From the Abyss of Stars Part 2

014. Traveling Together

"Maybe it's because I've changed bodies, but my mindset feels younger now."

Li Aozi turned his head. 'Leo' was all alone, with no one to see him off. He grabbed his backpack and boarded the flying carpet, casually finding a seat.

The public flying carpet was for long-distance flights and just happened to pass by Blue Chrysanthemum Village. Quite a few examinees from nearby villages had come aboard, and after a few stops, the flying carpet was completely packed.

The people from Blue Chrysanthemum Village huddled together, but due to Li Aozi's usual 'kind and virtuous' reputation, no one from the same village sat next to him.

However, while familiar faces didn't come, the examinees from other villages sat around him and even started chatting with him.

"Hey, buddy, are you the only one from your village going to the exam?" A blue-haired young man saw Li Aozi sitting alone reading a book and immediately approached, extending a friendly hand. "I'm Kadfey Endar, the only one from my whole village taking the exam this time. How about we get to know each other? It'll be good to have someone to look out for along the way."

"Oh, I'm Li Aozi." Li Aozi instinctively replied, then realized he had slipped up, so he quickly explained, "Leo...Z is just because I'm not very social."

"Leo-Z? Leoz, huh? That's a nice name." Kadfey plopped down across from Li Aozi, pulled out a bag of dried fruit, and started chatting with him.

"Do you know what the name 'Leoz' means?"

Seeing that the other person misunderstood, Li Aozi decided to go along with it.

"Leoz—In mythology, the 【God of Reality】, a brave hero who fought against invading monsters. It's actually a pretty common name."

"Right! You're named after a god and a hero—hey, hey, how does that feel?" Kadfey, a chatterbox who couldn't keep quiet for a moment, continued to munch on dried fruit while talking. Li Aozi found it relaxing.

"Nothing special. Noah, Arthur, David, Caesar, Vladimir—these names are everywhere."

Li Aozi explained:

"Everyone rushes to pick good names. When too many people use the same name, it loses its mystique and divinity. That's the process of disenchantment. Actually, 'Leoz' probably didn't have a grand meaning to start with. Some people with the name might not have been famous at first, but later on, a famous 'Leoz' appeared, making everyone else with that name seem special by association."

"Hmm, what you're saying makes sense. It's not the name that's great, but the person, right?"

"Something like that." Li Aozi replied, "Leoz itself could be just an ordinary name. But because one 'Leoz' became famous, people started to think that others with the same name might have similar traits."

"But in reality, they don't?" Kadfey asked disappointedly. "I thought there might be some connection."

"A name is just a label, nothing more. Labels can always be repeated. What's unique are the soul and actions." Li Aozi said lightly. "I could have any name, but what kind of person I become depends on what I do."

"You must be well-read to say something like that."

Someone nearby, intrigued by Li Aozi's words, was drawn over. Perhaps it was Li Aozi's unique perspective, or maybe his 【Charisma】, but more and more people began joining the conversation.

Slowly, Li Aozi realized that his once casual remark about 'Leoz' had been completely accepted by everyone.

Two weeks of non-stop cramming had worn away the thick rogueish aura from this body, replacing it with a scholarly air.