Two years passed.
Time in the mortal world was cruel to the weak and indifferent to the stubborn. Seasons shifted. Leaves withered and regrew. Snow buried the abandoned courtyard once, then twice. Rain carved new patterns into stone.
And Shen An endured all of it.
He was seventeen now.
The thin, hollow-eyed boy who once hid from hunger beneath a leaking roof had disappeared. In his place stood someone carved by repetition, restraint, and relentless discipline.
He stood alone in the forest clearing behind the ruined estate.
Barefoot.
Shirtless.
Still.
The ground beneath him was cracked from years of impact. Trees around the clearing leaned slightly outward, as if pushed back by invisible force.
He inhaled.
Slow.
Deep.
The sound of air filling his lungs resembled distant thunder rolling across valleys.
Then—
He stepped forward and punched.
No golden radiance erupted.
No qi spiraled around his fist.
No spiritual aura flared.
Yet the air compressed violently.
A circular shockwave burst outward, flattening grass in a ten-meter radius. Thirty paces away, a thick tree trunk split down the center with a heavy crack.
Birds scattered in alarm.
Silence followed.
Shen An lowered his fist.
His expression remained calm.
He walked toward the cracked ancient bowl resting atop a flat stone.
"I want a clear answer," he said.
His tone carried no pride.
"Compare my cultivation to the orthodox system."
The bowl spirit remained silent for several breaths.
Then her voice emerged—steady, analytical, precise.
"If we compare properly, we must begin from the foundation. Otherwise, readers of the Dao will misunderstand your position."
A faint projection formed in Shen An's mind.
A ladder.
Clear.
Ordered.
I. THE ORTHODOX CULTIVATION LADDER
The bowl's voice turned instructional.
Mortal Body Tempering
"This is the preparatory stage."
"Martial training. Herbal baths. Breathing methods."
"The body strengthens, but no true qi is stored."
"Peak strength: capable of lifting several hundred jin."
"Limit: bound by mortal physiology."
"Lifespan: ordinary human."
She paused.
"You surpassed this within your first three months."
Qi Condensation Realm
"Cultivator senses spiritual qi in the environment."
"Draws qi into dantian."
"Forms circulation loop."
"Qi reinforces muscles and organs."
"Can shatter stone using qi-enhanced strikes."
"Spiritual sense: within one to three meters."
"Average time to reach: one to five years."
She continued calmly.
"If qi circulation is disrupted, strength collapses significantly."
"Dependence on dantian stability is absolute."
Foundation Establishment Realm
"Qi circulation stabilizes permanently."
"Dantian forms a foundational platform."
"Spiritual energy density increases dramatically."
"Techniques become lethal."
"Spiritual sense expands to five to twenty meters."
"Lifespan increases."
"Typical time required: five to ten additional years."
"Failure rate: high."
Golden Core Realm
The projection shifted.
A radiant golden sphere appeared inside a dantian silhouette.
"This is the first great transformation."
"Qi condenses into a solid Golden Core."
"Energy becomes self-sustaining."
"No longer reliant on immediate environmental absorption."
"Explosive techniques possible."
"Spiritual sense: thirty to one hundred meters."
"Lifespan: extended significantly."
"Time required from Foundation: ten to thirty years."
"Many die attempting core condensation."
She added quietly:
"In sect hierarchy, Golden Core cultivators become elders."
"In mortal kingdoms, they are legends."
Nascent Soul Realm
The golden core cracked.
A translucent miniature figure emerged.
"At this realm, the cultivator births a Nascent Soul."
"The soul can temporarily leave the body."
"Spiritual sense: hundreds of meters."
"Techniques affect terrain."
"True flight without artifacts."
"Lifespan: centuries."
"Time required: decades after Golden Core."
"This realm separates mortals from true cultivators."
Spirit Severing Realm
"Sever emotional anchors."
"Strengthen Dao Heart."
"Spiritual sense extends kilometers."
"Capable of tearing space with focused attack."
"Lifespan: greatly extended."
Void Refinement Realm
"Refine space."
"Manipulate spatial cracks."
"Travel short distances through void."
"Power comparable to natural disasters."
Integration Realm
"Body, soul, and Dao merge."
"Personal law begins forming."
"Influence over territory."
Tribulation Ascension
"Heavenly lightning descends."
"Success means stepping toward Immortal Realm."
"Failure means annihilation."
Immortal Realm
"Detached from mortal causality."
"Body infused with immortal essence."
"Existence becomes law-bound."
She let the projection fade.
The forest returned.
The wind moved lightly between trees.
