Stepping on the demon door, the witch becomes the strongest.

Chapter 731: Team Disbanded
The relationship between Zhou Hongyu and Yan Yu is still very intriguing.

At the beginning, there was definitely disgust and hatred, so much so that the team members were not even comfortable mentioning the name "Yan Yu". The captain would feel extremely bad when mentioned.

So, when did the change begin?
Zhang Huaide carefully recalled and calculated, realizing that the change was most noticeable after his trip to the Kunlun Mountain secret realm. However, if he continued to trace it back, Zhou Hongyu's attitude had actually begun to soften long before.

Between women and men, whether the affection is positive or negative is unimportant. As long as the other person remembers you, even if it's negative, there's a chance it can be turned back to positive. If there's no impression at all, that's the real solution.

Zhang Huaide didn't care whether the relationship between these two people was a good one or a bad one, and he had never carefully investigated it before. What he really cared about now was that Yan Yu and Tang Xiaolian seemed to be getting too close.

Yan Yu's harem was also not Zhang Huaide's business; but Yan Yu's harem extended to the Fire Phoenix Team, causing Zhou Hongyu and Tang Xiaolian to start a Shura field, which was closely related to the deputy captain Zhang Huaide.

He decided to talk to Zhou Hongyu first.

Zhou Hongyu attended a martial arts school in high school, where he practiced martial arts every morning. Even now that he's become a cultivator, he still maintains this fitness habit.

Practice boxing and Sanda in the morning, go for long-distance running or swimming in the afternoon, and go to the team meeting room to watch TV in the evening, or go back to the room to rest.

After Zhang Huaide finished his lunch and said goodbye to Yan Yu, he went straight to the gymnasium.

Zhou Hongyu had just finished running 20,000 meters and went to the locker room to change clothes. His hair was still wet.

"What is it?" she asked bluntly.

Zhang Huaide knew that if he beat around the bush and made the other party unable to understand, it would easily cause Zhou Hongyu's disgust, so he also asked directly:
"Captain Zhou, how is your relationship with Captain Yan?"

"What's wrong?" Zhou Hongyu asked calmly, "Did the higher-ups send you here to ask?"

Zhang Huaide did not comment on this, but continued:

"Although Captain Yan is still single, the higher-ups believe he's secretly been in a relationship with Deputy Captain Chen. Otherwise, there's no way to explain why Governor Chen would give him such great support."

"Nonsense!" Zhou Hongyu said unhappily. "Politics is politics, strength is strength. I've never heard of the two being mixed up. With Chen Lingyun's talent, Yan Yu couldn't choose anyone else. Why her? Just because she has a good father? What's her father's cultivation level?"

Zhang Huaide immediately got the exact answer, and with a clear mind, he tentatively said:

"I've never heard of any scandal between Captain Yan and Deputy Captain Chen. The above speculation is just tracing the cause from the result. As for a good relationship, he and Xiao Lian have a pretty good relationship too."

"What are you testing here?" Zhou Hongyu raised an eyebrow and said, "Xiao Lian likes him, can't you see?"

Zhang Huaide had already had an answer, but now he suddenly became shaken.

If Captain Zhou likes Yan Yu, then why is he so calm and not jealous at all when talking about Xiao Lian being her love rival?

"I didn't notice it." He said honestly, "I just know that the two of them were quite close."

"Now you know, there's no need to make a fuss." Zhou Hongyu said calmly, "We're both single, so it's normal for her to like Yan Yu."

Zhang Huaide was a little confused. He began to quickly overturn some of his original judgments, and then couldn't help but consider more possibilities.

Tang Xiaolian likes Yan Yu, but Zhou Hongyu remains indifferent to her feelings. Is this because she doesn't actually like Yan Yu? Or does she also like Yan Yu, but simply doesn't see Tang Xiaolian as a threat? Or perhaps she agreed to a fair competition with Tang Xiaolian, and so remains indifferent? Or perhaps she even decided to withdraw for her own sake?

In any case, since Zhou Hongyu doesn't mind this matter, there is no possibility of the team blowing up.

Zhang Huaide secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want his superiors to ask for his opinion one day and ask him to choose between the Red Feather Nine Phoenix Fire and the Hundred Poisons Golden Silkworm Gu.

However, to be on the safe side, he still asked cautiously:

"Captain Zhou, do you not care about Xiao Lian liking Captain Yan?"

"It's not that indifferent." Zhou Hongyu pondered for a moment, "Or rather, I'm still very happy."

This was of course true, as Yan Yu was surrounded by so many girls, many of whom possessed exceptional emotional intelligence and were incredibly intelligent. Zhou Hongyu thought to herself that her brain wasn't good enough, and her only asset was her good looks, which wasn't enough to completely surpass them.

With Tang Xiaolian as his wingman, replacing Zhang Huaide as his military advisor in the love field, Zhou Hongyu really saved a lot of trouble.

Zhang Huaide fell silent. He was completely confused.

His observation showed that Zhou Hongyu should like Yan Yu, but she also said in person that she was "happy to see" that Xiao Lian also liked Captain Yan. So was his observation wrong, or was Zhou Hongyu lying?
Back in the room, Zhang Huaide took out his computer and started writing a report.

The sender of the email is an address, and the content of this email will eventually reach Sun Rongxing, the commander-in-chief of the Pingxi Army.

The Privy Council had conducted psychological assessments on all the cultivators in the top teams to determine their ability to combat their inner demons. Of all the results, Zhou Hongyu was the most dangerous—early on, she was diagnosed with a degree of "self-destructive tendencies," meaning she didn't take her life seriously.

