Chapter 110: Peak of Third Sequence

"This should be the last of them, right...?"

Jackson muttered to himself as he plunged his hand into a goblin’s chest and ripped out its beast core.

The small, bloodstained crystal glimmered faintly in his palm. He gave it a brief glance before tossing it into his storage space and moving toward the next corpse.

After destroying the goblin watchtower, Jackson had spent the remaining time wandering leisurely through the battlefield, collecting beast cores from the goblins he had killed. The tower’s destruction had been spectacular, but gathering the spoils afterward was proving to be a far more tedious task.

There were simply too many corpses.

Every few steps, he encountered another dead goblin. Some lay beneath broken branches, while others had been crushed by the debris from the collapsed tower. A few had attempted to flee during the destruction, only to be caught by Jackson before they could escape.

And each corpse meant another beast core to extract.

Jackson had never imagined that collecting loot could become such exhausting work. If he had known this beforehand, he might have reconsidered how many goblins to kill. Unfortunately, that thought came a little too late.

Still, he wasn’t about to leave valuable resources lying around.

After all, he had spent a considerable amount of time and effort hunting these monsters. Every beast core represented another opportunity to strengthen his spiritual space and move closer to the peak of the Third Sequence.

Abandoning them would be equivalent to throwing away free resources.

And Jackson had no intention of doing something so foolish.

As he continued collecting the cores, the other students watched him from a distance. Their expressions were complicated, ranging from disbelief and admiration to envy and apprehension.

They had witnessed the destruction of the tower with their own eyes. The memory of that enormous blade descending from the sky was still fresh in their minds, and the sight had permanently altered their understanding of Jackson’s strength.

Yet the same young man who had unleashed such a terrifying attack was now crouching beside goblin corpses, carefully extracting their beast cores as though he were an ordinary scavenger gathering scraps.

The contrast was difficult to comprehend.

Some students wanted to approach him, perhaps to strike up a conversation or establish a connection with someone who had demonstrated such extraordinary strength. Others preferred to maintain their distance, uncertain how he would react to their presence.

Jackson paid them no attention.

He could sense their gazes, but he had no interest in figuring out what was going through their minds. Whether they admired him, feared him, or secretly resented his success made little difference to him.

He had resources to collect and strength to improve.

Everything else could wait.

Just as Jackson reached for another beast core, the entire world suddenly trembled.

The ground beneath his feet shook, sending small clouds of dust rising from the earth. The surrounding trees swayed violently, and the air itself seemed to ripple as an immense force swept across the forest.

Jackson paused, lifting his head.

Before anyone could react, several figures appeared high in the sky.

They were the professors of Golden Radiance Academy.

One after another, powerful Awakened emerged in midair, their auras spreading across the surrounding forest. Some hovered effortlessly above the treetops, while others stood suspended in the air as though gravity held no authority over them.

At the center stood Dean Maxwell.

His gaze swept across the battlefield, taking in the ruined goblin tower, the scattered corpses, and the exhausted students gathered throughout the forest. Despite the devastation, a bright smile spread across his face.

The next moment, his voice rang out like thunder.

"The month-end trial has ended. Congratulations, everyone!"

His words reverberated across the forest, reaching every surviving participant.

For some students, the announcement brought immediate relief. Their tense shoulders finally relaxed, and several collapsed onto the ground, no longer needing to maintain their composure now that the danger had passed.

Others exchanged exhausted smiles, grateful simply to have survived.

Before anyone could celebrate for long, the academy’s medical team descended into the forest.

Several healers immediately began examining the injured, while others carried stretchers toward students who were unable to stand. Magical healing techniques illuminated the forest in flashes of light as broken bones were treated, bleeding wounds were closed, and exhausted students received emergency care.

Although the academy had taken numerous precautions before organizing the assessment, a trial involving real monsters could never be made completely safe.

