Ink God King: Don't Leave After the Meeting (Asking for Monthly Votes)

As a High-Level God King of the "Order Path," someone standing at the pinnacle of this world, even though they were bound by the "rules," that did not mean they had to follow those "rules" completely.

To become a towering power in their own right, they had fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

If they were truly enraged, then killing an ordinary God King in blatant violation of the rules just to vent their anger would not cost them too dearly.

There had been precedents in history of the Four Giants casually finding an excuse to kill a God King who opposed them.

So when they realized that Qiu Tu seemed to have played Mitchell God King, the entire Divine Light Plain fell silent at once.

Even the God Kings from the Second and Fourth Regions, adjacent to the Third Region, shifted farther aside, looking as though they feared blood might splash onto them.

However, having become a High-Level God King, Mitchell was naturally a deeply calculating man.

Thus, upon discovering that Qiu Tu had actually dared to toy with him, his first reaction was not to explode in fury, but to ponder:

Why did Qiu Tu dare to do this? Who had given him such confidence? What made him dare to offend me so directly?

After turning the matter over in his mind, Mitchell's gaze naturally fell upon Ink God King, who had just spoken up to compete with him.

Could Ink have set me up?

If it had merely been a tiny Second Level God King like Qiu Tu defying him, Mitchell might not have cared at all. He might even have simply raised a hand and crushed Qiu Tu to death.

But if another High-Level God King stood behind this matter, then Mitchell had no choice but to be cautious.

After all, he had been the one to arrange for someone to "turn" Qiu Tu first, so he was already in the wrong. If Ink had designed a counterattack afterward and deliberately humiliated him, then even if Ink stepped in to protect Qiu Tu, Mitchell would have no grounds to criticize him. On the contrary, he might very well fall deeper into a trap.

Still, for today's scheme, Star Founder God King had asked Mitchell to make certain preparations.

For example, he had sent Ilena away in advance, cutting off the channel for communication between Qiu Tu and Ink God King. And after Star Founder God King and Qiu Tu had reached an agreement, he had used a Special Treasure Item to monitor Qiu Tu's movements.

At least before the meeting began, he had received no report of any contact between Qiu Tu and Ink God King.

So...

Could it be that Qiu Tu never obtained Ink God King's approval and was acting first, reporting later?

Though he had some suspicions, the situation was too complicated for Mitchell to act rashly. Instead, he signaled to the stunned Star Founder God King, prompting him to speak.

At that moment, Star Founder God King was still immersed in the shock of having been played by Qiu Tu.

The entire plan to "turn" Qiu Tu had been handled by Star Founder God King.

Now that such a major disaster had occurred and caused Mitchell to lose so much face, he could already foresee that he was in for trouble.

So when he suddenly saw Mitchell's signal, hope seemed to ignite in his heart that instant!

Perhaps... if I handle this matter perfectly, there may still be a chance to turn things around!

With that thought, Star Founder God King's mind began racing as he considered how to break the deadlock.

As the planner and executor of the entire scheme, he naturally understood its progress better than Mitchell God King. Thus, he quickly spotted the blind spot Mitchell had just noticed—Qiu Tu had had no time to communicate with Ink God King! He was acting first and reporting later!

That was the flaw!

With that realization, Star Founder God King immediately calmed down.

After a brief moment of thought, he turned to Qiu Tu. His aged face was dark and grim. "God King Qiu Tu."

"Lying before the three Your Excellencies is a grave crime."

"This plan to rebuild the intelligence network was carefully devised by me over the past few days. I reported it only to Your Excellency Mitchell and never told anyone else."

"This afternoon, when I communicated with you in advance, that was the first time I had revealed it to a third person."

"And in order to help you better complete this task, Your Excellency Mitchell even agreed to help raise your strength to that of a Garrison God King."

"More than that... because he wanted your strength to rise faster, he even agreed to give you 1.5 times the resources needed for advancement."

"And yet, you claim that Your Excellency Ink had already assigned you the same task?"

"May I ask... when did Your Excellency Ink assign you this task? Why didn't you mention it when you met with me to discuss matters?"

"Could it be that you are lying? And deliberately trying to smear Your Excellency Ink?"

Star Founder God King's forceful speech immediately pulled the out-of-control situation back from the brink.

There were three key points in his statement.

First, he made clear that he had discussed this matter with Qiu Tu long ago. Qiu Tu's sudden betrayal now was a deliberate attempt to intensify the conflict between the two giants.

Second, he revealed Mitchell's offer to Qiu Tu: 1.5 times the resources required to advance to Garrison God King.

