Above the Galaxy
Chapter 363 - 232, Borrow a Rain! _2

Chapter 363: Chapter 232, Borrow a Rain! _2

One bite, then another.

"Impatience won’t get you hot tofu."

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White Crane Mountain. Grape courtyard.

Tang Fei brought Little Fatty to pay New Year respects to Xuanyuan Mingjing, and as soon as they entered, he knocked his head on the snowy ground, thud, thud, thud.

Little Fatty paused for a moment, then followed suit and began knocking his head as well.

"That’s enough, that’s enough, no need for such formalities." Xuanyuan Mingjing, his face full of impatience, flicked his sleeve and lifted Tang Fei and Little Fatty up.

"Master has shown me great kindness, and I didn’t know what gift to give to Master, so I thought I’d knock a few heads..." Tang Fei said with a simple and honest smile.

"..." Little Fatty.

He had forgotten to kowtow to Shang Xiulin earlier, and his elder brother hadn’t reminded him either.

Could he still make it if he went to kowtow in the evening?

Xuanyuan Mingjing’s gaze fell upon Little Fatty’s face and he asked, "And this is?"

"My brother, Gong Shulei, Master can just call him Little Fatty," Tang Fei said while introducing.

"Master... please... just calling me Little Fatty is fine," Little Fatty said somewhat nervously.

This was a joke, after all. This was Xuanyuan Mingjing, the famous Great Grandmaster from the New Star above.

Alive.

He was even more nervous than when he had met his own Master Shang Xiulin for the first time.

"You don’t have Yin Yang Qi?" Xuanyuan Mingjing sized up Little Fatty thoughtfully and asked.

"Yes, I... I can’t feel the Yin Yang Qi, so I can’t cultivate..." Little Fatty stammered, "I only have brute strength."

"Little Fatty has innate strength," Tang Fei added supportively from the side.

Xuanyuan Mingjing ignored Tang Fei’s praise, looking at Little Fatty and asked, "What weapon do you use?"

"I use a hammer."

"Go get him a hammer," Xuanyuan Mingjing ordered.

"Alright," Tang Fei replied, his heart bursting with joy.

If the Master was asking for a hammer for Little Fatty, it meant he wanted to test Little Fatty’s mettle.

Once he discovered something unusual about Little Fatty, he would surely take an interest in his talent.

If he was willing to accept Little Fatty as a disciple, that would be more than excellent.

Even if he didn’t want to take him as a disciple, getting a few pointers from a Great Grandmaster...

In the future, Little Fatty could boast that the Great Grandmaster was his Master.

All those cultured folks keep talking about "the teacher for a single character." If someone corrects a single character for them, they shamelessly call them Master.

If Xuanyuan Mingjing taught Little Fatty several moves, wouldn’t that make Little Fatty his legitimate disciple?

Tang Fei took a Moon Gold Hammer from the armory and handed it to Little Fatty, then suggested, "Master, shall we go to the Star-picking Platform?"

Xuanyuan Mingjing glanced at Tang Fei and nodded, "Fine."

And so, the three of them headed to the Star-picking Platform behind the mountain.

The Star-picking Platform was covered in heavy snow; iron trees bloomed with silver flowers, and a mist enveloped the area, as if it were a fairyland.

Xuanyuan Mingjing pointed to a large square rock and said to Little Fatty, "Hit it with your hammer and try."

"How hard should I hit?" asked Little Fatty.

"With all your strength."

"Here we go," nodded Little Fatty.

Holding the hammer, he stood in front of the giant rock, his chubby face turning red as he let out a shout, "Break!"

With the hammer blow, the rock did not move, standing firm as before.

It was as if the hammer had not hit it at all.

At that moment, a gust of wind blew by, and the square rock turned into sand, drifting away towards the distant ravine and the sky.

Before long, it disappeared from sight.

Tang Fei was already familiar with the power of Little Fatty’s hammer, so this was no surprise to him.

Xuanyuan Mingjing, thoughtful, looked at Little Fatty and said, "You don’t understand cultivation, can’t comprehend Yin Yang Qi, yet possess such formidable strength... who is your master?"

"My master is Dean Shang Xiulin," Little Fatty said with admiration.

He did not feel his own Master was any less capable because he was standing before a Great Grandmaster; he still felt his own Master was the best.

