Lu Mingfei, who had read Dragon Clan before slaying the dragon

"It's so that you, Mr. Chu, and Mr. Gattuso can receive news from Mr. Lu." Yuan Zhisheng lowered his eyes.

"That's right. Killing Lu Mingfei alone is certainly not enough. Lu Mingfei was just bait. The purpose of holding this auction was to use Lu Mingfei to lure Caesar and me over so that we could be caught in one fell swoop." Chu Zihang nodded and asked Yuan Zhisheng, "And the Sheqi Eight Clan, who were supposed to rescue us, never showed up... As the main clan of the underworld, it's impossible for the Sheqi Eight Clan not to have received news of the auction. Yuan Jun, what were you doing at that time?"

After a moment's silence, Minamoto Chisei slowly spoke, "The morning before, Mr. Masamune told me that the advance troops sent by the Snake Eight Clan had discovered the Oni Clan's headquarters deep in the mountains of Osaka. It was a large casino called 'Gokurakukan'. That morning, I was responsible for assembling the troops and leading the attack on Gokurakukan, but it seems that news of our attack had leaked in advance, and the Oni Clan's key figures had already evacuated. In the end, we came up empty-handed."

Until now, Yuan Zhisheng still finds this matter incredible. The only possibility is that there is a traitor in the family, who collaborates with the fierce ghosts to reveal the news that the family is going to launch a fierce attack on Paradise Hall to the fierce ghosts.

But that attack was a surprise attack, and the confidentiality work was very thorough. Except for the family law enforcement officers who acted with Gen Chisheng that morning, and Gen Chisheng's confidants Sakura, Yasha and Crow, other family members, even the heads of the family, were not informed of the attack plan, and the family law enforcement officers only knew the purpose of their trip at the moment before the action. Even if there was an insider who notified the fierce ghosts, they should not have evacuated so cleanly in such a hasty time.

"You should also know what happened later. The person who held the auction did use Lu Mingfei as bait. He hid heavy firepower at the auction venue to ambush us. We were assassinated while rescuing Lu Mingfei." Chu Zihang said, "Yuan Jun, you said that the Shiquan Society betrayed the Sheqi Eight Clans and defected to the Menggui Clan. But we have no intersection with the Menggui Clan. Since there is a Menggui Clan traitor among the Sheqi Eight Clans, the Menggui Clan should know that we are not on the same side as you, the Sheqi Eight Clans. What reason do you have to sacrifice a powerful gang to kill us during the war with you, the Sheqi Eight Clans?"

The Oni Clan really had no reason to do this, and Gennochi could not think of any other explanation... unless Tachibana Masamune was the traitor.

After capturing Lu Mingfei, he lured Caesar and Chu Zihang, trying to catch them all in one fell swoop. At the same time, he revealed the news of the Ghost Clan's base to Yuan Zhisheng, making him unable to cope with it. At the same time, he collaborated with members of the Ghost Clan to make Yuan Zhisheng's raid fail... This is the only reasonable explanation.

So are you really the traitor, Dad... Gen Chisheng took a deep breath. He felt a dull pain in his chest, as if someone was tearing apart his trust in Tachibana Masamune bit by bit.

"What's the third purpose?" Yuan Zhisheng asked Chu Zihang in a hoarse voice, "You said that Tachibana Masamune had three purposes for deploying the Trieste into Takamagahara."

"The third purpose explains why he agreed to Kassel Academy's request to send a manned submersible to the Abyss, risking the exposure of Takama-ga-hara and the God to allow the three of us to enter the Abyss." Chu Zihang looked at Yuan Zhisheng seriously, emphasizing each word. "Because only by letting people see the situation below the Abyss with their own eyes can he be sure that the God has evacuated from Takama-ga-hara, and all his subsequent plans can be carried out accordingly."

Yuan Zhisheng, who had finally recovered some strength to stand up, leaned heavily against the wall, as if he was pushed down by a huge force and pressed against the wall. His back slowly slid down the wall until he collapsed on the ground.

Yuan Zhisheng buried his head in his knees and did not speak for a long time.

