Then let them offer their loyalty!

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Two chapters, 2 words each! I'll continue with 1 words a day tomorrow, please vote with monthly tickets!

Chapter 490 The Slap in the Face Envoys! (Thanks to "Comfortable but Not Cold" for being the Alliance Leader!)

Upon hearing the woman's question, the maid quickly bowed slightly and said, "Your Highness, yes. It's that Qiu Tu."

Upon hearing this, the woman's face showed a hint of surprise, but she still maintained her composure and said...

"He's the speaker now? That's such a fast promotion!"

After saying that, the woman said, "Have someone send over his information; I want to take a look."

Upon hearing the woman's words, the maid quickly responded.

Then she took out the walkie-talkie and gave a quiet instruction.

Moments later, someone at the front of the carriage was printing out intelligence.

Soon after, the information about Qiu Tu was printed out and sent over.

The maid got up, bent down to retrieve the information, and then handed it to the woman.

The woman took it and examined it carefully.

The more she looked, the more surprised her watery eyes became.

After a moment, she looked at the maid beside her and asked, "Was Qiu Tu just an ordinary person a year ago?"

"In just one year, he has already become a peak fourth-tier Cataclysm?"

Hearing the woman's words, the maid nodded slightly again and said, "Yes, Your Highness. His progress can indeed be described as terrifying."

"Therefore, the intelligence department has been analyzing what his path to disaster is."

There are currently three main guesses.

"The first is that his path to catastrophe is 'mystical,' and it's very likely to be a branch that's both easy to complete and rather bizarre."

"The reason for this speculation is that when he advanced to the fourth-tier Cataclysm, he demonstrated his 'Law Projection,' which looked very much like a 'mystical' method."

"The second is... 'Life - Reproduction.' The reason for this guess is that he is surrounded by many women, of all shapes and sizes."

"He has all types of women, from young girls to mature women and married women. He accepts almost everyone."

"Furthermore, he has a very close connection with the evil god Lariro, so it is very likely that they are from the same path."

The princess had already reviewed this information in the intelligence report. So she nodded slightly and asked, "What's the third guess?"

The maid said earnestly, "The third guess is... his path to disaster is very likely related to his official position."

"Although his progress in strength did not perfectly match his promotion."

"However... in this year, what has improved as rapidly as his strength is his official position."

"Although he tried his best to cover it up, and many people even speculated that it was because his improved abilities helped him get promoted, it was still too much of a coincidence."

"This conjecture was proposed by Lord Kou Xuan."

"What he meant was that the worst thing you can do in intelligence work is to complicate simple things."

"And the worst thing is to be led by the nose by the enemy."

"Qiu Tu, as a political new star who has emerged out of nowhere, should be cherishing his reputation the most at this time."

"But he openly indulged in nightly revelry, attracting numerous women and making no attempt to conceal it. He seemed to want the whole world to know about his many women."

"Isn't that strange?"

"If he truly is the catastrophic agent of the 'life-reproduction' pathway, why doesn't he hide it all?"

"What good would it do him to know his methods and weaknesses? Isn't that a major taboo for a Cataclysmic Exploiter?"

"Therefore, Lord Kou Xuan believes that this is clearly a smokescreen deliberately released by Qiu Tu."

"And setting aside all other distracting factors, official position is the element most closely related to Qiu Tu's trajectory of strength improvement."

"Therefore, Lord Kou Xuan believes that Qiu Tu's path is most likely through 'order,' though the specific sub-category is hard to say. It could be 'power,' or 'politics,' but it should be a path related to official position."

Upon hearing the maid mention Kou Xuan, the princess's expression became noticeably unnatural.

She pursed her lips slightly, sat up straight involuntarily, and her expression became more composed.

She paused for a moment before speaking, "Then how do you explain the 'illusory image of law' that appeared when Qiu Tu advanced to the fourth rank?"

The maid said in a serious tone, "Lord Kou Xuan is right. This is very likely a false impression deliberately created by Qiu Tu."

"His assessment was... Qiu Tu is not a simple person. He seems to have no background, but many of his actions seem to be supported by an unknown force."

