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

"It sounds like you didn't really love any of them," said Yuan Zhisheng.

"Yes, I don't love them. Even though each of them has a plump figure like a full pear hidden under their kimono, because the family believes that only women with strong breasts and perky buttocks are suitable for childbearing, I still have no interest in them because I don't like this kind of traditional Japanese women. Each of them looks like a big white geese with a thick body and a thin neck." Uesugi Yue said, "So I continue to look for truly sexy women, the kind of unrestrained women with European and American styles. These women are descendants of the family and mixed blood of six countries, romantic French, passionate Italian, and bodybuilding Cuban..."

"I asked these women I found to teach my original seven wives what international dance is and what it means to be truly flirtatious. Each of them learned quickly, and they worked hard to practice their dance moves and flexibility to please me." Uesugi Yue said, "I was very happy because I enjoyed this feeling of being superior. So far, I have thirteen wives, but I still haven't developed any feelings for any of them. In my eyes, they are all dogs, toys. They make me happy because dogs have pleased their masters. I can play with them as I please, and none of them resist. They even say flattering words to me and put on smiles for me, because seducing me is their job. Whoever can get pregnant with my child first will enjoy a lifetime of wealth and glory."

During Uesugi Yue's narration, Minamoto no Chisei had been listening quietly. He was very silent and serious, so he unconsciously brought his emotions into his father from more than 60 years ago... He did sound like an extremely foolish emperor, but Minamoto no Chisei didn't think there was anything happy about such a life, nor did he think his father was so hateful. Whether it was his own father or the breeding girls in the family, this extremely decadent life only made him feel deeply...sad.

"In short, my daily life is simple. I wake up early in the morning on a round European-style bed that can accommodate twenty people. My wives will bring me toiletries and a carefully prepared breakfast. The breakfast is authentic French. Since I am not used to Japanese breakfast, the family specially invited a chef from France for this purpose." Uesugi Yue said, "After breakfast, I will be invited to the study. The priests will hold up stacks of documents for me to refer to. Some are family histories, and some are about the history of mixed-bloods. I always symbolically flip through a few pages. Only those nonsense myths can interest me at all. Everything else is very boring. The priests sincerely advise me to read more about family governance. Only by doing so can I be a virtuous monarch and help my spirit be ranked higher in the family shrine after my death."

"I don't want to be a wise ruler. I don't care where my spirit tablet is placed after I die. Whenever those nagging old guys in tall crowns get impatient with me, I yell at them, and then they kneel on the ground, crawl on their faces, and beg for forgiveness." Uesugi Yue said, "But I never thought of actually punishing them. It's just that those old guys talk too much and give me no peace, so I just scare them."

"Your previous life really sounds like that of a real emperor." Yuan Zhisheng commented, but in his heart he secretly added the word "stupid" before "emperor".

"Who says it isn't? But for an emperor who doesn't care about state affairs, every day is monotonous and extremely boring," said Uesugi Yue. "After reviewing those vast amounts of literature, I'd take a short break before being assigned to tea ceremony and kendo lessons. Then there would be a kabuki performance. My entire morning would often be spent like this."

"After lunch, a high monk would come to my bedroom to teach me meditation techniques and Zen, or a Shinto priest would explain the teachings of the Great Sun Tathagata to me." Uesugi Yue sighed. "After dinner, Japan's best rope bondage master would come to demonstrate Japan's most exquisite and quintessential rope bondage techniques to me, and the women bound were all the most popular Kabuki actresses of the time... To be honest, that was the most enjoyable and pleasant time of my day, but deep down, I still resented it because the old men in my family had worked so hard to transform me from a Frenchman into a traditional Japanese."

"It sounds like the family's expectations and demands of you are indeed very high." Yuan Zhisheng paused, "But it seems that the family hasn't done anything excessive to you. They have always tolerated you and tried their best to meet your requests."

"Yes, I still think it was a bit inappropriate when I think back to my youth," Uesugi said. "But I'm a Frenchman at heart. Internationally, the French and the Japanese are almost antonyms. I admire the French's laziness and romanticism. How could they turn a Frenchman into a rigid and inflexible Japanese?"

