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It was while heading to Jinrang Valley near Luoyang again to meet Master Mangnyang that I suddenly noticed a massive black cloud gathering in the distance.

‘What is this? A rain cloud?’

Thanks to my keen perception, I caught sight of it early, but it was indeed a huge storm cloud. It clearly contained thunderclouds and seemed like it would reach my location within a meal’s time. The humidity it carried was astounding, and if I got caught in its range, a downpour would surely follow.

Of course, no matter how fast my Light Body Technique was, it wasn’t fast enough to dodge celestial clouds, so I ducked into a nearby village. I approached the villagers and asked, “Can I take shelter from the rain for a bit?”

All eyes turned towards me.

“Rain? On such a clear day?”

A middle-aged man, sitting beneath a tree taking a break from farming, chuckled. But before he could say much more, the strong humidity hit my nose. Gradually, people began to notice the dark cloud rolling in from the sky.

“Rain, it’s rain!”

“This is bad! Let’s hurry and harvest the crops!”

The villagers started bustling around, panicking as they gathered their crops. The middle-aged man, still dazed, shouted at me, “Hey! I’m sorry, but can you help out? We need to get the sacks inside quickly!”

“Of course. So, is it okay for me to avoid the rain just today?”

“Yes! I’ll even feed you!”

I darted inside and quickly moved the sacks he had been drying in the sun. Before I could even catch my breath, the heavy sacks were inside, and the middle-aged man seemed stunned. That was understandable since I had just handled what would normally take two or three adult men quite a bit of effort to move. With time to spare before the rain started, I helped others as well.

Wham—

Rumble!

A moment later, a thunderstorm unleashed its fury on the village, and the rain fell hard. This wasn’t just a simple downpour; the volume was unusual. Thankfully, many of the buildings in this village were well-prepared to withstand flooding, so it didn’t seem like the damage would be too severe.

The middle-aged man who had let me into his home wiped the sweat from his brow and said, “Phew… thank you so much. By the way, how did you know it was going to rain?”

“I have good eyesight.”

“Right. I have some porridge cooking in the kitchen, so let me serve you. You can stay the day.”

Tap, tap…

“Ugh… it won’t light.”

“Hold on a second.”

Since the fire wouldn’t catch on the dry kindling, I used the Thunder Spirit Technique to get the hearth flame going. When the kindling finally caught, the middle-aged man looked on in shock. He probably thought lighting a fire with dry kindling was impossible.

“Hoo… are you a martial artist?”

“I’m just someone wandering around training.”

“Anyway, I can’t thank you enough. Do you have a destination?”

“I’m heading towards Jinrang Valley. I planned to walk all day, but things got complicated.”

Then the middle-aged man said, “Jinrang Valley is quite a ways off; you must be having a tough time.”

“Not really a tough time.”

“Ah, right! Since you’re a martial artist, let me share something good with you.”

“What’s that?”

The middle-aged man glanced around nervously and whispered, “If you cross two mountains from here, there’s a place called Jangryeong Valley, where a wealthy person loves to pose mysterious questions. It’s said that the one who answers correctly gets gold.”

“They give gold just for answering questions?”

“Yup! So, over the past few years, scholars and martial artists with excellent knowledge seem to have been heading towards Jangryeong Valley.”

“Oh…”

I found it fascinating. Gold isn’t something to sneeze at; it’s a symbol of wealth, and it was remarkable that someone would offer such treasures for conceptual fun. At the same time, it made me think Jangryeong Valley was more than it seemed. If even a simple villager knew about the “gold” being offered, it showed that some bandits or rogue martial artists might try to get a piece of that wealthy estate. But I had yet to see any martial artists lurking in the area while making my way through. There’s no doubt that the house in Jangryeong Valley had enough power to protect its riches.

“Well… that’s not my current concern. Meeting Mangnyang is way more important right now.”

I had enough interaction with treasures like gold bars when seeking the Seven Luminaries’ treasures. Rather than feeling greedy over gold, I was solely focused on finding Mangnyang. After all, I could always visit later.

