At Xiao Yao's words, nearly forty new students in the clearing darted nimbly into the dense surrounding undergrowth. In the blink of an eye, the once-crowded open space became empty again.
Xiao Yao looked at Xiao Yu and the other four, then smiled. "Cousin Xiao Yu, you five hide as well. We'll give those old students a surprise later."
"Hehe, fine. We'll go crazy with you for once!"
Xiao Yu and Qing Ling'er followed the other new students into the forest and hid themselves away.
"You all, get ready. We're going to wipe them out in one go!" Xiao Yao said with a smile to Xun Er and the others.
"Mm!"
Within the dense forest, atop a towering tree, two elders seated cross-legged opened their eyes once more. They exchanged glances, and their low laughter slowly echoed through the air.
"Hehe, what a bold bunch of little fellows. This year's Fire Energy Hunting Competition is really interesting! Things are about to get lively!"
"Indeed. I originally thought those four old-student teams joining forces would surely make things difficult for Xiao Yao's group, but who would have thought they would actually join forces with the new students to ambush the old students? Tsk tsk, what a surprising reversal. Let's wait and see!"
In the open woodland clearing, Xiao Yao and the other four sat cross-legged with their eyes closed. The entire forest had fallen silent, yet the faintly oppressive atmosphere showed that a storm was about to arrive.
No one knew how long the silence lasted. At a certain moment, Xiao Yao abruptly opened his tightly shut eyes and swept his gaze toward the northern woods. Twenty powerful auras were rapidly closing in from that direction.
"They're finally here. Xun Er, get ready. Once we finish these four teams, only the