The Silent Leaf Sect stirred with rumors the next morning.
> "Did you hear? Damon Vael scored 118 on the Sect Stone."
"Impossible! That guy couldn't even open three meridians last year!"
"It's fake. Must be a fluke."
"Or maybe… a devil's blessing?"
In the heart of the sect, disciples speculated, elders exchanged glances, and even the Grand Elder raised an eyebrow.
But Damon? He sat calmly by the edge of a lotus pond, skipping stones across the water, each ripple mirroring the tremors he had sent into the sect's fragile hierarchy.
Behind him, footsteps approached. Soft, careful.
> "You really did it…" Mei's voice carried awe and confusion. "How?"
He didn't answer at first. Instead, he flicked another stone. It skimmed across the surface four times before sinking.
> "The stars aligned," he said vaguely. "And I stopped waiting for permission."
Mei sat beside him, her gaze on his profile. "You're not the same."
> "Would you still serve a demon if he once wore a saint's skin?" he asked without looking.
She hesitated. "If that demon protected me from the ones who pretend to be saints, then yes."
A small smile touched Damon's lips.
---
Elsewhere, in a secluded chamber of the inner sect...
Lior Shen stood before an ancient mural—a star map with swirling constellations. His golden fate thread pulsed in agitation. The red spark he had seen during Damon's trial haunted him.
> "Elder Qian," Lior said, addressing the robed old man behind him, "I want to know about cursed fates."
The elder frowned. "That's a dangerous topic, boy."
> "I need to know."
After a long silence, the elder relented. "There are those born under twisted constellations… 'Fate Calamities.' They are anomalies, glitches in the divine script. They devour the fortunes of others and disrupt balance. The Heavens usually erase them quickly."
Lior's fists clenched. "What if one escaped erasure?"
The elder's eyes narrowed. "Then you must find and destroy it before it grows. Or the world burns."
---
Back in Damon's courtyard…
A rustle of robes. A shadow leapt across the roof tiles and dropped silently to the ground. A hooded disciple emerged from the shadows, bowing low.
> "My lord," the figure said. "The Fate Severing worked. Lin Feng collapsed during practice and coughed up blood. His destiny thread now leads nowhere."
Damon stood, tossing the last pebble into the pond. "Good. That was a test. He was a minor star. No one important will mourn his fall."
The hooded disciple—one of the few remnants of Damon's past life—nodded. "What's next?"
> "We aim higher. The golden thread… it must fray."
> "Lior Shen?"
Damon's eyes gleamed. "Yes. But not yet. Before that, I need to touch the stars."
The disciple tensed. "The… Astral Scripture?"
Damon nodded.
The Astral Scripture was one of the foundational cultivation techniques of the Celestial Lotus Sect, known to align one's soul with the constellations and amplify fate alignment. It was said to only respond to those with pure-hearted destinies.
> "They say only the Heaven's Chosen can awaken the scripture," Damon said quietly. "Let's see what happens when a villain dares to try."
---
Three nights later — The Forbidden Cliff Shrine
Hidden in the mountains behind the sect was a sealed shrine, long forgotten except by dusty records and forgotten scrolls. A place where the outer sky met the world's root.
Damon stood before the ancient doors, etched with constellations. His palm pressed against the cold surface.
> "Open," he commanded, pouring his Qi into the pattern.
Nothing.
Then… a tremor.
The doors creaked open slightly, just wide enough for one man to slip through.
Inside, a stone dais pulsed with faint astral light. Floating above it was a scroll—old, brittle, and humming with celestial energy.
As Damon approached, the stars etched into the shrine walls shimmered violently. A blinding glow enveloped him.
> "Only those fated may touch the scripture," a voice boomed.
> "Then I'll take the fate myself."
He reached out.
For a moment, his body seized—pain surged, stars exploded behind his eyes.
> "You are not the Heaven's Chosen!" the shrine roared.
> "No," Damon whispered. "I am Heaven's Mistake."
He gritted his teeth and forced his Qi forward, not aligning with the stars—but wrestling them into submission.
The scroll opened.
The shrine fell silent.
And the stars… bent.
---
Far above, in the Celestial Realm, a divine bell tolled. Deities stirred. Oracles wept.
> "A villain has touched the Astral Scripture… This is not foreseen."
> "Impossible…"
> "A calamity is rising."
---
[End of Chapter 2]