“But, let me say this first, Xiao Yu, are you sure you want to hire these guys from Divine Machine Peak to build your house? I think you’d better reconsider.”

At the entrance of Divine Machine Peak, Liu Shicheng, contrary to his usual self, stood at the doorway, fidgeting. From his expression, it seemed he had had some bad experiences.

“What’s wrong? You’re only telling me this now that we’re at the door. Do you have a grudge against them? Don’t worry, Brother Fan isn’t that petty. After all, my workload is a bit heavy. Besides the house, I also want to rebuild the kitchen Xiao Yan burned down, and get some furniture while I’m at it…”

Xiao Yu counted on his fingers, not noticing that Liu Shicheng was slowly backing away.

“In that case, I wish you good luck!”

?

“What?” Xiao Yu looked up and saw Liu Shicheng quietly retreating. He was about to say something.

But then, Liu Shicheng’s pupils constricted as if he had seen some monstrous beast. He directly formed a sword seal with one hand, summoned his life-bound flying sword, and transformed into a streak of sword light, fleeing into the distance.

“What’s going on?”

Xiao Yu was a little confused.

Just then, a powerful hand landed on his shoulder.

“Yo! A guest?”

!!!

A tower-like shadow fell over Xiao Yu, enveloping him.

Xiao Yu’s body stiffened. He slowly turned his head and found several burly, muscular hunks standing behind him, looking at him with friendly expressions.

Looking at their gnarled muscles, a scorching aura rushed towards him, making him shudder. A few of them in the distance were even striking poses, freely displaying their explosive muscles.

Especially their arms, which were thicker than his thighs. Xiao Yu silently gulped, his body trembling slightly.

‘What the hell? When did Gathering Demon Island get so many muscle freaks?’

The leader of the hunks looked at the streak of sword light fleeing into the distance, his eyes twinkling. He had clearly recognized Liu Shicheng:

“Huh! That figure just now, if I’m not mistaken, it should be Little Liu, right? It’s been a while, but his body is still so frail! It seems he needs some extra training. Wang Da, Wang Er, bring him back for a good workout.”

“Yes, boss.” ×2.

As soon as the words fell, two giant-like figures shot out like arrows from a bow, their speed astonishingly fast, not at all inferior to the sword light escape technique of a sword cultivator.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Liu Shicheng’s miserable screams echoed from the distance.

The sound was so tragic that those who heard it would weep.

Then, the leading hunk turned his gaze to Xiao Yu. His bronze-bell-like eyes narrowed, and his thick eyebrows knitted together. “You are… Xiao Yu? You’re back from the outside?!”

“Uh… yes, I am. And you are?” Xiao Yu nodded and took a step back. Looking at the muscular man before him, who stood like a humanoid berserk bear, he really couldn’t remember where he had seen him before.

“Hahaha… It’s me, Fan Hai! It’s been a few years, but you’ve finally come back from the outside!”

Seeing that it was indeed Xiao Yu, the burly man immediately wrapped an arm around his neck, rubbing his elbow back and forth on his head, and laughed heartily. “You brat, you finally remembered to come back. Big Brother here missed you to death.”

Feeling this familiar greeting, Xiao Yu was certain it was Brother Fan.

But… recalling the elegant scholar from before, who wore a Confucian robe, insisted that a gentleman uses his words, not his fists, and spoke in classical prose, and then looking at the two-meter-tall, bear-like hunk now.

Xiao Yu’s head was full of question marks. What on earth had happened in the years he was away? Why did it feel like Gathering Demon Island was no longer the place he knew?

Xiao Yan could be explained away by the saying “a girl changes eighteen times between childhood and womanhood” and was still growing. But what was the deal with Brother Fan? He had never heard of a saying for men changing eighteen times!

This couldn’t be called a change; it was practically a mutation!

“Brother Fan, what happened to you?” After finally struggling free from that massive chest, Xiao Yu looked at the unfamiliar Fan Hai and asked, “Did you suffer some kind of blow?”

“Hey! What nonsense are you spouting? Your Brother Fan feels great right now. I’ve just been training my body recently. It’s a good thing you’re back. Brothers, come! Let him see the results of our training.”

