Pain came first.
Not the sharp kind.
The slow, grinding ache of bones that had been broken, healed badly, and broken again.
Lin Xu opened his eyes to the smell of damp straw and iron.
Iron… no.
Blood.
His blood.
He tried to move. Fire shot through his meridians. Something inside him felt… shattered. Hollow. As if the pathways meant to carry spiritual energy had been smashed into dust.
Fragments of memory rushed in.
Outer sect disciple.Bottom-ranked.Three months behind on contribution dues.Beaten yesterday for refusing to hand over a "lucky spirit stone."Scheduled for expulsion tomorrow.
He let out a weak breath.
"So this is transmigration…"
He didn't feel panic. He didn't feel outrage.
Only calculation.
He had read enough webnovels in his previous life to recognize the setup. Weak host body. Cultivation world. Bullies. Sect hierarchy.
The kind of beginning where the protagonist either finds a cheat… or dies.
He tried sensing spiritual qi.
Nothing.
Not blocked.
Not suppressed.
Destroyed.
Even gathering the faintest thread of energy caused stabbing pain.
A cripple.
Not low talent.
Not mediocre.
Ruined.
Footsteps approached outside the wooden hut.
Two voices.
"Still breathing?"
"Doesn't matter. Tomorrow he's thrown out. Elder Zhao already marked him."
Marked.
That word made something cold settle in Lin Xu's chest.
A pause.
Then laughter.
"If he hadn't tried to fight back, we might've let him keep half the spirit stones."
The footsteps faded.
Silence returned.
Lin Xu closed his eyes.
So the body's previous owner resisted exploitation.
Lost.
Now he inherited the consequences.
Classic.
He pushed himself upright slowly. Each movement made his vision darken.
If expelled tomorrow, in this world, a cripple without backing didn't survive long.
He had one night.
One.
He looked at his trembling hands.
"If there's a system," he muttered softly, "now would be a good time."
Silence.
He exhaled.
Figures.
He leaned back against the cracked wall.
Think.
In a sect like this, resources determined survival. To gain resources, you needed strength. To gain strength, you needed cultivation. To cultivate—
His vision flickered.
A thin golden line appeared in the air before him.
He froze.
The line widened, expanding into an invisible interface only he could see.
Ancient script formed, elegant and oppressive.
Heavenly Audit Complete.
Host Identified: Anomalous Soul.
Debt Irregularity Detected.
Heaven's Debt Collection System Initializing…
The air grew heavy.
Not spiritual pressure.
Something deeper.
As if the sky itself had noticed him.
Cold sweat ran down his spine.
"…Heaven's… what?"
More lines formed.
All beings who defy natural order accumulate karmic liability.
All stolen opportunity incurs interest.
All broken oaths demand repayment.
Host granted authority to collect.
Initial Authority: Mortal Tier.
Lin Xu stared.
Collect?
His gaze shifted instinctively toward the hut door.
As if responding, faint golden characters appeared beyond the wood.
He saw through it.
No.
Not physically.
Overlayed.
Outside, two disciples walked past.
Above their heads floated numbers.
Disciple Wang:Karmic Debt — 12.4 UnitsOutstanding: Broken Oath (Minor), Stolen Allocation (3)
Disciple Liu:Karmic Debt — 18.9 UnitsOutstanding: Assault Without Cause (2), Resource Seizure (4)
Lin Xu's heartbeat quickened.
He focused harder.
Information deepened.
Disciple Liu —Collateral Available:• 3.1 years lifespan• Low-grade comprehension (Fire Palm Technique)
His breathing slowed.
"So… they owe."
Another line appeared before him.
Host may initiate Minor Collection.
Warning: Collection requires physical proximity or established link.
Physical proximity.
Meaning…
He looked at the door again.
His body was weak.
But proximity?
He smiled faintly.
They were confident.
That meant careless.
Careless meant close.
He carefully slid off the straw bedding.
Every movement hurt.
Good.
Let it hurt.
Pain meant clarity.
He stepped outside.
The night sky loomed overhead — vast and indifferent.
The two disciples hadn't gone far. They stood by a spirit tree, counting stones, backs turned.
Lin Xu limped toward them.
They heard him.
Disciple Liu laughed.
"What? Came to beg?"
Lin Xu lowered his eyes.
Yes.
Play the role.
"I just wanted… to return something," he said quietly.
They smirked and turned fully toward him.
Close enough.
Close enough.
His vision sharpened.
Golden threads extended from their chests — thin lines connecting upward into the dark sky.
Debt lines.
He focused on Disciple Liu.
Initiate Minor Collection.
For a split second, nothing happened.
Then—
One golden thread snapped.
Disciple Liu stiffened.
His laughter cut off.
A faint stream of pale light flowed from his body — thin as silk — and sank into Lin Xu's chest.
Warmth exploded inside him.
Not qi.
Not yet.
But vitality.
Disciple Liu staggered.
"Why… do I feel…"
His face paled.
Disciple Wang frowned.
"Are you sick?"
Lin Xu inhaled slowly.
His ribs no longer felt like broken glass.
His hands steadied.
Inside him, something damaged began stitching together.
System notification appeared.
Minor Collection Successful.
Acquired: 0.8 years lifespan essence.
Remaining Target Debt: 18.1 Units.
Disciple Liu shook his head, forcing a laugh.
