Chapter 90: Meteor Climbing Stance

From beginning to end, Jackson never sensed the existence of the Life Transformation warriors secretly protecting Angela. Even when they had been observing him from the shadows, their presence had remained completely undetectable to him. As far as he was concerned, his encounter with Angela had ended without any further complications.

After returning to Golden Radiance Academy, Jackson headed straight to his private room in the villa. He had spent several days completing missions in the Outer Forest, and although the trip had turned out to be considerably more profitable than expected, he still had plenty of things to take care of.

The first thing he did was submit his completed missions through the academy’s private network.

After a brief verification process, a notification appeared on his virtual interface, confirming that one thousand contribution points had been credited to his account.

Jackson immediately opened the academy’s exchange system and searched for the skill he had been planning to purchase.

Meteor Climbing Stance.

He had already decided how to spend the contribution points he had earned. Rather than wasting them on miscellaneous resources, he intended to invest everything in this particular skill. If he wanted to continue strengthening himself and prepare for the challenges ahead, acquiring a suitable combat technique was far more important than making a few insignificant purchases.

Without further hesitation, he selected Meteor Climbing Stance and purchased its first part.

Of course, that was all he could afford for the moment.

The complete volume of Meteor Climbing Stance cost an astonishing one hundred thousand contribution points. Considering that Jackson had only just earned his first thousand points from missions, the full price was practically beyond his reach.

The technique was divided into five parts, each containing a portion of the knowledge required to master it. Purchasing the complete volume would require a substantial investment, one that Jackson could not afford without completing numerous missions or finding another way to accumulate contribution points.

For now, he would have to settle for the first part.

The moment he confirmed his purchase, the one thousand contribution points vanished from his account. Almost simultaneously, a notification appeared on the screen.

[Please wait while we prepare...] ℴ

Beneath the message, a timer began counting down from one hour.

Jackson raised an eyebrow.

An entire hour?

He had expected the skill to be delivered immediately after the contribution points were deducted. After all, the academy’s exchange system was supposed to provide Awakened with access to resources and techniques. Why would purchasing a skill require such a long waiting period?

Was the academy using some complicated procedure to transfer the knowledge? Or was there another reason behind the delay?

Jackson examined the notification for a moment, but the interface offered no additional explanation.

In the end, he decided not to waste time worrying about it.

One hour was hardly a significant inconvenience for an Awakened. Compared with the time required to cultivate, train, and advance through the sequences, waiting sixty minutes was practically nothing.

He closed the exchange interface, settled into a comfortable position, and began meditating.

The room gradually fell silent.

Jackson’s breathing slowed as he directed his attention inward, allowing the surrounding distractions to fade into the background. He had become accustomed to using every spare moment to strengthen himself. Whether it was cultivating, studying techniques, or recovering from a demanding battle, he preferred to remain productive rather than let valuable time slip away.

Before long, his thoughts had settled, and his consciousness had sunk into a state of deep concentration.

Time passed quietly.

When the hour was finally up, Jackson was still sitting motionless in meditation.

A sudden notification interrupted the silence.

A glaring red message appeared before his eyes, bright enough to stand out even against the interface’s otherwise subdued display.

Jackson opened his eyes.

He did not need to inspect the notification to know what it meant. Meteor Climbing Stance had finally arrived.

Another line of text appeared beneath the first message.

[Please prepare yourself. The information transmission will begin shortly.]

Jackson’s expression grew serious.

He had expected to receive the skill’s information through some form of direct transmission, but he had no idea how the process would work or whether it carried any risks. The academy had provided no detailed explanation, and he had no intention of treating an unfamiliar procedure carelessly.

He straightened his back, relaxed his body, and cleared his mind of unnecessary thoughts.

Rather than attempting to anticipate what would happen, he focused on maintaining a stable mental state. Whatever the academy’s system was about to transmit, he wanted to receive it without interference.

Gradually, his heartbeat returned to its normal rhythm. His chest rose and fell in a steady pattern, and the tension in his muscles slowly dissipated.

He was ready.

The next moment, he felt a gentle force tugging at his soul.

The sensation was strange but not particularly painful. It was as though an invisible thread had connected itself to the deepest part of his consciousness, carefully drawing his attention toward something beyond his ordinary perception.

Jackson instinctively recognized that the force was spiritual in nature.

He could have attempted to resist it, but there was no apparent hostility in the sensation. Remembering the notification, he remained still and allowed the process to continue.

Suddenly, a stream of unfamiliar information flooded into his mind.

Nourish the soul. Nourish the body.

The words appeared within his consciousness, carrying a peculiar weight that made them feel far more substantial than ordinary thoughts. Jackson concentrated on the information, carefully examining each fragment as it emerged.

