Chapter 3: The Second Investment | Immortality Starts With Karma

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Immortality Starts With Karma

Chapter 3: The Second Investment

I returned to my hut as the morning sun began to climb, its rays casting long shadows across the Outer Sect grounds. The hunger was still there, a hollow ache in my stomach, but it was now a secondary concern. My mind was sharp, focused on the successful outcome of my first true gambit. [Status: Healthy] was a far more valuable asset than a full belly.

Inside the quiet solitude of my hut, I began to test my newly restored body. I moved to the small open space and fell into the opening stance of the Clear Sky Sword Form, the only martial art taught to Outer Disciples. It was a simple, rigid set of movements I had practiced thousands of times with little result. The original Wei Chen had been clumsy, his limbs weak, his Qi circulation sluggish. His movements had been filled with a desperate, jerky energy.

Now, it was different.

I moved through the forms, from "First Light Pierces the Fog" to "Still Water Reflects the Sky." My feet were planted firmly on the dirt floor. My arms were steady, the transitions between stances smooth and controlled. I could feel the Qi in my dantian, a small, quiet pool at Qi Refining Stage 2, circulating through my meridians without the usual blockages and sluggishness. The injuries from Jin Kai's attack prior to this one had left behind hidden damage, small fissures in my energy pathways that I had never even been aware of. The Major Recovery had wiped them clean.

I finished the set, my breathing even, my body warm with flowing energy. I was not suddenly a master. My talent had not changed, and my Qi reserves were still pathetic. But my foundation, the very vessel of my cultivation, was now whole. I was no longer working with a cracked cup. Before I could make any plans, however, my stomach cramped violently, a demanding reminder that my body needed fuel.

I left my hut and walked towards the dining hall. This time, I did not linger at the back. I was healthy, and my hunger was a tool, not a weakness. The hall was as chaotic as ever, a noisy press of bodies vying for the day’s meal. I saw the usual dynamic: stronger disciples at the front, weaker ones hesitating at the fringes. I walked directly into the line, finding a spot in the middle.

A scrawny first-stage disciple in front of me glanced back, his eyes widening slightly in recognition of my sect robes, but he held his ground. A few months ago, I would have been pushed back, but today was different. I took a firm step forward, my shoulder bumping his. It was not a violent shove, but an undeniable claim to the space. He stumbled, looking up at me with a flash of indignation that was quickly replaced by fear. He recognized me as Wei Chen, the regular victim, but he also felt the subtle shift in my posture, the steadiness in my gaze and that wasn't even to mention my higher cultivation. He scurried to the back of the line without a word. Another disciple saw the exchange and gave me a wider berth. The previous Wei Chen hadn't pushed people, he waited for the scraps.

As I did this, a line of text appeared on my System interface.

[A negative deed of intimidation has been performed. You used your position to deprive another.]

[Bad Karma +1 acquired.]

I felt no remorse. It was a small price for a necessary resource. When I reached the front, the server gave me a half water bowl, as I had already taken my meal today, the bowl was at least steaming. I took it, found a clean corner, and ate quickly. The warm, savory meal settled my stomach, spreading a welcome heat through my body. It was a noticeable improvement over the dregs I’d had yesterday. Strength flowed from the food. I understood now. In this sect, you took what you needed to survive. Hesitation meant starvation.

After finishing the meal, I left the hall, my purpose clear. My thoughts turned to the sect's internal economy. There was a way out of the cycle of mediocrity. The Task Hall.

It was the administrative heart of the Outer Sect, a place where disciples could take on jobs for the sect in exchange for Contribution Points. These points were the true currency here. You could not eat them, but they could buy you a future. At the Sect Market, a small, bustling square near the Inner Sect gate, Contribution Points could be exchanged for everything a disciple needed. Healing salves for training injuries. Low-grade Qi Gathering Pills that could double your cultivation speed for a few hours. Even better cultivation manuals.

That was the key. The Clear Sky Breathing Art, the manual given freely to every new disciple, was notoriously inefficient. It was designed to weed out those with average or poor talent, forcing them to languish for years in the early stages of Qi Refining. The real techniques, the ones that could genuinely pave a path to Foundation Establishment, were locked away behind a wall of Contribution Points.

My new goal was clear. It was no longer about just getting a bowl of congee. It was about earning Contribution Points. I could take a manual labor task—chopping wood, cleaning the griffin stables, tending the fields—but those were slow, grueling work for minimal reward. A full day of splitting logs might earn you a single point.

There was a faster, riskier way. The Task Hall also posted gathering missions. The Clear Sky Sect was nestled in the foothills of the Verdant Mountain Range, a vast wilderness filled with valuable herbs, minerals, and magical beasts. The sect needed these resources. Disciples willing to venture into the forest could earn points at a much faster rate. The risks were real; disciples getting injured or even killed by beasts was not unheard of. But the rewards were correspondingly higher.

My body was healthy, and I had five points of Good Karma and one point of Bad Karma in reserve. I had a small safety net. It was time to stop reacting and start acting.

