He strained to hold his head high, letting his vision blur, and answered loudly like a soldier: “Teacher, I will not give up!”

After speaking, he fled in panic.

How embarrassing… I actually cried…

That blurry yet warm figure would be forever etched in his heart.

※※※

Back home, Jason Clark flopped onto his bed, staring at the ceiling.

His turbulent emotions gradually calmed, and Jason Clark began to feel a bit lost. After living the same life for five years, being suddenly told it was over left him inevitably bewildered.

Being expelled from school was clearly a done deal. He had hit the principal today—no amount of pleading would help. But Jason Clark didn’t regret it in the slightest; if he had to do it again, he’d still take action. Now that he was calm, though, and thought things over carefully, he immediately sensed something fishy. He’d stayed at the school for five years without incident, and now, all of a sudden, he was expelled—someone must be pulling strings behind the scenes.

Hmph. He made a silent vow: if he found out who was behind this, just wait and see!

Thinking it over, he suddenly remembered those new students from this morning. Could it be them? Jason Clark made a mental note; it wouldn’t be hard to investigate. He knew exactly what those people were like—if they were responsible, they’d be bragging about it everywhere.

Now that he wasn’t going to school, what should he do next?

As long as he was a student, Starwind City provided a special subsidy. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to get by.

No other school would take him, and without the subsidy, would he have to find a job?

After just a moment, Jason Clark decided he’d look for work tomorrow. Washing dishes or whatever—it didn’t matter, as long as he could support himself.

He’d work and train at the same time. He didn’t believe that the numbers jumping on the back of the bronze token were meaningless.

That was his goal. Even now, he’d never thought of giving up on it.

After sticking to a goal for five years, what reason was there to give up?

Once he’d made up his mind, Jason Clark immediately felt unburdened. After a fierce fight with Amory today and causing a scene in the principal’s office, he was truly exhausted.

But he still made sure to apply the ointment Amory had given him to his injuries before falling asleep.

Once he finished, he couldn’t hold out any longer and fell into a deep sleep.

Everything else could wait until he woke up!

When Jason Clark woke up, it was already late at night—he’d woken up from hunger.

He rummaged around for something to eat and filled his stomach.

After a good sleep, Jason Clark had already put all the mess from yesterday behind him. As single-minded as ever, he was full of energy again.

“Hah! Hah! Hah!” Jason Clark threw a few crisp punches, a satisfied look on his face.

The dumb ox might be stupid and sneaky, but he was a decent guy—the ointment he gave really worked. The back he’d strained in yesterday’s fight was already back to normal. The wounds on his hands and forehead had already scabbed over.

Thinking of Amory, Jason Clark suddenly recalled that strange state he’d experienced during their fight yesterday.

His body’s reactions had actually outpaced his thoughts.

How odd.

It was the first time he’d ever experienced something like that. He’d been too tired yesterday to think about it, but now, recalling that strange state, it felt truly mysterious. He frowned, racking his brains for a long time, but still couldn’t figure it out.

Forget it, no point thinking about it.

Jason Clark was very self-aware. He wasn’t stupid, but he clearly wasn’t especially smart either. If he couldn’t figure something out, he just wouldn’t think about it.

Once he decided not to dwell on it, he immediately forgot about it completely.

Jason Clark got into position and began his daily practice. Lately, he’d been working on the basic fist technique.

With the very first move, he noticed something different.

His movements were light and fluid, almost as if his thoughts alone guided the basic fist technique to flow like water, completing the routine in his hands.

Without even checking the numbers on the back of the bronze token, Jason Clark knew his basic fist technique had passed!

Again!

Passed!

Again!

Ten times in a row, all passed. By normal standards, the bronze token would now consider his basic fist technique perfected.

This surprised Jason Clark a bit. Based on his experience, he should still need about a week to perfect the basic fist technique.

After five years of training in basic martial skills, he was extremely experienced—he could practically estimate his progress with his eyes closed.

Still, he didn’t dwell on it. What troubled him now was: what basic martial skill should he train in next?

He scratched his head.

A somewhat dazed Jason Clark had no idea that, as he practiced the basic fist technique, the numbers on the back of the bronze token were jumping rapidly.

……

999,998!

999,999!

1,000,000!

When he finished the last round of the basic fist technique, the number happened to jump to 1,000,000! Above the numbers, a river suddenly lit up with a point of light, which rapidly expanded at an astonishing speed, turning into a dazzling brilliance.

The dazzling light instantly engulfed Jason Clark.

Section Six: Southern Cross

“A million foundations complete—the gate of the Southern Cross opens!”

Jason Clark seemed to stand in the void of the universe, with a brilliant river of stars before him, countless stars as numerous as grains of sand. Suddenly, a point of light shot out from the star river, flying toward him and rapidly growing larger in his vision.

Only then did he realize that the point of light was actually four stars.