Chapter 81: A Different path (III)

The stronger and more stable the foundation, the greater the chances of surviving that transformation.

That was why the geniuses of Golden Radiance Academy were willing to spend years accumulating resources rather than recklessly attempting the breakthrough.

Jackson understood the logic.

But he had no intention of following the ordinary path.

He continued toward the higher-ranked techniques.

The stronger nurturing techniques immediately became more impressive.

Some Peak Rank Three techniques could increase the sturdiness of the spiritual-space boundary by as much as five times.

That was an astonishing improvement.

Unfortunately, their resource requirements were equally ridiculous.

A Peak Rank Three nurturing technique could consume resources ten times greater than those required by a Low Rank Three technique.

For an ordinary student, even with the backing of a powerful family, that kind of consumption was difficult to sustain.

Jackson continued searching.

His actions gradually attracted the attention of several teachers supervising the library.

A few of them glanced toward him.

They saw a young student standing alone in front of a shelf filled with spiritual-space nurturing techniques, carefully examining one skill after another.

Their expressions changed slightly.

Then they looked away.

To them, Jackson was simply another ambitious student who didn’t understand how to properly utilize the opportunity.

Why would a newly admitted student waste his single Rank Three skill on a nurturing technique?

There were countless powerful combat skills available.

Choosing one of those would immediately increase his battle strength.

A nurturing technique, on the other hand, wouldn’t provide any obvious short-term benefit.

The teachers quickly lost interest.

One of the students who had noticed Jackson was Angela Northwind.

She had already chosen her skill.

It was a powerful movement technique that perfectly complemented her talent, and she was completely satisfied with her choice.

She was preparing to leave when her eyes happened to land on Jackson.

He was still standing alone in the corner, surrounded by spiritual-space nurturing techniques.

Angela’s brows furrowed slightly.

Her impression of him fell even further.

What a waste.

In her eyes, reaching the peak of the Second Sequence or even the Third Sequence wasn’t particularly impressive.

With the resources available to the Northwind family, she could have easily accumulated enough resources to reach the Third Sequence.

But she had deliberately chosen not to do so.

There was a reason.

Foundation.

For someone who wanted to successfully undergo the First Life Transformation, building an exceptionally strong foundation was far more important than advancing quickly.

Every step before the transformation had to be taken carefully.

Otherwise, the moment the transformation began, all the weaknesses accumulated during the earlier stages could erupt at once.

Angela believed this deeply.

That was why she had never rushed her cultivation.

Jackson, naturally, had no idea what Angela was thinking.

Even if he had known, he probably wouldn’t have cared.

His attention was completely focused on the shelves in front of him.

He continued searching.

Eventually, he was about to choose a Peak Rank Three nurturing technique when something caught his eye.

In the corner of the bookshelf sat a skill book that looked completely out of place.

It had no dazzling title.

No special markings.

No academy insignia that immediately attracted attention.

Its cover was made from extremely dark leather, almost black enough to swallow the surrounding light.

Compared to the pristine and well-maintained skill books surrounding it, the old book looked forgotten.

Jackson’s eyes narrowed.

Something about it caught his attention.

He reached out and pulled the book from the shelf.

The leather felt slightly rough beneath his fingers.

Jackson opened it.

The first few lines made his eyes widen.

He quickly read through the description.

Then he read it again.

His breathing unconsciously stopped for a moment.

Ten times stronger spiritual-space boundaries... simply by consuming beast cores?

Jackson stared at the words.

For several seconds, he wondered whether he had misunderstood what he was reading.

Ten times.

Not two.

Not three.

Not even five.

Ten times.

"This..."

A look of disbelief appeared on Jackson’s face.

It almost seemed too good to be true.

At present, five times stronger boundaries were already considered the upper limit for nurturing techniques.

Even reaching that level required an astronomical amount of resources.

That was precisely why so many talented students remained stuck for years.

Resources were the problem.

Everyone wanted them.

Everyone needed them.

But treasures and special drugs capable of helping an Awakened carve foundation runes were extremely limited.

No matter how much money someone possessed, there was only a limited amount available in the market.

Beast cores were different.

Monsters existed everywhere.

As long as someone was willing to hunt them, there was practically no end to the supply of beast cores.

Jackson’s heart began beating faster.

He quickly continued reading.

Then he reached the final requirement.

His expression froze.

At the very bottom of the page was a single line.

[Requirement: Shadow-type beast cores.]

Jackson stared at it.

The excitement on his face gradually disappeared.

Then he understood.

Everything suddenly made sense.

This was why the skill had been abandoned.

The technique wasn’t simply asking for beast cores.

It required a specific type of beast core.

Shadow-type cores.

For ordinary Awakened, that restriction was devastating.

Finding enough shadow-type monsters to support a technique capable of strengthening the spiritual-space boundary tenfold would be an enormous undertaking. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Most students would probably discard the skill immediately after seeing that requirement.

Even if they somehow possessed the necessary resources, the difficulty of obtaining them would make the technique impractical.

Jackson, however, was different.

A strange light flickered in his eyes.

The corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.

Shadow-type?

That wasn’t a problem.

With the Golden Brush, he could simply add the required attribute to the beast cores.

What others considered an impossible restriction was practically nonexistent for him.

This skill wasn’t useless.

It wasn’t impractical.

It wasn’t a forgotten technique that nobody wanted.

It was a perfect match.

Jackson looked at the dark skill book in his hands, and his eyes gradually became brighter.

Ten times stronger spiritual-space boundaries.

And all he needed were beast cores.

For the first time since entering the Grand Library, Jackson no longer had any hesitation.

He had found it.

Among the countless skills collected by Golden Radiance Academy, this was the one he wanted.

Jackson firmly closed the skill book.

His decision was made.