Chapter 19: Breakthrough Ethan sat cross-legged. He looked at his panel: [Master: Ethan Hunt Physique: 123.6 Spirit: 123.6 Talent: Infinite Comprehension] Now Ethan was ready to break through. He looked at his elemental core—it was 14 cm in diameter. A larger core could store more elemental force and be more effective in battle at the grandmaster level.For example, a normal Grandmaster had an 8 cm core. Suppose he was a fire-elemental cultivator; using his elemental force, he could fight non-stop for two hours before his energy was depleted. Then, he would need to cultivate again to refill the core. He can then only fight normally without elemental enery to use. Unlocking a gene lock worked in a similar way. A person began by absorbing energy. Once their core was full, the excess energy would be directed toward the gene lock, gradually breaking it open. After some time, it would unlock. Many factors came into play bere—the breathing method, the core size, the environment, etc. A larger core could absorb more energy, resulting in more excess energy to unlock the gene lock. Now a question might arise: if a Level 1 Grandmaster and a Level 9 Grandmaster both have the same-sized core, what is the difference? Using elemental force was like wrapping one’s body in a layer of energy—activating a battle body. This battle body gave a two-times boost to strength and speed based on the user’s natural base limit. Besides that, one could learn skills. For instance, a fire-elemental martial artist could learn a fireball skill to shoot fireballs. The fuel was the same for both Level 1 and Level 9, but the quality differed. A Level 9 cultivator had ascended further in life evolution, so their fireball’s quality would be far superior. Ethan activated his Primordial Three Elemental Breathing Technique. A huge vortex formed around him. His core was already filled, so the excess energy began flooding into the next major gene lock at a visible rate. Normally, after reaching the peak of Level 9 Warrior, a person needed to cultivate six hours a day for 5 to 6 months to unlock the Master realm lock. But Ethan could tell that he would need only 30 minutes. So, he continued his cultivation session. Time passed quickly. Thirty minutes later, his Master realm lock was fully saturated. Then, with a booming sound inside his body, the first sub-gene lock of the Master realm burst open. Ethan could feel his strength and mental power was growing exponentially. Five minutes later, the growth stopped. He exhaled a long, turbid breath and checked his panel: [Master: Ethan Hunt Physique: 618 Spirit: 618 Talent: Infinite Comprehension] Ethan gasped. Although he had expected this, he was still shocked. The human body’s potential was unimaginable. The first sub-lock of every major realm gave a fivefold increase in strength, regardless of the previous strength value. A normal Level 9 Martial Warrior had 10,000 kg of strength. After breaking through, they’d reach 50,000 kg at Master Level 1. Each subsequent level added another fixed 50,000 kg. Only the first level varied. Ethan now had 618,000 kg of strength at Level 1 master realm—168,000 kg more than the normal Level 9 martial master! He looked at his core and saw it was now 28 cm, even larger than that of most Martial Kings. Ethan resumed cultivating. Two hours and thirty minutes passed in a flash. Ethan broke through five more levels, taking 30 minutes per level. He was now a Martial Master Level 6. A mythical rise—unheard of! Some people remained stuck in this realm forever. Even geniuses needed at least 2–3 months per level if they were diligent. Ethan thought to himself, "What a monster you are. As expected of me—bravo!" He patted his shoulder, very pleased with himself. Then he looked at his panel again: [Master: Ethan Hunt Physique: 868 Spirit: 868 Talent: Infinite Comprehension] Each realm gave 50 fixed points. But these points were astronomical. A Level 9 Martial Master had around 450 points of strength. With Ethan’s Level 6 Sword Intent multiplying his base power by 8, his effective strength was 6,944 points—more than a normal Level 3 Martial Grandmaster, who had only 6,750 points. He was now unstoppable. [1 point = 1 ton = 1,000 kg] A normal elephant weighed around 5 points. You could now understand how ridiculous martial artists were. Ethan then check his core