Chapter 2: The First Sin Burns
The morning sun barely pierced through the rotting wooden planks of Raiyen's shack. The light was pale, meager—weak. But within Raiyen's chest, a storm was gathering.
He sat cross-legged on the cold floor, the worn cultivation mat offering little comfort. His hands rested on his knees, steady despite the weight of the thousand lifetimes coiled within him. The Ember Palm, still fresh from the system's reward, flickered with dark crimson flame at his fingertips.
It didn't burn the way normal fire did.
It hissed. It hummed.
The forbidden energy pulsed with hunger. It wasn't just a technique—it was a taste of the power to come.
> [Skill: Ember Palm (Tier 0)]
Description: A flame birthed from sin. Burns not just flesh, but pride.
Effect: Deals minor fire damage. Ignores basic resistance when the target is experiencing wrath, lust, or fear.
He exhaled slowly.
"Fitting."
It wasn't strong. Not yet. But it didn't need to be. The true weapon wasn't fire. It was control.
The Sinbound System had given him the one thing no righteous cultivator could wield: a power that grew stronger the more the world fell to his influence.
Wrath. Lust. Greed. Envy. Pride. Sloth. Gluttony.
The Seven Sins weren't curses.
They were tools.
Each one a gate.
Each one a key.
And Raiyen was the monarch holding the lock.
---
A knock came at the shack door—so soft, so hesitant, it barely registered.
Raiyen turned his head slightly.
"Come."
The door creaked open, revealing a thin girl clutching a bowl of rice porridge. Her robes were threadbare, her eyes sunken with exhaustion.
Her name flashed into his mind from a memory long buried.
Xiao Zhi. A servant disciple like him. Once, she'd given him her rations when he was sick. Kind. Naive.
And if Raiyen remembered correctly... she wouldn't survive the month.
She entered without raising her head, placing the bowl near his mat.
"They told me to give you the leftovers," she said quickly. "I-I didn't eat any, I swear. Please don't report me…"
Raiyen stood slowly.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said, voice low.
She flinched anyway.
So this is how it begins. Fear already marked her spirit. Fear of the sect. Fear of power.
> [Target Identified: Xiao Zhi – Mortal Tier 0]
[Sin Potential: Moderate – Fear & Envy]
[Optional Action: Offer protection. Sow dependence.]
[Alternate Path: Exploit weakness. Sow greed.]
He watched her closely. The system offered choices—branches. He could manipulate her. Use her as bait. Or… cultivate her.
Interesting.
"You don't belong here," Raiyen said, kneeling beside her. "You're too soft."
Her shoulders tensed.
"I—I'll try harder. Please don't expel me—"
"I'm not scolding you," Raiyen interrupted. "I'm telling you the truth."
She looked up, confused. His eyes bore into hers—not cruel, but calculating.
"I'll protect you," he said.
She blinked.
"But only if you swear loyalty. You feed me, inform me, watch my enemies. In return, I'll ensure no one touches you."
He extended a hand.
"Choose."
Her breath quickened. Her mind raced. But in this world, a fragile servant disciple had no other path.
She clasped his hand with trembling fingers.
> [Sin Sown: Envy & Dependence – Low]
+15 Sin Points Acquired
New Trait: Bound Thrall Slot (1/3)
Xiao Zhi has been marked by the Sinbound Monarch. Future rewards may apply.
Raiyen released her hand, nodding.
"Good. Now listen closely…"
---
Later that Day – Outer Sect Quarry
The Black Vein Sect's outer disciples were clustered in the quarry clearing, most of them arrogantly tossing stones aside with casual bursts of spiritual energy. A group of servant disciples dragged heavy sacks of spirit ore from carts to furnaces.
Sweat. Pain. Mockery.
This place hadn't changed in a thousand years.
And waiting near the quarry edge was Yun Fei—still fuming from the morning's encounter.
He stood with three other outer disciples, all smirking as Raiyen approached, carrying a single sack across his shoulder.
"Well, well," Yun Fei growled. "Didn't you say something about breaking my teeth?"
Raiyen didn't respond. He dropped the sack beside the pile and turned.
"You're awfully noisy for someone who couldn't break a shack door."
"You little—!"
Yun Fei lunged forward, palm glowing with low-grade spiritual energy.
A slap aimed to humiliate, not kill.
Perfect.
> [Target Emotion Detected: Wrath]
[Skill Bonus Activated: Ember Palm – Enhanced Effect]
Raiyen sidestepped, spun his hand, and slammed a palm into Yun Fei's exposed gut.
The contact was brief.
The flame was not.
A burst of dark crimson fire hissed from Raiyen's palm, vanishing instantly—but the pain was real. Yun Fei howled and dropped to one knee, coughing violently as his skin smoked beneath his robes.
"AAAGH! What the hell was that?!"
The other disciples stepped back, eyes wide.
"That wasn't normal fire..."
"Wait—isn't he a mortal?!"
Raiyen stood over him, calm as dusk.
"That was mercy."
He stepped closer, his shadow stretching over Yun Fei.
"Next time, I'll show you cruelty."
> [Sin Sown: Wrath – Moderate]
+25 Sin Points Acquired
Skill Upgrade: Ember Palm → Ember Claw (Tier 1)]
New Passive Unlocked: Sin Vision (Basic)
You can now sense Sin potential in a 10-meter radius.
Raiyen inhaled deeply, basking in the system's evolution.
The air tasted different.
Like vengeance.
Like freedom.
---
That night, Raiyen returned to the shack. Xiao Zhi was waiting, lighting a single oil lamp beside his mat.
"I heard what you did," she whispered.
"You'll hear more tomorrow."
She hesitated.
"You're not afraid of them?"
"I was once," he said, kneeling to meditate. "But I've learned something."
She leaned in.
"What?"
Raiyen opened his eyes, and the black lotus sigil on his palm pulsed.
"The only true fear… is dying as nothing."
He closed his eyes again.
The Sinbound Monarch had sown wrath, envy, and fear in a single day.
And tomorrow?
He would sow lust.