The world ended in a roar of white light and the sound of shattering glass.
Han Ming remembered the sensation vividly. The way his meridians had turned into searing fuses, the agonizing heat of his blood boiling within his veins, and the sight of Senior Brother Lin Feng standing atop the sacrificial altar, bathed in celestial radiance while a hundred outer disciples screamed in the dirt.
"A small sacrifice for the birth of a Sovereign," the Sect Elders had whispered from their high clouds, their voices devoid of pity.
Then, there was only the void.
THUD.
Han Ming's eyes snapped open. He wasn't in the void. He was face-down on a cold, damp stone floor that smelled of stale sweat and cheap incense.
"Get up, trash! Today is the Star-Fall Ritual. If you're late for the formation-lining, the Hall Warden will have your skin for a rug!"
The voice was like a rusted saw blade. Han Ming pushed himself up, his breath hitching. His hands were calloused, stained with the juices of spirit-herbs he'd been forced to grind for the inner disciples. His robes were a coarse, grey hemp, the uniform of a 'Laborer' of the Cloud-Sea Sect.
I'm back, he thought, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. Three years. I've returned to the day the Heavens stole my life.
"Did you hear me, Han Ming?" A heavy boot slammed into his ribs, sending him sprawling.
Han Ming didn't cry out. He looked up at the man standing over him, Wang Hu, a low-level bully who had reached the third stage of Qi Condensation only by stealing the spirit-stones of the weaker servants.
But as Han Ming looked at him, the world shifted.
A ghostly, translucent scroll unfurled in his mind's eye, its edges wreathed in black flames. It was the Abyssal Balance Ledger. And above Wang Hu's head, floating like a crown of thorns, were glowing crimson characters:
[NAME: WANG HU]
[STATUS: DELINQUENT]
[DEBT: 420 KARMA UNITS]
[OFFENSE: THEFT OF SPIRIT STONES (32 TIMES), EXTORTION OF FELLOW DISCIPLES, ARROGANCE WITHOUT FOUNDATION.]
[INTEREST RATE: 5% DAILY]
Han Ming blinked. The world looked different now. The very air was threaded with shimmering gold and suffocating black. He looked at his own hands.
[NAME: HAN MING]
[STATUS: THE WITNESS (RANK 0)]
[BALANCE: 0 UNITS (ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: TOTAL WORLD DESTINY)]
A cold, sharp smile touched Han Ming's lips. In his previous life, he had been a "frog in a well," grateful for the scraps the sect tossed him. He had died as a nameless battery for Lin Feng's "Greatness."
"Why are you smiling, dog?" Wang Hu sneered, raising his hand to strike again. "Have you finally lost your mind?"
"I was just thinking, Senior Brother Wang," Han Ming said, his voice raspy but calm. He stood up slowly, brushing the dust from his grey robes. "The Heavens are always watching. Every debt must eventually be settled."
"Debts? The only debt here is the one you owe the sect for feeding your worthless mouth!" Wang Hu laughed, a boisterous, ugly sound. "Move! The Star-Fall Ritual begins at the Hour of the Tiger. If we aren't at the Peak of Drifting Clouds to 'receive the blessing,' the Elders will be displeased."
The blessing, Han Ming thought bitterly.
In the Cloud-Sea Sect, the Star-Fall Ritual was touted as a grand occasion where the stars aligned to pour spiritual essence onto the disciples. In reality, it was a massive energetic siphon. The "Geniuses" sat at the center, absorbing the refined essence, while the outer disciples were placed at the perimeter of the formation to act as "Conductive Earth", essentially, lightning rods that filtered the impurities of the stellar energy by burning out their own life force.
Last time, Han Ming had been a "Conductive Earth." He had survived, but his spirit roots were charred, ensuring he could never rise above the lowest ranks.
Not this time.
...
The Peak of Drifting Clouds
The ascent to the peak was grueling. Thousands of grey-robed disciples marched in silence up the winding stone stairs, flanked by Inner Disciples in flowing white silks who rode on flying swords.
At the summit, the air was thin and charged with static. The Great Formation of the Seven Silver Peaks had already been laid out. Massive jade pillars carved with ancient runes hummed with a low, rhythmic vibration that made Han Ming's teeth ache.
At the center of the formation, sitting on a raised dais of white jade, was Lin Feng.