I made my way to the Task Hall. It was a large, open-air building, busier than the dining hall. A massive wooden board dominated one wall, covered in dozens of paper slips, each detailing a task. Disciples crowded around it, their voices a low hum of discussion and negotiation. I saw the sect's food chain in action once more. A group of tough-looking fourth and fifth-stage disciples stood near the front, confidently plucking the most lucrative "kill" missions from the board—missions to hunt down magical beasts that harassed local farmers. The weaker, first and second-stage disciples hovered near the bottom of the board, reluctantly taking the slips for menial labor.

My eyes scanned the middle of the board, the section for gathering missions. I saw slips for Sun-Kissed Berries, for Deep-Root Moss, and then one caught my eye.

[Task: Gather 10 stalks of Iron-Skin Grass from the Sunken Creek area.]

[Reward: 3 Contribution Points.]

[Danger Level: Low.]

Three points. That was worth three long days of chopping wood. Iron-Skin Grass was a common herb used in making low-level defensive potions and salves. It was tough to harvest but not particularly rare. The Sunken Creek was a known area a few miles into the forest, generally considered safe. It was the perfect entry-level mission.

I moved towards the board, reaching for the slip. Just as my fingers brushed against the paper, another hand darted out and snatched it. I looked over. The hand belonged to a girl I recognized vaguely. Su Lin. Her robes were worn but clean, patched at the elbows. A simple, well-cared-for short sword was strapped to her back. She had a determined set to her jaw, and I could tell she was at the second stage of Qi Refining, same as me.

Before she could even turn away from the board, three disciples moved to block her path. The one in the lead was Zhang Feng, the same burly third-stage disciple I’d seen trip the small boy in the dining hall. His two friends flanked him, their arms crossed, smirks on their faces.

“Little sister Su,” Zhang Feng said, his voice slick with false cordiality. “That’s a dangerous mission for a girl to take on alone. The path to the creek can be treacherous.”

Su Lin’s eyes narrowed. “I can handle it myself, Senior Brother Zhang.”

“I’m sure you can,” he said, taking a step closer. His friends chuckled. “But why trouble yourself? We were just about to take that mission. Let us handle the hard part. You can just come along and… point us in the right direction if we get lost.” He leered at her, his eyes roaming over her.

The threat was clear. They intended to strong-arm her into the mission, use her as free labor, and then claim the full reward for themselves. It was a common form of extortion in the Outer Sect. Su Lin’s hand drifted down to the hilt of her sword, but she was visibly hesitating. She was outnumbered and outmatched. Confronting them would only lead to a beating and humiliation. She was trapped.

I backed away from the crowd at the Task Hall, letting the scene play out. Su Lin, with no other choice, reluctantly agreed. Zhang Feng’s group swaggered out, with her following a few paces behind, her posture stiff with resentment. My initial plan to take the mission slip was gone, but the mission itself was not. The Task Hall didn't care who had the paper slip, only who brought back the required items. It was a common, if frowned upon, practice for stronger disciples to "poach" missions from weaker ones. If I could get to the Sunken Creek, gather the Iron-Skin Grass, and return before them, I could claim the reward.

My motivation was simple: three Contribution Points. But seeing Zhang Feng’s arrogant smirk as he cornered Su Lin left a sour taste in my mouth. He was a petty tyrant who enjoyed his small measure of power. The one point of Bad Karma I had acquired felt like a tool waiting for a purpose. This was a perfect, low-risk chance to test its effects.

I gave the group a wide berth and a head start before slipping out of the sect gates and into the forest. The path to the Sunken Creek was well-worn. I moved quickly, my healthy body a vast improvement over the weak vessel I had been trapped in just yesterday. After about twenty minutes, I saw them ahead. Zhang Feng was walking with a swagger, talking loudly with his two friends. Su Lin trailed behind them, silent and tense. They were moving at a casual pace, completely unconcerned.

I left the path, melting into the dense undergrowth of the forest. The trees and bushes provided excellent cover. I shadowed them, waiting for the right moment. I was not planning some grand rescue. I was just a curious scientist about to conduct his first experiment.

The path began to slope downwards, the ground becoming damp and covered in loose, mossy stones. Ahead, the path curved around a steep, muddy embankment that dropped into a murky, foul-smelling pool of stagnant water. This was the spot.

Focusing my intent, I called up the System. [BK: 1].

System, target Zhang Feng, I thought. Use Bad Karma.

A simple menu appeared in my vision.

[Select Target: Zhang Feng (Qi Refining Stage 3)]

[Select Effect:]

[- Minor Misfortune (Cost: 1 BK)]

[- ... (More options locked)]

It was the only option available to me. I confirmed it without hesitation. Use 1 BK.

[Inflicting 'Minor Misfortune' on Zhang Feng. Effect: The target will experience a sudden, inconvenient, non-damaging accident.]