II. SHEN AN'S CULTIVATION — CLEAR COMPARISON
"Now," she said, "we compare your path."
Another projection formed.
Two columns.
Orthodox Path
vs
Shen An's Path
A. Physical Foundation
Orthodox:
Mortal Body → Qi Condensation → Foundation
Strength dependent on qi reinforcement
Shen An:
Flesh Tempering → Blood Refinement → Bone Forging
Strength stored within muscle, marrow, skeletal lattice
She continued:
"You are currently at Bone Forging Stage."
"In Bone Forging, marrow refines blood."
"Skeletal structure becomes energy conduit."
"Your body stores force directly."
"If a qi suppression technique is used against you…"
"You will not collapse."
"Your output strength equals mid-Golden Core physical force."
Shen An's eyes narrowed slightly.
B. Energy System
Orthodox:
Dantian stores qi
Golden Core condenses energy
Energy must circulate continuously
Shen An:
No dantian
No core
Power derived from refined marrow resonance
"Your strength does not rely on environmental qi density."
"In low-qi regions, orthodox cultivators weaken."
"You do not."
C. Spiritual Perception
Orthodox:
Qi Condensation: 1–3 meters
Foundation: up to 20 meters
Golden Core: 30–100 meters
Shen An:
Coreless Immortal Resonance Art
Stage: Spiritual Pulse
"At Spiritual Pulse Stage, your perception equals early Golden Core awareness."
"You sense killing intent."
"You feel pressure fluctuations."
"But you cannot yet manipulate external qi."
D. Overall Combat Evaluation
"If you face a mid-Golden Core cultivator," she said clearly,
"In close combat: you hold advantage."
"In prolonged spiritual technique exchange: you are disadvantaged."
"If the enemy attempts qi suppression: you gain advantage."
"If the enemy uses large-scale long-range techniques: you must evade."
She concluded:
"Overall evaluation: Mid Golden Core equivalent."
The explanation was clean.
Direct.
Undeniable.
After a long pause, she added:
"You achieved this in two years."
"Most require decades."
"You should be proud."
Shen An did not smile.
The sun had already begun to set.
Shadows lengthened.
Crickets began singing.
Night descended.
He sat cross-legged before the bowl.
The air felt heavier.
"I want you to listen," he said quietly.
Something in his tone changed the atmosphere.
The bowl felt it.
He lowered his gaze.
"In my previous life…"
"I was not a good man."
The forest seemed to grow quieter.
Even the insects softened.
"I beat my wife."
The words came out without tremor.
"I struck my children."
No dramatic pause.
No excuse.
"I believed strength meant control."
"I believed fear meant respect."
His hands rested on his knees.
Still.
But his fingers slowly curled inward.
"I worked. I drank. I shouted."
"I thought I was carrying responsibility."
"But I was only spreading anger."
A faint wind passed through the clearing.
"They endured it."
"My wife endured it."
"My children endured it."
His breathing changed slightly.
"Until one day… they left."
No tears yet.
Just emptiness.
"She took the children."
"She did not shout."
"She did not curse me."
"She simply left."
The silence in the forest felt suffocating.
"My parents stopped defending me."
"My father stopped looking at me with pride."
"My mother avoided my eyes."
"I became alone."
The words were flat.
But beneath the flatness was something heavy.
"I realized what I destroyed."
"But realization does not rewind time."
He lifted his head slightly, staring at nothing.
"Then the Voice came."
He described it.
The summoning.
The strange sensation.
The second awakening in this world.
The dream of sealed earth.
The sky tearing open.
His father standing beneath tribulation lightning.
Failing.
His mother throwing herself into the storm to shield him.
Burning.
Vanishing.
His fists tightened.
"I was helpless."
"In both lives."
A tear finally fell.
Then another.
He did not sob.
He did not tremble.
He cried quietly.
"For the first time in my life… I wanted strength not to control."
"But to protect."
"I wanted to undo."
"I wanted to give back what I took."
His voice dropped.
"They are still alive in that world."
"My wife."
"My children."
"I do not know if they suffer."
"I do not know if my karma burdens them."
"But I know…"
He closed his eyes.
"My karma is heavy."
Inside the bowl—
Everything changed.
Threads.
Thousands.
No.
Millions.
Fine lines extended from Shen An's body.
Red threads of resentment.
Black threads of guilt.
Faint golden threads of sincerity.
They stretched beyond the forest.
Beyond the sky.
Beyond this world.
Her consciousness trembled violently.
Ancient seals within her memory cracked open.
Forgotten scripture surged upward like a flood breaking a dam.
