He's a genius, it's just a pity that heaven envies talent

"That child is named Su Mo, and he is a genius."

"It is only a pity that heaven envies such talent."

Inside the awakening wooden hut at the center of Holy Soul Village.

Village Chief Old Jack bowed respectfully as he introduced the boy to Su Yuntao.

Su Yuntao, a Level 26 Great Spirit Master sent from Spirit Hall.

The moment he stepped into Holy Soul Village, he was captivated by that extraordinary child.

The child was named Su Mo, six years of age, with delicate features and an elegant temperament that hardly resembled that of a farm boy.

At this moment, he was lying on his side atop a sturdy black ox, his right hand pillowed behind his head, his left hand dangling a book that lay open, sleeping soundly.

The most astonishing thing was the large black ox.

It was actually squinting, its gaze following the characters on the page as they moved, occasionally shaking its head as if savoring the profound meaning within.

A closer look at the book title revealed only two characters.

The Analects

"What do you mean by that?" Su Yuntao grew interested.

Old Jack sighed, wrinkles bunching on his face: "When his mother was pregnant with him, she came to the village alone, her belly protruding, claiming she was a refugee. The night she gave birth to Su Mo the following month, she suffered a massive hemorrhage. Although her life was saved, her legs never stood again. That ended their livelihood."

Su Yuntao frowned slightly.

"All these years, they have relied on the villagers' charity of rice and grain to survive," Old Jack continued, his voice filled with pity. "But his mother has a strong spirit; she refused to accept favors for nothing, dragging her ailing body to sew and mend clothes for others."

"And that child is truly capable! I don't know how, but he learned all his characters by three, could write stories by four, and by five, he began setting up a stall at the village entrance to rent out books. It became very popular. All the money he earned went to buying medicine for his mother. He is truly a filial son."

"Literate at three, writing books at four, supporting his family at five..." Su Yuntao felt a jolt in his heart. "With such natural talent, he is a genius in every sense of the word!"

Unable to suppress his curiosity, he walked forward.

He saw a small stall set up beside the black ox, with several wooden signs neatly categorized, and books laid flat beneath them for display.

As Su Yuntao's gaze swept over the category signs, his breath hitched.

Wuxia Section:

Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, The Return of the Condor Heroes, The Legend of the Condor Heroes, The Deer and the Cauldron, The Smiling, Proud Wanderer...

Xianxia Section:

Battle Through the Heavens, Martial Universe, Sword of Coming...

Supernatural Section:

Journey to the West, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, Grass Python Hero, Female Ghost Knight...

Alternate History Section:

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Dream of the Red Chamber...

Manga/Comics:

Armor Hero, Seer, Ultraman, Pokémon...

When Su Yuntao's gaze landed on the simple cover of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he could no longer look away.

The pages seemed to shimmer with a faint golden light in his eyes, as if the sounds of clashing steel and galloping horses were emanating from between the lines.

His soul seemed to crave the reading of this book!

"The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide..." he muttered the opening lines, his fingers trembling slightly.

"Master Su Yuntao." Old Jack's voice rang out at the right moment. "The children have all arrived, and Tang San is here too. Do you think it is time..."

Su Yuntao snapped back to reality, only then realizing he had been standing before those books for a long time.

He swallowed hard, struggling to tear his gaze away from Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

As a Level 26 Great Spirit Master of Spirit Hall, he had seen as many books as there were stars in the sky, yet he had never lost his composure like this.

And yet, he had been unsettled by a novel written by a six-year-old child...

"Let us begin." He forced himself to turn around and walk toward the awakening stone in the center of the hut.

As the words fell, the children reluctantly closed the books they had rented and excitedly lined up.

Their faces glowed with a strange radiance brought on by reading, an expression he rarely saw in other villages.

"Su Mo, stop sleeping." Old Jack walked over to the ox whip and called out.

The black ox lifted its eyelids, glanced at Old Jack with an expression of near-human helplessness, and then gently nudged the child on its back with its horns.

Su Mo turned over but did not wake.

Only his brows were deeply furrowed...

"Teacher Su, I like you!"

"?"

In the dream, a hurried and shy confession echoed in the corner of the library's third floor.

The copy of Soul Land in Su Mo's hand went rigid and slid to the floor.

The girl standing before him had a face as flushed as the evening clouds, her hands nervously twisted together, her deep blue school uniform wrinkled from her grip.

This was Lin Xiaowu, the class representative for Chinese, the girl who always sat quietly in the front row, topped the class in grades, and was the most popular student in school.

Su Mo took a deep breath, but he couldn't feel happy at all.

He heard his teaching credentials emitting a sharp, screeching blast!

What followed were summons from the Bureau of Education, media reports, and explosive headlines.

"Unscrupulous teacher seduces underage beauty!"

"Where is the morality!" "Where is the bottom line!" "Where is the humanity!" "Where is the curriculum!!!"

"I'm sorry, I cannot accept your feelings." Su Mo tried to keep his voice gentle, yet firm.

The girl's eyes turned red instantly, yet she asked with a hint of stubbornness, "Is it just because I am your student?"

"No." Su Mo shook his head slightly, a flash of conflict in his eyes. "It is because we share a common mother!"

Huh?

Are they destined to be siblings after all?!

"Ah?!" Lin Xiaowu's eyes widened in utter astonishment.

"The Motherland!"

The air froze, with only the red flag outside the window fluttering in the wind.

"Pfft."

Lin Xiaowu couldn't help but laugh, then quickly covered her mouth, her cheeks turning even redder.

"Teacher Su, you are always like this." She lowered her head, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and tapped her toes against the floor. "I was being very serious with my confession..."

Su Mo placed his hand on her head and stroked it gently.

Lin Xiaowu: (๑・́ω・̀๑) (Looking up innocently)

Su Mo said with a serious expression, "You young people are full of vitality, in the prime of your lives, like the sun at eight or nine in the morning."

"And my duty is to protect you as you grow straight and tall, not to let any wayward emotions block your light."

"Little comrade, your future does not belong with me."

Lin Xiaowu nodded silently, her gaze complex.

Then, it turned resolute.

"Teacher Su, I understand."

"I will work hard, work hard to become someone as excellent as you!"

"So, on the day of the college entrance exam, can you come to cheer for me?"

"I really can't do anything with you." Su Mo nodded helplessly. "Fine, I will be there."

Lin Xiaowu flashed a brilliant smile at Su Mo and turned to run away.

Her footsteps were light, absorbed by the library carpet, leaving only the rustling of turning pages echoing in the quiet.

Su Mo watched her back disappear into the distance and let out a soft sigh.

He walked to the window, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and held it in his mouth without lighting it.

This was a library; smoking was prohibited.

He just needed a familiar action to calm his nerves.

"Someone as excellent as me..."

"Perhaps in a few years, you will have forgotten me..."

In his dream, he was in a world called Earth.

Having grown up in an orphanage, his educational resources had been limited.

After hitting many walls, he had passed by the former "Hope Academy" and met the old principal.

The old principal took him in and made him a teacher.

Though the work was tiring and the pay wasn't high, it was stable and allowed him to survive.

Boom!

A muffled sound interrupted his memories, followed immediately by a pungent, acrid smell of burning!

The surroundings suddenly turned orange-red.

Fire!

It was all fire!

The fire alarm blared!

Accompanied by the shouts of the crowd:

"The library is on fire!!!"