Ren Ye

Biodata

Power Progression

The documented milestones are gate access, weapon activation, and acquired abilities—not confirmed tier promotions. Ren Ye explicitly reports having no inherited class after his first return 22.

Background / History

Ren Ye worked in border anti-fraud enforcement and participated in undercover operations. His experience included being buried alive, confined in a dog cage, and held in a water dungeon—ordeals he recalls when preparing to enter the unknown Star Gate world 4 11.

A gang murdered his closest colleague abroad, dismembering and burying him alive. A week later, while escorting suspects from that gang, Ren Ye fired seven shots and killed two who attempted a violent escape on Chinese soil. Evidence for the colleague's murder was difficult to obtain, and the surviving case against the suspects would likely have concerned fraud and money laundering rather than capital offenses. Despite his department's efforts to protect him, Ren Ye received a sentence of six years and ten months 1.

By his first meeting with Huang Wei, he had served three years, three months, and five days in Qingfu Prison. Earlier detention-center bullying had changed his approach to submission: after enduring it for three months, he fought for seven consecutive days, suffered repeated injuries, and was transferred to another cellblock. He concluded that unrestricted demands had to carry consequences for the aggressor 1 6.

Huang Wei removed him from prison without normal release paperwork to investigate a rare Star Gate that had already killed four players. Before compulsory entry, Ren Ye negotiated support for his father and sister and visited Duoduo, his deceased colleague's daughter. He avoided seeing his own family because he feared that meeting them would destroy his resolve to enter 2 3.

Appearance

• Real-world appearance: A handsome young man with gentle features, a smoothly shaved head, and an orange prison vest at his introduction. His skin appears particularly pale in sunlight after leaving prison 1 2.
• Prince Huai identity: His tracksuit becomes a crimson satin robe, and his face changes into Zhu Zigui's unfamiliar features upon entering the gate 4.
• Charm transformation: Assumes the appearance of a classical beauty while using the Charm Skill 26.
• Yin-energy backlash: Opening Fengdu's ghost gate gives him blood-red eyes, purple-blue cheeks, and a corpse-like aura 20.

Personality

Ren Ye presents an easygoing, cynical exterior and frequently uses jokes, profanity, and flirtation to defuse tension. That manner conceals lasting pain over his imprisonment and lost professional identity. Huang Wei's salute and acknowledgment of him as “Officer Ren” break through defenses that ordinary reassurance had not 1 2.

He is pragmatic about loyalty and risk. Before entering the gate, he insists that national duty does not erase an individual's right to support. As Prince Huai, he gives Er Leng a prized saber and distributes treasure among his attendants, reasoning that people should not be expected to risk their lives without compensation 3 9.

His strongest asset is emotional control under immediate danger. He can continue reasoning after witnessing a lethal gu attack and conceals panic while Xu Qingzhao probes his identity. Threats to family are his clearest exception: his father's disappearance drives him to confront allies, mutilate Bull Terrier, and pursue leads alone. Even then, seeing exhausted Watchers accept responsibility reminds him of his former colleagues and checks his anger 10 11 33 36.

He does not treat killing as the answer to every confrontation. He deliberately leaves Moral Adviser Liu alive as a deterrent, but responds decisively when Liu Ling'er threatens his family. His restraint is tactical rather than an unwillingness to use violence 10 20.

Abilities & Skills

Investigation and Undercover Tradecraft

His police experience provides practical advantages in a scenario dominated by deception and hidden allegiances 11 13.

• Places three strands of hair across a doorway to detect unauthorized entry; the broken hairs expose the intrusion preceding the Soul-Control Gu attack 10 11.
• Habitually clears phone chats and call histories and avoids applications that reveal his routines 11.
• Inspects crime scenes personally, noticing the unusually neat outline of a blood pool at Spring Fragrance Garden 14.
• Reviews plans for loopholes, controls information after incidents, and uses bait operations to draw hidden enemies into action 11 13 16.
• Uses his experience reading suspects to assess Xu Qingzhao's behavior, while recognizing that an absence of obvious danger does not guarantee safety 10.

Heavenly Pardon Fate

The Startrace Gate identifies Ren Ye through his birth particulars and names him as the person whose fate bears Heavenly Pardon 2.

• Enables the Nation-Guarding Sword to recognize him as a prospective master 8.
• Produces Heavenly Pardon qi that Xu Qingzhao draws from him during their nightly sessions 10.
• Makes him valuable to Xu Qingzhao and potentially relevant to the emperor's unexplained decision to keep Prince Huai alive 10.
• Qi extraction leaves him weak and depleted; Xu Qingzhao supplies a protective talisman after reducing it 10.