"Dean Shang Xiulin of the Imperial First Military Academy?"

"Yes," Little Fatty replied with an honest smile. "But how can water be smashed through? When I hit the water with my hammer, it just splashes away... After the force dissipates, the water continues to flow as if nothing had happened."

"Give me the hammer," Xuanyuan Mingjing said.

So, Little Fatty respectfully handed over the hammer he had been holding to Xuanyuan Mingjing.

Taking the hammer in his right hand, Xuanyuan Mingjing gestured with his left and said, "Lend me a rain."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he summoned a mass of dark clouds overhead, and it began to pour heavily.

The rain fell in torrents, yet as it neared Xuanyuan Mingjing, it parted automatically, unable to come close to him.

Tang Fei also used the protective Yin Yang Qi to shield himself from the rain.

Only Little Fatty was drenched like a drowned rat, his new clothes soaked through by the rain.

At that moment, Xuanyuan Mingjing swung the hammer.

There was no whooshing of wind, no rumbling of thunder.

Just a light fluttering of the hammer.

And yet, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The rain in the sky split into two segments, the upper droplets hung suspended, unable to fall, and the lower droplets also remained aloft, creating a vacuum in the middle.

It was as though someone had pressed the pause button on the falling rain.

Tang Fei was agape in astonishment. Was this really a power that humans could possess?

Was this the realm of a Grandmaster?

Little Fatty’s cheeks flushed, his eyes red as he beheld the spectacle.

"It’s really possible... it’s really possible..."

"The water can be stopped... the waterfall can be stopped..."

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While splashing in the water at Black Dragon Pond every day, Little Fatty had doubted countless times, could it really be done? Could a single hammer strike truly stop the flow of the waterfall?

Was this something humans could achieve?

But being of a simple and honest nature, it was his master’s command, and his senior brother had not objected, so even though he knew it improbable, or that it might yield no results, he had still stripped down and jumped into the deep pond day after day...

Xuanyuan Mingjing’s hammer strike swept away all the doubts and skepticism in his heart.

If Xuanyuan Mingjing could do it, then so could he, one day.

Little Fatty felt a surge of emotion, his blood boiling with excitement, almost wishing he could jump into Black Dragon Pond right away and hammer away a thousand times.

"Did you see that clearly?" Xuanyuan Mingjing asked Little Fatty.

"I saw it clearly," Little Fatty nodded repeatedly.

Xuanyuan Mingjing waved his sleeve, and the clouds dispersed and the rain ceased as if nothing had happened—if not for the fact that Little Fatty’s clothes were still soaking wet.

Xuanyuan Mingjing tossed the hammer back to Tang Fei, asking, "Are you satisfied now?"

"Ah, Master..." Tang Fei started, wanting to say something in his defense, but upon seeing the wisdom in Xuanyuan Mingjing’s eyes, he knelt again with a thump, saying, "I will never forget the great kindness and grace of my master."

His reason for bringing Little Fatty up the mountain under the pretext of New Year’s greetings was indeed with the hope of the master giving some pointers to Little Fatty.

But his little ruse was seen through by Xuanyuan Mingjing instantly, who then took direct action...

No wonder everyone calls him ’Master,’ ’Master,’ both a teacher and a father.

Clearly, there was a strong bond between them, like father and son.

Little Fatty also hastily knelt down, reflecting on how tough his senior brother must have it, living in the mountains and having to kneel so often.

He felt luckier to be Dean Shang’s disciple, as Dean Shang never asked him to kneel, and the dean’s wife would always keep him for meals at home, cooking whatever he liked.

Ever since he became Dean Shang’s disciple, his weight had only increased, the massive amount of exercise he did daily wasn’t enough to burn it off...

Xuanyuan Mingjing turned and left without paying any further attention to Tang Fei and Little Fatty, still kneeling on the ground.

Little Fatty turned to seek advice from Tang Fei, only to find that his senior brother had already gotten up and was chasing after the retreating figure of Xuanyuan Mingjing.

"Master, it’s New Year’s Day today, Little Fatty and I will stay and celebrate with you..."

"Does Master like dumplings? Shall I make dumplings for you? Eating dumplings signifies a full circle..."

"Has the senior disciple arrived yet? With him being from a prominent family, he must be busy with many obligations on a day like this, probably unable to visit Master..."