Danny looked at the arrivals with utter disbelief; he hadn't expected the visitor to be such a young and beautiful woman, accompanied by several burly men!

"Hello, are you Mr. Danny?" Xia Luo asked kindly.

"I am. May I ask who you are?" Old Danny’s surprise was just beginning to fade.

"We are from the 'Cloud-Rending Sky Mercenary Group,' and we'd like to rent a few courtyards from you!" Xia Luo got straight to the point.

"Well, that's no problem. Do you have any special requirements, though?" Old Danny inquired according to standard procedure.

"We don't have any special requirements, just that we need rather spacious courtyards. There are about three hundred and twenty of us!" Xia Luo replied calmly, her tone even.

Old Danny adopted a thoughtful expression, falling silent for a moment before saying, "How about this: I recommend a few courtyards that are adjacent to each other."

Then, Old Danny briefly outlined the general situation of the recommended courtyards to Xia Luo. Xia Luo pondered for a moment, finding the price range quite reasonable, and quickly said, "Mr. Danny, I have no objections to the courtyards you've recommended, but I'd like to see the specific layout first. I hope you don't mind?"

"Of course not!" Old Danny smiled, then continued, "I'll have someone show you."

"That won't be necessary; we can find them ourselves!" Xia Luo politely declined.

The reason she refused Old Danny's offer was that she feared she might change her mind; a final decision on whether to rent those courtyards could only be made after seeing them in person.

Old Danny didn't press the issue when he heard this. In fact, he preferred it that way—not having to guide clients saved him trouble!

"Mr. Danny, may I ask you one more question?" Xia Luo suddenly said.

"Please do."

"Do you have a mercenary group here called the 'Twin Axes Mercenary Group'?" A strange glint flashed through Xia Luo’s eyes.

"Yes, we do have a 'Twin Axes Mercenary Group' here in Gulu City!" Old Danny answered truthfully, seeing no reason to hide it.

Immediately after Old Danny finished speaking, it was noticeable that the expressions of Cai Ni and the others behind Xia Luo brightened, and they exchanged quick glances.

"Then do you know where they are now?" Xia Luo inquired again.

"That, I truly couldn't say!" Old Danny smiled awkwardly. He wasn't particularly interested in mercenary groups and didn't know much about them.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Xia Luo’s eyes. However, even though she couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the 'Twin Axes Mercenary Group,' knowing they were within Gulu City was enough.

As the saying goes, the monk may run, but the temple cannot. As long as they were in this town, Xia Luo was confident she could find them.

.

"Brother Solomon, what's so surprising about the 'Cloud-Rending Sky Mercenary Group' that you reacted like that?" Laurent asked, confused.

"Are you genuinely unaware, or are you pretending?" Solomon looked even more astonished than Laurent.

"I've never traveled far from home, so I only know what happens in our Gulu City; I only ask my sister a few questions about the outside world."

"Let me tell you, the 'Cloud-Rending Sky Mercenary Group,' although not ranked among the top forces in our Winter Moon Empire, is quite famous!" Solomon said, sounding somewhat exasperated.

"Why is that?" Laurent's interest was piqued.

"The first reason is their leader. You know, that woman who just went in might be her. I haven't seen her, but I've heard rumors about her!"

"What rumors?"

"Their leader is incredibly strong; it's rumored that no one has ever witnessed her true power!"

Laurent looked at Solomon in disbelief. While questioning the statement, a strange thought crossed his mind: if this leader sparred with the little fierce girl who beat him up that day, who would win?

Seeing Laurent’s stunned expression, Solomon hurried to clarify, "I'm just repeating hearsay; I don't know how much truth or exaggeration there is!"

The two chatted for a few more moments before resuming their sparring match.

Just as they were engrossed in their mutual practice, someone neither expected appeared. It was none other than Zhong Shenxiu and his two companions!

"It seems we arrived at the right time; I didn't expect them to start warming up already!" Zhong Shenxiu remarked with a smile, observing Laurent and the other exchanging blows in the courtyard.

The two of them could be startled awake even in their dreams by Zhong Shenxiu's distinctive voice. Hearing it suddenly now, they jumped apart instantly, breaking off their exchange and moving to the edge of the training circle to look toward the source of the sound.

Upon seeing who it was, both froze like statues.

"Why stop? Keep going!" Zhong Shenxiu even offered encouragement.

"You... what are you doing here?" Laurent asked nervously. He and his sister had not told their father the full truth about his previous injury. If Zhong Shenxiu caused trouble again, it would surely alert their father inside the house.

