And yet, as the world so often arranged things, what followed ran contrary to all expectation.

For a time after this, Han Yi's life in Zhu Village was smooth and untroubled.

He wanted for neither food nor clothing. In his leisure hours, he drew upon the Xuan Bird Feather within his dantian to absorb the heavenly providence drifting through the world.

When the village came under attack from monsters of neighboring villages, he made quiet use of his authority over heavenly providence—summoning wind and rain, stirring up sand and stone—helping to repel several waves of enemies.

His standing in Zhu Village grew accordingly. The village monsters constructed a tall stone building as his residence and assigned him ten hulking guards for his personal protection. They even...