Zard

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Zard
Real Name	Zheng Xiang 779
Alias(es)	Zard1991; Qing Zard 298 346
Species/Race	Human; Time Walker 527
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Daybreak; formerly Huan Yu's subordinate 431 626
Occupation/Role	Earth-element Awakened; assassin and combatant 615
Status	Alive; Earth-element Demigod 1007
First Appearance	Chapter 297 297

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
A-Class Earth-element Awakened	626	Recognized as an A-Class expert after joining Daybreak; can manipulate terrain, travel through earth, and turn his body into sand.
Near-Demigod threshold	656	His hair turns crimson as he briefly reaches the threshold of fusing with the world.
Earth-element Demigod	978 1007	Forces his mental will into fusion with the world while holding off Chen Clan puppets, apparently sacrificing himself. He later reemerges alive from an earth cocoon with a stable Demigod realm.

Background

Zard and Huan Yu knew one another from childhood in the Outer World. As Zard's mental state deteriorated over time, his relatives placed him in a mental hospital; his later carefree behavior became a defense against a reality he found unwelcoming 649 978.

After becoming a Time Walker, Zard worked under Huan Yu. He first drew Qing Chen's attention by secretly tailing him around Weiyang Lake Park, remaining cautious enough not to attack even when Qing Chen deliberately feigned weakness 297 298.

Zard repeatedly tried to join Daybreak after assisting Qing Chen in Osaka. Qing Chen initially refused, suspecting that Zard's loyalty to Huan Yu remained intact, but accepted him after Zard's help in Forbidden Zone No. 10 529 615 626.

Appearance

Zard is a young man whose appearance is frequently obscured by costumes or altered through his earth-element powers. His body can disperse into sand and reform elsewhere.

• Has black hair that turns crimson when he approaches the Demigod threshold 656.
• Frequently wore a small green dinosaur costume during his Osaka attack 527.
• Once kept a sapling planted in his head as a self-described “limited edition skin” 615.
• Can reshape himself into sand, recover from severe wounds, and emerge from the ground fully clothed 555 633.

Personality

Zard is an erratic, relentlessly talkative chatterbox whose train of thought often exhausts everyone around him. He treats dangerous operations as entertainment, joking through gunfire and calling out the names of his techniques in battle 298 527 901.

Behind the flippancy, he is observant and principled. He recognizes who genuinely protects Time Walkers, guards Qing Chen after the latter overexerts himself, and cares deeply for Little Yu's safety 681 816. His seeming cowardice has limits: when others are in danger, he consistently chooses to fight, protect, or remain behind 731 735 978.

Abilities & Skills

Earth Manipulation

Zard can reduce stone and soil to sand, manipulate it over a broad area, and restore sand into solid stone.

• Creates sinkholes and buries groups beneath collapsed ground with techniques such as Bury, Combine, and Heavenly Burial 527 901.
• Can turn soil into sand, then re-stonify it above trapped opponents to prevent escape 676.
• Raises earthen walls for defense and shapes sand into hands, waves, tentacles, statues, shelters, and other structures 555 676 978.
• Built improved shelters for the creatures of Forbidden Zone No. 002 alongside Qing Chen 676.
• Buried more than 1,200 advancing soldiers in a single attack during the final conflict 901.

Earth Escape and Infiltration

Zard can move through the ground and transport others beneath the surface.

• Travels underground for stealth, escape, infiltration, and ambushes 528 649.
• Can carry allies in a sandstorm-like mass while moving underground 649.
• Must periodically surface to breathe; crossing the seabed is therefore impractical 529.
• Fire-element attacks can turn the ground into lava, blocking his underground route 649.

Elementalized Body

Zard can transform his body into sand, making ordinary physical force largely ineffective.

• Gunfire passes through his dispersed body, leaving bullets embedded in sand rather than injuring him 615.
• Can survive explosions, bites, poison, and even a Demigod painting's physical weapon; damaged portions rapidly reform 633 735 738.
• Has no normal blood vessels while elementalized, contributing to his resistance to poison and physical injury 615 738.
• Fire is his principal weakness: intense heat vitrifies his sand into immobile glaze, preventing full transformation and requiring a lengthy recovery 649 650.

Forbidden Zone Exploitation

Zard's unusual body makes him exceptionally useful within Forbidden Zones dominated by physical hazards.

