Arborvitae

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Arborvitae (崖柏)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Liongrass Mercenary Group; Matsutake's squad 36 37 48
Occupation/Role	Silver-ranked mercenary; frontline combatant 37 44 48
Status	Deceased; killed by Wu Zhong after repeated prior survivals 43 44
First Appearance	Chapter 36 36

Appearance

Arborvitae initially conceals his appearance with a skin-changing suit, presenting as a handsome, male-model-like man. Damage from Wu Zhong's Purple Molten Bomb exposes his real face. 37

• Thick beard, leopard-like head, and ringed eyes beneath the disguise 37
• Possesses a large, heavily muscled build before expending life force 42
• After sacrificing lifespan, becomes gray-haired, gaunt, withered, and covered in blood energy and electrical arcs 42
• His injuries frequently leave him covered in blood, including a missing arm and severe wounds to his chest and abdomen 38 40

Personality

Arborvitae is aggressive, reckless, and contemptuous of opponents he considers weak or unknown. He presses Matsutake's illusion-assisted ambush even after Wu Zhong proves immune to it, and repeatedly urges Feipeng to kill Wu Zhong rather than withdraw. 36 37

He values personal gain and survival over his allies. When cornering Wu Zhong, he dismisses Feipeng's fate as irrelevant and seeks the supposed Ghost-God Mark for himself, even though the group had originally intended to give it to Gourd. 40

His persistence borders on monstrous stubbornness. Even after losing extensive blood, suffering catastrophic internal injuries, and having his heart shattered, he continues trying to kill Wu Zhong. 39 41

Abilities & Skills

Monstrous Vitality and Blood Energy

Arborvitae possesses extreme endurance, physical strength, and a blood-energy defense that allows him to continue fighting through injuries that would normally be fatal. 37 39

• Charges through earthen walls, stone barriers, and obstacles with brute force 38
• Takes handgun fire with blood energy protecting his head and shows little concern for bullets to the body 39
• Continues moving and attacking after his heart is pierced and later shattered 39 41
• Uses scarlet blood energy to reinforce his body and launch himself from restraints 38
• Is less agile in close circular movement than Feipeng, despite superior straight-line force and speed 38

Thunder Soul Secret Art

Arborvitae can generate electrical energy around his body, increasing his speed and offensive power. In his severely weakened state, he manifests an arm formed from electricity. 39 43

• Electrical arcs surround his body as he pursues Wu Zhong's vehicle 39
• His lightning can numb and throw back opponents 39 40
• Forms a functional lightning arm from his severed limb 43
• Appears to sacrifice life force and lifespan to sustain his later combat state, leaving him prematurely aged and emaciated 42

Close-Quarters Combat

Arborvitae favors direct, powerful strikes, particularly kicks, and fights with relentless pressure rather than technical finesse. 37 38

• Uses heavy punches and whip-like kicks capable of breaking Wu Zhong's arms and crushing stone 37 40
• Stomps hard enough to pulverize paving slabs 42
• Uses a flying knee strike and electrified hand-blade attack against Yang Chunsha 43
• His straightforward style leaves him vulnerable to deception, terrain control, and Wu Zhong's gate-based tactics 38 40

Temporary Madblood Clan Transformation

Wu Zhong forcibly gives Arborvitae the First Embrace after deceiving him into believing it is necessary to inherit the Ghost-God Mark. 40

• The embrace temporarily doubles his physical attributes and restores some blood and vitality 40
• Wu Zhong immediately drains the transferred insomnia, stripping Arborvitae of the Madblood Clan enhancement 40
• The transformation does not heal the severe wounds already inflicted by Wu Zhong 40

Equipment / Items

• Skin-Changing Suit — disguises his real appearance as a handsome man 37
• Knife — used unsuccessfully to cut away flesh corroded by Purple Molten Bomb plasma 37
• Kun Blood — scarlet jelly-like healing substance used after being buried and severely wounded 38
• Foam healing medicine / “bubble shampoo” — he expends two bottles treating his injuries before confronting Wu Zhong again 39

Relationships

• Matsutake — squad captain whose third-eye illusion creates the opening Arborvitae expects to use against Wu Zhong 36 37
• Feipeng — fellow Liongrass combatant; Arborvitae repeatedly pushes him to kill Wu Zhong, but later shows no concern for saving him 37 40
• Gourd — weaker squad member originally intended to inherit Wu Zhong's supposed Ghost-God Mark 40
• Wu Zhong — enemy and intended target; Arborvitae ambushes, pursues, tortures, and attempts to kill him before Wu Zhong kills him 36 43
• Yang Chunsha — Wu Zhong's ally; Arborvitae breaks her arm during the ambush and later kills her before Wu Zhong revives her 36 43

Story Role / Major Arcs

Liongrass Ambush

Arborvitae participates in Matsutake's ambush on Wu Zhong's group. When Matsutake's illusion fails to affect Wu Zhong, Arborvitae immediately attacks him and breaks Yang Chunsha's arm after she is incapacitated by the illusion. 36

Wu Zhong severely wounds Arborvitae with successive Purple Molten Bombs, destroying part of his left arm and corroding his chest. The damage exposes his true appearance beneath his skin-changing suit. 37

Pursuit and Repeated Survival

Despite losing an arm, suffering a chest wound, and having his lower body devastated by another Purple Molten Bomb, Arborvitae keeps fighting and pursues Wu Zhong and Yang Chunsha after they flee by car. He uses Kun Blood to restore enough vitality to continue the chase. 38 39

Wu Zhong shoots him repeatedly and destroys his heart, yet Arborvitae remains active through blood energy and electrical power. 39

First Embrace and Final Death

Arborvitae corners Wu Zhong and tries to seize the alleged Ghost-God Mark. Believing Wu Zhong's lie that the Madblood Clan is necessary to survive the Mark's cost, he forces Wu Zhong to give him the First Embrace. 40

Wu Zhong exploits his status as a Madblood Clan progenitor to drain Arborvitae's newly acquired insomnia and temporary enhancement. Arborvitae is repeatedly incapacitated but continues fighting even after sacrificing lifespan to sustain himself. 40 42

After Arborvitae kills Yang Chunsha, Wu Zhong recovers by absorbing the old woman's dementia and launches a final assault. He destroys Arborvitae's heart with Purple Molten Bombs, then fires again into the back of his head to ensure his death. 43

Trivia

• Arborvitae's name follows the plant-based communication-name convention used by mercenaries. 29
• He initially mistakes Wu Zhong for “Wu Dong” after their disguises are damaged. 38
• His extraordinary endurance leaves Wu Zhong deeply wary of assuming he is dead, even after catastrophic injuries. 39 43