There's something terrifying about walking a road you've already died on.
Every stone seems sharper.
Every shadow deeper.
Every face… suspect.
For Xian Lei, every sunrise since his rebirth had been a battle—not with enemies, but with memory. The past didn't just haunt him. It whispered.
"Don't change too much.""That's not how it happened last time.""Are you certain this ends better?"
Today, he silenced those voices.
Because today, he would break from the spiral of his first life.
The Ninefold Sect's Trial Mission Board loomed ahead, a wall of golden scripts and glowing jade talismans that hovered in stasis. Dozens of disciples milled about beneath it—grabbing tasks for spirit beast subjugation, rogue cultivator hunts, escort missions, or forbidden territory scouting.
He remembered this scene well.
In his first life, he'd taken a particular mission from this board.
It had seemed harmless then:
"Escort supply convoy to Ironjade Ridge. Estimated difficulty: Yellow-tier."
It ended with ambush, betrayal by a fellow outer disciple, and the death of a young child who'd tried to warn them.
It was the first soul that died because of him.
Today, that mission hung on the board again, identical in every way.
He stared at it.
Then turned away.
System Sync: Emotional Ripple Detected
Tether Stability IncreasedTimeline Divergence Achieved: [Branch Event 07]
Passive Trait Gained: Karmic Divergence (I)
For each conscious deviation from a previous-life key decision, host gains 5% increased resistance to fate-based divination or curses.
Instead, Xian Lei picked a mission marked in black:
"Disrupt Slave Trading Den in Outer Ring. Estimated Risk: High."
He'd never seen this mission last time.
In his past life, he'd avoided high-risk postings, afraid of being labeled overambitious or reckless. Now, he saw the cowardice for what it was.
He didn't need a perfect plan.
He needed a different one.
Hours later, he stood alone on the cliffside overlooking Broken Fang Valley, where the old den operated under the guise of a merchant outpost.
Three wagons loaded with shackled cultivators.
Brand sigils burned into skin.
Children too.
His hands clenched.
"System," he muttered. "What's the fastest way to dismantle that without killing the hostages?"
Analyzing Terrain…Host Strength Level: Foundation Realm (Middle Stage)Number of Hostile Cultivators: 14Cultivation Range: Late Qi Condensation → Peak Foundation
Suggested Strategy:– Night ambush using frostfire mist– Disable key sentries via soulstrike pulse– Disguise as enforcer to slip inside
Estimated Success Rate: 87%
Optional Bonus: Use emotions of captives for system feedback during surge.
He smiled grimly.
Let's begin.
The raid went off like ink spilling on snow.
One by one, sentries collapsed.
The frostfire mist choked the outpost, suppressing defensive formations. Xian Lei wore the skin of a defeated guard, slipping inside before the alarm finished ringing.
When the leader—a scarred, yellow-toothed rogue cultivator named Gai Long—emerged from the inner halls, it was too late.
Xian Lei's palm was already raised.
"Frozen Soul Pulse."
CRACK.
The floor ruptured.
Gai Long's spiritual core shattered from the inside. He fell with a whimper, not a roar.
And the hostages…?
Freed.
Alive.
Grateful.
A little boy with hollow cheeks and silver eyes approached him hesitantly.
"Mister… will they come back?"
"No," Xian Lei said gently. "They won't."
He turned to leave, frost mist cloaking his form.
But the boy called again, voice trembling.
"What's your name?"
He paused.
Then smiled.
"Just a cultivator walking a better path."
System Surge: Emotional Feedback Accumulated– Gratitude, Hope, Awe
Total Qi Absorbed: +3,421
Tether Sync: 67.3% → 69.4%
Bonus Triggered: Branch Event 07 – First Soul Saved
Perk Gained: "Path Not Taken"
Increases resistance to mental illusions based on past trauma. Enhances clarity during system memory dives.
Later that night, as he returned to the sect outskirts, a message talisman flickered to life in his robes.
He opened it, expecting a sect summons.
Instead—
"We need to talk. Now. – Y.Q."
Yue Qianlan waited by the Moon-Glass Stream, her robes billowing in the silver wind. No crown. No guards. Just a woman cloaked in moonlight and unreadable expression.
Xian Lei bowed. "You summoned me?"
"You diverted your path today," she said quietly.
"…You were watching?"
"I always do."
He didn't deny it.
She stepped closer.
"Why not take the Ironjade Ridge mission? It would've earned you favor."
"And walked me into a blood trap," he replied.
Her brow rose, just slightly.
"Ah… So you remember something."
"Enough."
She turned, gazing at the water.
"I took that mission once too," she murmured. "In a different way."
He blinked.
"…What?"
She didn't elaborate.
But her fingers trembled once—barely.
Then stilled.
"You're changing the future," she said.
He nodded.
"That's the point."
She met his gaze.
"Then be ready. The future will change you, too."
System Alert: Emotion Anchor Deepening – Shared Resolve
Bound Entity Emotional Response: Cautious Trust
Tether Sync: 69.4% → 70.0%
New Feature Unlocked: [Dual Fate Projection – Lv. 1]
Allows glimpses of alternate futures under stress. (Usage Limit: 1/month)Danger: May overwrite short-term memory temporarily during vision.
As she left, her voice echoed back softly:
"You're no longer the same man I once watched die."
And he, standing beneath the pale starlight, whispered:
"Because I'm writing a new ending."