As the deputy captain of the team, Zhang Huaide was soon secretly designated by the Pingxi Army's top brass as Zhou Hongyu's monitor and fuse. The former meant regularly monitoring her mental health and reporting, and the latter meant stopping her when she behaved irrationally and put her life in danger.

As Zhou Hongyu's relationship with Yan Yu improved, her self-destructive tendencies gradually disappeared. However, Zhang Huaide's work was not terminated, so now that he had observed new situations, he had to report them truthfully.

The analysis part was a little difficult to write. Zhang Huaide pondered over it again and again, and concluded that Zhou Hongyu still loved Yan Yu and had not lied about Tang Xiaolian. The two of them had probably reached some kind of agreement, so he didn't care that the other was a rival in love.

However, if Zhou Hongyu fails in her competition, the consequences and risks are unpredictable. Zhang Huaide mentioned in his previous report that he believed Zhou Hongyu's mental stability and health were likely due to her love for Yan Yu, which gave her the "motivation to continue living."

After writing down his analysis and speculation and clicking send, Zhang Huaide took off his glasses and wiped the dusty lenses.

He took a sip of strong tea when his cell phone suddenly rang.

"It's me, Zhang Huaide."

"Yes." Commander-in-Chief Sun Rongxing's voice came from the other side. "Huaide, you've worked hard during this period. You don't need to report on Zhou Hongyu's situation anymore."

"Okay." Zhang Huaide agreed, then paused for a moment and asked, "Can I know why?"

Sun Rongxing seemed to have known that he would ask this question and replied:
"The higher-ups are considering the matter of Jindan Zhenren. If nothing unexpected happens..."

"...It will not be convenient for you to continue observing later."

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The emergence of the team system was naturally based on initial justification and necessity.

Cultivators in Lu Kingdom are divided into four classes, each based on their unique characteristics. Those with abundant true essence become Dharma cultivators, those with quick reflexes become Sword Immortals, and those with a keen mind become Lords. Those who meet none of the three requirements become Assistant Officers, each able to utilize their unique strengths through various magical weapons.

Of course, overemphasizing one's strengths also requires mitigating one's weaknesses. Sword Immortals lack the ability for large-scale bombardments, Magic Cultivators struggle with close-quarters attacks, Emissaries' frontal combat abilities are often insufficient, and Assistant Officers rely too heavily on the uniqueness of their magical weapons... Therefore, by combining cultivators of different classes, with you serving as the damage dealer and me as the support, the team system emerged.

After the Dan was formed, the situation changed dramatically.

There are currently two Jindan cultivators: Yan Yu is more of a sword immortal, while Liu Longtao is more of a magic cultivator. The former can cast the Liangyi Microdust Sword Formation, complementing his large-scale destructive capabilities; the latter's spell power has greatly increased after forming a core, making him suitable for both long-range and short-range offense and defense. The original shortcomings of his profession have been forcibly supplemented by the Jindan realm.

In the words of the gaming industry, there is a kind of beauty in which numerical strength crushes the original mechanism.

Technical analysis suggests that regardless of their level, Jindan Zhenren are generally capable of independent work. Having them perform tasks in teams of five or six would be a waste of manpower and time.

In that case, let’s tear it down.

When the Lu government's top brass wants to make some major changes, they never announce it directly. Instead, they first let "insiders spread suspicious rumors" to gauge the reaction of a specific group. If nothing happens, they'll make a formal announcement; if the reaction is intense, they'll deny the rumor.

The insider this time is Chen Lingyun.

"After forming the core, the team is going to disband?" Lin Ning cried in disbelief, "How can this be possible?!"

"It's just that someone has proposed this plan now," Chen Lingyun said with a smile. "After all, looking at the world, for a long time to come, the number of extraordinary people in the Jindan realm will be extremely scarce, and there won't be any enemies that require several Jindan cultivators to deal with together. Compared to continuing to operate as a team, it is definitely more efficient to carry out the mission alone."

"But..." Lin Ning couldn't find any reason to object and could only show a tough expression of resistance.

She didn't want the team to disband, for one simple reason: she had been there for too long and had developed feelings for it.

"If that's the case, there's nothing we can do about it," Su Yunjin said sensibly. "And Ningning, even if the team doesn't exist, we can still live in the same villa, right? It won't make much of a difference, right?"

In stark contrast to Lin Ning's reaction, she was indifferent to the team's disbanding. As long as she could stay by the captain's side, it didn't matter whether she had a formal position or not.

"I...I don't want the team to disband!" Xie Ruoxi yelled, "I can't carry out the mission alone! I can't do it! I need someone to cover me!"

"Ruoxi's situation is indeed somewhat special." Chen Lingyun said with a smile, "I guess even if you have achieved Jindan, the higher-ups will assign you a sword immortal bodyguard or something just in case. Of course, it definitely can't be a Jindan sword immortal."

Xie Ruoxi was stunned as if she had lost her parents.

Zhao Yuanzhen snorted coldly and said:
"It's only a matter of time before the team disbands. In today's environment, after reaching the Core Formation stage, you can basically roam the world freely. There's no need to stick together anymore."

In the world of cultivation, apart from the famous and upright sects that produce many talented people, most of the sects' Jindan Zhenren can accept disciples and pass on their skills, so what she said is not wrong - they have already reached the Jindan stage and should have been able to stand on their own.

Chen Lingyun's eyes moved, and she looked at Yan Yu with a smile and asked:
"What about you? Captain, what do you think?"

She deliberately emphasized the word "captain" very heavily, as if mocking him for not being one soon.

Yan Yu looked at the distressed Lin Ning and the distraught Xie Ruoxi, pondered for a long time, and said with a smile:

"Compared to the team's official system, we should establish a new and closer relationship."

"I have a few girlfriend spots here...Do any of you want to sign up?"

(End of this chapter)