Then let them offer their loyalty!

"Of course, those who haven't registered can choose to help those who have registered, or create obstacles for them."

Upon hearing this, Tang Feifei's wheat-colored face immediately showed a thoughtful expression, and then she asked, "So what does Qiu Tu plan for us to do?"

The dark soldier said respectfully, "Our lord wishes the four states to prepare for the contraction in advance."

"The entire Northwest region is likely to face a catastrophe. In times like these, survival is the top priority."

"Everything else, whether it's territory or wealth, is illusory. Only by surviving this disaster can we achieve final victory."

"Secondly... the Lord hopes that the four states will unite the 8th Sanctuary and send professional and trustworthy intelligence personnel to join anti-government armed groups or extremist sects."

"First, we need to gather information about their movements and intelligence. Second, we need to find out exactly how many participants have entered the arena and what their strength is..."

"Thirdly... discreetly investigate whether there are any unusual developments in the 'Northwest Region' and the 'Southwest Region.' For example, where have any strange phenomena occurred, or what unusual changes have taken place, etc."

Hearing the Dark Soldier's words, Tang Feifei nodded slightly. Having worked with Qiu Tu for many years, she was no stranger to these support roles.

Moreover, now is not the time for her and Qiu Tu to fight alone in the New Territories. She has Guan Xiao, Liu Xiong Yuan, Dai Yu Kang, and a group of other experts by her side.

With their help, and with the support of the 8th Shelter, many tasks can be quickly rolled out once they are assigned.

After going through everything in her mind, Tang Feifei looked at the dark soldier and said, "Okay. I understand."

"Does Qiu Tu have any other instructions?"

Hearing Tang Feifei's words, the dark soldier nodded. She looked at Tang Feifei and said respectfully, "Besides what happened just now, my lord also asked me to pass on a message to you."

At this point, she looked at Tang Feifei and said, slowly and deliberately, "You must be careful."

Upon hearing the message from the dark soldier, Tang Feifei was taken aback for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on her wheat-colored face.

Her eyebrows curved slightly, and she said softly, "Don't worry, Qiu Tu. I will take good care of myself."

At this point, Tang Feifei paused for a moment, then added, "Also, please tell him... to be careful."

"We...we're waiting for him to come home."

Upon hearing Tang Feifei's words, the female dark soldier bowed respectfully, then slowly sank into the darkness...

.......

at the same time.

Southwest Region - Shelter No. 4

Li Feng, clad in black armor, looked down at the assassin kneeling before him and spoke expressionlessly, "You mean, the recent descent of so many evil gods is all due to the 'Trial of the Gods'?"

After receiving the assassin's affirmative answer, Li Feng's expression turned serious, her eyes narrowed, filled with sharpness and ruthlessness. "What does Mother think?"

"Or rather, what do the shelters think?"

The "shelter" that Li Feng mentioned is clearly not the fourth shelter, but the second shelter.

She looked intently at the assassin before her, then asked, "Is Mother or any of the other Heavenly Kings prepared to participate?"

Upon hearing Li Feng's words, the assassin lowered his head and said, "Lord Zhiyan... did indeed participate in this 'Trial of the Gods'."

Upon hearing this, Li Feng's face relaxed slightly.

Then she heard the assassin continue, "However... Lady Zhiyan does not intend to participate in the competition for the 'Celestial Rank'."

A question mark slowly appeared above Li Feng's head. Her mind raced, and after a moment, a sense of foreboding washed over her.

Sure enough, just as she had sensed, the assassin lowered his head and said, "After two meetings, the Sanctuary concluded that neither of the three Heavenly Kings is strong enough to win this 'Trial of the Gods.'"

"Instead of making enemies with other forces and wasting all our efforts, why not... just sell the resources directly?"

Li Feng's pupils contracted slightly.

The assassin looked up at Li Feng and said, "Gold panners may not make any money, but shovel sellers can make a sure profit."

"So... the shelter ultimately reached a cooperation agreement with the 'Mist Shadow Society'."

"The 'Mist Hidden Society' will have three members participating this time. They are the president, 'Apocalypse,' a peak eighth-tier member; the vice president, 'Golden Lion,' a late-stage eighth-tier member; and a high-ranking member, 'White Robe,' a mid-stage eighth-tier member."

"Adding Lord Zhiyan, that makes a total of four eighth-tier Cataclysmics. Among them is the 'Apocalypse' Guild Master, a peak eighth-tier expert. The success rate should still be very high."

