Solar Blood Masters (186)

Chapter 186 - Qi Hawk vs Silk Yune and Lu Ignis

Raphael lay unconscious encased within a translucent sphere of protective energy. Qi Hawk observed the boy with a thoughtful gaze. His single milky-white eye drifted towards the distant peaks of the frozen mountains as he recalled a recent conversation.

“Father, why are you showing such kindness to that bull? He’s an outsider. You should be punishing him, not rewarding him!” Qi Fenwei’s words had been laced with a daughter’s righteous indignation and a protectiveness that mirrored his own.

“That bull… he is different, Fenwei. His Solar Essence resonates with something… peculiar. Something… familiar. I can sense it within his very core. He’s not simply a beast, but a vessel. A vessel for a power we haven't seen in millennia. And besides, he reminds me of you.”

His words had startled her. “Me? But Father, I’m…”

“You’re a warrior, Fenwei. A true warrior. You crave strength. You yearn for knowledge. And you never back down from a challenge. That bull possesses the same spirit.” He'd smiled gently, then added, "He desires to become human.”

Qi Hawk’s thoughts returned to the present. He observed Raphael's unconscious form. ‘It appears he has succeeded in his wish. And because of him, so have I. I will repay this debt in full.’

BOOM!

A sudden burst of heat had his feathers ruffling.

“Qi Hawk! You dare ignore us during battle?! I’ve had it with your arrogance! Die!”

Lu Ignis slithered up high and unleashed his fury. His ‘Lava Tail Whip’ lashed out with terrifying speed and force! It cracked the air and left behind a trail of fire and brimstone.

Qi Hawk reacted instantly.

“Blink!”

He vanished then reappeared a hundred meters away on another branch.

“You think teleportation can save you, bird?!” Lu Ignis lashed out again.

His tail whip, now even hotter, brighter, tore through mountains, incinerating everything in its path! Trees turned to ash. The very ground beneath Qi Hawk’s feet began to melt.

But Qi Hawk simply blinked again and reappeared in the air. He watched Lu Ignis's frantic attacks with a calm detachment. His single eye narrowed slightly as if amused by the serpent’s futile attempts.

Lu Ignis continued his assault. Again and again, he lashed out, each attack more potent than the last, but Qi Hawk effortlessly teleported away. This only fueled the Bronze Serpent Emperor’s rage even further.

“I’ll stop that coward from teleporting!”

Silk Yune's cold and sharp tone cut through the chaotic display. She raised her hands and her nine Silver Ice Foxes released an harmonic howl that reverberated through the frosted domain.

The temperature plummeted. Pink snowflakes sharp as a razor blade began falling from the sky. They swirled around Qi Hawk, forming a vortex of icy energy.

He tried to teleport, but it was too late! The snowflakes had encased him in a prison of ice, freezing his movements and pinning him in place.

“I can’t hold him much longer. Finish him, Lu Ignis!”

“You don’t have to tell me twice. I killed you, Qi Hawk! Remember that in your grave! WHAAA!”

Lu Ignis unleashed his most potent attack.

“Screaming Hell Blaze!”

He reared his massive head and his maw glowed with an infernal light. Then, with a terrifying roar that shook the very heavens, he unleashed a torrent of fire! It was an ocean of flames, hotter, brighter, more destructive than anything they’d witnessed before. A power capable of burning away even a Marble World!

FWOOSH!

The inferno engulfed Qi Hawk. He was trapped within a sea of fire and became obscured by the flames.

“Arh!”

Silk Yune shielded herself with her potent ice powers and watched the spectacle unfold. Even she felt the heat. She conjured multiple ice barriers around herself, and covered her face with her hands.

“That Qi Hawk’s death is certain. Even I would have trouble surviving that blaze, not to mention I immobilized him. He’s dead, or at worst, heavily injured.” Silk Yune was certain.

FWOOSH!

Lu Ignis’s attack blazed for THIRTY HOURS straight!

He poured every ounce of his Solar Essence into the inferno, determined to utterly obliterate Qi Hawk.

