Lu Yun stared into space, thoughts swirling in his mind.

Goodwill! The identification finally hit him.

Just like retribution, goodwill was a force born from thought, yet the two of them were diametrically opposed: one was good karma, the other, bad karma.

Objecting to the execution just now had earned him the juba’s gratitude. In turn, these grateful thoughts transformed into goodwill. Sporadic goodwill was of little use for ordinary cultivators, the exception being when the goodwill of thousands upon thousands of people was directed to one person at a given time. Then, that goodwill would transform into virtuous merit.

While bad karma, in the shape of retribution, could trigger or strengthen heavenly tribulations, goodwill and virtuous merit would instead reduce their strength. Legends even spoke of some cultivators who, after accumulating great amounts of virtuous merit, had even received...