"I mean, if you couldn't adapt to this and left the family because of it, I completely understand." Minamoto Chisei raised his head and stared into Uesugi Yue's eyes. "But why did you burn the family shrine and documents before leaving, and even destroy the shrine's spirit tablets, and finally kill all your wives?"

Uesugi Yue and Minamoto Chisei stared at each other for a long, long time. He saw all sorts of complicated emotions and doubts in Minamoto Chisei's eyes. Finally, he sighed deeply and spoke slowly: "It all started with my parents."

"Your parents?" Yuan Zhisheng was stunned.

"Yes, my parents, your nominal grandparents." Uesugi Yue nodded and looked at Minamoto no Chisei. "Did that man named Tachibana Masamune ever tell you why the number of people in the upper three families is so much smaller than that in the lower five families?"

"Is it because the fertility rate between hybrids with purer bloodlines will be lower?" Yuan Zhisheng asked.

"You're half right. A union between two members of the Upper Three Families increases the chances of producing offspring with a stronger bloodline. However, the fertility rate isn't as low as you might think," Uesugi Yue said. "People with precious bloodlines naturally prioritize the continuation of their bloodline. Coupled with the relatively high fertility rate, the descendants of the Upper Three Families are dwindling. Does this make sense, Zhisheng?"

Yuan Zhisheng shook his head blankly.

"The reason for the decline of the Upper Three Families ultimately comes back to their bloodline. The purer the bloodline, the higher the chance of a 'ghost' emerging from it," Uesugi Yue said. "Children born from the Upper Three Families are prone to ripping their mothers' bellies and emerging as deformed fetuses with tails and eerie golden eyes. These dragon-like fetuses are immediately executed upon birth. The reproduction and inheritance of the Eight Snake Families is built on dripping blood. This is the curse that accompanies the power bestowed upon us by the 'gods.'"

This is the family history that Yuan Zhisheng has rarely heard of, and it is the dark side hidden in history. Because there are almost no descendants of the three upper families left in the world today, naturally there are no descendants born, and such bloody and cruel fragments are not recorded in the family annals.

Now, listening to Uesugi Koshi's narration, Gen Chisei felt inexplicably heavy-hearted after learning the truth.

Chapter 383 The Darkest History

"And something like 'Emperor' is one in a million, truly one in a million." Uesugi Yue emphasized.

"For quite a long time, it was rare for an 'Emperor' to be born among the ten thousand members of the family," said Uesugi Yue. "My father's name was Uesugi Hideo, and he was from the Uesugi family. In my father's generation, there hadn't been an 'Emperor' in the family. By then, there were only a few members left in the three upper families. My father was probably the last descendant of the White King with the pure bloodline of the three upper families. Even though his bloodline was far from enough to be an 'Emperor', he was pushed by the family elders to become the head of the eight Sheqi families."

"Because of bloodline?" Yuan Zhisheng asked, "Because your father is a descendant of the last three upper families to produce descendants with royal blood."

"Indeed, the only reason they pushed my father into the position of patriarch was because he possessed the family's last bloodline with the potential to produce an 'Emperor.' Furthermore, during my father's time, Japan was peaceful, and the family didn't need him to govern. The only thing that worried the family elders was the continuation of the family bloodline," Uesugi Yue said. "So my father's job was easier and more monotonous than mine. His only mission was to pass on his bloodline. Even if he couldn't produce an 'Emperor,' he at least had to give birth to a descendant of one of the three upper families whose bloodline had the potential to produce an 'Emperor.'"

"I understand. The family wants to ensure the Emperor's bloodline doesn't die out, or at least preserve the possibility of another Emperor being born in the future," Minamoto no Chisei said. He then asked Uesugi Tsuyoshi, "So your father also had many... wives?"

"Yes, my father is just like me. He also has many wives." Uesugi Yue nodded. "But he also never recognized those women as his wives. Because he could not develop any feelings for those excellent breeding women found by the family."

