Heaven-Pouring

Inside the Old House at Lishan Martial Arts School.

After Lin Tuo controlled his Avatar away from the crowd and recalled it, he finally withdrew his right hand that had been suspended within Thundercloud.

"So numb..." Feeling the tingling sensation crawling across his skin, Lin Tuo was somewhat helpless.

When his hand had sunk into Thundercloud, he had felt the stimulation of electric currents. But under those circumstances, it had not been convenient to stop, so he could only endure it.

Fortunately, compared to his enormous body, the lightning above the Capital could not harm him.

At most...

It was just a little tingly.

"No experience this time. I'll have to be more careful next time." Lin Tuo rubbed his right hand as he dispersed the dark clouds high above, silently reviewing the experience.

Still, although there had been a slight flaw, his plan had succeeded overall.

"Manifesting this way should be intimidating enough. Next, the Chi Kingdom Ruler will surely send people southeast to search for the so-called Sage... Mm, looks like the next few days will be busy."

Yes.

This was the plan Lin Tuo had improvised: using the Sacrifice to the Gods Ceremony as an opportunity to pose as a Celestial, offer guidance, and pave the way for his next move.

The so-called "Sage" was naturally nonexistent. He would have to play the part himself.

As for the "southeast," he had simply written that at random.

The purpose was to buy time.

"Who would have thought I'd happen to catch the sacrificial rites so perfectly... I haven't prepared any materials at all. There's no way I could just pull off the whole heaven-sent Sage routine directly.

"At least this method can stall them for ten days or half a month."

Lin Tuo went next door, washed the ink stains from his palm, and sighed.

The Chi Empire was neither particularly large nor particularly small.

In an era where horses were the only means of transportation, even if the Chi Kingdom Ruler knew exactly where the Sage was, the journey would still take several days.

Much less now, when they only knew that the Sage was in the "southeast." They knew neither the exact location nor the person's name.

All of that bought Lin Tuo time to prepare.

With time flowing at a 1:1 ratio, he had more than enough time to look up information and prepare the "knowledge" he would teach the people of the Empire. Once he was ready, he could enter the Sandbox again and impart science as the "Sage."

As for why he had chosen that identity.

There were mainly two considerations.

First, the identity of a Sage would make it easier for him to speak directly with the ruler, lending his actions sufficient authority and legitimacy.

Second, appearing as a human would avoid many problems. For instance, a Sage teaching the people how to improve New Agricultural Tools or manufacture fertilizer... that was barely acceptable.

But if a Deity did such things... it would be far too strange.

As for exactly what knowledge he would teach them, Lin Tuo already had a rough idea.

After wiping his hands clean, Lin Tuo turned around, took his laptop from his backpack, created a new document, and began to think.

"The people of Chi Kingdom are still in the feudal stage, and science is only in its infancy... No, more precisely, all they possess now are a few folk techniques...

"So I can't teach them anything too complicated. Without a foundation, they simply won't understand it."

Thinking this, Lin Tuo typed the two words: "foundation."

"As for modern equipment, I can't just give it to them directly either. According to the Sandbox's spatial conversion Rules, even a grain of sand would become a massive boulder after entering the Sandbox.

"Unless I don't enter through the Sandbox and instead go around through the Isolation Shield over the Tucker Desert in the northwest—the so-called 'Great Wall'..."

That idea was clearly unsuitable as well.

Not to mention the worldwide uproar caused by opening the Isolation Shield, merely purchasing enough machinery to support the operation of the entire Chi Kingdom was beyond what Lin Tuo could afford.

"...In summary, I should teach them the foundations of science—mainly establish scientific ways of thinking and methods of research, open up fields such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry... then let them study and explore naturally."

"Mm, that alone isn't enough. I have to find a way to forcibly push social evolution forward... I can give them Blueprints for some simple foundational machines.

"For example, textile machines, Steam Engines... as well as machine Blueprints from the early stages of industrial society, transitional-era machines, smelting techniques, planting methods, and so on..."

Inside the Martial Arts Hall.

The sun gradually sank westward.

When the rosy clouds dyed Li Mountain red, Lin Tuo's computer document was already filled with densely packed outlines.

"Whew, that's roughly it. Next comes copying the materials..."

Lin Tuo took a sip of water and stretched, his heart brimming with accomplishment.

As for the materials, they were all available online. All Lin Tuo needed were technical documents from the early Industrial Revolution, which could be found on specialized websites and even in academic papers.

He only needed to spend time sorting them out.

Over the following days, Lin Tuo's life became highly regimented.

Every morning, he used Observation Mode to place his Avatar in the Taihe Mountain Range for training. Since he was careful enough, he did not encounter anyone.

In the mornings, he organized materials or practiced martial arts.

The afternoons were spent repairing the Martial Arts Hall. He paid people to replace doors, windows, roof tiles, and the like, while ordering furniture to turn the Old House containing the Sandbox into a study.

The bedroom was next door, which would be more convenient in the future.

He also kept an eye on the news online. The Takk Black Box remained as popular as ever. It was said that the research team had recently detected another anomalous "sound source" and had mobilized experts to analyze and decipher it.

