Luo Feng's body was undergoing a moment of transformation, likely even his very essence. He felt light and weightless throughout his previously apprehensive, uncertain frame. The tight and constricted feeling in his chest had left him, and he felt a renewed ease in his movements. The cumbersome weight that had hung on him was no more. He was left with a strange feeling of ease and completeness.
He relished the sensation and placed his feet firmly on the ground, though faint, long-lasting tremors still lingered from the moment he first stood. The room remained silent. He thought about the many days he had spent walking along the courtyard of his home—days when even crossing it had been a challenge. His body had once been brittle and fragile.
An unstoppable torrent of immense energy now flowed through him. It felt as though mountains shifted and great avatars moved within him. He moved slowly and deliberately. He was in control. There was no dizziness, no strained muscles, no shallow breaths, and no rhythmic pounding in his ears. The sensation of control left him frowning slightly, though curiosity lingered beneath it. He had much to discover.
To confirm that he had not slipped into another bout of imagination, he reached for the wooden cup on the table beside him. The cup looked ordinary and unremarkable; he had thought little of it before. He grasped it and began to squeeze.
There was very little resistance.
With an audible crack, the wood snapped, and splinters fell into the puddle near his fingers. Pieces of the cup scattered across the table.
Luo Feng stared in shock.
For a moment, he considered another explanation. Perhaps his body had not been healing at all, and what he had experienced before was an illness. Maybe this moment was simply him returning to what should have been normal.
But there was the system.
Cold. Silent.
It had healed him. It had restored strength he had never consciously worked to regain. There had been no notification, no indication that effort was required. Yet the strength was undeniably there.
The realization of how weak he had once been unsettled him. The more he thought about it, the more it clouded his composure.
Then, out of nowhere, a different thought emerged—clear and sharp.
It was risky. It was exciting.
It felt like control.
All things considered, he now possessed Huang Lei's strength, and it felt incredible.
The system did not explain itself clearly. Gradually, he leaned back in the chair, pieces of the shattered cup still spread across the table. His system was astonishingly simple—almost to the point of being a joke. There was a single bound individual and one vague metric called karma. Nothing more.
He didn't know how many people he could bind. He didn't know whether the system required proximity, chance, fate, or even consent. He didn't know what its criteria were.
Huang Lei had definitely triggered it. That much was certain.
But why?
Talent? Luck? Future potential?
Those were questions Luo Feng could only speculate about.
Part of him wanted to leave the Luo family mansion and search for clues. Perhaps exposure to the outside world would provide answers. The isolation of the estate felt limiting, as though remaining inside prevented him from discovering what the system required.
But he knew better.
No young, defenseless heir of a clan left its borders without consequence. There was much to lose. Even in the absence of open rivalries, there were always those who preferred to eliminate uncertainties for the sake of stability.
Nothing about him made him valuable.
He was most likely not being hunted, but he refused to gamble on uncertainty. For now, the mansion was the safest place for him.
He shifted his focus to the movements and sounds beyond his courtyard. The usually quiet corner of the estate had come alive. Today was different.
The name stirring the most emotion within the mansion was Luo Yuexi, who was preparing to depart for the Cloud Verdant Sect. Even Luo Feng, the least invested member of the family, could see the impact of her departure.
The Luo family mansion was bursting with life—not in a mystical sense, but in sheer activity. The sprawling network of courtyards, connected halls, and corridors was far too expansive for outsiders to comprehend. Each generation of the Luo family had constructed its own courtyard, and Luo Feng's was often regarded as the least desirable.
Every courtyard branched into its own collection of rooms and halls, forming distinct domains within the larger estate. Traversing the mansion was never simple, and today it felt even more demanding for those constantly moving about.
The first to arrive were relatives. Blood ties, curiosity, and opportunism always brought them early.
Members of Luo Yuexi's branch showed the most enthusiasm, while others sought to curry favor. Guests from outside the family added to the noise—something Luo Feng had no interest in.
Seated in the most remote part of his courtyard, he observed the mansion come alive. Though his immediate surroundings remained quieter than the rest, he could not ignore the rising buzz of the estate, which was far more active than before.