Lord of Mysteries
Lord of Mysteries is a Chinese web novel written by Yuan Ye/Cuttlefish That Loves Diving. Serialized on Qidian from 2018 to 2020, the story blends steampunk, Lovecraftian horror, and Xuanhuan elements in a Victorian era-inspired world.
Plot
The story begins in the year 1349 of the Fifth Epoch, on 28th June. Zhou Mingrui, a Chinese youth, transmigrates into the body of a university graduate, Klein Moretti, after the latter seemingly commits suicide.Finding himself in a world reminiscent of late Victorian era England, Zhou Mingrui searches for a way to go home. After reproducing a ritual that presumably caused his transmigration, he masquerades as a god-like entity and forms an organization known as the 'Tarot Club'. He is also later questioned by the police about his friends’ suicides; it is revealed that the police have mystical powers. People with mystical powers are called Beyonders. Through a series of events, he becomes an official Beyonder, and tries to find out why the original Klein committed suicide while trying to eventually return home.
Media
Novel
The novel was serialized on Qidian from April 2018 to May 2020. Yen Press is releasing the novels in print in English.Manhua
A manhua began serialization on January 21, 2020, and was published on Bilibili Manhua. A translation is available on.A new adaptation began serialization in 2025 and was published on AC.QQ.
Donghua
A donghua adaptation, covering the first volume, and produced by B.CMAY PICTURES, premiered with a double-episode special on June 28, 2025. It is directed by Xiong Ke and written by Yuan Ye. The ending song for Season 1 is "Dark Dream", performed by Curley Gao. The season was streamed on WeTV and Crunchyroll.B.CMAY PICTURES has unveiled a roadmap for the Lord of the Mysteries donghua adaptation. This roadmap spans from 2025 to 2035, outlining plans for six seasons, three special episodes, and a movie adapting the final volume.
The following is the official release calendar directly from the event held by B.CMAY PICTURES:
Video game
As of 2024, a multi-platform RPG titled Lord of the Mysteries is in development using Unreal Engine 5.Reception
The novel amassed a large fandom among Chinese and English speakers. It was ranked #1 on Qidian's popularity rankings for several consecutive months. As of 2023, it had tens of millions of readers.Fans of the series frequently discussed fan theories regarding the protagonist and his abilities, which the author directly engaged with online, sometimes by confirming fan speculation or by redirecting them. He also incorporated reader feedback into future instalments of the series.
It is one of 144 web novels in the National Library of China.