They've already fought their way through the Holy Grail War, and you still call them dragons?

"At the time, I found a black notebook containing my research findings at the scene, so I naturally assumed Bondarev was dead. I also found his laboratory base in Tokyo and recaptured you three siblings. From then on, I joined the Snake Eight Clan and climbed the ranks, continuously gaining high positions to gain access to information about the 'God' hidden within the family."

Yuan Zhisheng said coldly, "So, your goal is the same as the Ghost Clan's, to revive the 'God' and pursue evolution?"

"No," Tachibana Masamune covered his head in pain, "After I became the head of the family and came into contact with the deepest secrets of the family, I realized that everything was a scam!"

"According to my research, the divine bones bestowed by God are merely a tool to deceive humanity. Once a hybrid accepts the divine bones, they will become monsters parasitized and controlled by the White King. They will be completely irrational, and there's no way they can evolve!"

"This is the case with Susanoo, as recorded in the Komonki. He was seduced and corrupted by the divine bones, transforming into the Yamata-no-Orochi. Consequently, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto had no choice but to simulate the Word Spirit, Shiva's Dance, and the Guixu (Return to the Ruins) to sink Susanoo and the entire ancient castle of Takamaga-hara into the depths of the sea."

"And only when I got to this point did I realize that everything was orchestrated by Bondarev! He wasn't dead at all. He had already absorbed my research results and had an even more perfect super hybrid, Emiya. That's why he deliberately faked his death and returned my research results to me so that I could be his puppet!"

"what?"

"Chisheng, have you heard? In the past decade or so, a new leader has suddenly emerged among the Oni Clan," Tachibana Masamune suddenly brought up a seemingly unrelated topic. "That man's name is Wang Jiang. He claims to have found the path to evolution. And since his appearance, the Oni Clan has become much more difficult to deal with, and the casualties of the Executive Bureau are increasing every year."

Yuan Zhisheng was shocked. "General Wang... is he Bondarev?"

"That's right, that's the only explanation! Bondarev wanted to quietly observe me, a chess piece, exploring the so-called path to godhood for him. This also made it easier for him to 'sit back and wait for an opportunity to seize the fruits of his labor!"

"I see. No wonder you, Dad, are so aggressive in fighting against the fierce demons without hesitation." Gen Chisheng hesitated, holding the long sword used by the kaishakunin.

"Yes, that being said, I am, after all, a sinner who has caused so much evil, and once coveted the family's secrets with filthy intentions," Tachibana Masamune said with a wry smile, "Now my hands are stained with blood, and my crimes are unforgivable..."

He raised the sword for seppuku without saying a word.

Genji watched silently as Tachibana Masamune decisively and neatly prepared to plunge his sword into his abdomen. Just as he was about to strike, he swung his sword, precisely deflecting the cold gleam of the sword. The whirling blade pierced the beam, shaking off the vermilion lacquer.

"Yes, if someone who has committed a serious mistake is not punished, how can we live up to the family rules? Besides, you are our head of the family."

Yuan Zhisheng sighed softly, "But it is precisely because you, Dad, are the head of the family that you cannot die so rashly. The family heads trust me as the emperor, but I must also think carefully and make appropriate decisions."

After saying this, Gen Chisheng turned away from Tachibana Masamune, who was sitting there, and walked out of the room. Outside the door, the moonlight was like water, pouring onto his shoulders, reflecting a cold glow.

Gennochi ordered his family members to keep an eye on Tachibana Masamune's room to prevent his father from doing anything unexpected.

Then he walked out in confusion.

His thoughts clashed like never before, digging his fingers deep into his palms—on one side was his unwavering sense of justice, and on the other was his father, the man who had raised him for so many years and yet was guilty of so many crimes. The iron face of a law enforcer and the affection of his adopted son tore through his fingers, as if two dragons were gnawing at each other in his spine.

Until two old men came together, they were the head of the Fuma family and the head of the Inuyama family.

"It's the two family heads," Yuan Zhisheng said, trying to remain calm. "I'm sorry, today's events have taken me so far by surprise that I still can't make a decision."