again. It was now 38 cm. 2 cm of increment per level. It was amaizing. Ethan was very pleased with himself and went to sleep. --- The next morning, he woke up at 7 a.m. He freshened up and looked at his panel: [Master: Ethan Hunt Physique: 1736 Spirit: 1736 Talent: Infinite Comprehension] He was already nearing the strength of a Level 1 Martial Grandmaster, who had 2,250 points of strength. Suddenly, his phone rang—it was Lukas. "Ethan, we’ll be at your gate in 30 minutes. Get ready fast." Ethan nodded. "Okay." He wore his combat suit—soft armor—packed his flying knives in his backpack, and strapped Frostmourne at his waist. He went downstairs. Elina and Jack were there. They asked, "Where are you going so early, son?" Ethan said, "Mom, my squad members will be here in 20 minutes. We’re going hunting again." There was a hint of worry in their eyes, but they didn’t stop him. They only said, "Come back safely. Your safety matters most. Always remember that." Ethan could feel their concern. He reassured them, "Don’t worry, I’ll take care of myself." Then he had breakfast and stepped outside. There was a flower garden in front of his house. He stood there and spread his mental power. Now, he could cover a 30 km radius—almost the size of a small city. And since his spirit had passed the 1,000-point barrier, there had been a qualitative change. He couldn’t quite pinpoint it at first, but then he tried picking up objects using his mental power. Earlier, he could manage 10 objects at once. Now, he could manage 15. "So this is the qualitative change, huh? Not bad," he muttered. While he was practicing, he saw a military vehicle rapidly approaching. His team members were inside. Though still 10 km away, he could clearly see them. Inside his mental domain, everything was under his observation and control. Five minutes later, the car arrived. Ethan stepped into it. Lukas said, "You look more energetic today, Ethan. Did last night’s fight give you a mental boost?" Ethan was surprised by Lukas’ keen observation. He simply replied, "Yes." Lukas continued, "Today we’ll go to Area 40. That place is dangerous. A lot of Master-level beasts are there. Maybe even some Grandmaster-level ones." Ethan asked, "That dangerous?" Lukas replied, "Danger and luck go side by side. If you don’t take risks, how will you grow strong?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞 Ethan smiled. "Okay, let’s go then. Let’s see what’s so special about Area 40." Everyone laughed. Soon, they passed through the city gate and reached the army camp. This time, they didn’t rest. They parked the car and entered Area 40 on foot. After 30 minutes of walking, they reached their destination. Along the way, they encountered some low-level monsters, which Ethan easily dealt with. Area 40 used to be a small town before the Catastrophe. Now, it was a monster zone. They heard fighting in the distance. Remond said, "Looks like some martial artists are fighting. Let’s go check it out." Everyone nodded. As they approached, they saw two young men and a woman struggling against a huge Earth Bear. They were at their limit—despair in their eyes. Remond’s team took action. The bear was a Level 1 Master-grade monster. Mike and Tyson, both Level 1 Martial Masters, stepped forward. Mike, being fast, slashed the bear from behind. The beast roared in fury and tried to swat Mike, but Tyson was ready and smashed its head with his hammer. The bear staggered. Mike seized the opening and delivered a series of slashes. Roaring in pain, the bear unleashed a barrage of earth spikes. Mike blocked them easily. Then Tyson struck again, followed by Mike. With perfect coordination, they took down the monster in their own realm. The three survivors bowed deeply. "Thank you, sirs, for saving us!" Mike asked, "You don’t seem like fighters. What are you doing here?" One of the young men replied, "You’re right, sir. We’re from Aurora Martial University. We came for research. We hired a team for protection, but they ran off the moment they saw the bear. Thank you again for saving our lives." Ethan and the others exchanged looks of understanding. Lukas asked, "What do you plan to do now? Can you make it out on your own?" The young man replied, "We’d be grateful if you could escort us back to the army camp. In return, we’ll offer rewards—and a secret information ."