I'm not just human!

"That is, if there are descendants of the family who cannot sign the secret contract, or although they can sign the secret contract, they are unable to become extraordinary for various reasons, then it is strictly forbidden to reveal any of the family's past to these family members."

"In fact, it's quite a coincidence. Neither my aunt nor my father were superhumans, but after I went to sea with my father, he rescued an adventurer who had fainted on a deserted island during one of his sea voyages."

"The adventurers must all be extraordinary beings. It seems that the adventurer was being chased by enemies, was seriously injured and on the verge of death, barely managed to escape, but ultimately could not hold on, and died of hunger and thirst on that island."

“If my father hadn’t rescued him in time and fed him water and food, he might have really died there.”

"Later, after he regained consciousness, he stayed on the ship for a while and served as a guard for our merchant ship."

"Of course, we were doing business in the territorial waters of the Father of Ten Thousand Stars and the Princess of the Sharks, so we weren't really afraid of encountering pirates or anything like that."

"So after his injuries had fully healed, seeing that he hadn't really helped us much, he insisted on giving my father three secret contracts before leaving."

“Those three secret contracts are all ordinary secret contracts. Together they can be sold for a few hundred gold pounds, so Father can make a small profit.”

"But unfortunately, neither my father, nor I, nor my brother could resist the temptation to become extraordinary beings and took the risk."

"I never expected that we would all succeed."

"The next day, the Prometheus family approached us and told us some things about their family."

"It wasn't until then that my father and I learned that we weren't just ordinary residents of Rum City, but descendants of the legendary Prometheus family!"

"Later, when I became the Father of All Stars, my brother became an angel, and the elders of the Prometheus family came in person, they told us everything about the family."

"This naturally includes what I just mentioned, the Prometheus family's secret treasure, and the greatest secret hidden within it!"

The father of Wanxing remarked with considerable emotion at this point:

"The secret our family has guarded for tens of thousands of years, I don't know what it is either. In short, according to that elder, it is of utmost importance. Xia Fa, it's up to you to uncover everything from now on."

Upon hearing this, Xia Fa's mind went blank for a moment.

Fortunately, he was very intelligent. After sorting out his thoughts, he asked the first question.

"So, back in Rum City, neither my mother nor my uncle were superhumans. Of course, the three of us couldn't possibly be superhumans either. That's why the Prometheus family never approached us?"

"Later, when your uncle took you and your cousin to sea, the three of you became extraordinary by chance, which is why the Prometheus family came looking for you?"

The "little aunt" that Hercules' cousin mentioned was naturally his mother, a fact that Xia Fa was quite clear about.

The Father of All Stars nodded:

"That's just how it is. Fate is cruel, sigh..."

Seeing his cousin's sighing expression, Xia Fa felt even more amused and exasperated.

Because not only his own mother, who was clearly from the Prometheus family, was unable to sign the secret contract or afford it, she was unaware of the family's past and thus became an ordinary person.

His own father was a direct descendant of the Gilgamesh family, one of the divinely favored families, and because he couldn't sign the secret contract, he always thought he was an ordinary person.

If we had to put it into words, the bloodline and identity of these two could practically be described as a "marriage" between the Gilgamesh family and the Prometheus family!

However, that is not the key issue today.

A question that had been troubling Xiafa ever since he arrived at the Worm Islands, especially after attending the pirate convention, and which was also almost the biggest question in his mind about his cousin, finally rose up uncontrollably at this moment.

“Cousin, you just mentioned... that you and Uncle did business in the territorial waters of the Father of Ten Thousand Stars and Princess Shark. But aren’t you the Father of Ten Thousand Stars?”

Upon hearing Xia Fa mention this, the Father of Ten Thousand Stars and Locke's expressions inexplicably tightened, and they exchanged a glance.

But in just a moment, the Father of Ten Thousand Stars seemed to have made a decision, letting out a long sigh and saying:

"Fine, since we're about to assassinate the Roaring Emperor anyway, we should thoroughly exchange information beforehand. Besides, you've already told me about your future identity as the Secret Emperor, so I can't keep it from you anymore."