"Young Master, if you are confused, you might as well ask your biological father."

Fuma Kotaro gave a meaningful reminder.

"Uesugi Yue? Do you know where he is?"

Gennochi hadn't heard Tachibana Masamune mention the follow-up, and thought that Uesugi Yue had already disappeared in the vast crowd.

He hadn't expected the elders in his family to actually be keeping an eye on the previous Shadow Emperor, who had resigned not long after taking office. No wonder the elders trusted him so much; it seemed they had long suspected he was a descendant of Uesugi Yue.

"Yes," Inuyama He continued, "If you have decided that you want to find him, just let me know. I can arrange for someone to pick you up at any time."

Time returns to the present.

Gen Chisheng looked at Uesugi Yue, who was still wearing an apron and the ramen chef's uniform, and was a little dumbfounded. "You are my biological father? ... I mean, are you really the biological father that my father said you were?"

How did the great film star end up in such a state of disgrace? Speaking of which, judging by the behavior of the Fuma and Inuyama clan heads, they should still be paying attention to Uesugi Yue. Why didn't they show any concern for him and let the old film star work hard on the streets selling ramen?

Uesugi Yue was originally happy to hear the first sentence, but the second sentence made him furious. He raised his voice and said, "...What do you mean by 'dad'? I am your dad! Your real dad! Are you here to acknowledge me as your real dad, or to insult me?"

"...Sorry, I just said it." Yuan Zhisheng then realized that mentioning another "father" in front of one father seemed to be impolite and could easily cause disgust.

"You children are all so careless. You want to piss me off to death, right? Forget it, it's not convenient to talk at the door. Sit inside." Uesugi Yue thought about it again. He had a lively argument with a little girl named Charlotte this morning, and the process of "recognizing the father" did not go smoothly.

Gen Chisei walked into the church without hesitation, and the first thing he saw was the conspicuous red-haired girl next to Charlotte. "Hey, Emiya, you're here too? What a coincidence."

"Yes, yes." Emiya's expression was a little unnatural, and his eyes glanced at the prayer room behind without leaving a trace.

Chapter 184: Night Food Mirror World

"Please sit down. You're welcome. Feel free to find a seat anywhere. This is just a community church. Usually no one comes to worship in the morning."

The morning light filtering through the stained windows cast a honey-colored hue across the wooden benches. Uesugi Yue casually dusted off his apron and headed inside. Clearly, he'd been working part-time here for years and knew everything about the church, even down to the visitor patterns. He casually invited everyone to sit down, as if this were his own living room.

Minamoto Chisei followed closely behind. His eyes quickly glanced at Emiya and paused for a moment, then swept over the unfamiliar girl with light golden hair. His heart was filled with suspicion:

How could her family be at ease with a girl this young running out to hang out with men? Furthermore, Emiya didn't seem to have any relatives or children of Western descent.

"Tell me about your situation." When Uesugi Yue saw several people sitting in rows, he stood in front of the altar. After taking off his apron, the old man's image suddenly became solemn. He really shed the characteristics of a ramen chef and looked like a serious priest who presided over the mass ceremony on weekdays.

Yuan Zhisheng nodded slightly in his seat, this was more appropriate.

Before he was adopted by Masamune Tachibana, he had imagined countless times that his biological father would suddenly appear. His appearance varied, perhaps in a thousand different ways, but all of them were broad-shouldered, mature, strong-featured men with a dashing demeanor. He might even be a preacher who evangelized the world, but not a ramen chef or a comedian.

"There's no need to report to Emiya, you're definitely involved... And what about you, Chisheng? I heard your family has decided to participate in the Holy Grail War?"

"Yes, I am the Master who represents our family in the war... my father."

Gen Chisei nodded slightly. As he spoke, he raised his head and extended his right arm, his hand facing upward, revealing the crimson Command Seal pattern, like a tattoo. The light filtering through the stained glass windows danced across his shoulders, illuminating his stern profile, like a wakizashi about to be unsheathed.

"That's true."

Uesugi Yue murmured softly, feeling mixed emotions.