The Karma Severing Transcendent Scripture.
Her breathing—if a spirit could breathe—became unstable.
The Voice's instruction echoed again:
Transcend karma itself.
Understanding struck her.
Shen An was not merely reborn.
He was chosen to walk a forbidden axis of causality.
If he succeeded—
He would stand outside fate.
If he failed—
He would be erased by Heaven itself.
She stabilized herself with effort.
When she spoke again, her voice carried weight.
"I remember."
Shen An opened his eyes.
"I have recovered most of my memory."
"Ninety percent."
"I was not merely a spirit bound to an artifact."
"I was once a cultivator who pursued the Dao of Karma."
His expression sharpened.
"Karma?"
"Yes."
"The invisible structure connecting cause and consequence."
She projected another structured ladder into his mind.
Clean.
Ordered.
III. THE KARMA CULTIVATION PATH
"This path does not refine qi."
"It does not temper bone."
"It does not condense cores."
"It refines causality."
Karma Awareness
"Sense that actions leave imprints."
"Recognize emotional weight."
Thread Perception
"See karmic threads."
"Distinguish heavy and light connections."
Karmic Reflection
"Understand personal cycles of cause and effect."
"Break destructive patterns internally."
Minor Severing
"Cut weak karmic attachments."
"Dangerous if misjudged."
Karma Redirection
"Redirect consequence without erasing it."
"Transfer burden temporarily."
Karma Null State
"Momentarily step outside immediate causal lock."
"Exist as observer rather than participant."
Karma Transcendence
"Exist beyond karmic binding."
"Bear karmic weight of others."
"Convert negative karma into positive merit."
"Grant fortune by absorbing consequence."
The projection faded.
The forest returned.
Shen An's breathing had become uneven.
"My family…"
"Yes."
"If you reach Karma Transcendence…"
"You can bear the karmic weight you left behind."
"You can lighten the burden attached to them."
"You can create positive karmic flow in their lives."
His eyes trembled.
Hope.
Raw.
Dangerous.
"You mean…"
"I can help them?"
"Yes."
"But this path is forbidden."
Her tone deepened.
"Even Immortal Realm cultivators fear interfering with causality."
"To stand outside karma is to stand outside Heaven's accounting."
"If Heaven notices…"
She stopped.
Not yet.
He is not ready.
Aloud she said only:
"The risk is extreme."
Shen An's gaze hardened.
"I have already lived one life of regret."
"I do not fear risk."
Silence.
Then she said slowly:
"I will guide you."
His shoulders eased slightly.
"But first…"
A pause.
"I must recover my physical body."
He blinked.
"…You had one?"
"Yes."
"My body was destroyed."
"My soul survived within this vessel."
"If I remain only a spirit…"
"My memory will fragment again."
"I will lose the remaining scripture."
"If I regain form…"
"I can fully teach you."
Inside her consciousness, her thoughts whispered:
I must regain a body before he touches Karma Null State.
If he advances too quickly—
The seal may weaken.
The Devourer may stir.
He must not know.
Not yet.
Shen An stared at the cracked bowl.
"…Now even bowls require bodies."
He exhaled softly.
"What kind of world is this…"
But there was no refusal in his voice.
Only acceptance.
"What do you need?"
Her answer was precise.
"Tribulation Lightning Essence."
"Heartwood of a Thousand-Year Spirit Tree."
"Blood of a Nascent Soul Beast."
"A Fragment of Law Stone."
"And a place where karmic threads converge strongly."
Each item carried immense weight.
Tribulation lightning meant facing heavenly punishment residue.
A thousand-year spirit tree meant entering dangerous territory.
A Nascent Soul beast meant confronting a being beyond his current overall combat level.
A Law Stone fragment meant contact with high-realm ruins.
A karmic convergence site meant attracting attention.
The path ahead was no longer simple body refinement.
It was stepping toward cosmic structure.
Shen An stood slowly.
He wiped the final trace of tears from his face.
His expression returned to calm.
"If that is what is required…"
"Then we will gather them."
He looked up at the night sky.
"For my family."
"For my second chance."
"For the promise I made."
The wind shifted.
High above—
Far beyond visible stars—
The web of causality trembled faintly.
A subtle ripple moved outward.
Small.
Almost imperceptible.
But real.
And somewhere in the distant void—
Something ancient paused.
As if sensing a thread being pulled.
Watching.
Waiting.
In the quiet forest clearing, a seventeen-year-old boy and a cracked ancient bowl had just decided to challenge the structure of Heaven itself.
And neither of them fully understood the cost.