Xu Zhihan

Biodata

Power Progression

Xu Zhihan’s progression centers on recovering his shattered Divine Spark rather than advancing through named cultivation realms.

• The second Fragment remains in Lu Wenchuan’s Fate Line. Lin Wan’s letter warns that taking it would kill the person anchoring Xu Zhihan to the human world 91.
• Recovery does not mean accepting godhood. Xu Zhihan later blocks the fourth Fragment’s attempted return and rejects the Divine Throne’s demand to reclaim him 124.

Background / History

Divine Past and the Original Xu Zhihan

Before his mortal awakening, Xu Zhihan occupied the Divine Throne and judged departed souls. His memories initially contain gaps surrounding the throne’s collapse, his missing Divine Spark, and his arrival in the human world. He eventually remembers deliberately shattering the spark to seal a world-destroying judgment within its fragments 2 29 53 88.

The human Xu Zhihan was the Xu Family’s sickly eldest son. After his birth mother, Lin Wan, died, he endured neglect, manipulation, and years of harmful medication. He died following emergency resuscitation; the consciousness that awakened afterward initially understood him as the body’s previous owner 1 6.

The body retains emotions and fragments of childhood memory that the awakened deity cannot easily control. These include hurt toward Zhou Man, grief over Xu An, and memories of companionship that survive even when their circumstances have been forgotten 1 20 23.

Awakening and the Xu Family’s Exposure

Xu Zhihan’s first confrontation begins at his hospital bedside. Seeing Zhou Man’s Sin Lines and He Guilan’s ghost, he exposes their connection and forces Zhou Man to admit that she had He Guilan taken away. He promises the ghost that he will investigate her fate 1 2.

He also identifies Xu Mingji’s connection to his medication and exposes the younger man’s use of a drug to simulate illness. When his family attempts to transfer his engagement to Xu Mingji, he insists that Gu Huai address the matter himself rather than allowing others to decide for him 4 5 6.

Returning to the Xu Residence, Xu Zhihan hears a child calling from its basement. He and Lu Wenchuan discover Xu An’s imprisoned soul, an evil spirit, and evidence linking the household to supernatural crimes. Xu Zhihan refuses his family’s demands for loyalty and lists the deaths, drugging, and disappearances they must answer for 10 12 13 14 17.

When the Xu Family launches an online smear campaign, he releases Xu Mingji’s recorded confession and reverses public opinion. At the family reception, he exposes Zhao Huaide’s involvement in his wife’s death before guests and cameras 19 20 26.

He Xiaoyun later reveals that Lin Wan had discovered plans to make Xu Zhihan a vessel and had tried to take him away. He Guilan investigated Lin Wan’s suspicious medicine before her own death. Xu Zhihan uses He Xiaoyun’s survival to pressure Zhou Man into revealing more of the truth 40 41.

The Old Gods Society and the First Fragment

The Old Gods Society becomes a direct threat when its power infiltrates the Bureau’s testing equipment. Its agent recognizes Xu Zhihan’s divine nature and refers to his missing fragments, giving him a lead into his forgotten past 29.

On the night bus, Xu Zhihan frees trapped souls from the Society’s influence and preserves part of its damaged mark as evidence. The effort leaves him coughing blood and unable to leave without Lu Wenchuan’s help 35.

After Xu Mingji attacks him with a Society talisman, Xu Zhihan follows the resulting clues through the Abandoned Photo Studio to the Xu Family Old Residence. Beneath the residence, he witnesses how Xu An was pushed through a black door and recovers the first Divinity Fragment from its frame 47 48 50 52 53.

His investigation then reaches Lu Wenchuan’s childhood. Entering Lu Wenchuan’s Fate Line, he sees Ji Heng sacrifice himself to redirect a fragment into his student’s broken fate. Xu Zhihan escapes the Masked Man’s attempt to trap him and later rejects the Society’s treatment of Lu Wenchuan as merely his “key” 63 64 67.

The Private Hospital and Lin Wan’s Letters

At Xu Holdings Private Hospital, hidden records reveal years of surveillance and experiments involving Xu Zhihan’s Soul Flame, vessel, and Divine Spark. Xu Chengyuan and Shen Cheng are connected to concealed underground facilities 71.

Xu Zhihan helps contain the impostor Shen Cheng when it attempts to take over Xu Chengyuan. In the No. 0 Sealed Room, Lin Wan’s blood seal grants him access to her letter and the third Fragment. Her message insists that he is himself—not simply a vessel or the deity sought by the Old Gods Society 79 88.

Returning to the old residence’s well, Xu Zhihan helps retrieve Xu An’s remains and the second half of Lin Wan’s letter. Learning that Lu Wenchuan is his human-world anchor, he refuses to take the fragment sustaining him. When Xu An asks whether he has come home, Xu Zhihan promises that they will find a new home later 91 92.

He subsequently removes a corrupted thread bearing Lin Wan’s blood imprint from Lu Wenchuan’s Fate Line by identifying where its guilt actually belongs. This briefly stirs Heavenly Judgment 100.

