Although the movement was weak, almost imperceptible unless looking closely...

...Zhou Huai truly felt it!

That electrical signal transmitted from the central nervous system of his brain, traveling all the way down his spinal cord, and finally reaching the tips of his toes!

That connection, broken for so long, had actually reconnected at this moment!

Zhou Huai's breathing grew rapid, and gritting his teeth, he tried again.

This time, he mobilized his entire mental focus, attempting to control his entire left leg.

That leg trembled and struggled, ultimately lifting slowly a few centimeters upward under Zhou Huai's incredulous gaze.

There really was a response!

Zhou Huai abruptly pushed himself up, hands grabbing the edge of the bed, using all his strength to try and sit up.

His feet fumbled on the floor, staggering like an infant who had just learned to walk.

Holding onto the edge of the bed, little by little, he moved his heavy body down from the bed.

Stepping onto the cold floor with both feet, that long-lost, solid tactile sensation caused Zhou Huai's body to shudder uncontrollably.

He stood up.

Even though his legs were still shaking uncontrollably, even though his body was tottering...

...he had truly, on his own two feet, stood up!

"Young Master!"

Just as he was about to fall, Uncle Fu darted forward in a single stride and caught him.

The old housekeeper trembled with excitement, his eyes turning red instantly as hot tears burst from them.

"You... you can stand?"

"Your feet... have recovered?"

"Wonderful! That's simply wonderful! Heaven has opened its eyes!"

Uncle Fu wept with joy, his voice choked with emotion and incoherent.

Ever since the Young Master became paralyzed, this was the first time seeing him step off the bed and walk on his own.

How could he not be excited!

However, there was not a trace of joy on Zhou Huai's face.

He was unusually calm.

On that face, excessively pale from lack of sunlight over a long period, there was even a solemn gravity.

His soul power had not been repaired.

It was even less possible for his body to recover out of thin air.

Then there was only one possible explanation at present.

Terminal lucidity!

Yes.

Just like Jasmine's older sister back then.

Her problem had been far more severe than his, unable to move her entire body.

Yet one day she could suddenly get out of bed, move around freely, and chat and laugh merrily.

But not long after, Jasmine's sister fell into a deep coma again, her condition worse than before.

If Zhou Huai hadn't brought out a soul-restoring potion, her soul probably would have vanished long ago.

And now, Zhou Huai seemed to have reached this stage as well.

Zhou Huai took a deep breath, forcefully steadying his mind.

Terminal lucidity.

This was probably the final chance granted to him by Heaven.

He had to seize this opportunity while his mind was at its clearest to snatch back the Pendulum of Life!

"Uncle Fu."

Zhou Huai reached out a hand toward Uncle Fu.

"Help me back to bed."

Uncle Fu nodded and hurriedly supported Zhou Huai over to the side.

With a smile, he said, "Young Master, your recovery is a grand blessing! Tell this old servant what you'd like to eat, and I'll go arrange it right now."

Facing the excited Uncle Fu, Zhou Huai couldn't bear to tell him the truth that this was merely terminal lucidity.

He could only say with a slight smile, "Uncle Fu, I'd like to eat braised fish. I remember the braised fish you make is divine, and I really haven't had it in a long time."

"Alright, alright! I'll go buy fish for you right away!"

Watching Uncle Fu hurry away,

Zhou Huai gradually pulled back his focus.

He closed his eyes.

His consciousness transferred in an instant.

The next second.

He snapped his eyes open.

What met his eyes was no longer the familiar ceiling of the Donghai City courtyard,

but rather the dark red, oppressive night sky of Tokyo City.

The air was thick with dust, blood, and the strange burnt aroma left behind by burning souls.

At this moment, he was back in Caesar, far away in Tokyo City.

And in the exact instant his consciousness returned,

Tokyo City, West Gate Ruins.

Upon his return, the six Avatars stationed in various locations throughout the city opened their eyes simultaneously.

The moment his consciousness returned, Zhou Huai felt a blood stench so thick it was sickening assault his senses.

That was the lingering resentment and foul stench trapped in the air after millions of living beings died tragically in a short span of time.

He controlled Caesar's body, hovering thousands of meters in the high sky above Tokyo City, looking down at this once incomparably prosperous international metropolis.

Right now, this place had turned into a true living hell on earth.

The originally brilliant neon lights had long been extinguished, swallowed by darkness; and within that darkness, countless golden motes of light rose from every corner of the city.

That was human life force, energy materialized after souls were forcibly stripped away.

These motes of light gathered into surging golden rivers, weaving and intertwining in the night sky, finally coalescing into a vast, mighty torrent that ignored spatial distances, madly surging toward a specific point to the southeast.

And beneath those golden rivers were countless mummified corpses maintaining postures of fleeing, terror, and despair.

On the streets, inside cars, within houses...

Densely packed, horrifying to behold.

A mega-city with a population of over twenty million—in just these brief moments, at least half of the population had completely lost their lives, becoming part of those golden torrents.

The remaining half were still barely clinging to life.

They madly charged at the breach of the West Gate, attempting to flee this city of death before the only way out closed. Cries, screams, and sounds of trampling coalesced into a wave of despairing noise, shooting straight into the clouds.

"Kujo Koji..."

Watching this scene, a cold gleam flashed in Zhou Huai's eyes, and an uncontrollable murderous intent welled up in his heart.

He did not consider himself a Saint, and he could use any means necessary to achieve his goals.

But this act—unhesitatingly using over twenty million innocent citizens as sacrifices just to resurrect a so-called ancestor, not even sparing his own clan members and subordinates—had completely crossed human boundaries.

This was pure devilish conduct.

"It seems the sacrificial ritual to resurrect Kujo Naruya has been fully activated."

Feeling the terrifying energy contained within that golden torrent, Zhou Huai's heart sank.

The purity and scale of that energy were terrifying. Once that SSS-Rank Expert resurrected with the help of this power, not only Great Xia Nation, but the entire world would face a catastrophe.

And he, as the culprit who ruined the Kujo Family's plans, would be the opponent's first target for purging.

"There's no time left."

Zhou Huai took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing his emotions.

The main body's terminal lucidity wouldn't last long; this was his last and only chance.

Before the ritual completed, he had to find the entrance to the ruins, and snatch or destroy the Pendulum of Life!

"All Avatars, hear my command!"

A mental command was transmitted via the Intellect Core AI to every Avatar scattered throughout Tokyo City.

"Target: Ise Grand Shrine!"

With the command issued, Zhou Huai controlled Caesar, sitting on a throne formed by Soldier Beetles, speeding along the direction of the golden torrent toward Ise Grand Shrine.

...