The silence that followed Han Ming's accusation was heavy, thick with the scent of damp earth and the iron tang of fear.
Senior Brother Chen Gong stood frozen. His hand, which had been resting casually on the hilt of his jade-encrusted saber, began to tremble. The inner disciples behind him looked at one another in confusion. They knew Chen Gong as a rising star, a man of discipline and "righteous" character. To hear a lowly laborer speak of corpses buried beneath his courtyard was not just an insult: it was a death sentence for his reputation.
"You... you dare?" Chen Gong's voice was a low, dangerous hiss. The pale light of his Foundation Establishment aura began to flare, radiating a heat that made the nearby grass wither and turn to ash. "You dare speak such foul slanders against an inner disciple? You truly are courting death!"
Wang Hu, still clutching his withered wrist, retreated several paces. "Senior Brother, don't listen to him! He's using some kind of demonic hallucination! Kill him! Kill him and cleanse this filth from the sect!"
Han Ming did not move. He stood with the rusted iron spike held loosely at his side. To the eyes of the crowd, he was a suicide candidate. To the Ledger, however, the situation was a simple calculation.
[TARGET: CHEN GONG]
[DEBT IS ACTIVE AND UNCONTESTED]
[JUDGMENT: THE WITNESS MAY PROCEED WITH ASSET SEIZURE]
"I am not the one who is courting death, Senior Brother Chen," Han Ming said, his voice carrying clearly over the murmurs of the gathering crowd. "Every drop of blood you spilled has been recorded. Every spirit stone you embezzled to reach the Foundation Establishment stage was a loan from the world. Today, the world has sent me to collect."
"Die!"
Chen Gong could no longer contain his terror. He didn't use a subtle technique. He drew his saber, and a crescent of searing white light erupted from the blade. This was the 'Sky-Cleaving Slash,' a signature move of the Cloud-Sea Sect that was intended to bisect an opponent in a single stroke.
The power of a Foundation Establishment expert was far beyond that of a Qi Condensation laborer. The sheer pressure of the attack forced the other disciples to shield their eyes. The ground beneath Han Ming's feet cracked under the weight of the spiritual intent.
Han Ming felt the wind of the blade, but he did not retreat. He focused his mind on the first strike of the Seven Strikes of the Penal Code. He didn't aim for the blade. He didn't aim for Chen Gong's heart.
He aimed for the golden thread of Qi connecting Chen Gong's Dantian to the saber.
Asset Freeze.
Han Ming stepped forward, not back. It was a movement that defied logic. He leaned his body into the arc of the white light, the iron spike in his hand twitching like the needle of a compass.
The rusted tip of the spike tapped the flat of Chen Gong's blade. There was no loud explosion. There was only a sound like a single drop of water falling into a deep, silent well.
Ting.
In that instant, the roaring white light of the Sky-Cleaving Slash didn't shatter. It simply... stopped. The energy froze in mid-air, turning into a brittle, translucent shell that crumbled into harmless dust.
Chen Gong's eyes widened to the size of saucers. He felt a sudden, agonizing coldness snap shut around his inner sea of Qi. It was as if a giant, invisible lock had been placed on his soul. He tried to circulate his power, but the spiritual energy that had been his to command only moments ago was now as unresponsive as stone.
"My... my Qi..." Chen Gong gasped, his saber falling from his nerveless fingers. "What did you do to me?"
"I have placed a temporary freeze on your assets," Han Ming said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Your cultivation was built on a foundation of theft. Therefore, you have no right to use it against an auditor of the heavens."
Han Ming didn't stop. He stepped into Chen Gong's personal space, the iron spike now pointing directly at the senior brother's throat.
The inner disciples were paralyzed. They had just seen a Foundation Establishment expert's strongest move negated by a piece of rusted iron. This defied every law of cultivation they had ever learned.
"Assaulting a laborer is one thing," Han Ming continued, his gaze piercing through Chen Gong's crumbling facade. "But let us talk about the interest. Those three women you murdered? They were the daughters of merchant families. Their lives had value. Their destinies were cut short."
