We Are Not Pawns, We Are Excuses (Monthly Pass for iPad)

Hearing Heavenly King Zhi Yan's words, Qiu Tu didn't answer immediately. Instead, he slowly organized his thoughts from this period.

After a while, while rubbing Zhi Yan's roundness in her arms, he said, "My thoughts are actually similar to yours. But, perhaps bolder than yours."

Feeling Qiu Tu's actions in her arms, Heavenly King Zhi Yan's breathing became uneven.

However, she knew that the reason she attracted this man wasn't just because of her mature and alluring body, but also because of her intelligence and the experience she had gained over the years dealing with evil gods on behalf of humanity.

So, she suppressed the surging emotions within her and said softly, "How is it bolder?"

Although Qiu Tu's hands didn't stop moving, his expression was a little serious.

He said, "Actually, at first, I didn't notice anything unusual about this matter."

"Because whether it was Ilena, Mo Li, or Lao Bai, they were all on my list of trusted individuals."

"Theoretically, I shouldn't have any doubts about what they say."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Heavenly King Zhi Yan was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but turn her head to look at Qiu Tu, her eyes looking a bit strange.

Although she didn't say it explicitly, Qiu Tu understood her meaning instantly.

Qiu Tu smiled and nudged her, then said, "Yes, even though Mo Li and I have many conflicts, and we've been very at odds lately."

"However, as long as it's a major event, I still trust her."

Qiu Tu paused, then explained more clearly, "Mo Li might not like me, might want to see me fail, want to mess with me, or even torture me. But she definitely wouldn't want me to get into trouble or die."

"Besides the fact that it's related to my plans with her, the most important thing is Zhao Ji and La Riluo."

This could be considered the biggest secret among the three. Therefore, after hesitating for a moment, Qiu Tu glanced at Heavenly King Zhi Yan's loyalty rating of over 90 before speaking, "Although I still don't know what she's planning, judging by the hundreds of years she's spent on Zhao Ji and La Riluo, they must be very important to her. She wouldn't fall out with Zhao Ji and La Riluo at the final stage of her plan."

"And I am also very important to Zhao Ji and La Riluo now."

"In this situation, she might trick me, but she definitely won't trick me to death."

"Otherwise, the entire situation could easily spiral out of control."

"Therefore, on such major matters, I believe she definitely wouldn't hide anything or play games."

After listening to Qiu Tu's explanation, Heavenly King Zhi Yan nodded thoughtfully.

Having interacted with Qiu Tu more and more during this time, Heavenly King Zhi Yan had discovered the complex relationship between Qiu Tu and the two women, Zhao Ji and La Riluo.

Now, Qiu Tu had also mentioned that there was a complex relationship between the two women and Mo Li, so she felt that Qiu Tu's conclusion was reasonable.

Thinking this, Heavenly King Zhi Yan placed her hand on Qiu Tu's mischievous large hand, her eyes moistening as she continued the current topic, "Then how did you discover something was wrong later?"

Qiu Tu moved Heavenly King Zhi Yan's hand away and said nonchalantly, "About the same as you."

"Actually, right after I finished talking with Bai Yi, I was completely convinced of the whole matter."

"However, after traveling for a whole day, I also spent the entire day sorting through the intelligence."

"In the end, the more I thought about it, the more I felt something was off. Moreover, my starting point was the same as yours – I felt that this matter was simply too coincidental."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Heavenly King Zhi Yan, leaning in his arms, nodded slightly.

She didn't feel that because Qiu Tu took a day to figure out something she understood in a few minutes, it proved she was more capable than Qiu Tu.

On the contrary, it was more reasonable for Qiu Tu to need more time to think.

After all, Qiu Tu had to break through his own ingrained thinking and see through everything while already having a preconceived notion and cognitive bias.

Even, according to Qiu Tu, he had thought of something even bolder than herself. This meant that in that day, Qiu Tu not only saw the problem with the matter but also figured everything out.

This also made Heavenly King Zhi Yan very curious about what Qiu Tu had figured out.

So, she continued to wait for Qiu Tu to explain.

