Ning Xiuyuan

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Ning Xiuyuan (宁修远)
Alias(es)	Arthur; Victor; Pig-nosed Masked Man; Man of Truth; Dream Merchant; Yilaizhe; Bat
Species/Race	Human from Earth; later holder of the white worm's Old One status and a perfect divinity 1 132 492
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Church of Dawn; founder and supreme figure of the True Church 191 210
Occupation/Role	Transcendent physician; former Church of Dawn bishop and Patriarch of Abe; God of Illusory Sleep / Man of Truth 41 316 355
Status	Active 547
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
First Ring	8	Consumes the Church-provided medical characteristic, called Disease Remover at the time of selection and later listed as Disease Deceiver. 8 233
Second Ring	24	Consumes Plague Disciple, gaining plague control and protective manifestations; nearly loses himself to its previous owner's mental imprint. 24 233
Third Ring	88, 92	Takes and fully merges with Master of Divination, inheriting Father Rhodes's characteristic; its use exposes him to dangerous unknown entities. 88 92 233
Fourth Ring	99	Consumes Trade Judge and survives a near-catastrophic loss of control. 99 233
Fifth Ring	170, 171	Consumes a high-level characteristic and acquires Tyrant, which can distort rules within a limited range. 170 171 233
Demigod	320	Consumes the high-level characteristic Mother of All Beings after securing it from the Church of Dawn. 320
Angel (Seventh Ring)	481	Has completed an Ouroboros pathway and is documented as a seventh-ring angel while seeking the final high-level characteristics needed for further advancement. 481
Divine Attendant	487	Consumes Hidden Disciple, severing his ties to the world and disappearing into the river of time for fifty years to complete its ritual. 487
Perfect Divinity	492	Coordinates his clones through Mother of All Beings and Trade Judge, becoming a perfect divinity to resist the God of Dawn. 492

Background

Ning Xiuyuan was a man from Earth who arrived in an unknown world and became separated from China. The Foundation initially classified him as a Keter-class humanoid anomaly because of the independent space associated with his crystal lantern. Ji Zijun, a psychology specialist, approached him while he was despairing and offered to help locate his home, establishing a fragile initial trust. 1 4

After entering the Church of Dawn, he adopted the name Arthur and began as a lamplighter. He accepted a medical extraordinary characteristic, choosing it partly because it seemed less likely to place him on the front line, while secretly retaining a second characteristic obtained through his lantern. 7 8

His early Church career combined medical work with increasingly dangerous clandestine actions. He learned the risks of loss of control, inherited Linley's Beast Listener gift, survived Church investigations, and developed a reputation as an unusually capable physician. 11 12 18 52

Ning Xiuyuan later established the True Church under the identity of the Man of Truth, accumulated power through the Ouroboros pathway, and became entangled with Old Ones, Outer Gods, the Church of Dawn, and divine politics across multiple worlds. 191 163 355

Appearance

Ning Xiuyuan is initially described as a young man with black hair, black eyes, and gentle features. In Francis, where lighter hair and blue-green eyes are common, his appearance makes him conspicuous and causes some locals to associate him with demons. 10

• His left eye is replaced by a striped goat pupil after being parasitized by an entity; he later conceals it. 39 112
• The white worm temporarily transforms his body into a translucent, ice-and-jade-like form while leaving his right eye black. 112
• He later restores an outwardly normal human appearance after leaving Y'golonac. 132
• As the Pig-nosed Masked Man, he wears a black robe, a pig-nosed mask, and plague-protection imagery. 24 83
• The influence of Mother of All Beings can alter him into a grotesque, tentacled form. 370

Personality

Ning Xiuyuan is cautious, observant, and strongly self-preserving. He habitually cross-checks information, conceals valuable abilities, and avoids relying entirely on institutions or powerful patrons. His decision to secretly acquire characteristics stems from the belief that the Church's protection is unreliable. 8 12 23

He is pragmatic to the point of ruthlessness. He kills or exploits threats before they can expose him, including Father Rhodes and Princess Valentina, while treating power, secrets, and alliances as resources to be managed. 62 83 134