Some students had underestimated their opponents. Others had fallen into traps or been caught in battles they couldn’t win. Despite the monitoring arrangements, there were limits to how quickly the academy’s personnel could intervene when danger arose across such a vast area.

And those limits had come at a price.

As the rescue operation continued, several names remained unanswered.

A few students were missing.

Dean Maxwell’s smile faded slightly as he learned the details. He looked across the forest one final time before letting out a quiet sigh and shaking his head.

In the end, there was no escaping it.

The academy could provide guidance, resources, and protection, but it couldn’t guarantee that every student would survive the path they had chosen. The world beyond its walls was far more brutal, and the Awakened would eventually have to face dangers without anyone standing ready to rescue them.

The casualties were a harsh reminder of that reality.

After the injured had been treated, the surviving students gathered at the designated assembly area. The academy’s personnel completed the necessary checks, collected the remaining equipment, and ensured that no participants had been left behind.

Only after the rescue and cleanup operations were completed did Dean Maxwell announce the final rankings.

The students immediately quieted down.

Everyone knew what the rankings meant. The higher a student placed, the greater the rewards they would receive, and the more attention they would attract from the academy’s instructors and influential figures.

For many, this was the first major opportunity to establish their reputation.

Yet this year’s results had already become something extraordinary.

For the first time in the academy’s history, a student widely regarded as having no worthwhile talent had defeated the academy’s celebrated geniuses and claimed the top position.

Even those who had witnessed Jackson’s terrifying attack still felt their hearts tighten when Dean Maxwell began reading the results.

"First place among the first-year students goes to Jackson Von Maximus, with the highest number of kills!"

The announcement rang across the assembly area.

Although Jackson had already anticipated the outcome, hearing his name officially announced still drew a few glances from him. He remained seated among the other students, showing little reaction to the surrounding commotion.

He had killed more goblins than anyone else, destroyed the goblin tower, and collected an enormous number of beast cores.

There had never been much doubt about the result.

However, the announcement that followed caught his attention.

"Second place among the first-year students goes to Grace White!"

Jackson paused for a moment.

His gaze briefly swept across the crowd before settling on Grace, who stood among the other participants. She maintained a composed expression, though the tension in her posture suggested that the result wasn’t entirely satisfying to her.

Jackson hadn’t expected her to place second.

After a brief moment of surprise, however, he shook his head.

It didn’t matter.

His goal had never been to compete with Grace. Whether she ranked second, third, or somewhere further down the list had little relevance to his plans.

He had more important things to worry about.

"Third place goes to Alexander Drag!"

Alexander’s name drew another wave of attention. Despite his earlier setbacks, he had still managed to secure a place among the top three, demonstrating that his strength was far from ordinary.

"Fourth place goes to Veronica Green Soul!"

Veronica stood quietly as her ranking was announced. Her gaze drifted toward Jackson for a moment, carrying the same lingering suspicion that had troubled her earlier, but she didn’t say anything.

The announcements continued.

Jonathan Spark and Angela Northwind also secured positions among the top rankers, joining the other students who had managed to distinguish themselves during the assessment.

Once the rankings had been announced, Dean Maxwell addressed the assembled students again.

"For those who have secured a place in the top ten, the academy treasury will be open to you for one day. Each of you may choose an item according to your ranking. The higher your position, the greater the number of rare and valuable treasures available to you."

His words immediately stirred the crowd.

The academy treasury contained far more than ordinary cultivation resources. It housed rare techniques, valuable weapons, specialized equipment, and various treasures accumulated by Golden Radiance Academy over many years.

For the students who had secured a place in the top ten, this was an opportunity to obtain something that might otherwise have required years of effort or an enormous expenditure of resources.

Naturally, their excitement was understandable.

Jackson, however, had already lost interest in the announcement.

He found a place to sit, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes while waiting for the exit process to begin.

To anyone watching, he appeared to be resting after the exhausting trial.

In reality, he had no intention of wasting the remaining time.