Then let them offer their loyalty!

Page 548

That guy probably thought it over carefully last night and reported it to Elder Tang or Elder Rao.

After discussing it, Tang and Rao likely discovered an opportunity and decided to start making plans.

It is highly likely that Huang Shangzong's arrival with his troops was at their behest.

Moreover... they certainly didn't come to arrest Old Pang, but rather to "smear themselves."

The reason is simple: Elder Pang's strength is actually not strong, only at the fourth level or the peak of the fourth level.

If the goal is truly to take down Elder Pang, Qiu Tu alone is sufficient. There's absolutely no need for Huang Shangzong.

The reason why Pang Lao could make the shelter's higher-ups hesitate to act was mainly due to his power and influence.

He represents not himself, but a large number of "academic" officials he has cultivated and who have intricate connections with him.

These officials have taken root and spread throughout the various unplanned areas and departments of the shelter, wielding considerable influence.

Some even hold military power in certain cities and states.

If something happens to Elder Pang, it could very likely cause a mutiny.

Even if the shelters are eventually brought under control, a period of violent unrest may still ensue.

Therefore, eliminating Pang Lao's core members, reclaiming the military power of the "academics," and smoothly transitioning through this matter should be the focus of the shelter's leaders' considerations.

As for Huang Shangzong's words...

He is very likely the new "academic" leader groomed by several heads of state.

Pang's case is very serious; several high-ranking members of the "academic faction" are likely to be arrested along with him.

At this time, Huang Shangzong, who was suppressed by Pang Lao but remained untainted by the corruption, became a high-ranking member of the "academic faction" to be promoted.

Although he was removed from the position of speaker, he retained his status as a member of the Supreme Council.

When the time comes... his timely appearance will allow him to take over this faction.

Of course... because of this severe blow, the "academic faction" may never return to its peak, and may even lose its position as vice-chairman of the Supreme Council.

However, the shelter had no intention of fostering another "academic" talent; they just wanted a smooth transition...

It was precisely because Qiu Tu saw through this that he cooperated so well with Huang Shangzong's performance.

That's why Huang Shangzong said "thank you" when he passed Qiu Tu.

This thank you was both an apology for Xue'er's safety and a thank you for cooperating with the acting today...

After figuring out the big show involving Elder Rao, Elder Tang, and Huang Shangzong.

Qiu Tu snapped out of his daze and picked up a document from the table.

Rao and his group deliberately elevated Pang to the position of garrison commander of two prefectures, thus lowering his guard.

So... another transfer should be the main purpose of Rao Lao and his group.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu picked up the document on the table and began to look at the information on Pei Jing, the new Speaker of the New State Assembly.

As Qiu Tu expected.

Pei Jing is one of the core members of the "academic school," a disciple of Elder Pang, and the vice chairman of Beiyun Prefecture in charge of the "military system."

He once competed with Huang Shangzong for a seat in the Supreme Council representing the "academic faction," but narrowly lost.

Afterwards, he was sent to Beiyun Prefecture by the "academic faction" for training, and gradually gained control of the military power in Beiyun Prefecture. He became the core member of the "academic faction" who controlled the most troops.

Later, when planning Dongye Prefecture, Elder Pang recommended Pei Jing to be the speaker again, but failed again, while Huang Shangzong successfully obtained the position.

Because Huang Shangzong was also a high-ranking member of the "academic school," Elder Pang could only swallow his anger.

This is probably one of the reasons why Elder Pang disliked Huang Shangzong...

Now, Pang Lao has finally achieved his wish. He not only controls the two states, but Pei Jing has also become the speaker of the new state council.

It's fair to say that Elder Pang's direct forces have greatly increased! —If this were peacetime...

Despite all his calculations, Old Pang hadn't anticipated that Old Rao and Old Tang had already begun to suspect him. Furthermore, Qiu Tu had provided him with relevant identities and intelligence.

