51: Chapter 51 The Wrath of the Ice Phoenix, A Crimson Declaration!
When Lin Qingzhi uttered the words 'let's go crazy one more time,' as I clung to a support column in the abandoned parking garage, I felt for the first time the true meaning of an 'Emperor's Wrath.'
It was not the tyranny of a mortal Emperor whose anger could leave a million corpses and a thousand miles of bloodshed.
Rather, it was a more fundamental, more pure... will, one that seemed capable of forcing even the laws of heaven and earth to retreat!
Boom!
An indescribable, soul-freezing terror of cold erupted from her seemingly delicate and fragile body!
This chill was no longer the simple Frost True Essence used against enemies before; it was now mixed with faint golden threads of... divine source power, overflowing with sacredness and majesty!
I saw her clear, cold phoenix eyes completely transform into a brilliant, emotionless platinum gold in that instant!
Behind her, a vivid, several-tens-of-meters-tall phantom of an Ice Crystal Phoenix, formed from the purest energy, slowly materialized, unfurling its magnificent wings large enough to blot out the sky!
The Ice Crystal Phoenix raised its head and let out a silent, mournful cry that seemed capable of shaking the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, making all of time and space tremble!
"Hum—!"
Centered on the underground parking garage where we stood, an invisible yet overwhelmingly vast wave of energy, like the shockwave of a nuclear explosion, instantly tore through the earth's layers. With a brutal, overwhelming force, it swept wildly across the entire Jiang City!
In that moment, I felt the entire city fall 'silent.'
Through the Symbiotic Bond, I could clearly perceive Lin Qingzhi's intent.
She didn't utter a single word, yet her will, her declaration, was transmitted with crystal clarity through this energy wave to every living being in the city capable of sensing this power!
"Hear me, vermin of the Xuantian Alliance!"
"Slaughtering the innocent and recklessly wielding the blade of massacre—this is an act that defies the Heavenly Dao!"
"I, your Emperor, hereby swear an oath."
"From this moment forth, if you dare harm another innocent soul in Jiang City, I will pursue you to the ends of the earth, through the highest heavens and the deepest hells, until your souls are utterly annihilated, never to be reborn for all eternity!"
This declaration was overbearing, absolute, and filled with the unquestionable majesty of an Emperor!
She no longer chose to hide. Instead, she used this most direct, most arrogant method to issue a frontal... declaration of war against the enemy lurking in the shadows!
...
Jiang City, East District.
Inside a small martial arts hall that had just been bloodied.
Ghost Hand was dispassionately admiring his 'handiwork.'
Suddenly, he jerked his head up. His gaze, hidden in the shadow of his hood, shot like two tangible blades towards a certain direction in the city center!
"Hmm?! This incredibly pure Emperor's aura... is it that remnant?!"
For the first time, his utterly emotionless voice carried a trace of unconcealable greed and fanaticism!
"Good! What a foolhardy woman! She dares to actively reveal her location!"
"Perfect. It saves me the trouble of wasting more time playing these tedious games with these ants!"
He no longer cared about searching for the next target. His entire form blurred into a stream of black light, tearing through the air with a shrill shriek as he shot towards the source of the energy explosion at a terrifying speed!
He had taken the bait!
...
"Pfft—"
Almost the instant the energy wave swept through the city, the Ice Phoenix phantom behind Lin Qingzhi dissipated like foam.
Her delicate face, which had just regained a hint of color, turned deathly pale once more. A mouthful of crimson blood sprayed uncontrollably from her lips, staining the ground before her.
Forcing her divine source power like this placed an immense burden on her currently frail body.
"Go!"
Without the slightest delay, she issued a terse command to me.
She scooped me up from the column, cradled me in her palm, then, with a flicker of her figure, shot out of the underground parking garage like a phantom, melting into the city's intricate, maze-like forest of steel.
I knew that from this moment on, a heart-stopping game of... life-and-death pursuit, with the entire city as the chessboard, had officially begun!
This was both a desperate flight for survival and a meticulously planned... strategic 'fishing' operation!
Lying in her palm, I released my immensely powerful spiritual sense—enhanced after my breakthrough to Demon Rank—without reservation, acting as her most precise 'radar.'
I could clearly 'see' that behind us, Ghost Hand's powerful Demonic Power, reeking of death and decay, was chasing after us in a straight line at an astonishing speed, like a shark that had caught the scent of blood!
Fast!
Too fast!
The distance between him and us was visibly shrinking at a rapid pace!
"Left! Into that commercial street!" I urgently conveyed my instruction to Lin Qingzhi through the bond.
Without hesitation, Lin Qingzhi changed direction, darting like a nimble cat into a relatively crowded night market commercial street.
"Cut through the back kitchen of that hotpot restaurant!"
"Up to the rooftop! Down via the rooftop fire escape!"
"There's a subway station ahead! Go down!"
Under my guidance, Lin Qingzhi's figure continuously darted and leaped between the city's neon-lit glamour and its shadowy corners.
Every turn she made, every instance of stealth, perfectly utilized the cover of terrain and the concealment of crowds, minimizing our presence to the lowest level.
Meanwhile, Ghost Hand, like an enraged bull that had lost its target, chased relentlessly behind us, yet repeatedly lost track of our exact location.
"Argh! Damned insects! Have the guts to face me in a proper fight!"
From behind, his furious roar, provoked by our evasion, faintly reached us.
Neither Lin Qingzhi nor I paid it any heed.
We were like two perfectly coordinated, top-tier urban hunters, engaged in the most thrilling, most dangerous... guerrilla warfare within the steel jungle against a prehistoric beast far more powerful than us.
However, we both knew this couldn't last.
Lin Qingzhi's injuries were worsening. Every forced burst of speed, every twist and turn, consumed what little vitality she had left.
And Ghost Hand's patience was being steadily worn thin.
I could feel his violent Demonic Power growing increasingly unstable.
At any moment, like a gambler who had lost everything, he might flip the entire table and end this game in the most extreme, most reckless way possible!
Before he went completely mad, we had to find a place, absolutely safe, where we could catch our breath, even if just for a moment.