Su Manman inhaled softly and spoke first.
"So it really is you… Meng Xing."
She paused, complex emotions flickering in her eyes.
"Your Spirituality was even stronger than mine back then. You ranked first in the province three years in a row. If you'd awakened any combat-type Talent… you should've been recruited already by a major corporation or the Public Security Bureau."
A bad premonition curled in her chest.
Before Meng Xing could reply, an obnoxious voice shattered the silence.
Huang Jie enters
"Well, well, look who it is! Isn't this Farmer Meng Xing?"
Meng Xing frowned and turned.
A blond-headed young man swaggered over, chest puffed out, a sapling swinging from his hand like a trophy.
Huang Jie.
He slapped the sapling onto the counter and looked down his nose at Meng Xing with theatrical arrogance.
"You actually awakened as a Farmer? Don't tell me you're seriously planning to farm."
He smirked.
"Unlike you, I awakened a Strength Talent. I'll be joining Ant Company's guard team soon. Try not to envy me too much."
Su Manman's brows twitched as understanding dawned.
She lowered her gaze, her voice tinged with regret.
"So that's how it is…"
A pity… another person crushed by fate, just like me.
She shook her head faintly and began scanning Meng Xing's items.
Seeing the two ignore him, Huang Jie's face twisted with irritation.
He raised his voice deliberately.
"I still remember—you two were the top Spirituality prodigies in our school."
He sneered.
"But look at you now. Left in the dust by me, the 'poor student' you looked down on. Tell me, is hard work even worth anything?"
Meng Xing didn't answer.
He simply paid, collected his seeds, and turned to leave.
He had no time to waste—he was eager to go home and farm. Extremely eager.
To Huang Jie, that silence felt like provocation.
Arrogance.
Contempt.
His face darkened.
He reached out to grab Meng Xing's collar.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
Meng Xing turned around.
His gaze was cold—bone-deep cold.
A chill stabbed down Huang Jie's spine.
His awakened instincts screamed danger.
He flinched and stumbled back two steps before he even realized it.
Only when Meng Xing disappeared from sight did Huang Jie snap back to himself.
"What the hell…? Why was I scared? I'm the combat-type Awakened here…"
He forced a laugh.
"Tch. His school reputation must've gotten to me. That's all."
Su Manman snorted softly.
Huang Jie's temper exploded.
He swung his glare to her.
"Fat pig, what the hell are you laughing at?!"
A hundred-yuan bill slapped against her cheek and fluttered to the counter.
Without another word, Huang Jie stormed off after Meng Xing.
Back at Meng Xing's courtyard
Meng Xing immediately opened his newly bought seed packets and scattered them over the field.
Blue flames—remnants of the Azure Lotus Core Flame—licked across the soil.
One by one, the seeds burned to ash.
Not a single sprout.
Meng Xing exhaled sharply, sitting at the edge of the field.
"As expected… the probability of growing known rare plants is abysmal."
The Azure Lotus Core Flame was a miracle.
A freak accident.
Hundreds of yuan, gone in half an hour.
He needed money.
Urgently.
Just then—
A voice came from over the wall.
"Holy crap—Meng Xing, your field can spit fire?!"
Meng Xing's head snapped up.
Perched on the wall like a nosy monkey—Huang Jie.
Huang Jie jumped down, still clutching his fruit tree sapling.
He crouched beside the flaming field, eyes wide, curiosity burning bright.
"How is your field doing this? It's like a furnace! Damn, this thing must be worth a fortune…"
Greed glimmered in his gaze.
Meng Xing's voice was icy.
"How long have you been watching?"
Huang Jie didn't even look away from the flames.
"Just got here. Forget that—explain this! How is your field spitting fire?"
Meng Xing didn't answer.
He picked up the fruit tree sapling Huang Jie had placed on the ground—and planted it directly into the flaming soil.
Huang Jie yelped.
"Hey! That's mine! Why the hell are you throwing my sapling into a bonfire?!"
Meng Xing's lips curled faintly.
A dead man doesn't need belongings.
And you've seen my secret.
You think I'll let you leave?
The sapling didn't burn.
Meng Xing's eyes narrowed.
"Stable."
This sapling…
It had hit the unbelievably low probability.
The tiny tree rooted deeply, absorbing the lingering Azure Lotus Core Flame.
The fire transformed into pure energy, and the tree began to grow—fast.
Violently fast.
In mere moments, before Huang Jie's horrified eyes, a massive three-meter creature of a tree emerged.
Twisted.
Alien.
Deadly beautiful.
From its branches hung four strange fruits—like a fusion of pineapple and dragon fruit.
Knowledge surged into Meng Xing's mind—
[Devil Fruit Tree — S-tier Transcendent Item]
[A miraculous tree born from human wishes and desires. Its fruits embody those wishes.]
Meng Xing's breath hitched.
A Devil Fruit Tree.
Those four fruits—
Devil Fruits.
Actual Devil Fruits.
As the shock subsided, excitement crashed through him like a storm.
"Each one… can create an Awakened."
He plucked a fruit.
[Bird-Bird Fruit: Falcon Form — C-tier Transcendent Item]
Meng Xing frowned.
C-tier.
Not ideal.
But acceptable. It matched its original world's power level.
He wasn't going to eat it.
Not when he still had space for only two more Talents—and those were reserved.
The Devil Fruits pulsed with a faint azure aura.
Azure Lotus Core Flame's influence…
While Meng Xing pondered the implications—
Huang Jie's grating voice buzzed again.
"Hey! Idiot! That tree isn't your Talent, right? This is a Transcendent Item! If you follow me, I'll help you make a fortune!"
Meng Xing looked up, amused.
"And what if I refuse?"
Huang Jie smirked.
"Ever heard the saying? 'A man without sin becomes guilty by owning a treasure.'"
He cracked his knuckles and stepped toward Meng Xing.
"Guess I'll beat some sense into you."
He took a step—
—and froze.
Eyes wide.
Mouth hanging open.
As if he'd just seen an ancient god rise before him.