Fan Hai shouted, and then struck an extremely standard bodybuilding pose. Then, his muscles bulged.

Peng!

His clothes exploded!

That’s right, his clothes exploded. Not only that, but the group of muscle hunks behind him followed suit. Peng! Clothes exploded.

In an instant, the ground was littered with scraps of clothing.

Xiao Yu removed the piece of cloth that had sprayed onto his face and then witnessed a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.

A group of naked men were striking poses in front of him, frantically displaying their muscles.

‘The clothes exploded a bit too cleanly, didn’t they?’

Xiao Yu complained inwardly.

What was worse, he was trapped in the middle, unable to move, and it was a group of naked men.

Seeing such an unfavorable scene, Xiao Yu had the thought of retreating. “Um… I just remembered, I have something to do, so I won’t disturb you. See you later.”

But he had only taken a few steps before his shoulder was grabbed.

“Don’t go! It seems this isn’t enough to attract you, huh? We’ll have to use the big move. Come, brothers, Indestructible Vajra Body of a Boy!”

Hwa!

A burst of golden light bloomed.

Golden light flashed before Xiao Yu’s eyes, and the group of naked men transformed into the Eighteen Golden Arhats of Shaolin.

Xiao Yu: “………………”

“What do you think, Xiao Yu? Are you interested in practicing martial arts with your Brother Fan? Look at these muscles, look at these lines…”

Fan Hai came up to Xiao Yu, showing off his bulging muscles.

“If you want, I can let you learn this Indestructible Vajra Body of a Boy! This was improved from the Unmoving Boy Skill of those bald donkeys from the Golden Light Temple. It’s incredibly powerful. Cultivating it can make you invulnerable to blades and spears, an indestructible vajra.

The best part is, after you learn it, your body will emit a golden light, so you won’t have to wear clothes anymore. It’s very convenient.”

“No, thank you, Brother Fan. I only came to ask you to help me build a house. By the way, aren’t you guys blacksmiths? How do you have time to practice this?”

Xiao Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead and refused.

‘Body of a Boy?’

It didn’t sound like a good cultivation technique at first listen.

“It’s precisely because we’re blacksmiths that we need to practice martial arts! Otherwise, we wouldn’t even be able to lift a hammer, let alone forge iron. Coincidentally, I see that your body is frail, your physique so fragile, you’re prone to getting sick.

You should strengthen your training, have a good workout. Come! Today, your big brother will help you loosen your muscles and bones, break your shackles, and step into the path of a martial artist. Once you experience the wonders of martial arts, you can decide whether you want to learn it or not!”

Without allowing Xiao Yu to refuse, at a signal from Fan Hai’s eyes, two muscular hunks quickly walked towards Xiao Yu, looking as if they intended to forcibly take him for a workout.

“That’s not necessary!” Xiao Yu’s scalp tingled. He wanted to flee on his sword like Liu Shicheng.

However, in front of a group of muscular hunks, resistance was futile. Soon, Xiao Yu was carried away by the strong men.

In the training ground, as soon as Xiao Yu, who had been brought here, opened his eyes, he saw Liu Shicheng, who was also in a pile of men.

But now, his face was bruised and swollen, and he was not in a good state.

Although among cultivators, sword cultivators had the strongest offensive power and the highest entry barrier, it was only in terms of offensive power. They were typical glass cannons with high attack and low defense.

Martial artists, on the other hand, were perfectly suited for close combat. Once they closed the distance, a barrage of “ORA” attacks would instantly finish the job.

Liu Shicheng’s cultivation was not low; he was at the Golden Core realm. Outside, he could be the lord of a city.

Unfortunately, from a rough observation, judging by the auras revealed, Brother Fan and the others were all Martial Artists at the Zenith Realm.

Zenith Realm Martial Artists could establish their own sects outside; they were grandmasters of martial arts.

But here on Gathering Demon Island, they were a dime a dozen. It could only be said that Gathering Demon Island was indeed a place of outstanding talents.

Zenith Realm Martial Artists who liked to explode their clothes and run around naked were truly one of a kind in this world!

The two of them exchanged a glance, both revealing a wry smile.

‘It’s over, there’s no way we’re escaping!’