Han Ming tapped the iron spike against Chen Gong's chest, right over the heart.
[INITIATING PRELIMINARY LIQUIDATION]
A surge of dark energy flowed from Chen Gong into the Needle of the Frozen Sea. It wasn't the pure Qi of a breakthrough; it was the heavy, stagnant energy of a guilty conscience and stolen power.
Chen Gong began to age before their eyes. His smooth, youthful skin developed fine lines. His black hair was streaked with grey. The 'Gifts' he had received from his ill-gotten gains were being repossessed by the Ledger.
"Help me!" Chen Gong screamed, looking back at his fellow disciples. "He's a demon! He's using forbidden arts!"
But the other disciples saw the truth in Chen Gong's rapid aging. They saw the black mist rising from his body. In the world of cultivation, such things were signs of a karmic collapse. None of them wanted to be anywhere near a man who was being judged by the heavens.
"Senior Brother Chen seems to be having a crisis of faith," Han Ming said to the crowd. He looked at Wang Hu, who was now trembling so violently that he had fallen to his knees. "Wang Hu, would you like to join him in the audit?"
Wang Hu let out a choked sob and began to scramble away on all fours, his dignity forgotten.
Before Han Ming could finish the liquidation, a powerful, cold pressure descended from the sky. It wasn't the chaotic energy of the Star-Fall Ritual, but the focused, sharp intent of a true master.
"Cease this at once!"
A woman in robes of midnight blue descended from the clouds, her feet resting on a sword made of pure ice. This was Elder Liu, the Mistress of the Law Enforcement Hall. She was a Peak Golden Core expert, and her presence was like a winter storm hitting the mountain.
She landed between Han Ming and Chen Gong, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the iron spike in Han Ming's hand.
"A laborer defeating a Foundation Establishment disciple?" Elder Liu's voice was like cracking ice. "And using a technique that smells of the ancient justice? Who are you, boy?"
Han Ming lowered the spike and bowed, though he didn't lower his head as far as tradition dictated. He could see Elder Liu's debt.
[NAME: LIU ROU]
[DEBT: 800 UNITS] [OFFENSE: OVERLY HARSH PUNISHMENTS, PRIDE BORDERING ON ARROGANCE.]
[STATUS: SOLVENT BUT UNSTABLE]
She wasn't evil like Chen Gong, but she was a part of the system that allowed people like Lin Feng to flourish.
"I am Han Ming, a humble auditor of the world's accounts, Elder," he said.
"Auditor?" Elder Liu scoffed. "There is no such rank in the Cloud-Sea Sect. You have used an unknown art to cripple a fellow disciple. By the laws of the Seven Peaks, you should be executed."
"Then you would be executing the only person who can tell you why the Star-Fall Ritual failed," Han Ming replied, his voice unwavering even in the face of a Golden Core master.
The mention of the ritual made Elder Liu pause. The failure of the ritual was the only thing the higher-ups cared about right now. If this boy knew something, his life was suddenly worth more than ten Chen Gongs.
She looked at the shriveled, aging Chen Gong, then back at Han Ming. "The Law Enforcement Hall will decide your fate. But for now, you will come with me. And you will bring that... piece of metal with you."
"I would be honored," Han Ming said. He knew this was his next step. To balance the scales of the sect, he had to move from the servant quarters to the heart of the mountain.
As he was led away by Elder Liu, Han Ming caught a glimpse of a figure standing on a distant balcony. It was Lin Feng. The Golden Child was pale, his aura flickering, but he was watching Han Ming with a look of intense, poisonous hatred.
The Ledger in Han Ming's mind chimed.
[NOTICE: THE PRIMARY DEBTOR HAS RECOGNIZED THE AUDITOR]
[KARMA INTEREST IS NOW ACCRUING AT AN ACCELERATED RATE]
Han Ming smiled. Let the interest grow. The larger the debt, the greater the final collection.