[Lord of Abundance] Chapter 30: Spring Plowing

 Chapter 30: Spring Plowing

With the help of the Abundance Aspect’s first facet—Sharing—and Kun’s timely severing of the Abundance Magic Life Link, Li Tianyun was able to avoid true death. After all, what had exploded was merely a surrogate body created from Kun’s blood.

But the pain inflicted upon his soul—

That was unavoidable.

Nor could Kun simply sever the Life Link in advance, let the surrogate drink the potion, and then reconnect once a successful attempt was achieved. Because when consuming a bloodline potion, what underwent refinement was not only the body—but the soul as well.

What made a high-tier bloodline high-tier?

The answer lay in the fragments of laws embedded within it.

Those fragments were the true source of its power.

If the body adapted to those fragments, but the soul did not, the result would be like a child wielding a warhammer—harmful to both self and others.

So-called “noble bloodlines” were merely superficial.

True nobility lay in the soul.

—

“Ugh—!”

Li Tianyun suddenly snapped back to himself, his body losing balance as he collapsed heavily onto the ground, retching violently.

“Need some water?”

“No—ugh!”

Kun tilted his head, curious.

“Was that potion really that disgusting? That shouldn’t be the case—I even adjusted the flavor. Tell me, what did it taste like that made you want to vomit your guts out?”

“You… you still dare ask?! Two words—disgusting! Ugh—let me throw up first…”

“Hmm… looks like adding flavoring agents to bad-tasting potions is a failed experiment. Tsk. A great alchemist doesn’t necessarily make a good chef.”

You’re treating potions like recipes?!

Still sprawled on the ground, Li Tianyun wanted nothing more than to force that cursed potion down Kun’s throat.

The potion had smelled fine.

But the moment it touched his lips—he regretted everything.

Bitter. Acrid. And layered with a pungent, fermented fish stench, like spoiled sardines.

Worse—

It gave him no chance to reconsider.

The liquid surged down his throat on its own, rushing eagerly into his stomach.

And then—

It was as if a bomb had detonated inside him.

Had you ever felt an explosion within your own body?

That was exactly what it felt like.

The most terrifying part—

He could feel everything.

His senses had been amplified to an unprecedented degree.

Starting from his stomach, his internal organs began to dissolve. Then his blood vessels. His bones. Everything inside him.

Like prey bitten by a water beetle—outwardly intact, but internally liquefied by venom.

Then something began to take root within him.

Growing.

Spreading.

Reshaping.

Pain surged through every inch of his muscles.

It was rebuilding his body—

Like a chrysalis transforming into a butterfly.

And the nutrients fueling that transformation—

Were his original body itself.

—

After carefully listening to Li Tianyun’s description, Kun fell into thought.

So the fusion of two bloodlines was this violent?

This phenomenon had never appeared in magical beasts infused with lower-tier bloodline potions.

For ordinary lifeforms, once they entered the Heroic Domain—fourth tier—their lifespan doubled. Even severed limbs retained strong vitality and could regenerate under certain conditions.

That was the true reason why magical potions exhibited signs of life.

“So… the first magic array I drew—meant to enhance vitality—actually accelerated your death.”

Kun muttered.

“I should weaken your physical state instead. The weaker your body, the less violent the conflict between the bloodlines.”

“Then add a temperature-regulation array—lower temperatures should reduce your pain.”

“And finally… wrap you in a breathable spider-silk cocoon. Tightly. The pressure should accelerate the transformation and prevent self-harm.”

He placed the two vials back in front of Li Tianyun and smiled.

“Choose.”

“… ”

After a long silence, Li Tianyun reached again—for the green vial.

“Let me tell you something first,” Kun said. “Last time, you lasted one minute and thirty-seven seconds. Based on my calculations, you’ll need at least ten minutes to successfully fuse the bloodline. Maybe eleven. Maybe twenty. That depends entirely on your adaptability.”

“You’re still choosing this one?”

Li Tianyun gave a bitter smile.

“Only a minute and a half…? It felt like an entire lifetime.”

“But I’ll take this one.”

“Put the other away. I don’t want to be tempted.”

“You know… my talent might not be great. But enduring pain? I’ve got some experience.”

He had spent over half of his sixteen years in hospitals.

Biopsies. Chemotherapy. Surgeries.

He endured them all.

Even when he chose death in the end—it wasn’t because he couldn’t bear the pain.