The title of Emperor may seem prestigious on the surface, but in reality it is also a shackle. As the head of the family, the Emperor must not only command the overall situation in peacetime, but also step forward in times of crisis when the family's survival is at stake...

And his son Yuan Zhisheng seemed to be born for this position - he has an outstanding appearance, a calm temperament, and a strong sense of responsibility, and he performs far better than the previous generation movie emperor who escaped directly.

Father? Emiya was slightly taken aback when he heard Minamoto no Nakasei address Uesugi Koshi in this way. He suddenly remembered that Minamoto no Nakasei wasn't a descendant of the Minamoto clan. Turns out he was Master Koshi's son? So, Master Koshi, you really are... a member of the family who escaped to experience life outside?

"Oh, what a coincidence!" Charlotte also raised her little hand high. The bright red Command Seal on the back of her snow-white hand was particularly eye-catching in the morning light.

"I'm also a Master who participated in the Holy Grail War. So, you and I are rivals! As your witness, do you dare to fight me in a fair fight?"

Upon hearing this, Emiya couldn't help but hold his forehead, secretly complaining in his heart: You, a mage-type Rider, still want to face off against Saber Watanabe Tsuna, a standard warrior? Do you know what the local popularity bonus is?

Yuan Zhisheng glanced at Charlotte calmly and didn't respond. If the Ghost Clan were here, he might have immediately attacked, but facing a child... he had to have some dignity.

Uesugi Kotsuya crossed his arms and shook his head, his tone teasing, "Little kid, you should just sneak back to your parents and play house. The Holy Grail War is no joke. If you really encounter a dangerous battle, you'll be scared out of your wits!"

Unexpectedly, Master Yue's words coincidentally hit Charlotte's sore spot. The tragic experience of encountering the enemy last night was still vivid in her mind.

She was immediately furious and retorted bluntly, "Shouldn't it be you who should go back home and play house? If we really encounter a dangerous battle, old man, be careful not to hurt your back and get out of breath! Otherwise, if you have a heart attack in the middle of the battle, it won't be worth it!"

Upon hearing this, Uesugi Yue said calmly, "Little girl, what's the big deal about this little ailment you're talking about? The fact that you're saying that shows you haven't seen the 'systemic organ failure' that's been on my medical reports over the years."

Uesugi Yue no longer planned to show off his eloquence. Even though he was so old that his bones were about to fall apart and his organs were failing, he was still a genuine movie king. He was a person who could even play the role of a contemporary swordsman by picking up two rolling pins. Even if Gen Chisheng stood in front of him, he could only keep his head down and act like a son.

Charlotte was still fuming, her cheeks puffed out like an angry pufferfish. Uesugi Yue ignored her and turned to look at Minamoto no Chisei, asking tentatively:

"By the way, Zhisheng, how did you know I was in the church, and..."

Gen Chisei replied fluently: "I heard about your whereabouts from the Fuma family masters and the Inuyama family masters."

He paused and looked directly at Uesugi Yue, as if he had already anticipated the question that the other party had not asked - how he confirmed that Uesugi Yue was his biological father.

"As for confirming the father-son relationship, it's because your father...the hospital where you frequently go for checkups has family members paying attention. I did a paternity test this morning using the blood sample from your checkup."

Uesugi Yue was stunned at first, then burst into laughter with great joy, his heart filled with emotion:

Finally! Today, his "recognition process" had finally been successfully completed! Modern technology is truly remarkable. With the ironclad evidence of paternity testing, their father-son relationship was as solid as a yellow robe, leaving no room for doubt.

Uesugi Yue subconsciously felt in his pocket, wanting to light a lighter and take a puff of a cigarette, but smoking was forbidden inside the church. In fact, before Aga told him that he might have offspring, he had never thought that he would have blood relatives in this world.

The reason he chose to believe in religion over the years was not only because he missed his deceased mother, but also because he felt helpless that "he could not find any relatives or friends in the world, so he had to choose to embrace the Lord."

"Alright, alright! Did you hear that, Emiya? Learn from the youngsters! Technological certification! Ironclad proof!"

