Yu Sheng

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Yu Sheng grew up in Sin City, a place without laws or fairness where survival required ruthless measures. Official records state that he was mistakenly swept into the city during a disaster. Entry was effectively permanent unless a person secured its single annual exit slot; Yu Sheng eventually won that opportunity and enrolled at school six months before his awakening assessment 1 3 9.

His childhood included betrayal, violence, and deprivation. He remembers a seemingly kindly old man caring for him for two days before selling him, streets filled with corpses, and fighting back-to-back with another small, thin figure. He first killed someone at approximately five or six years old and cannot remember the exact age 24 38.

Yu Sheng learned only a few months before the story began that Yu Sanshui was his father. The principal’s investigation found no indication that Yu Sanshui had tried to rescue him from Sin City, leaving their family circumstances unresolved 1 9.

Appearance

• Build: Thin and scrawny, leading classmates to underestimate his physical ability 8 10 13.
• Expression: Usually calm and unruffled; even his most unsettling remarks are often delivered earnestly 5 25.
• Eyes: Described as clear and youthful, despite the weariness beneath his outward composure 25.

Personality

Yu Sheng is resilient, guarded, and intensely survival-oriented. He endures Liu Qingfeng’s demanding training without complaint but instinctively avoids unexpected contact, sometimes drawing a concealed blade. He refuses to blunt his weapons for a safer examination because deliberately weakening them would leave him vulnerable 2 38 47.

His understanding of ordinary society is shaped by Sin City. He assumes captives need concealed poison to escape torture and initially struggles to understand why killing is illegal. Nevertheless, he studies Ink Pavilion law closely and follows contractual rules: he refuses Wang Wenxuan’s proposal to collect overlapping rescue payments because protection was already included in their paid assignment 13 23 26 33.

Money and food are among his few obvious interests. He eats slowly and treats ordinary meals as precious, while retaining the habit of skipping lunch from years of scarcity. His sharp, literal remarks frequently distress others, sometimes providing energy for his scroll 1 5 10.

Although initially unable to understand protecting strangers, he shows fierce loyalty toward people he considers his own. Liu Qingfeng’s guidance and the veterans’ village gradually expose him to trust and peaceful enjoyment; while grilling fish there, he smiles genuinely for the first time he can remember 37 38 43.

Abilities & Skills

Dragon-Patterned Staff

Yu Sheng’s Awakening Object matches the staff depicted in his mental scroll. He initially describes it as a staff “for hitting sandbags” 44.

• Its awakening addresses his lack of physical strength, tripling his strength and doubling his speed 44.
• During training with Zhao Zicheng, a punching bag solidifies when struck, and energy divides between Yu Sheng and Zhao Zicheng 47.
• Zhao experiences both considerable pain and a pleasurable sensation during the exercise 47.

Mental Scroll and Emotional Energy

An ancient scroll has existed in Yu Sheng’s mind since childhood. It remains dormant until his awakening assessment 1 3.

• Absorbs dark or gray energy released by other people’s emotional reactions 3 5.
• Uses that energy to make the depicted Dragon-Patterned Staff increasingly solid 5 46.
• Yu Sheng suspects the emotions must be caused by him, but the precise conditions remain uncertain 5.
• The staff’s manifestation does not require its scroll image to become fully solid: he awakens while the gray vapor is only approaching coverage of one-ninth of it 44.
• Other images lead him to speculate about multiple awakenings, but no additional Awakening Object is demonstrated 4 44.

Concealed-Weapon Combat

Yu Sheng specializes in quick, lethal attacks rather than conventional sparring 13 23 47.

• Combines razor blades, daggers, crossbows, feints, trips, and attacks from blind spots 13 23.
• Defeats Du Xu despite their substantial difference in build 13.
• Kills a level-one cultist before completing his own awakening 23 44.
• Controls his cuts and the victim’s fall precisely enough to minimize blood spilling onto the floor 23 24.
• Has difficulty adapting his killing techniques to nonlethal examination combat 47.

Stealth, Tracking, and Traps

Yu Sheng relies on concealment and preparation to compensate for stronger opponents 7 15 23.

• Conceals himself in darkness by controlling his position and breathing 4.
• Moves through surveillance-camera blind spots to investigate the assessment’s monitoring room 15.
• Follows faint footprints to locate the driver 18.
• Rigs doors and windows with crossbow traps before cultivating, then sits outside an intruder’s immediate line of sight 7.

