"Jack Clark...Jack Clark."
At six in the evening, Freya Louise, looking at the distracted Jack Clark in front of her, couldn't help but call out twice.
"Ah... What's up?" Jack Clark withdrew part of his focus.
Freya brushed the fringe from her forehead behind her ear and softly pointed towards the wall clock with her finger, saying, "It's already six, I'm going to head back. Do you want to walk together?"
It's six already, huh, time ravaging the rivers flies by so quickly. With a sense of marvel, Jack Clark nodded: "Sure."
The two of them stood up, put the books they borrowed back in their places, and walked out of the building.
At this time, most of the students immersed in their cultivation were also returning home, exiting in twos and threes, discussing the upcoming ranking competition in a few days.
The sunset was descending, and the sunlight no longer held the heat of the afternoon.
A gentle breeze wafted through the girl's hair, bringing with it a faint scent of shampoo.
Jack Clark turned his head, looking at that exquisitely beautiful side profile, and casually asked, "Freya, are you participating in the competition next Monday?"
Freya shook her head: "My cultivation method is special, I don't have much fighting power in the early stages, so I don't plan on participating."
Having always heard her mention that the cultivation method she practiced was special, Jack Clark couldn't help being curious, "What cultivation method do you practice that has so little combat power in the early stages?"
The girl's lips slightly pursed, revealing a light smile, "That question is a secret, you'll find out during the Second Grade trials."
Jack Clark resignedly said, "...Alright then."
"What about you? You're going to participate in this ranking competition, right?" Freya asked back.
"Yes, I will."
Jack Clark nodded: "I've felt a breakthrough in my cultivation these past few days, so I'm planning to take part in the ranking competition to spar with those classmates, to accumulate combat experience."
Freya didn't give much thought to his reason.
In her view, both Jack Clark and she practiced low-level martial arts; his initial talent was average amongst this batch of freshmen, and participating in the ranking competition was just for the excitement.
After all, there were over a hundred 'geniuses' who reached Foundation Establishment within a week, cultivating Advanced Skills.
In terms of talent and the level of their cultivation methods, Jack Clark was vastly behind those people and there was no way he would make it into the top 50.
On the way that followed, the two chatted like ordinary friends while walking.
However, Freya noticed that occasionally, while talking, Jack Clark would get distracted, probably because he had been cultivating too hard recently and hadn't rested well.
Thinking this, she couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration.
Having slightly lesser talent was no issue, as long as one was willing to cultivate diligently, taking it one step at a time—eventually, they would reach a height unimaginable to most.
...…
The next day, Friday, Senior One began a day of end-of-month tests, causing many students to look distressed upon receiving their papers.
There was no helping it; they had all been focusing on their cultivation lately, with little mind left for studying.
Rushing through the tests, come Saturday they were free from school.
Jack Clark didn't go to school to cultivate as usual but instead went to the bustling Commercial Street, preparing to practice amidst the noisy environment.
Today he wore a white T-shirt, gray trousers, and white flat shoes—a simple and casual outfit.
With his tall stature, finely chiseled handsome features, and clean facial complexion, he had just settled down under the shade of a tree when many passersby began looking his way.
Especially the female students in their breezy outfits, who, when passing by this sunny, handsome youth, would often intentionally or unintentionally pause and pretend to admire the surrounding shops.
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Unfortunately, although these beauties were quite pretty and had sexy figures,
the youth sat down and closed his eyes to rest his spirit, completely oblivious to the scenery, causing the female students who wanted to approach him to stop in their tracks.
Undisturbed by the outside world, Jack Clark closed his eyes and concentrated, and once again entered the special state constructed by his acute senses.
His keen hearing filtered out the useless noise, his sense of smell distinguished the people and objects around him, and the touch-sensitive hairs all over his body sensed the flow of air through space...
After slowly getting used to this state, Jack Clark diverted a portion of his attention.
This past month, he had been training to multitask with divided attention.
Although he couldn't yet control two bodies with complete ease, he was now able to split his attention to control the Heavy Armored Beast while doing other tasks.
