Yes, I became a god just by exercising.

Chapter 197 The Father of Ten Thousand Stars...is actually a Fishman? Xia Fa's Decision
Hercules' cousin... is he a fish-man?

Moreover, he is the Fishman Emperor, the dominant Fishman among the Fishmen?
Upon hearing Omega's first mate say those words, Xia Fa's initial reaction was disbelief.

But inexplicably, scenes from the past surfaced in his mind.

The tender, succulent fish belly meat, cut from the belly of a fish-man and considered an absolute delicacy by almost all humans and demi-humans at sea, is something that Cousin Hercules refuses to eat.

Not only did he not eat it, but while he and his cousin Locke were feasting on the fish belly, his cousin Hercules was also chugging beer.

At the time, Xia Fa thought that her cousin Hercules was troubled by the sudden appearance of the fish-men from the sea, namely the death of her uncle and aunt Titech, and that was why he was drowning his sorrows in alcohol.

But now it seems possible... that Hercules felt an overwhelming sense of nausea and vomiting when he saw his fellow fish-men being eaten, and that's why he suppressed it by chugging beer?
Most importantly... not only did those hundreds of fishmen appear at a very strange time, but after emerging from the sea, they did not attack them with knives and forks and screams like the other fishmen. Instead, they knelt down!

He knelt down!

Xia Fa instinctively felt that it was the pressure from Locke's cousin's angelic status that made these fishmen kneel down in fear.

But now that I think about it, could these fishmen... be kneeling before their emperor, Hercules, their cousin?
These thoughts flashed through Xia Fa's mind in an instant. With almost everyone unaware of the truth, he was already 70-80% certain.

However, even so, Xia Fa still decided to stand firmly on her cousin Hercules' side.

Whether He is a transcendent monarch of humans or the supreme emperor of fishmen.

After a few seconds of silence in the Hall of Stars,

The noise and commotion were about to tear the dome apart, and it was about to explode completely!

"what?!"

"The first mate of Omega actually said that the leader is a fish-man?"

"Go crazy!"

"Is the first mate of Omega about to lose control? Is he hallucinating?"

"Quickly, someone go up and shoot him dead!"

"Killing him is too much of an exaggeration. Who said that? Just subdue him."

"I said it! Hehe, anyway, I'm from the Shark Pirates, and I love watching the drama unfold."

"Someone go and try to persuade this guy named Omega. Once the Father of All Stars gets angry, it's something we can't handle."

"That's why Omega invited the Prophet with a Thousand Faces and the Shark Princess. Inviting the Shark Princess is fine, but to invite the Prophet with a Thousand Faces as well means they're going to completely turn against each other..."

"Yes, if Omega's accusations are proven false, He will likely be treated as a traitor and executed!"

The first mate of Omega is an angel, a powerful being second only to the ruler in the sea and even in the entire universe.

However, He was facing a ruler, and an extraordinary monarch among rulers!

The scene where the Father of Ten Thousand Stars just raised his hand and destroyed the Bloodfang Butcher's angelic rank left a deep impression on everyone.
Moreover, in terms of pure strength, the Omega vice-captain might not even be a match for the ruthless and brutal Bloodfang Butcher.

Faced with such criticism, the Father of Ten Thousand Stars remained unmoved, his composure as firm as a mountain.

He glanced at the Thousand-Faced Prophet in the distance. At that moment, the middle-aged man, half black and half white, was wearing a leisurely smile, as if he wanted to see how things would develop.

Although the Thousand-Faced Prophet is suspended in the air, he gives people the feeling that he is in a different space from everyone else, as if he can escape at any time if he wants.

The Father of All Stars glanced again at Princess Shark, who was resting her chin on her hand and quietly looking over, and finally sighed, looking at Vice-Captain Omega, one of his most capable right-hand men.

"Omega, where did you hear this rumor? How could I possibly be some kind of fish-man emperor?"

His tone was so calm, yet it carried a hint of helplessness towards First Mate Omega.
It was as if the vice-captain Omega wasn't the one who stood up to force Him into a corner, but merely a subordinate whose mind had been temporarily clouded.

First mate Omega thought that when he revealed this earth-shattering secret, the Father of All Stars would at least be panicked for a moment.

And even for a fleeting moment, He can capture it with a "reproduction camera," thus serving as one piece of evidence.

After all, if the Father of Ten Thousand Stars had nothing to hide, why would he lose his composure?

Yet, despite revealing such a crucial secret, the Father of Ten Thousand Stars remained completely unresponsive, his expression as calm and composed as ever.

If it weren't for the crucial evidence he possessed, the first mate, Omega, might have even doubted whether he had misunderstood the leader he once respected and admired most.

