Xia Lun

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Xia Lun is a reincarnator who has lived two lives. In his current life, he spent twenty-six years in Baihuan City and rose to wealth within little more than a decade amid the city’s violence and disorder. 1 36

After a water accident, Xia Lun developed an incomprehensible illness that caused suffocation and bleeding throughout his body. Medicine, surgery, supernatural remedies, and folk treatments all failed; with roughly 2,160 hours left to live, he entered the forbidden death game Investigator to seek a cure. 1

He prepared for the game with weapons, medicine, and a Voidwood Box capable of bringing physical items into scenarios. His first scenario cast him as a navigator imprisoned aboard a pirate-controlled whaling ship, with the objective of surviving six days. 1

Although that scenario cured his terminal lung condition, a lingering curse continued to threaten his life. Subsequent scenarios led him through Sorrow Hill City, a deserted island, and the world of the Final Pilgrimage. King Guewen eventually cured his soul curse. After later surviving a temporary transformation into a Soul-Eating Echo, Xia Lun returned to human form with an extended lifespan. 38 103 277 294

Personality

Xia Lun is calm under extreme pressure, partly because his previous death has made mortality less frightening to him. He plans before acting, evaluates resources carefully, and usually seeks an advantage through observation, deception, and positioning rather than raw force. 1 2

He can be cold and ruthless when survival requires it. He uses intimidation, hostage leverage, political framing, and sudden violence against enemies, yet rejects indiscriminate killing and refuses to execute people merely because they may become threats. 8 19

Despite his intimidating reputation, Xia Lun recognizes that fear alone cannot sustain authority. He deliberately builds rapport through conversation, cooperation, and dry humor, earning genuine respect from the surviving pirates. 21 29

His sanity is an unresolved anomaly. The Information Panel lists it as “Calm (0/0), critical error,” and Xia Lun does not know whether that represents immunity, abnormality, or a deeper danger. 38 Later panels continue to show a critical error for his mental health and also display Knowledge 3 (0/0, critical error). 416 437

His ruthlessness remains paired with selective compassion. He helps a stranger pay for his mother’s treatment after eliminating Miss Rabbit, commemorates fallen opponents on the deserted island, and chooses to defend the Golden City rather than abandon its people. 156 304 391

Abilities & Skills

Heightened Focus

A dangerous concentration skill that accelerates Xia Lun’s perception and thought processes until the world appears hyper-detailed.

• Lets him analyze trajectories, evade attacks, and make precise firearm or sword strikes under pressure. 4 29
• After merging with Swordsmanship Focus, it can reveal an opponent’s or object’s structural weakness. 46
• Had four safe activations per day after its swordsmanship enhancement; sword meditation provides a weaker, unlimited version while he is armed with a sword. Tracking Focus later raises the safe limit to five. 46 132
• Tracking Focus lets him follow traces of a previously seen person, especially while holding a firearm. 132
• Causes permanent mental-health damage, and stronger targets may take too long to analyze before the focus state ends. 46

Firearms Use

Xia Lun possesses Mastery-level marksmanship, an unusually rare level even among experienced Investigator players. 34 39

• Maintains high accuracy under rapid fire and has used guns to blind Abyssal Hand, kill the first mate, and suppress Walking Corpses. 4 8 26
• Can quick-draw quickly enough to kill one pirate and disable another before either can fire. 16
• Progress was documented at Mastery 28% following Sea Battle Royale and Mastery 64% after his fifth game round. 34 341
• Can combine bullets with Final Ash, applying its mark to a target from range. 210

Swordsmanship

Xia Lun specializes in mobile, one-handed short-sword combat and treats the sword as an extension of his body. 23 34

• Uses techniques including Glancing Strike, Backstab Slash, blade binding, distance control, and Listening Force—reading an opponent’s movement through contact between crossed blades. 22 31 43
• His refined force transmission allows most of his body’s strength to reach the sword tip with minimal loss. 34
• Progress was documented at Proficient 55% after Sea Battle Royale; he later attained Master 10%. 34 416
• Force Dissipation redirects incoming force; Burst releases built-up force, while Flow retains part of it for later use. Curse-Reversal Strike can reflect a Secret Art curse when precisely timed. 102 150 156 158
• Learned Clinging Force from White Line and developed Force Shield, which stores force as protection through Force Dissipation without requiring him to be struck first. 299 348
• Master-level insight lets him perceive and strike through Echo, although his Echo sword attacks can consume mental health, Life Force, and lifespan. 181 291 294

Reflexive Evasion

A specialty that turns evasion into conditioned instinct rather than conscious reaction.