The corridor fell into a long silence. Caesar and Chu Zihang looked at each other. Caesar wanted to say something, but Chu Zihang slowly shook his head at him. They both looked at Yuan Zhisheng.

The man was filled with unspeakable fatigue, and his straight back seemed to be bent by some invisible heavy object.

The burden of the family, the dead brother, the cruel truth, the betrayal of relatives... all of this is too heavy for a person who only wants to escape to France and waste his life.

The thing that crushed this man was called... fate.

"I know this truth will be a huge blow to you, Gen-kun. To all of you, the Eight Clans of Sheqi, Tachibana Masamune seems to be a perfect leader," Chu Zihang said softly. "But no one is truly perfect. The more perfect a person is, the more likely they are to hide their inner demons. When a seemingly perfect person reveals his sinful side, the darkness within will first devour those who trust him the most."

Chapter 351: Three Words Lu Mingfei Leaves to Yuan Zhisheng

Lu Mingfei did not directly convey these questions to Chu Zihang and ask him to confront Yuan Zhisheng face to face. Lu Mingfei only reminded Chu Zihang of some unfortunate things they encountered after coming to Japan. Combined with the situation of the Eight Snake Families, it shows that there may be a person behind the scenes hiding in the dark, using his black hand to push the development of a series of events.

For example, converting the nuclear power compartment of the Trieste into a nuclear bomb, and using the three of them to drive the nuclear bomb into the depths of the abyss to blow up "Takama-ga-hara". Lu Mingfei told Chu Zihang that this could never be Yuan Zhisheng's idea. With the character of the elephant turtle, Yuan Zhisheng would not do such a treacherous thing against his conscience if no one instructed him to do so.

Another example is the underground auction in Tokyo Bay. The person behind the auction must have a very important position in the Japanese underworld. He was able to summon the underworld gangsters affiliated with the Menggui Clan to gather together, and set up the auction venue in Tokyo Bay right under the noses of the Sheqi Eight Families, and ordered the entire Sheqi Eight Families not to interfere with or obstruct the auction, and turned a blind eye to the whole process. This shows that the status of this person behind the scenes in the Sheqi Eight Families is even higher than that of a family head.

He also blocked the entire territory of Japan, trapped the three of them in Japan and unable to contact the outside world, and asked Kaguya to build a firewall covering the entire Japan to block the signals from Kassel Academy and Norma... These kinds of overwhelming means can only be done by someone who has tremendous power in Japan.

The two most powerful people in the entire Snake Eight Families are Tachibana Masamune and Minamoto no Nakasuke. Minamoto no Nakasuke has just succeeded to the position of the head of the family not long ago. His position in the Japanese underworld is far less stable than that of Tachibana Masamune, who has worked hard for many years to build up his position as the head of the family. Even though Minamoto no Nakasuke has succeeded to the position of the head of the family, his authority in the Kaguya system is still not as high as Tachibana Masamune, and Minamoto no Nakasuke's reputation in the Snake Eight Families is actually far inferior to that of Tachibana Masamune.

The elders of the Sheqi Eight Families Liaison Department have always been biased against Minamoto Chisheng, who returned from studying abroad at Kassel Academy. However, they were wary of Minamoto Chisheng's noble royal bloodline and his status as the head of the Minamoto family. In addition, they had the full support of the former patriarch, Tachibana Masamune, so they did not make any trouble for Minamoto Chisheng to succeed him as the patriarch of the Sheqi Eight Families. However, Minamoto Chisheng, who had just succeeded as the patriarch, had very limited control over the family. Many people in the family privately called him "Mr. Masamune's puppet emperor."

Compared to Genki Nakasei, Tachibana Masamune has a much higher reputation among the Snake Eight Families. He is the hero who brought the Snake Eight Families to their peak, a leader who can convince everyone, and the most resolute and fearless warrior... But as Chu Zihang said, a person who hides himself with such a perfect image probably has a demon that can devour everything hidden in his heart.

