The alarm blared through the library, and students poured out from every corner in a panic.
Su Mo quickly organized the evacuation. "Don't run! No pushing! Keep orderly and get downstairs quickly!"
His voice was remarkably calm as he directed the students toward the exits.
The smoke grew thicker, and visibility dropped sharply.
As he counted heads, he recalled the layout of the library.
Three floors, eight sections, two emergency exits.
Most of the students had already evacuated. The fire was growing fiercer by the moment, blocking the staircase on the east side.
Su Mo covered his mouth and nose with a damp cloth and searched through the thick smoke for anyone still trapped.
"Teacher Su! Xiao Wu hasn't come out!" a girl cried at the exit.
Su Mo's heart tightened as he looked toward the east side, already swallowed by flames.
That was the direction Xiao Wu had gone!
"Get out of here! I'm going to find her!" Before anyone could react, Su Mo rushed back into the fire.
A wave of heat struck him, scorching his exposed skin.
Bookshelves collapsed in the flames with a deafening crash.
Su Mo crouched low and pressed forward, searching.
At last, in the place where he had spoken with Xiao Wu earlier, he found her lying on the ground.
Her left leg was pinned beneath a fallen bookshelf, and she was barely conscious.
"Xiao Wu! Wake up!" Su Mo shoved the bookshelf aside and helped the girl up.
Xiao Wu opened her eyes, her gaze unfocused. "Teacher... I'm sorry..."
"Don't talk. Save your strength." Su Mo looked around, his heart sinking.
They were surrounded by fire!
Their only way out was the glass window.
But they were on the third floor!
The flames closed in from every side like hungry wolves. The blistering heat seared the air, making every breath unbearably difficult.
They couldn't wait for rescue!
Su Mo looked outside the window, then down at Xiao Wu in his arms.
He made up his mind!
He hadn't been born in a good era, but perhaps he could let her live to see one!
"Xiao Wu, listen to me." He held the girl tightly against him. "We're going to be all right, but I need you to cooperate. Close your eyes, hold on to me, and don't be afraid."
Xiao Wu nodded weakly and closed her eyes as instructed.
Holding Xiao Wu, Su Mo put every ounce of strength he had into charging at the window.
The glass shattered!
He adjusted his posture, making sure his back faced the ground.
In the air, time seemed to stretch out.
He looked up at the sky, stained gray by smoke.
He saw the crowd gathered below.
He saw the flashing red lights of the fire engines...
Then came a violent impact.
The world turned pure white, almost blinding.
He closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, the lights above the operating table were cold and blinding.
"The patient has multiple fractures and internal bleeding... Blood pressure is continuing to drop..."
"What about the girl?"
"Mild concussion and abrasions. She's out of danger..."
The voices seemed to come from underwater, muffled and distant.
That was good, he thought.
At least Lin Xiaowu could keep sitting in a classroom, and still have the future full of possibilities he had once imagined for her.
But he'd have to break his promise. He wouldn't be able to cheer her on during her college entrance exams...
Never mind. This was enough.
The monitor's alarm stretched into a monotonous, unbroken tone.
"Su Mo, stop sleeping!"
Old Jack's voice boomed like a gong.
Big Black Ox wasn't happy about being startled awake.
Who'd be happy with some old man shouting by his bullwhip?
The little heifer was the exception, of course.
It abruptly raised its rear, and the Demon Eye met Old Jack's gaze.
As the saying went, when you gazed into the abyss, the abyss gazed back at you...
Su Mo, on its back, was suddenly launched into the air, jolting him awake.
His eyes weren't even open, but his arms instinctively clamped down around the bull.
They closed around empty air.
Only then did it dawn on him that he was no longer a teacher.
He was a six-year-old child.
What was past was past.
Su Mo relaxed and let his body fall freely.
Thud!
Unexpectedly, Big Black Ox didn't catch him. His head met the ground with a hard smack.
Pop!
Bumps rose one after another, making him look like a Buddha.
