Oddly enough, no one knew where Chen Mo had come from. According to the books, the first time he appeared before the public as Spirit Hall's Saint Son, he was a twelve-year-old Soul King with Soul Power at level 51—and a terrifying Soul Ring configuration of two purple and three black rings.
Three years later, at the Continental Soul Master Tournament, the prodigy showed off his strength for the first time. By then, he had already obtained his first Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, and his Soul Power had reached level 63.
Later, when Chen Mo was nineteen, he became the youngest Limit Douluo in all of Douluo Continent. In less than half a year, he led Spirit Hall with overwhelming strength through a war of unification in every sense of the word, leaving the two kingdoms in name only. But strangely enough, less than three years later, Chen Mo ordered the dissolution of his empire. Under his leadership, Spirit Hall developed into the social welfare organization it was today.
Then, around the time Chen Mo was twenty-five, on the first day of that year, he held a grand ascension ceremony at Spirit Hall and flew to the Divine Realm alongside a group of companions. Under Spirit Hall's deliberate promotion, that day also became one of Douluo Continent's holidays.
It was called... New Year's.
That was all Huo Yuhao had found. Rather than an account of Chen Mo's life, the passage was more like an introduction to the holiday called "New Year's."
In truth, the term wasn't entirely unfamiliar to Huo Yuhao. In his memories, Tang San seemed to love decorating the front of his house with lanterns and banners on the first day of the new year, telling everyone he met, "Today is New Year's!"
He wasn't particularly interested in Tang San's affairs, but as his son-in-law, he naturally ended up lending a hand now and then.
He wondered: if Chen Mo had ascended to godhood with his companions... then perhaps it hadn't been his idea to name the day New Year's, but that of his close friend, Tang San.
Huo Yuhao suspected that the Tang San in this world's history might have undergone some changes, and that Chen Mo had probably had quite a lot to do with it.
If he wanted to find out more... he could visit the library on a weekend, or ask Zhou Yi which teachers specialized in history.
"Yuhao, want to head back together?"
"Our dorms are pretty close."
As Huo Yuhao packed up his books, Dong'er came over.
"Sure," Huo Yuhao replied, though he still had some doubts. That couldn't be right... Surely Dong'er hadn't failed to make a single friend today besides him?
But when he thought about it carefully, he hadn't made any new friends either, apart from Dong'er and Zhou Yi.
Once they'd packed up their desks, the two of them walked down the little path back to the dorms. The lights fell over the throngs of students—a sight neither of them had ever seen before.
Huo Yuhao and Dong'er didn't stand out in the crowd. Almost everyone around them was gathered in groups, with an endless supply of new things to talk about.
There was no doubt the academy's system was exhausting for them, but it was just as new and exciting.
"Yuhao, did you understand everything the teacher talked about today?"
Dong'er suddenly asked.
"Hmm? Was there anything you didn't understand?"
Dong'er shook her head, then continued:
"When I was at home, my second and third uncles taught me a lot. I'd already studied the cultivation-related things Teacher Zhou talked about today many times."
"My second uncle said that if I made new friends at Spirit Soul Academy, I should remember to help each other out. So I was wondering if there was anything you didn't understand. I could help you."
Hearing that, Huo Yuhao didn't know what to say. This girl... really was so different from her counterpart. She was so well-behaved.
He thought about it. If it were Wang Dong, she would probably say something like, "If there's anything you don't understand, call me Young Master Wang Dong, and this great one might deign to teach you."
In the end, they were only two similar, yet different, people.
"Thanks, but today's lessons weren't too difficult for me either." Huo Yuhao let out a long breath and spoke as if he'd finally figured something out.
"Hehe, good." Dong'er clasped her hands behind her back and continued:
"Spirit Soul Academy feels so different from home. The adults back there are either cultivating or on their way to cultivate. They'd never have time to stroll around and chat like we are now."
"We'll have cultivation classes in a couple of weeks. Besides... Soul Masters spend their nights meditating, don't they?"
"Ah..." Dong'er immediately pouted in disappointment. Huo Yuhao smiled and patted her shoulder to comfort her.
"Don't worry. Once you enter meditation and sink into it completely, it's just like sleeping."
"Really? My second and third uncles both told me that if kids don't sleep at night, they'll get dark circles under their eyes, and they'll look really ugly when they grow up."
"They also said... if I don't look pretty, no handsome guys will want me..."
Listening to Dong'er, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but feel at a loss for words. What on earth had the Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape been teaching her? This wasn't his previous life, when she was already twelve.
"We're only six... Why are you worrying about whether anyone will want you? Teacher Zhou said we should focus on our studies at this age!" Only after lightly tapping Dong'er on the head did Huo Yuhao realize they'd arrived at her dormitory building without noticing.
Was it to be expected, or did it come as a surprise? Even though they were outside the girls' dormitory, there seemed to be quite a few boys around.
A few drops of cold sweat trickled down Huo Yuhao's forehead. If he really were a six-year-old, that would be one thing—but the soul inside this body was already in its twenties.
Were children on Douluo Continent really so... precocious?
Of course, even so, it wasn't as if Huo Yuhao couldn't accept it at all. The closest they had gotten was a hug.
"Then I'll head back now, Yuhao."
"Mm. If you're really worried, just go to bed early. We have an early class tomorrow, so don't sleep in."
"I know!"
Before long, Huo Yuhao returned to his own dorm.
Just as he was about to wash up, he suddenly noticed something in his pocket that hadn't been there before... a hair clip?
He picked it up and examined it closely. It looked like half of a butterfly with its wings spread. Pink and blue were interwoven across its surface, and a band of golden yellow lined the edges of its wings.
"Radiant... Goddess Butterfly?"
In Dong'er's dorm room, the little girl lay beneath her snow-white covers.
She had deliberately opened the window so the moonlight could spill into her little room.
Dong'er gazed quietly at the white wall. She didn't know whether the boy who was also called Huo Yuhao, and who looked exactly like Huo Yuhao, recognized that hair clip.
She didn't know when she'd lost consciousness, or when she'd opened her eyes again.
It seemed to have happened in a mountain valley... where she'd run into terrible danger.
She seemed to remember that the next time she saw Big Uncle and her second uncle, she'd been so frightened that she burst into tears.
"Yuhao... I miss you so much..."
"But I don't know if that was really you... I don't know..."
Before you continue