Uesugi Yue gestured frantically, "Look at how Gen Chisheng went through the entire process straight away, and yet you keep dragging your feet, coming to my place to eat ramen from morning till night. Hurry up and arrange a paternity test! Then I want you to call me daddy!"

“…? Okay.”

Emiya didn't expect that Master Yue would still argue with him about this matter. He thought, he really wants to do a paternity test. That's good. The sooner it's done, the sooner he can give up.

He coughed lightly and casually changed the subject, "By the way, where did Master Yue hear the news about the Holy Grail War?"

"Oh, early in the morning, before you guys showed up, a group of believers dressed in robes came over and chatted with me. The old charlatan in the lead declared themselves to be from the 'Holy Church' and even tried to recruit me under the guise of faith... Ha! Do they think I'm some old, easily fooled guy?"

"Really?"

Emiya was slightly stunned, his eyes unconsciously looking away, and his gaze met Charlotte's. As expected, the latter showed a smug expression, and a lovely smile rippled on her porcelain-white cheeks. "See! I told you, the church will definitely not let go of such a shabby church!"

"I can't pretend I didn't hear that." Uesugi Yue picked up a very old Bible and gently stroked the yellowed pages with his rough fingers, as if he was flipping through the accumulated history.

"This church is not shabby, but rather has a nostalgic, old-fashioned decor. You won't find this style anywhere else in the neighborhood. It's unique."

Emiya thought that in a modern metropolis like Tokyo, Master Yue's place is truly unique, like a corner forgotten by time.

He decided not to dwell on this topic anymore and said seriously:

"Since the Holy Church has arrived, it seems they are also very interested in the Holy Grail War. However, this is not a formal competition. According to our investigation, the person behind the scenes is likely cultivating something extraordinary."

"Master Yue, there's actually no need to refuse so bluntly. You can use this opportunity to properly utilize their power, such as investigating the behind-the-scenes of this Holy Grail War—"

"Why..." Uesugi Yue's gray eyebrows suddenly frowned, "Did you find out anything?"

"Well, some pretty amazing stuff."

Seeing that Uesugi Koshi and Minamoto no Chio were both unaware of the situation, Emiya told them about the shadow servant he encountered last night, the mirror world, and the growing "black shadow" monster.

Genji was quite surprised. "There's such a thing as Shadow Servants? It sounds like they can be mass-produced and controlled!?"

This is truly horrifying. Even if Shadow Servants do not have the powerful skills and Noble Phantasms of genuine Servants, they still have extremely perfect combat power. Once it is made public, it will definitely attract the covetousness of secular governments.

"Well, that's it. Besides, Shadow Servants are just a minor problem," Emiya said solemnly.

"The more serious problem is that the Holy Grail War relies on underground ley lines, which are now distorted and even reveal a mirror world. The difficulty in this situation is that we have difficulty finding the entrance to explore and monitor what monsters are breeding there..."

"Indeed..." Genji nodded. Emiya's words made it seem as if exploding the ley lines would solve the problem. But the problem was that this was Tokyo, a metropolis of tens of millions. No matter what method was used, the impact on the general public had to be considered.

Gennochi turned to Uesugi Yue and said, "By the way, Father, since you didn't participate in the Holy Grail War, you might not have understood some of the terms. Actually..."

"No, I understand," Uesugi Yue put down the Bible with a strange look on his face. "The earth veins... How dare you tamper with them..."

The old man knew very well that a family history book that he had burned recorded that the "Night Food Source" governed by Tsukuyomi in mythology was a kingdom of night without light, a gloomy world of the dead, also known as the Nibelungen.

This special Nibelungen was the opposite of Takama-ga-hara, a city in the mirror, in the mythological period, but in modern times, it has probably become a mirror world of real Tokyo.

The so-called dragon veins, also known as earth veins, are large alchemical matrices deep underground. Their function is to maintain the existence of the Night Food Source since ancient times.

Chapter 185 Don’t trust Herzog, this bastard is very bad

"Regarding the earth veins, or dragon veins, there are actually records in the family's ancient book library."

