Chapter 9: Shock! What Ethan saw was not a 3 cm marble-sized core, but a massive 14 cm core. "When did this happen?" "Didn’t the teacher say only a major breakthrough could make the core bigger? But... it seems that’s not the case for me." Before unlocking his gene, his core was 3 cm. After unlocking, it doubled to 6 cm. Then, each minor breakthrough gave him 1 cm more, making it a whopping 14 cm in total. Even the core of a Martial Grandmaster is only 8 cm, and a King’s is 16 cm. But here he was—Ethan—already at 14 cm, and he was just a Level 9 Warrior. Even if he told others, no one would believe him. "Hah... what an anomaly." But the good thing was—the anomaly is me. Ethan laughed in his heart. Then he went to sleep. --- When Ethan woke up, it was 10 in the morning. He first checked his panel: [Master: Ethan Hunt Physique: 30.8 Spirit: 30.8] He had been busy the past few days, so he hadn’t had time to reflect on his spirit value. But now, he realized—he could pick up 30 tons of weight using just his spirit! Then he tried manipulating multiple objects. He could only control 10 at a time. He spread his mental force around, trying to sense his surroundings. He could clearly sense a radius of 500 meters—a 1 km-wide domain! Within this range, anything under 30 tons of weight was within his control.Moreover he could sense everything within his mental domain. Ethan freshened up and went down for breakfast. His parents had already left for the office, but breakfast was prepared with a sweet note from his mother. He loved reading her notes—always filled with warmth and care. He ate voraciously. His appetite had grown significantly after becoming a warrior. Then Ethan began thinking: "What should I do today?" He didn’t plan to break through again so soon. So maybe... he should find a skill to hone? He had heard that many techniques could multiply the force of one’s attacks. That was practically magic! And Ethan deeply longed for such a skill. But those were only available to official Martial Warriors. So—should he go to the Alliance Hall and get his identity token? His hand rested on his chin. "Maybe I should just say I broke through to Level 1... so it won’t cause a panic." But even then, he couldn’t fully grasp the situation. A quasi-warrior becoming a full warrior in one day? That was literally unheard of in history. Ethan got ready and took his Mercedes Vision XX to the Alliance Hall. --- He walked up to the receptionist and said, "Hello, I’m Ethan Hunt. May I know where Mr. Richard is?" The receptionist looked up and saw a 1.9-meter-tall, handsome young man dressed in rich attire standing in front of her. She wasn’t a martial artist—just a normal girl. So she was stunned for a moment. "This guy is so handsome..." Last night, after Ethan’s body purification during his breakthrough, he had become even more attractive. Not every martial artist got to experience such a transformation. The girl asked with a smile, "What do you want from Mr. Richard, if I may ask?" Ethan replied casually, "Oh, he was the instructor of our batch during the awakening process. Now that I’ve become a warrior, I’d like to ask Mr. Richard to help me get my identity." The girl nodded. "Oh, so that’s how it is... You’ve become a warrior..." But then something clicked in her mind. She suddenly looked at Ethan, her eyes wide in disbelief. "Wait... Mr. Richard was your instructor? Didn’t he only instruct a batch yesterday? And I don’t remember him taking any batch for the past year or two. Are you saying you awakened one or two years ago? But you’re so young—you must’ve awakened recently, like within a month or two." Ethan was surprised by how sharp this girl was. He was genuinely impressed. He nodded. "Yes, I was in the batch yesterday." It was like a nuclear bomb exploded in the girl’s mind. Her voice trembled, "A-Are you telling the truth? You... became a warrior in a day?" Ethan was puzzled by the fuss. "There should be many geniuses in the super cities who’ve done this, right?" Still, he confirmed, "Yes." The girl immediately called Richard. "Sir! There’s a person named Ethan Hunt. He says he awakened yesterday under your supervision and has already become a warrior. He’s here for registration." Her voice was still shaking. On the other side of the call, Richard was sipping tea. When he heard the words, the cup slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor. His eyes bulged. "What did you say? Did you just say Ethan became a warrior and came to report!?" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦 The girl shakily confirmed. Richard shot up and ran out of his office like a madman. His mind buzzed with disbelief. He had to see it with his own eyes. --- When he reached the hall, he saw Ethan casually sitting on a waiting sofa, playing on his phone. The receptionist was standing nearby, looking completely dazed. Richard walked up to Ethan. "Hey, Ethan. This girl just said you’ve become a martial warrior and came to register?" Ethan looked up from his phone. When he saw Richard, he stood up and said, "Yes, Instructor Richard. I was lucky enough to grasp the breathing technique last night and accidentally broke through." Richard’s brain went blank. "Is this even human speech?! Accidental breakthrough? Grasped three-elemental breathing technique? What are you saying?? Are you speaking alien language??" After a few moments, Richard managed to compose himself. "Um, Ethan, if you don’t mind... Could you come with me to verify this result? Maybe there’s some misunderstanding..." Ethan understood Richard’s shock, so he obliged. He stood in front of a punching machine—and punched. > 2000 kg Richard already believed him deep down... But seeing the number hit him like reality itself. Still, he maintained his composure. Next was the speed tester. A Level 1 Martial Warrior typically had a speed of 35 m/s. Ethan ran. > 38 m/s There was no denying it now. Ethan had really broken through. But Richard knew—he couldn’t handle this kind of genius alone. He immediately made a call. --- In Super City No. 1, an old man in his 50s or 60s stood up the moment he heard the report. He was Charles Denver, a Martial King and direct supervisor of base cities 1 through 5. When he heard someone in Base City 5 had broken through to Martial Warrior just a day after awakening—it blew his mind. Even the Alliance President himself, the legendary "Dragon," hadn’t achieved that feat. Charles instructed Richard to treat Ethan with the highest level of hospitality. He would arrive in 5 hours—and immediately booked a fighter plane for travel. --- Meanwhile, in Base City 5, Ethan looked suspiciously at Richard. "Why is this guy acting so weird? Don’t tell me... is he a pervert?" Ethan couldn’t think any further. Seeing Ethan’s discomfort, Richard snapped back to his senses. He scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Umm... Ethan—no, Mr. Ethan... Our supervisor is coming to the Base City in 5 hours. He asked to meet you personally. What do you think?" Ethan was stunned. A supervisor-level figure? That meant at least a Martial Grandmaster—possibly a King! Such a person wanted to meet him? He immediately agreed. No one dared to act unscrupulously in the Alliance Hall, especially since the President was "Dragon" himself. Ethan then asked if he could get his identity token now and browse the Warrior Website. Richard grinned from ear to ear. "Of course, Mr. Ethan! I’ll bring your token right away. Please wait a moment." Ethan waited on the sofa. Twenty minutes later, Richard returned with a black card—Ethan’s official Martial Warrior identity token. Ethan opened the microcomputer on his wrist and logged into the Martial Alliance website. Everything was there: a warrior forum, online marketplace, and more. He was especially eager to explore the skill techniques—particularly sword techniques. He selected the section of special techniques for above martial warrior realm. As there was a basic technique section also which could be learned by quasi warriors too. 1. Dimension Cleaving – 100 billion Alliance Coins 2. Annihilation – 100 billion 3. ... ... ... 50. Light Sword Technique – 100 million There were fifty sword skills listed. The cheapest one? 100 million. Ethan stared at the prices in a daze. "100 billion? What the heck?! Even my family, though well-off, has a total net worth under 100 million—and that includes investments, stakes, house, land, liquid money. And the cheapest technique here is 100 million? How am I supposed to buy this??" He slumped. So. Depressed. -