Finally, with a final, earth-shattering explosion, the flames subsided.

Lu Ignis collapsed. He was exhausted and weakened. Black smoke billowed from his nostrils.

Silk Yune rushed to his side and helped him up.

“Well done, Lu Ignis. Today, our partnership is forged among Qi Hawk’s ashes. You have earned my respect.”

“Cough! Cough!” Lu Ignis spat black smoke. “Remember your promise.”

“Yes, consider your daughter’s health restored. And for you…”

She produced a small, glistening green herb from her spatial inventory and offered it to Lu Ignis. It radiated a potent life force.

“This ‘Veridian Sprout’ will restore your strength.”

He accepted the herb gratefully and swallowed it whole. A warmth spread through him that revitalized his weary body and soul. His scales glowed with renewed vigor.

“Thank you, Silk Yune. This herb… it’s quite potent. I feel… stronger than before. Hmmm… This alliance… it is beneficial indeed. I’ve underestimated your resources.”

He then glanced at the scorched earth where Qi Hawk had been. Only a faint wisp of smoke remained.

“And Grenadale Basin… As I was saying earlier, it’s rightfully mine! But for helping me avenge my daughter’s humiliation and for restoring her health, consider its resources, yours to command. I shall declare its ownership to Yunyin Territory.”

“That is most generous of you, Lu Ignis. I appreciate it.” Silk Yune smiled. She was pleased with his offer. She was about to cancel her domain… when…

A voice, calm and clear, shattered the silence.

“Isn’t it a bit too early to pronounce my death?”

“Huh?! That voice… Qi Hawk?!”

Lu Ignis and Silk Yune’s eyes widened in shock. They looked around frantically as their Solar Senses went awry. They couldn’t comprehend.

The voice continued, “I commend you, Lu Ignis, for lasting as long as you did. If it was my old self, I would have perished after twelve hours exposed to those flames. But I should also thank you for refining the last layer of my Void Eyes.”

“What?! Did I hear correctly? That bastard is thanking me?” Lu Ignis was baffled. “Could it be… He exploited MY flames to enhance his strength?! How is that even possible?!” He glanced at Silk Yune, demanding answers.

But she simply shrugged. “I doubt it’s possible. He’s probably bluffing, Lu Ignis. Don’t fall for his tricks.”

“Where are you hiding, Qi Hawk? Come out!”

Behind them, two massive eyes stared at them from the sky. Their pupils glowed with an otherworldly light, and the very space between them began to ripple and distort, crackling as if reality itself were tearing apart. A void opened, revealing a still blackness that had even the bravest of beasts cowering.

And from that void…

Qi Hawk emerged.

He was unscathed. More powerful than ever. His once single, milky-white eye was now joined by another. Both Void Eyes were exposed emanating a powerful energy that had Lu Ignis and Silk Yune trembling.

Tendrils of light like miniature lightning bolts snaked outwards from the eyes. They crackled ominously and distorted the very fabric of reality. The very air itself seemed to vibrate and crack under his Solar Pressure.

“How… can this be?” Lu Ignis experienced real dread.

“Qi Hawk’s aura… It’s that of a Void Emperor Calamity! Since when did he make such a breakthrough?”

“Tsk! It must be a fluke! Can’t you see, Lu Ignis, he’s using his Void Eyes to trick us? I don’t believe he’s ascended to the Void Emperor Calamity stage. And you shouldn’t either.”

“But…!”

“I’ve had enough of your trickery, Qi Hawk! I’ll take care of you once and for all.”

Silk Yune extended a hand. Her nine Silver Ice Foxes vanished from the edges of her domain, and reappeared attached to her nine tails. Their Emperor Calamity Solar Essences flowed into her and amplified her power.

“HRAAA!” With a shout, she began summoning ice.

Massive snowflakes materialized around Qi Hawk.

At the same time, her foxes howled, and beams of pure, white light shot forth from their mouths, converging above them into a swirling orb of concentrated ice energy.

She lifted her hands and the orb’s liquid essence flowed downwards like two icy rivers, encasing her arms in a layer of frost.