Uesugi Yue explained. Perhaps he noticed the look of astonishment on Minamoto Chisei's face, which was filled with disbelief and astonishment, "How could I, the emperor, not know this?" The old man let out a dry laugh and felt a little embarrassed.

"The mirror world you're talking about does exist. It's like a reflection of this city, a space that's parallel to the real world yet completely different."

"I originally thought that world had long been forgotten in the corners of history, slowly disappearing with the passage of time. I never expected that this so-called Holy Grail War would actually allow such a ghostly place to see the light of day again."

Although decades ago, Uesugi Yue served as the most irresponsible Shadow Emperor in the history of the Snake Eight Clan, during his brief tenure, he had repeatedly stepped into the family's secret ancient book library and read those thick tomes. Until the day he fled, he burned all the internal materials in the entire library...

After all, he was the emperor, and his family would not keep any secrets from him. He had memorized most of the records of ancient legends carefully.

In Uesugi Koshi's memory, Yonogihara - the place known as the "Mirror World" of Takama-ga-hara, although named the "Kingdom of the Dead", is actually a prison, a cage used to imprison those deadpool monsters who have fallen due to uncontrolled bloodlines.

The modern Snake Eight Families have cooperated with the secret party to establish a branch and executive bureau in Japan to carry out strict and scientific management of mixed-bloods with unstable bloodlines. However, in the distant past, the situation was completely different.

The ancestors of the eight Snake families of Takama-ga-hara, faced with their out-of-control counterparts, chose another extreme method - through cruel alchemy, they transformed them into a special existence and then threw them into the Night Food Plain.

The basic steps of this alchemical technique are to drain the hybrid's blood and then fill his veins with regenerated mercury. Mercury is a solvent for metals, and the regenerated mercury dissolves the dead metal. Through a slow circulation system, the dead metal elements are replaced throughout his bones. The mercury is then expelled and the refined blood is reinfused.

After many similar processes, an alchemical lifeform created from a complete living organism is born. This being is similar to a corpse guardian, fearless of pain, tireless, with a head of steel and bones of iron. It doesn't even need muscles or organs, relying solely on bones and tendons to move constantly.

The alchemists among the ancestors had hoped that this technology could transform the out-of-control hybrids into reliable fighting forces. However, they underestimated the stubbornness of the dragon's bloodthirsty genes.

The blood in their bodies, processed by alchemy and permeating their bones, contains the bloodthirsty genes of dragons that cannot be erased. They cannot be controlled, but instead will slaughter any living thing without distinguishing friend or foe.

Finally, all these deadpools who had undergone alchemical treatment were thrown into the Night Food Root, where they were forever imprisoned, waiting for the next person to deal with them. However, later alchemists could never find a way to solve the problem of out-of-control, so the Night Food Root was sealed from then on, becoming a story that only existed in the classics.

Although the Sheqi Eight Clan knew of the existence of this mirror world, they had never attempted to excavate it. After all, such an ancient ruin would require drilling down at least several hundred meters to have any hope of finding it. Furthermore, no one could guarantee that the massive alchemical matrix maintaining the Night Food Origin was still functioning properly.

Uesugi Yue had a clear memory of Yonoshihara because when he was the Shadow Emperor in the last century, someone suggested finding a way to release the eight ancestors of the Snake Family of Yonoshihara in order to gain an absolute advantage in the war.

Even the radicals at the time did not dare to support such extremely fanatical and irrational behavior, because anyone with a little brain could figure out that once the monsters of the Night Food Field were released, their first target would definitely be their own people before killing the enemy!

Moreover, how many monsters had been imprisoned in the Night Food Plains over the long ages? Hundreds of thousands? Millions? What kind of horrific catastrophe would they unleash upon humanity if they were released?

After fully understanding the madness of the war years, Uesugi Koshi ultimately chose to burn all the materials in the ancient library on the day he fled. This action prevented the later patriarch Tachibana Masamune and the contemporary film emperor Minamoto from realizing that the Tokyo society they lived in was actually a huge mirror world beneath their feet.

Even now, Uesugi Yue just told these young people that there is indeed such a world, but did not reveal the details.