The turbulent waves of the Great River stretched hundreds of meters wide, with the deepest parts reaching over forty meters, nurturing countless aquatic creatures. Many large fish had undergone slight mutations due to environmental influences.
At the riverbank, the water churned muddily as a creature, eighty centimeters long with sturdy limbs and encased in heavy armor, crawled out from a hole and headed toward the deep-water area.
Only two days after its release, thanks to an abundance of food, the Heavy Armored Avatar had grown by ten centimeters, its body even larger, its defense stronger, and its strength more exaggerated.
Meanwhile, its Evolution value was increasing at a rate of 5 points per day, far exceeding its past growth rate.
Of course, this was inseparable from Jack Clark's diligence, controlling the Heavy Armored Beast to eat whenever he had the time, including getting up in the middle of the night to feed.
Before long, Jack Clark controlled the Heavy Armored Beast as it reached a depth of over twenty meters. The visibility here was murky, only allowing a vague view within a five to six-meter range.
He hadn't swum far before a massive silhouette appeared within the Heavy Armored Beast's field of vision.
It was a three-meter-long fish with an elongated crocodile-like snout, its body covered in large scales, and its back adorned with bone spurs, looking fierce and ferocious.
From its appearance, this seemed to be a ferocious fish that had mutated from a Crocodile Swallow Eel.
As soon as the Heavy Armored Beast spotted it, the creature noticed this average-sized little fellow and immediately swished its tail, charging over, ready for a snack.
To the mutated Crocodile Swallow Eel, over three meters long and as thick as a human body, the eighty-centimeter Heavy Armored Beast was completely a little guy, one bite could snap it in half.
The Heavy Armored Beast calmly watched as the Mutated Crocodile Swallow Eel shot toward it, indifferently observing its gaping crocodile mouth rip through the water, stirring up a string of splashes.
Boom!
Without any attempt to dodge, the Mutated Crocodile Swallow Eel's massive jaws viciously clamped onto the Heavy Armored Beast's back, and with powerful kinetic energy, a tearing force erupted.
In the past, Crocodile Swallow Unique Beasts would use high-speed impacts, utilizing kinetic energy and sharp teeth to rip their prey into two. But today... it was as if they had bitten into alloy steel.
The Mutated Crocodile Swallow Eel's sharp teeth broke off, gurgling in pain, becoming even more savage.
With great biting force, it clung tightly to the Heavy Armored Beast, its massive body wildly twisting in the water, attempting to tear its hard catch to shreds.
But no matter how the Mutated Crocodile Swallow Eel exhausted itself to the point of exhaustion, the Heavy Armored Beast in its jaws remained completely unharmed.
Even the abdomen, which is relatively weaker than the back shell, only showed a slight white mark. Such was the terror of its Defensive Talent.
It appeared as if the Crocodile Swallow Unique Beast was tearing at the Heavy Armored Beast's back and belly, but in fact, as it exerted force during the bite, all the energy was dispersed across the body by the integrated exoskeleton structure.
Added with the internal structure similar to layered cakes, which could reduce the pressure on the body layer by layer, as well as the increase in the toughness of the outer armor as it grew in size.
All these factors combined to create a Heavy Armored Beast with terrifying defense.
After a long struggle that yielded no success and leaving the Crocodile Swallow Unique Beast utterly exhausted, it had no choice but to release the Heavy Armored Beast.
At that moment, the Heavy Armored Beast, having tested its defense, swung its tail. As it turned its body, its muscular strength burst forth, and it viciously struck with its claw on the creature's head.
Boom! The heavy blow caused the water to explode, and the Mutated Crocodile Swallow Eel's skull collapsed inward, with blood and white substance spraying out as the Heavy Armored Beast hammered it to death with one strike.
After killing the Mutated Fish, the Heavy Armored Beast bit down hard, tearing a large chunk of flesh from the back of the Mutated Crocodile Swallow Eel and began to devour it, blood and saliva flying everywhere, incredibly ferocious.
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