The rain had already died down when Li Wei left the execution plaza. The heavy rain that had been falling earlier had now slowed down to a drizzle, flowing down the roof of the pavilions. The dark clouds loomed over the sky, casting a shadow over the sun. This caused the Azure Cloud Sect to have a dull greyish hue. Water flowed quietly in the drainage in the pathways, carrying small traces of sand and leaves down towards the lower levels of the mountain.
Li Wei walked down the pathway, moving away from the plaza, and had a calm demeanor despite the dull ache in his abdomen. The destruction of the dantian had not been an illusion, not a product of his imagination due to his fear of execution. The pain and the injury had been very real, and the effects of the injury had been undeniable. Every breath seemed slightly more labored, as if the flow of spiritual energy had been completely severed. This was the reality that every cultivator knew, that the dantian was the center of everything, and the ability to gather any form of qi was completely and utterly impossible without it, and the lack of qi meant the lack of any ability to cultivate at all.
Li Wei did not seem to be bothered in the least by this fact, however, instead seemed completely focused on the faint translucent UI floating quietly in front of his eyes.
The Karmic Accounting System had still not been closed due to the execution. The interface followed him wherever he went, as if it had been attached to his mind rather than the world. Even if he closed his eyes, the interface would disappear for an instant before reappearing right in front of Li Wei's eyes.
He decided to take a look at the interface as he continued walking.
The location where the information on Zhao Tian had been displayed now had been removed. The karmic connection with Zhao Tian had been terminated completely.
The message was clear: the debt had been consumed. Li Wei wasn't surprised at the events that had just transpired. He had, after all, chosen Fate Command. It had forced Zhao Tian to return the debt of one life, and after that, the connection had been terminated completely.
One debt. One time. That was the rule. And the rule had been followed to the letter. Li Wei couldn't help but think that he had a certain appreciation for the system's efficiency. He looked down, and another part of the interface began to appear out of the way of the ledger.
The system also provided Li Wei with an analysis of his status, and the instant he read the words, the steps of Li Wei slowed down slightly.
[System Function: Record and manage karmic debts created by the host]
[Debt rewards determined by event magnitude and host condition]
Instantly, the instant he read the words, another interface appeared below the first one.
[Host Status Analysis]
Dantian Integrity: Severely damaged
Meridian Stability: 11%
Cultivation Capability: Unavailable
Recommended Action: Acquire new karmic debt
Under the overhang of the corridor connecting the two sect buildings at the outer sect, Li Wei halted the steps of his feet upon the stone floor, where rainwater dripped from the edge of the tiles above him at regular time intervals.
He read the system message once again.
The meaning was obvious.
The system did not provide power directly, but provided power indirectly through karmic debt. Meaningful actions could accumulate karmic debt, and this debt could be collected to acquire rewards. But more interesting was the fact that the reward could mold itself to conform to the host's strongest weakness.
Li Wei's strongest weakness was painfully obvious at the moment.
His dantian was destroyed.
If he accumulated a new karmic debt, the reward would probably be used to heal his dantian.
Li Wei continued his journey, but his footsteps were a little slower as he was beginning to make sense of things. Not all actions of kindness would result in a significant karmic debt. Helping someone carry a box or pointing someone in the right direction of the training hall would probably result in trivial karmic debt with trivial rewards. Something like a destroyed dantian would require a much more significant karmic event.
He had helped Zhao Tian from the clutches of a demonic wolf, and this had resulted in him accumulating a Major Fate Debt.
Such situations, however, could not be easily set up.
Nor would he put himself in a dangerous position in order to pay a karmic debt. That would be a foolish strategy, to say the least.
Li Wei was not a fan of foolish strategies.
As he made the turn around the corner past the residences of the two disciples of the outer sect, the peaceful sound of the rain was suddenly broken by the sound of voices.
"Give them here!"
"No! they're mine!"
A third voice cut in, and it was a coarse laugh. "You're a new disciple. You'll learn the rules soon enough."
Li Wei came to a stop.
The source of the argument was a small training courtyard up ahead, one that was open to the sky and had a stone floor that reflected the rainwater. In the courtyard, there were four disciples.
Three of the disciples were standing in front of the fourth.
The fourth disciple was young, probably only seventeen or eighteen years old. His robes were clean and a little too large, indicating he had probably just joined the sect. He was nervous, but trying his best to appear as confident as he could.
The other three disciples seemed much more at home, with fluid movements and expressions of self-assurance, as if they were used to being in a position of power over someone weaker than they.
One of the disciples had a small cloth pouch loosely in his hand.
Spirit Stones.
Even though Li Wei had seen the disciple from a distance, he knew exactly what the object was.
"I collected those herbs myself," the young disciple said.
The tallest of the three old disciples had a faint smile on his face. "We are not stealing those," he said nonchalantly. "We are simply collecting protection fees."
