Rain poured relentlessly over the Iron Bone Sect, washing away the filth but unable to cleanse the stench of blood.
At the bottom of the Dead Dog Cliff, a broken body lay amidst the rotting leaves. This was Li Ye, an outer disciple. A piece of trash with blocked meridians. He had been accused of stealing a Spirit Stone and beaten to death by Senior Brother Zhao's lackeys.
Lightning tore across the sky, illuminating the pale, mangled face.
Suddenly, the corpse's fingers twitched.
Crack.
The sound of a dislocated jaw snapping back into place echoed. Li Ye opened his eyes. They were not the eyes of a cowardly boy; they were the pitch-black, analytical eyes of a man who had stared into the abyss of human depravity for thirty years.
"Multiple fractures in the ribcage... ruptured spleen... crushed trachea," Li Ye thought, his internal voice calm despite the agony. "Cause of death: Blunt force trauma. Intent: Murder."
He tried to sit up, coughing up a mouthful of dark, clotted blood.
[Ding!]
A mechanical voice, cold and devoid of emotion, rang in his skull.
[System Initialization Complete.]
[Host Identity: Li Ye.]
[Status: Deceased (Revived).]
[Welcome to the Sin & Truth System.]
A translucent blue screen appeared before his eyes, floating in the rain.
[Main Quest Triggered: The First Autopsy.]
Description: You have been murdered. The killers believe you are rotting. Prove them wrong.
Objective 1: Determine the exact method of your murder (Complete).
Objective 2: Find the culprit.
Objective 3: Execute the culprit.
Reward: Meridians Unlocked, Starter Pack (brutal grade).
Li Ye smirked. The expression tore the skin on his bruised lip, but he didn't care. On Earth, he was bound by laws. Here... in this Tianwu Dalu... he was the law.
He dragged his broken body toward a small cave nearby. He needed to heal. He needed to plan.
"Senior Brother Zhao," Li Ye whispered, his voice sounding like grinding gravel. "I hope your anatomy is interesting."
(Time Skip: 3 Days Later)
The outer disciple quarters were quiet. It was midnight.
Wang Fatty, one of the lackeys who had beaten Li Ye, was stumbling back to his hut, drunk on rice wine. He unzipped his pants to relieve himself against a tree.
"Damn cripple," Wang muttered. "Died too fast. Didn't even get to hear him beg enough."
"Is that so?"
A whisper floated from behind the tree.
Wang froze. He knew that voice. But that was impossible. He turned around slowly.
Standing in the shadows was a figure wrapped in ragged, bloody bandages. Li Ye held a rusted, jagged piece of iron—a shard from a broken plow.
"Ghost!" Wang screamed, activating his weak Qi to punch.
Li Ye didn't dodge. He predicted the trajectory. With the precision of a surgeon, he stepped sideways, letting the fist graze his ear. In the same motion, he drove the jagged iron into the soft spot under Wang's armpit—directly into the brachial plexus nerve cluster.
"Arghhh!" Wang's arm went limp instantly.
Li Ye didn't stop. He kicked Wang's knee at a specific angle. Snap. The leg bent backward.
Wang collapsed, wailing. "Li Ye! I'm sorry! It was Zhao! He made me—"
Li Ye crouched down, his eyes devoid of anger, filled only with scientific curiosity. "The human body contains 206 bones. Do you know how much pain the nervous system can transmit before the brain shuts down? Let's find out."
He placed the rusted iron against Wang's finger.
"This is for the rib you broke."
Slice.
"This is for the spleen."
Crunch.
The night was filled with muffled screams, but Li Ye had already severed Wang's vocal cords with a precise pinch to the throat. It was a silent, bloody dissection.
[Ding!]
[Sinner Punished: Wang (Low-level Thug).]
[Brutality Bonus: SSS.]
[Reward: 10 Cultivation Points. Technique: Bone Dismantling Hand (Yellow Grade).]
Li Ye stood up, blood dripping from his hands, mixing with the rain. He felt the warm energy of the system repairing his own meridians. He felt... strong.
"One down," Li Ye said, looking toward the lit window of Senior Brother Zhao's mansion on the hill. "Three to go."