Oracle Tower and the Rejection of Godhood

Using Ji Heng’s Anchor Reverse-Pull, Xu Zhihan and Lu Wenchuan trace their enemy to the Old TV Tower. They free the real Shen Cheng’s remnant soul from Xie Wu, the Old Gods Society’s first Vessel for the Divine Oracle, and pursue Xie Wu toward Oracle Tower 106 112.

After recovering the fourth Fragment, they face successive layers designed to separate Xu Zhihan from his anchor. In the Return-to-God Layer, Xu Zhihan claims his mortal name, returns “Cold Judgment” to the Old Gods Society, and keeps the Divine Spark’s true name hidden 117 124.

He refuses Xie Wu’s demand to take Lu Wenchuan’s Fragment, instead removing the White Nail draining Lu Wenchuan’s life. In the Returning Guilt Layer, he makes perpetrators confess rather than accepting responsibility for their crimes 130 134.

At the Twelfth Layer, the pair use the Silver Nameplate, Student ID, and Work Badge to suppress and crack the Clock Core. The real Shen Cheng’s remaining soul light disperses, and Heavenly Judgment begins 145.

Severing Heavenly Judgment’s Connections

Behind the Divine Throne, Xu Zhihan discovers that the throne functions as a door connecting Heavenly Judgment’s rules to the human world. He and Lu Wenchuan temporarily seal the darkness and retreat; Lu Wenchuan confesses his feelings before losing consciousness 151.

Xu Zhihan returns to the tower’s depths and cuts chains connecting its source to human-world doors, including those associated with the Xu Family Old Residence and Level B4. With Lu Wenchuan supporting him through the anchor line, he repeatedly strikes the main chain behind the Divine Throne 153 154.

Afterward, he enters the Final Layer’s collapsing ruins to retrieve Lu Wenchuan. He restores their anchor connection, helps him sever the source’s white thread, and brings him back to consciousness. The aftermath remains dangerous: Xie Wu’s voice persists within a Residual Bell 155 156.

Appearance

Xu Zhihan’s human body is thin and strikingly pale, with refined features and an aloof expression 3 25.

• Nearly colorless lips and frequent exhaustion reflect his severely damaged constitution 3 14.
• Cold, distant eyes make Lu Wenchuan doubt that he is an ordinary dying patient at their first meeting 3.
• A golden mark in his palm remains after the first Fragment partially merges with him; it is later covered with a bandage 53 56.
• Snowlight in his eyes appears during encounters with the Divine Throne and its summons 149 150 153.

Personality

Xu Zhihan is blunt, impatient, and difficult to intimidate. He dislikes noise, theatrical crying, repetitive explanations, and being treated as someone his family can control. His replies are often terse enough to humiliate an opponent without an argument 5 6 10 17.

His judgment distinguishes responsibility from association. He does not accept that an ignorant person should inherit another’s guilt, nor does he excuse deliberate harm because its perpetrator claims necessity. He initially has no interest in administering justice on heaven’s behalf, but repeatedly acts when confronted with suffering and concealed crimes 8 23 41 134.

He conceals concern behind irritation and practical excuses. He treats Lu Wenchuan’s injuries while claiming that he needs someone to drive, and insists that protecting Xu An is merely avoiding trouble. His actions steadily contradict his detached presentation 15 53.

Life among humans changes what he values. A rescued boy’s wish that he “live well” pleases him more than kneeling homage. His eventual refusal of the Divine Throne makes his chosen identity more important than the role others demand he resume 37 124.

Abilities & Skills

Sin Line and Spiritual Perception

Xu Zhihan sees marks left on souls by wrongdoing, harmed lives, and unpaid debts 1.

• Traces Xu Mingji’s Sin Line to his medication and detects the drug’s medicinal energy 1 5.
• Identifies connections between crimes, victims, locations, and supernatural mechanisms 8 25 71.
• Perceives ghosts and hidden presences invisible to ordinary people 1 10 14.
• Recognizes Lu Wenchuan’s approaching presence as both powerful and close to death 2.

Divine Commands and Golden Light

His divine authority can compel hostile supernatural beings and restrain their power.

• Forces the basement’s black-robed evil spirit and the stronger shadows beyond the old residence’s door to kneel 12 52.
• Pins a masked shadow with golden light so Lu Wenchuan can destroy it 53.
• Suppresses white threads and cuts chains with blades of golden light 129 153 154.
• Acts remotely through established connections, including restraining the Red Door while remaining in the command room 57 58.

Soul and Resentment Manipulation

Xu Zhihan can restrain spirits, separate souls from corrupting forces, and preserve supernatural evidence.

• Controls He Guilan’s ghost and later borrows her resentment from the Xu Residence while staying at the Bureau 2 38.
• Frees the night bus’s souls and seals a damaged Society mark inside a charred ticket 35.
• Preserves part of the shadow and talisman used against him as an investigative lead 47.
• Commands Xie Wu to return stolen faces, helping free Shen Cheng’s remnant soul into his Work Badge 112.

