Li Long

Li Long (リ・ロン, Ri Ron, Chinese: 李龍, Pinyin: Lǐ Lóng), is a character in the Soul series of video games. He appears in Soul Edge and appears as a bonus character in Soulcalibur III. He is later replaced by Maxi, whom he trained under the alias Zhang Wu.

Weapon
In Soul Blade, Li Long uses a single nunchaku. In his next appearence, he uses two nunchaku.

Biography
After the death of the great Eirakutei, the Ming Dynasty was left open to plundering by pirates from southern Japan. Li Long was hired by the emperor on a private mission to assassinate the leader of the pirates and bring Soul Edge home with him. However, he never really cared about Soul Edge and instead decided to not only assassinate the leader of the pirates, but the daimyo feudal lords as well. This was not part of the mission, but there was no doubt in his mind that he would succeed. However, Long was not as strong as he thought, and an attack on the head of a powerful family in Honshū failed horribly. Left badly injured, he was rescued by a young girl named Chie. Chie was the daughter of the former leader of the Fu-Ma clan, Hachibei, operating as an innkeeper. Chie had been permanently traumatized by the death of her mother as a child and had permanently lost the ability to speak. She devoted herself to Long's care, and they eventually fell in love; and he stayed with Chie long after he was made fit for travel again. One day, while Li Long was out, a fight had broken out at the Inn. Chie was thought to have been killed, and a wounded Hachibei told Long that a wandering swordsman had started the fight and left. Witnesses thought that it may have been Heishiro Mitsurugi, but obviously, Mitsurugi was not the only swordsman wandering the land. In actuality, the swordsman had been a ninja of the Fu-Ma clan, sent by its leader, Toki, to take back a sword that Yahei had stolen from them. Long set out for revenge on Chie's behalf, learning along the way that Mitsurugi was looking for Soul Edge. Li Long decided that if he found the sword first, Mitsurugi would eventually have to come to fight him; and if it turned out that Mitsurugi wasn't responsible for Chie's death, he would seek out every last swordsman until he got his revenge.

In his journey, he came to Valencia, Spain, where he found the dread pirate, Cervantes de Leon, keeper of the watchers—one of which Long had killed previously—and possessor of the Soul Edge. He tried to steal the evil blade from him, and ended up in a fierce battle with the pirate; but he was quickly defeated by the sword's overwhelming power and fell to the ground, drenched in blood, calling out Chie's name. At that exact moment, Chie awoke in a monastery in Honshū. She may have been severely scarred on her back, but she was alive, and eventually learned of Long's misguided quest for revenge on her behalf. She waited for him for a month, when she discovered that she was pregnant with his child.

After his complete defeat at the pirate's hand, Li Long tried to escape. Cervantes chased him, but for some odd reason he gave up pursuit (probably at the presence of Sophitia Alexandra). Before fainting, Li Long took a look back and witnessed a bright column of light coming from the port - the Evil Seed. When he woke up, he found he not only suffered physically, but mentally as well. He questioned himself if his acts were righteous and not atrocities, and his confidence shattered while his inner self was consumed. Unable to fend off the assassins hunting him anymore, he fled during the nights, disguised and under a false name.

Three years later, when Xianghua, a member of the Ming Dynasty Imperial Guard, was preparing to leave on a similar mission on the emperor's behalf, she was asked by Meimei to check on her brother, Long, and see if he was alive. Xianghua did eventually learn that Li Long had not died, finding him just after having won a battle, but he told her that he would never return to Ming Dynasty China again. Eventually he stumbled upon a town, and hoped to get lost among its population. But even there his pursuers were approaching him. About to lose hope, he was saved by a girl. He tried to leave, but at last he accepted her offer and stayed with her, knowing it wasn't meant to last. His pursuers were still on the hunt, and she reminded him of Chie, stirring his guilty conscience. She took care of him, because she felt he has lost everything.

Then one day the assassins found him. The girl tried to tell him to leave, but Li Long ignored her and stood with his weapon in hand, trembling. In the past, it was hard to believe he'd been defeated, but now he barely defeated his foes. In that moment something returned to him: how to fight for something. He decided to leave after that. As he was leaving, the girl ran to him and gently touched his back, communicating her feelings more clearly than ever. But still he left the town that day, now knowing what to do, for the ones who urge him to live.

Half of himself was left with that dreaded blade. Now it's time to regain it, but still he doesn't know that his lover is searching for him, and that the proof of their love is now breathing.

Li Long eventually crossed paths with Taki, from whom he learned about Chie's survival.

He now lives with the Fu-ma clan, which is under Chie's leadership, with her and their son.