In times like these, it's not a time of peace between factions, but rather... a life-or-death struggle.

In times of chaos, military power comes first.

Although Pei Jing became the speaker, he lost his military power in Beiyun Prefecture.

Although Elder Pang concurrently served as the garrison commander of two prefectures,... the military power of Dongye Prefecture was in the hands of Ye Mingfeng, and the military power of Xin Prefecture was in the hands of Tang Feifei...

'Old Pang is now like a rootless duckweed, he has lost all his foundation....'

'The rest is up to Professor Rao and Professor Tang to see when they remove the other high-ranking members of the "academic faction" and minimize their influence on various departments.'

'At that time... it will be the end for Elder Pang.'

'But... this period is definitely the darkest hour before dawn....'

Thinking about this, Qiu Tu suddenly realized: why did Old Tang ask him that day if he was willing to accept a difficult task?

It seems... the task is for me to survive under Elder Pang's command for this period, protecting myself while avoiding arousing Elder Pang's suspicion...

'Tsk. This is definitely not a good mission...'

Just then, as Qiu Tu was thinking this, there was a sudden, loud knocking on his office door.

Qiu Tu snapped out of his daze and said, "Please come in."

A moment later, the door was pushed open, and Tao Yaoyao walked in, saying softly, "Speaker, Elder Pang wants to see you."

"He said... he seems to have made some progress regarding Xue'er."

Hearing Tao Yaoyao's words, Qiu Tu hummed in agreement, "Okay, I'll be there in a bit."

Ten minutes later, Qiu Tu led Shen Lingshuang and Tao Yaoyao to the Speaker's Meeting Room.

Before Qiu Tu even opened the door, he heard Yu Die's voice coming from inside.

Yu Die: "We did indeed detect the aura of an evil god in Speaker Qiu's lounge earlier."

"And the aura of that evil god was also detected on Miss Xue'er."

"This proves that Miss Xue'er was indeed abducted by the evil god that night and sent to Speaker Qiu's bed."

Upon hearing Yu Die's words, Elder Pang said with a deep expression, "This is a provocation!"

"If they can infiltrate the Speaker's lounge today, they could kill the Speaker tomorrow!"

"This is a slap in the face to the entire Dongye Prefecture!"

Upon hearing Elder Pang's words, the conference room fell silent for a moment, then a hoarse voice came through, "We can't be sure it's definitely the evil god deliberately causing trouble."

"Who knows, it might be that Speaker Qiu colluded with the evil god to kidnap Xue'er."

The next second, Yu Die's stern voice rang out in the conference room, "Lord Kou, please watch your words!"

Qiu Tu, standing outside the door, listened to the farce inside and a smile crept onto his lips.

He was right after all... the evil god was Elder Pang's backup plan.

Moreover... because Qiu Tu was the first person in the 8th Sanctuary to propose the "using evil gods to control evil gods" approach.

Therefore, he becomes more sensitive to anything related to evil gods.

In this way, if Pang Lao "advances," he can suspect that "Qiu Tu is colluding with the evil god," and if he "retreats," he can shift the blame onto the evil god and escape unscathed.

As for himself... one of the six leaders of the shelter, he had no grudge against Qiu Tu, so what motive or reason did he have to plan this case?

Just like Huang Shangzong, before he knew Pang Lao's identity as a member of the "Mist Hidden Society" and before Qiu Tu gave him any hints or reminders, he would never have considered Pang Lao as a suspect, no matter how hard he tried.

Unfortunately, Qiu Tu possessed the "Divine Realm of Punishment" and the intelligence to see through everything long ago.

He had even anticipated that Old Pang would shift the blame to the evil god, and had already devised a countermeasure.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu nodded to Tao Yaoyao beside him. Tao Yaoyao reached out and pushed open the conference room door.

The door opened, and in the conference room, Old Pang sat in the main seat with a beaming smile.

