The deafening roar of the military-grade explosives ripped through the ballroom floor like a screaming demon.
Time appeared to stop when heavy white marble slabs broke apart and shot upward to create thousands of dangerous sharp projectiles. The blast wave advanced straight toward the Vanguard shield wall while an orange fire burst out and revealed itself as a force that would destroy everything in its path.
I yelled at the top of my lungs for someone named Seraphina.
My body began to move before I could think about what I should do.
I used my Dragon Qi to its maximum potential even though my body experienced excruciating pain. I moved from the center of the room to Seraphina in less than one microsecond.
I used my full strength to push the eight Vanguard commanders backward because I wanted to throw their heavy armor-covered bodies away from the blast zone. At the exact same moment, I locked my arms around Seraphina's waist to prevent her from moving away from me.
The moment the floor fell apart, I formed a powerful energy shield around us by using my entire cultivation power.
BOOM!
The concussive force struck us with the speed of a freight train. The explosion's intense heat moved toward my Qi barrier as it tried to consume everything around us. The force of gravity disappeared from our environment.
We fell.
We fell downward through the VIP area. We fell downward through the main lobby. We fell downward into the dark underground parking garages that exist beneath the Imperial Hotel. We fell into the abyss as concrete chunks and twisted steel rebar and destroyed luxury vehicles fell down around us.
CRASH.
My heavy boots slammed into the cracked concrete of the lowest sub-basement, four stories underground. The impact had enough power to break the foundation. I protected Seraphina from harm by taking all the shockwave force through my legs while I kept my arms locked around her.
Dust and thick black smoke instantly swallowed us.
I lowered my arms while my golden Qi barrier began to disappear. I released a powerful cough that made me taste the metallic flavor of my own blood. My organs suffered damage after I had to protect her from a direct blast that was extremely close range.
"Kaelen!" Seraphina exclaimed as she grabbed my shoulders. She remained calm while her emerald eyes searched my face during the dim lighting created by the broken electrical wires above us. "You're bleeding! Let me see!"
"I am fine," I said while I wiped blood from my lip.
I examined her. Her black dress looked elegant, yet it showed gray concrete dust stains all over it. She had no injuries. My barrier had held.
"The Vanguard?" she asked while she trembled and pointed toward the huge metal structure that had collapsed and blocked the ballroom above us.
"They survived," I said as I listened to my commanders who were searching through the debris three floors up. "Their armor is reinforced. But thousands of tons of concrete are separating us. We are cut off."
The dark basement space suddenly erupted with a powerful crackling sound.
"Impressive, nephew. Truly impressive."
The emergency public address system concealed in the concrete pillars of our surroundings broadcasted Marcus Vance's voice throughout the entire area.
"I knew a simple bomb wouldn't kill the Dragon King," Marcus chuckled. "But it did exactly what I needed it to do. It separated you from your Vanguard. I captured you within my playground.
"Show yourself, Marcus!" I yelled into the darkness while my golden eyes searched the shadows.
"The speakers hissed, announcing my superior plan." "Three years before I killed your parents and stole your throne, I discovered you bleeding on the floor. You escaped, but I kept the blood you left behind. The blood sample I gave to the brilliant scientists at Thorne Medical Group enabled them to develop the poison that was used against your sister and to create this."
An underground garage space produced a loud hydraulic hiss sound from its far end. A massive steel door that had a reinforced design began to slowly open.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The footsteps created an abnormal weight that made the loose gravel on the floor shake.
From the shadows, a towering nightmare stepped into the flickering light. The man stood at almost eight feet tall, and his muscles bulged in an extreme way, with thick black veins showing. His eyes burned with chaotic violent crimson light.
The most terrifying aspect of him was the aura that emitted from his body.
It was Dragon Qi.
The monster emitted a sick twisted version of my own power that radiated violent uncontrollable waves from its body.
