Xianghua

Story

Xianghua was born during the Ming dynasty into the noble Chai house, a family of warriors. She was raised by a single mother who passed onto her the Chai family's renowned mastery of the sword. After her mother passed away, Xianghua continued her training, and with encouragement from Meimei and other people from the Chai house, she applied to join the emperor's guard. Not without some difficulties, she managed to pass all the tests and eventually got the much-respected position, gaining some new friends and rivals along the way.

One of the first missions she was given was to help search for the Hero's Sword, more commonly known as Soul Edge. Meeting Kilik and Maxi along the way, she casually tags along with them. During their travels, she learns that all three have a similar goal and shares information about Nightmare and his associates. After Groh suddenly attacks Kilik in the middle of the night, Xianghua becomes curious about the nature of her companion and tries to ask him some questions. With Kilik being hesitant, Xianghua breaks the ice by revealing her mission to retrieve the Soul Edge and deliver it back to the Ming Empire, which is supposed to save her country from the period of strife. Kilik, in turn, explains the evil nature of the cursed sword. Xianghua then quickly abandons her imperial mission to aid Kilik and Maxi.

At one point in the journey, Kilik is suddenly attacked once again. This time by Taki, a female ninja with a peculiar sword that triggers the evil energy within Kilik. Before she can strike him in this state, Xianghua steps in to protect him. Kilik had managed to subdue the shadow within him by the time their fight was over. Since Taki's intention was to test Kilik's willpower, she withdraws but warns him that she will be there to kill him if the evil overpowers him. 

The trio finally makes their way to Nightmare's castle. While Maxi is left behind to fight Astaroth, Kilik and Xianghua are led by Groh directly to Nightmare. Nightmare attempts to awaken the evil within Kilik, but with complete control over himself, Kilik fights back and defeats Nightmare. However, the fight is far from over as the spirit of Soul Edge, Inferno, emerges and pulls Xianghua into Astral Chaos. With her sword suddenly appearing to be Soul Calibur itself, she manages to fight back Inferno, but the exhaustion from prior battles takes hold. Before Inferno can strike her down in the moment of weakness, Kilik steps in and protects her with her body, the sacred mirror shattering in the process and unleashing the evil within Kilik. However, he maintained complete control and used this newfound energy to defeat Inferno. The Soul Edge is destroyed, forming a massive rift that threatens to consume the heroes. Fortunately, Xianghua's spirit sword protected its master, closing the rift but being destroyed in the process. With the evil defeated, their goal is finally complete. In the final moments, Xianghua also recovered a fragment of the sacred mirror, which Kilik asks her to keep.

Personality

Xianghua is a cheerful and optimistic girl. She has a great deal of empathy and compassion for her friends, as seen when she offers to find Meimei's brother or falls into tears when the emperor's guard exam forces her to eliminate Lingyu, Xianghua's longstanding friend and rival. Despite her passion for sword fighting, she can sometimes get a bit airheaded and neglect proper conduct in favor of lazing around.

Playstyle

Xianghua is a powerful and well-rounded character. Her main features are her speed in both movement and attacks. She tends to shine in close-range engagements with good mobility and some of the fastest basic attacks in the game. Her great mixups, stance transitions, and evasive moves further complement this, making her very threatening when she gets in. The few drawbacks she experiences are below average damage and her range. Playing against characters with good keep out and zoning attacks is particularly challenging for Xianghua.

Appearance

Xianghua is a young woman with brown, short hair with two long side bangs. She wears a blue and white outfit that consists of a traditional white and blue dress, white sleeves with long ribbons, blue laced thigh highs, and blue slippers. On her head, she has a flower-themed hairband.