Ilena: Give Qiu Tu Thirty Percent

Qiu Tu's question could not have been more cleverly phrased.

After all, Qiu Tu had just witnessed the conflict between Mo Li and La Riluo with his own eyes.

So, if there was nothing between Mo Li and La Riluo, and Mo Li had no special feelings toward La Riluo, then Qiu Tu's question was merely the most ordinary opening for mediating a quarrel.

It could be easily glossed over.

But if Mo Li and La Riluo truly shared the kind of relationship Qiu Tu suspected...

Then Mo Li would definitely become wary, perhaps even feel guilty.

And as long as her emotions changed, her demeanor and tone would surely become distorted during her subsequent exchange with Qiu Tu, possibly even exposing information she should not reveal.

That would allow Qiu Tu to further verify his suspicions.

However, although Qiu Tu's question had been clever, the Chaos Witch was no simple person either.

The instant she heard his question, she realized that Qiu Tu had guessed something.

Thus, even as her heart tightened, she decisively sealed her memories of herself and La Riluo for the time being. She went directly from an "eyes-open player" to an "eyes-closed player."

So, in just an instant, a perfectly appropriate trace of confusion appeared in her eyes.

She looked at Qiu Tu and asked somewhat puzzledly, "My impression of Little La?"

"I think she's quite nice."

Maintaining her usual saccharine manner, she lowered her head and said aggrievedly, "Of course... Little La might not feel the same way."

"She seems to be somewhat hostile toward me."

At that, Mo Li raised her head at just the right moment. Her watery almond eyes looked at Qiu Tu as she said earnestly, "But don't worry, Brother."

"Even if she doesn't like me, I'll still get along with her properly."

As she spoke, she clenched her fist and made a gesture of determination.

Mo Li's answer was practically flawless. It fit both her usual fake-innocent persona and her habit of competing with the women around Qiu Tu.

Even with Absolute Perception activated, Qiu Tu could not detect the slightest flaw.

More importantly, every key point in her answer centered on Qiu Tu. It was as though she did not care about La Riluo at all.

That was simply too fitting for the mindset of a woman with no designs on La Riluo.

Still, Qiu Tu naturally would not believe Mo Li so easily.

He gave Mo Li a deep look, continued the topic, and probed further. "Little La's personality is indeed somewhat unruly."

"I've known her for so many years, but I still can't quite figure her out."

"She's actually a bit like your Chaos Path—rather moody and unpredictable."

"So you may indeed need to be more tolerant of her."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Mo Li immediately puffed out her cheeks and pretended to be annoyed. "Brother, you misunderstand our Chaos Path."

"Our Chaos Path isn't like that."

"Take me, for example. My emotions have always been very stable."

At that, she gave another sweet smile. Her brows and eyes curved gently, shallow dimples appearing on her cheeks, making her look as pure as a first love.

"So if Little La makes you upset, Brother, you can come to me."

"I definitely won't make you angry like Little La does."

Another perfect answer.

Mo Li's heart was entirely focused on competing with other women and on Qiu Tu. In her words, La Riluo seemed no more than a rival.

Qiu Tu showed no reaction on the surface, but inwardly, he hesitated somewhat.

Had he really been overthinking things?

Yet the moment that thought arose, he dismissed it.

After all, he did not suspect that Mo Li had improper designs on La Riluo because of just one incident, but because of many different clues.

With that in mind, Qiu Tu composed himself once more and casually continued chatting with Mo Li about La Riluo.

However, a method like sealing memories truly was remarkable.

In Mo Li's mind, she genuinely had not known La Riluo before, nor did she truly have any interest in her.

On the contrary, the people she cared about most were Qiu Tu and Zhao Ji.

So no matter what Qiu Tu brought up, she would eventually steer the topic back to him, then use some sugary, insinuating remarks to drive a wedge between Qiu Tu and La Riluo while making it clear that she was actually better suited to him.

Honestly, if Qiu Tu had not known Mo Li's identity, he might have been somewhat taken in by such honeyed words. But after learning who Mo Li was, he did not believe a single word she said.

Thus, although he pretended to appreciate it outwardly, inwardly he remained utterly calm.

The two of them continued chatting in that small garden, each harboring their own schemes. Only after more than half an hour, when Qiu Tu truly could not find any flaws, did he end the conversation.

Mo Li also promised that once she returned to her room, she would use a specially made Cataclysmic Treasure to report the prisoner exchange to Shepherd Heart God King.

Qiu Tu was in no hurry. He merely said they would wait for Shepherd Heart God King's reply.

Mo Li readily agreed, then left the courtyard.

When she stepped back into her room, Mo Li froze for a moment. Her eyes held a little more confusion as she pondered inwardly.

I sealed my memories again?

Did I set a prompt to trigger after returning to my room, telling me to undo it?