"My father was even more resolute than I am. He didn't care about the family's prosperity or its continuation. At that time, he didn't even have any interest in women," said Uesugi Yue. "To escape all this, he immersed himself in the world of Go and studied under the Honinbo family. He unexpectedly developed an extraordinary talent for Go. At a young age, he reached the rank of 9th dan, a level many people would never dream of reaching. He became the greatest of geniuses and earned the title of 'Go Saint.'"

"Your father... is indeed not an ordinary person." Yuan Zhisheng didn't know how to describe his nominal grandfather.

In his opinion, his grandfather was even more... weird than his father. At least there were traces of his father's incompetence during his tenure as the head of the family, which was in line with human nature.

Because his father possessed unrivaled bloodline, the supreme family in the underworld revered him and granted his every wish. Wealth, women and power were right before his eyes and within his reach... Not many people could resist this temptation. Presumably, if 90% of the people in the world got all this, they would definitely do more excessive than his father. Although his father was foolish, at least he was not a tyrant who abused divine power and took human lives lightly.

But his grandfather turned a blind eye to all this. Yuan Zhisheng didn't know the reason why his grandfather hated all this. In his opinion, his father's father was even a more elegant and charming person than his father, indifferent and otherworldly, elegant and romantic.

Yes, Yuan Zhisheng actually secretly admired his grandfather whom he had never met... Because he himself was a weirdo just like his grandfather, who gave up his position as the head of the underworld and wanted to turn around and board a plane to France to sell sunscreen on a nude beach!

"Your grandfather was truly no ordinary man. Later, a woman appeared, and everyone realized it wasn't that he wasn't interested in women at all, but rather that he wasn't interested in the breeding women his family had arranged for him," Uesugi Yue said. "You can think he's elegant and romantic, or a clueless idiot, and that's perfectly normal. But it's undeniable that, unlike me, he did have his own pursuits in certain things, such as Go and... love."

"Love?" Yuan Zhisheng was stunned.

"Yes, love." Uesugi Yue nodded. "That's the love story of my father and my mother. My mother wasn't a breeding girl arranged by the family for my father. My mother's name is Charlotte Chen. She is a nun of the French Mission Society. However, she was born in China and is of Chinese and French descent."

"Nun?" Yuan Zhisheng asked doubtfully, "Aren't nuns supposed to take three vows and dedicate their entire selves to the Lord? How can nuns be allowed to marry and have children?"

"Oh, my mother was just a novice nun at the time. The novice period lasts six years, a very long time. Not everyone can dedicate themselves to the Lord. Only after going through the long years of testing, when the Lord is convinced that your will is strong enough, can you be qualified to give your all to the Lord." Uesugi Yue said, "These six years are not only a probationary period, but also a period of repentance. If you find that you can't let go of worldly things during these six years, such as wealth, family, or love... you can always regret it and return to the secular world."

"However, if a nun regrets her decision during her novitiate period, she will probably never have the right to serve the Lord again in her life and will also be punished by God," said Uesugi Yue.

"But your mother still betrayed the Lord's will and gave up her status as a nun for your father, right?" Yuan Zhisheng asked.

"Yes, my father and my mother met at a Catholic exchange festival between France and Japan. At the time, my father, the youngest Go master of the Inbo family, played an exhibition match with my mother," Uesugi Yue said. "My father played a quick game of Go with my mother blindfolded. He was already winning by the middle game. His superb skills and pure heart captured my mother's heart. He also fell in love during the Go exchange... Or maybe it was love at first sight, which is why they became opponents by such a coincidence. Anyway, they've been together secretly ever since."

"A secret relationship?"

"Yes, they could only be together in secret because Mom's apprenticeship was almost over and she was about to get married. If the French Catholics discovered Mom and Dad's relationship, her six years of perseverance would be in vain," said Uesugi Yue. "And they were in Tokyo, Japan, right under the noses of the Snake Eight Clan. If Dad had threatened to marry a Chinese-French woman, the family elders would have thought he was crazy. Because Dad shouldn't have loved only one woman in his life, or that he didn't deserve love at all. His love could only be universal."