Imperial Brush Replication

Once activated with imperial heart blood, the Imperial Brush can copy supernatural skills 9 19.

• Lets Ren Ye reproduce Xu Qingzhao's Yin-Yang and Soul-Summoning Arts without learning them through ordinary practice 15 19.
• Can be summoned into his hand and stored in his mental space 9.
• Copied techniques retain substantial practical restrictions and side effects; replication does not make their use effortless 19 20.

Soul-Summoning and Yin-Yang Arts

These copied arts supply his principal trump card during the first Star Gate act 19 20.

• Summons a wronged soul to intercept Liu Ling'er's Soul-Shattering Nail, a weapon intended to destroy his soul without an external wound 19.
• Commands wandering souls and restless ghosts through an incantation specifying a hundred-zhang range 19.
• Opens Fengdu's ghost gate and surrounds himself with wronged souls while confronting the court officials 20.
• Causes severe yin-energy backlash, visibly altering his body and leaving him exhausted 19 20.

Charm / Enchantment

The Charm Skill combines a changed appearance with supernatural influence over a target 26 37.

• Uses it to question Xu Ye and establish that he is not a player; also reports using Enchantment to confirm that Ren Daguo and Editor Xu are not players 26 45.
• Can prepare the transformation in advance. At his current stage, he notices no ongoing star-source fluctuations after changing appearance 37.
• Strong willpower and insufficient star-source power weaken its control: Bull Terrier resists and recognizes him 37.
• Does not reliably suppress a target's desire. Xu Ye's obsession overwhelms Ren Ye's commands and turns the interrogation into a fight 26.
• Has a twelve-hour reuse restriction during the battle against Mr. He 43.

Illusion Tactics

Ren Ye uses the Spring Breeze Wish-Fulfilling Painting to exploit a target's desires rather than rely solely on direct combat 28 37.

• Creates a false Divine Gate and persuades Bull Terrier that God has summoned him and promised him the Sword of God 37.
• Extracts information while Bull Terrier is distracted, then kills him as he kneels 37.
• Has little effect on Mr. He because of the latter's exceptionally intense concentration 43.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Imperial Brush — Opens the Startrace Gate and, after activation, serves as his skill-replication item 2 9.
• Nation-Guarding Sword / Heavy Sword — Golden heavy sword with a dragon-headed hilt and a gem-inlaid scabbard. Its missing spirit initially leaves it only sharper than an ordinary weapon, although it emits light that drives off a hostile apparition. Ren Ye can summon it in reality 7 8 9 25.
• Spring Breeze Wish-Fulfilling Painting — Illusion-producing scroll first used against him by Liu Ling'er; subsequently part of his own arsenal 18 28 37.
• Tranquility Talisman — Xu Qingzhao's protective gift. It shatters while freeing him from the painting's illusion 10 18.
• Unremarkable Nine-Story Buddhist Pagoda — Small copper pendant looted from Bull Terrier, containing a sealed demon spirit. Its remaining use helps defeat the plunder-class player before the item shatters 37 38 43.
• Fifteen star source stones and cash — Recovered from Bull Terrier's body 37.
• Huang Wei's notebook — Reference for Star Gate rules and details, studied during his first mission 4 13.