This would let Ink God King know that Qiu Tu's acting first and reporting later was not to save Ink God King's face, but because there was profit to be gained—and the offer was not small.

If Ink God King accepted this matter, he would have to provide the same amount of resources.

Third, and most importantly—

Qiu Tu had deliberately invoked Ink God King's name to shield himself from the fallout. So Star Founder God King deliberately drove a wedge between Qiu Tu and Ink God King.

He framed this as Qiu Tu lying unilaterally, then added the charge of deceiving Ink God King. That gave Ink God King a way out.

As long as Ink God King was dissatisfied with Qiu Tu, or unwilling to pay such a steep price, he could simply take that way out.

At that point, Qiu Tu would be doomed beyond salvation. He would not even need to carry out the undercover mission anymore.

At this moment, upon hearing Star Founder God King's words, Ilena and Qing E—those beside Qiu Tu who understood him best and had the closest relationship with Ink God King—also roughly guessed the truth of the matter.

Both of their expressions darkened.

Qing E was like an ant on a hot pan. She wanted to do something, but had no idea what she could do. She could only look pleadingly at Ilena, hoping Ilena could think of a solution.

At this moment, Ilena had lost her usual languid demeanor as well. She stood there without shifting her gaze, sending a message through Mental Power. "Qiu Tu! Are you insane? You acted first and reported afterward, scheming against Mo Se Your Excellency. You're playing with fire!"

Though she cursed Qiu Tu out, she still gritted her teeth and said in the end, "Talk nonsense with Star Founder for a while and buy me some time. I'll contact Mo Se Your Excellency immediately."

Hearing Ilena's words, Qiu Tu's heart warmed slightly.

At most, he and Ilena had known each other for around a year. Although their relationship was intimate, they were more like running buddies. At most, there was a little ambiguity beyond that.

At a time like this, when Qiu Tu might very well have caused a catastrophic disaster, she could have abandoned him entirely and protected herself.

Yet she had not abandoned him. She even wanted to help him clean up his mess.

Feeling that affection, Qiu Tu's lips curled slightly as he softly transmitted, "Thanks. If I survive tonight, I'll give you a massage at the Wine Pool."

Ilena already considered herself quite uninhibited. Yet hearing Qiu Tu's improper words, she still blanked out for a moment.

She had just been about to send him another message, urging him not to act rashly.

But at that moment, Qiu Tu had already spoken.

Qiu Tu smiled as he looked Star Founder God King directly in the face. "Star Founder, you must be joking."

"My loyalty to Mo Se Your Excellency is as clear as the sun and moon. How could I dare smear her name so casually?"

"As for the mission, what I said was indeed the truth."

"You did come to see me this afternoon. But you should also know that before you came, Ink God King and I spoke 'alone' in her side hall for several hours."

"The topic we discussed happened to be rebuilding the intelligence network."

"Later, you came to see me and discussed the same topic. I was quite shocked at the time, and my first reaction was the same as yours just now: could our plan have been leaked?"

"Since I didn't understand the situation, I didn't say it in front of you."

"Only after you left, when I thought it over carefully, did I feel that perhaps I had been overthinking things."

"After all, both Mo Se Your Excellency and Mitchell Your Excellency are the helmsmen of our Temple. Both stand at very high positions and consider the overall picture in everything they do."

"And now that they had encountered the same issue, it was only reasonable for them to arrive at similar ideas."

At that, Qiu Tu paused before continuing, "Of course, although their ideas are similar, the specifics of the two Your Excellencies' plans differ somewhat."

"For example... Mitchell Your Excellency wished to begin with the Immortal Heavenly Tomb, while Mo Se Your Excellency was more inclined toward the Destruction Royal Court."

"Precisely because their directions differ, the requirements the two Your Excellencies have for my strength also differ."

"For instance, the situation in the Immortal Heavenly Tomb is more complicated and has higher requirements for my strength, while the situation in the Destruction Royal Court is relatively simpler, so its requirements for my strength are correspondingly not as high."

After Qiu Tu finished speaking, Star Founder God King's expression grew even uglier.

Qiu Tu appeared to be answering his question, but every sentence was actually meant for Ink God King to hear.

First, Qiu Tu had declared his loyalty to Ink God King. Then, he had even found a time for Ink God King to claim they had discussed the matter: that morning.

When explaining the timing, Qiu Tu had even reminded Ink God King that no one else had been present during their conversation, so there was no fear of being exposed.

Afterward, Qiu Tu had even come up with an explanation for why Ink God King's plan overlapped with Mitchell's: they held equal status, faced the same problem, and it was perfectly reasonable for them to think alike.

