Publisher Yen Press announced their acquisition of the license for Lord of Mysteries, a hit western fantasy (xuanhuan) webnovel.
Yen Press has generally focused on Japanese works in the past, and Lord of Mysteries marks their first foray into Chinese media. Although Lord of Mysteries is not a danmei, danmei fans may be interested in seeing where Yen Press plans to go from here — and also, enjoy a great story in the process.
Lord of Mysteries (诡秘之主), also known as Lord of the Mysteries, is a webnovel series written by Cuttlefish That Loves Diving (爱潜水的乌贼). It was originally serialized on Qidian in 2018, where it ran for 1432 chapters (plus 38 extra chapters). It is the first part of the author’s Mysteries Series. Yen Press has not yet announced if they have acquired the rights for Circle of Inevitability, its sequel.
Webnovel.com (Qidian’s English-language branch) has had a complete English translation of the book available in online format since 2021, but Yen Press’ acquisition of the license represents the first time the series will be available in physical print.
The series has inspired several adaptations, including a manhua (currently on hiatus), an upcoming RPG video game, and an upcoming donghua. The donghua will be a joint production of Tencent Penguin Pictures and B.C May Pictures, which danmei fans may recognize as the production team behind the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (Master of Diabolism) donghua.
The below summary was provided by Webnovel.com:
With the rising tide of steam power and machinery, who can come close to being a Beyonder? Shrouded in the fog of history and darkness, who or what is the lurking evil that murmurs into our ears?
Waking up to be faced with a string of mysteries, Zhou Mingrui finds himself reincarnated as Klein Moretti in an alternate Victorian era world where he sees a world filled with machinery, cannons, dreadnoughts, airships, difference machines, as well as Potions, Divination, Hexes, Tarot Cards, Sealed Artifacts…
The Light continues to shine but mystery has never gone far. Follow Klein as he finds himself entangled with the Churches of the world—both orthodox and unorthodox — while he slowly develops newfound powers thanks to the Beyonder potions.
Like the corresponding tarot card, The Fool, which is numbered 0 — a number of unlimited potential — this is the legend of “The Fool.”
Source: Yen Press Twitter/X
