Then let them offer their loyalty!

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Upon hearing the refined man's words, Huang Shangzong couldn't help but ask, "Qiu Tu?"

The refined man smiled. "It seems he really is outstanding. Otherwise... you wouldn't have thought of him first when I mentioned him."

Huang Shangzong: .....

Huang Shangzong felt that chatting with these people who used their brains was really tiring; even a conversation required calculation.

He snorted coldly and didn't reply.

The refined-looking man smiled upon seeing this and didn't seem to mind.

He continued, "You guessed right. It really is Qiu Tu."

At this point, he countered with a question, "Do you know what he did?"

Huang Shangzong said irritably, "If I knew what he did, would I be calling you?"

The refined man on the other end of the phone chuckled softly, beckoned to the maid, and asked her to brew him a pot of tea.

Then he sat in a quaint bamboo room and spoke into the communicator on the table, "Him? He's quite something. He and Tang Feifei made great contributions to the human camp."

Upon hearing the refined man's words, Huang Shangzong almost thought he had misheard.

He asked in surprise, "For the 'human faction'?"

These four words are incredibly valuable.

But the refined-looking man simply grunted in agreement, "Yes. For the 'Human Faction'."

His gaze turned somewhat serious, and he said, "You must have already heard that it was he who helped Tang Feifei become the regional lord, right?"

Huang Shangzong grunted in agreement.

This news has been making headlines in the New Territories these past two days, and as the Speaker of the Tung Yip Chau Council, how could he not know about it?

The refined man continued, "But he probably didn't say how he helped Tang Feifei become the regional leader."

"Or, simply through Lariro."

Huang Shangzong hummed in agreement again.

The refined man said in a deep voice, "What he said is both right and wrong."

"They did obtain the information to become the lord of the region through Lariro, but not through him."

The refined-looking man said, "Qiu Tu is quite lucky. More than half a year ago, he met a mysterious person."

"That mysterious person is quite powerful, and seems to have some amazing abilities."

"So, after he accidentally captured Lariluo's remnant soul, he had some other ideas."

"At that time, various factions and families were vying to become 'Regional Lords' and expand into the 'Boundless Heart Sea - New Territories Region.'"

"He also happened to be in Tang Feifei's team."

"So... he reported his thoughts to Tang Feifei."

"Tang Feifei took this news very seriously. After contacting that mysterious person, she agreed to cooperate."

"So, they secretly imprisoned 'Lariro' and handed her over to the mysterious man for interrogation, hoping to obtain some useful information about the regional lord."

"At first, like other evil gods, Lariro was determined to resist to the death. But after two months of struggle, she finally gave in."

"Then a lot of key information about the regional lords was revealed. This included how to become a regional lord, several of the regional lords' abilities, and one 'key piece of information.'"

"However, that mysterious person doesn't seem to be from the Eighth Sanctuary, or even from the Sanctuary's side."

"So, after obtaining the intelligence, he made a deal with Qiu Tu and Tang Feifei."

"He can provide the information to Qiu Tu and Tang Feifei free of charge. He can also help Tang Feifei become the ruler of the region."

"But...he wants Lariro."

"He felt that Larilu possessed even more secrets, especially those concerning Zhao Ji, a peak fifth-tier evil god, and the 'core region of the Boundless Heart Sea.'"

"He even offered to provide half of the intelligence to help Tang Feifei become the regional leader, just to show his sincerity."

"After Qiu Tu and Tang Feifei finished discussing it, they decided that no matter what, they should become the ruler of the region first, so they temporarily agreed to the deal."

The refined-looking man paused for a moment, then said, "You should know what happened next."

"Tang Feifei became the regional lord and advanced to the fourth-tier Cataclysm. She also successfully advanced to the position of vice chairman."

Halfway through his sentence, the maid came over with a tea tray, gracefully knelt down, and brewed a pot of tea for the refined man.

Seeing this, the refined man paused for a moment, giving Huang Shangzong some time to think.

He then picked up a blue-and-white porcelain teacup the size of a gold ingot, took a sip, and then continued speaking.

"And it was precisely because Qiu Tu found that mysterious person and introduced him to Tang Feifei that he was able to capture La Riluo."

"Therefore, Qiu Tu deserves a large part of the credit for Tang Feifei becoming the lord of the region."

"That's why Tang Feifei insisted on having her family provide resources to promote her to vice speaker when she needed to keep a low profile, thus making room for Qiu Tu."

Upon hearing this, Huang Shangzong showed a look of sudden realization.

Previously, various factions were quite puzzled as to why the "Fengtian Clique" was in such a hurry to promote Tang Feifei to power.

If this was originally a condition for cooperation between the two parties, or rather, the three parties, then it becomes understandable.

This also explains why Tang Feifei has always been so protective of Qiu Tu.

Some unsavory characters in the state jokingly referred to Qiu Tu as "Qiu Panlu," meaning that Qiu Tu was handsome and had big brothers.

That's why Tang Feifei has always been so fond of him.

Huang Shangzong didn't actually believe it. With Tang Feifei's family background and status, how could she possibly be a "love-obsessed" or "lustful woman"?

She's definitely only considering her own interests.

Now it seems that's indeed the case.

Thinking this, Huang Shangzong also pulled himself out of his thoughts. His mind raced, and he keenly noticed Qiu Tu and Tang Feifei's violation of the rules.

He said in a deep voice, "Although Tang Feifei has become the lord of the region, it has indeed strengthened the strength of our shelter."

"But Tang Feifei and Qiu Tu, as officials of the shelter, also committed a serious crime by releasing the evil god."

"Moreover, judging from their motivation for doing this, they were not doing it for the sake of a shelter, but for their own selfish interests."

"Such a trend should not be encouraged."

