Immersed in this dazzling cluster of golden light, Zhou Huai's consciousness was exceptionally clear.

He realized that he had completely resurrected.

His body was reshaped, his soul condensed once more, and his limbs were filled with vitality.

However, there wasn't much joy in his heart.

"Uncle Fu…"

Uncle Fu must have sacrificed his own life to save him.

The life energy required for the resurrection of an E-rank Professional was not massive, so the process of reshaping the body did not consume too much time.

When Uncle Fu's final life Origin was drained dry, the sacrificial ritual was also declared to have reached its end.

"Crack—"

A crisp shattering sound resounded across the wasteland.

On the surface of the giant golden cocoon wrapping around Zhou Huai, spiderweb-like cracking patterns emerged.

Immediately afterwards, beams of real autumn sunlight shone in through those cracks, piercing through the haze inside the golden cocoon.

"Crack! Crack!"

The cracks spread rapidly, and finally, accompanied by a burst of dazzling light, the golden cocoon split completely, turning into dancing golden specks of light all over the sky, raining down a gorgeous shower of light.

Zhou Huai walked out from the dissipating golden light.

He lowered his head, looking at his pair of feet that firmly stepped on the withered grass, feeling the heavy sense of solid ground beneath his feet.

Five years.

For five whole years, he was finally no longer a cripple confined to a wheelchair; he could finally walk with his own feet again.

But he didn't feel the joy of this rebirth at all, because the moment he came out, he saw not far away, beneath the Pendulum of Life, a desiccated corpse that had completely withered away.

Seeing that corpse, Zhou Huai's heart tightened.

Even though it had shriveled down to nothing but a layer of skin and bones, and even the original facial features were completely distorted and collapsed, making it impossible to see what the other person looked like during their lifetime.

Zhou Huai still recognized him at a glance.

That was Uncle Fu, without a doubt.

This was the old man who, ever since he lost his mother, was the only one who gave him warmth, willing to give up everything just to keep him safe.

Zhou Huai's eye sockets were red, and taking somewhat stiff steps, he walked forward.

His legs bent, and with a "thud," he knelt in front of the desiccated corpse, reaching out his hands to gently embrace Uncle Fu's feather-light remains into his arms.

"Uncle Fu… Thank you."

Just at this moment, Chen Huaishu and Wei Liao, who had been guarding the perimeter, also deactivated the defensive barrier and hurried over.

The two battle-hardened military generals looked at the tragic scene before them, unable to help showing emotional expressions.

They did not immediately speak to disturb him. Until Zhou Huai's emotions calmed down a little, and he gently laid Uncle Fu's remains flat on the ground, taking off his own coat to cover the old man, Chen Huaishu cleared his throat and spoke tentatively.

"You… must be Zhou Huai, right?"

Wei Liao stepped forward, looking solemnly at the youth who had just resurrected from the dead, and was about to introduce himself and state their identities: "We are from the Great Xia Military Department…"

"No need for introductions."

Zhou Huai did not look back. He was still half-kneeling on the ground with his back to the two of them, directly interrupting Wei Liao's words.

"Old General Chen, Minister Wei Liao. I know the two of you very well."

As soon as these words were spoken, Wei Liao was stunned.

Zhou Huai stood up, turned his head, and gazed at the two big figures with stars on their shoulders before him.

"I have dealt with both of you many times using a Avatar before. This is the first time our true bodies are meeting in a true sense."

Hearing this, Chen Huaishu was taken aback at first, and then showed joy.

The heavy stone hanging in his heart finally fell completely to the ground.

He admitted it! He admitted it!

The seemingly ordinary youth before him was truly the Ever-changing Star Lord who had stirred up the situation with his own strength and saved Great Xia from fire and water!

"That's great… It really is you! You've really come back to life!" Chen Huaishu's lips were trembling with excitement.

Zhou Huai nodded, but his expression was not relaxed.

He looked around at the empty wasteland and asked:

"What is the current battle situation? How is the situation over in Sakura Country?"

Pausing for a moment, he asked the question he cared about most: "Is Marshal Zhao Qingcang… safe and sound?"