Fate Line Intervention and Judgment

Xu Zhihan can enter and manipulate the supernatural connections surrounding a person’s fate.

• Enters Lu Wenchuan’s Fate Line to witness his childhood rescue; his power is substantially suppressed within the regression 63.
• Knots the black thread involved in the impostor’s takeover of Xu Chengyuan 79.
• Expels a corrupted guilt thread by naming the people responsible for its associated deaths 100.
• Uses Anchor Reverse-Pull with Lu Wenchuan to locate their enemy 106.
• Removes the White Nail from Lu Wenchuan’s Fate Line and later helps sever Heavenly Judgment’s remaining hold on him 130 155.

Limitations and Costs

• Damaged mortal body: Years of drugging have left his constitution poor and his Soul Flame nearly extinguished. Even limited exertion can cause pain, bleeding, dizziness, or collapse 2 6 35.
• Fragment integration: His body struggles to withstand the first Fragment’s merger with his soul 53.
• Incomplete memories: His divine past initially returns only in fragments 29 53.
• Divine summons: Mirrors, bells, and the Divine Throne’s calls can draw him toward a detached divine identity. Lu Wenchuan repeatedly helps him recover his sense of self 48 112 149.
• Danger to his anchor: Taking Lu Wenchuan’s Fragment is not a harmless route to restoration; Lin Wan explicitly warns that doing so would kill him 91.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Silver Nameplate — Bears Lin Wan’s affirmation of his identity. Xu Zhihan uses it to resist the Return-to-God Layer, break a false hospital scene, and oppose the Clock Core and Divine Throne. It is progressively damaged during the final confrontation 124 130 145 150 154.
• Lin Wan’s jade clasp — Given to him by He Xiaoyun; triggers a memory of his mother promising to take him away and warning him against Xu Chengyuan 40.
• Old key — Retrieved from the Xu Residence’s safe using Lin Wan’s birthday; grants access to the old residence 47 50.
• Lin Wan’s letters and map — Lead him toward the Door Bone and reveal the relationship between his shattered Divine Spark and Lu Wenchuan’s anchor role 50 51 88 91.
• Candy and mint candy — Gifts from Lu Wenchuan that become personal keepsakes and grounding objects during dangerous encounters 23 63 112 130.
• Paper flower — A rescued boy’s gift, kept beside his candy in the medical room 37.

Relationships

• Lu Wenchuan — Investigative partner, protector, and human-world anchor. Their care is reciprocal: Lu Wenchuan grounds and supports him, while Xu Zhihan refuses to sacrifice him for divine restoration. Lu Wenchuan confesses that he likes him during the final crisis 67 91 130 151 155.
• Lin Wan — Birth mother of his human body. Tried to protect him from becoming a vessel and left seals, letters, and keepsakes affirming his right to be Xu Zhihan 40 88 124.
• Xu An / Lin An — Childhood companion and relative from Lin Wan’s side whose exact family relationship was obscured. Xu Zhihan protects his surviving soul, retrieves his remains, and promises him a new home 21 22 76 91 92.
• Xu Chengyuan — Father of his human body and a central target of his investigation. Xu Zhihan rejects his claims of paternal authority and demands accountability for Lin Wan, Xu An, and his own treatment 17 57 80 134.
• Zhou Man — Stepmother whose apparent care concealed abuse and involvement in multiple crimes. Xu Zhihan exposes her connection to He Guilan and confronts her over the harm done to the household’s victims 1 2 41.
• Xu Mingji — Younger brother of his human body. His manipulation, medication tampering, and talisman attack make him an adversary, though Xu Zhihan ultimately has him detained rather than leaving him to the attacking shadow 5 47.
• Song Zhixia — Bureau doctor and medical supervisor. Repeatedly treats his backlash injuries, restricts unsafe operations, and negotiates workable precautions when he refuses to stay behind 53 79 91 106.
• He Guilan — Murdered housekeeper whose ghost becomes one of his earliest sources of evidence. He keeps his promise to investigate and helps bring her surviving daughter and Zhou Man’s confession within reach 2 6 38 51.
• He Xiaoyun — Surviving witness who supplies childhood photographs, Lin Wan’s jade clasp, and crucial information about the vessel scheme 40.
• Gu Huai — His arranged engagement partner. Xu Zhihan refuses to let the Xu Family transfer the arrangement without Gu Huai answering personally and sees through the crimes concealed behind his family’s influence 4 6 8.
• Xie Wu / Fake Shen Cheng — Enemy who exploits stolen souls and attempts to force Xu Zhihan into reclaiming godhood at Lu Wenchuan’s expense 88 112 130.

Notable Quotes

“The old Xu Zhihan is dead.” 5

“Being alive hurts.” 6

“My things—who holds them, when I take them back, and how I take them back—are for me to decide.” 67

“My name is Xu Zhihan.” 124