Ethan Brooks also realized that, at the moment his dad snatched the cup, he had instinctively used the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique, and then... when arm wrestling himself, his dad—who had always beaten his own two hands with just one—lost...

“How is that possible?”

Ethan Bruce was unconvinced, his arm exerting force again, and then... exerting force again... and again... and again... and then... Ethan Brooks let go of the cup, and Ethan Bruce, unable to keep his balance, plopped down onto the sofa.

Ethan Bruce's mind was full of disbelief. Could it be that after tossing and turning in the bathroom all night, he’d worn himself out? He stared at Ethan Brooks, noticing that his son’s expression was also one of surprise, looking just as puzzled.

This... is unscientific, downright fantastical! Ethan Brooks looked at his own arm. Is this the level of the first stage of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique? If he keeps practicing, maybe he could enter an arm wrestling competition and make a lot of money?

“I...” Ethan Brooks wanted to explain about the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique, but suddenly his stomach churned violently. He turned and dashed into the bathroom, saying, “Don’t throw away the goji berries! That’s good stuff! Wait for me to come out and tell you about it.”

Ethan Bruce sat sunken into the sofa, looking bewildered. Is this still his son? In recent years, he’d often heard stories of people suddenly gaining immense strength overnight, or having drastic personality changes, all supposedly due to the influence of the moon. Could it be his son’s turn this time?

Five minutes later, Ethan Brooks came out of the bathroom.

Both times they’d only had a couple of sips, but the first time he was in the bathroom for ten minutes, the second time only five.

Ethan Brooks speculated that the medicinal effect of the “goji berries” was strongest in the first cup, so just a couple of sips kept him in the bathroom for ten minutes, while his dad had downed the whole cup in one go. The second cup was naturally weaker, so it only took five minutes.

“So, what’s with these goji berries, and your strength?”

While waiting for Ethan Brooks to come out of the bathroom, Ethan Bruce had sorted out his questions and now asked them directly.

Ethan Brooks couldn’t tell his dad about what happened yesterday; obviously, Squad Leader Zuo didn’t want anyone to know about it. For now, only he knew, which was better protection for his dad. If Squad Leader Zuo really wanted to silence witnesses, maybe he’d spare his dad for being uninvolved.

“Do you believe in martial arts masters?” Ethan Brooks put on a soul-stirringly sincere performance.

“Martial arts masters?” Ethan Bruce had considered many possible answers, but hadn’t expected this one.

A few years ago, Ethan Bruce would have immediately assumed his son was lying. But... in recent years, while wandering the world, he’d often heard people talk about martial arts, and had even witnessed it once himself.

It was one night a few months ago. Ethan Bruce had seen someone leap two zhang high, jumping into a walled compound. That was definitely not parkour—it was the lightness skill straight out of a wuxia novel.

Seeing his dad’s hesitant expression, Ethan Brooks said firmly, “That’s right! Martial arts masters!”

“Yesterday I went to pay respects at mom’s grave and met a great monk, who praised my filial piety. He gave me this ‘goji berry,’ saying it could cleanse the impurities from my organs. He also said his days were numbered, and since fate brought us together, he bestowed upon me the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique!”

As an old hand, Ethan Bruce was a master at detecting lies. He could tell his son was lying, and that this was a high-level lie.

A low-level lie is all nonsense, not a word of truth.

A high-level lie is thirty percent truth, seventy percent falsehood.

A master-level lie is seventy percent truth, thirty percent falsehood.

A god-level lie is all truth, but the truth is misleading.

Ethan Bruce didn’t know why his son was lying, but he still wanted to find the real part within the lie.

“But, the great monk told me he was a disgraced disciple from the inner sanctum of Shaolin! He told me to keep it secret, or I’d be in mortal danger too! So...” Ethan Brooks sighed, giving Ethan Bruce a knowing look. “I’ll tell you the cultivation method later.”

Chapter 11: Sorry, I 460’d Again

Ethan Bruce nodded along very cooperatively. He was sure that apart from the goji berry and the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique, the rest was made up by his son.

Although he didn’t know why Ethan Brooks was lying, Ethan Bruce decided to play along and help his son complete the act.

“I see.” Ethan Bruce nodded again, his expression grave. “Then you must keep this secret well.”

“Exactly, exactly!” Ethan Brooks nodded repeatedly.

Then the two of them turned away at the same time, each thinking to themselves: ‘Little liar! Trying to fool me? I’ll pretend to believe you!’ ‘Old fox, looks like you didn’t fall for it, but you’re pretending you did! I’ll pretend to believe you fell for it!’

After silently grumbling to themselves, they turned back to each other and exchanged looks of mutual appreciation.

“Son, last night was just too exhausting. Go downstairs and buy some breakfast. I won’t make breakfast today.” Ethan Bruce rubbed his body and lay down on the bed.

Ethan Brooks hurried out the door and headed straight for the breakfast stall downstairs.