ATG: My genius is almost frightening!

The old man stared at the destroyed soul lamp without moving a muscle. His pupils shrank, and his scalp tingled like never before.

"God Emperor… the God Emperor… is dead!"

"His Majesty…"

He muttered in a daze. Only after a long while did he regain some of his senses and hurriedly contact the leader of the Moon Gods, Yue Wuji.

Less than three minutes later, a golden light burst into the hall as Yue Wuji landed. He rushed toward the old man, but his steps froze when he saw the lantern reduced to dust.

"God Emperor…"

His eyes lost all color, and his complexion turned as pale as a corpse's. Every hair, every pore on his body trembled violently. Frozen in shock, he could only groan like a dying man,

"Elder brother… dead… he's really dead…"

His body swayed violently, and he would have collapsed if not for the old man who rushed forward to support him, "My lord!"

"I'm fine." Yue Wuji was a calm, quiet, calculating, and wise man. He had never sought power or wished to be a king. He had always admired his elder brother, Yue Wuya.

Learning of his death struck him deeply. He closed his eyes in pain for a moment, and when he opened them, they were filled with icy resolve.

He looked at the old man and said coldly, "This matter must not leave this place. If a single word leaks, you will be held accountable. The survival of the Moon God Realm is at stake."

"Yes, my lord!" The old man's body shook, and his expression turned deathly solemn.

Yue Wuji didn't linger in the hall for long. He immediately contacted the remaining six Moon Gods and summoned them to the secret conference chamber.

In less than a quarter of an hour, all seven Moon Gods had gathered, six men and one woman.

"His Majesty is dead?"

"That has to be a lie!"

"How could our King die?!"

The revelation of their God Emperor's death sent the Moon Gods into chaos as if a celestial bomb had detonated in their minds. A God Emperor was the pillar of a King Realm, their faith, their protector, the divine force that bound and protected their entire realm.

His sudden death was like losing their divine patron... a collapse of the foundation they stood on.

"Shut up, all of you!" Yue Wuji slammed the table and roared, instantly freezing every Moon God in place.

"Whether the God Emperor is truly dead or something happened to the soul lantern, what matters now is getting to the bottom of this. There are still four Moon Gods missing, and their soul lanterns are intact!"

"We have to find them."

"And more importantly, we must recover the Imperial Moon Glazed Pearl!"

"Crimson Cruel Moon God, Blue Jade Moon God, you will remain here and guard the realm. The rest of you will follow me to search for them!"

Yue Wuji's tone left no room for objection. Without another word, he turned and left the hall.

Four Moon Gods moved as one, falling in behind him. The remaining two exchanged a glance but did not protest.

...

The Eastern Divine Region was vast, and tracking someone without any clues in a short time was nearly impossible. However, the Moon Gods weren't searching blindly. The profound ark used by the Moon God Emperor to travel sent signals at fixed intervals back to the Moon God Realm, allowing them to track his position in case of emergencies like this.

This system wasn't exclusive to the Moon God Emperor; every Moon God dispatched on a mission had their profound ark connected the same way.

"The last signal came from the north," Yue Wuji said as they flew in that direction. Though his expression remained stoic, the tight clench of his hands revealed the emotions he was suppressing.

"North… could it be the Northern Divine Region?" the other Moon Gods wondered.

"Perhaps," Yue Wuji replied calmly. "Ten thousand years ago, the Devil Queen attempted to invade the Eastern Divine Region, but was repelled and pushed back by the Eternal Heaven God Realm and the Brahma Monarch God Realm. Maybe she is making a move after being silent for a long time."

The group continued their journey in silence, flying at an extremely high speed. They didn't bother using a profound ark, since none of them, except for a few rare ones, could match their individual speed.

After traveling for more than half a day, the expressions on the group's faces suddenly changed. They all turned toward a certain direction, disbelief and astonishment written across their features.

A glorious purple light streaked toward them, dyeing the surroundings with a violet hue.

"Purple... Pylon... Divine Power" Someone muttered this.

This power was clearly the Purple Pylon Divine power, but the one using it was not their God Emperor, Yue Wuya. The signature was different, someone they were familiar with; Yue Wuya's recently adopted daughter.

In the span of a few breaths, Xia Qingyue's figure gradually emerged before them. Once she drew close, she stopped and stared at them. "What are you doing here? Leaving the Moon God Realm unguarded?"

No one answered her. They all simply stared. Not just at her, but more specifically at the purple aura radiating from her. Their eyes refused to believe what they were seeing.

"Qingyue..." Yue Wuji asked tentatively. "What happened to the Moon God Emperor?"

Though after seeing Xia Qingyue, the last flicker of hope he held was already extinguished, he still wanted to try. Just one last time.

"Foster father is dead," Xia Qingyue replied calmly. Her expression was blank. "He was ambushed by a group of people. He barely managed to escape with severe injuries. Unfortunately, he was poisoned and succumbed to it not long after."