Hearing the name Zhao Qingcang, Chen Huaishu and Wei Liao's originally excited expressions dimmed.

"Sakura Country is already unable to look after itself. With Kujo Koji's conspiracy exposed and the destruction of Tokyo City, all kinds of domestic factions have completely rebelled, fighting fiercely for territory and resources. They are completely powerless and can no longer have the spare strength to fight a war with us in Great Xia. Our front-line troops are currently resting and reorganizing, preparing to take over the battle situation at any time."

Speaking of this, Chen Huaishu paused. He looked at Zhou Huai, his voice frighteningly low.

"As for Marshal Zhao…"

"He launched a decisive battle against the resurrected Qinze Taichiro in the Changmen waters. In order to protect the Great Xia fleet, and also to buy time for you to sneak into Tokyo City…"

"Together with Old Marshal Deng Qihe, at the cost of burning their own lives, he activated the spirit sealing coffin, sealing that fully evolved Yamata no Orochi into the spirit sealing coffin."

"Marshal Zhao… has sacrificed his life for the country."

Hearing this, Zhou Huai couldn't help but freeze in place.

Marshal Zhao, he died too…

This was clearly beyond his expectations.

Thinking of that Old Marshal, a pang of sorrow involuntarily arose in his heart.

"Then… how did you find me?" Zhou Huai remained silent for a long time before asking.

Chen Huaishu immediately briefly recounted to Zhou Huai the process of how Tang Qi brought back the Pendulum of Life, how that swordsman Avatar left his last words, and how they investigated through Donghai City's household registration files to finally find Uncle Fu.

Only then did Zhou Huai understand.

It turned out that the Military Department's understanding of him was even more than he had anticipated.

"Thank you for your hard work." Zhou Huai looked at Chen Huaishu and Wei Liao, bowing to express his gratitude, "If you hadn't arrived with the Pendulum of Life, I'm afraid I really would never have woken up."

Chen Huaishu waved his hands repeatedly, stepped forward to support Zhou Huai, his tone extremely sincere:

"Don't ever say that! It is you who have made so many contributions to Great Xia! Without you, Great Xia would probably have been swallowed by the flames of war by now."

"Resurrecting you is something the entire Great Xia Military Department, and even the entire country, ought to do! To thank…"

Chen Huaishu glanced at the remains on the ground covered by clothes, his eye sockets slightly red: "The one we should thank the most is your old butler. It was he who voluntarily sacrificed his life to exchange it for you."

Wei Liao looked at the howling cold wind around them, and chimed in at this time: "Old Chen, Mr. Zhou has just recovered his body, and it's windy outside. We'd better find a safe place first, sit down, and slowly chat about our plans for the future."

Chen Huaishu had the same intention, and nodded, saying: "Right, right, right, the Military Department's car is right outside, let's return to Donghai City first."

However, Zhou Huai shook his head.

"There's no rush."

He took a breath, his gaze turning sharp.

"I still have some things to do."

After speaking, Zhou Huai ignored their puzzled gazes and quietly closed his eyes.

Chen Huaishu and Wei Liao looked at each other in dismay.

Although the two were surprised, having witnessed Zhou Huai's methods, they sensibly stepped back two paces and did not speak to disturb him.

At this time, Zhou Huai's consciousness had already sunk deep into his mind.

In the quietness, he tentatively chanted silently in his mind.

"System?"

"System, are you still there?"

After a long while, no response came from his mind.

Zhou Huai's heart sank involuntarily. Could it be that because of the death of his true body, the System had also completely dissipated along with it? If the System was gone, wouldn't all those Avatars he had worked so hard to accumulate previously… also vanish into ashes?

Just when Zhou Huai was feeling disappointed,

deep within his mind, a slight current sound suddenly came.

Immediately afterwards, that long-lost mechanical prompt tone resounded in the depths of his soul!

【Ding!】

【Detected that the host's soul has revived once again, and life signs have returned to stability!】

【God-level Clone System… Reactivating… 10%… 50%… 100%!】

【System is back online!】

【Detected host's current status, starting to synchronize Avatar data… Data synchronization complete!】