Let them offer their loyalty!

Speaking of this, Qiu Tu paused, then did not continue to speak.

The abrupt stop caused Zhao Ji, who always remained unmoved by joy or sorrow and was scarcely curious, to open her eyes voluntarily.

She raised her head to look at Qiu Tu beside her, then asked lightly, "And afterward?"

"Afterward..." murmured Qiu Tu, his gaze somewhat complicated.

After a moment, he came back to his senses, looked at Zhao Ji, and asked, "Does Your Highness know what the 'Partridge Platform Incident' is?"

Obviously, Zhao Ji was not aware of such minor matters. She shook her head slightly.

Qiu Tu explained, "The 'Partridge Platform Incident' is the most severe defeat in the Northwestern Region since the Era of Disaster."

"It was even more serious than when King Kang was defeated by Yaksha at that time."

"Because when King Kang was defeated, the front line collapsed completely. However, under the scheming of Kou Xuan, they still managed to heavily wound Yaksha, which caused the Sixth Sanctuary not only to suffer no loss of territory but also to retain much of the newly acquired land."

"But the 'Partridge Platform Incident' was different."

"At the time, the Lin Family, leading a massive army, swept across nearly half of the Northwestern Region, almost reaching the 'Boundless Heart Sea - Core Region.'"

"The Lin Family was quite glorious then, relying on the miraculous effects of the 'Butterfly Gu', ignoring the vitality-sapping effects of the 'Yellow Charm', forcing through the 'Yellow Charm Calamity.'

"A family with seven Fifth Rank members!"

"Although five of them were actually Peak Fourth Rank Catastrophes lured from other families with the 'Butterfly Gu'. Yet, their control was exceptionally strong."

"Along with more than ten Fourth Rank Experts and numerous fearless First and Second Rank Disaster Makers cultivated with the 'Butterfly' sharing ability."

"Even the Evil God surrounding the not-yet-developed Seventh Sanctuary, the anti-government armed forces, and extreme religions had to band together to confront them."

"The result was when both parties were on the verge of a major decisive battle. Suddenly, almost all the Cataclysmics of the Lin Family started vomiting blood, suddenly injured."

"At this opportunity, it was sharply seized by the Evil Gods of the Northwestern Region at that time!"

"Thus, a Fifth-Order Great Evil God charged into the fray, followed closely by Fourth-Order Evil Gods, anti-government armed forces, and extreme religions."

"In just one battle, the elites of the Lin Family were completely annihilated, the army of the Seventh Sanctuary defeated and began to flee."

"The Evil Gods led the anti-government armed forces and extreme religions to pursue and reclaim lost territories along the way."

"As the Lin Family had already completely suppressed the Han, Zhao, and Wei families at that time, becoming the predominant power, holding military control of the Seventh Sanctuary."

"Thus, after the major showdown defeat, the Seventh Sanctuary had no resistance strength at all back then."

"Within just a few days, not only were all newly expanded 'Planning Areas' lost, but even the buffer state around the sanctuary began to be invaded."

"According to the route of the Evil God army, it was estimated that within two more days, they would attack the central hub of the Seventh Sanctuary, and if things went poorly, the nation might be destroyed."

"And more troubling was.... because the central hub of the Seventh Sanctuary had been completely wiped out on the front line, the Seventh Sanctuary couldn't react properly."

"By the time the elders of the Han, Zhao, and Wei families came forward to stabilize the situation, and attempted to use nuclear weapons to scare off the Evil God, it was already too late — the Evil God was at the doorstep. Using nuclear weapons would be mutually destructive."

"In this situation, the Eighth Sanctuary, being the nearest, could only dispatch troops to quickly reinforce, attempting to block the Evil God army with flesh and blood."

"Subsequently, King Kang of the Sixth Sanctuary also paused his sweeping plans to lead his troops for reinforcement."

"After that, experts from the Fourth and Fifth Sanctuary continued to join the battle. Only then did they stabilize the situation and repelled the Evil God army's attack, securing the Seventh Sanctuary."

"This incident, due to its significant impact, and the fact that the Lin Family and the Evil God's decisive battle took place at 'Partridge Platform,' was also referred to as the 'Partridge Platform Incident.'"

"Over the years, all the major sanctuaries have indeed been investigating the truth behind the 'Partridge Platform Incident.' However, as the high-ranking members of the Lin Family were completely annihilated at the time, almost all the involved parties are dead, leaving very little to investigate."

"Thus, it was eventually concluded as 'the Lin Family's battle plan being overly aggressive, lacking a multi-layered defense deployment, leading to military defeat' to wrap up the case."

At this point, Qiu Tu paused and stated objectively, "Of course, in reality, the 'Partridge Platform Incident' was indeed caused by the Lin Family's successive victories, resulting in complacency and recklessness, leading to the lack of defensive measures and eventual defeat."

"Had they not committed all their forces despite their significant advantage, leaving one or two corps in the rear for backup or defense, with multiple preparations, they might not have collapsed completely, almost being wiped out."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Zhao Ji showed a thoughtful expression and nodded slightly.

"However....." At this point, Qiu Tu's tone shifted, and he said with a deep gaze, "Ultimately, the root cause of this incident was the mysterious severe injuries to all the Lin Family's Cataclysmics."

Qiu Tu glanced at Zhao Ji, bringing the topic back to Princess Xi.

"Over the years, the Kou family has been investigating Princess Xi. Through much intelligence and clues, the Kou family speculates that the mysterious injuries to all the Lin Family's Cataclysmics could be linked to Princess Xi."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, a hint of hesitation appeared on Zhao Ji's icy face.

After a moment, she slowly opened her mouth and said, "A Cataclysmic ability of poison or curse type?"

Qiu Tu nodded. His smile slowly faded, and he said, "This is what the Kou family is guessing."

"They speculate that Princess Xi, who had been continuously treated as a 'milk cow' for milk production,"

"Her accumulated anger and desire for revenge rapidly advanced her 'revenge' pathway, possibly reaching the Third Order right before or on the day of the Partridge Platform incident, acquiring a second ability."