That day, I was offered a meal, and I spent a comfortable night with the middle-aged man’s family. However, the next morning, I woke up to an unsettling situation.

Swoosh—

The rain showed no signs of stopping. When I got up, the village was submerged up to my ankles in muddy water, and the rain was pouring like mad. The villagers had already woken up at dawn and were frantically scooping out water.

Swoosh, swoosh!

“Hurry! Get the water out!”

“Sodori’s house is flooded! What do we do?”

“Oh no! The river is overflowing; what should we do?”

People were panicking, looking utterly confused. It made sense since it was one thing for water to drain through the village’s canal occasionally, but with rain pouring in such sheets, the river would overflow, leading to a flood. If things went wrong, the villagers would have to abandon their homes and flee for their lives.

“This won’t do.”

Even though I sensed the oddness of the situation, I felt compelled to take action. As far as I could recall, I had never seen rain this massive before. Besides, given that I’d previously spent a night here, I felt the need to help.

I scanned the area, assessing the topography for places where the water might drain.

“If I break that rock, the water should drain a bit. And if I direct it sideways…”

Having formulated a plan, I shouted to the panicking villagers, “Get back! I’ll give it a shot!”

“What? How can a kid like you…”

“No time for chatter! Move!”

As I focused my internal energy, my commanding shout made them flinch in surprise. I hadn’t meant it as a threat, but for ordinary folks, it felt like thunderclaps. Seeing the villagers retreat, I gathered my energy at the palm of my hand and concentrated.

“Haaah…”

Taking a stable stance, I accumulated my qi. Suddenly, energy erupted from me like a mirage, and with concentration peaking, I activated the Thunder Cloud Palm’s formation technique to push forward.

Crash!!

A thunderous sound rang out as all rocks and boulders within a five-foot radius shattered and flew apart. Even a boulder the size of a dining table broke apart, and the sound of a small hill crumbling echoed through the air. Meanwhile, the collected water in the village started draining through the new channel, and the puddles that had risen to knee-deep began to recede to ankles.

Rumble!

The torrential rain poured down like muddy water. Given the valley-like terrain, breaking through the rocks reduced the burden on the villagers significantly. A few livestock that had almost floated away returned to the arms of their owners.

“…!!”

“Wow! Thank you so much!!”

As villagers saw the water swiftly receding, tears streamed down their faces as they rejoiced. The immediate risk of drowning had vanished. However, looking at the clouds overhead, I realized this was not a rain that would cease soon. At least three days and nights of rain would fall, just as I’d originally anticipated.

I faced the villagers and asked, “Is there a village chief here?”

“I am.”

A rather aged man in his sixties stepped forward, appearing fit and strong. I addressed the chief, “This is merely a temporary solution. We need to pack up and evacuate immediately.”

With this level of rain, saving the village was already impossible. If they had a riverbank or a levee, things could differ, but it was inevitable for the village to face annihilation. This was knowledge I had obtained from experience during past crises.

“Hmm… Isn’t there another way?”

“If we don’t pack within two moments, safely leaving the village might prove difficult, especially for the elderly and children.”

“There’s nothing else we can do…”

With that, the chief shouted to the villagers, “Everyone! Let’s hurry and evacuate!”

“Oh no… I’m going to lose everything…”

“Don’t say things like that. Thanks to this young man, we have our lives intact.”

Though sorrowful, the villagers quickly gathered their belongings. I dashed around helping people in a frenzy. After checking with the chief to ensure no one was missing or left behind, we all left the village together.

Gurgle, gurgle!

Watching the village slowly submerge from a high point, the villagers wore defeated looks. Their entire fortunes had vanished in an instant. But as the chief said, they’d saved their lives, so nobody dared to voice frustrations.

I turned to the chief and asked, “Do you have a safe place to go?”

“No… There are about seventy villagers; how can I manage to escort them all?”

“Perhaps we could approach the governmental office and explain the flooding situation.”