Meanwhile, Princess Xi, Yu Die, Kou Yu, Yan Chen, Dai Yukang, and a bunch of familiar faces like Liu Xiongyuan stood on the left and right.

Qiu Tu strode in with a broad smile, then said without any politeness, "Who's just spouting nonsense here?"

"I still need to collude with the evil god to lure Xue'er into my bed!"

At this point, Qiu Tu glanced around at the people present and said, "Do I, Qiu Tu, need to abduct someone to sleep with me?"

"Don't you guys understand my charm at all?"

The meeting room fell silent upon hearing Qiu Tu's words.

After all, no one would have expected that Qiu Tu would dare to say such frivolous things on such a solemn occasion.

But thinking about it carefully, what Qiu Tu said does seem to make some sense...

After all, Qiu Tu never seems to lack women.

Countless women wanted to get into Qiu Tu's bed, even his enemy's daughter was no exception...

Thinking this, the people in the conference room couldn't help but turn their gazes to Yan Chen...

------

3章1.5万字哈（含1章番外！）7点还有1章。

During the double rewards period, please vote for my guaranteed monthly pass for October! Voting a monthly pass gives you a chance to win a game worth 268 yuan!

Chapter 509 Qiu Tu: I Traded One for One with a Peak Fifth-Tier Player (1.5 words, please vote!)

Kou Yu just made a joke that made Qiu Tu laugh.

This time... Liu Xiongyuan, who had a long-standing feud with Yan Chen, also smiled.

He had no hope of getting promoted anyway. He crossed his legs, picked at his yellow teeth, and then chuckled and said, "Speaker Qiu is right."

"After all, a certain high-ranking official clearly had a grudge against Speaker Qiu, but his daughter couldn't resist Speaker Qiu's charm and threw herself into his arms."

“Speaker Qiu has absolutely no motive to do such a thing.”

Although he seemed to be defending Qiu Tu, his eyes never left Yan Chen while he spoke.

The people at the table were all aware of the entire incident, so they knew that Qiu Tu had slept with Yan Yan that night, not Xue Er.

Therefore, for a moment, the way they looked at Yan Chen was a bit strange.

However... Yan Chen is a cunning and treacherous fox.

As if he didn't notice the strange looks from everyone, he stretched out his wrinkled hand and touched the cigarette box on the table.

Yan Chen shook the cigarette pack, took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, lit it, took a deep breath, and then slowly said, "I also think that what Speaker Qiu said makes a lot of sense."

"If I were a woman, I probably would also find it hard to resist Speaker Qiu's charm."

Liu Xiongyuan: ....

Qiu Tu and Yu Die: ....

Other senior executives in the conference room: .....

To be honest, after Yan Chen said those words, Qiu Tu was somewhat impressed with his old boss.

That old man is truly a tortoise; he can really endure anything!

Liu Xiongyuan directly mocked him to his face, yet he still managed to turn a blind eye.

Regardless of his attack strength, his composure and defensive capabilities alone make him the toughest nut to crack.

Thinking this way, Qiu Tu decided not to continue looking for a breakthrough from Yan Chen.

He glanced around at the people present, then, as if he had just seen Kou Yu, exclaimed "Eh?" and said, "Lord Kou? What are you doing here?"

"Is this a meeting of high-level officials from Dongye State and New South Wales?"

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Kou Yu was about to say something when Elder Pang stopped him and explained, "Speaker Qiu, I invited Lord Kou and Princess Xi to listen to the proceedings."

"As messengers of the 6th Sanctuary, they are temporarily residing in East City. They have the right to know about the sudden appearance of an elusive evil god in East City."

Qiu Tu nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Seeing that the atmosphere had eased, Elder Pang reached out to beckon Qiu Tu to sit down. But just then, Qiu Tu suddenly pointed at Kou Yu and said with a cold expression, "However, Lord Kou, one should be aware of the proper conduct of an observer."

"Do not interfere in the internal affairs of other shelters without authorization."