Xia Country, South Sea City.
Nanhai No. 1 High School.
"Meng Xing."
Beside the Awakening Platform, a stone-faced instructor called his name without a shred of emotion.
"Next."
Meng Xing opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end he simply stepped down with a blank expression.
Beside him, his classmate Xiao Pangzi sighed like his world had ended.
"Your Spirituality is freakishly high, but you awakened a Farmer Talent? Bro, that's tragic."
In this world, every person had one chance to awaken a supernatural talent.
But the talent one awakened?
Completely random.
Some people were even unlucky enough to awaken nothing.
To increase their chances, students meditated, refined their minds, and raised their Spirituality. The higher one's Spirituality, the stronger the talent they would likely awaken.
Meng Xing, a certified genius whose Spirituality had ranked first in the province three years in a row…
Awakened a life-type Farmer Talent.
If it had been any combat talent, even the weakest one, he would've skyrocketed straight to the top.
Xiao Pangzi patted his shoulder heavily.
"It's fine, bro. My dad knows people. I can help you land a cushy job."
Good jobs were scarce.
Even farmers with S-tier talents needed connections to enter major agricultural companies. Without background or backing, even heaven-defying talents were useless.
Meng Xing didn't like owing anyone favors—not even a brother—so he forced a smile.
"No need. I'll just go back to the Old District, farm a bit, maybe set up a greenhouse someday."
The Old District was essentially the urban-rural fringe.
Or, more bluntly, the slums.
His place in the New District had been rented using his scholarship funds.
Now that he had graduated and failed to awaken a combat talent, he could no longer afford to live there.
Returning to the Old District was his only option.
That afternoon, Meng Xing was clearing weeds in the small courtyard of his worn-down bungalow. His thoughts drifted.
Before transmigrating, he had failed the college entrance exam, got drunk, and somehow woke up in this new world.
Life really loved repeating its jokes.
And now he was… a farmer?
There were countless life-type talents in this world. Even an S-tier one was often just an empty title without background or connections.
Because this world was infested with monsters.
And only combat talents brought status, wealth, and survival.
Without Awakeners fighting monsters, humanity would've been wiped out long ago.
Most resources—especially good jobs—naturally favored families of combat-type Awakeners.
It was an unspoken rule.
Meng Xing glanced at the faint green orb in his sea of consciousness.
[Farmer Talent · S-tier]
[Proficient in agriculture. Consuming Spirituality grants a chance to grow a known extraordinary plant.]
Meng Xing let out a humorless chuckle.
"Grow extraordinary plants that I know? Where am I supposed to find that kind of thing?"
Perhaps due to being a transmigrator, his Spirituality was absurdly high—
A full seven stages.
(Human Spirituality was divided into nine.)
But what was the point now?
If he had awakened a Swiftwind Swordsman…
With seven stages of Spirituality, he could've crisscrossed the world with one sword. Cool, romantic, legendary.
But instead…
After pulling out the last weed, Meng Xing wiped his sweat with a long sigh.
"Is it too much to ask for a little extraordinary power in a different world?"
He shook his head.
"Well, combat isn't safe anyway. I'll save up for a greenhouse, build a proper farm, and walk my own path."
He took out some wild flower seeds he'd picked up earlier.
"Textbook says Farmer Talents can occasionally grow rare plants… If I grow some expensive flowers or herbs, maybe I can sell them in the city."
He dug a hole and planted the seeds.
The moment his fingers brushed the soil—
Every drop of Spirituality in his body was instantly drained.
BOOM!!!
A blinding thunderbolt—thick as a water jar—split the sky and slammed into his courtyard.
Heavenly lightning ignites earthly fire!
The tiny vegetable patch erupted with flames.
The once ordinary soil now shimmered with brilliant green radiance, every grain pulsating with Spirituality as the temperature shot upward like a volcanic eruption.
Mysterious information poured into Meng Xing's mind.
At the same time, the seed sprouted—no, exploded—and rapidly grew.
A lotus rose from the earth.
Eight leaves.
Eight jade-like petals.
Crystal-clear, luminous, ethereal.
At its heart floated a small lotus platform, within which danced a flame the color of azure jade—
A pure, terrifying fire-attribute energy.
A slender root extended over ten meters beneath the lotus, sinking tendrils into the soil and devouring Spiritual energy with voracious hunger.
Meng Xing processed the sudden influx of information and stared at the lotus in a daze.
A moment later, he screamed:
"That's… the Azure—Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame?!"
The talent allowed him to grow extraordinary plants he knew.
He had the knowledge of a transmigrator.
And outrageous luck.
He had actually grown the Azure Lotus Core Flame—the legendary strange fire from Earth's fiction!
As someone from Earth, how could he not know it?
It was the Flame Emperor's signature flame from the Endless Fire Domain—
A fire capable of destroying heaven and earth.
His Farmer Talent was monstrous.
Because no native of this world—even an SSS-tier Farmer—could possibly know such a flame existed.
Much less plant it.
Meng Xing approached the lotus with trembling excitement.
A single thought—
The Azure Lotus Fire floated into his sea of consciousness.
New information appeared:
[Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame · S-tier Talent]
[A thousand years to form spirit, a hundred years to take shape, a thousand more to form a lotus.
When fully matured, green light blossoms and an azure flame is born at its heart.
It can trigger volcanic eruptions and destroy nature.]
[Consume Spirituality to manipulate the Azure Lotus Flame.]
Meng Xing's entire body trembled.
From despair to heaven—
So this was what it felt like.
He had thought an S-tier Farmer Talent was merely an upgraded tractor.
But this?
This was a luxury supercar with gold trim and diamond studs.
Azure flame danced atop his palm, spinning and shaping itself into lotus patterns.
Swiftwind Swordsman?
Sorry.
A fire mage who could burn seas and boil rivers was much cooler.
And the Azure Lotus Flame was only ranked 19th among strange fires.
There were two more lotus-born fires:
No. 8 — Red Lotus Karma Fire
• No. 3 — Pure Lotus Demonic Flame
If he grew those too…
Two fires merge → Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus.
Three fires merge → Destructive Fire Lotus.
Just imagining it made his scalp numb.
Unable to contain himself, Meng Xing rushed to the agricultural shop to buy more seeds.
…Only to realize his wallet could barely afford twenty packs of cheap flower seeds.
He walked to the counter helplessly.
"Please ring these up."
"Meng Xing? Why are you back here? Weren't you living in the New District?"
The cashier girl's voice was soft and sweet, though her appearance was… plain at best. Acne-covered face, rough skin, and weighing over two hundred jin.
He remembered her—his senior by one grade.
A pitiful soul.
Her Spirituality had been shockingly high, but she had awakened an S-tier life-type talent…