After thinking for a moment, she roughly understood. It should be related to Qiu Tu's probing just now, right?

With that thought, she lightly tapped her own head.

The next second, realization appeared in her eyes, followed by a sharp gleam.

Did Qiu Tu guess something?

Why was he testing my opinion of La Riluo?

That isn't normal.

As she thought this, Mo Li's eyes darkened. She closed her eyes and reviewed every exchange she had had with Qiu Tu. Only after confirming that none of her answers had exposed any problems did she relax slightly.

Fortunately, I sealed those memories in time. Otherwise, with how perceptive he is, he would probably have truly discovered something.

As she thought this, Mo Li's brows drew together slightly. Her estimation of Qiu Tu rose considerably once more.

She murmured softly, "What a talent."

"If someone like him can't be used by Chaos, he must be destroyed."

With that thought, she seemed to make some sort of decision. She took out a Communication Treasure Item, preparing to contact White Robe first.

Fortunately, I didn't expose anything today. I can stall for now.

There should still be some time to observe him.

What she did not know was that, at the same time, Qiu Tu was sitting in the courtyard, reviewing their entire conversation as well.

Yet Qiu Tu had clearly reached an entirely different conclusion from hers.

If someone perfectly avoids every issue during a conversation, that itself is the biggest problem.

During that conversation, La Riluo practically vanished entirely from Mo Li's side. In every one of Mo Li's answers, I was the focus, while La Riluo was ignored.

La Riluo is Zhao Ji's younger sister. And Mo Li cares so much about Zhao Ji—how could she possibly ignore La Riluo like this?

That proves she was deliberately avoiding this topic.

So my guess was right. The Chaos Witch truly has designs on La Riluo.

By then, the expression on Qiu Tu's face had slowly faded, leaving it blank and emotionless.

If his guess was true, then in the future, he would likely stand against the Queen of Chaos who had supposedly single-handedly unleashed the Chaos Era.

She was a true master standing at the peak of this world. The pressure was self-evident.

But that was exactly what made everything more interesting.

"Whew." Qiu Tu let out a deep breath, and blazing flames ignited in his eyes once more.

So what if she was the Chaos Witch? Wasn't she merely a High-Level God King?

She was not the only High-Level God King in this world!

As long as he properly made use of the resources around him, he might not be unable to become a High-Level God King himself!

That was how this world worked. As long as one's strength reached a sufficient level, every difficulty would resolve itself!

With that thought, Qiu Tu no longer hesitated. He prepared to select his subordinate Heavenly Gods again.

During this period, after several rounds of building momentum, Qiu Tu had already gained some prestige and influence within the Execution Department.

Combined with this great battle, where he had mobilized a hundred Heavenly Gods and completed the mission extremely smoothly, earning merits in the process, his standing in the hearts of the Execution Department's Heavenly Gods had risen even higher.

This could be seen from the steadily increasing loyalty of those Heavenly Gods.

Over the past few days, Qiu Tu had also received recommendations from several Heavenly Gods. Combined with the loyalty he had observed while leading them during this period, selecting ten subordinate Heavenly Gods was a very simple matter.

With this batch of subordinate Heavenly Gods loyal to him, along with trusted subordinates from the Boundless Mind Sea such as Guan Xiao and the mother-daughter pair Heavenly King Zhi Yan, Qiu Tu could be said to have thoroughly established himself within the Temple.

Furthermore, this time he had set up Star Founder God King and Heavy Stone God King, giving him leverage over their collusion with the Chaos Faction.

Once the right opportunity came, Qiu Tu could completely reverse the situation between offense and defense.

With that thought, Qiu Tu called Zhao Ji and La Riluo over, preparing to head to the Execution Department to select his subordinate Heavenly Gods and advance to a Second Level God King.

However, what he did not know was that just as he rose to head for the Execution Department...

Inside the grand hall of the Wine God Kingdom, Ilena was reclining on a couch, drinking wine as she gazed blearily at Star Founder God King and Heavy Stone God King below the hall. God King Qing E stood by her side.

Perhaps because she had drunk quite a lot, or perhaps because she had long expected Star Founder God King's arrival, Ilena narrowed her eyes slightly, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"Star Founder, Heavy Stone, you knew I was in seclusion cultivating, yet you still came to disturb me. Is there some urgent matter?"

"Do you know how grave the offense of disrupting my cultivation is?"

Hearing Ilena's words, Star Founder God King and Heavy Stone God King exchanged a glance, then bowed together.

Star Founder God King said, "Your Excellency, we truly have an urgent matter to report."

Ilena hooked a loose strand of hair beside her cheek around her finger and slowly twirled it. "What urgent matter?"

Star Founder God King said excitedly, "It is a matter of great joy."