Finally, Qiu Tu had helped Ink God King lessen her concerns. Although he had made a Lion's Open Mouth demand of Mitchell, he had made few demands of Ink God King. Ink God King would not need to provide him with resources worth one and a half times what was needed to advance to Garrison God King.

It could be said that Qiu Tu had laid everything right at Ink God King's feet.

Ink God King only needed to nod, and she could snatch Mitchell's plan away, embarrass Mitchell, and pay almost no price at all.

Thinking of this, Star Founder God King looked at Qiu Tu with dark, gloomy eyes.

To be honest, he truly could not understand Qiu Tu anymore.

What exactly was Qiu Tu trying to achieve by stirring things up like this?

If Qiu Tu wanted to raise his price on the spot, he could understand that. If Qiu Tu believed the mission was dangerous, he could understand that too.

But Qiu Tu had now given up revenge, yet still intended to carry out the mission. What was he after?!

Could it be that he simply wanted to harm others without benefiting himself?

Or did he have some other backup plan or scheme?

Just as Star Founder God King was completely unable to understand Qiu Tu's intentions, Ink God King was finally about to speak.

However, Mitchell had also realized that the outcome was already decided, so he gave Ink God King no chance to speak.

His colossal divine statue, towering between heaven and earth, gazed impassively at the God Kings on Divine Light Plain. Then he gave a faint "Mm" and said, "So it was all a misunderstanding."

"Star Founder, you were not thorough enough in handling this matter. Your cultivation resources will be docked for three months."

Hearing Mitchell God King's words, Star Founder God King hurriedly bowed down, replying with a relieved expression, "Yes, Your Excellency."

After giving Star Founder God King a light punishment that amounted to little, Mitchell glanced faintly at Qiu Tu before saying to Ink God King beside him, "Since Mo Se Your Excellency is also interested in rebuilding the intelligence network, I will not interfere. I await your good news."

After saying that, he closed his eyes and said nothing more.

Although Mitchell's behavior appeared perfectly normal, anyone could tell he was actually forcing himself to save face.

He had clearly lost this round.

Clashes between the four titans were far from common, and every confrontation had an enormous impact on those below.

Thus, for a time, undercurrents surged across the entire Divine Light Plain. Dozens of God Kings exchanged glances with those beside them or quietly communicated through Mental Power.

And at that moment, three women's voices sounded by Qiu Tu's ear.

The first belonged to the Ink God King.

Having transformed into a divine statue, she gave Qiu Tu an emotionless glance before calmly tossing out a sentence. "Come to my palace after the meeting."

The second was Qing E's voice. "Lord Qiu Tu, that was so dangerous. I almost thought something was going to happen just now."

The third was Ilena's voice.

Perhaps because she had been given enough time, she had finally analyzed the entire situation thoroughly.

She hesitantly asked Qiu Tu, "What exactly did you do?"

"Why did it seem incredibly dangerous just now, but when I think it through, I suddenly realize your odds of winning were extremely high?"

Hearing Ilena's voice, Qiu Tu could not help but smile, but he did not explain right away.

He merely said, "I'll tell you tonight in the Wine Pool."

"Right now... I need to think about how to face Mo Se Your Excellency's anger later."

Ilena's expression did not change upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, but her transmitted voice was clearly brimming with delight. "Serves you right for acting on your own."

Because of the clash between the two giants, everyone's attention during the latter half of this God King Meeting was clearly no longer as focused as it had been at the start.

Seeing this, the meeting's host, the Radiant God King, could not be bothered to continue. He briefly said a few more words before dismissing the meeting.

As the meeting ended, Qiu Tu clearly sensed that more eyes were looking his way.

As many God Kings departed, they would glance at where he stood, as though trying to commit his appearance to memory.

He believed that once this meeting ended, his name would swiftly spread throughout the entire Temple.

Ilena's task apparently had not yet been completed, so after the meeting, she merely gave Qiu Tu and Qing E a hurried greeting before leaving Divine Light Plain.

Qiu Tu then copied Qing E's movements, tapping the badge on his chest to deactivate his projection state.

As the projection state was lifted, his figure gradually vanished from Divine Light Plain. At the same time, the walls of a palace in the Wine God Palace slowly appeared before his eyes.

A moment later, once he came back to his senses, he had returned to Qing E's residence in the Wine God Palace. Qing E stood prettily before him, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.

Seeing Qing E's gaze, filled with curiosity, amazement, and even a trace of worship, Qiu Tu coughed and said, "Not tonight. I promised Mo Se Your Excellency and Lady Ilena."

Qing E:??

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