The other two disciples were laughing.
The young disciple scrunched up his fists. "The rules of the outer sect state that the rewards of the missions should go to the disciple who has finished the missions."
The tall disciple went towards the young disciple, and for a brief moment, the spiritual aura of the tall disciple was visible around his body.
A translucent screen floated above the tall disciple.
[Body Tempering, sixth layer]
The other two disciples were slightly weaker, but only slightly. They seemed to be in the fifth layer.
The young disciple had no way of competing against the three of them.
[Target Analysis]
Name: Lin Hao
Cultivation: Body Tempering 2nd Layer
Fate Grade: White
Potential Ceiling: Foundation Establishment
All of the information was correct.
Lin Hao was still in the initial stage of his cultivation journey, whereas the three disciples who were attacking him had already stepped into the middle stage of the Body Tempering cultivation journey. The gap in power was already too wide for Lin Hao to fight back.
The tall disciple immediately pushed Lin Hao away with the movement of his hand. "The only principle in the outer sect is power."
The bag of the spirit stones went into the sleeve of the tall disciple.
Lin Hao's fists were clenched in anger, and though he did not go forward,
Li Wei was watching the scene.
Such disputes often occurred in the outer sect. The elders usually did not interfere in such minor conflicts between disciples. They believed that such competition would only increase their resolve.
Under normal circumstances, Li Wei should leave.
A small spark of light appeared in the interface of the system.
The system had detected a possible karmic event.
Li Wei observed the scene.
If he intervened, he would have incurred a debt.
The reward was low, but it was still an increase for his dantian.
Li Wei entered the courtyard.
"Outer sect rule seventeen."
The four disciples immediately noticed the sound of Li Wei's voice. They turned their attention to Li Wei.
Li Wei walked forward slowly. Water dripped from the edges of his sleeves. "Resources obtained through sect missions belong to the disciple who participated. Using force to seize the resources without an official challenge violates sect conduct."
The tall disciple scowled. "Who told you to interfere?"
"No one."
"Then mind your own business."
Li Wei slightly tilted his head. "You four are currently violating sect conduct in the courtyard. If an elder happens to pass by, the punishment for the violation of sect conduct in the courtyard would probably involve resource confiscation and service."
The three bullies immediately looked at each other.
Even if the elders did not usually interfere, getting reported would still cause problems.
The tall disciple scowled at Li Wei. "Do you think a cripple can threaten us?"
Li Wei did not change his expression. "I am just stating the situation."
The rain continued to fall gently onto the courtyard pavement.
A few seconds went by.
The tall disciple then made an impatient sound with his tongue and pulled out the pouch of spirit stones from his sleeve. He threw the pouch back towards Lin Hao.
"Forget it. Not worth it."
His companions left the courtyard with the tall disciple.
Soon, only Li Wei and Lin Hao were left in the courtyard.
Lin Hao looked down at the pouch of spirit stones in his hands and was breathing heavily.
"Thank you," he said softly.
Li Wei did not make a sound in response.
At this time, the system interface flickered.
A new entry was made in the karmic ledger.
Lin Hao had incurred a debt to Li Wei.
[Karmic Debt Recorded]
Debt Holder: Lin Hao
Debt Type: Protection
Debt Level: Minor Debt
Collection Options: Fate Command / Fate Harvest
He went through the entries in the karmic ledger and chose [Fate Harvest].
The karmic ledger went dark for a brief moment.
Then, a thin golden thread separated from Lin Hao's name and floated towards Li Wei.
When the thread went inside his body, a small warmth appeared in his abdomen.
The shards of his dantian quivered.
Several of the cracks in the dantian started to slowly close.
Not much.
Maybe one percent.
But they were unmistakably healing.
Opposite him, Lin Hao frowned slightly, running a hand over his chest as if something was momentarily uncomfortable.
The discomfort had vanished almost at once.
He seemed utterly unaware that anything out of the ordinary had just occurred.
Li Wei studied him.
[Target Analysis]
Name: Lin Hao
Cultivation Level: Body Tempering 2nd Layer
Fate Grade: Grey
Potential Ceiling: Peak Qi Gathering
The system's law had just been executed.
Destiny was not created.
Destiny was transferred.
[Host Status Analysis]
Dantian Integrity: Damaged
Meridian Stability: 11%
Cultivation Capability: Body-Tempering, 1st Stage
Recommended Action: Acquire new karmic debt
The more debt, the larger portion of destiny that could be transferred.
Which meant that if he wanted to fully restore his dantian, he needed greater karmic experiences.
Greater debts.
Greater destinies.
And finally, Li Wei turned away and stepped back into the rain.
For he had now comprehended the key to the matter.
Most cultivators spent their whole lives searching for their destiny.
But Li Wei had found the key to a far more efficient system.