“Erase him! Void Ice!”

BOOM!

From the snowflakes, beams of potent ice energy shot forth, targeting Qi Hawk.

He simply…

Blinked.

He reappeared a few meters to the side, watching Silk Yune’s relentless assault with a calm detachment.

“Your efforts are futile, Silk Yune. I’ve seen this technique before. It’s slow. Predictable.”

He watched as the ice beams struck the ground, freezing everything in their path. Trees turned into glistening ice sculptures. The very earth itself hardened and cracked under the intense cold.

‘If I’m caught by that, I’ll be erased from existence.’ He thought, assessing the threat. ‘But she’s too slow. Her power… It’s child’s play compared to mine.’

Lu Ignis observed the battle from a safe distance and trembled. Not from the cold, but from a chilling realization that settled upon him like a shroud of doom. ‘Qi Hawk is way too confident for his ascension to be an illusion. If that bastard has truly ascended to the 1st Layer Void Emperor Calamity Stage, then neither me nor that fox are a match for him.

But how?

How could he have evolved when I’ve suppressed his eye for so long?

It’s all that stinking bull’s fault! Ever since he appeared in Yama Yaguai five years ago, he’s been nothing but a thorn in my side. Now… even Silk Yune is caught up in his schemes!’ He continued to observe the fight with great unease caressing his scales.

BOOM!

Silk Yune’s attack intensified, but Qi Hawk effortlessly evaded every blast, every ice shard, every snowflake. Her frustration grew with each failed attempt.

“Fine, since you are so eager for me to fight back, I’ll oblige you.”

Qi Hawk blinked and reappeared behind Silk Yune. His gaze settled upon her humungous nine Silver Ice Fox tails.

With his hands still clasped behind his back and his long, grey beard swaying gently, he glared at Silk Yune.

“Reality Thwart - Silk Yune’s Demise!”

“What?! How dare you name your technique after me?! I’ll sue you with a quick DEATH!”

Silk Yune's foxes unleashed potent ice beams, but they struck an invisible barrier and ricocheted back, engulfing her in a wave of her own frigid power.

She was encased in Void Ice, frozen solid, yet… her form wasn’t disintegrating.

She shattered the ice effortlessly. “If you think I would be affected by MY OWN power… think again!”

“So you’ve broken free from your own ice and think this is over, do you? Your demise… has already been pronounced, Silk Yune.”

Qi Hawk extended a hand. A translucent sphere materialized, encasing Silk Yune.

She struggled. She unleashed her Solar Essence. But the sphere held firm. It shrunk, compressing her form until she was the size of a soccer ball. Then, it vanished into Qi Hawk’s outstretched hand.

Silk Yune was defeated.

Lu Ignis’s eyes almost jumped out of his head. ‘What the…?! That vixen was crushed so easily by Qi Hawk?! So he really HAS become a Void Emperor Calamity?!’

The domain around them began to crumble, confirming his dreadful suspicions.

The icy landscape shattered, revealing the scorched forest of Black Wind. Hundreds of Solar Consciousnesses floated aimlessly in the air; remnants of those unfortunate creatures caught in Lu Ignis’s inferno.

“Now then… It’s your turn, sna…”

Qi Hawk turned to face Lu Ignis.

But he was gone!

Only a faint, sulfurous aroma and the golden trident, embedded deep in the earth, remained.

“So he slithered away.” Qi Hawk smirked, then glanced at the trident. It flickered, then vanished and reappeared beside him.

“Mermaid Merlando will owe me a favor for returning his trident.” He observed the destruction wrought by his battle with Lu Ignis and Silk Yune, then focused his Void Eyes upon the forest.

“Reality Thwart – Revitalize!”

A wave of gentle, green energy washed across the land. Ice melted. Flames extinguished. Trees sprouted new leaves. The scorched earth healed. And the Solar Consciousnesses, now purified, began to coalesce, forming new life, a truly magnificent display of his control.

With a final nod, he vanished, leaving the revitalized forest and those purified Solar Consciousnesses for anyone to claim.