• Enables instinctive dodges against thrown weapons, falling debris, tentacle strikes, and flintlock fire. 14 34
• Improves explosive strength and endurance over time. 4
• Does not guarantee safety against concealed or point-blank gunfire. 14
• After his Force Dissipation breakthrough, it can instinctively shed some impact force even when he cannot dodge; the effect depends on his attributes and swordsmanship. 102

Transcendent Regeneration

A secret art derived from the completed Prayerbook of the Drowned.

• Can rapidly repair severe injuries, including broken ribs and severe hand damage; Xia Lun has also reattached a severed arm. 32 44 81
• Healing can induce extreme hunger and physical depletion. 32
• Its enhanced form allows Xia Lun to control activation and reduces its mental and nutritional burden. 34
• Blood-Drop Rebirth enables recovery from otherwise fatal injuries through prepared blood drops, while Wound Reorganization lets him relocate and reassemble injuries without expending a rebirth use. 197 278 342

Nonhuman Toughness

A specialty gained from reliving Geliide’s torture memories.

• Allows him to keep functioning through catastrophic injury until death is final. 41
• Greatly improves pain-shock threshold, endurance, recovery, resistance to blows, and muscular explosiveness. 41
• Raises his recorded Strength to 13 and Constitution to 11 when first acquired; subsequent gains raised those attributes further. 41 416

Life Drain, Light, and Pilgrimage Arts

• Life Drain draws vitality from targets and can extend Xia Lun’s lifespan. Its enhanced form can accumulate excess drained vitality toward Free Attribute Points. 86 87 101
• Light Annihilation State naturally restores Life Force, gradually raises its maximum, resists radiant damage, and permits limited light manipulation. Xia Lun has used light to improve concealment. 181
• As the Endash Quiet Speaker, he commands Final Ash, a cold flame that intensifies on contact with blood. Embrace of the Final Ash marks enemies so accumulated damage can be detonated later. 208 400
• His completed Fivefold Pilgrimage expands his command of Final Ash and allows him to withstand fire and assume an elemental form. 294

Knowledge and Flesh Perspective

Xia Lun became a Secret Art scholar after using Symptomology to perceive a vision of the Flesh Planet’s future. His connection to the Planet gave him extraordinary authority within its world, including the ability to reshape flesh and control metal as an extension of the Planet’s substance. His early attempts to reshape resisting people were crude and dangerous. 258 267 269

He later reached Knowledge 3 and survived taking the Influence: Present path, which appeared forbidden to others. Knowledge can be taken from its holders, so he treats his status as information worth concealing. 259 414

Navigation, Deception, and Leadership

Xia Lun combines practical sailing skill with social manipulation and political awareness.

• Can determine a vessel’s position and heading, pilot a ship, and take the helm under dangerous conditions. 14 21
• Used a crew vote, marked ballots, and a public execution to isolate dissenters while preserving a façade of legitimacy. 16
• In Sorrow Hill City, he invented the “Way of Sitting and Forgetting,” demonstrated the Voidwood Box to deceive cultists, and established himself as “Master Danyang.” 49 50
• Organized refugees into the beginnings of a faith and later founded the Lightbearers. In the Golden City, he used a Merchant identity and financial schemes to gain wealth, influence, and combat advantages. 214 273 364 414

Recorded Attributes

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Night Plume — A master-crafted Mosu steel short sword with refined balance, edge, and grip; Xia Lun can manifest it at will. It later acquires a stacking Blood Drink effect and can interact with Crystal Memory. 35 38 179 207 232
• Single-action revolver — A custom large-caliber firearm manifested with twelve special bullets. Its Death Precision trait improves accuracy when aimed at vital points. 35
• Voidwood Box — A Paradox Item that carries physical objects into scenarios, conceals them from detection, and can be summoned or dismissed outside the game. 1 38
• Underwater Breathing Potions — The only treatment that initially eased Xia Lun’s suffocation; later received additional bottles from Geliide. 1 36
• Gunpowder barrel — Manifested as an emergency explosive capable of changing a confrontation’s outcome. 35
• Willow Effigy — A willow-branch doll made by Captain Geliide and retained as a memento. 35
• Snail Statues — Four anomalous statues Xia Lun burned before entering his second scenario, wishing for a low-risk lifespan extension or a complete cure. He later obtained a device capable of periodically producing more statues. 47 101
• Ashen Pact Record — A rare consumable that extends life and repairs damage; Xia Lun later gains a way to create records from Legendary Influence. 87 342
• Renee’s Notebook — An interworld notebook Xia Lun obtains in the hope of communicating with Renee after their separation. 294 306
• Jade Wolf Pot — A Legendary cooking utensil capable of producing beneficial food. 341 342
• Numien’s Sigh — An artifact that can make widely believed ideas true by consuming Legendary Influence. 424
• Tactical nuclear bomb — A Purity Seal-certified weapon redeemed from the game’s exchange. 424

