"Cough, cough..."

Kujo Koji raised his head in disarray. Looking at the undamaged Golden Cocoon of his ancestor, he was just about to burst into a wild laugh of survival.

However, in the next second,

his laughter got stuck in his throat.

Within the billowing thick smoke, a black figure slowly flew out.

That was not a corpse blown to pieces.

It was a throne.

A hideous throne re-formed by countless strange beetles emitting a faint purple glow.

Caesar no longer held back.

His tattered black trench coat fluttered loudly in the wild airflow. Although the throne behind him, formed by countless Soldier Beetles, had collapsed, the scattered insect swarm did not flee. Instead, they vibrated their wings frantically at an eerie frequency.

Buzz, buzz, buzz—

A scalp-numbing, low-frequency resonance echoed through the skies.

An ancient, savage, and terrifying aura belonging to an ancient insectoid Sovereign erupted unreservedly from Caesar's body.

It was not just an accumulation of power; it was a leap in the level of life.

Behind him, the the void distorted, and a giant phantom of a compound eye that blotted out the sun faintly emerged, gazing coldly down at all living beings.

SSS-Rank!

Though the aura still seemed immature and the power was not yet fully mastered, the essence of this pressure had indeed touched that legendary Domain!

From within the Golden Cocoon, the voice that was originally high and mighty, treating all living things like ants, fluctuated for the first time.

"Hmm?"

"This guy... is actually an SSS-Class Professional as well?"

"A pity he hasn't fully developed yet."

There was a hint of surprise in Kujo Naruya's voice, but it was mostly filled with an arrogance engraved in his bones.

He was like an adult tiger looking at a cub that had just grown its baby teeth; although there was a threat, it was nothing to fear.

However, these words fell upon Kujo Koji's ears like a bolt from the blue.

"What?"

"SSS-Rank?"

Kujo Koji's eyes widened as he stared at the man in the distance who was exuding a dark purple evil aura, thinking he had misheard.

The Insect Master who had repeatedly opposed him in Sakura Country, the culprit who destroyed half of his territory, was actually an SSS-Rank as well!

Had Great Xia Nation already given birth to an SSS-Rank?

After the immense fear, a sudden wave of relief surged in Kujo Koji's heart.

He was glad that he had made the most insane and extreme choice.

Fortunately, he had resurrected his Old Ancestor at all costs, even bearing the infamy of slaughtering his own citizens.

Otherwise, without Kujo Naruya to face such an SSS-Rank Insect Master with limitless potential, how could Sakura Country possibly defend itself?

Before long, under the leadership of this Insect Master, Great Xia Nation would completely destroy Sakura Country and wipe the yamato people off the map!

"Ancestor! Kill him!"

Kujo Koji scrambled up from the ground, ignoring the blood all over his face, and pointed at Caesar, roaring, "You must not let him leave alive! He is the greatest threat to our Sakura Country!"

However, even as Kujo Koji roared, Caesar, controlled by Zhou Huai, had already moved.

Without any useless words, the air exploded beneath Caesar's feet as he transformed into a black stream of light, charging resolutely toward the center of the altar against the golden storm that filled the sky.

His target was extremely clear—the Pendulum of Life!

That was the core that maintained this sacrificial ritual, as well as the source of Kujo Naruya's power.

"Hmph, overestimating yourself."

A cold snort came from within the Golden Cocoon.

Facing Caesar's desperate charge, the divine patterns on the surface of the Golden Cocoon lit up.

Buzz—!

A golden beam of light, more condensed and terrifying than before, whipped fiercely toward Caesar like the whip of God.

Caesar neither dodged nor evaded, crossing his arms in front of his chest as the insect armor on his body multiplied, transforming into a thick black shield.

The beam of light collided with the shield.

It held out for less than a tenth of a second.

Crack!

The insect armor shield, which was strong enough to withstand the impact of a nuclear explosion, was as fragile as thin paper in the face of SSS-Rank power, shattering instantly.

Caesar was like someone hit head-on by a high-speed train, flying backward at a speed even faster than his approach.

Bang!

A loud crash echoed.

Caesar crashed heavily into the massive deep pit in the distance, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"So what if you're an SSS-Class Professional?"

The voice inside the Golden Cocoon was full of disdain and mockery.