Upon hearing the assassin's words, Li Feng's beautiful face changed.

She frowned deeply, hands on her hips, and paced a few steps with a hint of irritation. Then she looked up at the assassin and said, "Why are you cooperating with the 'Hidden Mist Society' again?!"

"Have you forgotten how miserable we were back then, all because of the 'Hidden Mist Society'?"

"We paid such a high price back then to finally escape their control, how come we're back now?"

"Have they forgotten that we rose to power from within the 'Hidden Mist Society'? 'Apocalypse' probably hates us to death!"

"What are they thinking?!"

Hearing Li Feng's reprimand, the assassin lowered his head and remained silent.

Outside, the wind howled; inside, the atmosphere was cold and stagnant, utterly icy and still.

After all, that topic from back then was far too heavy...

.....

at the same time.

Core Area - Three Capitals City - City Lord's Mansion

Qiu Tu was also talking to Qing Lan about the Second Shelter and the "Mist Hidden Society" back then.

Having seemingly decided to collaborate with Qiu Tu, Qing Lan has become less aloof and more relaxed.

She sat in the main seat, looked at Qiu Tu beside her, and then asked, "Speaker Qiu, are you aware of the relationships and political structure of so many organizations in the 'Core Region - Western Kingdom'?"

Qiu Tu had actually heard some relevant information from Yu Die. However, Yu Die's intelligence system was newly established and far inferior to Qing Lan's. Therefore, Qiu Tu also wanted to hear Qing Lan explain the layout of the "core area".

Thinking this, Qiu Tu sat down, shook his head slightly, and said, "I know some things, but not all of them. Please explain, Your Highness Qinglan."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Qing Lan glanced at Qiu Tu with her clear eyes and then said, "I have actually read a lot of books from your human world."

"If we're going to draw an analogy... then the political system of the 'Western Kingdom' is somewhat similar to the feudal system in your world. But it's much more cruel and harsh."

Seeing a hint of confusion on Qiu Tu's face, she explained, "The four God-Kings have divided the entire 'Core Area,' each occupying a portion. Therefore, the four areas, the four kingdoms, are all the God-Kings' private domains."

"And the 'Western Kingdom,' both nominally and practically, belongs entirely to the 'Western God-King.'"

"Strictly speaking, the various organizations under the 'Western God King' are merely officials who manage local areas on his behalf."

"Therefore, 70% of all taxes, mineral resources, and cataclysmic materials must be handed over to the 'Western God King.'"

Qiu Tu frowned slightly upon hearing this.

Qinglan keenly noticed Qiu Tu's unusual behavior and then explained, "Do you also think it's too high?"

"However... in the extraordinary world, strength reigns supreme. The God-King was originally the best among the gods. That great cataclysm caused the fall of the vast majority of gods. There were very few who could even contend with the God-King."

"This has resulted in the fact that in the current 'core area,' below the God-King level, the strongest being is only at the peak of the eighth rank, not even a Celestial God."

"The 'God-King' alone can wipe out all the major organizations; how could those organizations possibly have any room for negotiation?"

"It's already incredibly generous of the God-King to only hand over 70% of the resources."

At this point, Qinglan paused, "And...you might have some fifth-order understanding of the nature of the 'core area.'"

Let me give you an example to explain it more clearly.

After saying that, Qinglan stretched out her hand, pointed to her feet, and asked, "Where is this?"

Qiu Tu was taken aback when Qing Lan asked this question. He paused for a moment before replying, "The City Lord's Mansion."

Qinglan asked, "Which city lord's mansion?"

Qiu Tu gave her a strange look. "The City Lord's Mansion of Sandu City."

Qinglan asked again, "And to which city does the Three Capitals belong?"

Qiu Tu looked at Qing Lan with a strange expression, and then said, "Of course, the Qing Lan Divine Realm belongs to you."

Upon hearing this, Qinglan first nodded, then shook her head. She winked mischievously, then said meaningfully, "That's right. Sandu City does indeed belong to Qinglan Divine Realm."

"However... it also belongs to the 'Apocalypse' divine realm."

"It belongs even more to the divine realm of the 'Western God King'."

These three seemingly contradictory and strange sentences stunned Qiu Tu.

His mind raced. After a moment, his pupils contracted slightly, and a look of shock appeared on his face. He had considered a terrifying possibility.

He looked at Qinglan, whose eyes were like two clear springs, crystal clear yet full of lively spirit.