Even from a distance, the "Golden Child" was a sight to behold. His skin was like polished ivory, his hair a cascade of raven silk. Around his neck hung a simple bronze ring—the "Golden Finger" that the entire world would one day learn to fear.
Han Ming looked at him, and for a moment, he felt like he was staring into a sun.
The Ledger in his mind screamed. The red characters above Lin Feng's head weren't just a crown; they were a skyscraper of burning debt.
[NAME: LIN FENG]
[STATUS: THE PARASITE OF DESTINY]
[DEBT: 890,500 KARMA UNITS]
[OFFENSE: USURPING THE SPIRIT VEIN OF THE SOUTHERN WILDS, DRAINING THE FATE OF 10,000 DISCIPLES (PROJECTED), POSSESSION OF AN UNREGISTERED ANCIENT SOUL.]
[WARNING: DEBT LEVEL IS 'CATASTROPHIC'. THE WORLD IS OVERDRAWN TO SUSTAIN THIS INDIVIDUAL.]
Eight hundred and ninety thousand, Han Ming breathed.
Lin Feng wasn't a hero. He was a cosmic overdraft. Every "lucky" encounter he had, every "miraculous" breakthrough, was a loan taken out against the lives of everyone else in the realm.
"Position yourselves!" an Elder shouted, his voice amplified by Qi. "The stars descend! Open your hearts and receive the benevolence of the Cloud-Sea Sect!"
Wang Hu shoved Han Ming toward the very edge of the formation, the most dangerous spot. "Stay there, trash. Try not to die too loudly; you'll disturb Senior Brother Lin's meditation."
Han Ming took his place. He sat cross-legged on the cold stone, closing his eyes. Around him, dozens of other outer disciples were doing the same, their faces filled with hope and reverence. They truly believed they were being blessed.
The Abyssal Balance Ledger, Han Ming called out in his mind. Initiate Audit.
[AUDIT COMMENCING...]
[IDENTIFYING HARMFUL ENERGY FLOW...]
[WARNING: STELLAR SIPHON DETECTED. ENERGY SOURCE: STAR-FALL. PRIMARY BENEFICIARY: LIN FENG. COST: 12 YEARS OF LIFE PER OUTER DISCIPLE.]
Can I redirect the debt? Han Ming asked.
[THE WITNESS MAY NOT ALTER FATE WITHOUT ASSETS. HOWEVER, THE WITNESS MAY 'DECLINE THE TRANSACTION.']
Then I decline, Han Ming thought fiercely. And I want to file a claim for the interest owed on my previous life.
The Ledger flickered.
[CLAIM VERIFIED. RECONSTRUCTING FRAGMENTED KARMA FROM PREVIOUS CYCLE...]
[INTEREST ACCRUED: 1,200 REFINED ESSENCE DROPS.]
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO DISBURSE ASSETS?]
Wait until the ritual starts, Han Ming commanded. Give it back to me when the siphon is at its peak.
Suddenly, the sky turned a deep, bruised purple. The clouds above the Seven Silver Peaks parted, revealing a swirling vortex of starlight. A pillar of silver fire descended, slamming into the central altar where Lin Feng sat.
"Nngh!" Lin Feng groaned, his body arching as he began to absorb the massive influx of power.
The formation flared to life. The jade pillars glowed with a blinding light, and the "conductive" threads of Qi shot out toward the outer disciples.
In his previous life, this was when the pain started. Han Ming felt the familiar pull, the sensation of his very soul being dragged toward the center to act as a filter for the "impurities" of the star-fire.
Beside him, a young girl gasped, her face turning pale as her hair began to turn grey in seconds. Wang Hu, further in, was sweating profusely, his face contorted in a mix of greed and agony.
"Now!" Han Ming roared internally.
[DISBURSING KARMIC INTEREST.]
[ASSET: REFINED PRIMORDIAL ESSENCE (1,200 DROPS).]
[ACTION: INSULATING SOUL-ROOT. AUDITING THE SIPHON.]
Instead of the burning agony of the star-fire, Han Ming felt a cool, crystalline sensation wash over his meridians. The "interest" from his past death flooded his body—pure, filtered, and infinitely more potent than the raw stellar energy Lin Feng was consuming.
While the other disciples were having their lives sucked out, Han Ming's cultivation began to skyrocket.
Qi Condensation Level 1... Qi Condensation Level 2...