"Rather than being the patriarch of the family, the elders see Dad as just a stud. A stud's job is to mate, to reproduce, to have sex with as many females as possible to produce as many offspring as possible," Uesugi Yue whispered. "Under these circumstances, if the family knew that Dad and Mom were in love, Mom would definitely be in danger."

"Then what? Did your father and mother run away and elope?" Yuan Zhisheng couldn't help but ask.

"How could it be that simple?" Uesugi Yue sighed and slowly shook his head. "They did indeed elope for love. On the last day of Mom's six-year apprenticeship, she betrayed her master, and Dad betrayed the family. They fled by boat overnight to Lyon, France, ready to live the world of two they had always dreamed of."

"A world for two? What about you? Aren't they planning to have children?" Yuan Zhisheng asked in confusion.

"Yes, in their plans and visions of the future, there was no such thing as children. I was a complete accident," Uesugi Yue said with a wry smile. "Not long after arriving in Lyon, Mom discovered she was pregnant. She didn't want to tell Dad at first because she knew how much he rejected and feared children. But as her belly grew bigger, he couldn't hide it anymore, and Dad eventually discovered she was pregnant."

"Shouldn't having offspring be a joyful thing? Why does your father feel repulsive and fearful towards the child?"

"Remember what I told you? The reason the three upper families dwindled in number is because hybrids with overly pure bloodlines easily gave birth to dragon-like, deformed offspring. Dad was afraid the child he and Mom bred might be a freak with sharp claws and a serpent's tail. He was afraid such a freak would tear through the mother's body and kill the woman he loved," Uesugi Yue whispered. "Dad's fears weren't groundless or hearsay, because they were all his own personal experiences."

"Personal experience?" Yuan Zhisheng murmured, "Could it be that he and his previous wives had ever given birth to dragon-like fetuses?"

"No, he's not my father's child, but my father's younger brother," Uesugi Yue said, "so he's my uncle in name only."

"My grandfather wasn't a stud, and my grandmother wasn't a breeder. They loved each other dearly, but when they were trying to conceive their second son, my uncle, they suffered a devastating blow no one could have anticipated," said Uesugi Yue. "Because my father's bloodline was good, even though he wasn't an 'emperor,' there was a chance he could bear a child with royal blood. So when my grandmother became pregnant, the whole family was excited, hoping she would give birth to a true 'emperor.'"

"The result was a 'ghost', right?"

"That's right, reality is always contrary to our wishes. One night, accompanied by my grandmother's heartbreaking scream, my 'uncle' tore through her abdomen and crawled out." Uesugi Yue said, "When everyone arrived, my grandmother had no vital signs. All they could see was a deformed baby with a snake's tail and sharp claws, its eyes glowing with a terrifying golden light, gnawing at my grandmother's internal organs. The maids present were terrified and screamed. My grandfather had a heart attack and nearly fainted when he saw this scene. It was my father who rushed forward and strangled and stabbed my 'uncle' to death with a steel rope and scissors."

"In the end, my father collapsed to the ground, watching my 'uncle's' rotten flesh mixed with my grandmother's rotten flesh. He cried and vomited." Uesugi Yue sighed deeply.

"That's why your father hates children so much, because his childhood was overshadowed by the curse in his bloodline, and he is worried that your mother will repeat the mistakes of your grandmother." Yuan Zhisheng said softly.

"Yes, when he killed 'Uncle', my father was only seven years old. He loved my mother and had always looked forward to the birth of a brother or sister. But the final truth was too cruel for a seven-year-old." Uesugi Yue shook his head gently. "This incident cast a huge shadow over my father's life. He believed that royal blood was a curse. Because of this damned bloodline, he lost his beloved mother and then his brother. From then on, he was terrified of having children. He would vomit at the mere mention of the word 'childbirth', and he would never let the woman he loved take such a huge risk. So when he learned that my mother was pregnant, my father's first reaction was to abort me."

"But you finally came into this world."

