The province of Greenmist Ridge lay nestled between rolling mountains veiled in perpetual fog. The land was rich in herbs, minerals, and beasts, but poor in fame — forgotten by the powerful kingdoms and sects of the central lands. Amid its emerald valleys stood the Verdant Hollow Sect, a modest cultivation sect that watched over a dozen mortal towns scattered along its domain.
Its disciples numbered only in the hundreds, but its roots went deep — the sect had existed since the earliest days of cultivation, founded by a wandering cultivator who sought peace rather than glory. Its current leader, Elder Qin, was a middle-aged man who had reached the late Foundation Establishment Realm, a feat worthy enough to command respect in the remote provinces.
Among the many disciples cleaning courtyards, carrying herbs, and hauling water jars up the mountain path was a boy named Lian.
He was of average height, with dark hair tied in a simple knot, and calloused hands from years of manual work. Born in a humble farming village under the sect's protection, his parents had died during a beast attack when he was eight. Left with nothing but a tattered spirit root test slip showing he possessed a faint trace of affinity, he had begged to join the sect. The elders had taken him in — not as a cultivator, but as a servant disciple.
For years, Lian lived quietly, sweeping the bamboo courts and tending to herb gardens. He often gazed up at the inner sect mountain peaks, watching silhouettes of real cultivators flying on their swords through the mist. He dreamed that one day he would join them, but the dream always felt distant, like a star reflected on the surface of a pond.
Then, one spring morning, everything changed.
---
The Status Window Appears
Lian was sitting cross-legged on the cold stone floor of his small courtyard, breathing slowly, feeling the faint trickle of spiritual energy in the air — barely enough to be called cultivation. Just as he was about to end his meditation, a pulse ran through his mind.
Ding.
A soundless chime echoed inside his consciousness, followed by a line of radiant text that unfolded in front of his closed eyes:
> [Status Window Initialized]
Name: Lian
Realm: Early Body Refinement
Path Alignment: Neutral
Merit: 0
Karma: 0
He froze.
His heart pounded so hard that it disrupted his breathing. "W-what is this?" he whispered, staring at the glowing screen hanging in the air before him. For a moment, he thought someone was casting a mind illusion technique on him. But when he closed his eyes, it remained. When he stood and blinked — it followed him.
This can't be real… who could possibly have such power?
He stumbled out of his courtyard, nearly bumping into a senior disciple running the other way. "Senior Wei!" Lian gasped. "Something's wrong—some strange light—!"
Before he could finish, he saw the same shock mirrored on the senior's face.
"You see it too?" Wei breathed.
Within minutes, chaos engulfed the sect. From the lowest servant disciples to the inner elders, everyone could see the same mysterious window in their consciousness. The mountain trembled with shouting voices and hurried footsteps.
The Sect Master, Elder Qin, appeared above the main square riding a golden crane. His calm voice, amplified with spiritual energy, echoed through the sect grounds.
> "Everyone, calm yourselves! It is not an illusion. The entire continent is experiencing this phenomenon!"
Lian looked around, seeing terrified faces slowly settling into confusion and awe.
A decree came later that day: the appearance of the status window is a new gift from the heavens — a system of record granted by the will of the world.
No one could disprove it. And slowly, fear turned into curiosity.
---
The Law of Merit and Karma
Over the next few days, knowledge flowed into everyone's mind — like whispers from the void. Every cultivator instinctively understood two new concepts: Merit and Karma.
Helping others, slaying foreign dao cultivators and providing their intelligence to those who slay them, and cultivating righteousness, — all granted merit.
Murder, greed, and unnecessary cruelty — all built karma.
At first, no one knew if it was true. But then strange things started happening. A young disciple who risked his life to save another during a hunting expedition found his cultivation speed doubling overnight. Another who bullied a servant discovered his meridians becoming sluggish, as though weighed down by invisible chains.
The world itself seemed to be watching.
For Lian, the change was subtle. He helped an elderly herbalist organize spirit herbs in the greenhouse and later noticed his breathing technique flowing more smoothly. When he accidentally stepped on a spirit grass sprout, guilt pricked his heart — and the next night, his meditation felt heavier.
The invisible balance between virtue and vice had become real.
---
The Sky Cracks
A month later, as Lian meditated at dusk, the world itself trembled.
