After his Avatar entered the river, Jack Clark also turned around and headed back. However, due to his distraction in controlling the Heavy Armored Beast's movements, he seemed somewhat absent-minded along the way.
This was also true during dinner.
Seeing Jack stop eating repeatedly, Doris Clark across from him expressed her concern, "Jack, are you all right?"
"Ah, no, I'm fine," Jack returned to his senses.
Just now, the Heavy Armored Beast encountered a Big Green Fish that was one meter long at the riverbed. Jack didn't even think before he pounced on it, flipping the larger fish over directly.
Despite the notable difference in size, the beast needed only one claw to press down on the back of the Green Fish, its powerful strength pinning the fish to the riverbed, rendering it immobile.
After this Evolution, the Avatar's talent for hundredfold volume strength was fully unleashed; at this moment, the force of one claw exceeded a thousand kilograms, terrifyingly frightening.
This was still because it was only seventy centimeters long, being in its juvenile stage.
Once the Heavy Armored Beast grows to 3 meters in length and reaches a weight of several hundred to a thousand kilograms, its strength at the same volume will reach a terrifying level.
After dinner, Jack made the excuse of needing to cultivate and went upstairs, continuing to control the Heavy Armored Beast as it roamed.
About another hour later, he finally reached the river's entry point dozens of miles away.
The river water surged, and from the weed-covered riverbank, the sinister black head of the beast emerged from the water.
Under Jack's control, the Avatar surveyed its surroundings, finding no buildings nearby, with a sparsely lamp-lit road along the riverbank behind it, indicating an uninhabited area.
In this section, the yellow clay riverbank was several meters above the water, making it suitable for digging and constructing a cave.
The Six-legged Salamander is amphibious, and while it can stay in the water for extended periods, Jack felt it was safer to make a nest on shore.
Under Jack's control, the Heavy Armored Beast's double claws hit the muddy bank, rapidly excavating an underwater cave entrance as it continued to enlarge and dig upward.
Soon, a dark entrance several meters deep with twisting and turning paths upwards, and a cavity extending over two square meters at its deepest, was dug out.
Then, Jack carved a small air vent just above the entrance.
Phew!
In his room, Jack exhaled slowly and opened his eyes.
In the wilderness, unlike at home, after releasing his Avatar, Jack had to constantly divert attention to ensure that the Heavy Armored Beast didn't accidentally perish due to slow reactions.
Such an accident, while not affecting his main body too much, would still be a significant loss.
After all, as long as the Heavy Armored Beast continued to evolve, it would not only be a formidable force in battle but each Evolution would also greatly enhance his own strength.
Therefore, only after a nest was made for hiding did Jack withdraw most of his mental focus, getting ready to start tonight's cultivation tasks.
But as soon as Jack began to cultivate, he felt something different.
Under the operation of his now more than doubly robust Qi Blood, the Extraordinary energy wandering around was drawn to him and then refined into his body by his Spirit Power.
Both the speed of his Qi Blood circulation and the volume of Extraordinary energy he absorbed had doubled from before, thus the overall speed of cultivation had increased by two-fold.
He felt that the First Layer of the Dragon Elephant Power, which originally needed four months to break through, could now be achieved in just over a month of cultivation.
This change surprised Jack, and he began to cultivate even more diligently.
As his Qi Blood continuously cycled, refining the free energy of Heaven and Earth, the muscles, tendons, and fascia all over his body were progressively strengthened, becoming tougher with each cycle.
Of course, this strengthening process was very slow.
...
In the morning, just as he was leaving the house, Glenn Clark came up to Jack and compared their heights, then exclaimed in surprise, "Bro, did you get taller again?"
A month ago, Jack was just 1.7 meters tall, shorter than Glenn who had reached 1.75 meters at the age of thirteen.
Over this time, as his physique continued to strengthen along with his cultivation, Jack had unconsciously reached Glenn's height.
And it wasn't just his height that had increased; his originally thin figure had also become much more robust, but not in the burly way Glenn Clark was. Instead, it was very harmoniously proportioned.
His slightly bulging muscles pushed against his dress shirt, and his trousers were straight and sleek. His figure stood tall and straight, giving off a remarkably bright and sunny vibe.
"You've been growing taller lately," Jack Clark said casually.
The brothers headed toward the school, and as they reached the crossroads entering the urban area, a girl approached from the side and waved at Jack upon seeing him.
The girl's figure was graceful, and her long, waterfall-like black hair was tied back with a white butterfly ribbon. Her face was pure and beautiful, standing there, she was a stunning sight to behold.
Glenn Clark exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, it seems like she's waving at you."
"Yeah, she's my classmate," Jack nodded and gave Freya Louise a slight smile across the way.
As the pedestrian light turned green, Jack led Glenn across, "It's rare to run into you. Shall we walk together?"
"Sure," Freya replied softly.
Glenn moved closer, grinning and said, "Miss, you're so beautiful, just like a fairy from those historical TV dramas."
"Sorry about that, this is my brother Glenn Clark," Jack said, somewhat embarrassed.
Freya Louise gave a brief smile, "It's okay, your brother is very cute."
As the three of them walked forward, Glenn caught up and turned to Freya with curiosity, "Miss, are you close with my brother?"
Freya paused, "...We're alright, we're classmates."
"Oh, I thought you were good friends with my brother," Glenn said, sounding a bit disappointed.
"Friends, I suppose... yes," Freya said, and then looked towards Jack, blinking her eyes.
Jack just smiled, "Of course."
They had known each other for quite a while. Their relationship had been good even when Jack started his cultivation with the Body Casting Skill; they were practically friends already.
Not far ahead, Glenn saw a few of his schoolmates and waved to Jack, "Bro, beautiful miss, I'm heading off first."
As he ran toward them, Glenn gestured to Jack, seemingly indicating, 'Bro, that's all I can do for you.'
Jack was speechless.
After Glenn left, Jack and Freya continued toward the school side by side, casually sharing cultivation experiences.
Upon entering the school gate, they encountered their classmate Vera Wada. The girl's eyes widened as if she had seen something astonishing.
In the classroom, Jack had just sat down when Justin Welan from the front turned around to join in, and then let out a small surprised noise, "Jack, why do I feel like you've gotten stronger?"
Jack looked at him, "What do you mean stronger?"
Justin Welan looked at him with confusion, "Weird, tell me the truth, did you use any cultivation resources after you went home yesterday?"
"Do you think someone as poor as I am, who can't even afford Qi Blood supplements for Foundation Establishment, could afford cultivation resources?" Jack was speechless.
"Sounds reasonable, but..." Justin Welan's face showed even more confusion.
They had just sparred a few days ago, so Justin was quite sensitive to any changes in Jack's Aura.
Today, as soon as Jack sat down, Justin felt a subtle threat emanating from him. Although it was still the same person, there was an inexplicable sense of pressure when he sat there.
But how could Jack possibly be a threat to him?
Justin knew Jack's talent very well. Despite his stable nature and promising future, the idea that Jack suddenly had an epiphany and surpassed him, Justin Welan, seemed unbelievable.
They were only at the First Layer Heaven, still within the Body Refinement phase, not beyond the Sixth-layer Heaven where enlightenment was more crucial. How could their strength possibly skyrocket all of a sudden?
"Could I be mistaken?" Justin Welan scratched his head.