"It was because of my mother. My mother insisted on giving birth to me. She believed that I was a symbol of her love for my father, a gift from God for her six years of dedicated service. She was determined to give birth to me no matter what," said Uesugi Yue. "Plus, my mother was already nearly four months pregnant. Aborting a child that big would harm her body. So my father had no choice but to give up. He could only stay by my mother's side every day and night. If he found out, he would kill me immediately to save my mother."

"Your father really loves your mother."

"Yes, Dad loved Mom very much. If nothing unexpected happened, he would have stayed with this woman forever, but the good times didn't last long," Uesugi Yue said. "Not long after, the ninjas of the Fuma family, under the orders of the family elders, followed my parents to Lyon. They originally received orders to kill my mother and take my father away, but when they learned that my mother was pregnant, they were in a dilemma for a while."

"Because no matter how the family's breeding girls tried to seduce or tempt my father, he hadn't produced any children in all these years. However, not long after he and my mother met, my mother became pregnant with him. The ninjas were undecided for a while, so they reported the news to the family elders."

"The elders were greatly shocked when they heard the news. They immediately dispatched more ninjas and the family's maids to sail to Lyon, France, to protect my mother and to welcome my birth."

"Did the family tacitly agree with your parents?" Yuan Zhisheng asked.

"No, listen to me." Uesugi Yue shook his head. "Five months later, I was born safely. It wasn't what anyone expected. I wasn't a monster with a tail, claws, and glowing golden eyes, but I didn't look like someone with a powerful bloodline either. My father was very happy, but my family was very disappointed."

Chapter 384 Being a Parent

"Because my bloodline test results were very negative when I was born, the report showed that the purity of my royal blood was close to zero," said Uesugi Yue. "When the family elders learned the truth, they immediately turned hostile. They denounced my mother for not being a good horse and unable to produce a good breed, wasting my father's precious bloodline. So, those old men issued an order, having the ninjas of the Fuma family threaten my father to return to the family and continue to reproduce with high-quality breeding women, or my mother and I would be executed on the spot."

Yuan Zhisheng's palms unconsciously clenched into fists, and the veins on the back of his hands were exposed. Although he had never met his grandparents, the family was hiding such a dark history. Those elders who had lost their humanity actually used such cruel and despicable means on an innocent mother and son. This really made Yuan Zhisheng, as the head of the contemporary family, deeply ashamed of the family's shameful past.

"Of course Dad didn't want to leave Mom, and he wouldn't let the clan execute her. And since I'm a normal child, I inherited his bloodline anyway. Mom loves me, so Dad naturally loves me too. He wouldn't agree to the clan's decision to execute us," Uesugi Yue said. "At the time, Dad requested to speak to the clan elders in person, but the Fuma clan ninjas disagreed, so Dad cut off two of his fingers in front of them."

"Cut off two of your own fingers?"

"Dad cut off his right index and ring fingers. This was a compromise with the family and a threat to the elders," said Uesugi Yue. "Dad was obsessed with Go his entire life. For Go practitioners, the index and middle fingers of their dominant hand are used to twist stones. These two fingers are, in a sense, the player's life. Dad's act of amputating his fingers was to tell the family elders that he was willing to give up his lifelong love of Go and return to the family to reproduce with those breeding women, provided that the safety of us mother and child was guaranteed. Otherwise, a man who wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice two fingers, which are as precious as his own life, would definitely not hesitate to sacrifice his own life if he got angry."

"Did you and your mother return to Japan with him?" asked Gen Chisei.

"No." Uesugi Yue shook his head. "In the negotiations between Dad and the family, the condition was that only he would return to Japan, while Mom and I would continue to stay in France."

"Why?" Yuan Zhisheng was puzzled. "His demands aren't excessive. If he threatens his life, the family elders should agree to his conditions. Why does he want to separate from you?"

"The family elders did agree to Dad's conditions. Mom and I wouldn't cause any substantial damage to the family even if we survived. But if anything happened to us, Dad, a lunatic who cut off his own fingers without a second thought, might just cut his own neck next time," Uesugi Yue said. "He's the family's last stallion, and his bloodline is truly unique and precious to the family. The family elders said that as long as Dad cooperates with the family's reproduction, they'll have no problem accepting Mom and me."