Lu Mingfei did not reveal Tachibana Masamune's true identity to Chu Zihang, but Chu Zihang's intuition was extremely sharp, and analyzing and discerning the situation was what he was good at. The three purposes of Tachibana Masamune that Chu Zihang told Yuan Zhisheng were all guessed by himself based on Lu Mingfei's reminder. Although Chu Zihang did not know what Tachibana Masamune wanted to get from "God" by resurrecting the "God", he was very smart and had guessed Tachibana Masamune's true nature through what had happened.

Yuan Zhisheng, who was sitting in the corner, slowly raised his head, his face showing unconcealable fatigue and bitterness.

He was already very tired. He had just experienced a great battle and was repeatedly on the verge of life and death. Now he was told such an unacceptable truth. Yuan Zhisheng's eyes felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead. He really wanted to find a deserted place to stay quietly for a day, breathe some fresh air and then fall into a deep sleep, using more time to slowly force himself to accept these cruel facts.

But he didn't have enough time to digest all this, he had to force himself to accept it right now.

Before succeeding the patriarch, Yuan Zhisheng might have had a chance to escape from all this, fleeing to France alone, and from then on, he would be far away from home... But now he is the current patriarch of the Eight Sheqi Families, and a heavy fate hangs over him like a black curtain. He chose his family, which means he gave up his freedom, which means he has lost his way of retreat and has no way to escape. The only thing Yuan Zhisheng wants to do now is to make his family survive all the disasters safely and to save his people from bleeding.

The family building has just experienced internal strife, and a bigger storm is about to quietly hit. The more chaotic and turbulent the times, the more he has to take on all of this. This is the responsibility of being the head of the family and the responsibility of being a man of the Yuan family. As the head of the family, Yuan Zhisheng must straighten his back, become the pillar of the family, and carry all the difficulties and hardships facing the family on his shoulders.

To do this, he must hold the hilt of the knife tightly in his hand, fight against the thing called "fate" to the end, fight his way out of the siege, and get his head broken and bloodied!

Actually, all these were given to him by Tachibana Masaki. That man has been teaching Gen Chisheng what "a man's responsibility" and "parental awareness" are by his own actions. He has been walking in front of Gen Chisheng, and has become a beacon of enlightenment to guide him.

And now, Yuan Zhisheng has finally awakened his sense of responsibility and is ready to take on everything for the family... But the image of the man who once served as his role model suddenly collapsed. The light that illuminated the way forward dimmed and went out. The road ahead is long and the darkness is as boundless as the vast ocean. If he continues, he may fall into the black waves and be condemned to hell forever. There is no way back.

Yuan Zhisheng slowly took out a half-broken cigarette from his lining pocket, and fumbled around again, only to find that his lighter was no longer in his pocket. It must have fallen out during the fight with Deadpool.

"Is there a fire?" Yuan Zhisheng asked Caesar in a hoarse voice.

Caesar reached into the lining pocket and pulled out an old black and gold Cartier lighter.

This was given to Caesar by a senior gigolo in Takama-ga-hara after his debut as a gigolo. The senior gigolo was astonished after seeing Caesar's debut performance of riding a Harley motorcycle and leaping over the crowd. He felt that Caesar's flower arrangement, which revealed nobility and wildness, was quite similar to his style when he was young. Caesar smiled and nodded, while cursing in his heart, who can have the style of your youth? His strong muscles have been featured in international magazines. How can he compare with your fat from the wine and meat?

But the old gigolo insisted that Caesar was the successor to his tough-guy-tender-style flower arrangement. When he took out a cigar and handed it to Caesar, he found that Caesar was still using an ordinary windproof lighter that cost 100 yen. The old gigolo frowned deeply and said that this was not okay. How could this kind of common lighter be worthy of our handsome appearance and noble status? Then he slapped Caesar's windproof lighter away, took out this old version of Cartier black and gold lighter that he had collected for many years from his pocket and slapped it into Caesar's hand, saying that this was a little gift from his senior, just to celebrate Caesar's official employment. Caesar stared at the old lighter in his hand, and tried several times before he could light the cigar with great difficulty... This lighter was almost as old as he was.