The horizon flared with blinding gold light. The air thickened. Then came the sound — a thunderclap so loud that it shook the mountains to their roots.
Disciples screamed as lightning snaked across the sky like dragons. A storm of spiritual power rolled over the land, so intense that even the strongest beasts fled to their burrows.
"What's happening!?" shouted someone from the courtyard below.
Lian's heart hammered as he stumbled outside. The heavens were ablaze. The thunder didn't sound natural — it was divine, resonating directly in his soul. The very air felt as if a god was staring down upon them.
He fell to his knees instinctively. Every cultivator in Verdant Hollow Sect did the same.
For the next half hour, they could do nothing but endure the trembling of heaven and earth. Then, as suddenly as it began, the storm faded, leaving behind a faint golden hue in the clouds. The pressure lifted.
Lian lay gasping on the ground, drenched in sweat. "Was that… heaven's wrath?" he whispered.
The sect elders convened immediately. None of them could explain what had occurred, but everyone knew the same thing — the heavens had tested someone.
And the heavens had approved.
---
Within days of the phenomenon, news spread across the land: strange cultivators with unfamiliar auras were appearing, and the status window marked them with faint red text reading:
> Path Alignment: Foreign Dao
The Verdant Hollow Sect reacted swiftly.
Under Elder Qin's order, a new branch was established — the Department of Hidden Eyes, charged with investigating these foreign dao cultivators and maintaining internal order.
When the announcement was made, Lian was among those chosen.
He could hardly believe it — from servant to outer disciple, and now to an official part of a sect department.
On the first day, he and dozens of other recruits gathered in the sect's lower courtyard, where a white-robed elder stood before them.
"From now on," the elder said, voice firm, "you are the Hidden Eyes of Verdant Hollow Sect. You will walk among mortals, travelers, and cultivators, using your new status window to identify those who have strayed from the righteous path."
He raised a hand, and a jade slip floated in front of each disciple.
"By order of the Sect Master, you will swear upon your cultivation base that you shall not kill unless your life is in danger. Those who disobey will have their cultivation crippled by the karma they invoke."
Lian pressed his palm to the jade slip, and a thin thread of spiritual energy left his body, sealing the oath.
From that day, he became an observer of the unknown.
---
A Mission in the Mortal Lands
Lian's first assignment took him to Willow Brook, a small mortal town surrounded by rice fields and forests. The journey took four days on foot.
He had never been so far from the sect before. When he finally arrived, he could see ordinary people living peacefully — merchants calling out, children chasing chickens — completely unaware that their fates now hung on unseen powers.
For three days, Lian moved quietly through the streets, using the status window to observe people discreetly. Most were normal, their "Path Alignment" showing Neutral or Righteous. But on the fourth day, when he entered a tea house at sunset, the air suddenly turned heavy.
The window flickered.
Over a group of six robed men sitting by the corner table, faint red text shimmered:
> Path Alignment: Foreign Dao – Corrupted (Minor)
His breath caught. Foreign Dao… Fallen?
He didn't act rashly. Remembering his vow, he left the tea house casually and hurried to the nearest relay station to send a message using the sect's communication talisman.
Two days later, a core disciple arrived — Senior Sister Yun, known for her lightning arts.
The moment she entered the town, the sky darkened. Lian hid on a nearby rooftop as thunder rolled once again. Within minutes, the tea house was reduced to ash. The foreign dao cultivators — annihilated.
When the storm settled, Senior Sister Yun found him. Her gaze was calm, approving.
"You did well," she said, tossing him a small pouch. Inside were a few Spirit Condensation Pills — treasures worth more than a year's resources for an outer disciple like him.
"Continue your duty, disciple of the Hidden Eyes," she said before vanishing into the horizon.
Lian fell to his knees, clutching the pouch with trembling hands. For the first time, he felt the world around him truly shifting — unseen rules shaping fate itself. He looked up at the glowing status window hovering faintly in his vision.
> Merit +3
Karma: 0
Path Alignment: Righteous
He didn't know what the future held.
But he knew this much — the heavens had changed, and the world was no longer the same.
Somewhere far above, powers beyond his comprehension were moving.
And he, a simple boy from a forgotten province, had just taken his first step into a game of gods.