Chapter 67: Peak of Second Sequence (II)

Jackson coughed lightly and cleared his throat.

Then, as though suddenly remembering something important, he reached into his storage space.

"Ahem. Aella, do you remember what your big brother promised you?"

The anger on Aella’s face disappeared almost instantly.

Her eyes widened.

She looked at Jackson expectantly.

"The new jewelry set released by Awakened Paradise?"

Jackson’s expression froze.

This girl!

He nearly slapped a hand against his forehead.

He had no idea what had happened to Aella lately.

At some point, his innocent little sister had developed a fascination with expensive things, especially jewelry.

And apparently, she had an excellent memory whenever those expensive things were involved.

Mother Rose overheard their conversation and immediately frowned.

"Aella, stop bothering your brother. What are you going to do with those useless pieces of stone anyway?"

Aella’s cheeks puffed up slightly.

Jackson couldn’t help shaking his head.

Instead of continuing the argument, he reached into his storage space and took out a small bottle.

Inside was a clear liquid that shimmered faintly under the sunlight.

A Peak Rank One Nutritional Liquid.

It was considered one of the best products available for strengthening a young person’s developing body. If Aella consumed it regularly while continuing her cultivation, she would have an excellent chance of awakening a six-resonance talent or even higher.

Before this, such a nutritional liquid would have been nothing more than an unreachable dream for the Von Maximus family.

Even obtaining ordinary cultivation resources had been difficult enough.

But things had changed.

Jackson now had enough money to provide his family with resources that they could never have imagined possessing before.

Someone might wonder why he hadn’t simply purchased a Rank Two Nutritional Liquid.

Wouldn’t something of a higher rank have a greater effect?

Unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple.

A young person’s developing body had its limits.

A body that had not yet completed its initial awakening couldn’t properly digest even a Rank One Nutritional Liquid, let alone the far more potent energy contained within a Rank Two product.

Trying to force too much energy into a developing body wouldn’t necessarily produce better results.

It could instead cause serious problems.

Aella’s eyes widened the moment she saw the bottle in Jackson’s hand.

Her pupils nearly turned into two large circles.

She recognized it immediately.

Back at the dojo, she had seen many similar nutritional liquids. She had even watched some of her friends consume them as part of their training.

There was no way she could mistake it.

"Brother..."

Before Jackson could say anything else, Aella rushed forward and snatched the bottle from his hand.

She jumped excitedly, clutching the precious liquid tightly against her chest.

"Thank you, big brother! Thank you!"

Her earlier desire for jewelry was instantly forgotten.

Jackson couldn’t help smiling at her reaction.

"Hmm. Don’t forget to practice the body-refining exercises taught by the dojo. That way, you can properly absorb the Nutritional Liquid and make full use of its effects."

Aella nodded repeatedly.

Her head bobbed up and down like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Yes! Yes! I understand!"

Jackson narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had seen enough of his little sister’s enthusiasm to know that it could disappear surprisingly quickly.

I still need to keep an eye on her.

He wasn’t going to let her spend all her time dreaming about expensive jewelry while neglecting her cultivation.

With that thought in mind, Jackson stayed home for the rest of the day.

For the past few days, his schedule had been so hectic that he barely had time to spend with his family. Most days, he could only join them for breakfast, and there had even been occasions when he was too busy to make it home for dinner.

Today, he decided to make up for that lost time.

He stayed with his family throughout the entire day.

They worked in the garden, talked, ate together, and simply enjoyed the ordinary moments that had become increasingly rare since the world changed.

Mother Rose was somewhat worried.

She couldn’t help feeling that her son was wasting valuable time.

After all, Jackson was growing stronger at an astonishing rate. Every moment he spent relaxing was a moment he wasn’t cultivating.

Yet she ultimately chose not to stop him.

She knew how hard he had been working these past few days.

Perhaps, for once, spending an entire day with his family wasn’t a waste of time at all.

Time continued to flow like water, quietly slipping through Jackson’s fingers without anything particularly remarkable happening.

Days passed.

Then weeks.

Before he realized it, the final day of the one-month deadline had arrived.

Tomorrow, Golden Radiance Academy would officially open its doors and begin accepting students.

The young Awakened who entered the academy would not merely be students. They were the generation humanity was counting on to become its future pillars, the people who would eventually stand at the forefront of the battle against the monsters and the dangers beyond human territory.

For Jackson, tomorrow also marked the beginning of an entirely new Chapter.

At this moment, however, he was sitting cross-legged inside his room, his breathing steady and rhythmic.

A faint pressure occasionally radiated from his body.

Inside his spiritual space, magical power churned continuously, surging against the increasingly sturdy boundaries before slowly settling down again.

During the past few days, Jackson’s life had undergone a drastic transformation.

He had gone from an ordinary teenager looked down upon by everyone to a Bronze-Rank hunter standing on the threshold of the Third Sequence.

Unfortunately, despite his relentless efforts, he had still failed to break through.

But he wasn’t far away.

Very close.

Jackson slowly opened his eyes.

A translucent status window appeared before him, its familiar text glowing in front of his vision.

[Name — Jackson Von Maximus]

[Age — 16]

[Talent — Aura of Absolute Slaughter, ...]

[Realm — Late-Stage Second Sequence]

[Spiritual Force — 24.7]

[Mana/Physique — 25.1]

Jackson studied the numbers quietly.

Compared to several weeks ago, the improvement was enormous.

Both of his primary stats had increased by roughly ten points.

With only a few more days of cultivation, he should be able to push both of them to thirty, the absolute limit of the Second Sequence.

Once that happened, his foundation would be sufficiently strengthened for him to attempt the breakthrough to the Third Sequence.

But Jackson wasn’t disappointed.

He had already achieved far more than he could have imagined a month ago.

Looking at his current status, a faint smile appeared on his face.

There was still a long road ahead.

And for the first time, Jackson felt genuine anticipation rather than uncertainty when he thought about the future.

Tomorrow, he would enter Golden Radiance Academy.

He had no idea what awaited him there.

But that was precisely what made it interesting.

Jackson stood up and looked toward the window, where the last traces of daylight were fading from the sky.

His eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"Let’s see what the world will be like at Golden Radiance Academy."