Ethan Brooks was utterly entranced, calling out loudly. Every move and technique taught by the war god-like man, every word he spoke, flowed through his mind with perfect clarity, as if transforming into a passionate waterfall before his eyes, merging with himself as one.

He seemed to have become the flowing water, surging and splashing, turning into a roaring waterfall, thundering between the sunlight and sky, dancing wildly with life in the vast embrace of nature!

After a long while, Ethan Brooks finally stopped, gasping for breath.

The sky gradually darkened, the brilliant clouds in the air slowly faded away at some unknown moment, and dusk, like gray wings, quietly covered everything.

After the intense exercise, a profound sense of stillness naturally arose in Ethan Brooks's heart.

His gaze fell upon the pool. Despite the waterfall crashing down furiously, the pool remained unchanged, open and calm, peacefully accommodating the rushing, soaring water.

Waterfall and pool—one in motion, one at rest—created a mysterious contrast.

This was a unique state of mind that could only be sensed, not described in words. In the instant when day and night alternated, a scroll imbued with the mysteries of heaven and earth slowly unfolded before Ethan Brooks.

Suddenly, Ethan Brooks felt a vast, cosmic power. Compared to this force, the combat skills he had just comprehended seemed so insignificant and laughable.

How could human strength ever contend with the power of nature?

The mysterious force within him seemed to respond to some kind of summons, subtly shifting.

Time passed in silence.

The world finally became pitch black.

No one knew how much time had passed when, all of a sudden, a powerful undercurrent surged behind him. Ethan Brooks turned to look and saw waves rolling, spray flying, and on the emerald surface of the pool, a gigantic beast as large as a mountain slowly emerged.

A bull’s head, a serpent’s neck, a turtle’s back, and a leopard’s tail—the beast’s bulging eyes were as red as two blazing fires, staring at Ethan Brooks.

Ethan Brooks couldn’t help but feel his scalp tingle. He clenched his fists, thinking to himself that another fierce battle was about to begin.

Unexpectedly, the beast did not attack Ethan Brooks at all. It nodded at him, its gaze showing no trace of ferocity.

Ethan Brooks was secretly amazed. The beast slowly swam to his side, gently lowered its long neck, and arched its turtle back, as if inviting Ethan Brooks to sit on it.

Ethan Brooks was instantly filled with excitement. He thought that if the beast had wanted to harm him, it could have done so already, and even if it suddenly went wild while he was on its back, he could still find a way to escape. With this in mind, he leapt onto the beast’s back, but kept his hands ready at its neck, just in case.

The beast swished its tail and carried Ethan Brooks forward.

Chapter Eight: A World Within

The pool was surrounded on three sides by mountains, with sheer cliffs and jagged peaks. The massive rocks were of all shapes and sizes, riddled with holes large and small. As Ethan Brooks admired the scenery, he couldn’t help but marvel, wondering how the United Nations Security Directorate had created such a wondrous world. By rights, all of this should have been an illusion, yet those who entered this realm experienced an overwhelming sense of reality. The line between illusion and reality was dizzying.

Suddenly, everything before him darkened. The beast swam around a mountain peak as straight as a sword and entered a cave half-exposed above the water.

Ethan Brooks gently patted the beast’s back and said, “Where exactly are you taking me?”

The beast let out a low rumble from its throat, lifted its head, and sped up.

The cave was unfathomably deep, winding and twisting. The further they swam, the shallower the water became, until a jagged stone beach appeared ahead. Only then did the beast stop, sweeping its tail lightly as if to signal that Ethan Brooks's sightseeing tour had come to an end.

Why had it brought him to this place?

Ethan Brooks lightly jumped off the beast’s back, and the beast turned and swam away.

Walking on the stone beach, the air around him was cold and damp. After about half an hour, the path ahead seemed to come to an end.

Hundreds of stalactite caves appeared before Ethan Brooks.

A rich fragrance wafted over him. All around, bizarre stalactite columns hung upside down, dripping multicolored liquid onto a ground as white as snow, producing clear, melodious sounds like a jade instrument’s sonata. Each stalactite cave was different in size and shape, with shifting halos and brilliant colors. It was as splendid as a hundred flowers in bloom, as dazzling as the stars in the sky, radiating bright light.

Ethan Brooks was enchanted by this palace of jade and crystal, and strolled toward one of the stalactite caves.

Inside, the cave was spacious and bright. As Ethan Brooks's footsteps echoed, the emerald stone walls rippled like water, transforming into a giant liquid crystal screen.

“Welcome to the mechanical science course.”

Lines of English letters slowly appeared on the screen, each accompanied by translations in seven languages, including Chinese, Japanese, French, and Latin.

Ethan Brooks read the text carefully and found that it mainly covered modern technological knowledge, including operating computers, precision instruments, and various advanced firearms and weapons. For example, how to hack into computers like a hacker, crack programs, skillfully pilot various vehicles, and even learn to assemble and disarm bombs.

At this moment, Ethan Brooks's astonishing intelligence came into play. In less than half a day, he had firmly memorized all the content displayed on the screen and fully understood why the beast had brought him here.