“Father of Ten Thousand Stars, as you know, my entire family perished in a horde of murlocs more than sixty years ago. From that moment on, I swore to be mortal enemies with any murloc, to kill them all without mercy.”

First mate Omega spoke, his tone calming down as if he were ready for a decisive battle.

However, anyone could hear the immense anger hidden beneath His calm tone, like surging waves beneath a vast ocean.

The first mate of Omega stepped forward, showing no fear whatsoever of the Father of All Stars's imposing aura as a transcendent monarch, his tone firm and resolute:

"So, if I hadn't confirmed your identity as the Fishman Emperor, why would I have stepped forward? How would I have dared to step forward? How would I be worthy to step forward?"

He emphasized the words "will" and "participate," almost clenching his teeth.

As everyone knows, not only did his entire family of five die at the hands of the fishmen more than sixty years ago, but he himself was also nearly killed by the fishmen.

It was the Father of All Stars who happened to be passing by that coastline who intervened, saving Omega and guiding Him onto the path of the extraordinary, which led to His current development and achievements.

This allowed Him to ascend to the position of an angel and become one of the two vice-captains admired and envied by the members of the Myriad Stars Pirate Crew.

The Father of Ten Thousand Stars sighed deeply again:
"It seems you're determined to keep going until you hit a brick wall. Well then, produce your evidence."

Being accused of being a fish-man is a very serious matter, because humans and fish-men have been mortal enemies since ancient times.

Even if the Father of Ten Thousand Stars is a transcendent monarch, once He is confirmed to be a murloc spy, the other four pirate emperors on the Baron Ocean, and even the rulers and transcendent monarchs of the three kingdoms on the Star Coin Continent, will have ample reason and motivation to unite and besiege Him.

Even so, the Father of Ten Thousand Stars remained absolutely calm, seemingly trying to guide his errant confidant back to the right path step by step.

Upon seeing this, the first mate of Omega's ship, whose composure had just returned, was replaced by a profound and heavy sorrow.

“Father of Ten Thousand Stars, you should know that although we pirates of the Ten Thousand Stars Pirate Crew are pirates, we never bully civilians or commit arson, murder, or plunder.”

"Of course, this is because you discipline and educate your children well, and we also agree with your philosophy."

"Therefore, I am standing up to expose you not for my own personal gain, but purely for the future of humanity."

His words were very sincere, and many people nodded in agreement. Even though most of those present did not believe that the Father of Ten Thousand Stars would be some kind of fish-man emperor, they could understand Omega's intentions.

After all, if there truly were a merman emperor lurking among humans, given time, he could suddenly summon tens of millions, hundreds of millions, or even more mermen from the Baron Ocean to the shore, unleashing the greatest merman frenzy in history.

That would be an absolute catastrophe for humanity!
Fish-men, as supernatural beings, are not as rare as other supernatural beings.

On the other hand, because the Baron Ocean is so vast, its area is almost equivalent to a small star spread out on its own, it is quite normal that the fish-people can reproduce in such large numbers.

Of course, most of these tens or hundreds of millions of fishmen are fungus-level fishmen, which are not very valuable, and they like to hide in the seabed, so not many superhumans are willing to go to the trouble of capturing them.

However, even a murloc of the fungus level would be utterly overwhelming against a commoner.

"I have kept your life-saving grace in my heart for more than sixty years."

First mate Omega continued, a resolute look appearing on his sorrowful face:
"So, after revealing your identity, I will not live on. I will repay your kindness with my death, but I will not die in vain. I will find a merman's lair, rush in, and perish together with them."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of many pirates present finally changed.

Because they all realized that if Vice-Captain Omega had not had definitive evidence that proved the Father of Ten Thousand Stars was the Fishman Emperor, He would never have made this decision, nor would He have said it!
But the key point is... the Father of Ten Thousand Stars could never be some kind of fishman emperor!
This was something that everyone, from the ragtag pirates standing on the outermost edge of the hall to the powerful pirates who were demigods or even angels, was well aware of.

Because... neither humanoid supernatural beings nor non-humanoid supernatural beings can form secret contracts!
That's right, humans, demi-humans, monsters, spirits, and even the legendary, incredibly powerful and mysterious entities... all can enter into secret contracts.
But the supernatural beings, in particular, cannot sign such an agreement.

No one knows why, but some have speculated that supernatural beings, whether human or non-human, are born with the ability to absorb the most primal power of the universe to grow, thereby gaining extraordinary talents similar to secret abilities.

Moreover, this growth is lifelong, meaning that the more powerful the supernatural being, the more extraordinary talents similar to the Secret Realm ability it acquires.

