An endless darkness.
Li Tui's "consciousness" floated within it, as if sunk at the bottom of the deep sea.
There was no body, no senses. Only his most fundamental "self" still existed.
"The second life... is over."
There was no sound; the thought merely sent ripples through his mind.
As soon as the thought arose, a faint glimmer lit up in the darkness.
The outline of the Octagonal Bronze Mirror shifted from indistinct to solid, slowly rotating as it appeared at the core of his consciousness.
[Reincarnator: Li Tui] [Hundred-Life Reincarnation Progress: 2/100] [This Life's End: Body destroyed, soul guided back]
A stream of cold information surged directly into his consciousness, devoid of emotion.
Immediately afterward, light flowed across the mirror's surface, and lines of ancient script began to appear.
[Record of This Life:] [Born into a tenant farmer's family, with meager talent.] [Borrowed the legacy of his previous life to alter his spiritual root and enter the Zhao Mansion as a retainer.] [Served as a study companion to the legitimate heir, navigated treacherous circumstances, and obtained rudimentary cultivation methods.] [Encountered a demon, obtained an eerie object, and suffered damage to his foundation before it changed once more.] [Uncovered the Aristocratic Clan's scheme to raise Gu and stirred the fate of the Three Stars.] [In the midst of a desperate fight to the death, secretly betrayed an ally and seized a small portion of the "Seven Killings" Star Fate's source.] [Ultimately erased by a Foundation Establishment cultivator, his body utterly destroyed.]
The lines appeared one by one, then faded away one by one. At last, the mirror's faint glow gathered and transformed into a new settlement:
[The Samsara Mirror is beginning its settlement] "Seized a faint trace of Star Fate's source, Fate +4" "Unlocked a talent for the first time, Fate +3" [Fate settlement complete] [Commentary on this life: He made a pact with a tiger, only to be devoured by it in the end; yet he stole a sliver of starlight—a truly vile jackal.] [Distributable Fate: 7]
Seven Fate.
More than twice the three points he had received when his first life ended peacefully after an ordinary, unremarkable existence.
Li Tui's "consciousness" gazed at the number without delight. Suddenly, he remembered Zhao Hao's appearance just before he died.
The thought flashed through his mind, then was suppressed. On the path of reincarnation, there was only forward, never back. Whether it had been a gain or a loss no longer mattered. What mattered was how far these resources could take him in his next life.
The information on the mirror changed again, displaying his current status:
[Reincarnator: Li Tui] [Distributable Fate: 7]
A vile jackal?
Li Tui remained indifferent. The commentary passed him like a breeze. He was more concerned with the seven solid points of Fate, and with... a new line of flickering light that appeared below:
[Detected that the reincarnator achieved a special encounter in this life, touching upon the talent derivation mechanism...] [Talent unlocked: Blood Fiend Affinity (Ding)] [Talent Description: Due to your special experience of coexisting with the evil object "Blood Bodhi," you returned with some of its essential traits even upon death. Your soul possesses an exceptional ability to sense, and an initial affinity for, blood qi, killing intent, and other yin-aligned, violent energies.] [Talents can be carried through reincarnation and upgraded by spending Fate.]
Blood Fiend Affinity...
Li Tui's thoughts passed over the description. This was probably the last scrap of "inheritance" he had torn from that sinister thing, the Blood Bodhi. It was useful, though it was marked "Ding," the lowest level.
He set the new talent aside for the moment and turned his attention back to the seven points of Fate and the "+" signs after his five basic attributes.
How should he distribute them?
In his previous life, he had invested all three points of Fate in "Body," forcibly chipping away at the cracks in his damaged spiritual root. That was what had earned him the chance to cultivate in this life. It had proven the right choice. Without that slight improvement to his spiritual root, he would never have entered the Zhao Mansion; everything that followed would have been out of reach.
In this life, he had experienced firsthand how arduous cultivation was. Root bone and physique were the true foundations. Without a vessel, even the greatest opportunities and schemes were empty talk.
Strength was the root of everything. And the most direct path to strength was "Body."
Once his mind was made up, he did not hesitate.
Li Tui's thoughts firmly selected "Body."
[Spent 2 Fate, Body: Bing, Lower → Bing, Middle, remaining distributable Fate: 5] [Spent 2 Fate, Body: Bing, Middle → Bing, Upper, remaining distributable Fate: 3]
The description of the "Body" attribute shimmered and rapidly changed on the mirror. A warm power, far more immense and refined than what he had felt at the end of his first life, surged from deep within the Samsara Mirror and washed over his incorporeal soul.
This time, he clearly "felt" the change.
The power seeped into every inch of his soul's "composition," as if it were reshaping something fundamental about him.
A physique at the Bing, Upper level.
The description of his physique changed too, from "Ordinary spiritual root" to "Somewhat talented."
He had three points of Fate left. Raising his Body to the Yi rank required four points, so he clearly could not put any more Fate into "Body."
Li Tui's gaze swept over the other attributes.
"Spirit" and "Intelligence" were both out of the question; he did not have enough Fate. Only "Fortune" and "Wealth" remained.
At last, his gaze fell on "Wealth: Ding, Middle."
Penniless.
In his previous life, he had been born a tenant farmer, starting from the very bottom. He had racked his brains for a little spirit rice. Even a few crumbs slipping through the Zhao Family's fingers could change the fate of someone at the bottom.
In the path of cultivation, wealth, companions, techniques, and territory—wealth came first. It was no empty saying. Without resources, even the finest talent was like a pot with no rice to cook. How much struggle could a good birth and ample starting resources spare him? How many risks born of poverty could they help him avoid?
In his next life, if he wanted to gain his footing faster and come into contact with cultivation sooner, a relatively comfortable starting point would be important.
Without further hesitation, he directed his thoughts to the plus sign beside "Wealth."
[Spent 1 Fate, Wealth: Ding, Middle → Ding, Upper, remaining distributable Fate: 2] [Spent 2 Fate, Wealth: Ding, Upper → Bing, Lower, remaining distributable Fate: 0]
All seven points of Fate had been distributed.
The updated panel was as follows:
[Reincarnator: Li Tui] [Talent: Blood Fiend Affinity (Ding)] [Distributable Fate: 0] [Reincarnations Remaining: 98]
Descendant of a cultivator. Somewhat talented.
Li Tui's thoughts brushed over the two new evaluations on the panel without much reaction. He merely weighed them in his mind. What did "Descendant of a cultivator" mean?
Judging by Li Tui's estimate, his family probably had an elder at the first or second level of Qi Refining, or perhaps, if things were worse, only old connections that had some tenuous link to cultivation. Still, that was better than his peasant origins in his previous life, though it was probably far from a true cultivation clan.
The Samsara Mirror's faint glow began to fade. From deep within its surface came that familiar sensation.
The third life was coming.
Before he was completely pulled away, he took one last look at the mirror.
In this life, he had torn a sliver of starlight from the jaws of despair.
It was faint, but in the end, he had gotten it.
The next life.
A slightly higher starting point. Perhaps the road would be a little smoother.
Then the darkness suddenly contracted, and Li Tui's consciousness plunged downward with it.
Before his eyes closed, he had only one thought.
Ninety-eight lives.
Keep going.
Before you continue