The instant Huang Tian broke through to the Golden Core realm, the rain outside his window stopped and the sky cleared.
The sky looked as though it had been washed clean, revealing a blue of extraordinary clarity and depth.
The dense lead-gray clouds had all dispersed. Only scattered wisps remained, set alight by the newly revealed sun and dyed in layers of gold and orange-red, like heaps of fluffy wool on fire.
A high wind blew, and the clouds unfurled and curled across the sky, some like flowing scarves, others like swan feathers.
Warm sunlight slanted through the window onto the brown wooden table, lending the room a quiet gentleness.
Huang Tian got up, went to the table, and poured himself a glass of warm water. Then he opened his email on the computer and found a message from Inventiones Mathematicae.
"It's been accepted..."
A smile touched his lips. He opened the manuscript submission page and, sure enough, saw the words "Completed-accept..." written there.
It meant the paper he had submitted needed no further revisions and would soon be published.
This month or the next, his paper would appear in a new issue of the journal, where countless researchers could study and discuss it.
He slowly drank the warm water, feeling pleased. Then he closed his computer, put the glass back on the table, took his keys from the drawer, and headed downstairs at an unhurried pace.
Outside the apartment building, the cool, fresh air after the rain met him head-on. He mounted his little electric scooter and rode slowly down the street, hearing passersby chatter and complain.
"Chang City's weather really changes at the drop of a hat! It was blazing sunny earlier, then it started pouring. The rain barely lasted, and now it's sunny again. Ridiculous..."
"There's water