At this time, Caesar was rubbing the lighter in front of Minamoto no Chisei, but he couldn't light it. Not even a spark came out of the lighter mouth... He suddenly remembered that this lighter was not waterproof, and when they passed through the underground river of the Iron Dome Temple before entering Genji Heavy Industries, they were washed in water for several minutes, so the lighter was naturally soaked in water.

Caesar hesitated for a moment, but still did not throw away the lighter given to him by the old cowherd. Instead, he put it into his lining pocket again.

"Sorry, I don't have any fire either," Caesar said to Yuan Zhisheng, then jokingly suggested, "You can ask Chu Zihang for some fire. He's a Vulcan cannon himself, and his 'Jun Yan' should be able to help you light your cigarette."

Yuan Zhisheng looked at Chu Zihang, who glanced at the half-smoked cigarette in Yuan Zhisheng's hand and said seriously, "I can indeed use 'Jun Yan' to heat your cigarette to the burning point... But then there's no need for you to smoke it, Yuanjun, because your half-smoked cigarette will be burned immediately."

Gen Chisei lowered his head and silently stuffed the half-smoked cigarette into his pocket. He whispered, "I've decided to find my father in person... confront Tachibana Masamune. I want to ask him in person why he did this. This is something I must do, otherwise I won't be able to give an explanation to those dead members of my clan."

"Of course you can do things according to your style, confront Tachibana Masamune face to face or something. You are the head of the Snake Eight Families. Chu Zihang and I can't interfere with you at all. You are the boss in Japan." Caesar crossed his arms in front of his chest, glanced at Minamoto Chisheng with a sidelong glance, his eyes showing a slight sense of disappointment, and snorted coldly.

"Gen-kun, Tachibana Masamune won't tell you the truth. He knows all this might be exposed one day, so he must have prepared an excuse." Chu Zihang said to Gen Zhisheng earnestly, "If he uses the tactic of inflicting pain on himself to play the sympathy card, Gen-kun, do you really think you won't be persuaded by him?"

"I think you misunderstood me." Yuan Zhisheng shook his head lightly, his expression serious. "I have already accepted Chu Jun's statement. I also know Tachibana Masamune's three purposes. I confronted him face to face just to get an answer from him."

"I want to know how he'll explain himself to me...how he'll explain his faith in him over the years...how he'll explain himself to those of my clansmen who died in the Abyss Project a week ago, and those who died today at Genji Heavy Industries."

"No matter what explanation he gives in the end, it is his business. I will give his family the punishment they deserve." Yuan Zhisheng's face was as hard as iron when he said this.

"Mr. Yuan, I told you that you can't kill Tachibana Masamune now." Chu Zihang shook his head.

"Why?" Yuan Zhisheng frowned.

"Because we need his plan to proceed smoothly, so that we have a chance to find out where 'God' is hiding." Chu Zihang said, "Tachibana Masamune is the only one who knows the whereabouts of 'God'. Although we don't know his purpose in awakening 'God' yet...we don't need to know his purpose in resurrecting 'God', because our goal is to completely kill 'God' before it revives."

"As long as Tachibana Masamune has contact with the 'God', he will reveal his true identity sooner or later. But if we kill him now, all our clues will be cut off." Chu Zihang said, "Without any clues, it will be extremely difficult to find the 'God' hiding in the dark in the whole of Japan. If we don't find the 'God' before it awakens, our situation will be very passive."

"I understand. Before, it was Tachibana Masamune who knew everything, and we knew nothing about him, so he was always using us. Now we know his purpose, and you want to use this information gap to take advantage of Tachibana Masamune."

"You're not revealing this important information to me without a purpose, are you?" Yuan Zhisheng paused. "What do you need me to do?"

"Yuanjun, you're overthinking it. We don't have to do anything you want to do." Chu Zihang shook his head slowly. "You have your own independent personality and your own stance. You're not a pawn of Tachibana Masamune. We don't have to bind you to our stance."

"The only thing we want you to do is pretend to be unaware of Tachibana Masamune's intentions," Chu Zihang said. "Don't reveal your murderous intent in front of him, and don't show any disdain or complete trust in his explanation. We need you to reluctantly agree with what he says and then give him an 'appropriate' punishment."

