Chapter 561: Captain of the Abyss-Clearing Squad

"You have feelings for me, but I have none for you," Yuan Yao inhaled deeply, saying with a rather helpless tone.

Qian Yunzhou's smile faded, "Is it because I'm not as good-looking as Xie Yan?"

Yuan Yao looked at his exceptionally striking bone-structured face and did not think Qian Yunzhou's appearance was inferior to Xie Yan's.

The two each have their own merits.

Yuan Yao shook her head.

"Then where am I inferior to him?" Qian Yunzhou stared at her brows and eyes, carefully observing her reaction.

"You are wonderful, but I don't..." like.

Qian Yunzhou seemed to know what she was about to say, so he lifted his index finger lightly to her lips and whispered, "Shh."

He leaned forward, looking straight into Yuan Yao's eyes, "I now prefer it when you deceive me."

…

When the Heavenly Prides at the rest area saw Yuan Yao, Xie Yan, and Qian Yunzhou walking back side by side, their expressions varied.

Yuan Yao told them, "To ensure we have a better dwelling in the Boundary Abyss later, we must now seize the prime spots of the Boundary Abyss."

Hearing this, the Heavenly Prides rose one after another.

Feng Xuanji pretended to glance at Xie Yan casually, suppressing the stir in her heart, then looked at Yuan Yao, "So should we operate separately?"

Yuan Yao nodded.

"We will first split into four squads, searching from the east, south, west, and north. The camp we choose must be both easy to defend and hard to attack, and suitable for our rest."

Qian Yunzhou raised an eyebrow, "Earlier, because of turbulent upheaval, the Abyss Beasts in the Boundary Abyss almost all hid. Now the Boundary Abyss has calmed, which means they will emerge and attack us. Therefore, our Abyss-Clearing squad must be divided with equal strength."

Finally, he said, "Alright, Xiao Liu Meimei's injury hasn't healed, so she can't be a main combatant. Then Xie Yan leads a team, Wu Ji leads a team, Ling Wei leads a team, and I lead a team."

Having said that, Qian Yunzhou looked at the Heavenly Prides present.

"Do any of you have objections?"

"None."

"Then that's fine." Qian Yunzhou's lips curled into a slight smile; he turned his head toward the person beside him, "Xiao Liu Meimei and Cang Li, join my team."

"No way." The white-clothed youth spoke slowly, his cold gaze sweeping toward Qian Yunzhou, "Yuan Yao is on my team with me."

Qian Yunzhou let out a light sigh, "Cang Li is the only physician here; Xiao Liu Meimei's injury hasn't healed, so he should tend to her."

Xie Yan, knowing Qian Yunzhou's intention, said calmly, "Cang Li and Yuan Yao are on my team."

"... Xue Jin, what fate have I drawn, when did I become the coveted prize everyone fights over? Each of them wants to pull me into their team."

Xue Jin gave him a sidelong glance, a faint mocking curl at his mouth, and said coolly, "You're overthinking; you're just an afterthought."

Cang Li: "……"

Qian Yunzhou didn't ask Yuan Yao directly, but looked at Cang Li, "Cang Li, whom do you choose?"

"Huh?" Cang Li was stunned; he was about to speak when he noticed Xie Yan's gaze locked on him, oddly unsettling.

At that moment, Yuan Yao said coldly, "Why are you two fighting? I haven't spoken yet."

"Since the squad leaders have already been assigned, the allocation will now be handled by me, the captain."

"I am with Second Senior Sister. Eldest Senior Brother, Xuan Ji, Jiang Shuai follow Xie Yan. Third Senior Brother, Dong Jiao, Hua Chengyan, Qing Ye follow Youngest Senior Brother. Fourth Senior Brother, Jiang Xiao follow Qian Yunzhou."

"Bian Chen and Ya join Second Senior Sister's team."

Yuan Yao said, then let the remaining Heavenly Prides each choose which of the four sub-teams to join.

In the end, thirty-nine people were divided into four sub-teams.

Among them, Xie Yan's team had nine members.

The other three teams each had ten members.

Xie Yan furrowed his brows, feeling a bit restless.

Since he regained consciousness, he and Yuan Yao have spent less than a day alone together, and now they must separate again.

Meanwhile, Qian Yunzhou smiled.

His goal had been achieved.

As long as he can separate Xiao Liu Meimei and that damned half-demon, that's enough.

Xie Yan looked at Qian Yunzhou, saw his smile as sly as a weasel, and guessed that he had only just separated him from Yuan Yao, his expression turning colder.

The two regarded each other with mutual disgust.

Yuan Yao's complexion remained pale, but she said solemnly, "One more thing, I'll make this clear first. I, Yuan Yao, am the captain of this Abyss-Clearing squad. If any trouble or problems arise in the future, you must report to me. Otherwise, if something truly happens, I will not protect you."

The newly joined Heavenly Prides of the Abyss-Clearing squad exchanged glances.

Jiang Shuai let out a light laugh, clasped his hands across his chest, and scanned the crowd, "I have no issue with you being captain of the Abyss-Clearing squad, but… it seems there are candidates more suitable than you for the captaincy."

Some of the Heavenly Prides present silently agreed.

But they said nothing.

Yuan Yao smiled, "Jiang Shuai, be straightforward and state it plainly."

"Then I'll be blunt," Jiang Shuai tapped his chin, "My Fifth Senior Brother and Qian Yunzhou are more suitable as captains than you."

Yuan Yao said, "There is no Fifth Senior Brother Xie Zixu here."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuai turned his gaze toward the white-clothed youth standing nearby, about to speak, but was stunned by the youth's cold, snake-like eyes, sending a chill down his spine.

His heart skipped a few beats.

"Fifth Senior Brother..."

"No, it's Xie Yan."

"Xie Zixu was merely a disguise; now Xie Yan has discarded that identity, meaning he has returned to his true self."

"Jiang Shuai, I can't match Yuan Yao," Qian Yunzhou sighed lightly.

Jiang Shuai outright disbelieved, "You're just being modest."

Qian Yunzhou said helplessly, laughing and crying: "You want me to be the captain of the Remove Abyss Squad, but have you asked their opinion?"

Jiang Shuai followed his gaze and looked toward Ying Wuji and his party.

Cang Li crossed his arms, proudly said: "My little junior sister is exactly the material to be the captain."

Xiao Lingwei said coldly: "If you don't trust my little junior sister, then when facing the Abyss Beast Lord back then, what could you have done to escape alive?"

Dong Jia was even more blunt and outspoken, directly interjecting: "Exactly! Yuan Yao is our best captain! She always considers everyone's safety first in everything, and will truly put it into action to protect us! If it were you, do you have this ability, this sense of responsibility?"

The surrounding geniuses, upon hearing this, also began to whisper among themselves, with varied expressions.

Recalling everything before, Yuan Yao's strength is unfathomable, and her methods are endless.

Yuan Yao looked at them: "From now on, if you feel anything is inappropriate or have any suggestions, you can bring them up, and we can discuss them together."

After a brief pause, Yuan Yao asked: "Jiang Shuai, do you have any other questions?"

After careful consideration, Jiang Shuai felt that Yuan Yao was indeed one of the best choices for captain, he frowned and said: "Nothing else."