Southern Wilderness Matters (Second Update)

The sky was cloudless for ten thousand li. Scorching sunlight poured straight down over the mountains and earth, baking every exposed place until it shimmered and warped. In many spots, brilliant colors rose into the air, turning into miasma that shrouded the surrounding area.

"The rainy season's here again..." Yuan Wen hid in the shade, squinting as he looked beyond the stockade.

Although he had been born and raised here for more than twenty years, he had never liked the Southern Wilderness rainy season. Sudden downpours were bad enough, but even when the skies cleared, it felt as if a layer of water covered his body, leaving him clammy and uncomfortable.

"I heard Yuan Yang say it's not like this up north..." He gazed off wistfully, admiring his younger sister. Not only had she eaten strange herbs that made her terrifying birthmark disappear and her figure grow slender, but she was also full of courage, daring to travel north alone and encounter all sorts of strange and wondrous things. Whenever she told her stories, the young people in the tribe listened with envy.

He had only just thought of his sister when he saw Yuan Yang returning from the wilderness hills. Her breathing was heavy as she struggled to steady it, and beads of sweat covered her snow-white skin. She had clearly just finished a grueling training session.

"Little sister, you're the most capable of all the young people in the nearby tribes. Why work yourself so hard?" Yuan Wen stayed in the shade and tossed out the question casually.

He hated practicing martial arts during the rainy season. The slightest movement left him drenched in sweat, his clothes soaked through.

Yuan Yang smiled. "Big brother, the path of martial arts is like rowing upstream. If you don't advance, you