“Hmph!” sniffed the Profound King before stepping forward and flourishing his sleeve, rebuffing the power from the three kings.

  “This is an insurrection, Profound King!” While the man of the three loyal kings wore long black robes, his entire body resembled white jade. White hair, white brows, and even white pupils marked this king, yet he didn’t appear old. On the contrary, he looked like a young man.

  “Think carefully, Yin Yang King! Our Hopeless Major teeters on the precipice of doom, and only by agreeing to Origin World’s marriage proposal will we preserve our foundations!” The Profound King sighed with sorrow as he looked at his white-haired counterpart in black robes.

  “Hahaha!!” the Yin Yang King threw his head back with laughter. “What a farce! Hopeless Major has stood strong for a hundred million years since the eminent ancestor established our foundations in the Endless Reaches!

  “Outsiders cower at our name and revile us as a valley of evil, but we still tower proud and unyielding in the Hongmeng! Yet when trouble stares at us in the face, we respond by marrying off our eminent one for a chance of survival? There can be nothing more ludicrous or comical in all the realm! Profound King, do you seek to become the sinner of Hopeless Major?!”


  “Sinner?” Another ninth step king stepped forward from the other side. He sneered, “If it wasn’t for the Empyrean King making the call to attack the Broadsword King of the Immortal Region, would our Netherdark Formation have ended up in their hands? Would we be in the danger that we find ourselves in today??”


  “Ruin King!” shouted the Yin Yang King. “If it wasn’t for your eventual refusal to come to our aid and later on getting in our way, would we have failed to kill the Broadsword King?! At the end of the day, all of you are the reasons for our difficulties today!”


  Yin and yang qi circulated over the Yin Yang King and his white hair danced wildly with fury. His temper fully roused upon seeing the Ruin King step forward with accusations. Though they’d been on the brink of success with their ambush on the Broadsword King, their efforts were ultimately wasted because of the Ruin King and his cohorts. Not only had they failed, but Hopeless Major’s key weapon—the Netherdark Formation—had been claimed by the enemy.

  “Enough!” roared the Profound King. “Empyrean King, you must hand over the eminent one’s command seal today and abdicate in favor of someone more worthy. If not, you force us to take action!”


  The already strained atmosphere drew taut with tension at his words.

  The Yin Yang King, his peers, and their subordinates took a step forward to hover protectively behind Qing Yu. A hundred thousand puppets also assembled into a marvelous formation in the air; everyone was too distracted to consider where these half step kings had sprung from.

  That wasn’t important considering the Profound King and nine others were forcing the Empyrean King to step down from her throne!

  “And if I don’t?” Frost marked Qing Yu’s aloof tones.

  “If you don’t? Then blood will stream through Hopeless Major today,” the Kaleidoscopic King answered gleefully. “A clash between the thirteen ninth step kings of Hopeless Major will result in at least a few deaths and multiple casualties. No matter who wins, the major’s strength will decline by quite a few levels. If the Immortal Region attacks at that time…”


  It wouldn’t even take the Immortal Region—the other nine valleys would march on Hopeless Major if anything happened to it and swiftly swallow it whole.

  It was evident now that more than the Kaleidoscopic King was in attendance. There were certainly other powerhouses hidden in the shadows.

  After the Ten Valleys of Evil gained their name, they instantly became sacred lands admired by many of the greatest villains of the realm. In order to withstand the Immortal Region, the Ten Valleys had to continuously recruit these evil-doers and over time, they began to live up to their moniker.

  Curling his lip, the Profound King fully unleashed the unique aura of a peak ninth step king. His blatant display unnerved the Yin Yang King—although he also stood at peak ninth step, he was no match for his peer.

  The Profound King was the strongest titan of Hopeless Major and had overseen the faction for countless eons after Violetgrave’s disappearance. If it wasn’t for Qing Yu, he would be its ruler.

  Instead of forcing her out of her position when she appeared, he suffered in silence and bided his time, waiting for Qing Yu to make a mistake. His patience was finally rewarded with the matter of the Broadsword King. Hopeless Major suffered heavy casualties from it and Qing Yu’s reputation in the major fell catastrophically.