Lin Tuo took it lightly. He refused to believe those people could really extract anything useful from his coughing...

"I heard foreign teams have arrived too. This is really drawing the world's attention."

People chatted from time to time in group chats on messaging apps.

"I heard someone proposed breaking it open by force and attacking it with military-grade firepower, but the proposal was rejected."

"Of course. Before they've exhausted every option, who would dare bomb it recklessly? Still, I think they'll have to blow it up sooner or later. I heard the previous excavation plan using engineering machinery has already failed.

"Even more than a hundred meters underground, the Great Wall is still there..."

Discussions like these flooded the internet.

At first, Lin Tuo had been somewhat uneasy, but later, he grew indifferent.

This continued for several days. When Lin Tuo finally finished organizing the materials, he once again turned his attention to Chi Kingdom inside the Sandbox.

Following the plan he had drawn up while observing over the past few days, he sent his Avatar into the Sandbox once more.

The location he chose was a remote county southeast of the Capital.

"Tao County."

Tao County was not large.

Although Great Chi called itself a "dynasty," its territory was limited in the end. The Capital was all right, but the farther one went from the center of power, the more shabby both the cities and their populations became.

Tao County lay far from the Capital.

So far that some commoners did not even know which Son of Heaven ruled the court in their entire lives.

So distant that even riding at full gallop, the Decree to seek out the Sage was among the last batches to arrive here.

Naturally, this was major news. Yet none of Tao County's residents believed it had anything to do with them.

They had more important matters to worry about.

"The county has posted another notice seeking masters to pray for rain?"

"How many times has this been now?"

"Ah..."

At the notice board in the county town, a group of haggard-looking people discussed the matter heatedly.

Chi Kingdom was not large, yet its climate was ever-changing. The area where Tao County stood was especially so. Due to the terrain, the chill of winter retreated far earlier here than in the Capital. To plant an extra season of crops, when the peach blossoms in the Capital were still tender, Tao County's people were already breaking the earth, sowing seeds, and transplanting rice shoots.

While it was still spring in the Capital, the temperature here was already nearly that of summer.

The heat blazed beneath a cloudless sky for thousands of miles. With no rain for days on end, the crops in the fields drooped miserably, their leaves curled and yellowing. The people were frantic with worry, and the County Lord had no choice but to invite people to set up an Altar and pray for rain, yet it had done no good.

One "master" after another tried, and one after another stepped down, leaving behind only the words: "Please seek someone more capable."

But Tao County was only so large. Where were they supposed to seek someone more capable?

Yet just as the crowd was about to disperse, a young man with short hair and a long robe suddenly approached from the distance.

Rip. Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Tuo tore down the notice. Then he looked at the county yamen clerk who was about to leave, as well as the stunned townspeople, and smiled. "How about I give it a try?"

The highest official in Tao County was not called a county magistrate, but rather a "County Lord." At least, that was how the Tongyu Technique translated it.

After learning this title, his expression became a little strange.

He remembered... in television dramas, "County Lord" was supposed to be the title granted to royal daughters.

Unfortunately, that was not the case in Chi Kingdom.

When Lin Tuo followed the clerk to the county yamen offices, he saw a gaunt middle-aged man emerge with others to greet him.

The County Lord of Tao County looked deeply haggard, as though he had not slept for days.

Upon hearing that someone had taken down the notice, he had hurriedly set aside his work and come out to welcome them. Yet he had never expected to find a young man at the entrance.

Still, he was the lord of an entire county. Though surprised and somewhat doubtful, the middle-aged man ultimately invited Lin Tuo into the residence with courtesy.

Only after host and guest had taken their seats could he no longer resist asking:

"May I ask whom you studied under? Which school of the divine path do you practice? Are you confident you can resolve Tao County's urgent drought?"

Lin Tuo merely shook his head and answered frankly:

"I have no teacher, and I know no spells."

The middle-aged man's expression changed at once, and a trace of anger appeared on his face.

Lin Tuo calmly added, "But if all you need is some rain, that won't be difficult."

The County Lord of Tao County froze. "Not difficult?"

"Of course."

"Then... what do we need to prepare?"

"A cup of tea will suffice." Lin Tuo smiled, picked up a teacup from the table, and splashed its contents forward beneath the puzzled gazes of the County Lord and the others.

At the same time, his eyes briefly lost focus as he switched his consciousness back to his true body.

Inside the study at Lishan Martial Arts School.

Lin Tuo rose from the Rattan Chair, picked up a prepared spray bottle, found Tao County's location, and gently pressed the trigger.

"Pssht..."

A fine mist sprayed forth and slowly drifted down from the high sky.

Inside the Tao County residence.

Light returned to Lin Tuo's eyes. Then, before the county yamen officials beside him could speak, he pointed outside and said:

"Please, look."

"Look? At what?" The County Lord of Tao County turned his head blankly. After waiting a few seconds, he saw boundless rain pouring down from the heavens.

Across the vast Tao County, beneath clear skies stretching for miles, rain came down in torrents!