Ye Zhen

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Ye Zhen (叶真) 63
Alias(es)	Heavenly Emperor Ye; “Ye” 63 70
Species/Race	Human / mortal Ghost Controller 6 130
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Ghost Forum
Occupation/Role	Leader and protector of the Ghost Forum’s Dahai City territory; regarded as Asia’s number one Ghost Controller 63 67 77
Status	Active; working with other Ghost Controllers to address the chaotic era of spirits 120
First Appearance	Chapter 6

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Ghost Controller with a unique system	6	Unlike cultivators, Ghost Controllers remain mortal while controlling Vengeful Ghosts.
Strengthened through Ghost Lands	63	After learning future events, he proactively sought Ghost Lands to increase his power; he had already suppressed Dahai City’s ghost incidents alone.
Approaching complete form	64	His Substitute Ghost lets him transfer damage to controlled ghosts or itself, greatly reducing the risk of ghost recovery. Further growth requires stronger Substitute Ghost abilities or its puzzle pieces.
Acquires a consciousness-type Vengeful Ghost	79	This compensates for a major mental weakness and helps him endure threats such as the future Yang Jian’s attention.
Seeks personal cultivation	130	Recognizing that a mortal life level limits his ability to comprehend the Great Dao laws embodied by ghosts, he begins trying to cultivate himself.

Background / History

Ye Zhen is the powerful Ghost Controller who oversees Dahai City through the Ghost Forum. In a world increasingly plagued by ghost incidents, Dahai City retains a superficial peace because he personally suppresses its supernatural threats. Though his world offers few point-worthy resources beyond ghosts and cursed items, he uses knowledge of future events to seek Ghost Lands and strengthen himself. 63

He first knew the Chat Group as a comparatively poor member unable to afford interworld travel. He nevertheless showed immediate interest in testing himself against powerful figures from other worlds, including Fenrir. 6

Richard eventually visited Dahai City, becoming Ye Zhen’s first face-to-face Chat Group acquaintance. Excited by the prospect of a worthy opponent, Ye Zhen challenged him to a sparring match; Richard ultimately won by exploiting Ye Zhen’s weak mental defenses with illusion control. 63 64

Ye Zhen later brought Richard to Dachang City on a paid Headquarters assignment to extract Professor Wang Xiaoming during the Starving Ghost incident. He refused to resolve the S-class event for free, protected Professor Wang despite their disputes, and chose to wait for Yang Jian—whose potential he recognized—to solve the crisis himself. 66 67 69 70

Afterward, Ye Zhen accompanied Richard to the Wang Family Old Residence. While Richard proceeded to the third floor, Ye Zhen fought the Survival Society members below, defeating them and collecting the dormant Vengeful Ghosts left behind after their deaths. 75 77

Following the national war, Ye Zhen worked alongside Ghost Controllers in his country to address the escalating supernatural era. He later acknowledged that merely controlling ghosts as a mortal was insufficient for deeper progress and began seeking a path to raise his own life level. 120 130

Appearance

Ye Zhen wears an ancient robe despite having short hair, creating an intentionally incongruous appearance. He also carries an ancient sword at his waist. 63

• Short-haired, but dresses in archaic clothing. 63
• Carries an ancient sword as part of his preferred “Heavenly Emperor” image. 63
• His Ghost Domain manifests as golden-yellow light that can cover half of Dahai City. 63
• Prolonged combat can leave him pale and greenish-faced. 77

Personality

Ye Zhen is flamboyant, competitive, and intensely chuunibyou. In his own world, he openly calls himself the “Heavenly Emperor Ye,” declares that he is destined to suppress all enemies, and enjoys displaying his strength before others. 63

Behind the theatrics, he is perceptive about strength and pragmatic in business. He charges Headquarters for dangerous work, refuses to take on additional responsibilities without compensation, and considers the needs of the Ghost Forum when negotiating rewards. 66 67

He is also stubborn and proud. After losing to Richard’s mental illusion, he complained that consciousness attacks and equipment made the battle unfair, yet admitted that he lacked an effective answer to gold-based containment. 64

Despite his self-centeredness and impatience with administration, Ye Zhen maintains a personal code. He refuses to steal items destined for his future teammates, preferring to seek Vengeful Ghosts directly from the Spirit Land. Richard considers this moral reliability valuable in an ally. 67

Abilities & Skills

Ghost Domain

Ye Zhen can expand a vast golden Ghost Domain over a large area, using it for positioning, concealment, suppression, and spatial interference. 63 64

• Covered half of Dahai City during his spar with Richard. 63
• Used the domain’s pressure to nearly force the ghosts within multiple Ghost Controllers into dormancy. 67
• Can shift his position within the domain, leaving enemies to strike illusions instead. 64
• His spatial abilities can be suppressed if the surrounding space is sealed. 64

Substitute Ghost

Ye Zhen’s core ability transfers damage away from himself, making him extraordinarily difficult to kill through ordinary physical attacks. 64

