The Hall of Judgment was a cavernous space carved directly into the heart of the mountain. The walls were made of black obsidian, polished to a mirror finish, reflecting the cold blue flames of the spirit-lamps that hung from the ceiling.
Han Ming walked down the center aisle, his hands bound by heavy "Qi-Suppressing Manacles." To any other cultivator, these chains would feel like lead weights, cutting off their connection to the world's energy. To Han Ming, however, they were a joke. The Abyssal Balance Ledger did not use the sect's plundered Qi; it used the fundamental laws of Karma. The manacles couldn't suppress a power they didn't recognize.
At the end of the hall, seated on seven high thrones, were the High Elders.
Elder Liu stood to the side, her face an unreadable mask of frost. At the center sat the Grand Inquisitor, a man named Elder He, whose beard reached his waist and whose eyes were like two burning coals.
"Laborer Han Ming," Elder He's voice boomed, vibrating through the floorboards. "You stand accused of three crimes. First, the use of forbidden, unorthodox arts. Second, the crippling of an Inner Disciple, Chen Gong. Third, the suspected sabotage of the Star-Fall Ritual. How do you plead?"
Han Ming stood straight. He did not kneel. The sound of his chains clinking was the only noise in the silent hall.
"I plead that the Cloud-Sea Sect is currently operating at a massive karmic deficit," Han Ming said clearly.
The silence that followed was so heavy it felt physical. One of the younger Elders on the far right let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Karmic deficit? You stand before the highest authority of this mountain and speak in riddles? Do you think this is a marketplace where you can haggle for your life?"
"It is exactly a marketplace," Han Ming replied, turning his gaze toward the laughing Elder.
[NAME: ELDER KAN]
[DEBT: 8,400 UNITS]
[OFFENSE: ADULTERATING SPIRIT PILLS WITH LEAD TO INCREASE PROFIT MARGINS.]
"For example," Han Ming continued, his voice echoing. "Elder Kan might think that selling poisoned pills to the outer disciples is a clever way to fill his personal treasury. But in the Ledger of the Heavens, that lead is being weighed against his own soul. Every disciple who died of 'cultivation deviation' under his care is a debt that is about to be called in."
Elder Kan's laughter died instantly. His face turned a sickly shade of grey, and his hands gripped the armrests of his throne so hard the wood groaned. "Slander! This is demonic possession! Grand Inquisitor, let me execute this brat now!"
"Sit down, Kan!" Elder He barked, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Han Ming.
The Grand Inquisitor was a man of logic. He saw the genuine terror on Kan's face. He also saw the absolute, terrifying calm in the boy standing before him. "You claim to see things others cannot, Han Ming. You claim to be an auditor. Very well. Audit the Star-Fall Ritual. Tell us why our most sacred ceremony turned into a disaster."
Han Ming walked forward until he was at the very foot of the thrones. He closed his eyes for a second, letting the Ledger expand to encompass the entire hall.
[AUDITING SECT FOUNDATION...]
[WARNING: STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY IS COMPROMISED.]
[PRIMARY CAUSE: THE FATE-SIPHON FORMATION IS OVERDRAWN.]
[NOTE: THE SECT HAS PROMISED THE HEAVENS 100 GENIUSES BUT HAS ONLY PRODUCED ONE PARASITE.]
Han Ming opened his eyes. "The ritual failed because you have been lying to the Heavens. You built a formation that promises to turn 'laborers' into 'conductive earth' to refine energy for your geniuses. But you got greedy. You tried to funnel ninety percent of that energy into a single person: Lin Feng."
"Lin Feng is our future!" Elder Liu interjected from the side. "The sect's destiny is tied to his rise."
"And that is your mistake," Han Ming said, pointing a shackled hand toward the ceiling. "Destiny is not a gift; it is a loan. Lin Feng is a black hole. He consumes more luck than the sect provides. During the ritual, the Heavens finally realized that the 'collateral'—the lives of the outer disciples—was insufficient to cover the cost of his breakthrough. The formation didn't fail. It was foreclosed upon."
The Elders began to murmur. The term 'foreclosed' was foreign to them, but the meaning was clear.
"You say Lin Feng is a parasite," Elder He said, leaning forward. "That is a bold claim. He is the most talented disciple we have seen in a thousand years. He carries the blessing of the stars."
"He carries a debt of nearly nine hundred thousand units," Han Ming countered. "If you continue to pour the sect's resources into him, the entire mountain will collapse. The spiritual vein beneath our feet is already beginning to wither. Can you not feel it, Elders? The air is getting thinner. The Qi is getting harder to refine."
The Elders looked at one another. It was a secret they had been keeping: the spiritual vein of the Seven Silver Peaks was indeed slowing down. They had assumed it was a natural cycle. To hear a laborer link it to their "Golden Child" was heresy, but it was heresy that explained their greatest fear.
"And what of Chen Gong?" Elder He asked, his voice softer now. "Why did you cripple him?"
"He attempted to use 'stolen' Qi to kill an Auditor," Han Ming said. "I simply froze his assets until his debts could be calculated. It turns out he owed quite a lot. If you search the courtyard of his private residence, three feet beneath the weeping willow, you will find why his cultivation collapsed so easily."
Elder He gestured to a group of law enforcement disciples. "Go. Verify this."
