[Dark Cultivation, Seeking the Dao Through Merit, Strategic Scheming, Decisive and Ruthless]
Cultivators in this world seek the Dao through merit, earning the favor of the Twelve Zodiac Mansions.
Those who save lives and prolong lifespans seek the Star of Longevity. Those who refine disasters and dispel filth seek Quail Fire. Those who end wars and break formations seek Jianglou.
But credit for good deeds can be stolen, merit can be claimed by another, and nameless people can be made to bear the cost.
In his previous life, Shen Yuan was a cook at village banquets. In this life, he is a kitchen hand at Suiheng Sect.
Three years ago, the old cook Qiu San took his food-taster's token and went to the banquet in his place, where he died. Among the things returned with Qiu San's ashes was an uncredited ledger of merit, visible only to Shen Yuan.
The ledger teaches no cultivation techniques and reveals nothing of the future. It only records who accomplished something, who claimed the credit, who gained the benefits, and who paid the price.
Three years later, Suiheng Sect holds its Twelve Merits Banquet once again.
Eleven merit-holders sit high in the front hall, while forty-seven kitchen hands wait in the back, ready to shoulder their debts of merit.
Before the banquet begins, Shen Yuan mixes Qiu San's ashes into the communal salt.
“Immortals don't eat leftovers?”
“Perfect.”
“Today, I invite you all to eat every last bit of the debt you owe.”
Others cultivate, seizing treasures and competing for fame.
Shen Yuan cultivates by accomplishing deeds of merit, taking the starlight, then returning the bill to those who should pay it.
