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Iba a despuntar esa yema, pero el maestro me paró.

Iba a despuntar esa yema, pero el maestro me paró.
I was going to trim that bud, but the master stopped me.
From Lesson 464:Completed past actions (después de que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Iba a despuntar esa yema, pero el maestro me paró.

I thought yema meant egg yolk. Why is it translated as "bud" here?
You are right that yema commonly means egg yolk, but it also translates to a plant shoot or bud. It can even refer to your fingertip (la yema del dedo). In agricultural or gardening contexts like this one, it strictly means a plant bud.
What exactly does despuntar mean? Is it related to the word punta?
Yes, exactly! Despuntar literally comes from removing or blunting the punta (tip or point) of something. In gardening and agriculture, it specifically means to nip off or trim the growing tip of a plant to encourage bushier growth.
Why use the imperfect iba alongside the preterite paró?
This is a classic past-tense contrast. Iba a despuntar uses the imperfect to set the scene of an intention or an action in progress (I was going to trim). Paró uses the preterite for the sudden, completed action that interrupted that intention (the master stopped me).
Could I use me dejó de instead of me paró to say he stopped me?
No, because dejar de means to stop doing an action yourself, like quitting a habit (dejé de fumar means "I stopped smoking"). Parar is used to physically halt someone or something else, which is exactly what the master did here to interrupt the trimming.

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