Chapter 569 Five Half-Step Grandmasters
The car rolled to a stop in this totally forgettable courtyard. Following Marco's directions, Ethan and Angela finally tracked down the Martial Arts Association HQ in Everglow—a run-down, six-story building that looked like it had seen better days.
"This is way different from what I pictured. Didn't think the Martial Arts Association would be such a dump," Ethan said, hopping out of the car and taking in the scene with a smirk.
Just then, Enzo Ross spotted Marco getting out and made a beeline for him. He was the colleague Marco had mentioned. "Marco, man, I can't believe it's you after all these years!" Marco then introduced him to Ethan and Angela.
Enzo had been out of the game for eight years. He'd been into martial arts since he was a kid, but his skills were just so-so. Even now, he was only a mid-level martial artist.
After the intros, Enzo got curious. "So, you brought them here for a reason, right?"
"Yeah, we need your help with something. I'll let Ethan fill you in," Marco said, passing the baton to Ethan.
"I wanna know if any new or super strong martial artists have shown up in Everglow lately," Ethan cut straight to the chase.
"Why do you wanna know that?" Enzo looked surprised and a bit suspicious.
Ethan and Angela exchanged a look. Seemed like Enzo might know something.
"To be straight with you, we're working on a case, and it might be tied to some martial artists who recently popped up in Everglow," Marco quickly explained.
Enzo's suspicion faded, and he started thinking hard.
"If you're talking about new martial artists in Everglow, yeah, there are a few. But they're mostly just hobbyists, and most of them aren't even as strong as me. They shouldn't be causing any trouble, right?" Enzo said after a bit.
"Are you sure they're all weaker than you?" Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"Hard to say. I haven't fought them, so I can't be sure. But even if there are stronger ones, they probably aren't much stronger than me. Martial artists are just that unless they've hit Half-Step Grandmaster, like our president and the two VPs," Enzo said, knowing his own limits.
"Think you could introduce us to your president or one of the VPs?" Ethan figured Enzo wasn't gonna be much help, so he switched tactics.
"Sure thing. One of our VPs is here today. I'll take you to his office," Enzo agreed without a hitch.
Soon enough, with Enzo leading the way, they headed upstairs and stopped at a door on the third floor.
Enzo knocked, and they heard Pietro Lewis's voice from inside, "Who is it?"
"Pietro, it's Enzo. Got some friends who wanna meet you," Enzo called through the door.
"I'm in the middle of training. Give me a sec, I'll be right out," Pietro sounded pretty chill. He opened the door a moment later.
"Half-Step Grandmaster?" Pietro immediately clocked Angela's level and looked a bit surprised.
Ethan couldn't help but be intrigued. Pietro was a late-stage Half-Step Grandmaster, so it made sense he could clock Angela's level. But it kinda stung that he, a master level, didn't get the same recognition.
Truth was, Pietro did notice something off about Ethan's vibe. But since Ethan was so young, Pietro just brushed it off. Not being able to pin down Ethan's level, he just assumed he was a regular dude. Marco, tagging along, was also just a regular guy.
"Mr. Lewis," the group greeted Pietro right away.
Pietro quickly invited them into his office. With Angela, a Half-Step Grandmaster, in the mix, he couldn't afford to slack off.
At the same time, Pietro was scratching his head, thinking, 'Since when did Enzo, a nobody, know a Half-Step Grandmaster from outside the association?'
"So, what brings you all here?" Pietro asked, still a bit suspicious.
"We're here to ask about something. Do you know if any powerful outsiders have rolled into Everglow recently?" Ethan asked, taking his time.
Pietro's face got all weird at that.
"Not sure what you're getting at," Pietro shook his head, looking confused.
"I mean, has anyone like me suddenly shown up in Everglow?" Ethan said, and then he let his master level aura loose, which totally floored Pietro.
"Master level! I didn't catch that. Never thought I'd meet someone so young at this level in my life," Pietro finally got his bearings and spoke to Ethan, sounding a bit shaky.
"Relax, I'm not here to blame you. Just answer my question. If you can help, I'd really appreciate it," Ethan said, trying to keep things chill.
"If you're asking about a master level popping up in Everglow, I haven't heard of any. Unless it's someone from Celestia Vale, but they don't mess with the Martial Arts Association. They think they're too good for us," Pietro said with a bitter smile.
Ethan frowned; that wasn't what he wanted to hear.
"But," Pietro paused for a sec, "I do know that a few days ago, some Half-Step Grandmasters showed up in Everglow. I even bumped into them. They were definitely outsiders."
"Can you tell me exactly where you saw them?" Ethan's eyes lit up, and he asked quickly.
"Why do you wanna know?" Pietro hesitated.
"To be straight with you, we're from a special department. A case just went down in Everglow that might be tied to these outsiders. We're looking into it and need your help," Angela said, flashing her badge.
Pietro took one look at the badge and got the picture. "Alright, I'll spill. The folks I ran into were all Half-Step Grandmasters, five of them. I saw them at the Diamond Oasis Hotel on the outskirts of Everglow. Someone had hired bodyguards from our association for big bucks, so I went to sign a contract and ran into them."
"Five Half-Step Grandmasters—that's a pretty serious crew," Ethan thought back to the martial artists he'd run into in that small town on the edge of the northwest desert.
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