It was because he saw no hope.

Because he didn’t want to keep burdening his family.

—

“Very well. I won’t stop you.”

Suffering that yields reward is tempering.

Suffering without reward is merely suffering.

Bloodline fusion was the former.

And since Li Tianyun desired strength—

Kun would not stand in his way.

“Rest for a bit. I’ll redraw the arrays. Then we continue.”

“…Alright.”

—

The second trial began.

“AAAAHHH—!”

The third.

“GHHHAAAH—!”

…

By the thirty-sixth attempt, Li Tianyun could endure five minutes without collapsing.

But he was still far from the ten-minute threshold Kun estimated.

His hoarse, animal-like growls echoed through the sealed chamber.

No one knew how long this nightmare would continue.

Or when Li Tianyun might finally break—

And give up.

—

Those who succeed in transformation become butterflies.

Those who fail—

Remain worms.

Dead worms.

Such was the cold cruelty of nature.

Without madness, there was only death.

Even for Kun.

—

If he had not devoted himself to magic—

He would have remained the bullied child in a family that revered warriors.

Choosing magic had been his first transformation.

If he had only chased power without understanding its essence—

He would never have created Abundance Magic.

That was his second transformation.

His third—

Was when he first stepped through the Gate of Abundance.

When he rose from among billions on a single planet—

And became an ant with wings.

Looking up at the endless cosmos.

The world was vast.

Boundless.

And he was insignificant.

Like dust.

—

As his perspective expanded, so too did his mind.

Power. Wealth. Authority.

All illusions.

Faith. Religion.

All constructs.

Life was a series of choices.

A series of transformations.

Most people only saw the butterfly’s beauty—

And ignored the caterpillar’s weakness.

But every transformation—

Was a rebirth.

Some caterpillars seized their chance.

Others—

Lost it forever.

Lacking the courage to break free.

Trapped in their cocoons.

Until death.

—

The next morning.

Clear skies. Bright sunlight.

After the storm, the air was crisp and fresh. The entire Fengrao Territory brimmed with life.

Though the ground remained muddy, the drainage efforts of the guards and villagers had cleared most of the water. Only small puddles remained, which would soon disappear.

Fresh green shoots blanketed the land.

Life surged everywhere.

—

The river had receded, revealing uneven banks littered with driftwood and stones.

Some fields near the river were heavily damaged.

Until cleared, they couldn’t be cultivated.

“Rumble—”

The earth trembled.

A massive boulder—larger than a house—began to move.

Not by itself.

But because the soil beneath it shifted, slowly pushing it aside.

“Thank you so much, Lady Latifa!”

A farmer woman bowed repeatedly, her voice filled with gratitude.

A mage.

A real mage.

Such figures rarely set foot in a place like this.

Even in major cities, encountering one was rare.

And now—

A mage was helping her move a stone.

This was beyond anything she had ever imagined.

“It’s nothing,” Latifa said with a gentle smile, lowering her staff.

“This area is taken care of. I must assist others now.”

“Ah—yes—please go ahead!”

Latifa showed no impatience at the woman’s awkwardness.

She had seen this reaction countless times.

In many regions, people might witness a lord’s authority—but never a mage’s presence.

Mages were rare. Elevated.

And nowhere else would a lord ask mages to help farmers.

Except here.

In the Abundance Territory.

Under that lord.

—

Mages had pride.

Elsewhere, they would never perform such menial labor.

Even some of the apprentices here had complained—

Until they saw the lord himself working the fields.

A third-tier archmage… farming.

After that—

No one dared complain.

—

Latifa walked toward the next field, her gaze filled with admiration.

That man…

He was likely already working somewhere beyond the river.

—

Even as she moved stones, she practiced the lessons Kun had given her.

She had never imagined that, after becoming a mage, she would still be guided like a novice.

—

“The earth is alive,” he had told her.

“The soil is alive.”

“You see plants growing—but fail to see what sustains them.”

“You understand soil as a compound. That’s good.”

“But unless you grasp that the earth itself lives—you will never truly master earth magic.”

“Is dry earth the same as rain-soaked earth?”

“Is snow-covered ground the same as spring soil?”

“In deserts, mountains, and shores—can your magic truly remain unchanged?”

“Go. Walk the land yourself.”

“An earth mage who does not touch the earth—what kind of earth mage is that?”