When You're Out and About, You Really Need to Rely on Your Background

Night fell.

Dormitory Seven was brightly lit.

In truth, it was only two candles, but in this pitch-black dormitory, it was already considered quite bright.

A group of people sat huddled around a table, each with a pen in hand and paper spread out before them, heads buried in copying books.

Wang Sheng was copying Battle Through the Heavens, muttering as he wrote, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river... never bully a young man because he is poor... Good! Well said!"

Gou Dan was copying Journey to the West, and as he wrote, he suddenly burst into laughter, "This Zhu Bajie is just too funny, hahaha—"

Er Gou was copying Romance of the Three Kingdoms with the most serious expression, stroke by stroke, his characters as precise as if they were carved.

Tang San and Xiao Wu were also copying—even though they were heading out to hunt for a spirit ring tomorrow, they were idle tonight, and every extra copy counted.

Su Mo sat to the side, not copying, merely watching them.

It wasn't that he was being lazy, but the books he copied were "high-tier versions" that required the infusion of mental energy and could not be mass-produced.

Still, seeing this group working so hard, he felt quite satisfied.

As expected, money was the best driving force.

Big Black Ox lay in the corner, watching these humans forgo sleep in the middle of the night to huddle around a table and write, and let out a leisurely "Moo."

(Humans really are a strange species.)

He only ever looked at the high-tier versions Su Mo copied.

However, no one paid him any mind.

Early the next morning.

The door to Dormitory Seven was pushed open from the outside.

Mo Hen stood at the entrance, prepared to notify the Work-Study Students.

Then, he froze.

Inside the dormitory, seven or eight people lifted their heads in unison to look at him.

Every face was adorned with two massive dark circles.

Wang Sheng's eyes were swollen like walnuts.

Gou Dan's eye sockets were as black as a panda's.

Er Gou was in an even worse state; not only were his eye sockets black, but his eyes were bloodshot and red, looking just like a rabbit's.

Tang San and Xiao Wu were no better off, leaning against each other with their eyes half-open, looking as if they might fall asleep at any moment.

Mo Hen opened his mouth, wanting to ask, "What did you all do last night?" but the words changed as they reached his lips:

"...Are you all alright?"

Wang Sheng let out a yawn and waved his hand, "We're fine, we're fine, Teacher Mo Hen, we're doing great."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he let out another yawn.

Gou Dan added from the side, "We just stayed up a bit late copying books."

Mo Hen asked, "Copying books? Copying what books?"

Wang Sheng pointed to the stacks of handwritten manuscripts on the table.

Mo Hen's gaze swept over them—Battle Through the Heavens, Journey to the West, Romance of the Three Kingdoms...

He fell silent.

He had read these books yesterday as well.

They were indeed good.

But good as they were, was it really worth staying up all night to copy them?

He looked at those dark circles, then back at the neatly written manuscripts on the table, and suddenly, he understood.

If he were younger, in order to earn a bit more money, he might have done the same thing.

He had seen for himself how popular the book stall was yesterday.

Mo Hen sighed.

"Alright, morning classes are canceled for today. Go get some rest."

Wang Sheng's eyes lit up, "Really?"

Mo Hen nodded, "Really. Yesterday, the entire school's faculty and students were obsessed with these novels, so the principal is holding a meeting to resolve the matter."

"Oh, right. The principal also said to reserve a rental slot for the high-tier version of Battle Through the Heavens for him. Su Mo, your labor duties for this semester are canceled, but you'll still receive your wages."

Having said that, he turned and walked away.

Behind him, a cheer erupted.

"That's great! We can finally sleep!"

"I'm taking the bed first!"

"Don't crowd, don't crowd!"

"Snore—"

Before Gou Dan could even lie down, he was already asleep.

Su Mo was not asleep.

He sat on the edge of the bed, looking out the window, thinking about his upcoming plans.

Money was sufficient for the time being.

But money alone was not enough.

He, Tang San, and Xiao Wu all possessed innate full soul power; they needed to obtain their first soul rings as soon as possible.

Especially Xiao Wu. Although she was a Soul Beast in human form, since she had come to the human world, she had to follow human rules.

Furthermore, Su Mo recalled the theories he had read online in his past life.

The upper limit of soul ring absorption was related to one's physical constitution.

The stronger the constitution, the higher the age of the soul ring one could absorb.

So, what if...

During the process of absorbing a soul ring, one used medicine to continuously repair their meridians and physical damage—could they break through this limit?

Su Mo's eyes lit up.

In the fantasy novels of his past life, that was exactly what the protagonists did.

Although he didn't know if it would work in this world, there was no harm in trying.

Besides, he had money now; buying some good medicine wouldn't be a problem.

He looked at the pile of money left on the table.

Tomorrow, he would first go buy some recovery potions.

Then, he would head to the Star Dou Forest.

Su Mo looked at Xiao Wu sleeping beside him and smiled.

After all, when you're out in the world, having a background matters.

In the afternoon, Su Mo knocked on the door of Mo Hen's office.

"Come in."

Su Mo pushed the door open and entered, seeing Mo Hen hunched over his desk with a standard edition of The Legend of the Condor Heroes spread out before him.

Mo Hen looked up, and upon seeing it was him, he paused.

"Su Mo? Is something the matter?"

Su Mo nodded. "Teacher, I would like to request a few days of leave."

Mo Hen's brows furrowed.

"Leave? It's only the second day of school, what kind of leave?"

Su Mo was well-prepared and replied calmly, "To hunt for soul rings. We all have innate full soul power and need to obtain our first soul rings as soon as possible."

Mo Hen's brows furrowed even deeper.

"Hunt for soul rings? You few six-year-old children, going to the Star Dou Forest?"

He shook his head, his tone resolute. "No. It's too dangerous. Wait until the academy organizes it, or until a teacher can lead the team."

Su Mo had anticipated he would say that.

He pulled something from his robe and placed it on the desk.

It was a book.

Four large characters were on the cover—The Legend of the Condor Heroes.

But unlike the one in front of Mo Hen, this book's cover faintly shimmered with a pale golden light.

The high-tier edition.

Mo Hen's gaze was instantly captivated.

His eyes stared fixedly at the book, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

"This is..."

Su Mo smiled slightly. "The high-tier edition. I wrote it myself."

Mo Hen's hand had already reached out, but he forcibly pulled it back.

He coughed, struggling to maintain his dignity as a teacher.

"This... the matter of leave is truly difficult to handle..."

Su Mo pushed the book forward.

Mo Hen's eyes followed the movement of the book.

"The academy has regulations..."

The book was pushed a little closer.

Mo Hen's breathing grew ragged.

"As a teacher, I cannot..."

The book was now right at his fingertips.

Mo Hen fell silent.

He looked at the book, then at Su Mo, then back at the book, and then at Su Mo again.

Finally, he sighed.

"No, it's too dangerous, unless you can guarantee your safety."

Su Mo smiled and called out to Big Black Ox.

Big Black Ox chose that moment to reveal the aura of a six-hundred-year-old Great Demon King.

"This is Big Black Ox; it will accompany us on our trip."

"Moo."

Mo Hen was shocked by Big Black Ox's strength, but since it had been recorded at the start of the term, he assumed it was a bodyguard hired by that personage, which would be more than enough to protect a few Soul Masters hunting for soul rings.

Sure enough, when you're out in the world, background is everything.

And so.

"Deal."

Mo Hen snatched up the book and clutched it tightly to his chest, as if afraid someone might snatch it away.

With his other hand, he grabbed a pen, scribbled out a leave slip, stamped it, and handed it to Su Mo.

"Go, go. Come back early. Stay safe."