The Exchange Game Starting with Lu Mingfei

Chapter 41 My life is my guarantee

"That's a question for Tachibana Masamune," Huo Yuhao said, continuing to write in his notebook.

This time, he wrote three proper nouns:

Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo.

"The bloodlines of the three upper families of the Serpent Clan are inherited from these three priests," Caesar said with a furrowed brow. "They are families that directly inherited the blood of the White King."

Huo Yuhao's heart skipped a beat: "So, if we want to resurrect the White King, perhaps the bloodlines of these three families... are all necessary?"

"It's quite a coincidence," Chu Zihang's voice was calm, yet tinged with a hint of solemnity, "that three 'Emperors' have emerged from the Snake Clan of this generation."

What a coincidence!

Chu Zihang paused briefly, then continued, "And the White King's remains successfully left Takamagahara! We failed to kill it at the bottom of the sea!"

"The Oni Clan still has two leaders," Caesar analyzed. "According to Tachibana Masamune, the King General is Herzog, but the 'King General' we saw at Genji Heavy Industries, although wearing a mask, should be quite young."

"He only calls himself a king general. What if he's actually the second leader of the demons, 'Dragon King'?"

The possibility of Chu Zihang's speculation should not be underestimated.

Since no one has ever seen the King, anyone can become the King by dressing up the same way.

"That's very likely," Caesar replied, tapping his temple with his fingertip as he recalled the details. "Back when we confronted him at Genji Heavy Industries, his words carried an undisguised disgust for that mask."

Who would wear a mask they hate? Unless, for them, that mask is not a familiar protective color, but rather a temporary, unavoidable burden.

"If he is the Dragon King, he is not only the strongest piece, but also the highest honorary title." Chu Zihang recalled the rules of shogi, then exchanged glances with Huo Yuhao and Caesar. "Moreover, the title 'Dragon King' has a special meaning for hybrids."

"Senior brother, you mean..." Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, "The Dragon King is Yuan Zhinü?"

Chu Zihang nodded: "Yuan Zhisheng suspects that Yuan Zhinu is not dead. We don't know the details of their brotherly feud yet, but one is the emperor of the Snake-Ghost Eight Families, and the other has become a ghost in the Fierce Ghost Clan. There must be something going on here."

Caesar looked at Erii and said in a deep voice, "Now, the Snake Clan, the Demon Clan, and Cassel each have one 'Emperor' level hybrid, so the situation is very fair."

Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and began to think.

"Something's wrong, something's very wrong..."

If they are all of "royal" bloodline, why is only Genjiro's bloodline so stable?

"Experimental subjects," Huo Yuhao uttered softly. "Any rigorous experiment needs a control group. From this perspective... the whole setup seems exceptionally 'reasonable'."

"Amaterasu represents the perfect control group—stable, controllable, and almost never prone to losing control of its dragon transformation; Tsukuyomi, on the other hand, is a semi-finished sample—overuse of its power will lead to loss of control, requiring special drugs to suppress its dragon transformation."

"And Susanoo-no-Mikoto... perhaps from the very beginning, he was pre-determined to be part of the 'completely out of control' observation group?"

"No! That's not right!"

"From the very beginning, the one who completely spiraled out of control was the strongest!" Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, his gaze fixed intently on Erii, who was completely immersed in the game world. "The Word of Power: Judgment is arguably the strongest Word of Power below the Word of Destruction, and Erii has been on the verge of spiraling out of control since childhood!"

Erii was the real failure!

"I need to know the truth about Yuan Zhinü." Huo Yuhao looked at Caesar. "At this hour, I suppose the patriarch is still awake?"

Caesar raised an eyebrow: "Contact them now?"

"Now."

Huo Yuhao had a premonition that Yuan Zhinu's actual situation would resolve some of his doubts.

As for the truth...

Huo Yuhao's thoughts suddenly drifted away, and the image of Tang San's blue-gold figure in the Valley of Love and Destiny appeared in his mind.

Tang San went to great lengths to torment him simply because he coveted his destiny as a chosen one of destiny and wanted to take him as his son-in-law, thereby gaining a powerful natural ally in the God Realm. As his father-in-law, Tang San could then rightfully be superior to him and firmly control him.

If Huo Yuhao were to become Tang San's son-in-law, then all the "trials" Tang San inflicted on him could be disguised as "well-intentioned cultivation."

Tang San has become the good guy.

But to Huo Yuhao, who has now transcended the constraints of his previous identity, Tang San is simply an arrogant chess player.

He carried the expectations of Tianmeng, Bingdi, Xuedi, and his teacher Ilex, and he worked himself to the bone to cultivate, learn, and experience. Was it so that he would be accused of becoming a god because of nepotism and have to be inferior to Tang San in the God Realm?

Did Tang San's predecessor, the former Sea God, train him in this way?

Tang San's approach of first playing the bad guy and then pretending to be the good guy...

"Is it possible that Bondarev and Herzog are actually in cahoots?"

As soon as Huo Yuhao said this, Yuan Zhisheng's resolute voice came through the phone, which Caesar had just answered: "Impossible! Dad would never collude with the Ghost Clan!"

Erii silently put down her PSP upon hearing Genjiro's voice. She glanced cautiously at the phone in Caesar's hand, then looked at Huo Yuhao, who had an indifferent expression.

"I have limited information right now and don't want to engage in a pointless argument with you," Huo Yuhao said, his tone still calm but carrying an undeniable force. "I need your information. All records about you, Genji, Tachibana Masamune, and Erii, starting from the time you came to know the identity of Tachibana Masamune."

Before Yuan Zhisheng could respond, Huo Yuhao continued, "You are free to refuse to cooperate, but I expect you to be able to bear all the losses that result."

Genji was silent for almost a minute on the other end of the phone, his breathing becoming increasingly calm: "Are you using Erii to threaten me again?"

"It's not a threat," Huo Yuhao gently patted Erii's slightly uneasy hand beside him, his voice softening, "It's precisely to ensure Erii's safety that I need to know the truth."

"Eri's condition is very dangerous right now. If she doesn't come back for treatment, the entire Tokyo could face a devastating threat." Genji didn't give a direct answer, clearly not believing that Huo Yuhao could find the so-called truth.

The Hebi-Hachi family can do without Erii's fighting power, but they cannot bear the consequences of Erii unleashing her full fighting power.

"She won't lose control," Huo Yuhao smiled at Erii. "She won't lose control until I die."

"Is that right, Erii?"

Erii looked at Huo Yuhao with clear yet empty eyes, and then she nodded gently.

Huo Yuhao and Erii looked at each other. He said gently, "You can speak freely in front of me. It won't mean death the moment you open your mouth. You can tell me anything you want to say. My life is my guarantee."

"You won't die."