"But it was Dad himself who made the decision to let Mom and I stay in Lyon, France, because he didn't want Mom to go back with him to that crazy, dark, and filthy family." Uesugi Yue whispered, "Dad loves Mom so much, how could he possibly want Mom to see him having sex with those coquettish breeding girls? It would drive Mom crazy!"

"Dad had already lost his lifelong pursuit of Go. His love for Mom was the only light of salvation in his life. It was the only thing he couldn't lose, otherwise his life would become bleak." Uesugi Yue sighed. "In the end, Dad returned to Japan alone, while Mom and I stayed in Lyon, France. The family originally wanted to leave us a generous alimony and arrange for a ninja from the Fuma family to secretly protect us until I came of age, but Mom refused. It wasn't because she was so noble that she disdained charity, nor was it because she hated the family."

"Because my bloodline was lowly at the time, I wasn't considered worthy of the family's attention. But I'm still a descendant of the top three of the eight Snake Clans, and the blood of the White King flows in my veins," Uesugi Yue said. "My mother was afraid that the family would one day change their minds and arrange for this ninja who protected us to turn against them and assassinate me, a member of the family who was living abroad. That's something my mother absolutely didn't want to see. Even if there was even the slightest possibility, she would strangle it in the cradle."

"Your mother really loves you." Yuan Zhisheng said sincerely.

"Yes, Mom really loves me, and I love her too, because we've been dependent on each other for all those years. Although my childhood was hard, my memories are filled with Mom, and I'm very happy." Uesugi Yue unconsciously smiled, a clear and simple smile, like a child reminiscing about his mother. "But happiness alone can't survive. Mom refused help from the family and raised me all by herself. It was really too difficult for a young, unmarried, pregnant daughter."

"What did you rely on for survival later?" Yuan Zhisheng asked unconsciously. He had involuntarily immersed himself in the story and began to worry about the woman in the story.

"One night, when I was five, my mother was telling me a Bible story to put me to sleep. She was telling me the story of Jacob and Rachel in the Book of Genesis, and suddenly she burst into tears," Uesugi Yue said. "I was panicked at the time because her sobs were so sad, and I didn't understand the story. I thought I had done something wrong and made her unhappy, so I started crying with her. I apologized to her, promised her, and confessed to her that I would behave well in the future and would never make her cry again. But my mother touched my head and whispered to me, 'My child, you have behaved well. It's not you who should repent, but me as your mother.'"

"Did your mother do something wrong? Why does she want to repent?" Yuan Zhisheng asked.

"Yeah, I don't understand either. I told Mom you didn't do anything wrong, so why do you need to repent? Mom shook her head and said no, she was wrong. She had made the biggest mistake in the world. Six years ago, she betrayed the Lord and chose love. This was her sin, but I shouldn't have to bear all of this." Uesugi Yue lowered his voice. "I'm also old enough to go to school. Mom can't afford my upbringing and the high tuition, so she decided to return to the church and send me to a church school."

"Didn't your mother leave the church? The Catholic Church's review system should be very strict. How can someone who has left the church join again?" Yuan Zhisheng raised doubts.

"Yes, Mom was originally on the Catholic blacklist, but she lied. She said she was abducted by Japanese gangsters on the last day of her novitiate six years ago and held captive for a long time. Because she missed the ceremony of taking the three vows, she always felt guilty towards the Lord, so she repented for six years and decided to return to the Lord's arms after this period of penance." Uesugi Yue said, "That was the first lie Mom told, and the only lie she would ever tell. It was all for me. She concealed my existence. The nun who once taught her had a good impression of her, and her attitude was extremely pious. During the ceremony of taking the three vows, Mom became a lifelong nun, and the fact that she had a child became a top secret that she kept secret for the rest of her life."

"What happened later? Did your mother always live in the church? What about your father? When did your bloodline awaken?" Yuan Zhisheng asked.