Locke didn't speak, but shook his head slightly, a hint of sadness in his expression, as if he were recalling something from the past.

The Father of Ten Thousand Stars spoke slowly, his voice inexplicably becoming weathered, as if he had experienced far too much.

"That was five years ago, the year I told you about it, when my father's merchant ship was attacked by a swarm of fishmen off the coast of the Wave Moon Empire, which led to my father's disappearance."

"Actually, my brother and I both know that our father didn't just disappear, but... died long ago in that merman frenzy."

"My brother and I should have died in that merman frenzy, but no one could have imagined it. Fate is cruel..."

His voice grew ever more distant, as if instantly transporting Xiafa back to that day five years ago, the day of that unprecedented murloc frenzy.

"I still remember that day. The sky was cloudless, the sun was shining brightly, the sea was calm and the sea breeze was gentle. The blue sea was breathtaking."

"At that time, my father transported a ship full of wine and silk, intending to sell them in the Bo Yue Empire."

"Then, just as we were about to land, the sea... suddenly began to boil."

"Even now, I can't forget that scene. Off the coast of the Wave Moon Empire, the sea seemed to have been boiled, with countless bubbles rising up, so dense that not even a gap was left on the surface."

"Later I found out that it wasn't a boiled sea, it was all..."

"...bubbles rising to the surface as the mermen army breathes underwater!"

At this point, a look of fear appeared on the face of the Father of Ten Thousand Stars.

It seems that even with his five years as a pirate emperor and his extraordinary power as a monarch, he still felt a deep fear of that day, which even left a considerable shadow in his heart.

"More and more bubbles appeared on the surface of the sea. As those bubbles rose to the surface, they burst, releasing waves of a nauseating, pungent fishy smell."

"Since there hadn't been a merman frenzy for a long time, almost several hundred years, only some extraordinary individuals and nobles who came to exchange valuable goods realized what was going on along the coast of the Wave Moon Empire."

"Their expressions immediately changed, and they urged the people on the shore and boats to flee quickly. The city gates were immediately closed, leaving only a crack. Once the people had mostly escaped back into the city, the city gates were immediately shut."

"But it was too late."

"Fishmen, countless fishmen, with their damned dead fish eyes bulging, gurgling and shouting, carrying harpoons and spears made from seabed minerals, rushed ashore."

"The overwhelming army of merfolk quickly filled the coast of the Wave Moon Empire."

"These fish-men were tearing at any human they could see like madmen. Not satisfied with that, they used the corpses of their own kind as siege ladders to build a ramp and storm into Red Pine City."

"Red Pine City is the major coastal city of the Boyue Empire. Its prosperity is comparable to that of Augustus City and the City of Ten Thousand Stars. It is also the production area of ​​Boyue Red Pine Cigars."

"Although the city gates were closed in time, it was no use. The fishmen stepped over the corpses of other fishmen and climbed into the city. Screams and wails were heard everywhere in the city, and it seemed that a great disaster was about to befall them."

"At that time, my father was standing on the deck. He had already signed three secret contracts, becoming an Eagle-level superhuman, and also had a secret treasure that looked like a music box, which could barely deal with some fishmen."

"My brother and I each signed two secret contracts, which were only enough to shoot down the weakest fishmen who climbed onto the ship."

"Originally, whether it was Red Pinewood City, our ship, or all the other ships on the Wave Moon Coast... no one could escape death in this greatest merman frenzy in history."

"But at that moment, something I will never forget happened."

The father of Wanxing paused suddenly at this point, and took a puff of his red pine cigar.

Xia Fa immediately started scratching his head, as if he had encountered a hateful narrator who cut off chapters while reading a novel in his previous life.

He was truly afraid that his cousin might suddenly faint because he was reminded of the past or couldn't suppress the power of the Fishman Emperor within him, and wouldn't be able to continue speaking.

That would be truly agonizing.

Fortunately, my cousin only took one puff of his cigar before continuing his story, though a hint of worry lingered in his expression.

