Chapter 38: The Watershed
Ethan stood in the silent, amber-lit study of Thorne Sr., his pulse a steady, heavy thrum in his ears. The silver card on the desk seemed to vibrate with the lingering residue of his aura. He had withdrawn the pressure, but the air still felt ionized, thick with the realization that his life as a "mere" billionaire was over. He had stepped across a threshold he didn't even know existed.
Thorne Sr. took a long, shaky breath, his withered hands gripping the edge of the obsidian-inlay desk until his knuckles turned white. He looked at Ethan not with fear, but with a terrifyingly sharp focus.
"Ethan," the old man said, his voice raspy. "Don't be alarmed. We're friends, not enemies. You should actually thank me for looking into you. I concealed your identity the moment I finished my investigations. There have been at least three parties looking into you afterward, but because of my intervention, they found nothing."
Ethan didn't speak immediately. He remained still, his Pseudo-Body Refining passively scanning the room for any hidden threats. Internally, he was calculating. He had dared not unleash his full aura on Thorne Sr. earlier; after all, he was scared he would accidentally kill the defenseless old man. Even with his power suppressed, the display had been enough to rattle the foundation of the manor.
Ethan had no idea that most people—even the most powerful players in the country—would never think of a "System" as the source of his strength. In the "Unseen World" of martial artists, logic dictated that you could only get stronger step by step. There were no shortcuts, no sudden serendipity that turned a student into a god overnight. Even the most gifted person needed to start at an early age, enduring years of bone-breaking labor. They would only live a mediocre life once they were past their prime.
Therefore, the rational assumption for anyone witnessing Ethan's power would be exactly what Thorne Sr. had guessed: Ethan had a legendary, hidden mentor. It was the only explanation that fit the reality of their world. It was the same conclusion anyone would draw, even if they looked into his background and saw the twenty years of poverty. They would simply assume he had been "tempering his heart" in the mundane world under his master's orders.
Thorne Sr. watched Ethan's cold, handsome face. The aura Ethan released earlier was strong! Although Ethan had not directed the full force at him, as a former master in the Pseudo-Body Refining Rank, Thorne Sr. still had his perceptions intact, even though his physical powers were long gone due to his old injuries.
He is strong... stronger than I was at my absolute peak, Thorne thought, his heart racing.
This realization made him more determined than ever to bind the Thorne family to Ethan McCain. Only in this way could the Thornes continue to flourish. With a protector like Ethan, it would no longer be impossible to extend their influence beyond the South River Province.
South River was currently considered below average among the provinces and cities in the country. It was a pond. But beyond its borders lay the Capital and the Great Districts—places where real opportunities and real monsters resided. Thorne Sr. knew his own health was deteriorating day by day. As a master in the Pseudo-Body Refining Rank, he wasn't actually very old in years, but the internal damage from his time in the Special Task Force was a rot that couldn't be stopped. If he had not been seriously injured, he would have lived for another twenty or thirty years with proper care.
However, he felt that his time was coming. He had to find a partner—a sovereign—for the Thorne family. Ethan—seemed like the best fit. His investigation had shown that Ethan was, at his core, a good person. At the very least, he was a man who would repay the kindness of those who helped him.
Ethan, who was already starting to relax, felt his nerves tighten again when the old man mentioned the other investigators.
"At least three parties looked into me?" Ethan's voice was a low, dangerous rasp. "Who?"
He could figure out one. Julian and the people associated with the brawl at the Apex club meeting would be the obvious choice. But who were the others? The unknown was the scariest part of this new life. He seemed to have caught the attention of forces he hadn't even begun to fathom.
"Old Master Thorne, I'm sorry," Ethan said, choosing to play along with the narrative Thorne had built for him. "I got a little nervous just now. But I cannot defy my mentor's wishes for discretion. However... I do need an identity. My current one is too 'thin' to support the weight of my recent actions."
Thorne Sr. nodded eagerly. Since Ethan admitted to having a "mentor," it explained the sudden transformation perfectly. It gave Ethan a background that demanded respect.
"Ethan, don't mention it," Thorne Sr. said, waving a hand dismissively. "The reason I'm telling you all this is because I want you to work closely with the Thorne family. We provide the roots, and you provide the canopy."
Ethan leaned forward, his eyes fixed on the silver card. "Tell me more about this organization. What exactly do you mean by Security Bureau Team B?"
Thorne Sr. settled into his chair, the green glow of the lamp casting deep shadows into the wrinkles of his face. "The National Security Bureauis the ultimate hidden blade of the country. It is divided into four teams: A, B, C, and D. They are the watershed of power in our society."