He said, "My lady, you have been in seclusion these past days, so Heavy Stone God King, Qiu Tu God King, and I joined forces to devise a plan to counter the Chaos Faction."

"Using Qiu Tu God King's trusted subordinate as bait, with the Execution Department Heavenly Gods under Heavy Stone God King as the main force, I arranged for my men to spread word in Chaos West Capital and lure the Chaos God Kings and Heavenly Gods into action."

"In this battle, we achieved a great victory. We captured three Chaos God Kings, sixteen Chaos Heavenly Gods, and more than a hundred other low-level deities."

At that point, Star Founder God King's aged face was practically blooming with delight. "This is another great victory."

However, his tone shifted immediately afterward. "But... this operation was devised by the three of us without receiving Your Excellency's permission."

"While Heavy Stone God King and I are delighted, we have also felt deeply uneasy."

"After much consideration, we decided that we should still disturb Your Excellency's cultivation to report the good news and plead guilty!"

After saying that, Star Founder God King and Heavy Stone God King exchanged another glance, then bowed in unison.

Once Star Founder God King finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent for a moment.

Reclining on the couch, the drunken Ilena said nothing. She merely propped up her head and watched the two God Kings below with narrowed eyes and great interest.

The two God Kings received no response from Ilena, yet neither straightened. They continued holding their bowed posture as they waited quietly.

And so, second by second, time passed.

The two maintained their bows for a full minute before Ilena finally gave a soft laugh, raised her hand slightly, and said, "What crime have you two God Kings committed?"

"To achieve such great results is naturally merit without fault."

"As for procedure, as the West Branch's upper leadership, you already have the authority to act as circumstances require while I am in seclusion."

"This does not violate any rules."

Hearing Ilena's words, Star Founder God King and Heavy Stone God King visibly relaxed. They straightened and smiled at Ilena. "It is all thanks to Your Excellency's wise leadership."

Ilena raised her hand again at those words, then asked, "Since you captured so many Heavenly Gods and God Kings this time, were there any spoils?"

Star Founder God King and Heavy Stone God King had clearly prepared beforehand. Upon hearing this, they hurriedly replied, "Yes, Your Excellency."

"This time, we obtained more than sixty intact Heavenly God Level Boundless God Crystals, eight Heavenly God Levels, and..."

As Star Founder God King and Heavy Stone God King listed the spoils one by one, Ilena's expression grew increasingly gentle.

Finally, after Star Founder God King finished listing the last item, she nodded in satisfaction and waved her hand. "All right. You handled this operation very well."

"I will have Qing E record everything in detail."

Hearing Ilena's words, Star Founder God King and Heavy Stone God King immediately smiled. They hurriedly bowed once more before slowly withdrawing.

After the two left, only Ilena and Qing E remained in the grand hall.

Ilena picked up the wine gourd beside her and tipped back her head for a drink.

As the golden liquor slid down her throat, two more shades of crimson appeared on her already snow-white skin.

After drinking, Ilena waved to Qing E and said,

"Send Qiu Tu twenty percent of the things those two handed over."

She paused, thought for a moment, then said, "Forget it. Send him thirty percent."

"Of the remaining seventy percent, follow the old rules. Put thirty percent each into the public treasury and my private treasury. The remaining ten percent is yours."

Hearing Ilena's words, Qing E, who had been standing quietly with her hands lowered, softly replied, "Yes, my lady."

Ilena considered it, then added, "When you deliver the spoils to Qiu Tu, pass along a message as well."

"Fight, but do not break."

"That is the West Branch's bottom line."

"What happened before joining the Temple is beyond our control, but once they have joined the Temple, they are all part of the Temple. The rules must still be observed."

"Every God King is an important force of the Temple."

Qing E nodded again and gave a quiet acknowledgment.

Seeing that Ilena had no further orders, she quietly bowed before walking out of the hall.

Outside the pitch-black hall, Qing E looked up at the clear skies of the Wine God Kingdom and fell into a daze.

Everyone thought Ilena was a drunkard, constantly tipsy and ignorant of everything. But only her trusted subordinates knew that every God King and every force in the entire West Branch was held within her heart.

How to take every step, how to act, how to set the God Kings below against one another while ensuring that they would not completely split apart and become irreconcilable enemies—all of it was in her mind.

This superb command of power allowed Ilena to keep the West Branch's authority firmly in her grasp even while drinking heavily every day.

Even someone as powerful as Heavy Stone God King, or someone with as deep a background as Star Founder God King, could not escape her grasp.

Yet for some reason, Qing E always felt that the newly arrived God King seemed somewhat different.

Would this set of methods truly work on that God King?

With that thought, Qing E quietly contemplated for a while longer before setting off to follow Ilena's instructions, deliver the spoils to Qiu Tu, and see how that God King would react.