The Avatars had just come out of the dungeon.

Zhou Huai gave a new command to their Intellect Core AI again.

They entered again to farm monsters repeatedly.

They didn't know fatigue.

In the following days, the Avatars had only one task: frantically raising their Level.

After finishing all this,

Zhou Huai closed his eyes and transferred his consciousness onto Gandalf.

Imperial Capital, Military Department.

Hearing the news, Zhao Qingcang hurried over, the sound of his military boots stepping on the ground being heavy and hurried.

This white-bearded Old Marshal pushed open the door and entered, with obvious anxiety on his face.

He looked at Gandalf and asked straight to the point: "What is the current situation?"

"Is there any news about the Pendulum of Life?"

Judging by his appearance, the intelligence department of Sakura Country seemed not to have transmitted the recent events over yet.

That made sense.

Nowadays, the control in Takamagahara was becoming increasingly strict, and wanting to transmit intelligence out in time was also an extremely difficult matter.

Unlike Zhou Huai, who had it so easy.

Therefore, Zhou Huai detailed the recent situation to the Old Marshal.

When Zhao Qingcang heard the name Qinze Taichiro,

his brows furrowed unconsciously, and in those weathered eyes, a trace of imperceptible solemnity flashed past.

"Qinze Taichiro... I didn't expect Kujo Koji to actually resurrect that guy."

Zhao Qingcang's gaze fell into distant memories, and his voice also became deep.

"That battle more than forty years ago, I still remember it vividly to this day."

"His strength is extremely terrifying. The previous Marshal Deng Qihe, and that founding father of Great Bear Country, the two of them joined forces to barely contend with him."

"At that time, my Level had just reached level sixty, and on a battlefield of that Level, I could only assist in combat at the margins."

There was a hint of sentimentality in the Old Marshal's tone.

"After that battle, although Qinze Taichiro was killed,"

"Marshal Deng also suffered extremely heavy injuries. Although he received treatment later, it hurt his Origin."

"Less than two years later, he passed away as well."

"The founding father of Great Bear Country was the same."

Zhao Qingcang's fists clenched unconsciously, his knuckles turning white from the force.

"Now that such a strong Professional has been resurrected again, the possibility of us seizing the Pendulum of Life is probably reduced by a few more points."

He raised his head, and there was a bit more emotion in his eyes.

"The current head of the Kujo Family is truly ruthless enough."

"The lives of 130,000 commoners, sacrificed just like that."

"He doesn't take the lives of these 130,000 people seriously, and in the future, he won't take the lives of millions or tens of millions of people seriously either."

"In his eyes, these are just chips for his Kujo Family to march towards prosperity!"

Zhou Huai said in a deep voice: "Marshal, I think we can't remain so passive anymore."

"If Kujo Koji resurrects a few more dead SS-Rank Experts,"

"then our Great Xia really won't have any way to play anymore."

Zhao Qingcang deeply agreed. He looked at Gandalf, his gaze as sharp as an eagle's.

"What do you need me to do?"

Zhou Huai pondered for a moment and slowly stated his plan.

"First, we need to leak this news out."

"Let the ordinary people of Sakura Country know what Kujo Koji has done."

"By then, it will surely erupt among ordinary residents of Sakura Country, with everyone feeling in danger, bound to cause huge chaos within their country."

"Other Professional factions that are not direct descendants of the Kujo Family might also seize the opportunity to unite with the Omiya Family to resist."

"Secondly, it's to trouble Marshal Zhao to personally head to the border and create some pressure for Sakura Country."

"The purpose is very simple: at least hold back one of their SS-Rank Experts, forcing him to come to the border to engage in military tug-of-war with you."

"This way, I can have more room for maneuver within Sakura Country."

After listening, a sharp glint flashed through Zhao Qingcang's cloudy eyes.

He nodded.

"This is indeed a good idea."

"I will instruct Wei Liao right now to have our spies in Sakura Country spread the news."

"In a few days, I will personally head to Hanchao City."

The Old Marshal's back straightened rigidly, and a long-absent Battle Intent rose from his body.

"To be honest, although I am already quite old,"

"I actually quite want to exchange blows with that Qinze Taichiro again."

Zhou Huai reminded: "Marshal must be careful."

A bold smile appeared on Zhao Qingcang's face.

"You too."

Having reported the work, Zhou Huai was about to transfer his consciousness.

Suddenly, he thought of something again.

"Right, Marshal Zhao, you are knowledgeable and experienced."

"Have you ever heard of someone under eighteen years old being able to use the power of Classer?"

Hearing this, Zhao Qingcang was stunned, then fell into deep thought.

His brows were tightly locked, as if searching his mind for relevant memories.

After a moment, he suddenly thought of something and abruptly raised his head.

"What you said actually reminds me."

"A while ago, my subordinates reported a strange matter to me."

"When they were executing a mission, they encountered a child only fourteen years old, yet an extremely powerful energy erupted from within the child's body."

Zhao Qingcang's expression became solemn.

"Our Military Department immediately placed the child under control and launched an investigation."

"We found that the child's family background didn't have any abnormalities, nor had they encountered any special events."

"It was just that one day, as if undergoing a soul Awakening, he claimed that he was... the ancient Human Race."

"And he also said something about coming from the ruins."

Coming from the ruins.

Why did this sentence structure sound a bit familiar?

It seemed that in the stories Zhou Ting told him,

his never-before-met mother seemed to have also said the same words.

She said that she, too, came from the ruins.

Zhou Huai felt as if a bolt of lightning had split open the heavy fog in his mind.

That mysterious boy discovered by the Military Department.

His mother.

Even that violent and uncontrollable power inside Natsume Rinku's body.

Between the three, there seemed to exist some mysterious connection that spanned across time and space.

The ancient Human Race.

This noun, which only existed in the most ancient classics, surfaced in his heart once again.

So to speak, did they all come from the same place?

Were they all remnants of that ancient civilization sealed by history?

Meanwhile,

Freedom Federation.

In an ancient city named Holy Capital,

the aerial garden restaurant in the center of the city could overlook the night view of the entire Holy Capital.

A properly dressed middle-aged man was leisurely cutting the filet mignon on his plate with a knife and fork.

His movements were elegant, every detail exuding good upbringing.

He finished his last bite of dinner and gently wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin.

The communicator at his side emitted a slight vibration.

He picked up the communication.

On the other end of the call came an encrypted, gender-neutral synthesized electronic voice.

"Mr. Duan, news was just received."

"Three days ago in Takamagahara, a twelve-year-old girl who could release energy appeared."

"According to our model analysis, her energy characteristics highly match the 'Ruins Awakener', and the recovery progress is estimated to be seventeen percent."

The middle-aged man called Mr. Duan picked up the red wine glass on the table, gently swirling the crimson liquid.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Very good."

His voice was gentle, yet carried an unquestionable majesty.

"Seventeen percent... faster than expected."

"It seems that little action of the Kujo Family has instead become a good catalyst."

The voice on the other end of the call continued to sound, devoid of any emotion.

"Do we need to immediately initiate the 'capture' program?"

Mr. Duan took a sip of red wine, casting his gaze toward the brightly lit Holy Capital outside the window.

"Of course."

He put down the wine glass, his tone plain.

"Find a way to find her and bring her out."

He paused and added a sentence.

"I hope that when I see her, she is still alive."

"Understood."