Relationships

• Captain Geliide — Initially confronted Xia Lun at gunpoint, then became his pragmatic ally aboard the whaling ship. Xia Lun provided the tactical leadership she needed to reclaim authority, while Geliide gave his killings political legitimacy. 6 9
• Abyssal Hand / “Monster” — Xia Lun’s principal foe in Sea Battle Royale. Their conflict began after Xia Lun damaged it with a collapsing mast; later evidence suggests Xia Lun’s scenario identity may once have been its occult apprentice or ally, though this remains his theory. 31 37
• The Doctor — A disturbed former ship’s doctor who repaid Xia Lun’s earlier protection by teaching him Symptom Reading, the only identified means of reading a Grimoire. 19 21
• White Line — Longtime friend, information broker, veteran Investigator player, and later investigative and combat partner. She supplied Xia Lun’s game card and Voidwood Box through her channels. Xia Lun teaches her swordsmanship; she later teaches him Clinging Force, and their relationship grows openly affectionate. 39 100 299 424
• Geliide of Baihuan City — Director Bird’s red-haired daughter, who sought Xia Lun’s aid after believing her father had been replaced. Her appearance and family connections closely parallel Captain Geliide’s scenario counterpart. 36 42
• The Foresight Club — An occult organization associated with interlocking-triangle “Calling” rituals and possible body replacement. Xia Lun investigates its connection to his illness and confronts Curse Death, a member responsible for cursing him. 36 38 100 179
• Red and Green Nuo-Mask Cultists — Sorrow Hill City cultists whom Xia Lun deceives into treating him as “Master Danyang,” turning immediate enemies into informants. 49 50
• Xuan Yan — A Daoist who becomes Xia Lun’s ally in Sorrow Hill City. Xia Lun helps her escape the Mind Fasting Sect, trusts her account of the city’s nightmare, and later develops his swordsmanship through her memories. 55 63 87 90
• Renee — Xia Lun’s companion during the Final Pilgrimage. Despite warnings about her nature, he comes to rely on her; they repeatedly risk their lives for each other. After they are separated, their promise to meet again and an interworld notebook offer a possible means of maintaining contact. 197 207 258 294
• Guiweite — A formidable knight who fights alongside Xia Lun and respects his self-taught swordsmanship. Their later encounters reveal her connection to the Forgotten Saint’s schemes. 197 281
• King Guewen — The ruler who cures Xia Lun’s soul curse, then becomes his opponent in a prolonged sacred duel. Guewen’s mastery of Echo and time reversal forces Xia Lun’s breakthrough to Master-level swordsmanship before Xia Lun kills him. 277 290 291
• Proud Sun — A recurring enemy in the Sea of Sand scenario whose consciousness survives among multiple pieces of Knowledge. Xia Lun spends much of his lifespan opposing Proud Sun and his forces. 405 407

Story Role / Major Arcs

Sea Battle Royale

Xia Lun enters Investigator to survive six days aboard a pirate-controlled whaling ship and find a cure for his lung disease. He retrieves his medicine during an Abyssal Hand attack, blinds the creature, and kills the Black overseer who uses him as bait. 1 2 4

After the first mate turns the survivors against him, Xia Lun forms a tense alliance with Captain Geliide. He eliminates the mutineers through an ambush, hostage tactics, swordplay, and concealed firearms, then helps Geliide regain enough legitimacy to lead the ship. 5 6 8 9

He later becomes a central organizer among the survivors, manipulates a vote against surrender, trains through dreams, and discovers that the Monster’s corpse demands are part of a plan to reduce and eventually consume the crew. 16 19 22

During the final battle, Xia Lun rejects the easy option of sacrificing trapped pirates to kill the Monster. He rescues them instead, pursues the creature alone, completes the Prayerbook of the Drowned, and obtains Transcendent Regeneration. 29 31