Despite this, he retains a genuine attachment to his original home and demonstrates real medical knowledge and concern for patients. His relationship with Angela is built partly on their shared interest in medicine, and he repeatedly considers the dangers that unchecked healing could bring to Francis. 56 66 104

Abilities & Skills

Medical Knowledge and Disease Deceiver

Ning Xiuyuan combines Earth-derived medical knowledge with his first extraordinary medical characteristic. He becomes known for treating difficult illnesses and performing emergency procedures that other Church physicians cannot handle. 19 52 66

• He can heal others, though the characteristic's original description emphasizes that it cannot heal its user. 8
• Further fusion grants him an abnormally high recovery rate. 18
• He deliberately limits the number of patients he treats to avoid becoming a dangerous focal point for heretics and Outer Gods' believers. 56
• He has treated both humans and animals, including Eve's puppy Bai Bai. 44 47

Plague Disciple

Plague Disciple allows Ning Xiuyuan to control plagues and produce protective anti-plague manifestations shaped by his understanding of protective equipment. 24

• He can manifest various gas masks, a pig-nosed biochemical suit, goggles, and a black hooded outfit. 24
• Its immunity allows him to adapt his clothing and resist plague-related dangers. 24
• The characteristic becomes unstable without a suitable plague environment, forcing him to infect nearby rats to suppress its surge. 24
• Full digestion greatly improves his treatment of difficult diseases. 84

Divination, Fate, and Trade

Through Master of Divination and Trade Judge, Ning Xiuyuan can seek occult knowledge, assess danger, force transactions, and temporarily control or strip powers from others. 92 99 328

• Master of Divination can expand his perception toward cosmic entities, but probing too deeply can cause loss of control. 92
• Trade Judge is tied to forced transactions and can grant him borrowed powers through contracts. 99 308
• At the Demigod realm, Trade Judge can control up to six borrowed powers at once. 328
• He uses fate-related powers such as Fate Spider, Child of Fate, and Life Stealer after stripping them from the Serpent of Fate. 328
• He eventually replaces Master of Divination with Undying Sorcerer to further his Ouroboros pathway. 370

Tyrant

Tyrant allows Ning Xiuyuan to distort and reinterpret rules within a limited area. 171

• He has tested it on temperature, speed, flight, and health. 171
• It can neutralize instinctive desire and help him resist mental corruption. 253
• He uses it in combat to interfere with an opponent's movement, actions, and attacks. 335
• Its effects are constrained by his rank and cannot freely overwrite stronger entities or all properties of a battlefield. 171 514

Mother of All Beings and the Void Universe

Mother of All Beings gives Ning Xiuyuan authority over flesh, life, and supernatural clones. Its associated Void Universe becomes a major part of his later power. 320 326 344

• He creates clones by splitting off parts of his body; these offspring inherit a portion of his power. 326
• He can create flesh-and-blood vessels capable of receiving consciousness. 456
• He fully merges with the characteristic and explores the Void Universe derived from his spirituality. 344
• The ability lets him coordinate clones in pursuit of perfect divinity. 492

Old One and Dream Powers

After stealing the white worm's fate, Ning Xiuyuan acquires its Old One status and a collection of external powers gained through gifts, trades, and parasitic connections. 132 233

• Heart of the Beast — senses and controls beasts; inherited through Linley's Beast Listener gift. 11 107
• Misplaced Space — spatial displacement tied to the striped goat pupil. 39 233
• Sculpt Dream — travels and acts through dreams. 107 132
• Wild Hunt — allows him to draw upon his past or future self along a timeline, including possible resurrection. 221
• Illusory Sleep — authority used to place powerful entities into slumber and establish himself on the Divine Position of Dream Illusion. 355 471
• White worm powers — includes ice that can freeze rules, space, and time, as well as the creation and control of ghouls. 395

Lord of the Void

By absorbing the black crown, Ning Xiuyuan becomes the Lord of the Void. 413

• He can steal and control faith anchors. 413
• He absorbs the consciousness of the dead Lord of the Night. 413
• Its extraordinary ritual requires sufficiently suitable targets, making the power difficult to maintain. 413

