The sound of footsteps drew nearer and nearer, finally stopping at the second-floor stairway.

Brian Smith looked over. Coming up to the second floor were three people—two men and one woman—all dressed in black suits, their faces expressionless.

“Don’t move!”

“Stop!”

“Take another step and we’ll shoot!”

Click, click—

Many law enforcement officers chambered their rounds, aiming at the three with stern expressions.

“There are forty-six staff members on the first floor of the martial arts hall. All of them are under our control. I advise you not to act rashly.”

The young man in the center, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, gave a faint smile, showing not the slightest hint of panic even with guns pointed at him:

“Of course, we have no intention of harming ordinary people. However, if our men hear gunshots and panic, causing an accidental killing, that would be unfortunate.”

“You!”

Charles Brooks glared angrily, while Matthew Smith raised a hand to lower his gun, glancing at the young man surrounded by several people from the martial arts hall.

The young man was unremarkable in appearance and not particularly tall—just the most ordinary type of person in a crowd.

“Mr. Gu, since you provoked them, you should handle it. Just don’t forget, Mr. Gu, why your father died back then.”

Not only Matthew Smith, but the rest of the law enforcement team also turned their eyes to that young man.

From the words of the newcomers, it was clear that this Mr. Gu had long known they were coming.

Mr. Gu—Evan Sullivan.

Brian Smith’s eyes flickered. He didn’t know Evan Sullivan, but anyone surnamed Gu at the Central Martial Arts Hall must be a descendant of Adam Sullivan.

“Instructor An, watch your tone!”

Next to Evan Sullivan, several people’s faces showed anger.

“Instructor An? There’s no need to get upset. With our methods, even if there’s no one in the martial arts hall, it would be easy to find dozens of hostages outside.”

The man with gold-rimmed glasses looked at Matthew Smith with a half-smile:

“But we’re not terrorists. As long as you don’t act rashly, we naturally won’t hurt anyone.”

“Instructor An, Captain Chen, you two should step back. They’re here for me—they won’t, and don’t dare, to harm anyone recklessly.”

Evan Sullivan explained, pushing through the crowd to stand before everyone, facing the three:

“Lucas Green, with just the three of you, you can’t take what your leader wants.”

Lucas Green, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, gave a mocking smile: “They say you, Evan Sullivan, are the most talented of the Gu family’s generation—reached Huajin at seventeen. But you haven’t formed a Dan yet, and you think you can stop the three of us?”

Evan Sullivan’s expression was calm, his words steady as still water: “Lucas Green, you reached Huajin at twenty-three, which makes you quite a talent. It would be a pity for you to die here for Samuel Reed. If you surrender now, I won’t kill you.”

“Kill us?”

Before Lucas Green could speak, the burly man in a suit beside him burst out laughing:

“Evan Sullivan, just because we call you Mr. Gu, you really think you’re the second coming of Adam Sullivan? Let me test your skills!”

The burly man’s words came out like a machine gun, rapid-fire, but his actions were even faster.

As his words still hung in the air, he had already taken a step forward—less than a second, and he’d crossed nearly thirty meters. His five fingers shot out, like a hungry tiger pouncing on a sheep, or an eagle swooping on a rabbit, clawing straight down at Evan Sullivan’s head!

Eagle Claw Grapple!

Brian Smith recognized it—the burly man was also using the Eagle Claw Grapple.

But his speed and power were far more ferocious than that young man’s. As his long fingers flicked, the air itself seemed to tear with a “shh-shh” sound!

If this grab landed, it could rip a person’s skull right off!

“A Huajin master!”

Matthew Smith’s eyelid twitched, and he instinctively shielded his son tightly. Against such a master, he would surely die.

The other law enforcement officers gripped their pistols so hard their knuckles turned white.

In a flash, the thirty meters were crossed, the eagle claw descending with murderous intent.

Evan Sullivan, however, remained composed. As he spoke, he gently raised his hand, nonchalantly reaching into the flurry of claw shadows:

“Eagle Claw Grapple is a military boxing technique from a hundred years ago. Nowadays, few in the military can reach your level. But a nation is vast, and even with a little push for martial arts, a hundred years of progress is far beyond your imagination.”

Bang!

A gust of force swept over, the air howling.

Evan Sullivan’s outstretched fingers had already gripped the burly man’s wrist.

The scene was bizarre, as if the burly man had deliberately offered up his hand!

“Not good! The intel was wrong—Evan Sullivan has already formed a Dan!”

Evan Sullivan’s move was effortless, but Lucas Green’s face changed dramatically. As he shouted, he suddenly attacked.

Whoosh!

Unlike the burly man’s fierce assault, Lucas Green stepped forward and twisted, leaping like a monkey, both palms striking out—one in front, one behind—like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, grabbing for Evan Sullivan’s waist and abdomen.

At this moment, the only woman among the three suddenly stomped her foot. Her long hair flew half a meter high, the air whistling as she lunged forward like a python. Her slender, fair fingers formed eagle claws—one grabbing for Evan Sullivan’s calf tendon, the other three inches below his crotch!

The three coordinated seamlessly, attacking Evan Sullivan from above, middle, and below in a vicious and ruthless assault!