Lian Ren stood on the sect's southern cliff, wind battering his robes, his mind weighed with Yun Mei's warning:
"Others like you are awakening too. And they won't resist wrath."
The words had echoed in him for three days, louder than the roars of spirit beasts or the lectures of elders.
Now, the sky itself gave answer.
Across the horizon, streaks of golden-blue flame split the clouds. Comets—but not ordinary ones—divine fragments falling like shooting stars. Each one carved a new scar in the heavens.
The sect bells rang wildly. Elders shouted, disciples scrambled.
Lian Ren narrowed his eyes. He didn't need the system to tell him what those lights meant.
They were rebirths. Heaven-Touched rebirths.
Elsewhere in the realm, chaos erupted.
In the Floating Ice Empire, a young girl levitated above a frozen lake, laughter echoing as her eyes burned with violet fire. All around her, cultivators fell—crystallized mid-scream.
Her voice was distant, like it didn't belong in her mouth.
"Let envy bloom."
In a cursed monastery, a boy tore out his own eyes, laughing madly as shadows poured from his sockets.
"I see the divine now. I see the rot."
He painted sigils on the walls with blood, each glowing with karmic flame.
And deep beneath the Grand Capital, cloaked figures knelt in a hidden sanctum.
One, taller than the rest, raised a scroll sealed in red wax.
"The fragments awaken," he said. "Heaven's last war resumes. And our duty… is Severance."
The Order of Severance had begun to move.
Back at the Azure Cloud Sect, Lian Ren was summoned by Elder Wu.
"Disciple Lian," the elder said grimly, "the stars have cracked. Portents speak of divine spirits descending again. Do you… feel anything?"
Lian bowed respectfully. "I feel… threads pulling. As if fate is reaching through me."
Wu's gaze narrowed. "You're not lying. Be careful. There's word of mutated cultivators. Some call them Heaven-Touched. Others…" he paused, "…call them monsters."
That night, Lian Ren sat alone, meditating near the Karmic Lotus Pond. The system chimed softly:
[World Alert: Multiple Heaven-Touched Detected]
[New Karmic Quests Available: — Purify / Ally / Eliminate]
But it wasn't a quest that disturbed him—it was what he felt through the wind.
A familiar energy. Sharp. Arrogant. Proud.
One of the fallen gods had returned.
Lian stood suddenly, his hand clenching. The divine fragment within him pulsed in warning.
Not all who returned would be allies.
And worse… some might remember who he once was.
He looked to the stars again, jaw tight.
This wasn't just a path of rebirth.
It was the opening move of a divine war.
The sun hadn't yet risen, but blood had already been spilled.
The outer courtyard of Azure Wind Sect buzzed with whispers. Disciples gathered in a loose ring, eyes flickering between excitement and unease. At the center, Lian Ren stood barefoot on the cold stone tiles, face calm.
Across from him: Zhao Feng, third disciple of Elder Bao, known for his cruelty—and now corrupted by something darker.
"You think you're special, Lian Ren?" Zhao's voice dripped venom. His eyes glowed faintly gold. "I can feel it in you. That divine stink."
System prompt:
[Warning: Enemy Karma Signature—Tainted: Divine Fragment Detected]
Lian's heartbeat slowed. This wasn't just a duel. It was a clash between the reborn.
"I don't want to kill you," he said quietly.
Zhao laughed. "You won't get the chance."
Without warning, he struck—blades of fire and lightning erupting from his fists. Lian dodged, narrowly avoiding a blast that cracked the arena stones. The crowd gasped.
He felt it immediately: Zhao's cultivation had surged unnaturally. This wasn't earned power. It was force-fed divinity.
And it was unraveling him.
Another blow came. Lian parried—but was flung back. Blood dripped from his mouth.
System Alert: Vital Signs Critical. Activate Divine Skill?
— Heaven's Breath Palm (Locked: Costs 1 Day Lifespan)
[Confirm Use?]
Lian's hand trembled. One day of life… for one chance.
He clenched his jaw. "Confirm."
The world slowed.
As if inhaling the weight of eternity, Lian Ren's body moved with divine clarity. Threads of golden light wove through his meridians, his bones humming with the echo of a god long forgotten.
System Notification: [Heaven's Breath Palm – Activated]
Lifespan Cost: 1 day. Confirmed.
Time snapped back.
Lian stepped forward. Just one.
Zhao Feng blinked—and saw nothing but light.
A radiant palm struck his chest, not with brute force but karmic intent. The strike carried every wrong Zhao had committed—each tortured spirit, every unjust death. The palm did not just burn his flesh.
It condemned his soul.
Zhao screamed. His body flew across the courtyard, crashing into the wall with a sickening thud. Silence.
The crowd was stunned. Elders, disciples—even the sect master watching from afar—froze.
Zhao coughed blood, barely breathing.
Lian fell to one knee, exhausted. The golden glow faded from his hand. He didn't feel stronger.
He felt… diminished.
System Update: Soul Stability +3%
New Title Unlocked: [Heaven-Touched: Confirmed]
Notice: You have performed a karmically aligned act of Mercy in Combat.
Reward: Divine Seed Resonance x1
The sect master's voice finally cut through the silence.
"Take Zhao to the Soul Ward. As for Lian Ren… summon the inner court. He is no longer ordinary."
Lian didn't lift his head. The whispers behind him grew louder:
"Was that divine power?"
"No mortal moves like that…"
"He traded life for victory…"
But Lian only heard the system's last line:
You've taken your first step toward godhood
But the heavens remember every soul you touch.