I can evolve everything

When Raine arrived at the courtyard, Lina was already there training.

The girl's figure moved in the morning light, the blade slicing through the air.

Seeing Renn approach, she instinctively sheathed her longsword.

Good morning, second brother.

"Good morning." Raine couldn't contain his excitement. He walked to the weapon rack, picked up a wooden sword, but instead of starting to practice, he turned to Lina and said, "Lina, do me a favor."

"Huh?" Lina asked, puzzled.

"You attack me." Renn's eyes were resolute. "Use your best moves, use all your strength."

Lina froze. She glanced instinctively at the corridor not far away; her father hadn't appeared yet.

"Second brother, stop fooling around." She frowned. "Your foundation isn't solid yet. Even though the assessment is in a couple of days, we should..."

"No," Ryan interrupted her. "Trust me, Lina. Just this once."

Seeing her brother's serious expression, Lina hesitated.

She knew her second brother's skill level; even if she only used a fraction of her strength, it would be enough to keep him busy.

But her second brother, who looked so confident, made it impossible for her to refuse.

"...Okay." She finally nodded. "Then be careful."

Renn took a deep breath and stood with his feet shoulder-width apart.

At that moment, he didn't consciously try to recall any moves; his body was completely surrendered to the instincts that had become ingrained in his bones.

Sink your waist, pull in your abdomen, lower your spine slightly, let your arms hang naturally, and point the wooden sword in your hand diagonally at the ground, forming a stable triangular structure.

The moment he struck that pose, his entire aura seemed to change.

In Lina's eyes, her second brother was merely putting on an unremarkable defensive stance.

But she always felt that her clumsy second brother, who was just a moment ago, had become an old tree rooted to the ground.

His feet seemed to be one with the ground beneath them.

A flicker of surprise crossed Lina's mind, and she gripped the wooden sword in her hand tighter.

"I am coming."

She gave a soft shout, slid forward, and thrust the wooden sword in her hand straight at Renn's chest.

This was her most practiced thrust—fast, accurate, and ruthless.

However, Ryan's reaction to this direct thrust was unexpected.

He neither dodged nor evaded, but just as the sword tip was about to touch him, he took a half step back with his left foot, twisted his body slightly, and at the same time raised the wooden sword in his hand from bottom to top.

"clang!"

A crisp sound of impact.

Lina felt as if the tip of her sword had struck a rock, and a diagonal force traveled along the blade, causing the sword to slide to the side involuntarily.

She didn't have time to think, and even forgot that this was just a competition. Her physical fighting instincts made her flip her wrist, and the sword's momentum changed from a thrust to a slash, slashing horizontally towards Renn's neck.

But Ryan reacted faster.

Or rather, his body had anticipated her movements.

He didn't retreat, but shifted his weight slightly backward, and then pressed down with the upward-sweeping wooden sword, accurately blocking Lina's slash once again.

"Give it your all, Lina."

Being so "disrespected" by her older brother completely ignited the girl's competitive spirit.

"good!"

She no longer held back. Her swordplay became even more ferocious.

However, no matter how swift Lina's attacks were, Raine remained standing still.

The wooden sword in his hand had now become like a shield, and every block and deflection was perfectly timed.

After a dozen or so moves, Lina was already panting, while Raine remained as steady as a rock, his breathing rhythm not even becoming too disordered.

She finally stopped and looked at her brother in disbelief.

Is this still the same second brother who couldn't even grasp the basics?

Just then, a cold voice came from the entrance to the courtyard.

"What nonsense!"

Linus Wilder walked in slowly, his brow furrowed and his face showing obvious displeasure.

He clearly mistook what he was seeing for children playing around.

In just over ten days, whether from a common sense or logical point of view, he could not believe that his son could have made any progress in swordsmanship.

"Father." Lina quickly sheathed her sword and bowed.

Linus ignored her, walked straight to her side, took the giant wooden sword from her hand, and weighed it in his hand.

He looked at Ryan and said only one sentence:

"Get into position."

Raine didn't speak; he simply lowered his center of gravity again and assumed the "Iron Wall" stance.

Linus simply channeled all his strength into the greatsword in his hand and unleashed a pure, straight slash.

Lina even gasped in surprise.

This time, Renn was not knocked away.

He poured all the power he had accumulated over the past two weeks into the wooden sword in his hand and fiercely parried the incoming straight slash!

"clang--!!!!"

Linus felt as if the greatsword in his hand had struck a piece of compressed steel.

A reaction force rippled back along the sword, making his hands go numb and causing him to stagger backward.

He looked up in disbelief, staring ahead.

Raine remained standing in the same spot.

His face was flushed, veins bulged on his forehead, and his hands gripping the sword were trembling violently, clearly indicating that he had reached his limit.

But his feet only slid back less than half a step.

He held on.

Lina covered her mouth, as if she was meeting her second brother for the first time today.

Linus stared intently at his son, remaining silent for a long time.

His eyes showed shock, then doubt, and finally, a complex mix of emotions.

That was hope that had been suppressed for more than a decade, a flame rekindled in the ashes of despair.

He didn't say anything.

He stared at Renn silently for a good ten seconds before putting his practice sword back on the weapon rack.

He turned around and left without looking back, uttering a single sentence.

Come to my study tonight.

That evening, Ryan arrived at Linus’s study on time.

The fire in the fireplace burned quietly, making a soft crackling sound.

Linus, dressed in dark casual clothes, sat in an armchair near the fireplace. On the low table in front of him were two horn-shaped glasses filled with ale.

Seeing that Ryan arrived on time, he pointed to the empty chair opposite him, which was exactly the same as his own.

"sit."

This was the first time in over a decade that the father and son had communicated at such an equal physical distance. There was no scolding or rebuttal, only the flickering light of the fireplace and two men searching for words in silence.

Linus pushed one of the horns toward him.

"Try it." Linus picked up his glass, but didn't drink. He just stared at the liquid shimmering in the light. "It's from the dwarves, this year's new wine."

Renn was somewhat surprised. In his memory, his father would usually only bring out this kind of fine wine when entertaining distinguished guests or during festivals.

He picked up the horn cup and, imitating his father, took a small sip.

"Do you know why I'm so familiar with Karen?" Linus suddenly asked.

Renn shook his head: "You and he are comrades-in-arms?"

"Comrades-in-arms?" Linus chuckled self-deprecatingly. "That's not entirely wrong. But before we became comrades-in-arms... I was his squire."

"That was a long time ago." Linus's voice became somewhat distant. "It was during the Greenskins Catastrophe. I wasn't a sheriff, nor a knight, not even a novice knight. I was just a clueless kid who sneaked out of the house to join the war, driven only by a surge of enthusiasm."

"In that damned ambush in Blackwater Valley, my group was scattered by the orcs. It was the first time in my life that I smelled death."

"It was Karen, who was a squad leader at the time. His shield blocked a deadly battle axe for me and then dragged me out of the pile of corpses."

"From that day on, I became his temporary squire. I polished his armor and fed his warhorses. I also watched how he fought, how he used his greatsword to turn roaring enemies into mincemeat."

He stopped talking about empty responsibilities and slogans and instead described the man that Ryan was about to face.

"Karen is a rigid, stubborn man whose mind is filled with knightly creeds that could starve a bard. What he hates most in his life is opportunism and deception. That's why he designed that kind of assessment method; he wants to directly select young people who truly possess the virtue of knightly perseverance."

Linus took a big gulp of his drink.

"The assessment will be held in Sunset City." Linus's voice deepened, as if he were stating something extremely solemn. "You will need to travel there by carriage a day in advance."