Jack Clark lived on the outskirts of the city, which, while still within the urban area, was actually an old and worn urban village.
The surrounding buildings were all those low two- or three-story buildings, each with its own small courtyard, and not far away flowed a tributary of the Great River.
The next day was Sunday afternoon.
Amid the summer heat, Jack sat in front of his computer, browsing through internet posts about Mutated Beasts and the Cultivation World.
He hadn't realized it until he deliberately focused on these messages that in recent years, various allied nations had been stepping up their efforts to Suppress domestic occurrences of Mutated Beasts.
Especially in the Yama Rainforest, where the number of Mutated Beasts had gotten out of control. Someone had even captured images of a python over a hundred meters long in the river.
This level of Mutated Beast had already reached the realm of Giant Beasts.
Beyond that, there were insurrections in multiple locations within another allied nation.
Led by some cultivators, they were unwilling to let ordinary people hold power, claiming they wanted to establish a cultivator nation, where everyone would be able to practice cultivation.
Some analysts believed there were shadows of Evil God Sect Cultists behind these insurrections.
Many people were following this international event, and there were even live videos sent out by locals.
In the videos, many powerful cultivators charged at machine-gun positions, completely ignoring the dense barrage of bullets, moving at terrifying speeds, crossing a hundred meters distance in the blink of an eye.
They exuded Terrifying Power in every movement, collapsing walls and flipping over Armored Cars with a casual strike, destroying positions in an instant.
Facing such strong men, ordinary soldiers were as frail as lambs to the slaughter.
Only the occasional explosions, fired grenades, and even anti-tank rockets managed to briefly hinder them.
In just over ten minutes, the city's administrative center in the video was breached, with fire and screams everywhere, along with sporadic gunfire.
After watching all this, Jack felt somewhat relieved he hadn't been transported to any of these chaotic allied nations.
Then, from downstairs, Glenn's voice came, "Bro, you want some watermelon?"
Jack yelled back at the door, "Slice it, and I'll eat it."
"I knew you'd say that." Glenn took a watermelon from the fridge downstairs, cut it into pieces, and then carried it upstairs.
Glenn slipped into the room with curiosity as he set down the watermelon and glanced at the computer, "Bro, you're following the cultivator and official combat events in Koroya too, huh?"
Jack picked up a slice of watermelon, a bit surprised, "You know about this, too?"
Glenn took a proud bite of the watermelon, his mouth muffled, "Of course, I'm going to be the King of Martial Arts, so it's only natural for me to pay attention to international affairs, right?"
"King of Martial Arts, huh? I might as well be the Pirate King," Jack retorted.
Glenn, puzzled, "Bro, what's a Pirate King? The king of the sea? Is that impressive?"
Jack, speechless, "The name itself says 'pirate,' so obviously, it's a thief that gets chased by the navy everywhere. Do you think that's impressive?"
"Then forget it, I'm going to become the strongest King of Martial Arts in the entire world."
Glenn sat on the edge of the bed, eating watermelon, "Right, bro, when I opened the fridge earlier, I saw a lot of frozen fish. Can we even finish eating that much?"
"Also, frozen fish tastes dry and bland."
"Those aren't for us to eat."
Glenn blinked in surprise, "Not for us? Then who are they for?"
"Here! For it." Jack gestured with his chin towards the desk, where a robust Hexagonal Power Lycophyte, thirty-two centimeters long, was lounging lazily.
Only after his reminder did Glenn notice the salamander lying by the water tank, his eyes widening in astonishment, "This is...your pet!?"
"Right."
"It really is that same pet! How did it get so big all of a sudden?" Glenn was a bit shocked.
He remembered last week, when his brother had a fever, he came in to take care of him. The salamander seemed very small, just a little bit big. How could it grow to be even fiercer than a puppy in just one week?
"It must have mutated."
Jack Clark casually bluffed, "These past few days, it's been eating more and more, and its size has surged, but there's no danger. Look, Tiger... roll over."
As he spoke, Jack Clark made a hand gesture to the Salamander Avatar in a pretentious manner.
Instantly, in Glenn Clark's eyes, the somewhat fierce-looking Six-legged Salamander indeed rolled over.
"Wag your tail."
"Lift your paw..."
Next, Jack Clark directed and acted out several hand gestures, then through mental control, made the Avatar cooperate, leaving Glenn Clark bewildered.
Jack Clark didn't plan to hide the existence of the Salamander Avatar from his family, and he also couldn't hide it, given that it needed to eat so much every day.
It might be possible to keep it hidden for a day or two, but any longer would surely give it away, so it was better to be upfront with them.
Anyway, pet mutation wasn't uncommon, and the official had management strategies for it. Typically, household pets that mutated had to be registered at local branches.
Of course, mainly because these mutated pets were weak and recognized their owners, obeying them.
If the mutated pet had aggressiveness and posed a strong threat to nearby residents, it would be forcibly taken away by the official.
A pet like the salamander, even a bit larger than a small puppy, didn't seem to have any aggressiveness after mutating. He just had to talk about it with his family; there was no need for registration.
By the next Evolution, he planned to release the Avatar into the river.
Therefore, during dinner that evening, Jack Clark took the initiative to talk to Doris Clark about this matter, and Doris Clark didn't mind, only asking him to be careful when feeding it.
In her impression, that tiny pet, even if it had mutated, was just a slightly bigger fish.
...
On Monday, Jack Clark walked into the classroom and immediately felt an air of restlessness among the students.
Before sitting down, he learned from these classmates that classmates Crystal Lewis and Matt Watkins, two students in charge, had come to school yesterday to report their success in Foundation Establishment.
Although yesterday was Sunday, there were still students who liked the spacious grounds and came to practice their cultivation.
Justin Welan sidled over and said in a low voice, "Jack, how about it, feeling the pressure yet?"
Jack Clark gave him a glance and then took out the textbook for this morning's lessons from his desk, saying indifferently, "Feeling pressured won't help, just continue cultivating at my own pace."
"That's the spirit, Jack. It doesn't matter how fast others break through. I'll keep walking my own path."
Justin Welan could tell that Jack Clark's calm detachment wasn't an act. He genuinely wasn't concerned about being left far behind by his peers in terms of performance.
Unlike the other classmates.
After hearing that the Class Leader had successfully established her Foundation, and they were still meditating on the fourth or fifth leaf, transferring Qi Blood from the fourth to the fifth turn, they became anxious all of a sudden.
As if being anxious was of any use. What were they doing earlier? Didn't they know to practice harder every day when they went home?
"Oh, right."
Just then, Justin Welan seemed to remember something and said, "Jack, I'm almost ready for Foundation Establishment tomorrow."
"Then I can enter Area C to study True Martial. I won't be able to practice with you anymore. Remember to keep working hard."
"So, this was your warm-up for that line," Jack Clark gave him a glance and shook his head, not bothering with him.
"Hey... I just wanted to surprise you for a moment. Too bad you're not playing along," Justin Welan chuckled, slightly regretful.
Foundation Establishment tomorrow, just about seven days in total. So, is his talent above average?
Looking at the somewhat sleazy smile on Justin Welan's face, Jack Clark was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected this guy, who appeared sleazy and mature, to be a genius.