He snorted.
"What are you looking at? What's so interesting about this kind of idle reading?"
Mo Hen smiled without answering and simply held the book out a little farther.
The principal waved him off. "I'm not reading it. Even if I were to die, die outside, or jump out of here, I still wouldn't give a book like that a second glance!"
Mo Hen kept smiling, still holding the book out.
The principal glared at him.
Mo Hen didn't budge.
The two of them stood off for three seconds.
In the end, the principal gave in.
He snatched the book away and said irritably, "Fine, fine, I'll take a look. Just one look. I'll give it back when I'm done, then I'll go straighten out the school rules and stamp out this crooked trend—"
His voice cut off abruptly.
The principal's gaze fell on the first page.
[Dou Power, Third Stage!]
He couldn't tear his eyes away.
The book Mo Hen had handed him was the deluxe edition.
The one personally written by Su Mo.
The principal's vision blurred. It was as if he'd been sucked right into the book.
He saw the boy named Xiao Yan standing in the training grounds, facing countless disdainful stares.
He saw Xiao Yan get his engagement broken off, and heard him declare, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—don't bully a poor young man!"
He saw him meet Yao Lao and begin cultivating, rising step by step from a good-for-nothing to the peak.
No one knew how long had passed.
The principal slowly opened his eyes.
They were a little red.
His fists were clenched tight.
Faint ripples of Soul Power stirred around him.
The people beside him were astonished to discover—
The principal's aura was a little stronger than before.
Mo Hen spoke at just the right moment. "Principal, did you have an epiphany?"
The principal drew a deep breath and nodded.
He looked at Su Mo, his expression complicated.
Could a book written by this six-year-old really lead someone to an epiphany?
Just now, he'd comprehended a move called Eight Extremities Collapse.
The cultivation he'd been stuck at for three years showed faint signs of loosening.
The principal was silent for a long while.
Then he spoke.
"Y-Young friend, your book really is so good—no, I mean, how much does it cost?"
That day, Notting Academy presented an utterly unbelievable sight.
The cafeteria was deserted.
Not a single student who usually fought over food could be seen.
The kitchen staff were so bored they leaned against the serving window, peering outside.
"Where is everyone?"
"No idea."
"Are they not eating today?"
"Maybe... they aren't hungry?"
The sports field was empty.
The training equipment stood all alone, covered in a layer of dust.
The classrooms were even more eerily quiet.
The teachers were gone.
The students were gone, too.
The whole academy seemed to have had its pause button pressed.
There was only one place where the noise was deafening.
In front of the bookstall.
Hundreds of students crowded together.
The night before, Dorm Seven had copied fewer than a hundred books. There weren't nearly enough to go around.
Even so, the students huddled around a single copy, reading together, utterly absorbed.
Some stood as they read, some squatted, and some simply sat on the ground.
Upperclassmen, underclassmen, boys, girls, nobles...
At that moment, they all shared one identity—
Book lovers.
"Xiao Yan is so cool!"
"I like Lin Dong!"
"Sun Wukong is the true Great Sage!"
"Zhuge Liang is the GOAT!"
The crowd buzzed with lively chatter.
The cafeteria auntie carried over some food, hoping to sell a few meals, but found that no one paid her the slightest attention.
She sighed, set the food aside, and picked up a book herself.
Might as well, since she had nothing else to do.
But once she started reading, she lost all sense of time—and even forgot she'd meant to go ask Yu Xiaogang for money.
Yu Xiaogang stood at the edge of the crowd, craning his neck to peer inside—the regular edition of Battle Through the Heavens.
He read a few pages and furrowed his brow.
What kind of nonsense was this?
Dou Power, Third Stage?
A good-for-nothing rising to greatness?
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river?
What was so interesting about that?
He closed the book and picked up another one—the Journey to the West.
He flipped through it.
His brow furrowed again.
A monkey? A pig? A monk?
What was all this supposed to be?
Yu Xiaogang turned his head aside and curled his lip in disdain.
Everyone around him was reading in rapt fascination. He was the only one who couldn't get into any of it.
It wasn't that he didn't want to read.
He simply couldn't understand it.
In his eyes, those books were nothing but ordinary words. There was nothing special about them at all.
No golden light, no insights, no epiphany.
Nothing.
Yu Xiaogang's expression darkened.
But he quickly reassured himself—what was so impressive about this?
It was just reading a book, wasn't it?
Could that compare to the god he'd help cultivate?
He snorted and turned to leave.
As he walked, he thought:
"Once I've helped Tang San become a god, what does a mere epiphany matter?"
"Titled Douluo, a godhood—all of it will be mine!"
"Then I'll make these book-reading fools kneel and beg me for guidance!"
His figure disappeared beyond the edge of the crowd.
Behind him, the bookstall remained just as lively.
No one noticed him leave.
And no one cared.
That night, in Dorm Seven.
Su Mo sat by the bed, counting the day's earnings.
Copper Soul Coins were piled into a little mountain. A rough count put them at least thirty or forty Silver Spirit Coins.
In one day, they'd earned a commoner's wages for a whole month.
"We're rich! We're rich!" Wang Sheng rubbed his hands beside him, staring straight at the pile of money as if he wanted to pounce on it and kiss it.
Gou Dan was even worse. He'd already started drooling.
Tang San did his best to stay calm, but he couldn't suppress the smile tugging at his lips.
Xiao Wu was happily chomping on a large carrot. Orange juice covered her face. Hearing them, she looked up and blinked in confusion.
"How many carrots is thirty or forty Silver Spirit Coins worth?"
Su Mo thought for a moment, then explained in terms she'd understand. "You could buy... more than four thousand carrots."
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up instantly.
"More than four thousand?!"
She looked down at the half-eaten carrot in her hand, then at the pile of money in front of Su Mo, and started calculating furiously.
One carrot... was this big.
Four thousand carrots... piled up...
Xiao Wu's eyes grew wider and wider, until she finally bounced to her feet.
"Mmph, mmph!" (Master is amazing!)
Her mouth was still full of carrot, so her words came out muffled, but her excitement was plain to see.
Su Mo smiled and shook his head.
This child really had no concept of money.
Still, that was a good thing. Staying simple meant being happy.
He looked at the pile of money in front of him, then at the Dorm Seven members watching him eagerly.
"Let's split it."
Wang Sheng's eyes shone even brighter.
Su Mo divided up the Copper Soul Coins by head—Wang Sheng, Gou Dan, Er Gou, San Wa, Tie Zhu, Shi Tou... a share for everyone.
It wasn't much, but it was enough to make them happy for several days.
"Thank you, Boss Su!"
"Long live Boss Su!"
"This is the first time I've ever gotten this much money!"
The whole group burst into cheers, clutching their money and grinning like a bunch of fools.
Su Mo waved them down. "All right, all right, don't celebrate too soon. If you want to make money again tomorrow, you'll have to keep working tonight."
Wang Sheng immediately wiped the smile from his face and looked solemn. "Work! We have to work! Copy books! We'll copy all night!"
Gou Dan nodded along. "Right, right! All night! Anyone who doesn't copy is a dog!"
Er Gou chimed in softly from the side. "You're already Gou Dan."
Gou Dan glared at him. "Shut up!"
Everyone burst out laughing.