After checking the core code one more time and finding no errors, Zhang Deming selected 'Complete'.
In the pitch-black editor panel, all the Runes converged into a ball of light. The ball of light then condensed into a single, raindrop-shaped Rune.
The Rune was transparent, tinged with a faint white. On closer inspection, one could see countless other Runes swirling within the raindrop.
The raindrop Rune then flew out of the editor and into Zhang Deming's Dantian.
Zhang Deming froze for a moment as a surge of strange, profound information flooded his mind.
Once he processed the information, Zhang Deming was filled with a mixture of shock and delight. It was the complete insight into casting the Little Cloud Rain Skill!!!
'It looks like my guess was right! You really can edit a Technique in the Dantian, and then you can cast it.'
Meanwhile, the editor before him had returned to its home page. On the dark panel, only a single '|' cursor blinked.
Filled with excitement, Zhang Deming closed the editor and his hands began to move through a series of rapid seals, an incantation spilling from his lips.
After eight years of practice, he knew every motion and every word of the Little Cloud Rain Skill's incantation by heart.
As he completed the Spell's final steps, an ecstatic rush of erupting Spiritual Qi—a sensation he had never felt before—surged through him. After eight years, the Spiritual Qi he had accumulated was finally being put to use.
"Come forth, my Little Cloud Rain Skill!"
In a final burst of excitement, Spiritual Qi surged from his hands. Above his head, a white cloud spanning a significant area began to form.
'Eighteen years I've been alive, and for eight of them, I've been hoarding Spiritual Qi. Today, I finally fired my first shot!'
Zhang Deming savored the exhilarating release of Spiritual Qi that came with the Technique's completion, his heart pounding with excitement.
While Zhang Deming had been editing the Little Cloud Rain Skill 'plugin', the sun had set. Throughout the dormitory area, many people had already returned to their courtyards.
Since it was his first time, he hadn't paid attention to controlling the altitude and had cast it right above his head.
The cloud didn't rise above the rooftops. As a result, a cloud now hovered inside the rooms of Zhang Deming and several of his neighbors, floating just over their heads.
Wisps of rain, rich with Spiritual Qi, began to pour down from right above them.
"HOLY SHIT!!!"
"The Little Cloud Rain Skill?!!!"
"Holy shit, which master managed to pull it off this time?"
"Damn it, that's the fourth one! Why isn't it me?! I hate this! How can the heavens be so unfair!"
Shouts of 'Holy shit!' echoed from many rooms. This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened in the Miscellaneous Affairs Courtyard; it occurred once or twice almost every year.
Rain indoors could only mean one thing: there was about to be another hotshot holding court in the little square under the banyan tree, sharing his 'experience' and 'discussing' Magic.
Someone in their Miscellaneous Affairs Courtyard had mastered the Cloud Rain Skill. For every one person celebrating, several others were stewing in jealousy.
The Little Cloud Rain Skill's area of effect had caused it to start raining directly inside the rooms of the surrounding sect members.
The more quick-witted and carefree among them, while grumbling, expertly stuffed their blankets into their wardrobes to keep them dry for the night.
The more sensitive ones just stared at the cloud overhead, a bitter taste in their mouths.
'On what fucking grounds!'
'It happens once or twice a year. You get to be all happy about your success, while I not only have to feel miserable, but I get rained on too! And later, when I go outside, I can't even look upset. I'll have to go suck up to him, lick his boots, and plaster on a smile.'
'What gives them the right? Why isn't it me? It's not like I've been slacking on my Cultivation!'
Many stood in their rooms, getting soaked while grumbling to themselves.
Within moments, many of the more experienced servants, deducing the location from the spell's range, had rushed to Zhang Deming's courtyard. They just couldn't pinpoint who the caster was.
The servants in charge of the Little Qing Mountain rice paddies weren't a large group to begin with, numbering only a little over twenty.
Therefore, it wasn't long before the news had spread to everyone.
When Zhang Deming opened his door, his face pale from the massive Spiritual Qi expenditure and wearing the placid expression of someone in 'Wise Man's Time', all eyes fell on him.
Zong En, standing nearby, blinked in surprise. "Brother Ming, was that you who succeeded?"
Under the crowd's varied gazes, Zhang Deming rubbed his nose and nodded with a calm expression. "Yes, I finally managed it. Eight years of hard work have finally paid off today."
"Congratulations, Brother Ming."
"Congratulations! You won't have to do manual labor anymore."
"Congratulations! Your promotion to the Outer Sect is just around the corner."
"Brother Ming is only eighteen, right? What a genius, mastering the Little Cloud Rain Skill at such a young age."
"Indeed, Brother Ming must have a great Talent for Magic."
"Who knows, Brother Ming might even have the Talent to become a Mage!"
···
In an instant, the surrounding servants were all fawning over him, practically fighting to kiss up to Zhang Deming.
'Fucking genius, my ass!'
'I couldn't even make heads or tails of the Little Cloud Rain Skill after eight years of practice.'
'You all saw my skill level during our previous discussions, didn't you?'
'And now you're all shamelessly tripping over yourselves to suck up to me. Have you no decency?'
Zhang Deming, who had grown quite worldly from his years of struggle, was cursing them all out in his head. Outwardly, however, he maintained a placid smile, dealing with the flood of compliments as if he truly were the genius they claimed him to be.
The flattery went on for a long time, growing more and more exaggerated.
'If he let them keep this up,' he thought, 'they'd probably crown him the future hope of the Celestial Spirit Sect, its next rising star.'
"So? Now you get what I meant by how good the 'first casting' feels, right?"
Zong En whispered in the pale-faced Zhang Deming's ear, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Zhang Deming paused, then replied, "Mm. The joy of mastering a Magic Skill, the thrill of the Spiritual Power jetting out… it is indeed quite something."
Zhang Deming's deadpan reply made Zong En blink. Looking at Zhang Deming, who was still in his post-cast 'Wise Man's Time' and hadn't even begun Qi Replenishing, Zong En's expression grew even more peculiar.
Zhang Deming ignored him, turning to the crowd of fellow disciples in the courtyard below. He raised his voice and said:
"I only just mastered the Little Cloud Rain Skill today. My control was poor, and I ended up getting all of you soaked. I must first apologize for that."
"Hey, what are you talking about, Brother Ming? We should be thanking you! To be bathed in the first baptism of your Spiritual Power, we've been blessed with good fortune! Who knows, maybe one of us will have an epiphany from this tomorrow and succeed in our own Cultivation!"
Zhang Deming's face twitched. He turned to look. 'It's you again, Lü Guo. You're always the most eager to suck up and lay it on thick!'
"That's right, that's right! We should be thanking you!"
"This was Brother Ming's first Skill! A baptism many would beg for and never receive."
"…"
Listening to the chorus of compliments, Zhang Deming knew that he wouldn't have to struggle and scheme so hard anymore.
As long as he was here in the Miscellaneous Affairs Courtyard, among the servants of the Little Qing Mountain paddies, there would be people fighting to suck up to him even if he did nothing.
Thinking of this, the bitterness of his past struggles surfaced in his mind. He had finally made it. A wave of pride was unavoidable, and a smile he couldn't suppress finally broke through his calm facade.
During this exchange, having not been supplied with enough 'water', the Little Cloud Rain Skill had finished raining, and the cloud itself had dissipated.