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- I heard that Miss Yunli was a great swordmaster, so I thought she'd be a good sparring partner, but... she's always eyeing my sword, so I better be careful.
- —Yanqing's voiceline about Yunli.
Yanli is the het ship between Yanqing and Yunli from the Honkai: Star Rail fandom.
Canon[]
Yunli and Yanqing are both apprentices to their respective ship's Arbiter-Generals, Huaiyan from the Xianzhou Zhuming and Jing Yuan from the Xianzhou Luofu.
Yunli was first mentioned in the Cosmodyssey event where Jing Yuan wanted to introduce Yanqing to Yunli because they were of similar age and had an interest in swords. Needless to say, Yanqing wasn’t amused by it.
Their dynamic was first showcased in the 2.4 quest, where Yunli helped Yanqing kill a borisin but when Yanqing approached her to take his sword back, she then fled with it. After being properly introduced to each other, their differing views regarding swordsmanship and Yunli's refusal to return his sword led to frequent bickering and sparked a sense of rivalry in them.
After Lingsha suggested that they compete with each other by seeing who kills the most abominations between them, a result that depends entirely on the player, the two then fought with each other to settle the score but just before they could land their strongest hits against each other, Feixiao stopped them, who then pointed out the flaws in their fighting styles—Yanqing focuses too much on evading while Yunli relies on brute strength alone. Afterwards, Lingsha managed to convince them to settle their differences, to which Yunli returned his sword and declared that since their fight was abruptly cut short, they would settle the score between them the next time they fight. Yanqing, on the other hand, accepted his sword but not without complaining about how her apology did not sound like one at all.
Huaiyan managed to convince them that since they would both be competing in the Wardance, they should take on an apprentice (March 7th) who could learn swordsmanship from them both. The tension between them somewhat mellowed out although they still took every opportunity to bicker and challenge each other.
Finest Duel Under the Pristine Blue (II)[]
While Yunli was conducting routine inspection onto a starskiff, she found it bizarre that there were no passengers there. She then threatened whoever was inside to come out lest she destroys the starskiff. In the middle of counting to ten, Yanqing then came out, asking her if blowing the ship up was some kind of Zhuming custom.
Yanqing informed Yunli of the situation with Hoolay, to which Yunli responded that she couldn't believe that he was at the Skysplitter and that he was too late to enter the tournament.
Yunli reminded him that their disciple March 7th was to take his place as the ringmaster, asking him if he was proud of her. Yanqing told her that he was definitely proud and concerned at the same time.
Afterwards, the two felt the Skysplitter slowing down, prompting them to check the engine room. As the two headed to the engine room, they then came across an enemy, which they both defeated before proceeding to the Wardance ring.
Yunli and Yanqing reunited with March then fought Hoolay, to which Yanqing does his special move. Feixiao arrived at the scene, who then thanked them for holding out for so long.
Impressed by Yanqing's move, Yunli excitedly told him that it was amazing, to which Yanqing responded that he could teach it to her if she wanted. Yunli said that if he could teach it to her, then she would admit that he was slightly better than her.
Unfortunately, Hoolay was still not done and began driving all foxians to madness, including Feixiao, leading the trio to fight the general in an effort to stall her until she broke free from her madness.
The ensuing fight led to the trio being injured, with Yunli unable to paticipate in the Wardance.
After the conclusion of the Wardance, Yanqing and the Astral Express saw off the guests. Once it came to the Zhuming guests, March asked Yunli if she was sad that she wasn't able to partake in the Wardance, especially since she was after the sword, to which Yunli answered that she wasn't sad since Yanqing emerged victorious and thus, the sword rested in worthy hands.
Yunli then stated that it was unceremonious for her to take back the sword she brought and that she wouldn't want to steal Yanqing's thunder. In response, Yanqing brought the sword, making it seem like he was going to give it to Yunli, Yunli felt a little touched and guilty about taking his sword before, only for him to taunt her by saying that he only brought it with him so that she could touch it one last time and eased her regrets.
Afterwards, Yunli accused him of rubbing salt on her wounds, promising that she would forge him a good sword as apology but that he'd have to fight her fair and square. Yanqing agreed, saying that recent events inspired him to travel afar, and that since Yunli has so kindly invited him, it was a promise.
Quotes[]
- “He has so many great swords that he never uses. Sometimes, I can hear those swords crying... Is this what people mean when they say "spoiled for choice?”
- — Yunli's voiceline about Yanqing.
- “Yanqing, how about a rematch? Best of three— No... one round!”
- — Yunli's voiceline when added to the same team as Yanqing.
- “I heard that Miss Yunli was a great swordmaster, so I thought she'd be a good sparring partner, but... she's always eyeing my sword, so I better be careful.”
- — Yanqing's voiceline about Yunli.
- “Yunli, if you ever wanna spar, I'm always ready.”
- — Yanqing's voiceline when added to the same team as Yunli.
- “First, you didn't kick my butt! Second, you'll never kick my butt! Third, how about we settle this right now and see who kicks whose butt?”
- — Yanqing to Yunli in the Saga of Primaveral Blade event.
- “I remember Yanqing once said, "There are many ways to defeat villains, but if you want to become a true hero, you have to focus on self improvement."”
- — Yunli quoting Yanqing after training March 7th.
- “Why do I keep bumping into you? Are you stalking me or something?”
- — Yunli to Yanqing after they see each other again.
- “Those experiences will nourish your sword skills. It's just like Master Yunli said, "Everything can be a sword, and there are endless possibilities for learning swordplay in the vast world."”
- — Yanqing quoting Yunli after training March 7th.
Fanon[]
Yanli is both Yanqing and Yunli's most popular het ship.
Fans of the ship became attracted to their "Opposites Attract" and "Like An Old Married Couple" dynamic, which is usually seen in romantic comedy works. Although they constantly bicker as of 2.4, the tension between them seems to be thinning and fans anticipate the development between them, opening up the possibility that the two would learn from each other as time passes on.
As a dynamic, the two are foils of each other. Yanqing has ice themes while Yunli has fire themes (except for her in game Type). Combat-wise, Yanqing focuses on speed, evading, and technique while using multiple swords; Yunli focuses on brute strength and head-on blows while using one big sword. When it comes to their fighting style in-game, they both have follow-up attacks in their kit but whereas Yunli favors being attacked so she could counter, Yanqing prefers to not get hit.
They are both orphans but whereas Yunli despises her biological father and seeks to destroy the swords he has created, Yanqing respects the general who raised him and wishes to shoulder his burdens. When it comes to their current guardians, Yunli is overtly familiar with Huaiyan who dotes on her and has a hard time scolding her while Yanqing feels some sort of distance with Jing Yuan, who even gently scolds him in front of Yunli and Huaiyan. Yanqing never knew who his biological parents were or if he even had one while Yunli remembered hers and even witnessed their deaths.
They are passionate about swords but whereas Yanqing collects them as a hobby, Yunli sees them as her duty to hunt and smelt.
Yanqing is more polite and reserved, while Yunli is more carefree and impolite even towards those in power. Yanqing's teaching style is more focused on technique while Yunli's is more "free".
Although Yanqing usually wants to be seen as an adult, his more childish side emerges during his exchanges with Yunli, where they would tease and bicker with each other.
Another common headcanon for them is that Yunli is a tsundere archetype that secretly has a crush on Yanqing while Yanqing would either bicker with her a lot or tease her.
When it comes to the ship, fans like to joke about Jing Yuan being their matchmaker. One prominent joke as well is about March 7th being their child, especially when they gifted her dual swords (Yanqing) and clothes (Yunli), and with how proud they looked upon witnessing March's improvement in a short span of time. Moreover, one official post from HoyoLab showed Yunli having a reading list for lesson preparation, with one material being called "I Have a Little Girl: A Must-Read for Raising Daughters Volume One", causing some fans to joke that she and Yanqing are co-parenting March 7th.
It is also widely believed that Yunli is a counterpart to Lin Zhaoyu, the wife of Ma Yanqing from Honkai Impact 3rd, which also contributed to the popularity of the ship, but their connection has not been proven.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Yanqing/Yunli tag on AO3
- Yanli hashtag on Twitter
- Yunqing hashtag on Twitter
- 彦雲 hashtag on Twitter
- @Daily_Yanli on Twitter
Gallery[]
- Main article: Yanli/Gallery
Trivia[]
- Both love cats, revealed by one of Yanqing's daily text messages and Yunli's trailer and Light Cone.
- They both have animal motifs: Bird (Yanqing) and cat (Yunli).
- They have ended up saying the exact same lines more than once. First, when Huaiyan suggests that they take March 7th as an apprentice and second, when they bickered over which teaching style works best for March.
- "How does that make sense?"
- "But it does matter!!! Listen to me, March 7th!"
- Official HSR account on Reddit jokingly replied with "Lol 😂" on a Yanli Fanart.[1]
- Nearing the end of March 7th’s training, they both end up quoting each other, implying that despite their rivalry and clashing beliefs, the two actually respect each other and acknowledge each other's strengths.
- Jing Yuan subtly mentioned Yanqing to her during the 2.4 livestream, saying that they would get along, to which Yunli responds that Yanqing does not know the first thing about swords.
- Yanqing showed up in Yunli's Keeping Up with Star Rail and in her Myriad Celestia trailer.
- When either of them lose over who kills the most abominations, they will both say that the other's victory does not matter since they shouldn't get carried away just because they killed more abominations.
- Yunli (if Yanqing wins): "All you did was chop down a few monsters. Don't get carried away with yourself."
- Yanqing (if Yunli wins): "All you did was chop down a few monsters. Don't get carried away with yourself."
- There is an achievement called "Crossing of Blades and Hearts" (Chinese: 以剑交心), which can be obtained upon witnessing the battle of supremacy between Yunli and Yanqing.
- They appeared together in a YouTube ad.[2]
