While Xiao Fan and Xiao Yan waited, a rough voice suddenly rang out across the clearing.
"This fellow really is a handful. Han Yue, are you sure what we want is here? You'd better not have tricked us into coming here as hired muscle for free. Even some of the Inner Academy's elders would find him troublesome. Taking him down won't be easy."
The two looked toward the voice and saw a muscular young man with a little stubble on his face. He stood a full two heads taller than an ordinary person and held an enormous iron hammer, his entire figure exuding an imposing pressure.
"Rest assured, Senior Yan Hao. I wouldn't deceive any of you about something like this. Otherwise, it wouldn't do me any good afterward, would it?" Han Yue smiled faintly and nodded to the burly young man.
"Haha, Yan Hao, don't worry. Han Yue isn't the sort to trick people into being her muscle. If the information she received is true, then with the tournament only a few months away, improving our strength now would put an elder's seat within reach."
A hearty voice rang out. Not far from Han Yue stood a young man in blue-green robes who looked no older than twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He had already shed the arrogance of youth, and a gleam occasionally flashed through his deep eyes.
"Lin Xiuya, you make it sound easy, but this Snow Demon Ape is no ordinary opponent. He's strong enough to rival a Dou Wang. Even with our strength, a single careless moment could leave us gravely injured or dead. Yan Hao only wanted to make sure."
A dark-skinned young man nearby looked at Lin Xiuya and spoke calmly.
"Yan Hao? Lin Xiuya?" Hearing their conversation, a flicker of surprise crossed Xiao Yan's