Morning sunlight spilled over the courtyard of the Radiant Lotus Temple, casting golden streaks across the marble tiles. The air was crisp, tinged with the scent of dew and distant incense.
Lucien Graves stood beneath the outer pavilion, silent and still.
Around him, disciples moved in clusters—training, laughing, arguing, gossiping. It should've felt familiar, nostalgic even. But to Lucien, it was all noise.
His eyes glowed faintly with golden light.
Above each disciple's head, shimmering numbers floated—transparent to all but him.
+35. -10. +5. -40.
Karma. That was what the system called it.
"The weight of one's actions, tallied by the heavens."
Lucien's gaze swept through the crowd, dispassionately reading the scores. Most were harmless. Some were cruel. None were innocent.
His vision sharpened as a commotion drew his attention.
Near the far garden wall, two inner disciples stood cornering a pale, skinny boy—barely sixteen. The boy clutched a pouch to his chest, trembling.
Lucien's eyes narrowed.
Weaker Disciple:[Karma: +15]Bully 1:[Karma: -160]Bully 2:[Karma: -110]
"Come on, runt," sneered the first bully. "What's the point of you having spirit stones when you can't even make a fireball?"
"Yeah," the second one added, grinning, "think of this as a donation to your betters."
The younger disciple shook his head. "P-please… I need those to buy pills. I—"
The first bully slapped him hard. The pouch fell to the ground.
Lucien stepped forward, footsteps soft, but his presence somehow louder than a shout. The bullies turned to him, sneering.
"Well, well. Look who crawled out of seclusion," said Bully 1. "Lucien Graves. The 'Heavenly Star' who fell from grace."
"Should've stayed in bed, traitor," the second spat.
Lucien's eyes scanned them calmly, seeing the red glow of negative karma swirling like smoke around their heads.
"Too proud. Too arrogant. But not evil enough to warrant judgment. Not yet."
He knelt beside the fallen boy and silently offered a Grade 2 Healing Pill from his sleeve.
The disciple blinked. "W-why...?"
Lucien said nothing.
He simply walked away, his cold eyes lingering on the two bullies just long enough to make them sweat.
As he entered the forest beyond the courtyard, the system interface flickered into view.
┌────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Heavenly Executioner System │
├────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Execution Points (EP): 0 │
│ Karma Scanning: Active │
│ Verdict Slots: 1 Unused │
│ New Skill Available: Soul Cleave │
│ Hidden Trial: Judgment Begins │
└────────────────────────────────────┘
Lucien waved his fingers and the skill tree unfurled in cascading golden branches. Most were locked. Their titles teased potential: Judgment Flame, Soul Bind, Verdict Chain, Execution Domain.
But one path gleamed with availability.
Soul Cleave
"Strike the soul directly. Can only be used on targets with highly negative karma. Executes spiritual essence. Leaves no body behind."
Below that, a warning blinked.
"Repeated use attracts divine attention. Use only against just targets."
Lucien smirked.
"Good. Then I'll make sure each one deserves it."
🌘 Evening – Herb Garden District
The day melted into twilight.
Shadows lengthened across temple grounds as lanterns lit one by one. Lucien now wore a dark robe with the hood drawn low. He moved silently through the winding paths of the lower temple—toward the herbal compound, where the lowest of the elders resided.
He had followed the man all day, confirming what he already knew.
Elder Thorne. Karma: -790. Glowing crimson. The number pulsed like an open wound.
Publicly, Thorne was courteous. Helpful. Smiling.
Privately, he was filth.
Lucien had seen him slap a female disciple who refused his "guidance." Heard him threaten an outer student into lying about his cultivation progress. He had eyes everywhere—and connections with demonic cultivators beyond the temple borders.
Lucien crouched on a rooftop and waited.
Soon, Thorne slinked through a side door, checking both directions. His robes were unusually heavy—clearly weighted with spirit stones or pills. He entered a garden house reserved for spiritual herb refinement. A moment later, another figure stepped through the door—a robed man with a crimson token.
Lucien's eyes narrowed.
Demonic cultivator. Karmic resonance: -520.
They began to speak, hushed but urgent.
"You bring the next batch?""Inside the box. Grade 3s. Freshly refined.""Good. My cut is thirty percent.""You'll take twenty.""I can have your name delivered to the inner court. Shall I?"
The demonic cultivator's face darkened, but he relented.
"Fine. Twenty-five."
That was enough.
Lucien stepped off the roof, landing silently in the grass.
"Elder Thorne," he said flatly. "I wonder how many disciples your lies have killed."
The elder flinched violently, spinning.
"Who—what are you—"
Lucien's aura swelled. The air grew heavy.
[Verdict Initiated][Execution Permission Granted: Karma -790][Soul Cleave: Activated]
A silver blade of light manifested in his hand, humming softly with divine power.
"Lucien—Graves?!" Thorne's voice cracked. "You're insane! You dare attack an elder?! The temple will—!"
Lucien moved.
One step. One strike.
The blade passed through Thorne's chest—not his body, but his soul.
A horrific scream erupted, inaudible to mortal ears but loud in the spiritual plane. Thorne's eyes rolled back. His body convulsed—and then, in an instant, crumbled to ash.
No trace remained.
The demonic cultivator stumbled back in horror. Lucien's golden eyes locked onto him.
[Target: Karma -520 – Not Authorized. Multiple Witnesses Present.]
The system pulsed a warning.
"Public execution risks exposure. Verdict slot required."
Lucien stepped back into the darkness, leaving the demonic cultivator fleeing like a ghost had risen.
System Notification :
[Target Eliminated: Elder Thorne – Karma: -790]
[Execution Points +100]
[Verdict Slot Earned +1]
[Skill Tree: Partial Unlock]
[New Passive Skill: Karmic Intuition – Your instincts now alert you to dangerously low karma nearby.]
Lucien exhaled slowly. The night felt… lighter. Birds returned to the trees. The wind, previously still, danced softly through the branches.
Even nature had despised Thorne.
Dawn – The Next Day
Lucien returned to the courtyard.
The two bullies from yesterday froze when they saw him approaching. They couldn't explain it—but a pressure weighed down on them. Something about him had changed.
His steps were silent. But his gaze?
His gaze judged.
They stepped aside without a word.
Lucien walked past them, indifferent.
He looked up toward the highest peak of the Radiant Lotus Temple, where the grand hall stood like a monument of hypocrisy. There, within, Sect Master Myra and Elder Marius played their games.
Their karma hadn't yet appeared before him.
But he didn't need to see it.
He already knew.
He closed his eyes, feeling the growing strength in his soul.
One execution had only whetted the system's thirst.
"One soul down," he whispered."The rest? Soon."
He turned, shadows swirling behind him like a cloak of divine wrath.
The sword of judgment had only begun to rise.