Chapter 52: Talent Evolving

"To think I actually achieved it in just half a month..."

Jackson stared at his status window, a faint trace of pride appearing in his eyes.

Reaching the Second Sequence in half a month was certainly impressive, but it wasn’t completely unheard of. There had been awakened individuals who accomplished the same feat, and there were even quite a few among the younger generation.

The super genius Jackson had once wanted to surpass, Alexander Drag, had already reached the Second Sequence Realm.

However, there was an enormous difference between Jackson and those people.

Those geniuses were backed by powerful corporations and ancient mega-families, possessing resources that Jackson couldn’t even begin to imagine. They had access to precious pills, rare treasures, powerful training environments, and countless other resources capable of rapidly pushing their cultivation forward.

Their path to the Second Sequence had been paved with resources.

Jackson’s path had been paved with blood and danger.

He hadn’t been fed pills and treasures until his strength reached the Second Sequence.

He had fought his way there.

Monster after monster.

Battle after battle.

Every increase in strength had been earned through his own efforts.

A faint sense of pride rose within Jackson’s heart.

But just as that feeling began to grow, he shook his head.

"No... I can’t become arrogant."

His expression gradually became serious.

"The fact that I managed to reach the Second Sequence could be almost entirely attributed to the miraculous ability of the Golden Brush. If it weren’t for the Brush’s existence, I would still be a rookie awakened, trying to prepare for some backwater training academy..."

Jackson had complete confidence in his own abilities.

But confidence was different from arrogance.

He understood very well just how important the Golden Brush had been to his growth.

Without it, he might have possessed decent talent, but reaching his current level in such a short period would have been nothing more than a fantasy.

Just as Jackson was thinking about this, the status window floating before him suddenly rippled.

The familiar golden light spread across its surface.

Then, under Jackson’s stunned gaze, the Golden Brush materialized in midair.

Jackson’s eyes widened.

Something was changing.

He could clearly sense it.

The information displayed on his status window began shifting, and the talent column slowly expanded as though an invisible force were opening up additional space.

For a moment, confusion filled Jackson’s eyes.

Then something suddenly clicked in his mind.

His expression changed.

Excitement flashed across his face.

"Now I can add one more talent..."

Jackson muttered under his breath.

He had finally understood.

After reaching the Second Sequence Realm, the Golden Brush had unlocked another permanent talent slot.

Previously, he could only possess a single talent.

Now, he could permanently add another.

Two talents.

At the same time.

Jackson’s breathing became slightly heavier as he stared at the expanded talent column.

An awakened possessing dual talents...

Such a thing was completely unprecedented.

At least, as far as the public knew.

There were countless awakened individuals throughout the world. Humanity had spent years researching talents, recording awakenings, documenting bloodlines, and studying every unusual ability that appeared.

Yet there had never been a publicly known case of someone possessing two innate talents simultaneously.

And now, Jackson was about to become the first.

A strange light flickered within his eyes.

For the first time since awakening, Jackson truly felt that the Golden Brush might be hiding secrets far greater than he had imagined.

The ability to rewrite reality was already terrifying.

But the ability to continuously expand the limits of what he could possess...

That was something else entirely.

All this time, one of the greatest limitations Jackson had faced was his inability to permanently add more talents to his status window.

There were several talents he had encountered that he genuinely liked. Some possessed extraordinary abilities, while others had enormous potential for growth. Unfortunately, no matter how useful they were, Jackson couldn’t keep them permanently.

He could only use them temporarily before eventually losing them.

Now, that limitation had finally been solved.

Jackson stared at the expanded talent column for a moment before falling into deep thought.

After considering his options, he quickly settled on his choice.

Aura of Slaughter.

This was one of the strongest talents he had encountered so far.

In Jackson’s mind, it was even more powerful than Veronica Green Soul’s ability to pause things.

During their first battle, Veronica had indeed managed to completely halt his movements. But even then, Jackson had felt that if he had truly gone all out, he might have been able to break free.

Aura of Slaughter, on the other hand, had already proven its value repeatedly.

With those thoughts in mind, Jackson finally made his decision.

He focused his mind and transmitted his will toward the Golden Brush.

The moment his intention was conveyed, the status window immediately began to change.

The words Aura of Slaughter suddenly started pulsing with brilliant golden light.

The glow was almost identical to the radiance surrounding the Golden Brush itself.

The two seemed to resonate with one another, as though some invisible connection had been established between them.

Then, under Jackson’s stunned gaze, the original talent began transforming.

The words slowly changed.

Aura of Slaughter became Aura of Absolute Slaughter.

Jackson’s pupils contracted.

A new description appeared beneath the talent.

[Aura of Absolute Slaughter — The wielder not only kills his enemies, but becomes a true dominator of the battlefield. With each kill, the user’s stats increase by 1–5% of the slain enemy’s attributes.]

Jackson stared at the description.

His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"This..."

He couldn’t help taking a deep breath.

This effect was simply too broken.

Previously, Aura of Slaughter could indeed increase his stats, but those increases were temporary. Once the aura faded, the additional strength would disappear along with it.

This was completely different.

Now, as long as Jackson continued killing, his stats could continue increasing.

There was no obvious upper limit.

Every powerful enemy he killed could potentially become another step on his path toward becoming stronger.

For a moment, Jackson simply stared at the status window.

Then he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Thankfully...

He had made the right choice.

With Aura of Absolute Slaughter, he no longer had to rely entirely on pills and meditation to increase his strength.

Those methods had already begun showing diminishing returns.

But killing powerful enemies was different.

As long as he possessed the strength to defeat them, every battle could potentially provide him with permanent growth.

Jackson’s heart couldn’t help but burn with excitement.

In an instant, his happiness doubled.

Awakening the Golden Brush had truly changed his life.

Without it, he might still have been an ordinary rookie awakened, struggling to find his place in the world.

Now, his path had completely changed.

While Jackson was still lost in thought, his hunter license suddenly vibrated.

He glanced down.

A direct message from Alchemist Dawn had arrived.

Alchemist Dawn:Are you ready? Meet me outside.

Jackson’s eyes flickered.

He had almost forgotten about their agreement.

Without wasting any time, he sent a short reply.

His breakthrough had completely changed the situation.

Now that he had successfully entered the Second Sequence, there was no longer any reason for him to hesitate.

After making a few final preparations, Jackson headed toward Aella’s room.

When he pushed the door open, he found Aella sitting alone on the bed, a slightly sullen expression covering her small face.

Mother Rose was nowhere to be seen.