Yuan Zhisheng was silent for a moment and nodded slightly.

"Two grown men, stop wasting time on these sentimental goodbyes. We don't have time. I heard movement in the elevator shaft. Someone is climbing up quickly, very lightly and nimbly." Caesar's gaze turned to Yuan Zhisheng. "Is it your female ninja assistant?"

Yuan Zhisheng took a deep breath, looked at Caesar and Chu Zihang, and bowed deeply. "Mr. Gattuso, Mr. Chu, thank you very much for everything you have done for the Eight Snake Families. If you want to leave, escape through the sixth-floor window. That floor is connected to the elevated road outside, and it is a relatively weak point for Genji Heavy Industries... The next time we meet, we will no longer be enemies."

When Yuan Zhisheng raised his head again, he seemed to have become the man with his back as straight as a javelin.

"Yuan Jun, before we came to Yuanshi Heavy Industries tonight, Lu Mingfei said three things to me. He said that if you ultimately accepted our advice, I would consider whether to tell you these three things." Chu Zihang looked at Yuan Zhisheng's resolute expression. "I think if Lu Mingfei were here and saw your expression right now, Yuan Jun, he would choose to tell you these three things."

Yuan Zhisheng was slightly stunned, then nodded.

"Eri is not Tachibana Masamune's daughter."

"If Tachibana Masamune told you his name was Bondarev, he would be deceiving you. His real name is... Herzog."

"If you feel that no one in this world is trustworthy, go find a man named Uesugi Koshi... He is a ramen chef."

Chapter 352 The True Face of “God”

"'God' is the biggest 'ghost' in the world?"

Ange carefully pondered the meaning of this sentence, then he slowly shook his head, indicating that he could not understand.

This sentence is full of profound meaning. It is difficult for ordinary people who have not read that period of history to understand what the "gods" and "ghosts" in the records are like.

"This is a rather long story, and you'll understand as you listen. It all begins with the two Dragon Emperors and that protracted ancient war," Uesugi Yue said. "The Black Emperor created the White Emperor and gave her a considerable portion of his authority. From then on, the Dragon Clan formed the 'Two Emperors and Four Sovereigns' situation."

"But the main theme throughout the history of the Dragon Clan has always been war. The White Emperor, the Dragon Clan's priest, led a group of dragons in a rebellion against the Black Emperor, sparking a massive war within the Dragon Clan. Although this war inflicted indelible damage on the Black Emperor and the entire Dragon Clan, it ultimately ended in victory for the Black Emperor."

"I know all of this. It's all recorded in the 'Secret Code of the Dragon Clan' and the 'Ice Sea Fragments'." Angre nodded.

"The Black Emperor defeated the White Emperor. To show all dragons what happens to traitors, he tied the White Emperor to a massive copper pillar and sank it into the depths of the northern glacial sea as a warning to others," said Uesugi Yue. "Ocean currents in both the Arctic and Antarctic obeyed the Black Emperor's decree. The world's coldest waters converged on the icy sea where the White Emperor had sunk, forming a white continent. That was an extremely long ice age. The Black Emperor made that sea the coldest place in the world, serving as a prison for the White Emperor."

"Dragons are incredibly tenacious, and a dragon of the White Emperor's noble bloodline is practically unkillable. Therefore, the Black Emperor intended to imprison the White Emperor in this icy sea, until the extreme cold and the long years completely drained her strength and vitality." Uesugi Yue explained, "For six epochs, the sea where the White Emperor was imprisoned remained frozen for six centuries. The Black Emperor carved two lengthy rifts across the ocean, spanning over a hundred kilometers. These crisscrossed each other, and the two polar currents converged along these rifts, forming a massive icy cross on the world map. This served as the White Emperor's execution site, and the White Emperor's position was at the exact center of the icy cross."

