Let them offer their loyalty!-Chapter 1483 - 633: Qiu Tu Refuses to Take Even the Slightest Detour (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

And right after that man's voice, a woman spoke up as well.

The woman's voice was steady and restrained, with a trace of hoarseness, as if gently rubbing against one's ear,

"Lord Golden Lion is right. The fact that we ended up this close together by chance really is quite lucky."

"Besides, our four rankings are all high. And with Li Feng's forces in the 'Southwest Region', which have been cultivated for years, our starting point is far higher than the other 'candidates'."

"What's even luckier is that this time they're considering composite rankings. That plays into our favor even more."

"Plus, with the 'Heavenly God Trial' being such a large event, it's very possible there'll be more than one spot. Like this, President Tian Qi has a very good chance of obtaining the 'Heavenly God Positional Frame'."

As he listened to the woman's methodical, clear-headed analysis, the man sounded a bit dissatisfied. He corrected her, "What do you mean, a very good chance? President Tian Qi is certainly going to get the 'Heavenly God Positional Frame'."

Meanwhile—

Qiu Tu lay beside a withered tree, hidden in the shadows, all his aura suppressed, listening to their conversation with an alert expression.

Just as spiritual power swept by earlier, Qiu Tu had immediately tamped down his presence and sunk into a shadow, eavesdropping on their conversation.

And from their exchange, Qiu Tu had already guessed who the two of them were.

One was Chi Yan, one of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Second Sanctuary. Also Commander Li Feng of the Fourth Sanctuary's mother.

If Qiu Tu remembered right, King Zhi Yan was quite old already. Unsure if she'd regained her youth as a High Order Catastrophist, or if her voice was just unique; she sounded like a mature woman of about thirty.

The other, if he guessed correctly, was the Deputy President of the 'Fog Hidden Association'—Golden Lion, a late-stage Eighth Rank Great Evil God. Also... the adoptive father of the pseudo-Seventh Rank Great Evil God 'Nine-headed Lion' who was once killed by Zhao Ji.

Qiu Tu still remembered, when Rain Butterfly had brought him intel a couple days ago, she'd mentioned that Qiu Tu had two major enemies in the 'Fog Hidden Association'.

One was Little Yaksha's father 'Mo Tian', and the other was Nine-headed Lion's adoptive father, 'Golden Lion'.

Moreover, compared to the prolific 'Mo Tian', 'Golden Lion' clearly valued Nine-headed Lion more. With his arrogant, violent personality, 'Golden Lion' not only threatened to kill Qiu Tu, but also kept pressuring Qing Lan to move against him.

'How did these two end up working together?'

Qiu Tu frowned slightly, a sense of foreboding in his heart.

After all, Zhi Yan wasn't wrong. Compared to other factions, the Second Sanctuary did indeed share the same unique advantages as Qiu Tu, having footholds in both the 'Northwestern Region' and 'Southwest Region'.

Worse, the Northwest and Southwest were originally the 'Fog Hidden Association's' turf as well.

If those two factions truly joined forces, things could get complicated…

Thinking this, Qiu Tu kept listening in.

Maybe assuming no one was nearby, the two conversed with little caution and were even somewhat blunt.

Zhi Yan said, "Lord Golden Lion is right, that was a slip of the tongue. With President Tian Qi's prowess, seizing the 'Heavenly God Positional Frame' is basically guaranteed."

Hearing this, Golden Lion chuckled, "That's more like it. President Tian Qi has been at Eighth Rank Peak for years—a seasoned Rank Eight god, accumulated power over we-don't-even-know-how-long."

"Among all the Eighth Rank Peaks in the 'Western Kingdom', he comes second to none—nobody dares claim first. He's waited all these years just for this opportunity."

"Add in our 'Fog Hidden Association's' resources and your cooperation. We're determined to win the 'Heavenly God Positional Frame' this time."

Here, Golden Lion paused, then painted a tempting picture: "As long as we're successful, every agreement we've signed will be honored. Then, your Second Sanctuary will develop at a rapid pace—giving birth to a true peak powerhouse, officially becoming a top force in the 'Western Kingdom'."

At Golden Lion's words, Zhi Yan smiled and replied, "Thanks in advance to President Tian Qi and Lord Golden Lion, then…"

As the two walked farther and farther away, their conversation faded into the distance.

Qiu Tu didn't make any move, but hid in the darkness, waiting in silence…

Zhi Yan and Golden Lion's conversation had confirmed Qiu Tu's suspicions: The Second Sanctuary was indeed working intimately with the 'Fog Hidden Association'.

But… judging from their tone and behavior, it wasn't the worst-case scenario—where the Second Sanctuary had always been a vassal to the 'Fog Hidden Association'. Small mercies.

From both their words and how they interacted, it seemed the Second Sanctuary was just making an opportunistic move.

Clearly, once they realized they couldn't get the 'Heavenly God Positional Frame' themselves, they decided to sell it for a high price. Thus, their cooperation.

Though he didn't know who made the first move or what terms were offered, or even how the promises would be kept… it was certain the two sides had reached an accord.

Still…

'The 'Fog Hidden Association' has been humanity's nemesis all these years—is the Second Sanctuary insane, allying with them?'

Thinking so, Qiu Tu slowly regained his composure.

Though the two had already left, Qiu Tu still held back. Their appearance had been so sudden; who knew if they'd discovered his presence?

Bear in mind, both Golden Lion and Zhi Yan were formidable Eighth Rank experts—Golden Lion being a late-stage Eighth Rank powerhouse.

Qiu Tu was just an early-stage Seventh Rank. Even with the 'Sealing Jade' to forcibly suppress his own power for the past five or six days, he was still no match for them. Caution was the better part of valor!

In this chaotic climate, Qiu Tu would rather wait a few hours—or a whole day—to be absolutely sure it was safe before acting.

But just as this thought crossed his mind—

Suddenly! A barrage of 'Crisis Sense' alerts exploded before him like a flood of notifications!

"Crisis Sense triggered! Generating crisis report!"

"Golden Lion and Zhi Yan, both of whom have old grudges against you, happened to land not far from your location."

"They saw the omens of your arrival, knew a candidate was nearby, and after meeting up, chose to come searching for you."

"But thanks to your vigilance, though they noticed something off, they couldn't pinpoint your exact location. However, as a result, they realized you weren't very strong."

"They concluded you must be a weaker prey than themselves. So, with all the patience in the world, they put on a show, pretended to leave, and have now gone into hiding, lying in wait for you."