Lena Xu stared at the unconscious Grant Yuan, then glanced at Evan Lin standing there with a calm expression. She gritted her teeth, but she understood perfectly well that the teenager in front of her had defeated Grant Yuan fair and square.
Eldest Brother Su stood beside Evan Lin, surrounded by a crowd of people.
Major General Gavin Yue still looked hesitant, while Ethan Xu now pushed through the crowd and stepped forward.
He glanced at Grant Yuan, who had already passed out, then looked at Gavin Yue and said, "Why is everyone crowding around here? Since today is the Single-Soldier Showdown, everyone should go back to their seats and sit down!"
As soon as Ethan Xu spoke, everyone turned to look at Gavin Yue.
It wasn't until Gavin Yue nodded that the crowd finally dispersed, each returning to their own seat.
"Old Master Xu, this Knife-Edge Company instructor injured your man—please forgive us." Gavin Yue saw that Ethan Xu didn’t look angry, so he summoned his courage and spoke up, nervously.
"A loss is a loss—there’s nothing to forgive. On the ring, it’s all about skill. Grant Yuan was simply outmatched, and I’m not about to throw my weight around and bully people." Ethan Xu waved his hand dismissively.
Hearing these words, Eldest Brother Su visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
If they’d run into someone unreasonable, they might have used their status to pressure others. If the accusation of 'attacking a soldier' really stuck, it would be impossible to clear Evan’s name.
Ethan Xu turned to look at Evan Lin, sizing him up from head to toe, his eyes showing a hint of admiration. "So much power at such a young age—I'm honestly impressed."
"With your talent, have you ever considered serving the country? Being an instructor for Knife-Edge Company is honestly beneath you. If you’re interested, I can personally recommend you to Tiger."
Ethan Xu spoke in a calm, even tone, clearly delighted at discovering such a talent.
"Old Master Xu, isn’t this against the rules?"
When Ethan Xu said this, Gavin Yue and the surrounding officers all changed expression.
The Tiger Special Forces are famous nationwide, one of eight elite units. Anyone who becomes an instructor there has to pass through layer upon layer of selection—and even then, Tiger instructors have priority when it comes to military rank.
Within Tiger, there are both instructors and chief instructors. Even if Ethan Xu is only offering Evan Lin a regular instructor post at first, it's still breaking protocol—and the leap is just too huge.
If Evan Lin accepted, he could become a chief instructor in just a few years. At that point, he'd be free to choose whether to become a general!
"Rules are dead, but people are alive. To be able to defeat Grant Yuan so easily at your age—there are barely a handful of young talents like you even in Beijing."
Ethan Xu shook his head and looked at Evan Lin again, his face completely sincere. "Think about it. If you agree, you can come to Beijing with me anytime."
With Ethan Xu’s words, Evan Lin was once again the center of attention.
Lena Xu still resented Evan Lin for injuring Grant Yuan, but she didn’t speak up now. She knew how strong Grant Yuan was—and she understood what Evan Lin’s victory meant for the entire Beijing Military District.
Colonel Sean Chen’s expression changed dramatically as he looked at Evan Lin, his gaze complicated and hard to read. If Evan really accepted the offer, next time he returned, his rank would be higher than Chen’s—a scenario Chen could hardly even imagine.
Major Hugh Hu looked thoughtful, his gaze shifting back and forth over Evan Lin. He couldn’t help comparing Evan to his own son, Hugh Yongrui, who was about the same age—and just felt bitterly disappointed at how lacking his own son was.
Eldest Brother Su, on the other hand, was overjoyed. He looked excitedly at Evan Lin, thinking that if Evan soared to glory, the Su family could bask in his reflected honor thanks to their little bit of friendship.
Everyone’s feelings were different, but most looked at Evan Lin with pure envy in their eyes.
"No need. I don’t have any plans to go to Beijing right now."
Evan Lin shook his head.
In his plan, no matter what, he had to finish the college entrance exams and hand a top university admission letter to Joy Zheng—just to make her truly happy for once.
If Evan Lin went to Beijing now and became a Tiger Special Forces instructor, he’d have to leave Capitalview—and he wouldn’t be able to explain that to Joy Zheng.
"Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider? This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance—plenty of people would kill for it, but don’t even have a way in." Ethan Xu frowned slightly, asking again.
Gavin Yue and the others were all baffled.
"No need to reconsider. My ambitions lie elsewhere—and besides, I don’t really like being tied down."
Evan Lin shook his head, meeting Ethan Xu’s gaze with eyes that were perfectly clear and calm.
Ethan Xu was momentarily stunned. He’d read countless people before, and could usually tell at a glance who was genuine and who was faking.
But this teenager’s attitude just left him utterly puzzled—he couldn’t figure it out at all.
After a brief silence, Ethan Xu finally gave a wry smile. He looked at Evan Lin and nodded. "If that’s the case, I won’t force you."
"Just know, if you ever change your mind, come find me."
After saying that, Ethan Xu turned to Eldest Brother Su and, for once, smiled. "You’re Old Su’s son, right? Not bad. Your men are well-trained, and you have a good eye for talent—being able to recruit a teenager like this as an instructor is impressive."
"Thank you for the compliment, Old Master Xu!" Eldest Brother Su was overjoyed and hurried to express his thanks.
Afterward, Grant Yuan was sent to the military hospital for examination and recovery, while First Blade was helped off the ring.
Evan Lin, at Eldest Brother Su’s request, returned to the room and watched the rest of the Single-Soldier Showdown with the others.
But the competitors who took the stage afterward just weren’t as strong as those who came before.
With Tiger Fang and First Blade both out, Second Blade from Knife-Edge Company seized the championship, leaving Eldest Brother Su thrilled and delighted.
Colonel Sean Chen, on the other hand, left halfway through with a gloomy face.
When the matches ended and Evan Lin was about to leave, Ethan Xu sat for a long time in contemplation before finally standing up, walking over to Evan, and inviting him to have tea somewhere private.
Evan glanced at him, while Eldest Brother Su, Gavin Yue, and the others all looked on in surprise.
Evan Lin had just publicly refused Ethan Xu once, so no one expected Ethan Xu to approach him again—it was a real show of humility.
"If you’re free, let’s have some tea. There’s still something I want to talk to you about." Ethan Xu smiled at Evan Lin, his gaze clearly seeking Evan’s opinion.
Evan Lin frowned slightly, then nodded. That simple gesture made Ethan Xu breathe a sigh of relief, feeling almost honored.