The morning sun pierced the mist, casting golden rays over Misty Village. But for Li Shen, the world no longer looked the same.
He sat in silence atop a worn mat in the center of his hut, legs crossed, eyes closed. A soft glow radiated from his chest, invisible to most — the presence of the Black Lotus, now rooted deep within his dantian, pulsing in harmony with his breath.
He could feel the shift in his body.
His bones were denser. His skin was tougher. His senses had sharpened. But more than anything… he could see.
Not with his eyes.
With something else.
Whenever he focused, fine threads of golden light appeared in the air around people — karma threads. They flowed from villagers like spider silk, each connecting them to something unseen: some were tied to future glories, others to miserable deaths. But all were fragile, delicate. Tangled by fate. Controlled by heaven.
Everyone… except him.
Li Shen had no thread.
He stood, wrapping a gray cloak around his shoulders, and stepped outside into the village.
---
A young woman, Mei Ling, walked toward the well, carrying two empty buckets. She was one of the few villagers who had never mocked him openly. She didn't smile at him either — but she didn't flinch when he passed.
Today, though, her karma thread was glowing with strange intensity — a sign.
He focused.
A fork in her fate.
One path showed her returning to her home safely.
The other… her foot slipping near the edge of the well, striking her head on the stone, blood soaking the earth.
Without thinking, he stepped forward.
As she reached for the bucket rope, her foot slid — exactly as he had seen.
But before she could fall, Li Shen caught her arm.
She gasped, eyes wide. "Y-you…"
He didn't answer.
Just helped her regain balance, then nodded once and stepped back.
She stared at him, breathless. Her lips moved. "Thank you…"
He raised a hand gently, as if to say you're welcome. Then turned and walked away.
---
That afternoon, the village square buzzed louder than usual. The Outer Sect Envoys had arrived.
Once every five years, cultivators from nearby sects visited remote villages to scout for potential talent — those with spiritual roots strong enough to train.
Misty Village had never produced anyone worthy. Still, it was tradition.
This year, two men in blue robes stood beside a stone formation etched with glowing runes. They placed a crystal orb atop a pedestal.
Each child above the age of ten was called forth to place their hand on the orb. If it glowed, even faintly, they might be taken to train.
No one expected anything.
They never did.
---
Li Shen stood at the edge of the crowd, unseen as usual. But this time, the lotus inside him whispered:
> "Go."
He hesitated.
He had no spiritual roots. He had been tested years ago. The elders said he was void-born, a soul untouched by spirit.
But that was before.
Now, something else stirred inside him — something far beyond mere roots.
> "Let them see your shadow," the lotus said. "And fear the bloom to come."
The village elder glanced toward him, surprised. "Li Shen? You… you want to try again?"
He nodded once.
The elder gestured reluctantly. "Very well."
The villagers whispered. Laughed.
But when he stepped forward and placed his hand on the orb…
It shattered.
A pulse of black and violet energy erupted, sending everyone stumbling backward. The two sect envoys raised their hands in alarm, summoning protective seals.
The pedestal was scorched. The runes cracked.
Silence fell.
Li Shen slowly stepped back, lowering his hand.
One envoy stared at him with disbelief. "That… that wasn't a spiritual root. That was something else. Something…"
"Corrupted?" the other said.
"No," the first muttered. "Ancient."
They turned to the elder. "He cannot be taken to a sect. Whatever lies inside him is not for mortal cultivation."
The elder nodded, wide-eyed. "We'll… we'll watch him closely."
But Li Shen knew the truth.
He would never walk the path of ordinary cultivators.
His journey lay elsewhere.
---
That night, lightning danced far off in the mountains. A storm brewed beyond the cliffs, casting long shadows over the valley.
In his hut, Li Shen sat again in meditation. The lotus pulsed faster now, as if reacting to something.
> "You saw it," the lotus whispered. "The weakness of their system. Their fear."
> "They follow paths drawn by others. But you… you will forge your own."
Li Shen focused on his dantian.
With the lotus awakened, he could now begin to cultivate — but differently.
Instead of absorbing natural Qi, his core drew energy from karma.
From the threads of others.
Each time he absorbed a sliver, it strengthened the lotus, refining his spiritual veins.
But there was risk.
To pull too much could tear fate itself — and draw the attention of beings far greater than mortals.
Still, he had to grow stronger. Fast.
And tonight, he would take his first step.
---
He left the hut and moved silently through the village. Past sleeping homes, past drunkards curled in the shadows.
Until he reached a small wooden house near the edge of town.
Inside slept Bai Rong, the village bully — older, stronger, the one who had once broken Li Shen's ribs for sport.
Li Shen didn't feel anger. Just… stillness.
He reached out.
His hand hovered over Bai Rong's sleeping body.
And then, his eyes opened wide.
A shimmering thread of karma glowed above the man's chest — thick, twisted, filled with violence and chaos. It tied him to future bloodshed, a fate where he would one day kill a fellow villager in a drunken rage.
Li Shen touched the thread.
The world blinked.
The thread unraveled, and energy surged through Li Shen's body. Heat flooded his veins. The lotus inside his dantian opened another petal.
Bai Rong stirred — then settled. Unaware.
His future had changed. He would now die quietly in obscurity.
And Li Shen… had just cultivated to the First Petal Stage.
---
The next morning, a stranger arrived.
Dressed in silver robes, eyes sharp as blades, he rode a spirit beast with scales like moonlight.
He called himself Mo Tian, a wandering cultivator.
But Li Shen could see it — his karma thread burned with danger. He was not here by chance.
Mo Tian bowed politely to the village elder. "I sensed an anomaly during my travels. A fluctuation in karmic energy. I believe it came from here."
The elder hesitated. "We had an incident during the testing. A boy… Li Shen. The orb shattered."
Mo Tian's expression flickered. "May I meet him?"
The elder called for him.
Li Shen approached slowly, calm.
Mo Tian studied him. "You're the source?"
He nodded.
"You have no cultivation," the man said. "No root. No thread."
Li Shen tilted his head. Curious.
"You're like a void… a hole in the fabric of heaven. Interesting."
He stepped forward. "May I touch you?"
Li Shen didn't move.
Mo Tian extended a hand.
The moment his fingers neared Li Shen's shoulder, the lotus inside flared in warning.
> "He seeks to bind you."
Li Shen twisted away just in time.
Mo Tian's hand struck air — and the ground beneath them cracked from redirected force.
Gasps echoed from the villagers.
The cultivator's eyes darkened. "I see. You're not a boy. You're a seed. A cursed one."
He turned to the elder. "Kill him now. Or he will one day kill us all."
But before the elder could respond, Li Shen raised his hand.
Black light rippled from his palm.
And a single word formed silently on his lips — not spoken, but felt by all:
No.
The air grew still.
Even Mo Tian stepped back.
And in that moment, everyone saw it:
Li Shen was no longer just a boy.
He was the beginning… of something far greater.
Patreon.Com/ Hazay
"If you want to follow me, the advanced chapters are available on my Patreon page: patreon.com/ Hazay