[Lord of Abundance] Chapter 7: Inspecting the Domain

 Chapter 7: Inspecting the Domain

Brimming with excitement, Kun dragged Li Tianyun into his mage laboratory and talked with him all night.

From the Storm Sea in the north to the Sunset Desert at the southernmost edge of the kingdom, from the legendary Age of Gods to the Dansu Kingdom, which had stood for six hundred and sixty-six years—

Only then did Li Tianyun realize that in this world, known as the Everbright Continent, there were not only warriors and mages—people who wielded extraordinary power—but also countless wondrous humanoid races.

There were no fewer than eleven commonly used languages across the continent.

And that didn’t even include the Aetheric language every mage had to master to communicate directly with the elements, nor the even more complex and ancient Moon Elf tongue and Dragon Speech…

Li Tianyun silently rejoiced.

Fortunately, to cure his original body, he only needed to master battle aura and become a true third-tier high warrior.

If becoming a mage had been required, he might as well give up on treatment altogether.

After all, even the kingdom’s common tongue—necessary just to speak with others—he had to start learning from scratch.

Kun could communicate with him directly because, as a high-tier archmage, he had mastered advanced Aetheric language.

This “language” was said to be how elements communicated—not through sound, but through direct mental exchange.

Li Tianyun didn’t possess that ability.

If he wanted to communicate normally, he would have to learn the language of this world.

The road to recovery… was long.

But at least now, there was hope ahead—not endless despair. That alone was enough.

The next day, when he accompanied Kun on his inspection of the territory, Li Tianyun was stunned.

Not by the vast sky or the charred, mountain-like tree stump in the distance.

But by the village of Emerald Heart itself—a name so beautiful, yet so utterly undeserved.

He had heard Kun complain about how filthy and rundown it was.

But he had never imagined it could be this bad.

The bizarrely shaped houses alone were enough to drive him, an architectural illustrator, mad.

Was this a village built on land—or on layers of filth and waste?

His scalp tingled. His stomach churned.

Now he understood why Kun had warned him not to eat breakfast.

Already frail from years of illness, Li Tianyun’s face turned deathly pale, as if he might faint at any moment.

Meanwhile, Kun, seated atop a tall Blackhorn horse, was discussing plans with Dawn—the Chief Constable—about clearing the forest buffer zone: manpower, tools, projected timelines.

The Angrel Blackhorn horses bore a small spiral horn on their foreheads—a hybrid of wild Blackhorn beasts and domestic mares.

More enduring than ordinary horses, more docile than true Blackhorn beasts, and faster as well.

Naturally, they weren’t cheap.

Kun’s entire party rode these hybrids.

Only Dawn’s mount was different—a Scale-Flame Steed.

Its body was covered in fine scales, its hooves wreathed in ever-burning crimson fire.

Rumor had it such creatures carried the bloodline of fire dragons.

True or not, it was undeniably a second-tier magical beast capable of mid-tier fire magic.

And unlike the others, it belonged to Dawn himself.

Nearby, Vittorio quietly asked Old Tate about the strange black-haired youth—why he seemed unable to understand even the kingdom’s common language.

Tate, who didn’t know the full truth either, simply smiled.

“The young master said he’s a friend from beyond the sea. That’s why he doesn’t speak our language.

And remember—this matter is not to be discussed. Keep your people in line.”

Vittorio’s mouth hung open.

Beyond the Storm Sea… another continent? With humans like them?

He had always thought such things were ancient myths.

Still… black hair, black eyes, yellow skin—such a race did not exist on this continent.

He stole another glance at Li Tianyun.

What a strange-looking foreigner…

The group rode through a river valley toward the edge of the Everdark Forest.

The valley stretched for miles, its surface sealed beneath thick ice.

Beneath it, grotesque fish—lined with jagged teeth—were frozen mid-swim.

Li Tianyun stared, fascinated.

Such creatures didn’t exist in the rivers of his home world.

When spring came and the ice melted, the fertile land along the valley would become prime farmland.