At this moment, Qiu Tu, holding Heavenly King Zhi Yan, said with a somewhat distant gaze, "When I realized the whole thing was too coincidental, I was actually confused for several hours."

"Because I thought that unless the 'Ancient World' had recently given birth to a powerful 'Supreme God King' who dominated the entire world, suppressed all other God Kings, and demanded their collective cooperation in a staged performance."

"Otherwise, these three people, with their different identities, positions, personalities, and relationships with me, should not have been acting and lying to me simultaneously. It's unreasonable."

"At this moment, I couldn't help but recall the most important thing Lao Bai told me when we met: The Order Shrine has changed."

"At that instant, lightning flashed through my mind, and I felt like I had woken up from a dream."

"That's right, it's the 'Order Shrine'! The 'Order Shrine' is the gathering place of the strongest individuals in the 'Order Path,' and it's not uncommon to find master strategists there."

"And what is the most brilliant way to strategize? Isn't it to guide the situation according to the prevailing trends?"

At this point, hearing Qiu Tu speak, Heavenly King Zhi Yan's expression froze for a moment, then after two seconds, a hint of realization appeared. She had almost guessed what Qiu Tu was about to say.

So, she said carefully, "So, what you're saying is that the current situation is likely the result of multiple parties playing chess, and someone deliberately guided it?"

"And the one who calculated everyone is likely a High-Level God King from the 'Order Shrine'?"

"As for the method used, it's also very clever. It's about leveraging the interests and conflicts of the other major paths according to the prevailing trends, and then pushing things in a direction favorable to themselves."

"But because all of this was born under His instigation, many traces were left behind, which is why we were able to discover it?"

Hearing Heavenly King Zhi Yan voice her speculation, Qiu Tu nodded slightly and replied, "Yes."

"This is my bold idea."

He continued, "This way, many things that were initially incomprehensible can now be understood."

"For example, Ilena and Mo Li, as well as Bai Yi, truly didn't lie to me, nor did they intend to harm me."

"The reason they kept warning and hinting at me is ultimately because the information and hints they received were like this."

"And the reason they specifically reminded me of this matter is because, in their hearts, they believe this matter is extremely important."

"Even..."

At this point, Qiu Tu paused again. "Of course, among them, Bai Yi might be a bit special."

"I don't think he necessarily didn't know someone was instigating things behind the scenes."

"Otherwise, why would he keep hinting to me that 'there's a change in the Order Shrine'?"

"Initially, I thought similarly to you, believing he might be telling me that I was betrayed by some High-Level God Kings of the 'Order Shrine'."

"But thinking about it now, he might have been guiding me in the right direction."

As Qiu Tu spoke, his hands continued their movements without pause.

This also made Heavenly King Zhi Yan's body grow weaker and weaker, and the humidity in the air increased.

And as they reached the end of their conversation, Qiu Tu directly continued the actions Heavenly King Zhi Yan had left unfinished.

"Mmmph," Heavenly King Zhi Yan let out a soft moan, then turned her head to give Qiu Tu a charming look before gritting her teeth and speaking, "But what exactly is that High-Level God King from the 'Order Shrine' doing?"

"And how did he balance the interests of all parties, making everyone feel they had a chance and ultimately work towards his goal?"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu replied while supporting Heavenly King Zhi Yan from behind, "I don't know."

"I just have a guess."

"Perhaps the 'Order Shrine' also views the 'Immortal Heavenly Tomb' as a formidable enemy for the next epoch. That's why they instigated things, causing the 'Immortal Heavenly Tomb' to make its move."

"It's difficult to deplete the strength of a faction when it's in a defensive, contracting posture."

"But when it begins to aggressively expand, it easily reveals its weaknesses."

"At such times, one only needs to create more difficulties for it, make its path to achieving its goals more arduous, allow it to constantly see hope but never let it succeed, and that can effectively deplete its strength."

"Hoo hoo..." As he spoke, Qiu Tu's hands gripped Heavenly King Zhi Yan's slender waist, his breathing becoming somewhat ragged.

She then spoke, "So... mmmph... you mean that after the 'Order Shrine' received your intelligence, they actually had the opportunity to prevent all of this."