"Before his death, he passed his strength to me and appointed me as the new Moon God Emperor." She glanced at each of them in turn and spoke slowly.

She didn't care about their reaction or whatever thoughts they had. If it had been when all eleven remaining Moon Gods were still gathered together, she might have chosen a different approach, first. But with only seven Moon Gods left, and now only five standing before her, she could simply beat them into submission if they refused to acknowledge her as their new ruler.

She was stronger than them, carried the will of the previous Moon God Emperor, and most importantly, possessed the Imperial Moon Glazed Pearl!

"Impossible! That's not possible!" The Moon God Yue Hong roared. "You don't even have the Moon God bloodline! How could you inherit his power?!"

Even though she was Yue Wuya's adoptive daughter, she did not share his bloodline. She was practically a stranger. Putting the bloodline aside, she had only been in the Moon God Realm for less than a month. A servant sweeping the ground had more loyalty to the realm than her!

Xia Qingyue glanced at the man who had spoken. Her cold gaze fixed on him for a long time. "Whether it is possible or not, you can see the result with your own eyes. By the will of the previous Moon God Emperor, Yue Wuya, I have been appointed to succeed him on the throne."

She held up the Imperial Moon Glazed Pearl and declared, "This is the proof of my legitimacy!"

"You may choose to kneel before your new God Emperor, or stand against me!"

"However, if you choose the latter, be ready to bear the punishment of betrayal!"

Xia Qingyue showed an extremely firm and uncompromising stance. She did not try to convince them with words. Instead, she forced them to make a clear choice; either acknowledge her or oppose her.

All the Moon Gods stared at her, or more specifically, at the Imperial Moon Glazed Pearl. The main reason the five of them had even left the Moon God Realm to search for Yue Wuya was because of this pearl. Its loss meant the future of their entire realm would be in jeopardy.

Yue Wuji's eyes remained on Xia Qingyue for a while. His expression was complex. He never expected that the young girl who had arrived in their realm less than a month ago would suddenly become their Moon God Emperor. Especially not when he knew her background.

However, since this was the will of his elder brother, he had no choice but to respect it.

"Golden Moon God, Yue Wuji, greets Your Majesty, Moon God Emperor."

He knelt in the void and paid his respects to her.

"Blazing Glory Moon God, Yue Hong, pays his respect to the Moon God Emperor." Yue Hong, who had just voiced his doubts, knelt as well, paying his respects to her.

On the other hand, the three Moon Gods did not move. They stared at the two who had already knelt with wide eyes.

"Hmm, Uncle and Yue Hong, please rise," Xia Qingyue said gently, nodding at them. Then she turned to face the other three Moon Gods. "I take it you three oppose my ascension?"

"Yes. This is too sudden. We don't even know what exactly happened or where the others are. How could we accept a new Moon God Emperor so quickly?" The first shook his head firmly.

"You are someone we know nothing about. Who's to say you had no involvement in His Majesty's death?" Another Moon God also refused to acknowledge Xia Qingyue.

The third said nothing, but his attitude made it clear he shared the same doubts.

"Good. It would have been boring if you had simply complied without resistance," Xia Qingyue said without anger. On the contrary, she seemed satisfied with their reaction.

Boom!

Purple divine power erupted from her, causing the space around her to quake and tremble, like fabric hanging in midair. With a flick of her wrist, the Purple Pylon Divine Sword appeared in her hand. "You guys seem to have forgotten the reason why a God Emperor is called a God Emperor in the first place..."

"It is because their will is the Heaven's Will!"

"This King honors you by asking your opinion, not because I need your approval to ascend to the throne!"

Rumble!

Xia Qingyue slashed upward, tracing a graceful arc through the air. A surge of purple sword energy tore through the space before her, and in the next instant, the attack sent the first Moon God flying.

Swoosh!

She took a step forward. Her figure flickered, and in a flash, she appeared behind the second Moon God. She thrust her sword into his back, the blade pierced through and came out of his chest, spraying blood everywhere.

She took another step and appeared beside the third Moon God. He hurriedly tried to resist, but as only an eighth-level Divine Master, how could his speed match that of a God Emperor? Her blade moved swiftly, bypassing his clumsy defense and piercing his ribs before coming out of the other side of his back.

A burst of purple divine energy surged from the sword embedded in his body, sending him hurtling away.

Xia Qingyue did not stop. She pursued him and gently thrust her hand forward. Purple divine power transformed into countless bindings that enveloped the Moon God. She walked over slowly and pointed a finger at his forehead.

Silver light shot from her index finger, entering his forehead. As it did, countless complex silver marks glowed across his entire body before rushing back to his forehead and fading away.

As the owner of the Heart of Snow Glazed Glass, Xia Qingyue was the only woman among Yun Wuji's harem to master the Limitless Agony Soul Mark within the last half year.

It was precisely because of this that she had the confidence to subdue the remaining Moon Gods.

...

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