"That's the cage that imprisoned an emperor, a forbidden area for all living things. Marine life even changes their routes when migrating, and migratory birds dare not fly over that sea area. All living things stay away in awe," said Uesugi Yue. "For six long eras, dynasties have come and gone on the European continent, but no royal family has dared to approach that sea area. Standing on land and gazing north, black thunderclouds linger year-round in the distant northern sky. Wind, snow, and lightning roar down, converging on the towering bronze pillar that rises from the icy sea. That is the Black Emperor's supreme power. His power has steadily intensified the punishment on the White Emperor, until it is completely exhausted, and he can completely wipe her out of this world."

Ange stopped stirring the noodles in the bowl. He placed the bamboo chopsticks on the edge of the bowl, slowly straightened his body, his breathing gradually slowed down, and his expression became awe-inspiring.

Although everything Uesugi Yue said up to this point was already known to Ange, no half-blood could remain calm and composed when hearing this dusty history. Even Ange, the most powerful dragon slayer of the time, could not help but feel awe when listening to these emperors of the mythological era. Just like when people today mention Alexander the Great and Napoleon, the reputation of these two gods of war still rings in their ears like thunder, and their brilliance seems as bright as the scorching sun.

"The contents of the Frozen Sea Fragments end here, and we have no way of knowing what follows," Ange whispered. "Some professors believe that the White Emperor was utterly slain by the Black Emperor, and that the Black Emperor successfully reclaimed the portion of power he had bestowed upon the White Emperor. Other scholars believe that the White Emperor is immortal, just like all Dragon Kings. Each death is a deep sleep lasting several epochs for these noble dragons. The White Emperor simply lapsed into a deep sleep due to exhaustion. When the long years pass and her strength recovers to a certain level, the White Emperor will awaken and make a comeback."

"So is the White Emperor truly dead?" Ange looked at Sugi Yue. "Or has her power simply dried up and she fallen into a deep sleep? Perhaps she's sleeping somewhere in this world right now, unknown to the world?"

"The situation here is very complicated, and it's difficult to explain it simply in terms of life and death. Please listen carefully," Uesugi Yue said in a deep voice. "After six epochs of imprisonment and punishment, the White Emperor's power was finally on the verge of exhaustion. The Black Emperor felt the time had come, so he sank the White Emperor and the bronze pillar that bound her into an underwater volcano. He ordered the King of Bronze and Fire to heat the underwater volcano to a temperature that could completely refine the White Emperor and the bronze pillar. Finally, the White Emperor's remains were burned to a pile of ash. The Black Emperor swallowed the White Emperor's ashes and regained some of the power he had bestowed on the White Emperor. After returning to his supreme throne, he ordered all descendants of the dragon clan who had been loyal to the White Emperor to be wiped out from the world."

"So the White Emperor is dead?" Ange looked slightly surprised.

"No, the Black Emperor and the world all thought that the White Emperor had completely disappeared from this world, along with her people and bloodline..." Uesugi Yue shook his head, "But in fact, she is not completely dead."

"That's right. Otherwise, where would you, descendants of the White King, come from?" Anger nodded, then frowned slightly. "But how did she survive? Didn't the Black Emperor eat her remains and ashes?"

"Have you heard of the story of the creator gods Izanagi and Izanami in Japanese mythology?" asked Uesugi Yue.

"I've heard that your Japanese Father and Mother Goddesses are the equivalent of Adam and Eve in the West, and Fuxi and Nuwa in China." Angre nodded. "But your Japanese mythology is even more immoral than Chinese mythology. Izanagi and Izanami are brother and sister gods, and they eventually become husband and wife. This is incest, but the gods in Western mythology often engage in such private activities."

"That's not the point!" Uesugi Yue said angrily. "Is this the time to complain about whether mythology is heavy or not? Now let's get down to business! Do you still want to know the secrets about 'God'?"

"Didn't you ask me that?" Ange waved his hand. "Go on, go on. I'll try not to interrupt you."

"I've said before that these seemingly outlandish Japanese myths are part of the Imperial Chronicles, and they evolved from real history," Uesugi said. "The story of Izanagi and Izanami evolved from the Supreme White Emperor. We are all children of the White Emperor, who is the Supreme Mother Goddess in Japanese mythology, Izanami."

"Then who is your Father God?" Ange asked, "It can't be the Black Emperor, right?"