"Therefore, Qiu Tu may have secretly advanced to the fourth-tier Cataclysm himself, and then arranged for others to advance to cover for him."

Hearing this, the woman paused for a moment, then said, "Okay, I..."

Before she could finish speaking, a maid at the front of the carriage turned around and said to the woman, "Your Highness, Lord Kou Yu said that we will arrive in Dongye Prefecture in half an hour."

He would like to speak with you by phone to discuss the details of the visit.

Interrupted by the maid, the woman bit her rosy lips lightly and said, "Okay."

......

at the same time.

As the Speaker of the State Assembly, Qiu Tu is waiting for the arrival of the visiting convoy of the Sixth Shelter in the border city of Wuhai.

This visit by the Sixth Shelter delegation has two stops. The first stop is "Dongyezhou".

After visiting and inspecting the "Boundless Ocean of the Heart Development Project" in Dongye Prefecture, the delegation will head west to the Eighth Shelter to meet with several leaders, including Elder Rao and Elder Tang.

To show the importance attached to this visit, the Eighth Shelter also formed a reception team.

Pang Lao, the head of the "academic faction," served as the head of the delegation, while Qiu Tu, the speaker of the Dongye Prefecture, served as the deputy head of the delegation.

Since the regimental commander couldn't personally greet them at the border, Qiu Tu, the deputy regimental commander, was the one waiting there.

Meanwhile, Qiu Tu was waiting on the main road of Hongshan City while listening to Guan Xiao's report.

This woman seems to be a natural-born intelligence agent. In just a few days, she's obtained some more classified information.

Now, dressed in her uniform, she followed closely beside Qiu Tu, glancing at the road ahead just like him, and whispered, "Speaker, pay special attention to the 'Deputy Head' of the delegation on this trip, Cabinet Minister Kou Yu."

"According to my intelligence, this person doesn't seem to be as simple as he appears."

"He comes from the Kou family, a prestigious clan with a thousand-year history, the foremost family in the Northwest. This family has a long and distinguished history, having left its mark on every era."

"There are great talents; there are great painters; there are poets; and there are also geniuses who have achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations."

"Among them, the most famous is Kou Yi, the legendary ancestor of the Kou family who ranked first in the imperial examination and eventually became a first-rank official and was granted the title of Earl."

"It was he who laid a solid foundation for the Kou family."

"During the Great Cataclysm, the Kou family was somewhat impacted and affected. But they recovered quickly."

"Then, in the chaotic Northwest at that time, they chose King Kang, provided him with money and manpower to support him, and ultimately helped King Kang lay the foundation for the entire Sixth Sanctuary."

"This has led to the Kou family wielding immense power in the Sixth Sanctuary, becoming too powerful to control. It's even rumored that in many cities and prefectures, people only know about the Kou family and not about Prince Kang."

"And Kou Yu is the younger brother of Kou Xuan, the current head of the Kou family."

"He has become a cabinet minister at a young age. He is said to have extraordinary talent, but he is arrogant and domineering and very difficult to get along with."

After listening to Guan Xiao's introduction, Qiu Tu nodded slightly and then asked, "What about Princess Xi?"

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Guan Xiao said, "Princess Xi is Prince Kang's second wife."

"He has a son with Prince Kang, who is now one year and eight months old."

"Princess Xi was born into a prestigious family and was well-educated and reasonable, but her family fell into decline. During her time in distress, she was rescued by Prince Kang and has stayed by his side ever since."

"However, this also resulted in her having a rather weak personality, and most of the time she just played the role of a decorative vase."

"Therefore, his presence in the political arena of the Sixth Sanctuary is not very strong."

After listening to Guan Xiao's report, Qiu Tu nodded slightly.

Therefore, this should be another story between a powerful minister and an emperor.

However, the difference lies in the changing times. The drawbacks of the imperial system made it difficult for the "founding emperor" to easily eliminate powerful ministers.

Or perhaps, the powerful ministers had already prepared a backup plan, effectively sidelining the emperor, leading to the current stalemate between the two sides.

As for whether there are other sanctuaries, or even evil gods or organizations behind this, that remains to be seen.

