The foremost governing body of the Amenkha Empire had always been the Pharaohs’ Temple.

Throughout its long history, only the top three Pharaohs in rank possessed the authority to convene a council of the temple.

With the First Pharaoh secluding himself for tens of thousands of years, and the Third Pharaoh campaigning along the border of the Luminara Civilization, all affairs within and beyond the Pharaohs’ Temple now fell under the supervision of the Second Pharaoh—a master of divination with the ability to glimpse future destinies.

Strictly speaking, the Amenkha Empire had not entered a full-scale war with the Luminara Civilization. The Third Pharaoh merely stirred up conflict along the border on a regular basis.

He was truly a war maniac. Every major conflict the Amenkha Empire had fought over the past three hundred thousand years had been instigated by him.

This time, the Third Pharaoh had taken the Sixth Pharaoh along with him to the border of the Luminara Civilization.

As a result, only the Second, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, and Tenth Pharaohs ultimately gathered at the Pharaohs’ Temple for the council.

The Tenth Pharaoh had not been formally summoned, but was brought along by the Ninth Pharaoh.

Among the first ten Pharaohs of the Amenkha Empire, only the Fifth and the Tenth were female.

“It has been millennia since Little Tenth advanced to Rank Eight. I believe it’s time she takes part in our decision-making,” the Ninth Pharaoh said.

The Second Pharaoh merely cast her a glance and offered no reply.

At present, the Amenkha Empire’s Pharaohs’ Temple alone had ten Rank Eight Pharaohs. This was an unprecedented height of civilizational prosperity.

Based on the empire’s understanding of top-tier civilizations and its accumulated historical records, very few other civilizations in the Astral Realm could rival its current strength.

If top-tier civilizations could be clearly divided into stages, then the Amenkha Empire had undoubtedly entered the later phase of that progression.

Even if it had not yet reached its absolute peak, it faced few true equals.

And yet, for nearly a hundred thousand years, the Second Pharaoh had harbored an unshakable sense of unease.

In the past, he might have sought counsel from the First Pharaoh—the empire’s supreme authority.

However, ever since witnessing and interacting with a Rank Nine existence more than 170,000 years ago, the First Pharaoh of the Amenkha Empire had embarked upon his own path toward Rank Nine.

In recent years, he appeared to be drawing ever closer to that realm.

Before entering seclusion, he had entrusted the Sacred Scriptures of Amenkha to the Second Pharaoh for safekeeping and handed over another civilizational treasure, the Sealing Chains, for the Third Pharaoh’s use.

Indeed, for an existence of the First Pharaoh’s caliber within the Amenkha Empire, even the blessings of a civilizational treasure were of limited value.

After all, the First Pharaoh already possessed power close to disrupting the balance of the Astral Realm itself. Would he truly care about the modest enhancement offered by relics left behind by his predecessors?

Following the precedent set by the Rank Nine beings born throughout the Amenkha Empire’s long history, once the First Pharaoh completed that transformation, he would not only clear away lingering obstacles for the empire during his brief remaining time in the Astral Realm, but also leave behind a “relic” of his own—a new civilizational treasure.

As for what awaited him beyond that point, it might be an endless cosmic sea, or something else entirely.

No one knew for sure.

Within the Astral Realm, no civilization or supreme power possessed clear knowledge of what lay beyond Rank Nine.

All could only approach it with a mixture of curiosity, fear, awe, unease, and confusion.

For the Amenkha Empire, this era was both the best of times and the most transformative one yet, filled with boundless potential.

If the First Pharaoh successfully ascended to Rank Nine, and the empire went on to annex several neighboring top-tier civilizations, the Amenkha Empire might well ignite a Dimensional War for supremacy within this era—or the next.

The Second Pharaoh knew he would not live to witness such a future.

Those who probed too deeply into the currents of destiny were, in the end, consumed by fate itself.

By his own estimation, the Second Pharaoh’s life would likely end within a hundred thousand years.

Fortunately, the First Pharaoh’s breakthrough to Rank Nine should occur within the next twenty thousand years.

That meant even if the Second Pharaoh passed away and the First Pharaoh departed the Astral Realm soon after, the Amenkha Empire would not suffer a collapse in its ruling structure from the loss of these two supreme figures.

But who would be the one to lead the Amenkha Empire to its zenith in the future?

The Third Pharaoh?

Probably not.

The Second Pharaoh shook his head.

Although the Third Pharaoh possessed unmatched combat strength and wielded the Sealing Chains, making him nearly unstoppable in battle, he was far too impulsive in the Second Pharaoh’s eyes.

More importantly, his aggressive, battle-hungry nature conflicted with the Way of Self-Sealing long upheld by the Amenkha Empire.

Come to think of it, both of the empire’s supreme beings were, in their own ways, rather peculiar.

In their youth, both the First Pharaoh and the Second Pharaoh were terrifying figures who carved out fearsome reputations through slaughter across entire star domains.

The latter had been somewhat more restrained, but the First Pharaoh had been far more aggressive in those days—more so even than the Third Pharaoh was now.

Yet as the two of them reached a certain age—or rather, as their understanding of the Astral Realm’s origin and the power of laws deepened—they both abruptly withdrew from the world.

For hundreds of thousands of years, they vanished from sight, living in complete seclusion. Their hands that were once soaked in blood were hidden away.

Only the thick layers of seals—made from the skin of fallen enemies—remained, silently recounting a past both glorious and drenched in blood.

So who among them truly possessed the potential to lead the Amenkha Empire to its zenith and prevail in a Dimensional Conquest?

The Second Pharaoh’s gaze first turned toward the Fourth.

The Fourth Pharaoh had ascended to his current position 170,000 years ago, having previously held the rank of Fifth.

His rise by one rank came about solely because the Fourth Pharaoh of that era had been slain by the Supreme Knight Overlord of the Magus Civilization, who had just reached Rank Nine.

That event also marked the true beginning of the conflict between the Amenkha Empire and the Magus Civilization.

Over the years, the Fourth Pharaoh’s performance had been reliably solid. Although his achievements could not compare with those of the First or Third Pharaoh, the Second Pharaoh regarded him favorably.

After all, a civilization’s leader did not necessarily need to be an unparalleled prodigy.

Even someone of ordinary talent could still lead a civilization toward prosperity, so long as they carried out their responsibilities with diligence.

Besides, if even late-stage Rank Eight beings were dismissed as ordinary, then true geniuses would be exceedingly rare in the Astral Realm.

Another trait the Second Pharaoh appreciated in the Fourth was his youth.

The Fourth Pharaoh still had a long future ahead of him, and with time, he might yet ascend to even higher realms.