As the man approached, his left hand swung out, clawing toward Ethan Brooks's wrist. Charles Wright possessed mid-stage acquired strength, and from the way Ethan Brooks had just shattered the tiles, it was clear he used external martial arts. For such an ordinary hard-style kid, he would just cripple him first, then deal with that old bastard—how dare he call the police. The reason Charles Wright was so notorious everywhere was because he had two peak-level experts at his side, and Charles Wright acted like an agent, taking them around to commit crimes.

On top of that, he was ruthless and cunning, with no fixed residence, so he even dared to take on the job of “inviting” William Thompson.

“…You…” He thought it would be an easy catch, but before Charles Wright could even see clearly, his own wrist was already seized by Ethan Brooks. Only then did he realize something was wrong, and he launched his right hand with full force at Ethan Brooks’s throat.

“Pa… ah…” Charles Wright’s hand was caught again by Ethan Brooks, who looked at him calmly, still appearing so simple and honest. But toward someone trying to kill him, he was no longer so friendly.

Andrew Carter, hiding behind Ethan Brooks, didn’t know what was happening, but Charles Wright, who was caught, understood very well. This seemingly honest, unremarkable guy was actually a master of external martial arts. At this moment, his own hand felt as if it were clamped in steel pliers—he couldn’t even move, and could almost hear his bones about to shatter.

“Damn it…” Charles Wright’s anger flared, and he lifted his leg to deliver a groin kick at Ethan Brooks’s lower body, trying to force him to let go and retreat.

“Crack…” Ethan Brooks lifted his leg, moving even faster, and kicked Charles Wright’s leg just as it was halfway up.

“Ah…” Charles Wright screamed in agony, his leg broken by Ethan Brooks’s kick, and he fell to one knee on the ground.

Looking at the suffering Charles Wright, Ethan Brooks kindly told him, “Sorry, you brought this on yourself.”

As he spoke, he twisted both hands—“crack, crack…”—and with another round of screams, he directly crippled both of Charles Wright’s hands. Charles Wright let out a final scream and fainted on the ground.

Hearing Charles Wright’s screams, the two old men, who had already been losing to William Thompson, were distracted. William Thompson instantly seized the opportunity to knock them down. After taking them out, he tapped his foot on the ground, moving as smoothly as flowing water, and arrived in front of Ethan Brooks.

He glanced at Charles Wright lying on the ground, then at Ethan Brooks standing before him. Looking at Ethan Brooks’s calm, simple smile, with no sign of inner energy or aggression, if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, William Thompson would have found it hard to believe that this unassuming young man was responsible.

“Old Carter, I’m truly sorry, I hope you weren’t frightened.” For William Thompson, this kind of thing was nothing, but he didn’t want martial arts matters to interfere with the world of Go, especially after today’s match. His opinion of Andrew Carter had risen even higher.

Andrew Carter managed to stay calm, but was still shaken: “It’s all right… it’s all right…” He looked gratefully at Ethan Brooks: “If it weren’t for Ethan Brooks today, we’d be in real trouble.”

“This young man looks familiar—he’s from the Kaizhu Go Club, right?” Truly, you can’t judge a book by its cover, or measure the sea with a bucket. He had appeared at the Kaizhu Go Club before, and just now had followed behind Hu Kaizhu, but William Thompson hadn’t paid special attention—who would have thought he was a master. In William Thompson’s eyes, Charles Wright was trash, but he still had mid-stage acquired strength, which made him a strong expert among ordinary people. What surprised William Thompson most was that even now, he still couldn’t gauge Ethan Brooks’s true level.

The technique used to subdue Charles Wright just now should have been external martial arts, but for someone practicing hard external skills to reach the peak acquired stage, how could they still have such a normal physique? Eagle claw, leg techniques, iron shirt, the thirteen horizontal practices of the Vajra Guardian—any external skill practiced to a certain level would have obvious physical traits, but he… was just too ordinary, too normal, which was abnormal in itself.

Amazed inside, William Thompson sincerely said to Ethan Brooks, “We really owe you this time, little brother. If anything had happened to Old Carter, it would have been my fault, and I’ll remember this debt.”

Ethan Brooks smiled and said, “It’s nothing. I was just escorting Old Carter home, so it’s my duty to protect him. They’re just a few small-time thugs.”

Small-time thugs? Andrew Carter wasn’t stupid—just one piece of clothing from those guys would keep a street punk busy for a year, not to mention their car and their skills. Each one was like a god of death, ready to kill at a moment’s notice—how could they be small-time thugs!

“If Young Master Thompson really wants to thank me, I just hope this matter ends here. After all, Old Carter and I are just ordinary people—we don’t want, and can’t afford, the trouble of being harassed by these thugs.”

Oh… William Thompson was no fool. Hearing Ethan Brooks’s words, he immediately understood what he meant—he didn’t want to get involved in their conflict, nor did he want these people to bother him. Looking at Charles Wright on the ground, with both hands crippled and a broken leg, it was clear that this seemingly simple young man wasn’t afraid of anything—he just didn’t want trouble.

Or perhaps, he didn’t want to owe anyone a favor, and was giving William Thompson a chance to repay him.

Either way, this person was formidable—not as ordinary as he appeared. The composure and ruthlessness he displayed were rare, even for William Thompson himself.

William Thompson smiled confidently and said, “Don’t worry, little brother. There won’t be any trouble or entanglements.”