"Yes, Mom has been a nun since then, for the rest of her life. It's not that she doesn't love Dad. She already betrayed God for that man. She said she couldn't betray God a second time, but Mom said she didn't regret it. I am the best proof in the world that she loved Dad. As long as I am healthy and safe throughout my life, she has nothing else to ask for." Uesugi Yue sighed softly, "Since Dad returned to Japan, Mom and Dad have never met again. Later, Dad served as the family's stud horse and continued to help the family sow seeds. I heard that he had several children with those breeding girls, but none of them had the standard ratio of royal blood in their bodies. In the end, Dad died before the age of fifty due to physical deficiency and his longing for Mom."

"As for my bloodline..." Uesugi Yue suddenly fell silent. "Later, I learned that the bloodline test report at my birth had actually been tampered with. My father did this in secret. He made the family elders and the ninjas of the Fuma family believe that my bloodline was inferior. He knew the fate of those with royal blood. The family was a cage that enveloped him throughout his life, bringing a series of tragedies to his life. He didn't want his children to suffer such tragedies, so he tampered with my bloodline test report. In fact, even if I hadn't awakened my Word Spirit, my bloodline at birth had already surpassed my father's."

"Your father loves you." Yuan Zhisheng said.

"Yes, the moment I knew the truth, I finally knew that my father loved me." Uesugi Yue said with great comfort, "So even though I have no memory of my father at all, even though he wanted to kill me when I was still a fetus, I am still willing to call him Dad."

"After all, how many fathers in this world truly don't love their own children?" Uesugi Yue said softly, "I once held the same view as my father. I believed that my bloodline was a sin, so I didn't want children, and I didn't dare to have any, because I didn't want to pass this sin on to my descendants."

"But the moment I truly learned I was pregnant, everything changed. Principles, sins, all bullshit." Uesugi Yue raised his head, gazing at the rainy sky. "Children might have a certain illogical charm, you know? As a husband, as the head of the family, I've always been irresponsible. But the moment I knew the truth, a voice in my heart told me... Although I've never seen my children, I'm ready to give them everything I have."

When Uesugi Yue finished this last sentence, Gen Chisei's body trembled violently.

Yuan Zhisheng looked at the old man who was looking up at the sky. The old man's voice was so soft, yet it revealed the hardness of steel. Yuan Zhisheng's pupils couldn't stop trembling, and the old man's aged face was reflected in them. Yuan Zhisheng lowered his head, lowered his eyelids, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.

"You... continue." Yuan Zhisheng almost couldn't suppress the sob in his voice.

"One ordinary afternoon, my Word Spirit awakened without warning. I had just walked out of my university gates when the sun felt much hotter than usual. I looked up at the blazing sun, but the heat was actually coming from within me. A tremendous gravitational pull and a scorching aura emanated from my body in all directions," Uesugi Yue said. "I simply couldn't contain my power. The moment my Word Spirit truly erupted, everything around me was incinerated. Streetlights five blocks away exploded. I was detained at the local police station awaiting trial. Some said it was a warning from God, while others said it was a long-planned terrorist attack."

Yuan Zhisheng opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only say, "Your power sounds really scary."

"But I didn't know anything back then. I lived like an ordinary person. At most, I was a little smarter, prettier, and more athletically gifted than my peers. Occasionally, some classmates thought I was a freak or a weirdo, but I never thought I had superpowers." Uesugi Yue whispered, "No one ever told me about hybrids and word spirits. I almost thought I was a monster, locked up in prison for life!"

"Did your family find you later?" Yuan Zhisheng asked.

"Yes, it was my mother who notified the family. My crime had such a huge impact on the local area that even the church couldn't bail me out. She was at her wit's end and had no choice but to ask the family for help." Uesugi Yue nodded. "Once the family learned the news, they immediately sent people to France. First, the diplomatic ambassador contacted the local police and got me released on bail. Then came the ninjas of the Fuma family, who were ordered to protect my safety. Finally, the family priests, wearing high crowns, told me that I wasn't a young Frenchman, but the emperor of an ancient Japanese family."