He felt the filth in his body, the leaden weight of the spirit-herb dust and the toxins of poverty—being pushed out through his pores in a black mist.
But he didn't stop there.
"You want to steal from me?" Han Ming glared through the silver light at the silhouette of Lin Feng. "Then I'll audit your very foundation."
He reached out his hand, touching the glowing rune-line on the floor.
Ledger! Record the theft of my neighbors' lives! Charge it to the 'Golden Child'!
[CHARGE ACCEPTED.]
[RECOGNIZED DEBT: 1,200 YEARS OF HUMAN LIFE FORCE (TOTAL FROM OUTER DISCIPLE PERIMETER).]
[DEBTOR: LIN FENG.]
[RECOVERY ACTION: REDIRECTING 'EXCESS LUCK' AS COMPENSATION TO THE WITNESS.]
Suddenly, the silver pillar of light wobbled.
On the dais, Lin Feng's eyes flew open. He felt a sudden, inexplicable coldness. The "Spirit in the Ring", the ancient mentor who guided him, hissed in alarm. "Feng'er! Something is wrong! The energy is becoming unstable! It's as if the Heavens are demanding a higher price than we agreed upon!"
"What?" Lin Feng gasped, his face pale. "I am the Chosen! The Heavens favor me!"
CRACK.
One of the jade pillars fractured. The energy that was supposed to be "filtered" by the outer disciples suddenly reversed its flow. Instead of impurities going into the disciples and pure energy going to Lin Feng, the debt of the impurities was slammed back into the formation's core.
A shockwave of black lightning rippled through the altar.
Lin Feng screamed as the "backwash" hit him. It didn't kill him, his "Main Character Halo" was still too strong but it acted like a spiritual hammer, shattering the progress he had just made. The forbidden bloodline he was trying to awaken flickered and went dormant, suppressed by the sheer weight of the karmic backlash.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the formation, Han Ming sat in a pocket of absolute silence.
The black lightning avoided him as if he were a ghost. The refined essence continued to swirl into his dantian, spinning into a vibrant, silver whirlpool.
Qi Condensation Level 3.
He opened his eyes. The silver light was fading. The ritual was over.
The Peak of Drifting Clouds was a scene of carnage. Hundreds of outer disciples lay unconscious, their youth stolen, their potential withered. The Elders were rushing down from the clouds, their faces twisted in confusion and terror.
"The formation... it failed?" an Elder stammered, looking at the cracked jade pillars. "How? The calculations were perfect!"
"Senior Brother Lin!" someone screamed.
Lin Feng was slumped on the dais, coughing up blood. His radiant aura was dimmed, his eyes bloodshot. He looked like a man who had just been hit by a mountain.
Wang Hu, nearby, was groaning, his cultivation having actually dropped back to Level 1 due to the backlash. He looked up and saw Han Ming standing over him.
Han Ming looked taller. His skin was clear, his eyes bright with a terrifying, calm intensity. There wasn't a single scratch on him.
"You..." Wang Hu gasped, pointing a shaking finger. "You... how are you...?"
Han Ming looked down at the bully. The red characters above Wang Hu's head were pulsing.
[CURRENT DEBT: 420 KARMA UNITS]
[COLLECTION STATUS: ELIGIBLE]
Han Ming reached down and gripped Wang Hu's wrist.
"Senior Brother Wang," Han Ming whispered, loud enough only for the two of them. "I believe you owe me for three years of 'protection fees.' And the Heavens... they really don't like it when people don't pay their bills."
Han Ming gave a slight tug.
A faint, ghostly wisp of Qi flowed from Wang Hu into Han Ming's palm. It was the "interest" on the bullying. Wang Hu's eyes rolled back in his head as he fainted, his dantian completely drying up.
[COLLECTION SUCCESSFUL.]
[GAINED: 5 SPIRIT STONES WORTH OF PURE QI.]
[WITNESS STATUS: STABILIZED.]
Han Ming stood up and looked toward the central altar. Lin Feng was being surrounded by panicked Elders, his "Golden Finger" ring glowing with a faint, frustrated light.
For the first time in two lives, Han Ming felt the weight off his shoulders. He wasn't a victim anymore. He wasn't an "extra."
He was the Auditor. And the Great Sects of the Myriad Fate Realm were all deep in the red.
"The world owes me a debt," Han Ming said to the wind, his voice cold as the coming winter. "And I've only just started the first page of the Ledger."