"In the end, you are still too weak right now."

Seeing this, Kujo Koji was overjoyed and was about to flatter him with a few words.

However, just as Kujo Naruya's voice from within the Golden Cocoon fell, his originally contemptuous tone suddenly froze.

"Hmm?"

A sound of surprise and uncertainty rang out.

Unbeknownst to anyone, another figure had appeared in the center of the altar, right on top of the wildly spinning Pendulum of Life.

It was a stubble-faced man wearing a black trench coat and holding a long sword.

It was none other than Yasuo.

"What?"

"When did he..."

The voice inside the Golden Cocoon was clearly not as calm as before, even carrying a hint of disbelief.

His attention had been entirely on Caesar just now.

After all, the SSS-Rank aura that Caesar erupted with was far too conspicuous; he was the most threatening existence to him among everyone there, and the only opponent qualified to be taken seriously.

But he never expected that while he was fully focused on dealing with that "tiger cub," another insignificant "fly" would actually succeed.

Before even he, an expert who once stood at the Peak of the world, could react, the opponent had already approached the Pendulum of Life and was even standing on top of the Divine Artifact!

In fact, before Caesar even rushed out from the mushroom cloud, Zhou Huai had already formulated this tactic.

He knew that facing an awakened SSS-Rank Expert, there was absolutely no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation.

The only chance of winning was a sneak attack!

Therefore, he had quietly handed the black chains specifically designed to counter the Pendulum of Life to Yasuo.

After all, Yasuo was the fastest among all the Avatars, possessing a skill comparable to teleportation like the 【Seal of the Thunder God】.

Even the SSS-Rank Caesar was far inferior to Yasuo in terms of explosive speed.

Subsequently, he had Caesar release his aura without reservation, even risking his life to face the Golden Cocoon head-on, all to draw all of Kujo Naruya's attention.

This time, Zhou Huai was using the SSS-Rank Caesar as bait!

This was a massive gamble.

He was gambling on the fact that Kujo Naruya had just awakened, his consciousness was in Chaos, and he was extremely arrogant, meaning he wouldn't care about anyone else at all.

And he had won the gamble!

Before Kujo Naruya in the Golden Cocoon could even react, Yasuo had already moved.

There was no ripple of emotion in his eyes as the black chain in his hand whipped out like a nimble black snake!

Clatter!

The chain tore through the air, carrying a bizarre aura that could Seal all things, and wrapped around the massive golden pendulum.

"How dare you!"

Kujo Naruya inside the Golden Cocoon let out an angry roar, his voice laced with a terrifying mental shockwave that caused cracks to appear in the surrounding space.

However, it was already too late.

Yasuo's movements were swift, precise, and ruthless. The chain wrapped around the pendulum a full three times, and then he yanked it back!

Buzz—!

The Pendulum of Life, which was originally radiating brilliant light and frantically devouring life energy, was like a duck choked by its neck the moment it was trapped by the chain.

The deafening buzzing sound ground to a sudden halt.

The brilliant golden light radiating from its body dimmed, and the Divine Power flowing on its surface was also suppressed by the black chain.

"Court death!!!"

Kujo Naruya was completely enraged.

Boom—!

The Golden Cocoon expanded, and a colossal golden lightning bolt, carrying the will to destroy everything, shot out from within, heading straight for Yasuo.

This strike was launched in pure fury, its power several times more terrifying than the blow that had just sent Caesar flying.

If it hit, even the SS-Rank Yasuo would be reduced to ashes.

【Thunder God Armor】!

Crackle—!

An armor condensed from liquid lightning covered his entire body.

In the next second,

Boom!

the golden lightning slammed violently into Yasuo's body.

The indestructible Thunder God Armor held out for less than half a second before shattering.

Yasuo was like someone hit head-on by a meteorite, coughing up blood frantically as his sternum shattered completely, and his body flew backward like a broken kite.

But his hand gripping the chain did not loosen!

Even with shattered finger bones and mangled flesh, that hand remained like an iron vise, tightly gripping the end of the chain.

The immense impact force actually became his booster.

Leveraging this terrifying counterforce, Yasuo transformed into a golden meteor, flying at extreme speed away from the snow mountain.

Along with that chain and the Pendulum of Life bound by it, they were dragged flying out by him with brute force!