"I've already told you the rest of the story. I grew up in France and couldn't adapt to the complicated rules of the ancient Japanese family. That's why my family thinks I'm a troublemaker, and I think they're all idiots."

"But if it were just this, my family and I would at best become enemies." Uesugi Yue's voice suddenly became low and hoarse, "But I absolutely shouldn't have died. My mother shouldn't have died!"

Chapter 385: Lament

"Your family killed your mother?" Yuan Zhisheng was shocked, his anger evident in his words.

"No, after the family learned of the purity of my bloodline, they sincerely invited me back to become emperor. My mother would naturally be the empress dowager, so they certainly wouldn't dare to kill her." Uesugi Yue shook his head. "And if the family dared to attack my mother, I wouldn't just burn down the family shrine or beat up a few priests. My wrath would engulf the entire Sheqi clan, and no one would be able to stop me."

"But you just mentioned your mother..." Yuan Zhisheng said.

"Chisheng, don't be impatient. Just listen to me." Uesugi Yue said, "Although my mother didn't die at the hands of anyone in the family, her death was also closely related to the family."

"After the family's envoys arrived in France, Mom didn't return to the family with me. It wasn't because she was reluctant to let her child leave her, nor was it because she didn't want to see Dad. It was because she had already made three vows, dedicating everything she had to the Lord. If she betrayed the Lord, He would take everything away from her." Uesugi Yue said softly, "To Mom, I am everything. She's afraid that if she betrays the Lord again, her children will become unhappy. Mom said she will stay in the church in France for the rest of her life. Whenever she tells stories to the children at night, she thinks of me. She prays for Dad and me every day, hoping that the light of the Lord will shine on us and me forever."

"I was very naive at the time. I had never thought that I would be the emperor of a large family. In my opinion, being an emperor meant being able to do whatever I wanted, rich and glorious. People would scramble to give me everything I wanted. I thought I could go to Japan to play for a few years, then I could bring my mother to Japan. Or maybe when I got tired of the emperor's life, I could return to France, and my mother and I would live a good life, so I was very happy." Uesugi Yue said, "My mother was also very happy, because I hadn't seen my father since I was a child. Mom was very happy that my father and I were finally going to meet. She asked me to tell my father that she was doing well in France and everything was fine. She also realized her youthful wish and became a lifelong nun as she wished, and told my father not to miss her too much."

"We didn't know at the time that the family was so anxious to bring me back to Japan because my father was no longer in this world."

"The family had lost a precious stallion, and I showed up at just the right time. How could they not keep me firmly in their grasp?" Uesugi Yue sneered. "I was ridiculously foolish back then. I thought I was just growing up and going out to explore the world. Every boy at that age spends some time away from their parents to grow stronger. I thought it was normal. When I got tired or missed my mother, I could always see her again. I happily followed the priests onto the ship bound for Japan, unaware that this departure would mean my mother and I parted forever."

"My family held absolute dominance in the Japanese underworld, so they didn't actually need my immense strength at the time. They only needed my bloodline to carry on their powerful royal bloodline," Uesugi said. "So my initial job was the same as my father's: to serve as the family's stud. Like my father, we both believed this powerful bloodline was a sin, so we didn't want to have any offspring."

"But unlike my father, who was born and raised in Japan and was extremely resistant to the family's arrangements, I, who was born and raised in France, am much more open. I will cooperate with the breeding girls arranged by the family to have fun, but I always secretly take safety measures beforehand, so for a long time the family didn't notice."

"What I described to you earlier was my life in the early days of my family. However, before we had even lived through those decadent and corrupt days for a few years, the world began to fight. World War II broke out, and the Eight Snake Families were the powerful war advocates on the Japanese side." Uesugi Yue said, "In fact, the entire Second World War was originally just a war started by mixed-bloods over the distribution of resources. Initially, negotiations between the mixed-bloods of the German-Japanese partnership and the European mixed-bloods broke down, and the family instigated the Japanese military to join the war. Later, Japan and the United States were also involved. Later, this war gradually involved the entire world, and the scale became uncontrollable."