Chapter 526 Francis's Explanation
"I hit up Celestia Vale and chatted with Raymond all night. Learned a ton," Ethan said, chill as ever.
Francis just frowned, scribbling away in his notebook.
"Seriously, you ain't gonna fill me in?" Ethan pressed.
"What's there to say? Didn't Raymond spill the beans already?" Francis shot back, not even looking up.
"But I wanna hear it from you," Ethan paused, took a deep breath, and asked, "Seen Matthew around?"
"Not sure who that dude was, but thinking back, yeah, probably Matthew. You already know, don't ya?" Francis replied, still not looking up.
"Didn't you ask him about the Moon Bead?" Ethan frowned.
"Nah, didn't ask. Could've snatched it, but I'm no match for him," Francis sighed, putting down his pen and standing up. "I did think he had some hidden agenda, but he was right. I met you at Silvermist Peak."
"Aren't you worried I'm just a pawn in his game? How can you trust me with the Sun and Moon Beads and make me the leader?" Ethan asked, more confused than ever.
"I doubt him, but I trust you," Francis said, dead serious.
"Trust me?" Ethan was genuinely shocked. Back then, there was nothing about him that screamed 'trustworthy.'
"Yeah, 'cause the Sun and Moon Beads don't mess up. If they picked you, you're the right guy," Francis said calmly.
"Man, you got a lot of faith." Ethan chuckled.
"After all these years, it's a gamble I gotta take. Besides, if he had bad intentions, he could've taken the Sun Bead from me, but he didn't. Until you showed up, I felt like he was setting the stage for you," Francis said seriously.
"You think I should just follow his plan?" Ethan laughed coldly, a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"Are you mad at him?" Francis frowned.
"Shouldn't I be? If you were me, what would you think?" Ethan shot back.
Francis went quiet.
"Hey, doesn't the ZF Guild need new recruits?" After a long silence, Ethan switched gears.
"You wanna recruit?" Francis looked surprised.
"Since I'm the leader, I should help it grow," Ethan said calmly.
"Got any plans for that?" Francis asked, not really expecting an answer.
"Not yet, but no rush. I'll wait till I hit master level." Ethan shook his head. He was close, just a step away.
"Break through when you need to. No point holding back now," Francis sighed. He knew why Ethan was stalling. It was because of the rules of Celestia Vale and the deal with Pantheon.
Once Ethan hit master level, his moves would be restricted, both at home and abroad. Investigating Cross Christianity and Matthew would get trickier. Being a Half-Step Grandmaster had its perks.
"No rush, got something to check first," Ethan shook his head.
"What’s that?" Francis asked, curious.
"Think a Half-Step Grandmaster can take down a master level?" Ethan grinned.
"You wanna punch above your weight?" Francis looked at Ethan like he was nuts.
"Not sure, but before I hit HQ, I gotta give it a shot," Ethan shrugged.
Francis stared at him for a while, then sighed, "Do what you gotta do."
"Take your time with those notes. I'll handle the ZF Guild. Gonna make Tiger Mount buzz again and reclaim everything that’s ours," Ethan said, fired up, watching Francis scribble away.
Francis looked up, gave Ethan a weird look, and then just smiled.
After leaving Tiger Mount's secret realm, Ethan seemed way more chill. When he saw Jessie again, it was like nothing had happened, back to his old self.
Chloe and the crew didn't know what went down with Ethan, but they could tell something was up between him and Jessie.
Seeing Ethan back to normal, Chloe and the others felt relieved.
In the days that followed, Ethan kept thinking about how to level up his strength. He could hit master level anytime, but he wanted to see if he could boost his power in other ways. Like he talked about with Francis, he wanted to punch above his weight.
"Training spiritual awareness is a whole different ball game compared to superpowers, and it's way tougher," Ethan sighed, looking at the ZF knack.
The spiritual awareness training in it could seriously boost a person's Sea of Consciousness, with methods and mantras for spiritual attacks that could up your game. But this path was tough as nails, though the payoff was huge once you nailed it.
Ethan's spiritual awareness was already stronger than most master levels, thanks to the ZF knack. Even someone like Elmer, a late-stage master level, might not have spiritual awareness as strong as his.
Most master levels focused on physical strength, and nobody really bothered with spiritual power. Plus, methods for training spiritual awareness were pretty much lost. Even if they existed, they were super rare and hard to master.
"Your spiritual awareness has gotten way stronger lately. You training in spiritual methods?" Angel noticed the change during a casual chat.
"Yeah, been working on it, but progress is slow. My range went from sixty feet to one-fifty, but it's still not enough. This bit of spiritual power can't even do basic attacks," Ethan said, a bit frustrated.
"If you wanna train in spiritual methods, why didn't you come to me? Hold up, I'll get you some methods," Angel said, taking charge.
Ethan was stunned, then kicked himself for forgetting about Requiem Tower. It wasn't just home to memory-lost Angel; it had tons of souls. Some of them might know spiritual training methods.
Angel didn't let him down and soon brought news. "Got a few powerful spiritual methods for you. See which one fits," she said, and suddenly, a flood of info poured into Ethan's Sea of Consciousness.
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