Su Mo glared at Big Black Ox in reproach.
Big Black Ox pointed its horns at Old Jack, whose face was dark with annoyance.
It was hard to tell whether the ox was gazing into the abyss or at Su Mo.
"V-village chief, good morning," Su Mo said with an awkward grin.
"Hmph, it's not morning anymore. We've all been waiting for you to awaken your Martial Soul!" Old Jack snapped.
At those words, Su Mo's foggy mind quickly cleared, and he sorted out the situation:
Today was the day of Martial Soul Awakening, the only chance ordinary people had to change their fate.
And he had to get the only Work-Study Student spot at Notting Academy.
Only then could someone as poor as him become a Soul Master and earn enough to treat his mother's illness.
Su Mo jumped down from the ox's back and hurriedly gathered the scattered books, tying them together again with hemp rope and hanging them over the ox's back.
In his haste, he failed to secure one book, and it fell to the ground.
He had no time to worry about it.
He hurried to the end of the line, just behind Tang San.
"Sorry I'm late," Su Mo said softly.
Tang San turned his head slightly, and his eyes—far too mature for his age—met Su Mo's.
He nodded without saying a word.
Yet Su Mo felt a chill.
At this point in the original story, Tang San had three freshly forged Sleeve Arrows hidden on him, ready to take someone's life at any moment.
Only six years old, yet already showing the makings of a psychopathic killer.
Truly terrifying...
The awakening ceremony began.
Su Yuntao stood on the platform, explaining the basics of Martial Souls.
But for Su Mo, who had read the original Douluo Continent story, devoured the manga, and even followed the anime to the end, it was all old news.
He was far more concerned with what kind of Martial Soul he would awaken.
He had worked hard to prepare. He had even once tried to sneakily learn Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill, nearly getting caught and becoming one of those who "already deserved death."
After that, he had been even more careful. Fortunately, he was fairly quick to learn, and he had managed to pick up a little.
On top of that, he had trained hard. Awakening a Martial Soul shouldn't be difficult.
But the real problem was the figure standing ahead of him.
Tang San!
The chosen hero of the original story, with Innate Full Soul Power!
His strongest rival for the spot!
His only chance was that Old Six Tang San liked to hide his abilities, and in front of outsiders would only reveal the facade of Blue Silver Grass, a Trash Martial Soul.
As long as Su Mo awakened a somewhat decent Martial Soul, and had some Soul Power to go with it, he'd have a chance to compete.
"Phew." Su Mo let out a breath.
To be honest, if it weren't for his mother's illness, he really didn't want anything to do with a protagonist who was always ready to kill someone.
As if sensing the gaze on his back, Tang San abruptly turned around.
Su Mo was ready for him and put on the kind smile he had practiced countless times.
Su Mo: ⌓⌣⌓ (kind)
Tang San: O_o
The awakening ceremony proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Most of the children awakened Martial Souls resembling farming tools, such as sickles and hoes, and had no Soul Power.
Then Tang San stepped forward.
"Blue Silver Grass?" Su Yuntao frowned, his voice full of disappointment. "A textbook Trash Martial Soul."
But when the crystal ball touched Tang San's hand and burst into brilliant light, Su Yuntao and Old Jack were both stunned.
"I-Innate Full Soul Power!" Old Jack's voice rose to a squeak.
Su Yuntao sighed. "But this Martial Soul... sigh!"
The two shook their heads and sighed repeatedly, full of regret.
Everything had gone just as Su Mo remembered from his previous life. He sighed too.
But perhaps Su Mo's arrival had caused some kind of butterfly effect in this world.
Tang San's Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul had become extremely unstable.
It seemed he was on the verge of losing control of it.
Tang San's body trembled.
Clang!
A hammer hit the ground.
Tang San smiled awkwardly.
"Everyone, don't be nervous. I'm a blacksmith, so this is just the hammer I use for forging iron."
"That's perfectly reasonable, right?"