A large number of ancient awakened beings have also emerged within the Great Xia Dynasty.

It's important to know that before the Kujo Naruya sacrificial ceremony, such incidents of ancient spirits taking over others' homes were only sporadic.

The entire territory of the Great Xia Dynasty is vast, with a population of billions. The military has exhausted all its efforts, but has only managed to capture one or two out-of-control individuals.

But what about now?

In just one day, a tiny island nation like the Sakura Country, which had just been ravaged by war and sacrifice, a total of twenty-one ancient clans emerged!

This explosive growth, which defies common sense, is by ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ no means accidental.

Zhou Huai quickly gathered his thoughts, connecting all the clues into a clear logical chain.

"The beginning of this explosive growth was most likely the sacrificial ceremony performed by Kujo Naruya!"

Zhou Huai swallowed hard. That sacrifice had drained the life energy of millions. Although a small percentage of the people of Sakura Kingdom had miraculously survived, this was merely a superficial phenomenon.

Once the source of life is brutally taken away, it is absolutely impossible to make up for it by conventional means.

Before long, these few who are barely clinging to life will also die one after another due to the complete exhaustion of their vitality.

This immense amount of life energy, gathered and released through artifacts like the Pendulum of Life, unleashed a catalytic rain across the world. From the moment this sacrificial ritual was completed, the number of ancient awakened beings hidden in every corner of the world began to rise exponentially!

"We can't wait any longer, we must go see Zhao Qingcang."

Zhou Huai made a decisive decision. He stood up and coldly ordered Natsume Rin, who was waiting nearby, "Keep an eye on those ancient remnants in the basement."

"Yes, my lord." Natsume Rinko bowed respectfully.

Half an hour later.

Zhou Huai, controlling the body of the Insect Emperor Caesar, descended into the temporary camp of the Great Xia military stationed outside Tokyo.

The camp was heavily guarded, and the soldiers coming and going all wore expressions of exhaustion from the great battle and the grim silence of victory.

When the figure in the black robe appeared, all the soldiers stopped and lowered their heads.

"Lord of a Hundred Transformations!"

The guarding officer immediately stepped forward and saluted.

"Take me to see Marshal Zhao," Caesar said in a low voice.

The journey was unimpeded, and Caesar was led to the largest command tent in the center of the camp.

As soon as the curtain was lifted, Zhao Qingcang, who had returned to his peak and looked young, was standing in front of a huge military map, frowning and looking grim.

Hearing the noise, Zhao Qingcang turned his head.

Upon seeing Caesar appear, the Great Xia War God, who remained unmoved even in the face of a collapsing mountain, visibly relaxed his tense shoulders and let out a long sigh of relief.

He glossed over the distribution of spoils after the war in the Sakura Kingdom and made no mention of Caesar's control over the Divine Dynasty.

He didn't even care that there were several staff officers around, and strode forward.

"You've finally shown yourself." Zhao Qingcang looked at Caesar's eyes, hidden under his hood, and lowered his voice. "I just received top-secret information from back home."

Zhao Qingcang paused, staring at him: "Your villa in Donghai City has been razed to the ground. Not only that, but military reconnaissance aircraft discovered traces of a major battle between top-tier experts on the Gobi Desert, dozens of kilometers outside Donghai City!"

At this point, Zhao Qingcang swallowed.

“My first thought was that something was wrong with your main body, and I even thought...” Zhao Qingcang patted Caesar on the shoulder, “Now that you can still control your clone to see me, it means your main body should be fine, right? What exactly happened in Donghai City?”

Listening to Zhao Qingcang's barrage of questions, the worry in his voice was genuine.

Zhou Huai felt a warmth in his heart.

In this cruel world, apart from the loyal Uncle Fu and Ye Xi, Zhao Qingcang is one of the few superiors who truly care about him.

Since the other party was so frank, Zhou Huai had no intention of hiding anything any longer.

“My physical body was indeed attacked,” Caesar stated bluntly.

"Who did this?!" Zhao Qingcang's face darkened.

“Dawn Guild.” Zhou Huai stared into Zhao Qingcang’s eyes: “That Mr. Duan who has been hiding behind the scenes came to find me in person. We had a fight outside Donghai City.”

"What?!"

Zhao Qingcang's eyes widened, and his face turned extremely ugly.

"The leader of the Dawn Guild? How would he know your exact location?" Zhao Qingcang's breathing quickened, and a series of questions blurted out, "Just how strong is this Mr. Duan?"

"They are very strong."

Zhou Huai, controlling Caesar, shook his head: "It's no exaggeration to say that he is the strongest professional I have ever encountered. Without a doubt."

Hearing this assessment, Zhao Qingcang was secretly surprised.

"This Mr. Duan..." Zhao Qingcang asked tentatively, "Is he even stronger than Kujo Naruya when he was just resurrected?"

"He's many times better than Kujo Naruya."

Zhou Huai nodded heavily, shattering the last glimmer of hope in Zhao Qingcang's heart.

"In that encounter in the Gobi Desert, my clone was completely powerless against him." Zhou Huai took a deep breath and recounted the brutal one-sided massacre. "Earth, fire, and space—he could use multiple laws of power at will. Even the divine artifact, the Heaven-Suppressing Seal, was ineffective against him."

“My SS-level and even SSS-level clones were almost completely wiped out by him, like slaughtering chickens and dogs.”

Zhao Qingcang felt his mind go blank.

Who is Zhou Huai? He is the Great Xia's Guardian War God, who can even powerfully slay SSS-level super-gods!

The trump cards he held, whether it was a forbidden spellcaster or a thunder swordsman, any one of them could suppress a nation. Yet, this terrifying power, capable of sweeping across the world, was utterly powerless against that Mr. Duan?!

What level of professional is the other party?

“Since all your clones were wiped out...” Zhao Qingcang swallowed hard, looking at Caesar, “then how did your main body survive?”

"I was lucky to fake my death and barely managed to fool him and escape."

Zhao Qingcang remained silent.

The fact that Mr. Duan was able to force a peerless genius like Zhou Huai to fake his death by self-destructing a substitute shows that his terror far exceeded the intelligence understanding of the Great Xia military.

"This matter must not be leaked. From now on, the Hundred Transformations Star Lord is a dead man in the public eye. Your true identity must be completely hidden!" Zhao Qingcang made the decision, then asked, "Why did he go to such lengths to kill you?"

"In order to eliminate variables."