  Add to that the disappearance of founding member the Jade King, it was the perfect setup for the Profound King to close in for the kill with the swiftness of lightning and thunder.

  The three days he’d allotted her weren’t to help her think. It was time for him to muster all of his strength and troops so he could create the standoff facing her today.

  “That’s right, you should abdicate, Empyrean King,” someone else spoke from his side. “Once there’s blood in the streets, disaster will descend upon Hopeless Major and you’ll be its sinner for all eternity!”


  “Empyrean King, you acted on impulse and attacked the Broadsword King despite being an eighth step king yourself. Hopeless Major suffered heavy casualties that day, and it wasn’t because we refused to mobilize! We were impeded by those on the Broadsword King’s side. If we’d set out, we would’ve fallen into the Immortal Region’s trap!” The Ruin King stepped forward again.

  “Hmph!” The Yin Yang King almost ground his teeth into dust. The Ruin King was a cowardly rat afraid of death, just listen to him spout that righteous crap!

  “That’s right, you’re just an eighth step king! By what right are you the eminent one of Hopeless Major?!”


  “Though you ascended to kinghood at eighth step king and possess boundless potential, that’s just potential! You should abdicate for your own good!”


  “An eighth step king is unqualified to rule Hopeless Major!”


  “We both gain what we need if the Empyrean King marries the Kaleidoscopic King. Everyone would be happy!”


  ……


  Emotions flickered through the Yin Yang King and his two comrades; they were straining under a massive pressure of momentum.

  “What should we do?” A king who looked like a young girl—the Acclaim King—paled. She didn’t know what they should do in the face of such general sentiment.

  “The Empyrean King is still the eminent one and she holds Hopeless Major’s command seal. She’ll be able to suppress them even if these people want to mutiny!” The Soulmask King—the remaining ninth step king—clenched her jaw. A layer of black smoke wreathed around her body and she constantly faded in and out of sight, like she was a wraith. She rivaled the Yin Yang King in strength.

  Without a doubt, the Profound King ranked first in Hopeless Major. Yin Yang and Soulmask ranked second and third, and it was their combined efforts that kept the situation contained.

  However, public sentiment of the major was behind him and it was now the people’s will that he become the eminent one.

  “Mutiny?” The Profound King chuckled. He turned around and spread out his arms, declaring in a ringing voice, “Then permit me to ask the brothers and sisters of our Hopeless Major, is this woman worthy of being the eminent one of us all?

  “Does she, a mere eighth step king, have the right to lead us against the Immortal Region?

  “She who grievously lost her first battle after taking her position, losing our founding treasure—the Netherdark Formation—in the process?

  “Does such a person qualify to reign from most high?!”


  Every single one of his words formed a glyph in the air that crashed into each other with ringing booms, levying brutal pressure on Qing Yu’s heart and soul.

  If she’d still been the eighth step king with damaged foundations from three days ago, she wouldn’t be able to withstand such dao notes and would have to abdicate. But not only had she repaired her ninth dao rule, she’d also taken the Five Elements Qi Pills and fortified her foundation. She was still weaker than the Profound King, but not by much.

  Looking on darkly, she remained as calm as still water without the slightest shift in expression. Her support stood behind her, and although Lu Yun wasn’t strong enough to contend with the Profound King, she felt strangely reassured with him here.

  “Empyrean King, abdicate of your own volition if you have any self respect left at all!” The Profound King whirled around, his bearing fully incorporating the hundred million disciples of Hopeless Major.

  “Is this what you want?” A tiny ball of light appeared in her hand.

  It was the size of a fist with intersecting rays of purple and blue light. They formed the pattern of a yin yang fish—the command seal of Hopeless Major.

  Qing Yu smiled. “If you want it, come and get it.”


  “Eminent one!”


  “No!” gasped the Yin Yang and Soulmask Kings.

  “No matter.” Qing Yu shook her head and opened her hand, allowing the tiny command seal to float around her. “Isn’t this what you want, Profound King, so you can rule over Hopeless Major? Come and get it, if you have what it takes.”


  “Those are your words!!” The Profound King flushed with excitement when he saw the command seal and he reached out to snatch it from the air.