The land on the Emerald Heart side belonged to the lord—Kun.

Across the river, closer to the forest, the terrain grew rougher and more dangerous, belonging to the villagers.

These lands alone could never sustain the ever-increasing “reasonable” taxes imposed by the kingdom and the lord.

Had someone else taken over instead of Kun, within two years, not a single free villager would remain.

All would become slaves.

And then?

The territory would collapse from mismanagement.

The kingdom would reclaim it—and the cycle would begin again.

Only a rare few nobles could see through this trap and build lasting power.

Most squandered their wealth in decadence.

That was why the kingdom endured for centuries—despite its many nobles.

As Li Tianyun put it—

“Basic economic principles.”

If only those nobles had read a few more books, they wouldn’t be fooled so easily.

He had warned Kun not to speak of such things openly, rattling off proverbs Kun barely understood.

The general idea, however, was clear:

Mind your own business.

Respect others’ fate.

Kun had no interest in those parasite-like nobles anyway.

If he liked them, he wouldn’t have considered settling permanently in that other world.

Since childhood, everyone had thought him strange.

Not just a mage born into a warrior family—but something fundamentally out of place.

He agreed.

If being a noble meant embodying greed, hypocrisy, deceit, selfishness, and cruelty—

Then he wanted no part of it.

Better not to see each other at all.

So he withdrew further into magic.

Indifferent to the outside world.

And thus, people mistook him for weak.

Yet in another world—

He had discovered a different possibility.

If this world rejected him…

Then he would change it.

This wasn’t fantasy.

In that other world—Blue Star—there was a story:

In the beginning, oxygen had been toxic to life.

Plants released it to claim dominance.

Most life perished.

But those that adapted thrived.

From this, Kun realized—

Plants, silent and unmoving, were far more powerful than they seemed.

They could reshape a world’s very foundation.

Even gods could not do that.

And he—

The only Abundance Mage—

Had limitless potential.

So he came here.

To the Fengrao Domain.

Farming?

Just a façade.

Conquering kingdoms?

Meaningless.

His true goal—

To remake the world itself.

Why should he adapt to an unreasonable world?

No—

The world should adapt to him.

The group rode for another stretch before reaching the forest’s edge.

The Everdark Forest stretched endlessly—ancient trees towering in every direction.

It was vast—larger than six Fengrao Domains combined.

Everyone knew such forests held immense wealth.

But few dared enter.

Too dangerous.

Beasts, spirits—even ordinary animals became feral under the forest’s magic.

And in ancient woods like these…

Who knew what might awaken?

Even a slumbering dragon.

This world was not like Blue Star.

Humans were not supreme.

Only one of several dominant races.

To survive, they had to unite.

At the forest’s edge, Dawn dismounted and struck a tree.

Drawing his greatsword, he channeled his aura.

White vapor rose from his body—snow melting under his power.

“Ha!”

With a single strike, the massive tree fell cleanly.

Snow scattered everywhere.

Old Tate glared at him—he alone had been hit.

Coincidence?

Hardly.

Li Tianyun watched, captivated.

This was power beyond anything on Blue Star.

Technology was powerful—

But this?

This was power belonging to oneself.

Kun had promised to ask Dawn to teach him battle aura.

A good teacher made all the difference.

Kun even joked that with proper guidance, he could have broken records even earlier.

But perhaps then—

He wouldn’t have created Abundance magic.

Li Tianyun didn’t care about that.

His only goal was to become a warrior.

To break the limits of life.

Dawn gestured to the fallen tree.

“Over a hundred years old. Frost fir—strong, fire-resistant.

Perfect for construction… or even armor.

Too bad we can’t transport it.”

Kun tapped the trunk.

Dense. High quality.

“It’s fine. We need wood anyway.”

Better materials meant better homes.

As for Vittorio…

Kun smirked.

He’ll probably lose a bit more hair over this.

Then again—

Maybe it was time to invent a hair-growth potion.

That would definitely sell well.