He walked back to his original spot. Beside him, Rachel Jackson gave him a faint smile before turning her head away. Compared to the previous two times, she was much colder now.

The previous two times when John Reed returned, Rachel Jackson would always excitedly chat with him for a bit.

John Reed's gaze fell on Jane Taylor, who stood in front of the strength testing stone. Whether Rachel Jackson was enthusiastic or indifferent, it made no difference to him.

He simply understood in his heart that many people in the The Reed Family probably had less confidence in him than the guests who had come to watch.

After all, now that John Reed's test results were out, many in the The Reed Family already understood: John Reed had been stuck at the Body Tempering limit for a full nine months. He still hadn't stepped into the Qi Realm after all this time, which meant he had truly hit a bottleneck.

Everyone's eyes were focused on Jane Taylor. Her appearance and temperament had undergone a complete transformation compared to last year—she was like an ugly duckling turned into a swan.

So, everyone was very interested in her progress in strength.

Jane Taylor didn't wait long. Her small fist shot forward, striking the strength testing stone.

Bang—

Her fist collided with the stone, producing a loud bang. Ripples immediately spread across the smooth, mirror-like surface.

The testing steward's eyes lit up. Just by looking at the effect of her punch, she was many times stronger than last year.

Soon, numbers appeared on the stone's surface. Before anyone could see the exact value, the steward's pupils suddenly dilated.

Four digits appeared on the stone.

Four digits—this represented over a thousand jin of force! And last year, Jane Taylor's test result was only thirty jin.

The numbers quickly became clear: four ones—1111.

The steward was stunned for three seconds before reacting: “Jane Taylor, one thousand one hundred and eleven jin of strength, just entered the Organ Refining stage.”

“What? One thousand one hundred and eleven jin?”

“How much strength did she have last year? Wasn't it only thirty jin?”

“How is this possible? Did she suddenly have an epiphany? It took her two years to reach thirty jin, and in the third year, she suddenly skyrocketed to one thousand one hundred and eleven jin?”

“Did she eat some kind of strength-enhancing elixir?”

...

Exclamations erupted instantly. The crowd's shock was almost no less than when John Reed's strength was only three thousand jin earlier.

In just one year, her strength increased by over a thousand jin. Among the younger generation, only two people had achieved this: one was John Reed, who increased by over fourteen hundred jin last year; the other was Jane Taylor, who increased by one thousand and eighty-one jin this year.

Among the younger generation, Rachel Jackson's eyes widened in disbelief.

As for the direct descendants of the The Reed Family, their eyes lit up one by one. Jane Taylor's looks needed no mention—she was a budding peerless beauty. Coupled with such terrifying cultivation talent, she was simply the perfect candidate for a life partner.

Some of the big figures seated at the head of the The Reed Family also revealed happy smiles, calculating in their hearts whether they should marry Jane Taylor to their sons or grandsons.

Only the family head, Nathaniel Reed, remained calm and unmoved.

Chapter 006: Breaking the Limit

The younger generation behind Jane Taylor all made progress in strength, but all within the normal range.

The more outstanding ones, Quincy Reed and Felix Reed, each increased their strength this year to one thousand five hundred seventy-three jin and two thousand seventeen jin, respectively. At this rate, in a few years, both had a chance to step into the Qi Realm.

The test ended, and the guests took their leave.

Although John Reed's results were somewhat disappointing, Jane Taylor's performance still ensured that no one dared to look down on the The Reed Family. In Pingyang County, the The Reed Family's leading position remained unshakable.

In the The Reed Family guest hall, the family head Nathaniel Reed and the The Watson Family head William Watson sat facing each other.

“Please have some tea!” Nathaniel Reed poured a cup for his guest.

After the test, all the guests had left, but William Watson stayed behind to have a private conversation with Nathaniel Reed.

William Watson took a sip of tea, a slight smile on his face. “Good tea.”

Nathaniel Reed smiled faintly. “Brother Wei, what brings you here to talk with me?”

William Watson smiled and said, “Brother Luo, I'll get straight to the point. I have a daughter named Faye Watson, the same age as your son John Reed. You saw the strength test results of my The Watson Family's younger generation—her talent is decent. I would like to propose a marriage alliance with you, Brother Luo. What do you think?”

If it had been before, when John Reed's talent was monstrous—the best in Pingyang County's history—William Watson would never have brought this up, because John Reed's future was limitless and Nathaniel Reed would never have agreed.

But this year, John Reed had encountered some issues. William Watson felt this was a good opportunity. He still believed that John Reed wouldn't be stuck at the Body Tempering limit forever and would continue to progress on the cultivation path, achieving great things.

Nathaniel Reed fell silent for a moment. He had no confidence that John Reed could break through the physical limit in the future. After all, nine months had passed, and despite daily extreme training, John Reed still hadn't broken through. The hope seemed very slim.

If John Reed couldn't break through the physical limit in the future, marrying the The Watson Family head's daughter would actually be a good choice.