The recruits below craned their necks to look at He Yan.

The previous dozen exchanges had been too brief for them to determine who had the upper hand, but now no further explanation was needed. He Yan had forced Jiang Jiao to the platform’s edge, nearly making him fall – Jiang Jiao had lost.

This youth had won yet again.

“Brother He is amazing,” Xiao Mai murmured, “getting more impressive by the day.”

Hong Shan scratched his head, “This kid never told us he had such skills.”

“This isn’t his first time wielding a spear,” Shi Tou spoke after a long silence, “That’s why that person couldn’t defeat him.”

“But something’s not right,” Hong Shan wondered, “He Yan is from a fallen noble family. Do such wealthy households normally practice archery and spearmanship?”

He Yan hadn’t missed the recruits’ whispered discussions. This was a perfect opportunity. She planted her spear on the ground, stepped forward, and announced, “Brothers, today I’ve won again.”

She spoke without hiding her self-satisfaction, even exaggerating it somewhat, making it rather jarring.

“What’s this kid trying to do?” Du Mao asked.

No one knew He Yan’s intentions.

He Yan smiled and said, “I imagine there will be others wanting to challenge me in the future. Don’t worry, I’ll accept all challenges. However, only one match per day.”

Instructor Liang’s mouth twitched, “This fellow, does he think he’s setting up an arena?”

Arena Champion He Yan continued without regard for others’ reactions, “Whip, saber, spear, sword techniques, mounted archery – any skill practiced in the military camp, you can challenge me. Rest assured, I won’t take your dried biscuits if you lose. All challengers are welcome.”

Even knowing the youth possessed extraordinary skills, this attitude was truly too arrogant.

“Too conceited! Who acts like this!”

“Not an ounce of modesty, just because he got lucky twice with archery and spear!”

“Are there no better fighters in all of Liangzhou Guard? Not one capable person among tens of thousands?”

He Yan smiled softly, thinking to herself that there were capable fighters, but the most capable young lord simply wouldn’t deign to fight her.

She continued, “A gentleman’s word is his bond. All instructors and brothers here today are witnesses – I, He Yan, keep my promises! If I win, consider it practice. If I lose, brothers can make any request. However,” she seemed somewhat embarrassed, “that’s probably impossible.”

Her words only further inflamed the recruits.

“He’s looking down on us!”

“Does he think Liangzhou Guard has no talents? Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, does he think he excels at everything? Does he think he’s General Feng Yun?”

“Just wait a few days, he’ll get his comeuppance!”

After putting on a thoroughly arrogant display on the platform, He Yan unhurriedly walked down. Before leaving, she seemed to remember something and said to Jiang Jiao, who stood aside with an uncertain expression, “Actually, your spear work is very good.”

Jiang Jiao started, looking at her, not understanding her meaning.

“But you met me, and I’m the best.” She laughed heartily as she descended, no longer paying attention to Jiang Jiao’s expression.

Meanwhile, Du Mao’s face had darkened. He Yan’s match with Jiang Jiao wasn’t an issue itself, but He Yan had utterly crushed Jiang Jiao’s spirit, which might break his confidence – something Du Mao didn’t want to see. He patted Liang Ping’s shoulder and went to Jiang Jiao’s side, planning to console this recruit who had been thoroughly defeated in his first real test, lest they lose a promising talent.

On the pavilion beside the training ground.

“Uncle, my Brother He won again!” Cheng Li Su, who had witnessed everything, jumped up and pointed at He Yan, acting as if he had won the spear match himself, continuously praising, “He’s amazing, no one can beat him!”

Xiao Jue glanced at him, too lazy to respond, and turned to leave.

Cheng Li Su remembered something and quickly ran to Xiao Jue’s side, bouncing around him, “Uncle, look at him! First in archery, first in spearmanship, and soon first in whip and saber – he’ll be first in everything, the best in Liangzhou Guard… second only to you, right?”

“Wait until he becomes first,” Xiao Jue responded coolly to his enthusiasm.

“He’s already got two firsts! The others are just a matter of time. And the two firsts are already remarkable, isn’t it? Uncle, look at him, how many talents like this exist in the world? Doesn’t he deserve to join your Nine Banners Army? Uncle, please look at him!”

Xiao Jue stopped walking, his gaze falling on him.

Cheng Li Su’s heart leaped, thinking he had moved Xiao Jue. The next moment, Xiao Jue stared into his eyes and slowly spoke, “You’ve been frequently mentioning He Yan lately, bringing up the Nine Banners Army twice. You never cared about the Nine Banners Army before,” he said flatly, “Cheng Li Su, are you trying to help He Yan join the Nine Banners Army?”

Cheng Li Su’s heart sank, thinking ‘This is bad.’ His uncle was too clever, suspecting him from the slightest clue. He said, “No, no, I just… wanted you to pay more attention to my brother.”

Xiao Jue: “Do you think I’m foolish, or that you’re clever?”

After a brief staredown with him, Cheng Li Su drooped his head dejectedly, “I’m the fool…”

“How did you learn about the Nine Banners Army?” Xiao Jue asked.

Though the beautiful youth’s gaze was calm, showing no signs of anger, Cheng Li Su felt chilled to the bone. He answered honestly, “I used to live next door to you, I overheard Head Instructor Shen talking to you about the Nine Banners Army planning to recruit from Liangzhou Guard’s new soldiers, so…”

Xiao Jue gave a light, mocking laugh, “So you couldn’t wait to use this information to curry favor with your ‘Big Brother’?”

“No, no, I was truly thinking of your interests too,” Cheng Li Su hurriedly denied, “I wander around daily with nothing to do, and looking at all the new recruits in Liangzhou Guard, only Brother He meets the standards of the Nine Banners Army. The others can’t even beat my Brother He, how could they join your elite cavalry? I have nothing but pure intentions!”

After a moment of silence, Xiao Jue asked, “What did he say?”

“Huh?” Cheng Li Su was confused at first, then realized Xiao Jue meant He Yan, and replied, “After I told Brother He about this, he seemed very happy. And, he said he will join the Nine Banners Army.”

“He said ‘will’?” Xiao Jue slowly repeated.

Cheng Li Su shrank his neck, inexplicably feeling a cold wind, and nodded, “Yes, ‘will’… is something wrong?”

Xiao Jue gave a light laugh, his clear eyes like autumn water showing an indecipherable emotion. After a moment, he composed himself and said coolly, “This person has quite the nerve and quite the ambition.”