Hearing Huang Shangzong's words, the refined man smiled and said, "See, you're in a hurry again. How many times have you been in a hurry? Can't you just let me finish what I have to say?"

Hearing the refined man's words, Huang Shangzong leaned back in his large chair before speaking, "Go on."

The refined-looking man chuckled and teased, "If you can think of this, do you think Qiu Tu, who's capable of scheming against you, wouldn't have thought of this?"

Huang Shangzong: .....

After making a joke, the refined man continued to explain, "After Qiu Tu and his team cooperated with the mysterious person to verify the authenticity of the intelligence,..."

"I've thought of quite a few solutions, but like you, I feel they would violate the rules."

"Therefore, after thoroughly questioning the mysterious figure about the scope of the 'key' information, they decided not to keep it to themselves, but instead to report this crucial information to the shelter."

"So, a couple of days ago, Tang Feifei had a phone call with Old Tang to discuss the deal."

"Because that intelligence was too important, after discussing it with Speaker Rao, Elder Tang felt that it was worthwhile to exchange a worthless remnant soul of an evil god for crucial information."

"So, the deal was agreed to."

Upon hearing the refined man's words, Huang Shangzong felt a chill run down his spine.

As the second-in-command of the Eighth Shelter, Tang Lao can certainly make decisions on most things on his own.

Therefore... anything that could alarm Rao Shou, the Speaker of the Eighth Sanctuary's Supreme Council, must be of immense importance.

What kind of intelligence could have such a huge impact?

Perhaps sensing Huang Shangzong's doubts, the refined man asked softly, "Old Huang, you've been to other shelters on official business before."

"You should know that among the various shelters, although some powerful factions are capable of seizing areas within the 'Boundless Heart Sea' and becoming its rulers, they all hesitate, neither opposing nor supporting it, right?"

Huang Shangzong pondered for a moment, then hummed in agreement.

The refined man said, "At first, they kept it a secret and didn't tell us the reason."

"Until now, with Larilu's fall, we may become the rulers of the 'New Territories Region.'"

"When we went to them to buy intelligence, they revealed that many regional lords did not live more than a year."

"They didn't figure out the reason either."

Hearing the refined man's words, Huang Shangzong was slightly taken aback, then said in surprise, "You mean... something that so many shelters, so many experts, and so many forces haven't figured out, Qiu Tu and Tang Feifei have figured it out?"

The refined-looking man hummed in agreement.

He corrected, "It should be said that the mysterious person they found figured it out..."

After finishing his sentence, the refined man downed his tea in one gulp and asked, "Tell me, is this information important or not? Is it valuable enough to warrant the remnant soul of an evil god?"

Huang Shangzong was genuinely taken aback.

This isn't a question of whether it's worth it or not, it's absolutely worth it!

Because it was the most recently established and located in the most remote area, the Eighth Shelter has never had a very strong presence among the eight shelters.

It felt like I had some poor relatives from the countryside.

Moreover... due to its inferior strength and technological level, the Eighth Shelter can only rely on exporting some precious catastrophe materials and basic resources in exchange for intelligence, technological products, catastrophe artifacts, and so on from other shelters.

And now we have such important intelligence in our hands!

It can reduce the mortality rate of "Regional Lords" in various shelters, help the "Human Faction" gain more territory in the "Boundless Heart Sea", and greatly enhance the strength of the "Human Faction"!

The Eighth Shelter can instantly gain prominence among the various shelters and establish its influence within them!

Moreover... let's not even talk about the value in terms of "fame," let's just talk about the value in terms of "profit."

Even if the intelligence is sold to other shelters at a "friendly price," this level of intelligence can still be exchanged for a massive amount of resources!

So, no wonder even Rao Shou was alarmed.

After his initial surprise, Huang Shangzong seemed to have just realized something.

He frowned slightly, then pondered quietly for two seconds.

Only then did he ask, "Old Guo, are the Speaker and the others certain... there is such a mysterious person?"

"Could that mysterious person be Qiu Tu himself?"

Hearing Huang Shangzong's words, the refined man smiled and said, "Actually, I had the same doubts as you at first."

"Could this be a staged performance?"

"But... Elder Pang told me a detail that made me give up on that idea."

"What details?" Huang Shangzong asked.

The refined-looking man said, "Qiu Tu... initially impersonated the mysterious man."

Huang Shangzong: ? ? ?

The refined man said, "I don't know how he brainwashed Tang Feifei. When Tang Feifei first contacted Old Tang, she took all the credit for Qiu Tu."

"Old Tang was also shocked at the time. So he asked Tang Feifei to call Qiu Tu and ask him about some details of the interrogation."

"Although Qiu Tu was prepared, there were obviously many loopholes."

"Old Tang seized on those loopholes and kept questioning him until he finally admitted that he had taken credit for others' work."

"Of course... his reason was that the mysterious man asked him to do it because the mysterious man didn't want to expose himself."

Upon hearing the refined man's words, Huang Shangzong chuckled. Then he said, "He's probably just trying to claim credit for himself."

"After all, with this achievement, not only will he become the deputy speaker of the state legislature, but he could also become the speaker and a member of the Supreme Council!"

The refined-looking man hummed in agreement and said, "That's what Elder Pang thinks too."

He said, "After learning about Qiu Tu's information in detail, Elder Pang felt that Qiu Tu was a lucky and intelligent man, but... he was not righteous. We should be more careful."

Upon hearing the refined man's words, Huang Shangzong hummed in agreement, recalling Qiu Tu's influence on him, and nodded in agreement, "That's true."

"This person is adept at scheming and has no bottom line."

"What's even more frightening is that he is extremely ambitious, and if left unchecked, he could very well wreak havoc on the region."