Chapter 19: Stick Together

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Ignoring the feigned cluelessness of Justin Welan, Freya Louise turned to Jack Clark and suggested, "It's almost noon, shall we go have lunch together?"

"The meals in the Martial Sects Area's cafeteria are different from the humanities side; they serve a portion of Alien Beast Meat every day."

On hearing this, Jack Clark became a bit curious, "Alien Beast Meat? How does it differ in taste from ordinary meat?"

"There's not much difference in taste; it's just chewier and contains richer nutrients, because the meat in the cafeteria comes from ordinary farmed Unique Beasts."

As she spoke, Freya Louise tucked her dangling front hair behind her ear.

At this moment, the door of a distant office opened, and Lori Parma glanced at the three of them: "It's a bit early for lunch; Jack Clark, come here and sign some agreements."

"...Okay, teacher," Jack Clark hesitated, not knowing what he was supposed to sign. After greeting Freya Louise and Justin Welan, he followed into the office.

"This is the 'Cultivators Must Not Use Martial Force to Coerce or Harm Ordinary People Law', and this is the pledge not to disclose Cultivation Methods externally."

"Also, this is the 'Student Weapon Management Treaty', this one is 'Daily Precautions for Cultivators', 'Guide to Acting Righteously in the Face of Injustice'..."

As he spoke, Lori Parma pulled out documents from the drawer and tossed them to Jack Clark.

Some were regulations he needed to sign, while others were things he needed to pay attention to after becoming a cultivator student, including weapon management and so on.

Because there were so many documents, even Jack Clark felt overwhelmed at a glance.

Seeing his troubled face, Lori Parma laughed and said, "I didn't say you had to finish reading them in a second. You can take them home after school today and read them slowly, just hand them to me tomorrow."

"Okay, teacher," Jack Clark finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Lori Parma nodded, "I've looked over your Foundation Establishment data, not bad. Have you chosen your Cultivation Methods already?"

"Yes," Jack Clark nodded.

Lori Parma reminded, "Since you've chosen, go collect cultivation resources from the logistics department after lunch, and start learning as soon as possible."

"You must understand that Foundation Establishment is not merely about Strengthening Constitution; it also changes their physique to a certain extent, allowing you to have a certain affinity with Extraordinary energy."

"Following that, all you need is to Cultivate True Martial Arts and circulate Qi Blood to absorb Extraordinary energy from the outside world and strengthen yourself."

"Moreover, in the days following Foundation Establishment, your body will be more sensitive and active towards Extraordinary energy, making cultivation more efficient."

Jack Clark was taken aback for a moment, not expecting so much depth to it.

No wonder Justin Welan and the others were seldom seen for a long period after successful Foundation Establishment.

"Thank you for the reminder, teacher," Jack Clark expressed his gratitude.

Lori Parma replied indifferently, "This is what I should do. If you have any questions about cultivation in the future, you can ask me. I'll be here for a while every morning."

Stepping out of the office, Jack Clark saw Justin Welan, Freya Louise, class leader Sherry Lesser, and two other students chatting and laughing about something.

Justin Welan said with a laugh, "Jack, you're out. Let's go eat first, and then I'll tell you about something."

Jack Clark glanced at Sherry Lesser and the others and nodded slightly, "Okay."

...

The cafeteria in the Cultivation Area is on the thirtieth floor, and the taste is similar to the humanities area, but the portion sizes are indeed larger, mostly focusing on meat dishes.

Besides, it is also quite crowded.

With nearly fifty classes in Senior One, many students from these classes have made breakthroughs – some like Class 3 have about a dozen, and even the classes with fewer have five or six.

In this situation, the total number of Senior One students who completed Foundation Establishment also exceeds three hundred.

The group got their food and found a quieter corner to sit down.

Over here, Jack Clark and Justin Welan were sitting together, opposite were Freya Louise and class leader Sherry Lesser, with two other classmates seated next to them.

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After sitting down, Crystal Lewis looked across at Jack Clark and revealed a smile, "First of all, congratulations to Student Clark on successfully building your foundation within half a month."

Jack Clark responded modestly, "Oh, that's nothing. My achievements are far below yours."

Crystal Lewis shook her head slightly, "This isn't just flattery. Being able to establish your foundation in half a month means your talent has already surpassed most people in the school. This is also related to the reason we're seeking you out."

"Please, go on."

Crystal Lewis didn't beat around the bush, "To us, foundation building is just the beginning. There's still a long journey ahead, which is why we're preparing to establish a club."

"A club."

"Yes, a club."

"This club serves two purposes, one is for exchanging our insights into cultivating True Martial Arts and to encourage each other while also preparing for upcoming trials."

"Trials, do we have to go out and fight?" Jack Clark was slightly taken aback.

"Of course."

Crystal Lewis spoke as if it were obvious, "Our cultivation of True Martial Arts is not merely a hobby. How can one forge a heart of a strong man without experiencing battle?"

"Haven't you noticed that there are very few Second and Third Grade martial cultivation students in the school? Even society's cultivators are relatively rare."

"I haven't really noticed these things."

In the half month since his arrival, Jack Clark had been overwhelmed with too many things and hadn't deliberately paid attention to these issues.

Although he occasionally wondered why he hadn't seen many cultivators on the streets, he merely assumed that they were concealing their abilities, hidden in plain sight.

"After the Second Grade, all cultivating students must participate in trials. In previous years, the location for these tasks was usually the military blockade of the primitive forest."

"With the increasing number of Mutated Creatures in recent years, there is a need for regular cleaning, so the trials carry certain risks, and there are casualties every year."

"Faced with this situation, many Second Grade students choose to form teams to increase the completion rate of tasks, which is also why I plan to establish the club."

"We already have five members in the club, all classmates. If we work well together over the next year without any issues, we will form a team to participate in the trials next year."

"Of course, if during this year we find that our personalities and values don't match, you can leave the club at any time."

"What do you think, Student Clark? Are you interested in joining?"

Faced with Crystal Lewis's invitation, Jack Clark pondered for a moment.

Actually, joining this club had no downsides for him at present, only benefits, such as sharing information and common knowledge.

Because of their family backgrounds, Crystal Lewis and Justin Welan knew many things that ordinary people didn't.

Plus, with their excellent talents, being ahead by one step means staying ahead at every step, and the gap between ordinary people and them would only grow wider.

Of course, if your talent is monstrous, you can still come from behind.

But the question is, in this world, how many ordinary people have monstrous-level talent?

Moreover, Jack Clark understood that Crystal Lewis's invitation for him to join the club was related to his successful foundation building within half a month—they considered his talent to be moderate, not too bad.

This wasn't to say that Crystal Lewis and the others were materialistic, but rather that dragons do not associate with snakes.

After a moment, Jack Clark analyzed the pros and cons of the situation in his mind, then answered diplomatically, "Could you give me a couple of days to think about it?"

"...Alright." Crystal Lewis paused slightly, sensing that his response was a polite way of declining.

She couldn't understand why this young man named Jack Clark would refuse to join a club that was clearly more advantageous for him.

It wasn't just Crystal Lewis who was surprised, the others were too.

They didn't know that Jack Clark had too many secrets. Compared to the small benefits of joining the club, he still felt that cultivating alone in peace was better.