"The sea suddenly exploded, as if a supernatural bomb had been dropped."

"Countless murlocs were blown to pieces, their flesh and blood splattering everywhere. But more importantly, at that moment, both the ferocious murlocs about to climb onto our ship and other ships, and the murloc army that was attacking the city, all inexplicably stopped."

Then, they all turned around at once, and knelt down tremblingly in the direction of the exploded sea!

"Fish-men, beings that exist somewhere between humanoid and non-humanoid supernatural beings, clearly have no intelligence and can only act like wild beasts, yet they are kneeling?"

"It's like seeing a pack of hyenas suddenly kneel down; it's utterly unbelievable!"

"I have to say, at that time, I, my father, and the other superhumans and nobles who came to the rescue were all stunned."

"Then, we saw a small, thin fish-man wearing a golden crown and holding a scepter that looked like it was made of starlight rise from the exploded sea!"

"That merman... the moment it appeared, its aura and pressure as a sovereign spread out, but it seemed to be able to control its power. Otherwise, just looking at it would have made my father, my brother, and I lose control long ago."

"Without a doubt, this is a fish-man emperor, the ruler of the fish-men!"

"The fact that a ruler-level being has been born among the fish-men is almost earth-shattering news, enough to cause a sensation in the Baron Ocean and the three kingdoms of the Star Coin Continent."

"But, ironically, after this merman emperor appeared, he did not command the million-strong merman army to continue attacking Red Pine City. Instead, he waved his scepter and pointed it towards the sea."

"It's as if... they're ordering all the merfolk to go back!"

"These fishmen regard the ruler of the fishmen, the fishman emperor, as wild wolves fear their wolf king and lion cubs fear their lion king; they dare not disobey him in the slightest."

"And so, the entire army of fishmen turned around and headed towards the sea."

"Just when I thought this enormous disaster was about to vanish without a trace, something even more unexpected happened!"

The Father of All Stars took another puff of his cigar, but thankfully this time he didn't pause at all and immediately continued:

"The sea exploded again, this time creating a vacuum in the surrounding sea for several kilometers."

"Then, the second merman emperor, wearing a golden crown, emerged from the seabed!"

"As soon as this fish-man emperor appeared, all the humans and demi-humans present, whether or not they were superhumans, lost control after just one glance at him."

"Some people's heads exploded, some turned into terrifying monsters, and some simply passed out."

“My father, who is also your uncle Xiafa, died in this way.”

"My brother fainted immediately, while I nearly lost control. I felt my vision go black, and I heard countless crazy babbling and low chuckles in my ears."

"I collapsed onto the boat, clutching my head with both hands, writhing in agony."

"But, just before I lost consciousness, I saw... these two merman emperors fighting!"

"The fishmen were all so frightened that they lay prostrate on the ground, no longer daring to move an inch."

"These two merman emperors went straight up to the sky and fought a great battle in the starry sky."

"Otherwise, if things hadn't turned out this way, the commotion caused by their fight might have destroyed most of the Bo Yue Empire!"

"I don't know what happened after that, because I completely lost consciousness. I felt my mind was falling into an endless darkness, and there was an extremely violent force driving my body, a body that I could no longer control."

"But suddenly, I felt that extremely violent power was immediately dispelled by a much stronger and higher-ranking power."

"My mind returned to normal immediately, and I witnessed a scene that I will never forget in my life."

"That was the merman emperor holding the Starshine Scepter, slowly flying towards my ship."

"It was mangled all over, bleeding profusely, its left arm was missing, and there was a long, narrow wound across its chest and abdomen. I could even see its heart beating inside."

"And the merfolk army, whether on land or in the sea, all retreated, seemingly returning to their merfolk lairs in various parts of the Baron Ocean."

"The merman emperor... the merman emperor flew up to me. It didn't speak, but glanced at me. Its gaze was as majestic as that of a real emperor, and it carried an overbearing air that made people want to submit."

"Then, it squeezed hard and crushed the Starshine Scepter in its hand."