54: Chapter 54 The Heart of an Emperor, Breaking the Deadlock

**Chapter 54: The Heart of an Emperor, Breaking the Deadlock**

The countdown ticked away mercilessly on every hacked screen across the city.

Every second was like a heavy hammer, smashing down on the hearts of everyone in Jiangcheng, and upon the very foundations of my and Lin Qingzhi's cultivation.

This was a bloody, impossible-to-refuse scheme laid bare.

A deadlock placed in plain sight, using countless innocent lives as chips...

To go was to walk into a trap, a near-certain death.

To stay was to watch those implicated because of us die in droves, slaughtered one after another. That crushing weight of karmic debt and inner demons, enough to cripple any cultivator, would haunt us for life.

"We can't go."

I forcibly suppressed the turmoil in my heart and conveyed my most rational judgment to Lin Qingzhi through our **[Symbiotic Bond]**.

"Central Square is a trap. Snipers in the high-rises, a trapping and killing formation underground. Ghost Hand is waiting, fresh and ready. If we go now, it's certain death."

My analysis was calm, objective, yet filled with a pale sense of helplessness.

Lin Qingzhi did not answer me.

She simply, quietly, 'watched' through my vision this city that had plunged into utter chaos from fear.

She 'saw' a youth who had just awakened his ability, held down in a basement by his parents, his mouth sealed with tape lest he make a single sound.

She 'saw' an elderly couple from a martial arts hall kneeling before their founder's memorial tablet, tears streaming down their aged faces, praying to the gods to protect their only son who had been taken.

She 'saw' within the Dragon Soul Bureau's base, Eagle, eyes bloodshot, punching the wall again and again, roaring with powerless rage.

She... saw far, far too much.

These ordinary people, these weak Awakened Ones, they should have had their own peaceful lives.

But now, because of us, they were caught in this calamity they should never have had to endure.

"Mo Wen."

After a long while, she finally spoke softly in my mind.

"In my past life, I was an Empress, ruling over billions of stars, protecting trillions of subjects."

"My subjects could die in battle, of old age, or illness, but never... because of my cowardice, slaughtered like livestock, stripped of all dignity."

"That... is the shame of an Emperor."

"In this life, though I am a tiger fallen to the plains..."

Slowly, she stood up from the cold pipeline.

Her body, which had been on the verge of collapse, now stood ramrod straight, like a peerless divine spear that would break before it bent!

"...the heart of an Emperor is not dead!"

I was deeply shaken by her resolute will.

I knew I could no longer persuade her with any rational analysis.

Because the choice she was making was not a tactical one.

It was a choice... concerning her 'Path.'

"Alright."

I said no more, flying up from her, my purple-glowing compound eyes fixing on her with utmost seriousness.

"I'll go with you."

Lin Qingzhi looked at me. For the first time, a flicker of incredibly complex warmth appeared in her eyes, which had always been cold as frost.

Slowly, she extended her slender, jade-white hand towards me.

Understanding, I gently landed upon it.

"A frontal assault is suicide," I quickly conveyed my plan to her. "Our only chance is to create chaos, a diversion. Rescue people in the confusion!"

"We need help. Help that can create a big enough disturbance!"

My consciousness instantly linked to a moth lurking outside the Dragon Soul Bureau's command center. Through it, I locked onto a nearby billboard that had also been hacked by Ghost Hand but was ignored due to its remote location.

The next second, I released a faint but distinct electromagnetic pulse through the Swarm Network.

*Bzzt—!*

At the Dragon Soul Bureau's command center, a technician exclaimed, "Report! Abnormal signal flickering detected on the ad screen in West Sector 3! The frequency is... it's our internal 'Beacon Fire' emergency code!"

Eagle, teetering on the edge of fury and despair, snapped his head up, his eyes blazing with disbelief!

The 'Beacon Fire' code was the Dragon Soul Bureau's highest-level distress and communication protocol, known only to a handful, used to transmit messages through any visual medium when all communications were cut!

He rushed to the screen, staring intently at the flickering image!

The flickering rhythm was rapidly combining into a sentence.

**[Feign attack from the north, create chaos. South side is mine. Move in ten minutes.]**

Eagle's expression shifted.

He looked out the window at the fear-shrouded city, then at the blood-red countdown steadily decreasing on the main screen.

Finally, as if making a firm decision, he smashed his fist onto the console!

"I'll go crazy with you... just this once!"

"All personnel!" He whirled around and roared at the team outside the office, "Highest combat readiness! Target: north side of Central Square! Lock onto all Xuantian Alliance firing points! In ten minutes, hit them with our strongest firepower and... blast that place to the heavens!"

...

At Central Square.

Ghost Hand sat comfortably atop a statue, resting with his eyes closed.

He was like a master hunter, quietly waiting for his prey to walk into the slaughterhouse.

On the screen, the blood-red countdown reached its end.

**00:01**

**00:00**

Time was up.

Ghost Hand slowly opened his eyes, a cruel, cold smile curling his lips.

"It seems our esteemed guests wish to see another 'fireworks display.'"

He slowly raised his withered hand, about to give the order to slaughter.

However, at that very moment—

***BOOM—! KABOOM!!***

Deafening explosions suddenly erupted from the north side of the square!

Dozens of blazing trails of fire, like divine punishment from the heavens, precisely blanketed all the sniper points and hidden sentries Ghost Hand had pre-positioned there!

In an instant, flames shot skyward, thick smoke billowed! The entire northern wing of the square became a sea of fire!

"Hmm?"

Ghost Hand snapped his head towards the north. The complacency vanished from his face, replaced by a trace of annoyance at being disturbed.

"Dragon Soul Bureau scum? They dare to attack proactively?"

All his attention, and that of most Xuantian Alliance members on the square, was firmly captured by this sudden, violent assault.

However, none of them noticed—

***At the exact same moment the explosions sounded!***

In the blind spot of everyone's vision, under the cover of the explosions, on the south side of the square!

A shrill, sky-rending sound of something tearing through the air suddenly exploded!

A crystal-clear, translucent Ice Crystal Phoenix, infused with boundless imperial fury, trailing a magnificent tail of energy, shot towards his position with the desperate resolve of mutual destruction!

"A diversion?"

Ghost Hand's pupils contracted sharply. For the first time, genuine shock and anger appeared on his face.

He finally understood. The Dragon Soul Bureau's attack was the feint. This fatal strike from the south was the real killing blow!

But his realization came... far too late!