But Qiu Tu was completely unconcerned about any of that. He said, "You mean... the entire 'Western Kingdom' is actually the divine realm of the 'Western God King'?"

"And on top of his own divine domain, he had the leader of the Hidden Mist Society, 'Apocalypse,' expand his own divine domain, layering it upon it."

"And you have superimposed your own divine realm upon the divine realms of the 'Western God King' and 'Apocalypse'?"

"So there are three nested divine realms in total?"

A satisfied expression appeared on Qinglan's small, palm-sized face.

She smiled and nodded. "That's exactly right."

She said, "You're also a Tier 7 Cataclysm. You should have already discovered that all the regions are actually divided into levels, right?"

"Although all regions are equal in the strict sense and belong to this world, there are actually different levels of hierarchy."

"For example... in our low-level regions, because the energy level is too low, catastrophic creatures cannot be born, real natural phenomena cannot be formed, and... the concentration of catastrophic power is not enough."

"Therefore... it's difficult to have a significant impact."

"But the God-Kings are different. They possess regions with sufficiently high energy levels, which not only allow them to give birth to catastrophic beings, but also result in a very high concentration of catastrophic power."

"This will make it easier for his divine realm to produce high-level cataclysmic materials, and it will also make it easier for the cataclysmic beings living in his divine realm to improve their strength."

"Of course, no one would complain that their divine realm's energy level is low."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu continued, "So... after the God-King spread his divine domain across the entire kingdom, forming the first layer of the divine domain, in order to facilitate management and to further enhance the world's 'energy level,' he divided his divine domain into various large and small 'small regions,' distributing them to various major powers?"

Qinglan nodded slightly in agreement. She said, "Generally speaking, only leaders of forces at the peak of the eighth rank or a small number of late-stage eighth rank can be allocated these 'small areas'."

"After these leaders of these forces obtain 'regions,' they will gradually expand their own divine domains, which will overlap with the divine domain of the God-King."

"After that, they will further distribute the dual divine domains they control to the early eighth-order or peak seventh-order leaders of their forces. This will allow them to stack divine domains again, thus forming a three-layered nesting."

At this point, Qinglan paused for a moment, then explained, "Actually, when it comes to me, I will continue to distribute fiefdoms. I will assign some of my seventh- and sixth-rank confidants to form a maximum of four nested layers."

"In this way, the energy levels of the region are superimposed in multiple layers, which can bring the overall capacity of the region to its limit."

"The higher the energy level of a region, the faster the catastrophic creatures will be born and cultivate. There will also be more catastrophic materials."

"Through this gradual development of the four major powers, the current power structure of the 'core region' has finally taken shape."

At this point, Qinglan pointed to the "Three Capitals City" beneath her feet and said,

"Don't be fooled by the fact that 'San Du City' is now within my divine domain and under my control. Before me, two high-ranking members of the 'Mist Hidden Society' had previously governed this city."

"The area where the 'Hidden Mist Society' is now located was previously managed by other forces as well."

"The God-King has remained unchanged for hundreds of years. But the people under him have changed one after another."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu pondered for a moment and then nodded slightly.

After a moment, he commented, "So... this is also why, although you are an eighth-order Great Evil God and manage so many cities, you have very few cultivation resources."

Qinglan nodded. "Yes. Because... I'm merely expanding my divine domain to protect these nine states for the 'Western God King' and the 'Mist Hidden Society.'"

"Everything in these nine states still belongs to the 'Western God King' and the 'Hidden Mist Society'."

"Therefore, whether it's taxes or disaster materials, the 'Hidden Mist Society' will send someone to collect them."

"After all the money has been collected, they will periodically hand over 7% to the 'Western God King,' then keep 2.4% for themselves. Finally, they'll leave me with about 0.6% as my construction funds and compensation."

"But... even so, they still occasionally withhold or delay my resources."

Hearing Qinglan's words, Qiu Tu inexplicably thought of a famous saying: Seventy percent? Seventy percent belongs to others!

Good heavens... It's not just 70% theirs, it's 94%!

Qinglan painstakingly built and protected her divine domain, only to receive 6%. And even that 6% had to be used for further development...

Hmm... Even as a former con artist myself, hearing this makes me want to cry... It's so dark.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu suddenly remembered the Second Shelter. He looked up at Qing Lan and said, "By the way, you just said that the Second Shelter was actually part of the 'Mist Shadow Society'?"

"How is this going?"