"Qiu Tu didn't give much before, and you were never shy about badmouthing him behind his back. But now that he's giving generously, your attitude has completely changed."

"Just how much did he give you anyway? Come on! Spill it! We want details!"

As they spoke, a massive serpentine tail suddenly coiled around Qing Lan and yanked her straight into Zhu Wu's arms.

The two were obviously used to roughhousing like this, so in no time they were giggling and chatting together...

.....

Meanwhile, having just seen Qing Lan off, Qiu Tu stood on the second floor balcony of his villa, smoking a cigarette as he gazed into the distant scenery.

The glowing red tip flared and dimmed in the darkness, syncing with his breath.

Getting Qing Lan to contact Shao Hua was, in truth, just one of Qiu Tu's layers of insurance.

Facing the possible all-out attack by the Divine Kings, Qiu Tu had to be absolutely prepared.

For example... reaching out to that person.

With that thought, Qiu Tu quietly finished his cigarette before flicking the butt into the air.

His precise control made the butt explode mid-air into a firework as large as a spider's web, dazzlingly bright against the night.

After all this, Qiu Tu turned and walked into the dark interior, murmuring as he went, "Tell Guan Xiao to come here."

With his words, two shadowy figures emerged out of the darkness. They knelt on one knee, bowed, and then silently slipped back into the shadows...

"Heavenly God Trial" countdown: 7 days...

...

With word that the "Heavenly God Trial" was about to end, the atmosphere throughout the "Boundless Heart Sea" grew increasingly tense.

With the three Divine Kings' clones besieging Qiu Tu and Doris but getting killed in turn; and with Zhao Ji blocking the door and North God King avoiding battle—everyone knew... a new power was rising to challenge the old order of the Divine Kings.

Although the Divine Kings had seemed to suffer one setback after another recently, everybody understood they weren't weak. This avoidance was almost certainly the setup for a massive counterattack.

And given the growth rate of the Zhao Ji, Qiu Tu, and Doris faction, it was common knowledge that once the "Heavenly God Trial" ended, the three were very likely to ascend to Heavenly God. At that point, the Four Divine Kings would be even more on the defensive.

So, the time for the Four Divine Kings to strike back must be before the "Heavenly God Trial" ends.

'This could very well be the world-shaking battle that decides the fate of this world...'

Almost every faction simultaneously came to this conclusion and began waiting for the outcome of this looming war...

And just as everyone was on edge, waiting for the arrival of this storm—

Southwest Region, in a "Puppet Insect" tribe.

Shao Hua hefted a massive axe—longer and heavier than her entire body—and strode out step by step.

Behind her lay mountains of dead Puppet Insects, rivers of blood soaking the ground...

Leaving the "Puppet Insect" tribe, Shao Hua looked up at the sky, her gaze turning cold as she recalled how that powder-skinned, jade-carved Little Loli had come to her earlier in the morning with a letter.

'Qiu Tu knows my uncle has actually disappeared?'

'And... he even knows where my uncle is?'

'If I give up this "Heavenly God Trial" and choose to side with him, he'll tell me the whole truth?'

Thinking about the contents of the letter, Shao Hua couldn't help but grow even more irritable.

This was exactly why she'd come to the Puppet Insect tribe for a killing spree.

'How does Qiu Tu know my uncle's vanished?'

'And... he actually knows where my uncle is?'

'Is he trying to scam me, or does he really know something?!'

Maybe the questions in her mind were too many—Shao Hua suddenly didn't know what to do.

Given her temperament, her instinct was to confront Qiu Tu directly, have a face-to-face talk.

But... at the end of the letter, Qiu Tu had attached a special note: if Shao Hua came to find him right now, she'd end up harming her uncle.

Although Shao Hua didn't have much fondness for that cowardly, self-serving uncle, and their split had long since become irreparable—

Still... she had to admit that without his protection, she couldn't have reached this point. Plus, blood is thicker than water.

So, decades ago, when her uncle left her a ritual-forged clone to help watch over the "Southern Kingdom" for a few days, she reluctantly agreed.

And to avoid blowing her cover, she'd even staged a public falling out, making sure everyone thought she and "uncle" were on the outs, only taking orders but never appearing together. (Chapter 680) 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

All these years, whenever the "Southern Kingdom" ran into trouble, she'd just use her uncle's "orders" as pretext, then personally go to fight.

Only through years of repeated trials could she become the Number One under the Four Divine Kings in the entire "Boundless Heart Sea."

Of course, there were things even she couldn't pull off.

For instance, this time, when East God King summoned all Four Divine Kings to team up and kill Zhao Ji—

Forget whether she wanted to or not—even if she did, she wouldn't dare.

The other Divine Kings all have multiple clones; even if they lose one, they can just make another.

But she has only a single Divine King clone—if that gets destroyed, her whole act falls apart. So, she could only play dead.

And for decades, she never stopped searching for her uncle, but... he was like someone missing or lost on the "Heavenly God Battlefield"—absolutely no word at all.

And now Qiu Tu claims to know?

That instant, Shao Hua suddenly had a thought: Is Qiu Tu... testing me?

The moment she had that thought, this already tangled situation got even more complicated, and Shao Hua's mind became a total mess...

.....

Meanwhile, while Shao Hua was lost in calculations she couldn't solve—

Another letter was sent from the "Northwestern Region," but this time, it wasn't to Shao Hua—it was to North God King....

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Begging for Monthly Ticket. Also, about that Singapore event, it's official from Qidian, so it shouldn't get sold out...right? Don't worry, everyone.