The shopkeeper soon brought out a bag of seeds. Sunflower soul beast seeds were cheap and fragrant, making them a regularly ordered snack for many wealthy soul master families.
Without asking any more questions, the shopkeeper deftly weighed the seeds and handed them to Jin Yang.
"They're raw, right?" Jin Yang asked.
"Of course they're raw. Did you expect this old man to roast them for you?"
The shopkeeper gave Jin Yang a strange look as he retorted.
"I was only asking." Jin Yang smiled awkwardly.
Yao Zi patted Jin Yang on the shoulder and said with a smile, "I thought you wanted to eat them. Why plant so many?"
"To leave more traces of yours truly, Jin Yang, at the academy, of course," Jin Yang replied.
"Junior, it's not like we're only planting them this once. Whenever you want to plant more, just find a patch of ground."
Fang Qiong chimed in.
Jin Yang used his soul power to check the seeds' condition. Only after confirming that nothing was wrong did he put them into his Storage Soul Tool.
"Buying more at once saves me another trip. If I don't want to plant them anymore, I can eat them."
"..."
Hearing that, Yao Zi and the others said no more.
After all, they had no habit of stockpiling things.
What really drew them in was the thrill of shopping.
Jin Yang had bought so many sunflower seeds because he actually wanted to test how his soul power affected them.
If I inject soul power into the sunflower seeds or use sunlight on them, could that trigger beneficial mutations?
If I can cultivate a new variety of sunflower soul beast whose soul rings inherit the effects of my first soul ring skill after they die...
If all plant soul beasts can be selectively cultivated, everyone could obtain the soul rings they want, absorb these low-year soul rings, then improve them by increasing their years.
Wouldn't that turn soul beasts into a sustainable resource?
Just thinking about it excited Jin Yang.
How would that be any different from creating soul spirits?
Establishing an entirely new organization like the Spirit Pagoda in the world of Douluo Continent One?
Jin Yang's eyes lit up, and the idea filled his mind.
Suddenly, Jin Yang had found a goal to strive toward in the years ahead.
Leave behind my own legacy and benefit future generations.
Let those who become gods first help others become gods afterward.
Since I've already come to this world, why shouldn't I do something for my fellow humans here?
Had Heaven not brought forth me, Jin Yang, Douluo would spend eternity in endless night.
Jin Yang rubbed his Storage Soul Tool, his gaze growing somewhat profound.
He let out a long breath.
Pulling himself together, he straightened his back and strode toward the shop's exit. He looked at the others still laughing and playing inside, then at the vendors, pedestrians, and residents filling Plant City's streets, their exhaustion and numbness hidden beneath the bustling surface. Countless emotions stirred in his heart.
"If only everyone could cultivate."
He murmured to himself, a hint of longing in his eyes.
"Maybe I can shape a world like that with the power of my martial soul."
Jin Yang looked at his hands, feeling the power surging within him.
He kept feeling that he needed to do something.
Not for himself.
But for the impoverished masses of this world.
Perhaps it was because he had once been one of them himself. From the masses, back to the masses-those who best understood the common people at the bottom and most yearned to help them were often those who came from the same background.
For the rest of the trip, however, Jin Yang had no time for wandering thoughts.
Bags of every size hung all over him. Had he not been strong enough, their weight would probably have crushed him already.
Just like Jiang Yan, who was so exhausted that his tongue had started hanging out.
Looking at Jiang Yan beside him, who suddenly seemed half his former height, Jin Yang sighed helplessly. He took most of the heavier things from Jiang Yan and carried them himself, leaving the lighter ones to him.
In return, he earned a grateful look from Jiang Yan and a promise to treat him to snacks.
The Storage Soul Tool was small, and it had long since been filled.
Jin Yang had known the girls could shop, but he had never imagined they could buy this much.
Watching the girls marching briskly ahead with plenty of bags of their own, Jin Yang grew afraid.
Such stamina, such strength!
So these are female soul masters?
Terrifying indeed!
On the way back to the Plant Academy, Jin Yang spent five copper coins to hire an ordinary man to deliver their purchases by donkey cart.
When the man received his payment, he was moved to tears.
Yet the sight left a bitter taste in Jin Yang's mouth.
Five copper coins meant next to nothing to him, hardly worth mentioning.
But for an ordinary person without soul power, it was enough to pay for several days of meals.
Jin Yang's heart softened, and he gave him another ten.
He handed all his remaining copper coins to the carter.
The complicated expression in the carter's eyes as he accepted the fifteen copper coins weighed heavily on Jin Yang's heart.
I hope those extra ten copper coins can give his family a brief spell of happiness.
"Jin Yang? What are you still looking at?"
Yao Zi waved a hand in front of Jin Yang's eyes.
"That carter just now? He's already gone far away."
Yao Zi looked into the distance. The carter's retreating figure was now only a tiny black dot, about to disappear into the sunset.
"Senior Yao Zi, what kind of lives do you think we'd be living now if we hadn't become soul masters?"
Jin Yang turned to Yao Zi. The glow of the setting sun fell across her face, making her look like something out of a dream.
After pondering for a moment, Yao Zi said, "Maybe we'd be like that carter, or that craft seller, or the people selling cooked food, doing odd jobs, building houses, and so on. We'd be living the same sort of lives as them, day after day."
"Why are you asking?" Yao Zi blinked and asked curiously.
"But isn't life too hard for them?"
Jin Yang asked.
"Hard? What can they do about it? That's how life is. People have to live, and living means suffering. Ordinary people have no soul power, so their suffering is destined. On the Douluo Continent, that's what it means to be born to a bitter fate."
By the end, Yao Zi spoke each word distinctly, with ringing finality.
Her tone remained calm, without any fluctuation.
It seemed that, to her, this was simply the fate the people at the bottom were meant to have.
It was part of the rules that governed this world.
On the Douluo Continent, people without soul power still made up the vast majority.
Those with soul power stood upon a pyramid.
The higher their soul power, the higher they stood.
The lower their soul power, the more they were trampled underfoot.
If one day I could let everyone awaken soul power and give everyone hope of becoming a Titled Douluo...
What would this world look like?
Would it become more peaceful and beautiful?
No!
Cultivation resources are limited, while human greed is endless. People will never be satisfied with what they have. In the end, they'll inevitably drain the pond to catch every fish, then start fighting wars over resources.
Besides, if everyone could awaken soul power, maybe it would only improve ordinary people's lives for a little while... right?
Low-ranking soul masters would become ordinary people again.
After all, wherever there are people, there will be classes, and someone will always end up at the very bottom...
Jin Yang shook his head and put an end to his wandering thoughts.
"Senior Yao Zi, let's head back."
Jin Yang said.
Although she had no idea what Jin Yang was thinking, she had stayed here with him a little longer, letting the evening breeze wash over them.
"The wind tonight is awfully boisterous!" Jin Yang remarked.
"Is it really that boisterous?"
"Very boisterous."
Jin Yang nodded.
"Senior Yao Zi, I received a notice from Spirit Hall. The Saintess of Spirit Hall will visit the Plant Academy tomorrow."
Yao Zi's eyes widened at his words.
"What? Why are you only telling me now? Hurry! Get everyone together! We need to start preparing!"
Yao Zi glared at Jin Yang and sprinted into the academy.
"Wait, Senior Yao Zi! The Saintess won't arrive until tomorrow evening! There's no need to rush. Why are you running so fast?"
"Bullshit! Are you going to wait for the Saintess, or make the Saintess wait for you? Hurry up and follow me!"
Before you continue