Nourish the soul. Nourish the divine sense. Create the divine strands.

His eyes slowly widened.

Divine sense!

He was familiar with the term, even though he had never experienced it himself. It was one of the defining abilities of Awakened who had successfully undergone the First Life Transformation. Once they crossed that threshold, their perception and control over spiritual energy advanced to a level that ordinary Awakened could scarcely comprehend.

Divine sense was among their most distinctive advantages.

Unlike ordinary perception, which relied primarily on the physical senses, divine sense allowed its user to perceive and interact with things through a far more refined form of spiritual awareness. Depending on the individual’s strength and mastery, it could be used to examine the surrounding environment, sense subtle fluctuations in energy, and exercise control over objects or forces beyond the limits of ordinary physical movement.

It was an ability that Jackson had long understood in theory but had never expected to encounter through a skill he had just purchased.

Yet Meteor Climbing Stance was explicitly mentioning it.

Nourish the soul. Nourish the divine sense. Create the divine strands.

Jackson carefully repeated the three phrases in his mind, attempting to understand the relationship between them.

The first part of the technique appeared to focus on the soul, but the information went beyond simple spiritual cultivation. It described a process through which the soul could be nourished, the divine sense strengthened, and something known as divine strands created.

The implications were difficult to ignore.

If his understanding was correct, then Meteor Climbing Stance was not merely an ordinary movement technique. At least, its first part was concerned with something far more fundamental than improving the body’s speed or teaching a series of combat movements.

It involved the soul itself.

Jackson’s expression grew increasingly serious as he continued processing the information.

He had purchased the first part of Meteor Climbing Stance because he believed it would help him grow stronger. He had expected a useful technique, perhaps one that would improve his movement, mobility, or combat capabilities.

He had not expected it to introduce him to the cultivation of divine sense.

For a moment, Jackson remained motionless, allowing the implications to settle in his mind.

Perhaps there was far more to Meteor Climbing Stance than he had initially imagined.

.....

Just as Jackson was struggling to understand the information flooding into his mind, the technique itself provided an explanation.

What he was cultivating was not true divine sense, but merely a weaker imitation of it. The divine strands mentioned in the technique were an inferior form of the spiritual perception that First Life Transformation experts could naturally develop. Although they shared certain characteristics, the two were fundamentally different in quality.

However, this did not mean the technique was useless.

Quite the opposite.

According to the information transmitted into his mind, once Jackson successfully underwent the First Life Transformation, the divine sense he awakened would be considerably stronger than that of other Awakened at the same stage.

The weaker divine strands he cultivated beforehand would serve as a foundation, allowing him to develop his divine sense more effectively when the time came.

Jackson’s eyes brightened as he understood the implications.

A stronger divine sense could provide a substantial advantage in combat. It would allow him to perceive his surroundings more effectively, control weapons with greater precision, and potentially detect threats that ordinary perception could not easily reveal.

For someone like him, who relied on careful preparation and the exploitation of his opponents’ weaknesses, such an advantage was invaluable.

More importantly, this was only the first part of Meteor Climbing Stance.

He had spent a thousand contribution points to acquire it, while the complete technique cost an astonishing one hundred thousand. There was no way he could afford the remaining parts at present, but the information he had already received was enough to convince him that the purchase had been worthwhile.

Jackson slowly calmed his excitement and returned his attention to the knowledge within his mind.

He had no intention of becoming distracted by the potential benefits before mastering the technique itself. Understanding a cultivation method and putting it into practice were two entirely different matters. If he wanted to gain the advantages promised by Meteor Climbing Stance, he would have to work hard enough to turn its principles into genuine ability.

With that thought, he immersed himself in cultivation.

Time continued to pass without him noticing.

Less than five days remained before the month-end assessment.

Across Golden Radiance Academy, an atmosphere of urgency had begun to spread among the newly admitted students. The approaching assessment had become the center of almost every conversation, and even those who had previously appeared relaxed were now making every effort to improve their strength.

After all, the results would determine more than their standing among their peers. Their rankings could influence the resources they received and the opportunities available to them in the future.

For students who wanted to distinguish themselves at an academy filled with talented Awakened, falling behind was simply not an option.

Fortunately, the academy had provided each student with a Rank Three skill, giving them a valuable opportunity to improve their combat capabilities in a relatively short period.

The effects were already becoming apparent.

Some students had acquired powerful offensive skills, while others had received defensive abilities or techniques that complemented their existing talents. Those who had previously struggled to find suitable methods of fighting were now experimenting with their new abilities, gradually learning how to incorporate them into their combat styles.