"But after weighing the pros and cons, they ultimately chose to let it happen and even instigate it."

"And in order to deplete the strength of the 'Immortal Heavenly Tomb,' they shared the intelligence with the other Four Great Paths in advance."

"And through a series of complex gambits, they ultimately created the current situation: over a dozen High-Level God Kings gathered in the 'Ancient Continent - West,' but the 'Immortal Heavenly Tomb' is launching a fierce offensive, causing the entire 'West' to rapidly deteriorate."

Qiu Tu let out an "Mm," and then said, "It's pretty much like that."

"That's why, whether it was Ilena, Mo Li, or Bai Yi, they received the news so early, even having time to pass on information to me, either openly or subtly."

"To put it bluntly, that person from the 'Order Shrine' is deliberately stirring up trouble in this pond."

"And he's indeed stirring it up very successfully. All parties are acting according to his script."

"Of course, what I'm saying is just the roughest outline."

"For example, what the 'Chaos Faction's' objective is, how they were manipulated into not reinforcing; for example, what the 'Mystery Path's' objective is, how they were induced to enter the fray, these all require individual analysis and deduction."

"It's not something we can simply guess at with a few words."

At this moment, a fine sheen of sweat had appeared on Heavenly King Zhi Yan's forehead.

She continued to endure it while asking, "But in this High-Level God King's plan, what is our position, and why did he choose to sacrifice us?"

"Are we pawns?"

Hearing Heavenly King Zhi Yan's words, Qiu Tu's gaze deepened slightly.

While continuing his assault, he said, "If we were just pawns, that would be for the best."

He continued, "I guess... we might be the reason for the 'Shrine' to get involved."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, even though she was enjoying herself, Heavenly King Zhi Yan froze, her expression turning to surprise.

Her hand was being held by Qiu Tu, preventing her from turning around, so she craned her neck back and said, "Then..."

Qiu Tu's gaze turned cold. "Yes, our situation is extremely dangerous."

"This is also why I stopped at the White Mist to regroup."

"We must find a way to change our position in this plan. Otherwise, even if we find the captive and complete the mission, we might be the ones who get sacrificed..."

At this point, Qiu Tu's expression became impassive.

He stated, "And to change this position, relying on ourselves alone is not enough."

"We will need the help of various forces."

"This is also why I plan to enter the White Mist ahead of time: I must make all preparations before the entire team enters the Wine God Kingdom."

As he spoke, Qiu Tu stood behind Heavenly King Zhi Yan, his eyes fixed in the direction of the Wine God Kingdom.

Meanwhile, in the Wine God Kingdom, at the Wine God Hall.

Ilena was not wearing her usual loose robe and reclining on the couch.

Today, she was dressed in a plain, well-fitting long robe that concealed the curves of her body beneath the fabric.

And she wasn't lying on the couch, but standing in the grand hall.

On either side of her stood high-ranking officials from the Order Shrine's West Branch, including God Kings like Zhong Shi, Star Founder, and Hua Wanwan.

These God Kings, who could shake the western part of the Ancient Continent with a stomp of their feet, were now afraid to even breathe, heads bowed, a sheen of sweat covering their foreheads.

This was because, at the front of the hall, three divine thrones were neatly arranged.

On the left was the Ink God King, whom Qiu Tu had met once before. On the right was a man with six snow-white wings on his back, wearing a crown.

From the respectful gaze of God King Zhong Shi and God King Star Founder, it was easy to guess that he was their backer: God King Mitchell.

The personal presence of two High-Level God Kings was already incredibly significant, proving the importance of the situation in the western part of the Ancient World.

But... in the center of the hall, there was a third divine throne. No one occupied it; only a ball of white light.

The light ball emitted a faint fluorescence, exuding a sacred aura.

And from its seating position above the Ink God King and God King Mitchell, it was clear that this entity was also a High-Level God King.

The Order Shrine had only four High-Level God Kings in total, and now three of them had been dispatched, almost a full mobilization. This demonstrated the immense importance they placed on this "Western Rebellion."

Perhaps, as Qiu Tu had said, the Order Shrine was truly trying to fish in troubled waters and scheme against the Five Great Paths—