknowledged that her divination might not be baseless, as an unknown power was beckoning to him from within Planarcadia.^[28]

After the defeat of the Daybreak Squadron and Ashveil's public rollcall, Silver Wolf introduced Blade to Ashveil, with the two immediately recognizing each other by their former aliases.^[29] Ashveil then took Blade to Seafeld City, where he encountered Yao Guang and Evanescia. There, Blade revealed that the one responsible for wearing the Octomorph was not a single individual, but a group of people across Planarcadia. Everyone who had undergone the "Happiness Surgery" had been infected with Shuhu's flesh. Wanting to eliminate their common enemy, Blade asked the group to put an end to Shuhu and promised that he would willingly surrender himself to Xianzhou custody afterward.^[30] Soon after, Blade, alongside Ashveil, Sunday, Dan Heng, and the Trailblazer, reached the roof of Seafeld TV Tower to confront Fulwish. After her defeat, Blade, with Sunday's help, gathered the remaining pieces of Shuhu scattered across Planarcadia, causing Shuhu to manifest as a giant tree over the skies of Planarcadia before Silver Wolf sealed him completely within Blade.^[31]

After sealing Shuhu within himself, Yao Guang proposed taking Blade to the World in Canvas, where Oroboros' husk was sealed away and could help Blade achieve the salvation he sought.^[32] Accompanied by the Trailblazer and Silver Wolf, Blade traveled to Inkford Hermitage, where the group found Graphia, who helped them reach the World in Canvas. Soon after entering the World in Canvas, the canvas manifested itself as Insumousu.^[33] Bidding his farewells, Blade leaped into the maw of Voracity to end Shuhu once and for all.^[3] In that moment, he recalled several memories from his past, including Huaiyan. As Shuhu mocked him, Blade rebuked him, calling him a slave and Yaoshi's most pathetic prisoner. Using Voracity as a means to reforge his body, Blade transformed himself into a prison designed to trap Shuhu for all eternity. As the Trailblazer and Silver Wolf are overwhelmed by Graphia, who had transformed into her Voidranger state under the influence of Asat Pramad, Blade arrives at the crucial moment and defeats her, returning her to her normal state.^[34]

Soon after, Asat Pramad launches his assault across Planarcadia, prompting Blade to transform Shuhu's Octomorph into a new mask and become a Supplicant of the Phantasmoon Games.^[35]

Trivia

• The Relic set Passerby of Wandering Cloud chronicles Blade's life after he leaves the Xianzhou and is discovered by the Stellaron Hunters.
• Blade's silhouette can be seen in Kafka's splash art.
• The "unnamed" mentioned in the Relic set Passerby of Wandering Cloud is Blade.
• Blade's combat abilities, as well as his clothing, bear marks of the Red Spider Lily, otherwise known as Lycoris radiata. This can especially be seen when his Talent, Shuhu's Gift, is triggered, or his Ultimate, Death Sentence, is used. The flower is known to symbolize death and the cycle of rebirth throughout countries in Asia. It is supposed to help spirits through the afterlife on their long journey toward reincarnation.
• Blade's bounty given by the Interastral Peace Corporation is 8.13 billion credits.^[21]
• The names of Blade's Eidolons summarize his previous life as Yingxing and how he became his current self.
• Blade has the following aliases:
  • Bladie (by Kafka)
  • Bandage Guy (by Herta)^[36]
  • Xianzhou's Number One Assassin (by Silver Wolf while taking contracts)^[37]
  • Five-Star Citizen, Mr. Edge (in Keeping Up With Star Rail)^[38] (Chinese: 五星市民点先生 "Five Star Citizen Mr. Dot")^[39]
    • The Chinese alias of 点先生 Dian xiansheng, "Mr. Dot" is a reference to 点刀哥 Dian Dao Ge, "Dot Knife Bro", a nickname Chinese players use for Blade because the character 刃 rèn, "blade" is made up of 刀 dáo, "knife" and a 丶 dian, "dot".
• While Blade has a phone, he only uses it for mission comms.^[40] This results in a running gag in which his fellow Stellaron Hunters use his phone for unrelated purposes.
• Blade has a driver's license.^[22]
  • During the Cosmic Cup, Nihilux borrowed Yingxing's starskiff piloting license and registered herself as "Mummicat," Mortenax Blade's cartoon character in Fluffy Across the Blue.^[41]
• Blade, or a possible variant of him, is a playable character in the upcoming MiHoYo game, Honkai: Nexus Anima.

HoYoverse Shared VAs

• Blade shares the same English voice actor, Daman Mills, with Lyney and Kasala in Genshin Impact.
• Blade shares the same Chinese voice actor, Liu Yijia (刘以嘉), with:
  • Balaway the Miner's Lamp
  • Gray Serpent in Honkai Impact 3rd
• Blade shares the same Japanese voice actor, Miki Shin-ichiro (三木眞一郎), with Noy in Genshin Impact.
• Blade shares the same Korean voice actor, Kwak Yoon-sang (곽윤상), with Neuvillette in Genshin Impact.

Etymology

• 应星 Yìngxīng may be a reference to 宋应星 Sòng Yìngxīng (1587-1666 AD), a Chinese scientist and encyclopedist, known for his encyclopedia 天工開物 Tiāngōngkāiwù (The Exploitation of the Works of Nature).
• Blade's Chinese name, 刃 Rèn, means "blade's edge."

References

Navigation

Character Story Astral Express Stellaron Hunters Jarilo-VI Xianzhou Alliance Penacony Cosmic Amphoreus Planarcadia Upcoming Characters announced by HoYoverse: