Huo Liaoyuan

Courtesy name Zilong, adopted at the same time he took on the name Zhao Yun. Liaoyuan Huo is the leader of the Sima clan's notorious assassin squad, the Crippled Legion, and is best friend with the clan's young head, Sima Yi. Besides prodigious fighting skills, he has the unique handicap of inability to feel pain, making him one of the strongest warriors in the story. Unlike the amoral Sima Yi, Liaoyuan Huo is regarded to be a very righteous man who values justice, and, despite their strong friendship, hates Sima Yi's indifference to the world's chaotic state. He's also discontented with the life of an assassin, but nevertheless stays unwavered in his loyalty to the clan and commitment to his comrades, whom he treasures.

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Through the course of the story, Liaoyuan Huo acts as Sima Yi's right-hand-man, and their collaboration become the catalyst for many important events in the story, i.e. the fall of Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao's failure in the Xuzhou expedition. However, Liaoyuan Huo's recklessness and involvement in many of Cao Cao's campaign gradually drew attention to the Sima clan's shady business, which ended up in the Sima clan's unwilling association with Cao Cao, causing the clan's wealth to be continuously drained to Sima Yi's dismay. They finally parted way in the Sun Ce's rise to power arc, when Liaoyuan Huo left to find Xiao Meng, the Crippled warrior he arguably had the most feelings for, who went MIA. As the Sima clan sunk into further depth through Cao Cao's insatiable demands, he accepted the Sixth Enigma, Pang Tong,'s commission to assassinate Cao Cao, unaware of Pang Tong's true goal - to have the Sima clan framed for the murder, and force Sima Yi to raise a mutiny against Cao Cao. As a result, the Sima clan was wiped out, and the Crippled Legion was dissolved in the extermination with one member dead and the other gravely mutilated. Burdend with guilt, Liaoyuan Huo started on his final mission by Sima Yi's order: to serve under Liu Bei and fight against Cao Cao, creating opportunities for Sima Yi to rise to power. When Sima Yi betrayed and caused Xiao Meng's death, he still stayed committed to his vow, but his hatred for Sima Yi grew yet again. This will eventually culminate in the realization of Sima Yi's prophetic dream, shown at the beginning of the story: at the height of his power as the Grand Preceptor Sima who usurped the throne of Cao Cao's descendants, Sima Yi will be brutally killed (in the same manner Xiao Meng was) by Liaoyuan Huo. The side story in volume 33 shows Liaoyuan Huo to be originally a beggar boy taken in by Lao Da, Crippled Legion's first generation leader. He assumes aliases during his missions, usually Zhao Huo, and finally settles with Zhao Yun (a name misinterpreted from Zhao Huo by Liu Bei) when he leaves the Sima clan.

The 'huo' (火, lit. fire) of the series title (火鳳燎原, Huǒ Fèng Liáo Yuán, lit. Fiery Phoenix Burns Steppes) refers to Liaoyuan Huo.