Legal and Commercial Knowledge

Yu Sheng studies rules as both survival constraints and opportunities to earn money 18 26 41.

• Recites specific criminal-law provisions to prevent unlawful violence 18 33.
• Negotiates payment for assignments and keeps a recording of his agreement with the principal 9 45.
• Proposes selling advertising space on school uniforms, securing a thirty-percent share 45.
• Advises Elder Zhong on licensing, staffing, and replacing illicit disc content with legally acceptable publicity 41.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Daggers: Concealed on his arms, calves, and near his waist; kept accessible even while sleeping 2 43.
• Razor blade: Initially uses a nonreflective metal blade; later carries one apparently ground from demon-beast bone 13 38.
• Crossbows: Carries a wrist-mounted crossbow and a compact back-mounted weapon operated by a cord running to his hand 2 13.
• Steel nails and fine needles: Hidden in his pockets and jacket lining 2.
• Demon Crystals: Used to incubate his egg; receives three from a shopkeeper and another three as the principal’s assessment payment 7 30.

Relationships

• Yu Sanshui — Father. Yu Sheng reports his illicit hotel encounter, keeps the money intended for bail, and refuses to secure his release. He later welcomes Zhao Zicheng’s help in extending the detention 1 30.
• Liu Qingfeng — Homeroom teacher and mentor. Defends Yu Sheng despite his Sin City origins, encourages him to protect others, and gradually earns a small measure of his trust 14 25 38 47.
• Zhao Zicheng — Schoolmate and training partner. Moves from offering leadership to relying on Yu Sheng in danger; wins his enthusiastic approval by helping keep Yu Sanshui detained 10 20 30 47.
• Du Xu — Assessment opponent and later aspiring follower. After losing to Yu Sheng and witnessing his killing skills, asks to follow him and learn how to kill 13 28.
• Li Yihan — Wounded aspiring assassin. Yu Sheng exploits his emotional reactions to develop the scroll but eventually supplies medicine and bandages, maintaining that Li Yihan owes him a life 5 6.
• Wang Wenxuan — Reserve Corps member and assessment driver. Attempts to teach Yu Sheng solidarity, then seeks a money-making partnership after discovering his knowledge of rewards 18 26 29.
• Zhong Yushu / Elder Zhong — Retired hero encountered selling illicit-looking discs. Their monetary dispute develops into a discussion of legal business methods; Zhong urges Yu Sheng to trust others more 35 39 40 41.
• Principal — Recognizes his nine-pattern potential, orders him to keep it secret, and negotiates assessment and sponsorship arrangements with him 3 9 45.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Awakening and Assessment

• Breaks the testing machine after it reveals his nine-pattern potential, then investigates the newly activated scroll 3.
• Defeats Du Xu with concealed weapons and exposes the gulf between Sin City survival practices and ordinary student life 13.
• Stages a camera-facing rescue against the dog demon while reciting praise of the Ink Pavilion 20.
• Holds back against a cultist until Liu Qingfeng confirms that killing cultists is lawful and carries a reward of one hundred thousand 23.
• Agrees to try to save others when able and avoid turning his weapons against humanity 25.

Reward Collection in Baichun City

• Travels with Wang Wenxuan to claim his bravery reward 30.
• Stops Chen Yimo and an Ink Pavilion manager from fighting by quoting the penalties for urban violence, then insists on processing his claim through the proper queue 33.
• After returning to Mobei City, transfers most of his prize money to an unidentified account. The transfer briefly breaks his usual composure and leaves him visibly sad 35.

Veterans’ Village and Entrance-Exam Preparation

• Learns about injured veterans and begins questioning his assumption that all relationships are governed by self-interest 37 38.
• Experiences fishing, rest, and companionship in the veterans’ village; completes his awakening during the visit 43 44.
• Develops the uniform-sponsorship plan with the principal, then benefits from the emotional energy generated by students’ reactions 45 46.
• Trains with Zhao Zicheng while worrying about accidentally killing an examination opponent 47.
• Expresses willingness to try joining the Ink Pavilion, partly to earn money, as Liu Qingfeng urges him to become stronger without abandoning self-protection 48.

Notable Quotes

“Do people outside Sin City really not hide poison on themselves?” 13

“The job from the clients was to protect them. Charging separately would be breaking the rules.” 26

“I don't know how to fight.” 47