• Restored himself after Richard’s puppet cut his body in two. 64
• Can substitute damage onto ghosts within his body or directly onto the Substitute Ghost. 64
• Does not need ordinary humans to bear the cost of substitution. 64
• Repeated substitution causes his controlled ghosts to fall dormant or crash. 64
• The supernatural power of the ghosts he controls cannot exceed the Substitute Ghost’s ability to suppress them. 64

Vengeful Ghost Control

The Substitute Ghost allows Ye Zhen to use other Vengeful Ghosts as extensions of his combat power while largely avoiding the usual threat of ghost recovery. 64

• Possesses multiple physical-level and instant-kill supernatural attacks. 64
• Has mastered at least one consciousness-type Vengeful Ghost to address his lack of mental defenses. 79
• Defeated several Survival Society members and gathered the Vengeful Ghosts that revived from their bodies. 77

Combat Ability

Ye Zhen is an overwhelming combatant among Ghost Controllers, relying on raw supernatural pressure, resilience, and extensive experience. 63 67

• Could suppress several Ghost Controllers at once through his Ghost Domain. 67
• Was recognized by the Survival Society as Asia’s number one Ghost Controller. 77
• Defeated the remaining Survival Society members at the Wang Family Old Residence. 77
• Is willing to challenge formidable opponents for the sake of testing his strength. 63 70

Limitations

• His mental power was initially little stronger than that of an ordinary person, leaving him vulnerable to consciousness attacks and illusions. 64
• Supernatural abilities cannot affect gold; spatial sealing combined with gold containment is a severe countermeasure against him. 64
• His ceiling depends on developing the Substitute Ghost further or locating its missing puzzle pieces. 64
• He remains mortal, which limits his ability to comprehend and use the Great Dao laws represented by ghosts. 130

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Ancient sword — Worn at his waist as part of his preferred attire. 63
• Gold boxes — Used with Richard to contain dormant Vengeful Ghosts after the Wang Family Old Residence battle. 77

Relationships

• Richard — Friend, sparring rival, and frequent partner in supernatural incidents. Richard defeated him through illusion control, later accompanied him to Dachang City and the Wang Family Old Residence. 63 64 66 75
• A-Wu — Ye Zhen’s reliable, professional deputy. A-Wu manages much of the Ghost Forum’s daily work while Ye Zhen avoids administrative duties. 63 75
• Yang Jian — A future rival Ye Zhen believes has great potential. He expects Yang Jian to resolve the Starving Ghost incident independently and looks forward to battling him one day. 69 70
• Wang Xiaoming — Headquarters professor whom Ye Zhen was hired to rescue from Dachang City. Their relationship is contentious due to Wang’s insistence on remaining during the Starving Ghost incident. 66 69
• Zhao Jianguo — Headquarters captain who sought Ye Zhen’s help in Dachang City and negotiated payment for his services. 66 67
• Zhang Wei — Yang Jian’s friend and custodian of the Human Skin Paper. Ye Zhen respected his possession of the item and did not attempt to seize it. 69
• Jiang Shangbai — A Ghost Controller whose provocation of Richard Ye Zhen encouraged, expecting to watch Richard defeat him. 71 73

Story Role / Major Arcs

Richard’s Visit to Dahai City

Ye Zhen receives Richard at the Ghost Forum, challenges him to a spar, and exposes both the strengths and limits of his Ghost Controller abilities. Richard’s victory reveals Ye Zhen’s susceptibility to mental attacks and gold-based containment. 63 64

Starving Ghost Incident

Hired by Headquarters to rescue Wang Xiaoming, Ye Zhen enters Dachang City with Richard, subdues hostile Ghost Controllers, protects Professor Wang, and refuses to resolve the wider incident without proper payment. He later meets Yang Jian and openly declares his expectation of a future battle. 66 67 69 70

Wang Family Old Residence

Bored by Ghost Forum administration, Ye Zhen joins Richard’s expedition to the Wang Family Old Residence. He remains on the second floor to fight the Survival Society while Richard retrieves the Pendulum Clock from the third floor. 75 77

Chaotic Era of Spirits

After the national war, Ye Zhen joins other Ghost Controllers in confronting the broader supernatural crisis. He also begins pursuing cultivation to overcome the inherent limits of remaining mortal. 120 130

Notable Quotes

“Welcome to my territory. I am the Heavenly Emperor Ye, destined to suppress all enemies in the world.” 63

“I am Ye Zhen of the Ghost Forum. I invite you all to a battle. Those who accept, state your names; I do not fight with nobodies.” 77

Trivia

• Ye Zhen initially used an overly dramatic Chat Group name before other members persuaded him to change it to his real name. 63
• He was the poorest member of the Chat Group for a time because his world’s primary resources—ghosts and cursed items—held little interest for most members. 63
• He dislikes administrative work and relies heavily on A-Wu to handle the Ghost Forum’s routine affairs. 75
• He wanted to use the Human Skin Paper to ask about the Substitute Ghost’s puzzle pieces. 69