Ye Zhen

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Rivalry with Fang Shiming

Before the Dajing City crisis, Ye Zhen fought Fang Shiming to determine who was “number one under heaven.” Fang considered the battle unnecessary and blamed Ye Zhen for his deteriorated condition afterward 4.

Dajing City Crisis

Ye Zhen left Dahai City boasting that he could subdue the Hungry Ghost and Ghost Messenger even while holding up the Ghost Painting. He and Fang Shiming broke into the painting’s domain, but their entrance closed while Ye Zhen was showing off, preventing an immediate evacuation of Li Jun’s group 1 4.

The Ghost Painting nearly transformed Ye Zhen into an oil painting after suppressing his Substitute Ghost. Fang Shiming cut the painting with the Ghost Scissors and saved him. Later, Li Leping and Wang Chaling intervened when the Ghost Messenger seized his throat 4 9.

Despite these setbacks, Ye Zhen contributed to the final containment. He alerted Yang Jian that the Hungry Ghost’s detached hands remained available, used its arms to pin the Ghost Coffin shut, and helped Fang Shiming trap the coffin between the two Ghost Paintings 9 10.

Supernatural Wedding in Dahai City

After returning home, Ye Zhen spent three days and nights gaming with Su Fan before A Wu persuaded him to go outside. He encountered Zhang Wei, recognized that his supposed online fiancée was dead, and concluded that Zhang Wei had already triggered a ghost’s unfinished killing pattern. Promising protection, he accompanied Zhang Wei to a village that had appeared on former wasteland 19 20 21.

Yang Jian joined them, and the two investigated the village’s Marriage Certificate. Their attempt to remove it provoked repeated supernatural attacks. Ye Zhen survived its backlash and opened an escape route through the banquet guests with a supernatural sword strike 22 23.

When their combined attacks failed to free Zhang Wei permanently from the bride, Ye Zhen returned to the courtyard and changed the certificate to read, “The groom is Ye Zhen.” He endured its sure-kill backlash, but became trapped in the room and was forced into the wedding ritual himself 25 26 29.

During the ritual, Ye Zhen developed a deeper use of the Substitute Ghost. Working with Yang Jian, he redirected the Ghost Lake’s revival attacks onto the bride. Yang Jian then manipulated the wedding rules and restarted Ye Zhen after the corpse released him, restoring his living appearance 29 30.

Once the bride was trapped in a supernatural loop, Ye Zhen left with Yang Jian. He declined the invitation to accompany Yang Jian and Zhang Wei to Dachang City, departing alone with the stated intention of eradicating vicious ghosts 31.

Appearance

• General appearance: A young man whose theatrical clothing and mannerisms lead Yang Jian to wonder whether headquarters personnel enjoy cosplay 7.
• Ghost Painting outfit: A bamboo hat partly concealing his face and a white cape bearing the word “Justice” 4.
• Everyday clothing: Wears casual clothes when going out while concealing his identity in Dahai City 19.
• Supernatural manifestations: His body can become corpse-like, develop livor mortis, rot, and recover repeatedly during clashes between supernatural powers 23 25 26 29.

Personality

Ye Zhen initially presents himself as an invincible, anime-style hero. He adopts elaborate poses, speaks in grand declarations, and treats encounters as opportunities to demonstrate his supposed supremacy. His pride makes him reluctant to acknowledge defeat: after nearly dying inside the Ghost Painting, he insists that an ambush does not count as a loss 1 4 20.

His theatrics conceal genuine professional judgment. He identifies the dead woman in Zhang Wei’s photograph and correctly explains why abandoning an unfinished killing pattern could be fatal. The narration explicitly attributes his achievements to his development of supernatural abilities, rather than merely to possessing the Substitute Ghost 20.

As a leader, he avoids routine management and leaves most Supernatural Forum affairs to A Wu. His presence nevertheless serves as a stabilizing symbol for Dahai City 19.

The wedding incident leaves him noticeably more restrained. He knowingly risks death to help Yang Jian’s plan, and afterward speaks soberly about the suffering of people confronting the supernatural. Yang Jian recognizes that he is no longer the same boastful figure he first met 29 31.

Abilities & Skills

Substitute Ghost

Transfers supernatural harm away from Ye Zhen, allowing him to survive attacks that repeatedly destroy or decay his body 4 23 29.