"Can’t I visit if I have nothing else to do? I recall your father seemed quite pleased to see me!" Zhong Shenxiu smiled triumphantly, his expression clearly conveying: Kid, I'm a guest invited by your own father!

Laurent was choked into speechless silence, while Solomon, unsure of the situation, remained quiet.

"Kid, I'm asking you to spar with Angelia. You don't have an objection, do you?" Although Zhong Shenxiu phrased it as a question, his expression conveyed an undeniable affirmation, clearly implying: Try saying 'no,' brat!

Sparring with Angelia didn't bother Laurent as much as the presence of Robin, who had remained silent. He knew clearly that even though his strength had improved over the last few days, he was still far from being able to challenge Robin. Sparring with Robin would undoubtedly be seeking death.

At Zhong Shenxiu's signal, Angelia walked forward, her eyes fixed directly on Laurent. Her mood was a mixture of nervousness and anticipation!

Laurent hesitated for a long moment, realizing that defying Zhong Shenxiu was a risky move, so he also stepped out. However, his gaze was not fixed on Angelia but guarded toward Zhong Shenxiu and Robin.

Zhong Shenxiu seemed to guess his thoughts and, wanting Laurent to perform normally, quickly said, "Kid, don't worry, this time it's just between you and Angelia. Neither Robin nor I will interfere!"

Though uncertain if Zhong Shenxiu's words were trustworthy, Laurent had no choice but to believe him for now.

"Angelia, let's agree beforehand: stop at the first clear sign!"

Angelia nodded; she hadn't planned on engaging Laurent in a prolonged battle either.

"Alright, stop wasting time, begin!" Zhong Shenxiu urged them on.

Just as Angelia and Laurent drew their stances, preparing to fight, Xia Luo and her subordinates emerged at that very moment.

Naturally, they immediately spotted Angelia and Laurent in the center of the area.

"Huh? The lineup changed this time?" Cai Ni expressed surprise.

"Who is this girl?" Hank, however, was more interested in this detail.

Since Angelia had her back to Xia Luo's group, neither party recognized the other.

At this moment, Angelia and Laurent had reached a critical point of tension; neither was distracted by Xia Luo's arrival.

With a whoosh, Angelia initiated the attack.

Her speed was fast—certainly much faster than before.

With a clang, their swords met, seemingly sparking.

This was merely a probe from Angelia. Having exchanged blows with Laurent several times, she knew this opponent was no ordinary fighter and that she had to be cautious!

This alone showed the change in Angelia. If it were before, she would have committed her full strength to that first strike, then looked for a new opportunity while the opponent blocked or evaded.

Angelia had already begun to incorporate tactical thinking into her offense, a point she herself hadn't yet realized.

Although it was only a probing strike, Laurent still frowned. From this one blow, he sensed that Angelia was significantly stronger in both power and speed than she had been just a few days ago.

"According to..." Laurent swung his sword in response.

He understood Angelia well; the best way to stop her impending storm of attacks was to attack himself!

The saying held true: the strongest defense is offense. Laurent deeply understood this.

However, he didn't realize that Angelia had undergone a transformation; under Zhong Shenxiu’s relentless pressure (let's tentatively use this term), she had already achieved a breakthrough. Seeing the incoming sword thrust, she didn't block but twisted her waist, dodging aside.

Of course, her dodge wasn't simple evasion. The moment she spun, she counter-attacked with her sword, swinging it from bottom to top, aiming directly for Laurent's face.

Laurent clearly hadn't anticipated Angelia choosing to evade his attack, nor had he expected her to deliver such a tricky counter-strike while turning. Startled, he was caught completely off guard. Though he managed to block the blow, it left him drenched in a cold sweat!

Meanwhile, Angelia suddenly felt a mystical sensation. She could capture Laurent's movements with startling clarity. What was happening? Why did his movements seem slower than before?

What surprised Angelia even more was: she felt an unwavering certainty that she could win this time! She had never felt this resolute before!

Angelia gave Laurent no chance to breathe, unleashing an attack called 'Mount Tai Crushing Down' from above!

Laurent dared not evade rashly; he leveled his sword to parry Angelia's move, but he failed to notice the faint, shimmering light emanating from Angelia's blade as she swung it!

He didn't notice, but others did!

Xia Luo had already spotted the anomaly and frowned slightly, but what truly shocked her was the scene that followed...