“Until later, when I took a sword to the chest...”

David Brooks's expression dimmed, as if he was unwilling to talk about this topic any further. “I'm old now, just a bag of old bones, can't compare to others anymore...”

Ethan Brooks, Olivia Brooks, Emily Brooks and the others immediately understood.

Their second grandpa was definitely a war-level figure back in the day, maybe even at the peak of the war-level...

Peak of the war-level!?

Level six martial artist!?

Incredible, truly incredible!

For a moment, Ethan Brooks quickly put away any sense of disdain he had for the Bai Li family line.

Even though the Bai Li family's body refining, qi refining, and spirit refining techniques could all be found online, the fact that their grandpa could cultivate to such a level with these three major techniques...

He was definitely a big shot.

“I never imagined grandpa had such a glorious history. Our Bai Li family once produced a top expert like grandpa. That's really amazing! Grandpa, don't worry, I will definitely train hard and bring honor to our Bai Li family's martial arts!”

A faint blush appeared on Olivia Brooks's pretty little face, and she spoke with a sense of mission.

“Mm, I'm very happy that you have this determination.”

David Brooks looked at the spirited Olivia Brooks and nodded in satisfaction.

“Grandpa, since you've killed war-level experts before, how much of a subsidy do you get each month?”

Olivia Brooks's eyes rolled as she asked again.

“Ahem... well... grandpa is old now, after all, and the country doesn't bother me anymore, so I don't hold any honorary titles... Besides, I don't want to compete with the young people. Just an old bag of bones, half my body already in the ground, what's the point of getting a war-level expert certificate...”

“There’s a subsidy of one or two thousand yuan a month...”

Olivia Brooks muttered.

“Hmph, do you think your grandpa is the kind of person who, after being unable to serve the country, would still waste taxpayers' money? Finished eating? If you're done, go digest, and continue training this afternoon!”

David Brooks snorted in dissatisfaction.

“Oh.”

Olivia Brooks replied with a bit of awe.

But Ethan Brooks, standing to the side, felt that the confidence he had just built up...

Collapsed.

“Get a war-level expert certificate...”

In other words...

He didn't have a war-level expert certificate?

As for fighting side by side with General Melbourne and killing several war-level experts...

Heh heh...

His assets, combined with Bill's, would exceed ten billion, but does he go around bragging about it?

...

In the afternoon, training continued.

David Brooks maintained his masterly demeanor and spoke at length: “Our Bai Li family's Thirty-Six Thunderbolt Forms is a superior body refining method. The first twelve forms are for foundation building, the middle twelve for qi enhancement, and the last twelve for combat. Ten minutes is the standard—if you can complete one round, your physical fitness is no less than a level one martial artist, which is the standard for a strong adult. If you can do two rounds, you're no less than a level two martial artist, and four rounds puts you on par with level three. Of course, having the physical fitness of a level one, two, or three martial artist is one thing, but whether you count as one is another. After all, the key for a level one martial artist is to gather all your strength into one, turning it into force, surging like a dragon... Olivia, show Ethan.”

“Alright!”

Olivia Brooks was eager to show off in front of Ethan Brooks, and immediately struck a qi-enhancing pose from the Thirty-Six Thunderbolt Forms: “Ethan big brother, watch closely.”

As her body shook, she first exerted force from her toes, gripped the ground with her feet, sent the power surging up to her waist, resonating with her spine, quickly condensing into one, channeling it into her arms, and then, as she thrust her sword, the force whooshed out.

“Whoosh!”

The sword tip made a crisp sound, as if piercing the air.

This thrust was standard, crisp, and fierce.

Even with an unsharpened sword, if it struck a tree, it could probably pierce through a tree as thick as an adult's thigh.

“Not bad, your sword thrust has improved. Once you can complete the Thirty-Six Thunderbolt Forms in under ten minutes, your skills will be considered advanced.”

David Brooks praised, then turned to Ethan Brooks: “Did you see clearly?”

“I saw clearly.”

Ethan Brooks might not have a photographic memory, but he was close.

“Oh? Emily, give him a sword.”

David Brooks instructed.

Immediately, Emily Brooks brought out an unsharpened steel sword from inside and handed it to Ethan Brooks.

Although this sword was unsharpened, it was made of genuine special-grade steel, 129 centimeters long and 2.4 kilograms in weight. When Ethan Brooks held it level, he actually found it hard to keep the blade steady.

“In swordsmanship, there are techniques like thrusting, drawing, lifting, parrying, striking, pointing, bouncing, pressing, sweeping, slashing, picking, and slicing. In direct combat, the power is less than that of a saber, but the sword has qualities that other weapons can't match—agility and penetration. In ancient times, sabers were ineffective against heavy armor, but swords could pierce it. No matter how strong the armor, it couldn't stop a sword thrust. So, when practicing swordsmanship, you must first practice the thrust. Give me a few dozen thrusts and let me see!”

David Brooks said.

Ethan Brooks immediately thrust the sword according to his own understanding.

“Raise it higher... higher... keep your hand steady... where are you aiming... your eyes should be level with the sword tip...”

As Ethan Brooks thrust again and again, David Brooks kept shouting corrections from the side.