Inside the car, Evan Lin sat in the back seat while Blade drove up front.
Evan Lin didn’t give a second thought to what had just happened. He had no idea how devastated Wang Xiu and Lu Binyu looked after hearing Principal Damon Deng’s words. Once again, the name ‘Evan Lin’ echoed throughout the school, and at that moment, every group chat at Capitalview First High was blowing up with excitement.
“About last time on Thousand-Saints Mountain—I was out of line. Please forgive me.”
The air inside the car was a little tense.
Blade felt the pressure. He’d seen Evan Lin’s skills firsthand, and there was no way he’d underestimate him just because he was young.
“Mm.”
Evan Lin answered simply, not bothering to say more.
To Evan Lin, Blade’s strength was nothing worth mentioning.
“Colonel Su’s men are tough to handle. And since you clashed with Sean Chen last time, if you run into him in there, things could get messy.”
Blade gave a quick reminder.
But seeing how Evan Lin didn’t care at all, Blade dropped the topic.
The car sped through the city, heading straight for the outskirts.
The Jinnan Military District covered a massive area, with checkpoint after checkpoint outside. Finally, the car rolled up to a plaza.
Once the car stopped, Blade hopped out and opened the door for Evan Lin.
“Colonel Su’s at a meeting right now. The five soldiers you wanted are in the training camp ahead—should I take you over?” Blade asked, sounding super respectful.
He was hoping to watch Evan Lin train them and maybe steal a few moves for himself—it’d be a huge boost for Blade.
Evan Lin saw right through him but didn’t say anything, just walked straight toward the training camp.
He pushed open the door and stepped inside. The place was huge, packed with training equipment—from dumbbells to arm-strength machines, looking more like a high-end gym than a military camp.
Most eye-catching of all was a two-meter-tall wooden training post in the corner, solid and imposing.
There were five guys in the camp—two sparring, one lying on the floor bench-pressing a barbell, his muscles bulging like a dragon, sweat beading on his forehead with each rep.
Another guy leaned against the wall, arms crossed, eyes scanning the room. The last one—a fierce-looking man—was pounding away at the wooden post, training solo.
Blade whispered, “These five are Colonel Su’s best from Knife-Edge Company. Not quite special forces, but way stronger than regular soldiers.”
Blade whispered this in Evan Lin’s ear.
As soon as Blade and Evan Lin walked in, the five soldiers noticed.
But it was like Evan Lin was invisible—when he walked in, they barely glanced at him before turning away.
“So young—what’s he trying to prove by showing up here?” one of them snorted, sizing up Evan Lin.
“Seriously, he looks so weak. Forget training us—he might not even survive basic boot camp.” another scoffed, full of disdain.
Knife-Edge Company had lost to Flying Eagle Company over and over in drills and matches. The guys were all simmering with frustration.
A few days ago, Colonel Su handpicked these five, promising a real expert for special training.
They were hyped—until they heard their so-called expert was still a student.
That was a slap in the face—they figured Colonel Su was just messing with them.
Blade saw the five ignoring him, gave an awkward smile, took a deep breath, and shouted, “By order of Deputy Commander Su! I’ve brought your new instructor—everyone fall in!”
Colonel Su, a lieutenant colonel and deputy commander, had led Knife-Edge Company from the start—it was his pride and joy.
Blade’s voice echoed through the training hall.
But the five just kept doing their own thing, totally ignoring Blade.
“We’re Colonel Su’s men—nobody else’s orders count. Sorry, brother.” The guy leaning on the wall grinned.
He glanced at Evan Lin, smirking, “And you, little man—lost, are we? This is a barracks, not your classroom. Run back to school before you get hurt and end up crying to your mom.”
The two who’d been sparring stopped and laughed loudly, making sure Evan Lin heard it.
“If all the instructors are like you, I should be chief instructor!” one of them joked, shaking his head.
“Did you get this spot through connections? Think just because you’re hot stuff at school you’ll be invincible here? Listen, before I joined the army, I was the top dog in my high school! If you’re smart, you’ll get lost!” another sneered, sniffing.
The guys kept joking and laughing among themselves.
The muscle guy bench-pressing and the fierce man at the wooden post both ignored Evan Lin, focused on their own training.
The mood turned awkward, with a sharp edge of hostility.
Blade’s face changed—he wasn’t really part of the unit, so he had no authority over these guys.
“Uh... maybe we should wait for Colonel Su to finish his meeting before starting?” Blade asked cautiously, glancing at Evan Lin.
Evan Lin just shook his head, swept his gaze around, and let out a cold, mocking laugh.
“What are you laughing at?”
The three loudmouths immediately looked pissed, their faces darkening like they’d just been insulted.
“I’m laughing at you losers. You keep losing to Flying Eagle Company and still act like you’re hot stuff. Seriously, you’re just giving yourselves face.”
Evan Lin shot them a cold look.
Their expressions changed instantly.
The muscle guy bench-pressing shot to his feet—six-foot-three, all muscle, shirt soaked through. Hearing Evan Lin’s insult, his face twisted with rage as he roared, “Who the hell are you calling a loser? You wanna die? Want to spar with me?”
He clenched his huge fists, veins bulging, glaring at Evan Lin as he took a heavy step forward, ready to charge at any moment.
Even the fierce guy at the wooden post paused, finally turning to look at Evan Lin, his brow furrowing.