That is why they cannot enter into secret agreements.

Furthermore, if one kills supernatural creatures, there is a chance to obtain the secret code generated from them, which also indirectly confirms this speculation.

This is different from obtaining a secret contract after killing superhumans or strange entities, since superhumans themselves only become superhumans by signing secret contracts.

As for the bizarre, many of them are simply the result of superhumans losing control.

Because supernatural beings could never sign secret contracts, the pirates in the Hall of Stars were filled with a deep-seated doubt as they watched Omega's first mate grow increasingly certain.

That is, if the Father of All Stars is really the Fishman Emperor, then as a supernatural being, how could He possibly have signed the overlord-level secret contract of the Gate of Stars?
Conversely, since the Father of All Stars signed the Gate of Stars in the Overlord-level secret pact, then He... could absolutely not be the Fishman Emperor!

"I said."

A suppressed anger, almost emanating from clenched teeth, suddenly rang out in the hall.

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound.
There stood Captain Locke, a tall and imposing figure in a white suit and black gloves, standing beside the Starry Throne of the Father of All Stars.

At this moment, First Mate Locke was almost beyond furious, his face was ashen, and the veins on his forehead were bulging.

“Omega, to call you a beast is an insult to beasts. Even if the leader didn’t save your dog’s life more than sixty years ago, can’t you see what the leader has done in the past sixty years? If He were really some damned fishman, would He have acted like this?”

What Vice-Captain Locke was referring to was the fact that the Father of Ten Thousand Stars led his pirates to maintain a policy of not harming the common people for hundreds of years.

Moreover, every quarter of the year, they dedicated themselves to resolving conflicts among the pirates and guiding them toward good.

If the Father of All Stars was truly a spy sent by the fish-men among humans, why would He do such a thing? He would have already disrupted the order of the seas, causing humans and demi-humans to fight each other, instead of wholeheartedly hoping for peace in the Baron Ocean.

First mate Locke joined the Wanxing Pirate Crew five years ago. He was already an angel when he joined, and soon became a confidant of the Father of Wanxing and successfully took on the position of first mate.

Although he only joined five years ago, as the first mate, he was naturally familiar with the history of the Wanxing Pirate Crew, which is why he stood up to question them.

The first mate of Omega sighed, his tone filled with deep helplessness:

"Locke, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it at first either."

Seeing that He remained so certain, everyone became even more curious.

Could it be that the first mate of Omega has some decisive evidence in his possession?

Was the image captured by a "photographed newspaper" or a "reproduction camera"?

Or perhaps some other secret treasure or sealed artifact that could expose the true form of the Fishman Father?

Xia Fa's eyes flickered as he stared at the back of the Omega vice-captain.

He was different from the others. Although he didn't understand how the fish-men, as supernatural beings, could sign the supreme-level secret contract of the Gate of Stars.

However, based on Hercules's strange behavior in the past, Shafa is almost certain that Hercules, the father of all stars, is indeed a fishman, and the ruler of the fishmen!

On the other hand, Xia Fa had an almost instinctive belief that her cousin Hercules must have encountered something to become a fish-man.

In other words, Cousin Hercules was not a fish-man by birth.

In this situation, Cousin Hercules wouldn't actually do anything to lead the fishmen to destroy humanity, because in essence, in his soul, and even in terms of identity, Cousin Hercules is still human.

So, all I need to do is help my cousin Hercules keep this secret!
As for how to be conservative...

With a flick of his sleeve, Xia Fa drew his tiger-tooth folding knife, his gaze fixed intently on the back of the Omega vice-captain.

If necessary, I can seize the opportunity to stop Captain Omega and then immediately escape.

Suddenly, the first mate of Omega stepped forward again, a resolute look on his face. He pulled out a telescope-shaped sealed object from his pocket.

The moment they saw the sealed object, many pirates' expressions changed drastically.

"My God, is this... a time-peeping telescope?"

"Wasn't this sealed artifact destroyed hundreds of years ago? How did it end up in the hands of the Omega vice-captain?"

"Lord, could the Father of All Stars really be the Fishman Emperor? Then how exactly did He sign the Gate of Stars?"

The moment the Thousand-Faced Prophet saw the sealed artifact, a mocking look finally appeared on his face.

It seems that He wasn't entirely sure before, and only now is He truly ready to watch the Father of All Stars make a fool of himself.

The next moment, the Omega vice-captain held the telescope-shaped sealing object in both hands, raised his arms, and was about to shine it on the dome of the Hall of Stars.

Just then, Xia Fa made a move.

(End of this chapter)