The disciples vanished. The wait was agonizing. For ten minutes, no one spoke. Elder Kan was sweating profusely, his eyes darting toward the exit. Elder Liu kept her hand on her sword, her gaze fixed on Han Ming as if trying to see the "demonic art" he was surely using.
Finally, the disciples returned. They were carrying three small, silk-wrapped bundles. The smell of decay followed them.
The lead disciple knelt before Elder He. "The boy spoke the truth, Grand Inquisitor. We found the remains. Along with them, we found Chen Gong's personal seal and several bags of embezzled spirit stones."
A collective gasp went through the hall.
Han Ming looked at Elder He. "The first audit is complete. Chen Gong's assets have been liquidated. The interest has been used to stabilize my own Dantian. Now, we have a choice, Grand Inquisitor. You can execute me for telling the truth, or you can give me the rank I have already earned."
"And what rank is that?" Elder He asked.
"The Sect Auditor," Han Ming said. "Give me the authority to walk the Seven Peaks. Let me settle the accounts of the disciples and the elders alike. In return, I will show you how to heal the spiritual vein and keep the Heavens from destroying this sect to pay for Lin Feng's arrogance."
"You want us to give a laborer the power to judge his superiors?" Elder Liu hissed. "This is madness!"
"Is it?" Han Ming turned to her. "Elder Liu, you are a woman of the law. You hate disorder. But your sect is built on a foundation of unpaid debt. If you don't let me clean the books, the Law Enforcement Hall will be the first thing to burn when the Heavens finally lose their patience."
Elder He closed his eyes. He was a man who had reached the peak of his power, and he knew that the sect was stagnating. This boy was a wild card, a terrifying anomaly. But he was also a solution.
"We will not make you an Auditor," Elder He said, opening his eyes. They glowed with a fierce, ancient power. "Not yet. But we will make you an 'Investigative Disciple' of the Law Enforcement Hall. You will report directly to Elder Liu. You will have the authority to challenge any disciple of the Foundation Establishment stage or lower to a 'Karmic Duel'."
Han Ming bowed. It was enough. For now. "I accept."
"But mark my words, Han Ming," Elder He continued. "If you fail to prove your words... if the spiritual vein does not improve, or if you use this power for petty vengeance... I will personally grind your soul into dust."
"The Auditor does not seek vengeance, Grand Inquisitor," Han Ming said, his chains falling away as the Ledger recognized his new authority. "He only seeks the balance."
As Han Ming was led out of the hall by a stunned Elder Liu, the Ledger in his mind updated.
[PROMOTION RECOGNIZED: INVESTIGATIVE DISCIPLE]
[NEW AUTHORITY: KARMIC DUEL (LEGAL CHALLENGE)]
[BONUS: 500 UNITS OF LIQUIDATED PROVIDENCE GRANTED FOR 'RESTORING JUSTICE'.]
Han Ming's heart leaped. Five hundred units. That was exactly what he needed to begin the next phase of his plan.
He didn't go back to the servant quarters. He was given a small, stone meditation chamber in the Law Enforcement Peak. It was cold, sparsely furnished, and perfect.
He sat on the floor and pulled out the iron spike.
Ledger, he thought. I have the units. Clear the first layer of rust from the Needle of the Frozen Sea.
[COMMENCING CLEANING...]
[DEDUCTING 500 UNITS...]
The iron spike began to vibrate. The matte-black surface started to flake off, revealing a core of translucent, crystalline ice that glowed with a pale, ghostly light. The temperature in the room plummeted. Frost began to form on the walls, creeping outward in the shape of complex, geometric runes.
The "Needle" was no longer a rusted spike. It was a slender, elegant rapier of ice that seemed to exist partially in another dimension.
[ASSET RESTORED: THE NEEDLE OF THE FROZEN SEA (STAGE 1: THE CHILL OF TRUTH)]
[ABILITY UNLOCKED: SECOND STRIKE: INTEREST COMPOUNDING]
Han Ming gripped the hilt. He could feel the power of the ancient North flowing through him. He wasn't just a boy with a book anymore. He was a man with a sword that could cut through the lies of the world.
A soft knock came at his door.
"Enter," Han Ming said, concealing the Needle in a flick of his wrist.
The door opened to reveal a young woman in the uniform of an Inner Disciple. She was pale, with eyes that seemed to have seen too much. This was the girl Han Ming had seen during the ritual, the one whose hair had started to turn grey.
"Junior Brother Han?" she whispered, her voice trembling. "My name is Ye Ling. I... I heard what you did in the Hall. I heard you spoke for us. For the ones they used."
Han Ming looked at her. Her debt was zero. In fact, her balance was positive. The world owed her.
"I didn't do it for you, Ye Ling," Han Ming said, though his voice was not unkind. "I did it because it was correct."
"Please," she said, kneeling on the cold floor. "Teach me. Teach me how to stop them from taking the rest of my life. I don't want to be a battery for Lin Feng anymore."
Han Ming looked at the Ledger. A new prompt appeared.
[OPPORTUNITY DETECTED: THE FIRST CLERK]
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO APPOINT AN ASSISTANT TO TRACK THE DEBTS OF THE MINOR DISCIPLESHIP?]
Han Ming smiled. A true Auditor didn't work alone. He needed eyes in every corner of the sect.
"Stand up, Ye Ling," Han Ming said. "If you want to keep your life, you'll have to help me take it back from the people who stole it. Are you ready to learn how to read the books of the Heavens?"