• Can deliberately trigger rule punishments with limited risk, allowing Qing Chen to test and exploit local rules 738.
• Used spoken rules of Forbidden Zone No. 008 to draw vast swarms of human-faced insects from an abyss and trap the Chen Clan's Group Army 738.
• Despite his resilience, he is frightened by overwhelming swarms of insects 738.

Demigod Earth Authority

After advancing, Zard's manipulation reaches a scale capable of contesting large numbers of high-level painted entities.

• Formed enormous sand tentacles that dragged Chen Clan gods and buddhas underground while protecting Big Yu and Chen Ningzhi 978.
• Overcame fire-based counters that had previously threatened him, as the opposing God of Fire paintings were beneath his Demigod level 978.
• Reemerged with speed and power beyond Big Yu's ability to react to 1007.

Items

• Bloody Longsword — “No One Can Defeat Me in My BGM” — A Forbidden Item given to Zard by Qing Chen. It plays any song its host has heard, allowing Zard to fight with his own musical accompaniment 937.
• Heart-Binding Gu — Zard consumed Lian Xin's Heart-Binding Gu, binding their lives and making him her destined partner under Lian Clan custom. If he dies after the gu fully merges, Lian Xin will die as well 779.

Relationships

• Qing Chen — His boss, ally, and friend. Zard pursued membership in Daybreak, protected Qing Chen in battle, and ultimately joined the organization 529 615 626 735.
• Huan Yu — Childhood friend and original superior. Zard remained associated with Huan Yu even while seeking to join Daybreak 431 528 649.
• Big Yu — Close companion and frequent target of Zard's antics. They bicker constantly but protect one another; Zard sacrificed himself so Big Yu could escape with Chen Ningzhi 717 978 1007.
• Little Yu — Someone Zard is fiercely protective of. He treats Little Yu like a younger brother and worries about exposing him to trauma or forced affection 676 816.
• Lian Xin — His Heart-Binding Gu partner. Zard's sincere affection and attempts to protect her gradually soften her attitude toward him 779 817.
• Chen Jiazhang — Lian Xin's father, who strongly opposed Zard becoming his son-in-law. Their relationship is marked by constant arguments and Zard's deliberate mischief 779 815.
• Zhong Yu — A dangerous personality within Huan Yu's body who sees Zard as disposable and intends to kill him once he can control zombies 817.

Story Role

Osaka City Hall Incident

Zard publicly revealed his earth-element powers by attacking the Mysterious Affairs Department at Osaka City Hall. Wearing a dinosaur costume, he collapsed the plaza into a sand pit and buried hundreds of pursuing agents, becoming internationally known as the “national hero Zard” 527 528.

He remained underground afterward, having caused the attack partly to create an opening for Qing Chen's escape. During their meeting, he requested admission to Daybreak in exchange for his help 529.

Daybreak and Forbidden Zone Campaigns

After assisting Qing Ye against a combat team in Forbidden Zone No. 10, Zard received Qing Chen's approval to join Daybreak 615 626. He later protected Qing Chen during the Chen Clan's pursuit, used earth escape to move allies through encirclements, and defended refugees from Chen Clan soldiers 649 657 731.

Within Forbidden Zone No. 008, his near-immunity to local hazards enabled Qing Chen's strategy of weaponizing the Forbidden Zone's rules against the Chen Clan army 738.

Lian Clan Affair

Zard impulsively consumed Lian Xin's Heart-Binding Gu, binding himself to the Lian Clan leader and becoming the target of Chen Jiazhang's fury 779. Although he tried to leave Xiuzhu Prefecture to protect Lian Xin from danger, she eventually understood that his apparent abandonment was an attempt at protection 815 817.

Chen Clan Manor Rescue and Ascension

Zard accompanied Big Yu into the Chen Clan manor to rescue Chen Ningzhi. When their escape failed, he refused to leave Big Yu behind, held off powerful puppet forces, and burned his own life force to advance into the Demigod realm 978.

Though presumed dead after dissolving into sand, Zard survived underground in an earth cocoon. His return broke the survivors' mourning and confirmed him as the first known Earth-element Demigod 1007.

Notable Quotes

“I am truly very powerful.” 978

“You can't kill me.” 978