Uesugi Yue shook his head. "Our Father God is a human... whether human or hybrid is still unknown. During the six epochs when the White Emperor was imprisoned by the Black Emperor, he braved the wrath of the world and sneaked into the cage where the White Emperor was imprisoned. No one knows how he got there. The documents left by the Eight Clans of Sheqi only vaguely state that he traveled a road called 'Yellow Springs'. Anyone who walks 'Yellow Springs Road' must sacrifice everything they have, including their soul, to reach the other side... This part sounds very mysterious, but in the end, that person reached the end of 'Yellow Springs' and found the White Emperor frozen on the bronze pillar."

"That person is Izanagi? Your father god?" Ange touched his chin.

"That's right. It's not because he was Izanagi from the beginning that he did all this, but because he did all this, he is Izanagi." Uesugi Yue nodded. "That human made a contract with the imprisoned White Emperor, obtained the 'Holy Child', and spread the White Emperor's bloodline. Therefore, he is the ancestor of all of us Japanese mixed-race people, the father god in Japanese mythology, and the father of the eight families of Snake."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Ange gestured to pause. "First, explain to me what this 'holy child' is. It shouldn't be an embryo born by the White Emperor or something, right?"

"'Holy Child' is not a baby or an embryo, but a motto, referring to the blood and bones of the White Emperor."

"I understand the White Emperor's bloodline. The dragon blood transformed that human's genes, leading to the proliferation of branches and leaves, ultimately extending and multiplying into your eight Snake Clans." Ange frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled. "But what is the purpose of her bones?"

"This is the content of the contract. The White Emperor would never give her bloodline to humans without asking for anything in return. Behind a generous gift often lies an unbearable price. I will explain this in detail later." Uesugi Yue's voice grew inexplicably heavy. "The White Emperor's bloodline gave birth to many 'Huang'. 'Huang' means 'White King' when broken down. The ancestors of the Eight Clans of Sheqi believed that this ancient Chinese character was tailor-made for us, the descendants of the White King. Therefore, we collectively refer to all super-hybrids as 'Huang'."

"You have used Chinese characters as exclusive terms. It seems that your shameless nature as Japanese has been passed down from ancient times to the present day." Ange smiled.

"I'm saying that your strongest skill is really your dragon-slaying ability? It's about hitting people in the heart, right? The strongest dragon-slayer in the world cannot describe you. You should be the 'strongest trash-talking king in the world'!" Uesugi Yue glared at Ange fiercely.

"Thank you for the compliment, but the world's strongest trash talk king is probably one of my students. Compared to him, I'm a little lacking in skills." Angé said modestly.

"According to the records in the Imperial Chronicles, among our ancient ancestors, all descendants of the White King were 'Emperors', all of them super-hybrids like me. No, perhaps their bloodlines are even purer than mine," Uesugi Yue said. "But with the changes of the times, our originally pure bloodlines have become increasingly mottled, which is equivalent to degeneration. More and more of our people have lost control of their bloodlines and are being devoured by the bloodline of the White Emperor. They have evolved into today's 'ghosts'. Only the occasional super-hybrids are completely immune to the backlash of their bloodlines, but super-hybrids are rare in this era. It is a rare occurrence for one to appear in an era. It is more likely that there will not be a super-hybrid in an era."

"Is this the price you mentioned hidden behind the generous gift?" Ange continued.

"No, the 'Holy Child' is divided into the 'Holy Grail' and the 'Holy Remains'. The 'Holy Grail' is the bloodline left by the White Emperor, and the 'Holy Remains' are the bones left behind by the White Emperor. That bone I mentioned is the price we cannot afford," said Uesugi Yue. "As descendants of the White Emperor, our mission, inherited to this day, is to help the White Emperor protect the 'Holy Remains' she bestowed upon the Father God Izanagi. For generations, the White Emperor's remains have been buried in the city of the 'Gods,' Takama-ga-hara. Therefore, within the Snake Eight Clan, Takama-ga-hara is also known as the God's Burial Place."