• Damage transfer: Attempts to redirect the Ghost Painting’s transformation attack and repeatedly counters the Marriage Certificate’s attacks 4 23 26.
• Recovery: Reconstructs his shattered skull and draws spilled blood back into his body. Yang Jian compares the effect to an alternative form of restart, rather than identifying it as a conventional restart 29.
• Indirect targeting: Selects Yang Jian to receive skull-splitting damage during the wedding despite the two having no physical contact 29.
• Revival-risk transfer: Uses the bracelet and his identity as the groom to pass the Ghost Lake’s revival attacks onto the bride. This ultimately helps Yang Jian gain firmer control over the lake’s fourth layer 29 31.
• Suppression weakness: The Ghost Painting interferes with the Substitute Ghost enough to put Ye Zhen in mortal danger 4.
• Overload limit: Repeated use can make damage transfer too slow to keep pace with incoming attacks. The resulting deterioration is described as a peculiar form of revival unique to his ghost 26.

Ghost Domain

Uses a Ghost Domain for movement and concentrated supernatural attacks 25.

• Rapid movement: Vanishes from the graveyard and travels directly toward the village compound 25.
• Point targeting: Locks his domain onto a single point on the bride’s veil to deliver a sword thrust 25.
• Resistance: The bride’s terror level prevents an instantaneous strike, forcing him to approach in repeated, discontinuous steps instead 25.
• Later manifestation: After his wedding-ritual recovery, a translucent, almost tangible domain gathers around him with an audible humming 29.

Swordsmanship and Supernatural Combat

Combines a longsword with unconventional applications of supernatural power 23 25.

• Cuts the village chief in half, though another chief immediately appears and the attack does not resolve the threat 23.
• Uses a sword-light attack that twists the banquet crowd into a vortex and tears open an escape route. Yang Jian hears him shout “Divine Might” 23.
• Pierces the bride’s head and briefly establishes a supernatural stalemate alongside Yang Jian 25.
• Has previously used a punch to force a vicious ghost into a temporary deadlock, but the same approach fails against the Ghost Painting’s red-clad figure 4.

Supernatural Investigation

• Recognizes a corpse from a photograph and diagnoses Zhang Wei’s ongoing exposure to a killing pattern 20.
• Draws on repeated experience handling supernatural incidents, with particular sensitivity to ghost behavior and rules 20.
• Identifies the bride’s supernatural strength as comparable to the Ghost Painting, Hungry Ghost, and Ghost Messenger despite her less spectacular manifestations 31.

Endurance

• Does not need sleep, allowing him to continue gaming through three days and nights while Su Fan becomes exhausted 19.
• Remains outwardly comparable to an ordinary person after the Dajing crisis, unlike the other participating captains, whom Yang Jian notes were close to revival 22.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Longsword — His principal weapon; used for dismemberment, supernatural sword-light attacks, and Ghost Domain-assisted strikes 23 25.
• Bamboo hat and “Justice” cape — Worn during the Ghost Painting operation 4.
• Phone — Has an ornate case displaying his own selfie; receives investigation reports from A Wu 20 21.
• Anime figurine collection — Kept in a glass display cabinet in his Pearl Tower lounge. The figurines rot, bleed, and contort while he endures the Marriage Certificate’s backlash 26.
• Marriage Certificate — temporary use — Alters the supernatural record to replace Zhang Wei as the groom, accepting its repeated sure-kill attacks 26.
• Dark red bracelet — temporary use — Supplied by Yang Jian and worn to receive the Ghost Lake’s revival attacks before transferring them to the bride; later shatters 29 30.

Relationships

• A Wu — Handles most Supernatural Forum administration, coordinates investigations, and urges Ye Zhen to respond to crises rather than remain absorbed in gaming 19 21.
• Yang Jian — Fellow combatant whose actions earn Ye Zhen’s respect during the Dajing crisis. They cooperate closely against the supernatural wedding, saving one another through complementary abilities 20 29 30.
• Fang Shiming — Rival and reluctant ally. Their earlier duel leaves Fang resentful, but he saves Ye Zhen from the Ghost Painting and later helps him contain the Ghost Coffin 4 10.
• Su Fan — Gaming companion. After losing every match over three days and nights, Ye Zhen finally acknowledges him as the strongest at gaming 19.
• Zhang Wei — Quickly becomes his friend and calls him “Brother Ye.” Ye Zhen promises to protect him and takes his place as the supernatural wedding’s groom 20 25 26.

Notable Quotes

“At the pinnacle of immortals, I stand proud above the world; where I, Ye Zhen, exist, there are the heavens.” 1

“How can being ambushed count as losing? Being ambushed... doesn't count as losing!” 4

“When facing the supernatural, everyone has their own experiences. Everyone is miserable. In this age when the human world is a prison, I'm merely one among countless others.” 31