Less than half a day after Ethan Xu left the Jinnan Military District, news started pouring in that afternoon.
The most important news was that, thanks to Ethan Xu’s personal recommendation, all five Blades—First through Fifth—were directly accepted into the Tiger Special Forces reserve, joining the replenishment unit as members.
When the news broke, Eldest Brother Su was still reading the newspaper in the office. The moment he heard, he jumped straight up in shock.
From the beginning, the Tiger Special Forces have always had extremely strict selection standards. Never before had five people been admitted to the replenishment unit at once. Right after, Eldest Brother Su was ordered to head to Beijing to help complete the transfer procedures.
Everything happened so fast. When Chen Yonghan heard the news, he looked utterly devastated, while Major General Gavin Yue rushed over to discuss the matter with Eldest Brother Su in person.
For a moment, the entire Jinnan Military District was in an uproar.
"Work hard. Once you finish the transfer, the road ahead will be much smoother. Training five men straight into the Tiger Special Forces reserve—give them a few years to grow, and becoming full Tiger Special Forces members will be a sure thing. When that day comes, your future will be wide open!"
In the office, Major General Gavin Yue smiled broadly at Eldest Brother Su.
Eldest Brother Su swallowed hard. He’d dreamed of this day for ages, never expecting it to actually come true!
"Thank you for your kind words!"
Eldest Brother Su made a quick excuse and hurried out, pulling out his phone to call Evan Lin, eager to share the news.
What does it mean to suddenly have five Tiger Special Forces soldiers?
It was truly unprecedented. Even though the Blades were only reserves for now, not yet full members, it was enough to help Eldest Brother Su climb further up the ranks.
But when Eldest Brother Su called, no one picked up.
At that moment, Evan Lin was holding a 2B pencil, shading in answers on his test paper. It was the last exam of the afternoon—English.
He’d just finished the listening section and already filled in all the answers. Next, he moved on to the rest of the questions.
Evan Lin flew through the English test, finishing almost all of it in about forty minutes. He spent another five minutes writing the essay, then handed in his paper early again.
This time, Evan Lin handed in his paper in under an hour. It didn’t attract much attention—most classmates were used to his speed by now and figured he’d just given up, so it wasn’t worth mentioning.
Even Byron Yang just glanced over and said nothing.
After leaving the classroom, Evan Lin walked across the school track and pulled out his phone, finally noticing the missed call from Eldest Brother Su.
Evan Lin called back, and soon heard Eldest Brother Su’s voice, brimming with excitement.
On the phone, Eldest Brother Su told Evan Lin everything in detail. At the end, he hesitated and asked how Evan felt about it.
After all, the five men from Knife-Edge Company were trained by Evan Lin in just seven days. Without him, they never would have had a shot at joining the Tiger Special Forces reserve.
"Do you think it’s appropriate? If not, I can apply to have the decision withdrawn." Eldest Brother Su gritted his teeth and finally asked.
Whether the five could join Tiger would also determine whether Eldest Brother Su could advance further.
But at this critical moment, after a fierce internal struggle, Eldest Brother Su decided to consult Evan Lin instead of claiming credit for himself.
"It’s a good thing for them too. You shouldn’t be asking me—you should ask the five of them what they think." Evan Lin strolled across the school track, which was quiet due to the exams.
"I promised to teach them for a week, but that doesn’t mean they’re mine. Everything I taught was so they could go further and serve the country."
Evan Lin’s tone was calm.
Hearing this, Eldest Brother Su felt as if he were speaking to a seasoned general.
"Alright, I understand. I’ll consult the five of them!"
Eldest Brother Su nodded in response.
Just as Evan Lin hung up, his phone screen lit up again.
This time, the caller was an unfamiliar number.
Evan Lin answered.
"Hello, Master Lin, this is Leo Liu. The Jinnan Alchemy Conference I mentioned before may start next week. Will you be free? Where should I pick you up?" Leo Liu’s tone was respectful, without a trace of the arrogance typical of rich heirs.
"Just tell me the time and place. I’ll come find you."
"Alright."
After hanging up, Leo Liu quickly sent a text message with the time and address.
Evan Lin glanced at it and put his phone away.
An hour and a half had passed since the English exam. Evan Lin turned to leave school and happened to run into Ivy Liang, who had also handed in her paper early.
Ivy Liang was on her phone, seemingly making a call. When she saw Evan Lin, she raised an eyebrow, then turned away, cold-faced, and walked right past him without looking back.
Evan Lin ignored her, as if he hadn’t seen her at all.
Once Evan Lin left, Ivy Liang turned to watch his back, frowning. She spoke to Leo Liu on the other end of the call: "It’s nothing, I just ran into someone."
"Yeah, I should be free next week. I can ask for leave, but this Jinnan Alchemy Conference—doesn’t it sound fake? How could there be real elixirs in the world? If there were, Emperor Qin would have found the elixir of immortality long ago."
Ivy Liang frowned, skeptical as she listened to Leo Liu on the phone.
After a long pause, she nodded. "Fine, let’s just treat it as a trip."
After leaving school, Evan Lin went straight home.
Just outside the apartment complex, he ran into Irene Xu, who had just returned from a flight. Seeing Evan Lin, her eyes lit up—after all, he’d rescued her more than once, and she felt deeply grateful.
They happened to take the elevator upstairs together. Back home, Irene Xu made a call to Stella Huang, insisting the three of them go out for hot pot.
Of the three, Evan Lin ate the most. After dinner, they all went home, washed up, and went to bed.
Evan Lin sat cross-legged on his bed, about to practice the Dao Foundation Chapter, when he suddenly noticed a new text message on his phone.
The sender was none other than Lily Zhong, whom he hadn’t heard from in ages.