Dark clouds blanketed the sky, obscuring the setting sun and making it seem almost invisible; the gloomy sky pressed lower and lower. Faintly, thunder rumbled and roared, lightning flashing within the clouds. In an instant, several streaks of lightning ripped through the clouds, tearing the darkness to shreds.

"unlucky!"

Once outside the county town, Feng Bingwen, who was already halfway there, looked up at the sky, cursed, and quickened his pace.

It was still the height of summer, so such a sudden change in weather was not surprising. Longchuan Prefecture was also known as the "Prefecture of a Thousand Lakes" because of its abundant water vapor, but this also meant that the weather was unpredictable.

Rumble—

Another rumble of thunder echoed between heaven and earth. With each boom, it made one's heart beat faster than usual. Feng Bingwen's face twitched, and he stopped walking, kicking his little legs as fast as he could and started running.

Although he was very strong, he didn't want to get wet in the rain. Taking a bath was a troublesome thing, and he wouldn't go swimming in the river. Water was the source of life, and there were all sorts of things in it; he could easily get into trouble if he wasn't careful.

Splash!

But no matter how fast a person runs, how can they outrun the celestial phenomena? Feng Bingwen could see the outline of Fengjia Village in the distance. Large raindrops were already falling from the sky like waterfalls, hitting his body and obscuring his vision. The thick rain curtain turned this place into a world of water.

"Damn it!"

Feng Bingwen, who was soaked to the bone in the blink of an eye, cursed angrily, stopped walking, and, too lazy to waste his energy, trudged along the muddy road.

Click!

Another thunderclap boomed overhead. Faced with the might of heaven and earth, Feng Bingwen instinctively shrank back and looked up at the sky, only to see a golden light shining in the clouds.

"What is it?"

The child unconsciously stopped and looked up at the sky, only to see that the golden light within the dark clouds grew increasingly intense and dazzling, until it instantly covered everything before his eyes.

"屮!"

Feng Bingwen's eyes widened. He thought it was sunlight breaking through the clouds, but it wasn't light at all. It was clearly something falling from the clouds and crashing down on him. He tried to run away, but it was too late.

He only had time to utter a curse before Feng Bingwen felt something warm, smooth, and round slide down his throat and into his stomach.

Glug!

Feng Bingwen, who clearly felt as if he had swallowed something, clutched his chest in disbelief, because he was still alive and had not been killed by some inexplicable thing.

"Hallucination?"

Feng Bingwen rubbed his face and then touched his stomach, feeling that he was perfectly fine.

However, he quickly recovered, calmed his mind, and let the heavy rain wash over his body. He sank into the deepest part of his consciousness and called upon the Heavenly Book. But when the Heavenly Book unfolded with a radiant light, his attention fell on the first page.

Name: Feng Bingwen

Good Deeds: Lu

Evil Deeds: One

The flames that had burned for nearly ten days had been extinguished, and the more than thirteen thousand good deeds had been reduced to a mere fraction, slightly better than the previous two times, but still of little use. The minimum amount of good deeds to make a wish is one hundred.

"Record of good deeds!"

Good deeds reduced by 13,790, thunder and rain fell on the dragon pearl.

A simple line of words filled Feng Bingwen's heart with joy. He could no longer remain in a meditative state, opened his eyes, grinned, revealing his snow-white teeth, and chuckled foolishly.

He has been waiting for nearly ten days since he made his wish. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't anxious at all, but what good was his anxiety? He could only believe that the Heavenly Book would grant his wish.

As it turned out, his wait was worthwhile. After nearly ten days, the Heavenly Book delivered a huge surprise: a dragon pearl arrived with a raging storm. He didn't even have to look for it; it fell from the sky, hit him, and landed in his stomach.

"But I don't seem to feel anything!"

Having clearly realized what he had swallowed, Feng Bingwen touched his stomach and carefully sensed it, but he felt nothing unusual, as if what he had just experienced was an illusion.

"We'll probably have to wait!"

Feng Bingwen thought uncertainly about the Vermilion Fruit he had unintentionally consumed after making his first wish.

After he swallowed the Vermilion Fruit, there were no obvious changes in his body. On the contrary, his excrement was extremely foul-smelling for the next few days. It was not until six months later that the benefits became apparent.

And this time, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will likely be the same. However, given that it involves over ten thousand acts of good deeds, it's understandable that some of the rewards obtained after making a wish might be mysterious.

Even though his physique far surpasses that of ordinary people, he is still just a mortal. The Dragon Ball is a divine object, and for a mere mortal like him to make it his own, how could he possibly do so without spending a lot of time? If it took effect as soon as it entered his body, he would probably explode on the spot.

"However, the Dragon Balls mean that there are real dragons, and also gods who can travel the ocean in the morning and the mountains in the evening!"

The simple descriptions in the celestial book sparked Feng Bingwen's imagination.

Although he had seen the City God with his own eyes, it did not mean that immortals necessarily existed. The needs of the City God and the gods were different. But now, it was basically confirmed that immortals existed in this world.

"Hmm, let's set a small goal for myself first: to become the top scholar in the imperial examination. Then let's set a medium-term goal: to become an immortal!"

With the Dragon Ball inside his body, Feng Bingwen's ambitions swelled slightly, but he only entertained these thoughts jokingly. Becoming the top scholar in the imperial examinations was no longer enough for him to pursue; he should have a more ambitious and grand goal.

"Wen'er!"

Just as Feng Bingwen was preparing to make an orderly plan for his future, an anxious shout came from afar from the gradually weakening wind and rain.

"Hey Grandma, I'm here!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Feng Bingwen was startled and came to his senses. Through the wind and rain, he saw an old man holding an oil-paper umbrella, with gray hair and a slightly hunched body.

"First, let's find the elixir that will grant the two elderly people a long and healthy life!"

This time, there was no room for joking; Feng Bingwen set short-term goals.

With these thoughts in mind, a bright smile appeared on the child's face as he trudged along the muddy road toward the old man who had come to find him despite the wind and rain.

"Oh dear, my grandson, you're soaked to the bone!"

When the old man saw his grandson, who was soaked to the bone, he immediately looked distressed.

"It's nothing, just a little rain!"

Feng Bingwen remained unperturbed, comforting the old man. As his words fell, the dense rain suddenly subsided, becoming sparse, as if to confirm his words.