Let them offer their loyalty!-Chapter 1429 - 618: Princess Xi’s Coup d’État

Qiu Tu also took advantage of these three days of peace to seize another six regions. At this point, he now shoulders the responsibility of eighteen regions! That's already the standard for the Seventh Rank!

Only one final promotion away from officially becoming a Seventh Rank Cataclysmic!

And so, soon enough, the day of Qiu Tu's "departure" arrived.

Seventh Sanctuary. Elder Council. Conference Hall.

The long oval conference table occupied the center of the hall, with the leather seats around it filled by stern-faced elders.

Light poured down from the ceiling, illuminating everyone's faces and lending the scene an even colder tone.

Qiu Tu swept his gaze across all the elders present.

Because it had long been known he was just passing through Seventh Sanctuary, and his foundation here was shallow with a lack of talent reserves, Qiu Tu did eliminate both the Han and Zhao families, but didn't make many changes to the core level of the Seventh Sanctuary.

This made it so that while the core members of the Seventh Sanctuary feared him and obeyed him, they were not loyal to him.

With one glance, almost all the elders showed a loyalty score of around 30 above their heads, not a single one better. Of course... the good news is that none were below 20, which means under Qiu Tu's iron grip, no one dared to pretend obedience while acting out of line.

So, in the entire conference room, the one with the highest loyalty was, ironically, the Princess Xi sitting on Qiu Tu's left—with a solid 43 points.

It had to be said, it was somewhat ironic.

However, with time pressing, Qiu Tu hadn't planned to seize Seventh Sanctuary anyway, so he didn't care much.

He pulled back his thoughts, then swept his stern eyes across the hall and slowly began, "Everyone should already know."

"In order to further improve my strength, and to enhance the power of our human camp, I have no choice but to leave the 'Northwest Region' and head for the 'Core Region.'"

Though everyone had long known about Qiu Tu's decision through various channels, when he actually announced it officially, for a few moments, every elder in the room couldn't help but breathe a bit faster.

They exchanged glances with those elders they were close to, and a barely-contained heat flickered in their eyes.

Qiu Tu keenly sensed the surging undercurrents, but he didn't mind.

He continued, "So, today I gathered you all to announce my decision."

"Yesterday, I already resigned as Vice Prime Minister of the Sixth Sanctuary—I no longer hold any position there."

"And starting today, I will also resign from all my posts at the Seventh Sanctuary. I will no longer serve as its leader."

As soon as Qiu Tu finished, in the next instant, he felt his power rapidly draining from his body.

It felt as if a sudden leak had opened in his body, unable to contain as much Cataclysmic Power as before.

And with this breach, his 'Cataclysm Path' realm began to plummet rapidly. From Peak Sixth Rank, to Late Sixth Rank, to Sixth Rank Middle Stage, and soon fell to Early Sixth Rank.

Luckily, after dropping to Early Sixth Rank, it didn't continue to fall. This was basically in line with Qiu Tu's expectations.

Qiu Tu's 'Cataclysm Path' was politics. His realm was connected to his official position.

After resigning from his posts at Sixth and Seventh Sanctuaries, his only (nominal) role in the human camp was as Deputy Speaker of the Supreme Council at Eighth Sanctuary—a mere figurehead position.

The Deputy Speaker of the Supreme Council corresponds to Peak Fifth Rank. So, theoretically, Qiu Tu's realm should only be Peak Fifth Rank now.

But don't forget, Qiu Tu still holds a World Official Position. After ascending to Sixth Rank, in the "World Series", he is a "Fourth Class Deity".

He has the power to control and manage his own nine regions—an entire state's territory.

So, after his Cataclysm Path dropped to Early Sixth Rank, it didn't change any further.

However, that's only his 'Cataclysm Path' realm. Don't forget, he has already integrated the Sixth Rank Positional Frame of the 'Nine-headed Lion', and seized eighteen 'Boundless Heart Sea Regions'.

So next, as long as he steadily absorbs the Sixth Rank Positional Frame of the 'Nine-headed Lion', and condenses those eighteen Boundless Heart Sea Regions, he can officially advance to Seventh Rank.

Thinking this, Qiu Tu wasn't bothered by the temporary drop in his power.

He glanced around at everyone present, then said, "As for my successor..."

At this point, Qiu Tu's gaze fell on Princess Xi on his left, and he continued, "Naturally, Elder Lin will resume the position."

This decision of Qiu Tu's did not surprise any of the elders in the room.

Qiu Tu's relationship with Princess Xi was clearly unusual. Plus, they'd conquered the Seventh Sanctuary as allies.

With Qiu Tu stepping down, of course he'd appoint her as his successor.

But… Princess Xi resuming as leader of the Seventh Sanctuary doesn't mean she can hold her seat securely.

Princess Xi is not Qiu Tu; she lacks the overwhelming strength to cow everyone. She's a rather ordinary Peak Fifth Rank Cataclysmic.

Although the Seventh Sanctuary has no Sixth Rank Catastrophes, there are still three or four Peak Fifth Rank Cataclysmics here. They're not intimidated by Princess Xi.

More importantly… to avert any risks, Qiu Tu had already withdrawn all his armies from the Four States during this time. And both Tang Feifei and Huang Shangzong, his two top generals, have already returned to the Eighth Sanctuary.

In other words... Princess Xi only commands the Royalist's three to four hundred thousand troops. Their numbers are, in fact, inferior to the Seventh Sanctuary's native military.

Moreover, with the Han and Zhao families wiped out, the Wei Family now dominates the Seventh Sanctuary.