I watched from behind a thicket of ferns. As Zhang Feng swaggered onto the section of mossy stones, his lead foot suddenly slid out from under him as if he had stepped on ice. He let out a surprised yelp, his arms pinwheeling wildly. His balance was gone. He tumbled sideways, crashing gracelessly down the muddy embankment with a series of grunts and a final, loud splash.

He landed face-first in the pool of stagnant green water.

For a moment, there was stunned silence. Then, one of his friends let out a snorting laugh. The other one quickly joined in, unable to contain his amusement at the sight of their arrogant leader covered from head to toe in slimy, stinking mud.

Su Lin, who had stopped and turned, had a flicker of a smile on her face before she quickly suppressed it, her expression returning to one of stoic indifference.

"Who laughed?!" Zhang Feng bellowed, his voice choked with fury and humiliation. He scrambled up the bank, dripping with foul water and clumps of mud. He was not injured, but his pride was in tatters. He lunged at the friend who had laughed the loudest, shoving him hard. "You think this is funny?!"

"You're the one who can't walk straight!" the friend retorted, shoving back.

Their mission was forgotten. Their fragile hierarchy, built on intimidation, shattered in a moment of public embarrassment. As they began to argue and shove each other, their attention was completely diverted. I saw my chance. And so did Su Lin. With a final, discreet glance at the bickering fools, she slipped off the path and disappeared into the trees, heading in the direction of the creek.

I smiled. The experiment was a success. My Bad Karma was spent, and I had achieved a satisfying result. Now, for the real prize. I ignored the squabbling group and cut through the forest, taking a more direct route to the Sunken Creek, hoping to get there first.

The creek was just as its name implied, a slow-moving stream sunk into a shallow ravine. The air was cool and damp. Finding the Iron-Skin Grass was easy. It grew in tough, fibrous clumps along the water's edge, its dark green leaves almost metallic in the dim light. Harvesting it was another matter. The roots were deep and tangled in the mud. It was a chore, but my renewed strength made it manageable. In less than half an hour, I had gathered a bundle of about fifteen stalks, more than enough for the mission.

My plan was simple: get back to the sect, turn in the ten best stalks, and sell the other five on the side for a few extra coppers. As I was bundling them up, I heard the soft sound of footsteps.

I looked up to see Su Lin arriving at the creek. She was breathing heavily, and she kept glancing back over her shoulder, clearly still wary of Zhang Feng. She did not see me at first. She moved to a spot downstream and began the slow, frustrating work of pulling the tough grass from the mud. She was determined, but her progress was slow.

I watched her for a moment, my mind weighing the options. I could leave now and complete my original plan. Or... this was an unexpected opportunity.

I had already gathered the herbs. She was here, alone. Zhang Feng and his cronies were humiliated and delayed. A thought formed, a new calculation. A different kind of investment.

Making sure to make enough noise not to startle her, I stepped out from behind the cluster of rocks where I had been working. She spun around instantly, her hand flying to the hilt of her short sword, her body coiled like a spring. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw me.

"You," she said, her voice sharp with suspicion. She recognized me, but only as another face from the Outer Sect.

"Wei Chen," I supplied calmly, holding my hands up slightly to show I was not a threat. I stopped a respectful distance away. "I saw what happened on the path."

Her suspicion did not fade. "What do you want?" She probably assumed I was another predator, here to take advantage of her now that she was alone.

"I already have what I need." I gestured with the bundle of Iron-Skin Grass in my hand. Then, I separated five of the stalks and tucked them into my own pouch. The remaining ten, all of them thick and healthy, I held out to her. "This should be enough for the mission requirement. Take them."

She was stunned into silence. She stared at the grass, then at my face, her mind clearly trying to find the trick. "Why?" she finally asked, her voice laced with disbelief.

I gave her the simplest, most believable answer I could think of. "Zhang Feng is an arrogant fool. I don't like him or his friends," I said with a shrug. "Seeing him fall in the mud was entertaining. Consider this a bonus for having to put up with him." I framed it as a shared dislike of a common antagonist, an act of spite against him rather than one of pity for her. It was an easier offering for a proud person to accept.

She hesitated for a long moment, her eyes searching mine. Finally, she seemed to decide I was being truthful. She slowly reached out and took the ten stalks of grass from my hand.

"Thank you," she said, her voice softening. The suspicion was replaced by a genuine, if guarded, gratitude. "I won't forget this." She gave me one last, curious look, then turned and began the walk back towards the sect, her mission unexpectedly complete.

As she disappeared into the trees, a familiar blue screen flared to life in my vision.

[A positive deed of direct assistance has been performed. You aided a fellow disciple in overcoming adversity, preventing them from being exploited.]

[Good Karma +20 acquired.]

A slow smile spread across my face. The reward was even bigger this time. The system seemed to value preventing exploitation. I now had [GK: 25] and my Bad Karma was back to zero. I also had five stalks of Iron-Skin Grass.

I had traded three Contribution Points for twenty-five Good Karma points and a potentially useful ally. It was a far better deal. I let out a grin, I could do it.