Yun Xuan stepped forward and bowed to the Transcendent Realm expert. "Uncle Sun, sorry to keep you waiting."
Sun Ying smiled and shook his head. "I only just arrived myself. Have you been well, Miss Yun?"
"Everything's fine. Thank you for your concern, Uncle Sun."
"Mm." Sun Ying nodded slightly and said in a soft voice, "If you have time, go visit your father more often. He…"
"Uncle Sun!" Yun Xuan furrowed her brows, clearly not wanting him to continue.
"Fine, fine, I won't say any more." Sun Ying looked utterly helpless.
Yang Kai observed the exchange from the side, quickly piecing together some underlying issues, but kept quiet and watched from the sidelines.
Yun Xuan then nodded toward a petite woman. "Sister Ruan, it's been a while. I hope you've been well."
Ruan Xinyu let out a cold hmph and said, clearly displeased, "I'd be a lot better if you'd shown up earlier. I've been waiting here for days. If the Alliance hadn't insisted on giving you some credit, my squad would've already taken care of this problem."
Yun Xuan smiled faintly. "You're too kind, Sister Ruan. If the Alliance made this arrangement, it must be because they can't do without us."
Ruan Xinyu's pretty face turned cold, and she was about to fire back a retort when Sun Ying clapped his hands. "Alright, enough from both of you. You two girls start bickering the moment you meet. You're all Alliance disciples—what deep grudge could possibly be that hard to let go of?"
Faced with Sun Ying's mediation, Ruan Xinyu still wore an expression of supreme indifference, and Yun Xuan's smile didn't quite reach her eyes, giving the Transcendent Realm expert a splitting headache.
"Hm…" Suddenly, Sun Ying fixed his gaze on Yang Kai, his face filled with suspicion. "Miss Yun, how come your squad has an extra person? Is he an Alliance disciple?"
As he spoke, he looked Yang Kai up and down, sweeping his Divine Sense over him. After sensing his cultivation level, Sun Ying nodded slightly, thinking that his strength wasn't half bad. However, Yang Kai wore no badge of the Du Ao Alliance, which left him puzzled.
"He's not an Alliance disciple." Yun Xuan shook her head.
This revelation stunned even Ruan Xinyu and Zhou Luo.
When Alliance disciples went on missions, they never brought along outsiders. Yun Xuan's decision had clearly left them confused.
"He wants to join our Du Ao Alliance. I brought him along mainly to see how he performs." Yun Xuan explained with a smile, then covertly shot Yang Kai a meaningful look.
Yang Kai caught the cue and remained silent.
"I see." Sun Ying relaxed. "That's a good thing. In that case, let this old man see what kind of potential he has. But if he passes the test, which squad should he be assigned to? Your squad is already at full strength, Yun Xuan."
"If you don't mind, how about joining my squad?" Zhou Luo extended an invitation.
Yang Kai frowned, unsure how to respond, when Yun Xuan spoke up. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. He might not even meet the Alliance's requirements. Let's wait until this mission is over to decide."
"Fair enough." Zhou Luo nodded with a smile. "Brother, give it your best. I trust Yun Xuan's judgment—don't let her down."
Ruan Xinyu also looked Yang Kai up and down, then sneered contemptuously. "Country bumpkin!"
Yang Kai had remained silent the entire time, leading her to assume he was a bit dimwitted. Coupled with her grudge against Yun Xuan, she naturally took a dislike to him.
"Xinyu, you arrived earlier, and it was your squad that scouted this area. Tell everyone what you found." Although Sun Ying had already used his Divine Sense to survey the situation, he didn't want to go into lengthy detail, so he had Ruan Xinyu explain.
At the mention of official business, Ruan Xinyu's expression turned serious. She began, "The situation here is mostly consistent with the intelligence we received before. The demon beasts that suddenly appeared are Metal Devourers. They mainly feed on mineral ores, and our Alliance's Sun Tin Mine is what attracted them here. There are quite a few of them—at least forty or fifty. The vast majority are sixth-grade, with some fifth-grade as well. No seventh-grade traces have been found."
"Metal Devourers?" Yun Xuan's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
"That's right. Metal Devourers. You should all have heard of this type of demon beast and know where its true value lies."
Zhou Luo immediately perked up. "Of course we know. This is great—if we can capture all forty or fifty of these Metal Devourers, we won't need to worry about finding an artificer anymore. With these beasts, the Sun Tin Mine can be refined at will. It'll be a tremendous contribution to the Alliance."
Sun Ying smiled slightly. "Your three squads all have members with solid strength. Dealing with sixth-grade demon beasts shouldn't be a problem, as long as you don't get surrounded. Our objective is to capture these beasts alive, not kill them—make sure you keep that in mind. Every single one we lose is a loss for us. Understood?"
Everyone nodded in unison, looking brimming with enthusiasm, as if those Metal Devourers held immense value for them.
Yang Kai looked completely baffled.
"Yun Xuan, Zhou Luo, Xinyu—each of you take half your members and come with me to set up restriction formations, to prevent the Metal Devourers from escaping. It'll be dark soon, so everyone else rest where you are. Once we've finished setting up the formations, we'll move out tomorrow." Sun Ying issued his commands.
Moments later, half the Du Ao Alliance members followed Sun Ying out, presumably to set up formations in the area.