High above the clouds, far removed from the filth of the mortal world, floated an island of pure white jade.
This was the headquarters of the Heaven Ledger Pavilion. The place where the fate of every living being was recorded, monitored, and if necessary… corrected.
Inside the Hall of a Thousand Eyes, the atmosphere was silent and sterile. Hundreds of white-robed scribes hovered in midair, their eyes covered with cloth. Their hands moved on their own, transcribing the fluctuations of fate onto golden scrolls.
However, in the Southern Sector—the sector responsible for overseeing the Ash Vein Mountains—a small disturbance had appeared.
A young Observer, Liang Ze, stood rigid before the Map of Fate. His handsome yet expressionless face was now slightly furrowed in confusion.
"This makes no sense," he muttered.
On the map, there was a single black point within the territory of the Ash Vein Sect. It was not a symbol of death, nor a natural disaster, nor the birth of a demon.
It was marked as NULL.
Empty Data.
"What is it, Observer Liang?" a gentle yet authoritative voice sounded behind him.
Liang Ze turned and bowed respectfully. "Elder Mu Shun."
An old man with completely white eyes—devoid of pupils—floated closer. He was the Chief Auditor of the Southern Region.
"Report," Mu Shun said calmly.
Liang Ze gestured toward the map. "Three months ago, there was a strange fluctuation in the Black Mist Forest. We dismissed it as a minor anomaly. But now…"
He snapped his fingers, projecting strands of fate into the air.
"…the fate thread of Yan Bohai, Second Elder of the Yan Clan, was severed there yesterday. However, we did not receive a death signal. His soul has not entered the River of Reincarnation, yet his body cannot be detected in the mortal world."
"He has disappeared from the records. As if erased by an ink eraser."
Mu Shun stared at the black point with his blind eyes.
"Not erased," he corrected softly. "Hidden."
"Someone down there is performing Double-Entry Ledger Manipulation. They are deceiving the heavens by concealing an asset that should have already been liquidated."
Liang Ze's expression tightened. "A demonic technique?"
"Worse," Mu Shun replied. "It is a technique of Trade. Demons break the rules. But traders… bend them."
Mu Shun turned away.
"Liang Ze. You are the finest Silver-Class Observer of your generation. Descend."
"My mission?"
"Conduct a physical audit. Locate the source of the distortion. If it is an artifact, confiscate it. If it is a person…"
Mu Shun smiled faintly. A smile that did not reach his eyes.
"…correct their existence. This world has no need for variables that cannot be calculated."
"I understand."
Liang Ze's body transformed into a streak of silver light, shooting downward through the clouds—heading straight toward the pulsing black point in the Ash Vein Mountains.