I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

It looks like it's going to rain.

"In the fifth month of the third year of the Yuanxi reign, a great drought struck the land. The land was parched and cracked, all trees withered and died, beasts perished and people were nowhere to be found... The Emperor, pitying the suffering of the people, decreed a divine punishment... wishing to use one person... to bring peace to the world..."

With a light touch of the brush, ink stains the white scroll.

In the distance, a rumble of thunder seemed to echo.

The recorder looked up.

The form of a true dragon materialized and spiraled upwards.

As if by the king's command, the wind and clouds that had gathered here roared down and merged into the body of the true dragon.

The storm gathers, lifting it to the clouds.

"coming."

The artist's eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed intently on the figure.

After the true dragon, the hundred spells that had been activated burst forth from the ground, transforming into chains that pierced through the dragon's body and bound it to the steps.

Thunder roared across the sky.

The temperature between heaven and earth dropped again.

"Grandma, Grandma, the weather's changing! It's going to rain!"

The little fox raised its little hands, wanting to shield the old woman from the wind and rain.

"It's not dawn yet... San'er... It's not dawn yet."

The old woman held the little fox in her arms and gently rubbed her head.

Clear, golden-silver eyes gazed at the distant sky.

"It's almost dawn."

"496...497...498...499..."

"five hundred……"

As Bai Zhou stepped onto another flight of stairs, the burden on his body grew heavier once more. He raised his hand, and blood continued to flow from the wound.

Half remains.

He gripped the scales growing on his wrist and took a deep breath during the day.

"...513...554..."

He lifted his right foot, leaving a red mark on the steps.

"...636...673..."

Hundreds of chains bound the true dragon, piercing his scales and digging deep into his bones.

The thunder grew louder and louder.

The rising wind brought a touch of dampness.

"...Seven hundred...Seven hundred and nineteen..."

The first tribulation.

Purple lightning descended from the sky, striking the true dragon without hesitation. The purple lightning transformed into a sharp blade, scraping away the dragon's scales and severing its tendons.

A hundred steps, a hundred bolts of lightning.

"...eight hundred...eight hundred and one..."

My face feels a little cool...

Bai Zhou raised his hand and wiped his eyes, a splash of scarlet blood entering his vision.

"What? It was just bleeding."

He lowered his hands and took another step.

"Well!"

A sweet taste came from his throat, and he vomited a mouthful of blood during the day.

Blood fell onto the steps, and orange-red flames spontaneously ignited.

The second tribulation.

Fire ignited from beneath his feet, passing through the Yongquan acupoint and penetrating straight to the Niyuan Palace.

The dragon was also engulfed in this fire, which burned his internal organs to ashes and his limbs to rot.

The crimson court robe absorbed all the sparks that spilled out, and the cloud patterns on it gradually shone.

"Nine hundred..."

There are less than a hundred steps left.

The third tribulation.

The wind comes from the sky, directly into the head of the true dragon, blows into the six internal organs through the fontanelle, passes through the dantian, penetrates the nine orifices, and the bones and flesh dissolve.

"Nine hundred and eighty-six...nine hundred and ninety-nine..."

The final step was crossed, and the Heavenly Punishment Technique was accomplished.

The boy looked up, and the true dragon raised its head.

Though his body decayed, his will remained resolute.

"..."

The artist's brush was trembling.

The dragon in the painting ascends a thousand steps, displaying its majestic and heroic posture.

In her eyes, the boy stood tall, bathed in blood, having endured countless hardships.

"They're here..."

Something seems to have appeared in the clouds.

"Tianji" means divine punishment.

If mortals wish to make a deal with Heaven, they must first pass through the Heavenly Punishment before they are qualified to see Heaven and hear its will.

Now, the true dragon has passed through those three punishments and ascended to the heavens.

He is now entitled to make his own demands.

"If I am guilty, the guilt does not extend to the ten thousand men; if the ten thousand men are guilty, the guilt lies with me alone."

His court robes were torn off, revealing the boy's battered body.

Struck by lightning, burned by fire, and battered by wind, there is hardly a patch of intact flesh to be seen.

"No one should be allowed to cause God and spirits to harm the lives of the people due to the disrespect of one person."

The dragon bone dagger cut through the flesh and penetrated the sternum, becoming one with it.

Like a key entering a lock, the thousands of techniques accumulated here coalesce into one, detach from the true dragon's body, surge into the clouds, and pierce through heaven and earth like light from the sky.

"If the harvest is plentiful and the world is at peace, I would gladly transfer the calamity to myself and save all nations."

The true dragon raised its head and looked up at the sky, as if looking at Him.

can.

"Heaven" seemed to say something, yet it also seemed to say nothing at all.

Then, the winds rose and the clouds surged, thunder roared and rain poured down.

"Eeya~!"

The child suddenly cried out, drawing the mother's attention.

"This is……"

The mother seemed to feel something fall on her head, and she looked up.

"rain……"

"It's raining!"

"Grandma, Grandma, it's raining! Let's go back inside!"

"Big sister! Second sister! It's raining!"

The little fox cried out and dragged the old woman into the house.

"Grandma, come inside quickly."

Chu Yu carried the little fox into the house, then turned around and helped the old woman.

"It's raining, and it's getting light."

Looking at the rain curtain behind her, the old woman smiled.

■

"The Emperor held a dagger made of dragon bone, lay down to the Heavenly Punishment, his body revealed as a true dragon, ascended a thousand-step high platform, endured three calamities, and finally reached the heavens."

"The emperor recited the imperial edict, confessed his sins, and prayed to heaven for rain."

"The Emperor's virtue is high and his reputation is widespread, in accordance with the will of Heaven..."

"After the sacrifice, the rain fell and the disaster was averted."

The words ceased, the pen stopped.

It's raining, on the 11th.

"Yes. It's finally raining..."

The painter raised his hand, caught the falling rain, and sprinkled it onto the painting.

Since the painting depicts a sage ruler praying for rain, how can it be ruined by rain?

"He succeeded."

"Oh."