He began to count on his fingers. "Teams C and D are the frontline. They are responsible for the events triggered by 'First-Class' martial artists—those who are strong, but still within the realm of what a highly trained tactical squad can handle. Team B, however, is the true watershed. They are responsible for incidents triggered by masters in the Pseudo-Body Refining Rank."
"Pseudo-Body Refining Rank," Ethan repeated, his mind flashing back to his System's "Peak Body" evaluation. He wondered where he stood in that hierarchy.
"Exactly," Thorne continued. "A Pseudo-Body Refining Rank master is a walking calamity if they go rogue. Ordinary soldiers are useless against them. Team B members are the elite of the elite, the ones who keep the peace among the high-level clans."
"And Team A?" Ethan asked. "Isn't there a Team A?"
Thorne Sr.'s expression turned elusive, almost reverent. "Team A is... different. They are ghosts. They only show up when Team B cannot settle an incident, which is rare. In my twenty years of service, I only heard of them being deployed twice. I don't know much about them myself, other than the fact that they answer to no one but the highest authorities in the Capital."
Ethan processed this. To join Team B meant he would be legally sanctioned to handle "Pseudo-Body Refining Rank" threats. It meant that if someone like Julian tried to use martial force against his family, Ethan could strike back with the full weight of the law behind him.
"You said this was one of two presents," Ethan reminded him, his curiosity piqued. "Referring me to the Special Task Force is the first. What's the other one?"
Thorne Sr. smiled, a look of triumph crossing his face. He reached into the same drawer where the silver card had been and pulled out a heavy, leather-bound folder. He slid it across the obsidian desk toward Ethan.
"The first gift was your shield—your identity," Thorne Sr. whispered. "The second gift is your sword."
Ethan opened the folder. Inside were the deeds to a series of seemingly unrelated businesses: a high-tech laboratory in the industrial zone, a private security firm with an existing license for heavy ordnance, and a dormant shipping port on the South River.
"This is the skeleton of a private empire," Thorne Sr. explained. "These businesses are clean, established, and have all the 'Class S' permits that usually take decades of political maneuvering to obtain. I am giving you the Thorne Shadow Network. With your capital and my existing licenses, you won't just be an Overseer in name. You will have a private infrastructure that even the municipal government can't touch."
Ethan looked at the deeds, then back at the old man. He realized that Thorne Sr. wasn't just giving him gifts; he was handing Ethan the keys to a fortress. Thorne was betting the entire future of his lineage on Ethan's potential.
"You're giving me your life's work," Ethan noted.
"I'm giving it to someone who can actually keep it," Thorne Sr. countered. "My son is a good man, but he is a businessman, not a warrior. My daughter is sharp, but she lacks the... 'aura' you possess. If I leave these to them, the wolves from the Capital will eat them alive within a year of my death."
Thorne Sr. leaned in closer. "Join Team B. Take the test. Once you have that badge, no one in the South River Province will dare to look into your past again. You will be a 'National Asset.' And while you serve the country, use these businesses to build your Black Global Holdings into something that makes the Capital tremble."
Ethan felt a surge of adrenaline. This was the "New Life" he had been searching for. The Zillion System gave him the money, but Thorne Sr. was giving him the theater in which to spend it.
"I accept," Ethan said, closing the folder with a sharp thud. "I'll take the referral. I'll join Team B."
"Good," Thorne Sr. exhaled, looking as if a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "The test will be in three days. It will be conducted by the regional captain of the Task Force. He is a man who respects only one thing: absolute strength."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Ethan said, his voice cold and confident.
As he stood up to leave, Ethan's mind was already racing ahead. He needed to prepare. He needed to ensure his parents were moved into the Golden Dragon under the protection of Mark's veterans before he went to the Task Force testing ground.
He walked toward the door, but stopped and looked back at the elder Thorne. "One more thing. You said three parties were looking into me. If Julian was the first, and you were the second... who was the third?"
Thorne Sr.'s smile faded. "The third party used an encrypted server from the North District. I couldn't trace it, Ethan. But whoever they are, they didn't just look for your bank records. They were looking for your DNA profiles from the university clinic."
Ethan's eyes turned into slits. DNA. That wasn't just curiosity; that was an attempt to verify a bloodline.
"I'll be ready for them," Ethan said.
He stepped out of the study and into the hallway, where Tanya was waiting. She leaned against the silk-covered wall, her eyes tracing his form with a mixture of playfulness and newfound respect.
"Finished with the old man's secrets?" she asked, her voice like velvet.
"Just getting started," Ethan replied, not stopping as he headed for the exit.
He had a hotel to secure, a family to protect, and a "mentor" to pretend to be. The Zillion System hummed in his mind, the wealth display flickering like a heartbeat. The world thought they were looking into a student, but they were about to realize they had invited a dragon into their pond.