He Is Not of the Si Clan Bloodline

One of the Elders bowed deeply. "High Immortal Clearpool, the nation cannot go a day without a ruler. Please ascend the throne first, then personally preside over the state funeral. That would be best."

Clearpool replied, "You may handle the arrangements as you see fit."

He accepted, cradling Sera Si as he walked toward the rear hall.

"Wait!" Another Elder suddenly called out.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Our Heavenly Moon Empire has always crowned female rulers. High Immortal Clearpool is a man, so I'm afraid—"

"It’s not like Heavenly Moon Empire has never had a male ruler before," another Elder retorted. "Her Majesty never married and left no heirs. Since she personally issued the imperial edict naming High Immortal Clearpool, what’s there to argue about?"

A third Elder nodded. "Besides, the Southern Mystic Empire is watching us like a tiger stalking its prey. High Immortal Clearpool has reached the High Immortal rank and is a disciple of Divine Marquis Lann Yin. If he becomes our ruler, the Heavenly Moon Empire will be even more stable."

The dissenting Elder looked at Mira Si and asked, "Second Prince, what do you think?"

With grief etched on his face, Mira Si said, "Honestly, I’d like to see Clearpool sliced into a thousand pieces. But since this is my sister’s final decree, I won’t object."

Sean Shaw raised an eyebrow.

After a pause, Mira Si added, "But since this concerns bloodline inheritance, I suggest we invite a Phoenix deity to verify the lineage. If there’s no problem, then let High Immortal Clearpool ascend the throne!"

"No need to invite anyone—I’m already here!" A clear, childlike voice rang out just then.

Lucia Lu turned around and saw three people.

One was Snow Yuan.

Another was a tall, jade-like man in white, accompanied by a little girl.

Lucia Lu didn’t recognize them.

But the Elders all did, and they immediately paid their respects. "Greetings, Divine Lord. Greetings, Divine Maiden!"

The man glanced at Lucia Lu and Sean Shaw, nodded vaguely, and told the Elders, "I saw Calamity Clouds gathering here, so I came to take a look."

The Elder explained the situation with Clearpool. "...We respectfully ask Little Wu Divine Maiden to check if Clearpool is truly of the Si clan bloodline."

The little girl, clearly a Phoenix Clan Divine Maiden, nodded and used their clan’s unique bloodline tracing spell to investigate.

Then, to everyone’s shock, she frowned and declared, "He is not of the Si clan bloodline!"

The two Elders who supported him turned pale. "How is that possible?"

The Late Heavenly Moon Empress said it herself—how could it be false?

Clearpool settled Sera Si’s body, then frowned and walked up to Little Wu Divine Maiden. "Divine Maiden, am I really not?" he asked.

"This is Si clan territory. If you were of Si blood, there should be many bloodline threads clustered nearby," Little Wu Divine Maiden replied. "But your threads are sparse, and most are far away."

Clearpool’s eyes reddened, murderous anger simmering beneath his grief. He suddenly looked at Mira Si. "Second Prince, the Divine Maiden’s words contradict the Late Empress’s Clarity Charm! Do you think the Divine Maiden is lying, or the Late Empress was lying?"

Mira Si frowned at Little Wu Divine Maiden. "Honestly, I have no idea!"

"How dare you!" Little Wu Divine Maiden snapped, furious. "A Divine Maiden would never lie! Do you dare question me?"

With that, she cast the spell again.

This time, she projected the bloodline threads for all to see. "Look! Did I make anything up?"

Sure enough, it was exactly as she said.

The Elders looked at each other, all bewildered, and began to discuss in low voices.

"If he isn’t of the Si clan bloodline, why did the Late Empress say so on her deathbed?"

"Maybe her mind was muddled at the end?"

"It must have been a nightmare. Too bad we all took it as truth..."

......