Relationships

• Ren Daguo — Father and writer who raised Ren Ye and his sister after divorcing. His manuscript's resemblance to the Star Gate scenario attracts Ren Ye's attention; protecting and recovering him becomes Ren Ye's immediate priority during the Bell Society crisis 22 23 33 43.
• Ren Qingning — Younger sister. Challenges the authorities over his disappearance, later survives an attempted kidnapping, and supports his choices despite not fully understanding his new work 22 32 34.
• Huang Wei — Recruiter, guide, and principal ally. Restores a measure of Ren Ye's professional dignity, promises family protection, and follows him when he investigates alone 1 3 22 40.
• Gu Nian / Niannian — Watcher ally who helps protect Ren Qingning and fights alongside Ren Ye against the Bell Society. Her Levitation enables his pagoda attack 2 31 43.
• Xu Peng — Explains classes, inheritances, and player factions; also heals Ren Ye's accumulated injuries during the apartment battle 27 42.
• Xu Qingzhao — Princess Consort of his assumed identity and a transactional ally. Draws his Heavenly Pardon qi in exchange for limited assistance; provides the talisman and the demonstration used for his copied arts 10 15 19.
• Hong Jiadi / Er Leng — Prince Huai's trusted guard. Ren Ye equips him with Invite the Moon, restores his confidence after Liu Ling'er's charm is broken, and entrusts him with defending Tranquil Heart Hall 9 17 18.
• Lian'er — Trusted maid within the gate. Helps manage servants, restrain the charmed Er Leng, and care for him after his injuries 11 16 20.
• Duoduo — His deceased colleague's daughter, distinct from Yan Duoduo. Receives money and a letter from Ren Ye before his first entry 3.
• Yan Duoduo — Senior Watcher who approves family support and erasure of Ren Ye's records, then places him at the front of the Tongren Road arrests 22 48.
• Liu Ling'er — Enemy player whose charm and illusion tactics undermine his household. He executes her after she threatens him through the Bell Society 16 18 20.
• Mr. He — Bell Society opponent who seeks Prince Huai and later nearly kills Ren Ye on his supernatural opera stage 27 43.
• The shadow / Hunter — Mysterious helper who intervenes against Mr. He, then tells Ren Ye to grow stronger so they can fight. Ren Ye remains uncertain about the hidden allies' intentions 43 44 45.

Story Role / Major Arcs

First Star Gate Act: Prince Huai's Residence

Ren Ye enters an ancient setting as Zhu Zigui, an ineffective prince already under court surveillance. His inherited memories resemble an internal account rather than complete visual recollections, forcing him to learn the residence's situation while maintaining the role 4 5.

He initially tries to save Wang Jingzhong, but the commander kills himself in the hall. With Xu Qingzhao supplying evidence of Moral Adviser Liu's treason, Ren Ye uses a sudden, brutal attack to break the officials' pressure. His subsequent search awakens the Nation-Guarding Sword, activates the other ten players' main quests, and uncovers the passage leading to a sealed chamber and stored treasures 5 6 7 8 9.

After detecting the Soul-Control Gu assassination attempt, he investigates the traitor network through successive traps. Liu Ling'er's manipulation of Er Leng complicates the operation, but Ren Ye and Lian'er restrain him and restore his loyalty. Er Leng then defends the hall while Ren Ye pursues Liu Ling'er 11 14 16 17 18.

When Celestial Master Xu gravely injures Er Leng, Ren Ye commits to using his copied Soul-Summoning Art. He opens Fengdu's ghost gate, executes Liu Ling'er, and forces Li Yan and the assembled officials to pledge allegiance to Prince Huai. He also secures protection for Wang Jingzhong's family before returning to reality. Only the first act is complete; another entry is due seven days later 19 20 22.

Manuscript Investigation and Family Rescue

His father's account of a dead Daoist and a useless prince closely resembles his gate experience. Ren Ye investigates Editor Xu Ye through Charm, but learns that Xu Ye is not a player and finds no direct evidence connecting the manuscript to the scenario. He provisionally treats the resemblance as coincidence 23 24 26.

The Bell Society threat becomes immediate when Ren Qingning is wounded during an attempted kidnapping and Ren Daguo disappears from a guarded apartment. Ren Ye pursues the information trail, confronts Bull Terrier publicly, and then hunts him alone. After surviving Bull Terrier's sandstorm attack, he wins through illusion and learns that Bell Society agents are following writer Li Feng to locate his father 32 33 36 37.

The trail leads to an apartment battle in which Huang Wei and the Watchers intervene. Ren Ye recovers his father and helps eliminate a plunder-class opponent, but exhausts his available tools against Mr. He. A mysterious shadow prevents his death and forces Mr. He to retreat 40 41 43 44.

Tongren Road Arrest Operation

Yan Duoduo orders Ren Ye to lead the arrests of Limp and Mastermind, identified as responsible for the attacks on his family. Ren Ye deliberately provokes the Roadside Dogs' resistance, including falsely claiming that a guard struck him to create an opening for his allies 48 49.

As hundreds of Chaos Faction players gather, Yan Duoduo isolates Tongren Road with more than three hundred Wordless Steles and reveals his Star Gate. The Watchers advance under his command while the opposing players falter 49.

Notable Quotes

“The individual and the nation have to meet each other halfway. Both deserve love.” 3

“Expecting people to risk their lives without paying them? Where would you find a deal like that?” 9

“Sometimes leaving someone alive is the real deterrent. Once you kill them, you've shown your hand.” 10