"Not sure. Some kind of grandmaster who came from outside, I think?"
"Grandmaster? Him?"
"Maybe... probably... he gave himself that title."
"Tsk, tsk. Fifty years old and only Level 29, yet he has the nerve to call himself a grandmaster. I'm thirty-one and already Level 32."
"You know, his Martial Soul really does look like a pig. I saw something pink smoking from a distance."
"Like it was farting?"
"Yeah, exactly like that."
"Pfft—"
"Who's that kid? He's amazing. He left that so-called grandmaster speechless."
"Seems to be a new Work-Study Student. His name's Su Mo."
"A Work-Study Student? That giant who's two meters twenty? You're telling me he's a Work-Study Student?"
"He usually makes himself smaller. He only got bigger when he beat up the gatekeeper just now."
"Beat up the gatekeeper? Which gatekeeper?"
"The one at the entrance, Wang Fugui. He got knocked to his knees with one punch."
"...Isn't our academy's gatekeeper a Level 17 Soul Master?"
"Yeah."
"And he got knocked to his knees with one punch?"
"Yeah."
"And he's six?"
"Yeah."
The onlookers fell silent for three seconds.
Then they looked toward Su Mo, their eyes filled with deep reverence.
"This guy... is someone you don't want to mess with."
"No kidding."
Yu Xiaogang walked along the paths of Notting Academy.
The sun was shining.
But he was in a terrible mood.
He remembered how, in his previous life, Tang San had respectfully called him "teacher."
He remembered how, in his previous life, he had stood atop a mountain, watching Tang San become a god.
He remembered how, in his previous life, Tang San had visited him on his deathbed and said, "Thank you for teaching me all these years."
All of that had been his.
It had all been his!
But what about now?
Tang San called someone else "Master," waited on him like an eager little bookish servant, and looked at Yu Xiaogang as if he were a joke.
Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath.
Stay calm.
Calm down.
This was only the beginning.
He still had the memories of his previous life. He knew the plot and understood the course of this world better than anyone.
Su Mo?
Just a six-year-old child.
No matter how capable he was, how far could he really go?
Yu Xiaogang clenched his fists, his gaze growing resolute.
"Just you wait."
He murmured,
"Once I've raised another god—"
"I'll repay today's humiliation a hundredfold!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than—
"Pfft—"
A muffled sound came from the distance.
Yu Xiaogang froze.
That was Luo Sanpao.
His Martial Soul had farted again.
Yu Xiaogang closed his eyes.
He took a deep breath.
Then opened them.
And kept walking.
Under the sunlight, his retreating figure carried an indescribable...
Tragic dignity.
Su Mo stood at the entrance to Dorm Seven, staring at the half-open wooden door, lost in thought.
On the way over, he had already learned about Dorm Seven from Su Yuntao. It was the Work-Study Students' dormitory, where more than a dozen children from poor families lived. Their leader was a boy named Wang Sheng, whose Martial Soul was a War Tiger. He was supposedly quite influential among the Work-Study Students.
According to the original plot, Tang San was supposed to go inside next, get surrounded, then dodge the attacks with his Tang Sect footwork and show off a move to intimidate everyone, before finally becoming the dorm leader.
A classic show-off-and-slap-the-opposition scene.
Su Mo thought about it and decided it sounded boring.
Beating up adults was satisfying.
Beating up a bunch of kids between six and ten?
That was just picking on little children.
Besides, the kids in Dorm Seven weren't bad by nature. In the original story, they were just a group of poor kids banding together for warmth. They had no great feud with him.
No need.
Su Mo looked down at the Big Black Ox beside him.
The Big Black Ox was leisurely swishing its tail, wearing an expression that said, "When's dinner?"
Su Mo got an idea.
"Old Ox." He patted the Big Black Ox on the head. "You go in first."
The Big Black Ox froze.
"Moo?" (Why me?)
Su Mo spoke to it earnestly. "It's time to put you to the test."
The Big Black Ox: "???"
Before it could react, Su Mo had already opened the door and shoved it inside.
The Big Black Ox stumbled a few steps, then planted itself firmly in the middle of the dormitory.
Then it saw—
A dozen or so children, ranging from six to ten years old, all turn to stare at it in unison.
At their head stood a dark-skinned boy with a sturdy, tigerish look. It was Wang Sheng.
Silence.
Silence.
The Big Black Ox blinked.
"Moo." (Hello.)
Wang Sheng blinked too.
Then he shouted, "Brothers, we've got a new roommate! You know the rules!"
Before the words had even finished, seven or eight children swarmed it!
Fists and kicks flew!
Soul Power erupted!
Martial Soul lights of every color flashed wildly in the cramped dormitory!
The Big Black Ox: "??????"
It hadn't reacted at all.
When had it ever been treated like this, pampered as it was?
In Holy Soul Village, it was the mightiest ox in the whole village. Even Old Jack wouldn't dare raise his voice at it.
And now—
A bunch of little brats, the oldest only ten, were punching and kicking it?
The Big Black Ox was dumbfounded.
There was only one thought in its head:
Su Mo really was a little heifer pouring wine in front of the house—he was six to the core!
You're the real rascal!
Outside, Su Mo heard the racket inside and nodded in satisfaction.
Just as expected.
His prediction had been right.
Tang San watched in utter amazement. "Master, how did you know they'd attack?"
Su Mo's expression was calm. "Experience."
Tang San regarded him with reverence.
His master really was unfathomably deep!
Just then, a chorus of screams came from the dormitory.
But they weren't the Big Black Ox's.
They were the children's.
Su Mo leaned in to take a look—
The Big Black Ox had finally come around.
It glared with its ox eyes, swung its head, jabbed with its horns, and kicked with its hooves.
One child flew out.
Then a second.
Then a third.
Wang Sheng charged at the front and flew the farthest. With a thud, he stuck to the wall, then slowly slid down.
The Big Black Ox stood in the center of the dormitory, majestic and imposing, blowing gusts of air from its nostrils.
"Moo!" (Who's next?! I'll take on ten!)
Fists at the Southern Mountain Nursing Home, feet at the Notting Kindergarten—the Big Black Ox was having the time of its life.
The children lay sprawled on the floor, staring at one another in confusion.
Wang Sheng slid down from the wall, rubbing his backside as he struggled to his feet.
He stared at the Big Black Ox, his lips trembling. "Our new roommate... is an ox?"
Beside him, a skinny boy who seemed to be called Gou Dan stammered, "B-Brother Wang Sheng, I think the one we were just hitting was an ox..."
"No kidding, I know it's an ox!" Wang Sheng glared at him. "The question is, how is this ox so strong?!"
Gou Dan hunched his shoulders. "Maybe... it's a Soul Beast?"
"Can a Soul Beast enter the academy?!"
"Th-then how did it get in?"
The two looked at each other, then back at the Big Black Ox.
The Big Black Ox held its head high, its tail raised proudly, looking like it was saying, "That's just how powerful I am."
Just then, footsteps sounded at the door.
Su Mo and Tang San walked in.
Su Mo looked at the mess on the floor, then at the mighty Big Black Ox, and nodded with satisfaction. "Well done."
The Big Black Ox rolled its eyes at him.
"Moo." (Just you wait.)
Tang San, meanwhile, frowned and looked at Wang Sheng and the others. "Why did you attack us?"
Wang Sheng froze.
Attack?
He looked at Tang San, then Su Mo, then the Big Black Ox, and suddenly understood.
"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding!" He hurriedly waved his hands. "We weren't attacking. We were... holding a dorm leader selection!"