After all... Qiu Tu remembered that Mu Ye had said that the 6th-tier evil god "Yaksha" was guarding the disaster zone surrounding the 6th Sanctuary.

And... there are also members of the "Mist Shadow Society" among the high-ranking members of the 6th Shelter.

However, none of this has anything to do with Qiu Tu.

No matter how the political landscape of the 6th Sanctuary changes, whether it's the emperor purging powerful ministers or a powerful minister successfully usurping the throne, it has no impact on Dongye Prefecture.

His main focus now is on taking advantage of the 6th Shelter delegation's visit to Tung Yip Chau to try and get his hands on the "Earth Vein Flower" and then upgrade the "New Territories Area".

As for the delegation... as long as it doesn't affect him, he won't worry too much. He'll just be a tool and go through the motions.

Just as Qiu Tu was thinking this...

A convoy of cars slowly approached on the main road in the distance.

The convoy consisted of thirty or forty vehicles, stretching from the intersection all the way to where they disappeared from sight.

There were SUVs leading the way, extended limousines for the VIPs, and escort cars.

Dust billowed up, like a long dragon following behind them, vast and mighty.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu gently patted Guan Xiao's hand. Guan Xiao immediately nodded, then bent down and left Qiu Tu's side to begin instructing her subordinates and reminding the reception staff.

Before long, the convoy drove up to a nearby location and then slowly came to a stop.

Qiu Tu led the members of the reception group forward and stood in front of the car.

According to normal procedures, Kou Yu, the deputy head of the 6th Shelter Visiting Group, should meet with Qiu Tu, and then the two convoys should join forces and head to the state capital together.

Strangely, Qiu Tu and the others stood there for more than ten seconds, but the convoy from Shelter No. 6 did not make any move.

More than 20 seconds later, a burly man in uniform got out of the lead car.

He gave Qiu Tu a cold look, then said, "Lord Kou Yu said that he is too tired from the long journey and will not come down to meet you all."

"Let's meet up in the convoy and head to the state capital together."

Upon hearing the man's words, the scene fell silent, and the members of the reception team quietly exchanged glances.

Shelter No. 6 provided considerable assistance during the creation of Shelter No. 8. Furthermore, its earlier establishment and faster development resulted in it being significantly stronger than Shelter No. 8.

This gives Shelter 6 an arrogant attitude when facing Shelter 8.

In addition, Kou Yu, the person in charge of this trip, was known for his arrogance and domineering attitude at the 6th shelter, so it's not surprising that he showed such disrespect.

However... this will really put Qiu Tu to the test.

After all, the 6th Shelter has done the 8th Shelter a favor, and it is also stronger. If it insists on following the procedures, it will look bad.

If we directly follow Kou Yu's arrangements, we will inevitably lose face, and it will still look bad in the end.

Therefore, the members of the reception team couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Upon seeing this, Guan Xiao, who was standing next to Qiu Tu, had a slight change in her expression. She took a step forward, wanting to answer for Qiu Tu—since the other party had sent a subordinate, her presence would be of equal rank.

If she says something harsh, it doesn't matter; Qiu Tu is there to back her up and smooth things over. At most, she might face some punishment or demotion.

But... since she took the blame for Qiu Tu, Qiu Tu will definitely compensate her afterwards.

As a result, just as she took a step forward, Qiu Tu, as if he had expected it, gently blocked her with his right hand without turning his head, and once again blocked her behind him.

Immediately afterward, Qiu Tu flicked the sleeve of his black coat and said with a smile, "Lord Kou Yu's orders?"

"Excuse me... Our reception team is receiving the 6th Shelter Visiting Group, and the head of the team is Princess Xi."

"From Shelter No. 6 to Shelter No. 8, it's over a thousand kilometers, and we're exhausted from the journey. We must confirm Princess Xi's safety and health."

"Therefore, please allow me to see Princess Xi and check on her condition."

After saying that, Qiu Tu ignored the big man's reaction and headed straight for the center of the convoy.

Upon seeing Qiu Tu directly contradict him, the burly man's expression changed instantly, and he angrily tried to stop Qiu Tu.