Equipment and Items

• Crystal Lantern — The anomaly linked to Ning Xiuyuan's arrival in the new world; it contains lamp oil, rootless souls, and harvested characteristics. It protects his sanity during Gheuros' attack, though Ning Xiuyuan later discards it. 4 8 143 398
• Bracelet of Fate — Taken from Valentina before her death; Ning Xiuyuan later retains dual control over it and Heart of the Beast. 83 112
• Guiding Candle — Used to locate people and entities through spiritual queries. 108
• Dual Crown — Worn during his journey to the Dreaming Gods' Onyx Fortress and his seizure of the Divine Position of Dream Illusion. 355
• Scribe's Brush — Used in an attempt to alter the properties of space during the Old Ones' siege. 514
• Ankh Seal — Received from Uml together with the Corpse-Eating Cult Rituals in exchange for Ouroboros pathway information. 163

Relationships

• Ji Zijun — Foundation psychology specialist and Ning Xiuyuan's first meaningful connection after his transmigration. She initially seeks to pacify a presumed anomaly, later seeks his help, and remains tied to his wish to return home. 1 68 104
• Angela — Church physician, medical collaborator, and confidante. She trusts Ning Xiuyuan's medical knowledge even after discovering that his treatments are not those of an ordinary Ascetic Physician. 19 52 66
• Bishop Byron — Early mentor and Church superior who grants Ning Xiuyuan characteristics, assignments, and protection. Their relationship evolves into a wary alliance shaped by Ning Xiuyuan's escalating power. 8 92 248
• Father Rhodes — Church investigator who suspects Ning Xiuyuan; Ning Xiuyuan later assassinates him and consumes his Master of Divination characteristic. 18 62 88
• Valentina Harrington — Princess initially killed by Ning Xiuyuan after surrendering the Bracelet of Fate. He later resurrects and cultivates her as a devotee and political instrument of the Man of Truth. 83 134 234
• Yavm-Zah — Lord of Ice Flame who provides Ning Xiuyuan with knowledge and pressure, but becomes a direct enemy after Ning Xiuyuan rejects the proposed Old Ones' Ritual site. 170 369 370
• God of Dawn — A principal manipulator and adversary. The God of Dawn claims Ning Xiuyuan appeared as a response to her wish, then attempts to usurp his fate and expel him from the Man of Truth's body. 490 492
• Isabelle — Moon Goddess-associated adversary turned conditional ally. Ning Xiuyuan saves her from Ubbo-Sathla's influence and offers a temporary divine anchor to escape the Moon Goddess's control. 419

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Transmigration and Foundation containment — Arrives from Earth, is treated as a Keter-class humanoid anomaly, and meets Ji Zijun while searching for a way home. 1 4
• Church of Dawn physician — Joins the Church, acquires medical and plague-related characteristics, and gains recognition through difficult treatments. 8 24 52
• Francis conspiracies — Navigates investigations into Orlando and Rhodes, secretly assassinates Rhodes, and takes Master of Divination. 18 62 88
• Pig-nosed Masked Man incidents — Operates under a masked identity, kills Valentina, steals her Bracelet of Fate, and conceals his responsibility from the Church. 83 90
• Old One inheritance and True Church — Steals the white worm's fate, gains Old One status, establishes the Man of Truth's authority, and develops the True Church. 132 191 210
• Ouroboros pathway — Pursues high-level characteristics, replaces traits to complete pathway links, and rises from Five Rings to Demigod, angel, and divine attendant. 170 320 370 487
• Divine conflict — Opposes Yavm-Zah, contests the God of Dawn, absorbs divinity, and survives repeated attacks by Old Ones. 369 413 492 514

Notable Quotes

“I am not the Prefect. I am... Arthur! I am Ning Xiuyuan!” 24

“The more powerful one becomes, the more fearful, the more insignificant...” 233

“With your irresistible arrogance, you forced me from a dog into a wolf!” 492

Trivia

• Ning Xiuyuan's first medical characteristic is called Disease Remover when he chooses it, but later rank listings call his first characteristic Disease Deceiver. 8 233
• He is an accomplished physician despite receiving no formal medical training in the Divine Realm; he teaches Angela medical theories from Earth. 19 66
• His black hair and black eyes are repeatedly treated as unusual or ominous in Francis. 10 90
• His recurring wish to return to China remains central even after he becomes powerful enough that the Foundation fears and defers to him. 1 104