The chief chuckled dryly. “Do you think the esteemed officials would even listen to us? They likely wouldn’t entertain common peasants like us. And no other village would accommodate so many people.”

“… It seems we’ll just have to rebuild once the rain stops.”

“Sigh… If we’re exposed to the rain for days, everyone will grow weak and may perish, what can we do?”

I sensed the villagers were trapped in a dilemma. Even if the downpour ceased in a few days, they still had to face the hardship of rebuilding after losing a year’s worth of crops, which was a state of hopelessness in itself.

I wanted to help these folks, but in this situation, there was little I could do. I had the Seven Luminaries’ treasure hidden in my possession, but what could I do with it? As I remained silent, the chief said, “I won’t forget your kindness, young hero. Everyone can still walk, so we should manage somehow.”

“Where are you heading?”

“Even going to the next village won’t help; I’ll have to head to Zhenbai Plain to take cover while we make a plan.”

The chief spoke with a forlorn expression. “You should go your way now. Take care.”

“…”

There was no real change in following the chief and his group. I couldn’t provide significant assistance. It seemed the chief preferred to optimally manage the villagers rather than lean on me too much. I said to the chief, “In any case, I have no immediate tasks, so I’ll help a bit longer.”

“Really?! Thank you…”

Thus, I spent the next two days accompanying the villagers, clearing away large trees blocking roadways and removing falling rocks from the mountains. I also infused some vitality into weak children and women who were drained from the rain.

Finally, when the villagers arrived at Zhenbai Plain, they sheltered from the rain while pondering their next steps for about a day, and at last, it seemed the unyielding rain finally stopped. Zhenbai Plain had good drainage, allowing villagers to stay semi-dry beneath trees and camped in tents.

The chief grabbed my hand, tears streaming down his face in joy. “Oh, thank you so much! A miracle that there were no casualties! If it weren’t for you, more than ten might have died… I truly appreciate it!”

“Not at all. But watch out when you return; the roads will likely be in a muddy mess.”

“It’s fine. I can manage a bit around that. Ahh…”

“No need to thank me.”

Though I hadn’t received any payments or rewards, I felt bittersweet about having unexpectedly done a good deed. I wasn’t usually the hero type, but now that I sensed I had enough power, the desire to help grew within me.

‘Why am I like this? How foolish…’

Normally, I’d be too lazy to stick around, but peculiar circumstances had unfolded. Just then, the chief, who was wiping his tears, suddenly whispered to me, “…I heard the villagers discussing Jangryeong Valley, and it’s likely that Baekga put a bug in your ear. He’s always so curious about other villages…”

“Why’s that?”

The chief’s next words contained unexpected information. “Don’t go to Jangryeong Valley. A relative of mine is a martial artist, and rumors among the martial artists claim that Jangryeong Valley is a death trap. It’s true that they give rewards for answering the questions, but dozens have lost their heads without managing to solve the three questions. Especially the Jangryeong Lord is said to possess very strong martial arts.”

“…!!”

“You’re the one who saved our village, so please be sure to come back someday. I’ll make sure to reward you.”

“Sure, goodbye.”

I parted ways with the villagers and began walking along the rain-cleared path. Thoughts buzzed through my mind, but one thing was clear: what’s done is done. I couldn’t change the past.

From here on, I had to give it my all.

‘I must move forward.’

The regret for having entrusted a legendary weapon to Mangnyang didn’t faze me at all. On the contrary, I felt relieved that I could give him something in return. Surrendering something external to martial arts strengthened my resolve further.

I’d return once I became strong enough so I wouldn’t feel embarrassed. When that day came, I would confess my guilt to Mangnyang.

To achieve that, I needed to dive headfirst into training at the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School.

Staying idle wouldn’t solve anything.

“I will achieve this.”

Even if it meant facing death at the hands of Samjeol Lee Kwang, or if I was to perish at Jin So-cheong’s hands, I would grit my teeth, withstand, and ultimately master the Ascension Martial Arts!

Even if it takes decades!

This would become my path to overcoming failures and making amends.

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