"Must be the wine earlier…"
Lin Xu bowed slightly.
"Thank you," he whispered.
They didn't hear him.
But something above them did.
Far beyond the clouds—
A crack formed in the sky.
Thin.
Barely visible.
But real.
As if something immense had just opened one eye.
The night after Lin Xu's first collection, the outer sect's courtyard was unusually quiet.
The moon hung low, a pale sickle in the sky, illuminating the broken rooftops of the outer disciples' living quarters. Lin Xu limped along the stone path, careful not to alert anyone. His body still ached from the previous day, but the warmth of the stolen vitality pulsed through him, subtle and foreign, like sunlight trickling through frost.
He tested his hand, flexing his fingers. The brittle pain that had plagued him for months was gone, replaced by a tingling, unfamiliar energy. It wasn't spiritual power yet. Not qi. But it was something more… raw, tangible, and alive.
Debt lines.
The words repeated in his mind like a mantra. Every living being carried it. Every stolen opportunity, broken promise, or unfulfilled oath had left a mark somewhere in the invisible ledger of the universe.
His eyes flicked to the two disciples he had collected from last night. They were still there, counting spirit stones as though nothing had happened. But Lin Xu could see the faint threads that stretched upward from them. Thin. Almost transparent. Residual. A reminder of yesterday.
He inhaled slowly.
If one collection works… two could do more.
The Second Target
Disciple Wang was the easier target tonight. Smaller, weaker, careless. He had lingered too long outside the training hall, idly counting resources he had stolen from junior disciples. Lin Xu crouched in the shadows, barely breathing, and activated his system.
A golden thread shot from Wang's chest like a bolt of light, connecting to the invisible ledger above. Lin Xu reached out — not physically, but mentally. The thread hummed under his touch.
Minor Collection?
He had hesitated last night, unsure if this small act would have consequences. Tonight, confidence guided his hand. He focused on the debt details floating before him:
Stolen spiritual herb: 1.5 units
Broken promise to fellow disciple: 0.4 units
Unauthorized resource appropriation: 0.6 units
Total available for collection: 2.5 units.
Lin Xu exhaled and willed it into motion. Threads of golden light twisted around his consciousness and flowed into him.
At first, only vitality transferred. Subtle, but enough to heal his ribs, strengthen his weak legs, and let him stand taller.
Then… something unexpected happened.
The Unexpected Gain
A spark flickered in his mind. Images. Shapes. Movements. Not his own.
His vision trembled. He suddenly understood the sequence of movements the disciple had practiced in secret — Fire Palm Technique, Rank One.
Muscle memory? No. Technique comprehension.
Lin Xu's mind reeled. I didn't just take lifespan… I just borrowed… understanding.
He flexed his fingers. A faint sensation of heat surged from his palm. Without meaning to, he mimicked the motions the disciple had used, and a small ember of fire danced at the tip of his fingers, flickering like a candle in the night.
"Impossible…" he whispered, stepping back. His heart pounded. "The system… it does more than collect vitality."
The golden thread quivered in the air, almost like it had a mind of its own. Then, like a warning, it snapped abruptly.
Heaven's Attention
The night air thickened. The leaves on the spirit tree rustled violently, though no wind moved them. Lin Xu felt a chill down his spine, a presence pressing down from above. The stars themselves seemed to dim, replaced by faint cracks of golden light.
A system notification appeared in his mind, startling in its clarity:
Warning: Excessive Collection Detected.Heavenly Attention Level 1 Initiated.
Lin Xu's pulse quickened. Excessive? He had only taken from one target. One simple collection.
A shiver ran through him. If the system had rules, limits… what would happen if he exceeded them?
And then he realized something else: The comprehension he had acquired was not fully his own. Every time he mimicked the Fire Palm Technique, it left a fragment in the original disciple. Tiny… but noticeable.
This… could be dangerous.
The Price of Curiosity
Lin Xu needed to test it further. He focused again on the technique thread, moving his hands. Heat surged, tiny flames flickered. Vitality hummed in rhythm with his heartbeat. The sensation was intoxicating, like tasting fire without being burned.
But the warning line hovered in his mind:
Heavenly Attention Level 1
He knew instinctively that the system had noticed. Not the sect. Not the disciples. Something else. Something above him. Watching. Waiting.
And still, temptation whispered louder than fear:
If I can take skill… I can become untouchable.
A faint smile touched Lin Xu's lips.
Then let them notice.
The Silent Witness
As he prepared to retreat to the shadows, a cold presence lingered nearby. High on the ridge, cloaked in moonlight, a figure watched him silently.
White robes. Hair like silver frost. Eyes sharp as broken glass.
The saintess.
Lin Xu did not panic. He merely bowed slightly to the shadows, hiding the faint flames in his palm. But even without understanding, he felt the system buzz faintly:
Catastrophe-Class Asset Detected. Fate Locked.
She was… different.
Something about her presence made the golden threads above him vibrate wildly. For the first time, Lin Xu felt that his collection — his very existence — might not be a game he could fully control.
And yet… the pull was undeniable.
End of Chapter 2 Cliffhanger
Lin Xu vanished into the shadows, flames extinguished, his body and mind buzzing with the stolen skill.
Above him, faint golden cracks in the sky shimmered.
Somewhere, a voice — not human, not sect, not system — whispered through the void:
"He has begun… the collection of destiny."