"They say it's the White Emperor's remains, but the so-called 'holy bones' are actually just a small piece of his bone. Ancient painters who oversaw the screen wall would carve the 'holy bones' to resemble neck bones or a skull, but I think it's more likely to be torso bones," Uesugi Yue said. "But I've never seen that thing. I can only confirm that it's a bone left from the White Emperor, and it carries his genes."

"So... the 'god' you're talking about is actually a fragment of the White Emperor's bones. This fragment has been kept in Takama-ga-hara, and your responsibility is to protect it for generations to come. This is the contract between the 'god' and your ancestors," Ange said. "So the 'god' hopes to be resurrected with that fragment? But how can a bone resurrect or awaken on its own? So, someone stole the White Emperor's bones in an attempt to extract the genes within and revive him?"

"The person who stole the bone may have intended to revive the White Emperor, or perhaps he coveted the White Emperor's genes and wanted to transplant the bone into himself to make up for the flaws in his own bloodline and become the new 'God'."

Uesugi Yue paused.

"But no one knows what the outcome will be. Perhaps the White Emperor will be resurrected, or perhaps he can evolve his bloodline and become a pure-blooded dragon. But the most likely outcome is... perhaps the White Emperor will possess his body and devour his soul!"

Chapter 353 Customers who visited the ramen stall one after another

"So that's why you say that 'God' is the biggest 'ghost' in the world?" Ange asked in a deep voice.

"That's right," Uesugi Yue nodded. "The White Emperor is dead, leaving behind only a cursed remains. In ancient Japanese mythology, Izanami's death transformed her into Izanami, the Goddess of the Underworld, also known as the Goddess of the Underworld. These are her taboo names and titles, because Izanami is essentially a dead deity. She is depicted as crawling with maggots, with a blocked throat and a body covered in eight thunder gods, ranging from large thunder to hidden thunder, and her body is extremely hideous."

"According to legend, after Izanami's death, the father god Izanagi, missing his wife so much, discussed with the god of the underworld whether he could bring Izanami back to the human world. The god of the underworld agreed to Izanagi's request, but with one condition: Izanagi must not look back even once on his way back from the underworld," said Uesugi Tsuyoshi. "However, on his way back, Izanagi called out his wife's name several times but received no response. His heart was so broken that he turned back, thus violating the god's condition and witnessing a scene reminiscent of hell."

"The once beautiful wife in his heart had become a rotting corpse crawling with maggots. The female skeleton, clad in a bloody, maggot-colored garment, stared at Izanagi with her dark, hollow eye sockets, a terrifying smile playing on her lips. Terrified, Izanagi turned and fled," said Uesugi Tsuyoshi. "And Izanami, enraged at her husband's betrayal, led an army of the dead from the Land of the Dead in a relentless pursuit of Izanagi until they reached the entrance to the Land of the Dead, a remote area called 'Yozumi Hirasaka.' There, Izanagi blocked the Road to the Underworld with a huge rock, forever ending communication between the human world and the Land of the Underworld. Izanami, overcome by Izanagi's betrayal, hated humanity and cursed herself and her descendants to die at a thousand deaths every day. From then on, she completely degenerated into the god of Yozumatsu."

"Such a rotten corpse, or such a piece of bones... came back to life in the end?" asked Ange.

"Yes, the overwhelming rage transformed Izanami into the Yamata-no-Orochi, which ravaged Japan. It was she and Izanagi's three children, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, and Susanoo, who were responsible for suppressing the Yamata-no-Orochi."

"Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi suppressed the Yamata-no-Orochi at the other end of Hirasaka. Susanoo passed the Road to the Underworld and reached its end, using the legendary Ame-no-Habe-slash to chop off all eight of the Yamata-no-Orochi's heads," said Uesugi Tsutomu. "Unfortunately, although the Yamata-no-Orochi died, Susanoo was bewitched by Izanami during the battle. Izanami's blood infected Susanoo's consciousness, and a piece of her remains took over Susanoo's body. The White King devoured Susanoo's soul and was reborn. Now, even Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi could not kill her. They could only tear the earth and ocean apart, subduing her with endless water and boundless darkness. Finally, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi sank this dead and resurrected 'god' and their city, Takama-ga-hara, into the depths of the sea."