He clears Sea Battle Royale with an S- rating, surviving all six days, resolving the rainstorm mystery, killing Abyssal Hand, finding its treasure, and raising his Memory Manifestation Permission to 200%. 34

Courtly Tournament

Xia Lun enters the Courtly Tournament Special Memory to develop his swordsmanship. There he encounters younger versions of Geliide and Bird, destabilizing his belief that the game and reality are separate. 42

He defeats the giant Horn through superior technique, kills him after Horn attempts murder with an exposed blade, publicly exposes the corrupt referee, and forces a sanctioned death match. Completing the memory grants Swordsmanship Focus, which merges into Heightened Focus. 43 44 45 46

Sorrow Hill City

After learning that his curse remains active, Xia Lun prepares heavily for a second scenario and burns four Snail Statues to wish for a cure or lifespan extension. 38 47

He enters Sorrow Hill City as a terminally ill Pill Seeker searching for Yin Longevity Pills. Trapped behind the lifespan-draining Yin Bo Wall, he identifies the Astral Ritual as a likely escape route and chooses investigation over immediate violence. 48

When confronted by Nuo-mask cultists and Skinned Corpses, Xia Lun claims to be “Master Danyang” of the invented Way of Sitting and Forgetting. By using the Voidwood Box as proof of secret arts, he gains their submission and begins extracting information about the city, its Death Fog, and Master Man in the Flesh. 49 50

He allies with Xuan Yan, uncovers the layered-dream mystery, and thwarts the Man in the Flesh’s ritual without following the scenario’s apparent cycle of death and deeper sleep. He receives an S rating and the title “Apocalyptic Madman.” 55 63 86 88

Deserted Island and the Foresight Club

In his third scenario, Xia Lun must survive 61 days on a deserted island. He develops shelter and food supplies, confronts the island’s enemies, and trains against Brigadier General Ralph Delmaster’s swordsmanship memories. The extended stay substantially improves his combat and survival skills. 103 150 157 158

Back in the real world, Xia Lun investigates the Foresight Club with White Line. During their confrontation with Curse Death and Crystal Memory, Xia Lun cuts a connection reaching beyond the sky, defeats an Astral Spirit, and gains Light Annihilation State. 100 179 181

Final Pilgrimage

Xia Lun begins the scenario in Dusk Snow Prison, where he meets Renee, defeats the Warden, and gains the powers of the Endash Quiet Speaker Pilgrimage. He helps Renee and refugees survive the spreading apocalypse while pursuing a cure for his soul curse. 188 192 197 208 214

His discovery of Knowledge and connection to the Flesh Planet grant him extraordinary power within that world. After King Guewen cures his curse, Xia Lun discovers the King’s larger threat and joins the struggle against him. In their final duel, Xia Lun attains Master-level swordsmanship; Renee and the united survivors help create the opening that lets him kill Guewen. 258 267 277 290 291

The settlement awards Xia Lun an SSSS+ rating and the “Savior” designation for completing the Final Pilgrimage and saving its world. Although Guewen’s attack temporarily transforms him into a Soul-Eating Echo, the Oracle Prophet restores his humanity. Xia Lun subsequently seeks a way to remain in contact with Renee. 294 306

Later Scenarios

Xia Lun’s investigation of Winden City’s time loop and Echo Nightmares earns an S+ rating and the title “Legendary Explorer.” He continues developing his swordsmanship, Knowledge, and survival equipment between scenarios. 341 342 348

Entering the Sea of Sand alongside White Line, he adopts a Merchant identity and uses Perth Coins as both political leverage and a source of power. Rather than follow the expected tomb-raiding route, he amasses wealth, helps overturn slavery and the currency system, and fights Proud Sun. The scenario awards him an SSS+ rating as a “world-saving fraudster.” He then survives advancing to Knowledge 3 through the Influence: Present path. 364 377 405 407 414

Back in Whitewash City, Xia Lun chooses to enter a Ritual Apprentice Memory and acquires Numien’s Sigh and a tactical nuclear bomb. A later scenario records him with Knowledge 3 and a remaining lifespan of more than twenty-four years; he subsequently enters a Master-level Spearmanship dream drawn from Guewen’s memories. 424 437 466

Notable Quotes

“I’m still alive!” 35

“Being nervous is meaningless. What matters is action.” 38

“Don’t think like that. Wishful thinking is dangerous.” 38