The First Signs of Abundance

"Brother Yao, are you really leaving?"

At the entrance of Bluestone Town Junior Soul Master Academy, Tian Dali stood with tears in his eyes, hugging Yao Shi's leg as he spoke dramatically. He even secretly wiped a handful of snot on Yao Shi's pants.

"I have to go register at Shrek Academy... Damn it, Fatty, you wiped your snot on my pants!"

Yao Shi deliberately put on an air of profundity as he spoke to the two of them, but when he glanced down and saw the fatty actually wiping snot on his pant leg, he immediately started shoving the clingy Tian Dali away. His tone was full of disgust, and it took tremendous effort to finally push him off.

"Hehe, it's just that I can't bear to see you go." Tian Dali got to his feet and immediately tidied up his appearance.

"Hey, it's not like I'm never coming back."

Five years had passed, and Yao Shi was now twelve years old. After five years of cultivation, his soul power had reached Rank 24, making him the most highly cultivated student in the entire academy. He had even surpassed some of the academy's teachers.

Now, no one dared look down on his branch martial soul anymore. His powerful healing abilities far exceeded those of healing Soul Masters with higher cultivation than his. His title as the Medicine King had spread throughout Bluestone Town, and even the nearby towns had heard of him.

Now that both his age and cultivation were sufficient, he was preparing to head to Shrek Academy to register. He wanted to see for himself this so-called number one academy on the continent.

"I won't say any more mushy stuff. Brother Yao, take care. We'll miss you."

Tian Dali and Niu San patted Yao Shi on the shoulder and spoke solemnly.

"Take care, brothers. I'll come back to see you when I have the chance."

Yao Shi smiled at them, then left the academy.

They were all fifth-years now. Since Yao Shi's cultivation had already reached Rank 20, he had applied to graduate early. Tian Dali and Niu San, however, had low innate soul power, and after five years, they had only barely reached Rank 11. They still needed to study at the academy for another year. Of the several dozen students who had enrolled alongside Yao Shi, those who had yet to reach Rank 10 had all given up on school and withdrawn.

Before heading to Shrek, Yao Shi still had one thing to do.

He arrived at a shop in town and called inside.

"Grandpa, I'm back."

A middle-aged man sat in front of the shop, wearing glasses as he read the newspaper. Hearing the voice, he looked up and smiled. "Little Pebble is back."

The middle-aged man was Yao. He now ran a shop in Bluestone Town, which Yao Shi had bought with the money he had earned over the past few years from treating nobles.

Yao had suffered enough in his previous life. Now that Yao Shi had the means, he felt it was time to let him enjoy life properly. So, he bought him a house here and opened a shop for him. Whenever he had free time, Yao Shi taught him how to read. These days, Yao lived a leisurely life—he served customers when they came, and read the newspaper when they did not.

"Grandpa, I'll be leaving tomorrow to register at Shrek Academy."

Yao Shi walked into the shop, pulled out another chair beside him, and sat down.

Yao folded the newspaper and set it aside, then gazed deeply at Yao Shi. He was deeply satisfied with his current life, so perfect that he would never have dared imagine it in his previous life. Looking at the boy before him, who was nearly taller than he was, he could hardly imagine that he had been a skinny, frail child just a few years ago.

Over the past few years, through books and newspapers, he was no longer an illiterate old farmer and had come to understand some things about the world of Soul Masters. He knew how outstanding Yao Shi's talent was, and he also realized how small Bluestone Town was. Yao Shi's talent deserved to see a broader sky. This place was too small; the world of Soul Masters was where he belonged.

So Yao said to him kindly, "Little Pebble, no matter what you do, Grandpa will support you. Shrek Academy is good—the number one academy on the continent. With your talent, Little Pebble, that's where you should go."

"Remember, Little Pebble, this will always be your home. If you suffer any grievances out there, come back to Grandpa."

"Yes... Grandpa."

They had spent twelve years together day and night. If Yao had not taken him home and raised him, Yao Shi would likely have starved to death when he reincarnated into this world. Perhaps what he had done these past few years was enough to repay Yao's kindness, but if Yao had not brought him home, he would not still be alive now, nor would he have been able to do any of this. Yao had given him his life, so even spending a lifetime repaying this kindness would be worth it.

That night, Yao made a table full of lavish dishes to see Yao Shi off for his departure the next day.

The next morning, Yao Shi packed everything he needed into his storage rings. Although he had earned a considerable sum from treating nobles, storage items were far too expensive, and supplies were scarce in remote regions. He had only bought two simple 0.5-cubic-meter storage rings, one for daily necessities and money, and the other for food. The two storage rings had cost him a total of twenty-four gold soul coins, and the expense had pained Yao Shi for a long time.

"Grandpa, I'm leaving!"

Yao Shi bid farewell to Yao, who was leaning against the doorway behind him, then set off on the road to Shrek Academy.

He passed by a river, its calm waters reflecting his current appearance. He stood over 1.7 meters tall, his pale golden hair had grown to his waist, and his skin was snow-white while his features were exquisitely beautiful. Through the surface of the river, his golden-green eyes looked at his reflection as he murmured softly.

"Jianmu brings forth life, a male body with a female appearance, all illnesses eradicated... As expected, as expected, it really is the Aeon of Abundance."

A year ago, after Yao Shi finished treating a noble, a leaf had inexplicably grown from that noble's body. Fortunately, he had reacted quickly and plucked it off before the man noticed. It was from that moment that he learned his martial soul was not an ordinary Jianmu.

Powerful healing abilities, branches and leaves growing from flesh and blood—these signs quickly made Yao Shi think of the Aeon of Abundance from Star Rail. Their manifestations were practically identical. At the time, he had been so frightened that he immediately ran home to check Yao's condition. Fortunately, perhaps because his martial soul had only just awakened and its abilities were still bound by the laws of the Douluo Plane, his healing had not yet been tainted by the power of Abundance. It had only healed Yao's injuries and extended his lifespan somewhat.

Now that he had reached two soul rings, the power of Abundance had gradually begun to show itself. Along with the changes in his appearance, his martial soul had also quietly transformed. The branch martial soul fused into his body and became his true form.

At the same time, at the Duke's Manor of the Star Luo Empire.

An eleven- or twelve-year-old boy quietly slipped out through the back gate. He turned to look at the Duke's Manor, his eyes filled with hatred.

"Mother, watch over me from heaven. No matter how much effort it takes, one day I will return. I will trample everything here beneath my feet and make the White Tiger Duke come before your grave to atone with his death."

"From today onward, I will take your surname. My surname will be Huo. My name is Huo Yuhao."

After saying this, he took one more deep look at the Duke's Manor, then left without hesitation...

Shrek Academy was located at the border between several great empires, in the northern part of the Star Luo Empire, a long distance from Bluestone Town. Yao Shi washed his face with the river water when a merchant caravan happened to pass by. Their destination lay in the same direction as Shrek Academy, and when they learned that Yao Shi was heading there to register, they invited him to travel with them.