"Meet Project Chimera," Marcus laughed over the speakers. "A genetic masterpiece fueled by your stolen bloodline. The creature experiences no pain and lacks any conscience. It only knows how to destruct everything. Let's see how the real Dragon King handles a superior upgraded version of himself!
The Chimera produced a loud inhuman roar that shook my teeth, and it charged directly at us.
I told Seraphina to stay behind me while I pushed her to safety behind an overturned SUV that had been wrecked.
I didn't wait for the beast to reach me. I exploded forward, my fist wrapped in pure, golden Qi.
Our fists met in the dead center of the garage.
BANG!
The collision of our identical opposing Qi created a shockwave that blew the windows out of every parked car in a hundred-foot radius. The physical strength of the monster was so immense that it made me slide backward by half an inch.
I bent forward to avoid the lethal blow while I drove my knee into the creature's ribcage. The bone crushing sound occurred but the creature showed no sign of reaction. The creature used its enormous hand to grab my shoulder and then threw me through an entire concrete pillar.
I crashed into the rubble while dust exploded around my body.
Seraphina shouted from behind the SUV that he was too fast because his muscle density was artificial. She diagnosed the creature's movements with her medical ability. Kaelen his heart rate is excessively high his body shows black veins on his neck because he is rejecting artificial Qi.
I pushed myself out of the rubble while my eyes locked onto the thick pulsing black veins which bulged from the monster's throat.
She was right. The Thorne Medical Group succeeded in recreating my abilities but they failed to achieve the stability found in authentic Dragon core power. The Chimera functioned as a time bomb which would explode at any moment.
I removed the dust from my black suit. "You believe you can take my blood to become a King?" I whispered.
The Chimera charged again while it tore off a solid steel bumper from a car and used it as a giant weapon to attack me.
I avoided using my strength against him at that moment. I am the God of War and I hold the title of supreme Medical Genius.
I passed through the swinging steel while my body moved with the same fluidity as water. I raised my hands to show my index and middle fingers. I didn't throw a punch. I delivered precise surgical strikes which targeted specific points.
Thwack. I hit the pressure point located beneath its left armpit and I cut off its nerve connection. The beast's left arm became completely inactive.
The Chimera let out a confused roar while it moved its right arm in uncontrolled movements.
Thwack. I entered its defense zone and hit the middle point of its chest which caused a pure golden Qi needle to penetrate its heart.
The monster stopped moving. The crimson aura which surrounded its body began to flicker before it vanished into a chaotic explosion.
I whispered "Fake power" while I turned away from the beast. "Will always shatter in front of the true King."
The Chimera behind me expanded its chest through a violent motion. The corrupted Qi inside its body exploded. The monster lay dead on the concrete with synthetic black blood flowing out from its enormous body.
The destroyed basement area became completely quiet.
Marcus Vance's voice emerged from the PA system with his smug arrogance transformed into panicking disbelief. The Chimera was invincible!
I looked up at the security camera mounted in the corner of the ceiling. I pointed my hand at the lens with one finger. "Run, Marcus. Hide in the deepest hole you can find. Because I am coming for your head."
I launched a tiny pebble from the ground which turned into a bullet that crashed through the camera to disintegrate it into countless fragments.
The PA system lost all sound.
My body exhaled a long deep breath as the adrenaline started to leave my body. My Qi reserves emptied after I used them to protect Seraphina and fight the Chimera. The stabbing pain which shot through my chest made me drop down to one knee.
"Kaelen!"
Seraphina rushed out from her hiding spot behind the SUV and fell to her knees on the dirty concrete next to me. She acted without delay. She took hold of my destroyed dress shirt collar and forcefully tore it apart to reveal my injured chest.
"Your meridians are completely overloaded," she said with emerald eyes showing deep concern. Her fingers quickly checked my pulse while she measured my skin temperature.
"I just need a minute," I rasped while trying to rise.
"Don't move," she ordered with her voice showing complete authority. She completely abandoned her nurse disguise.
Seraphina pressed both of her soft, warm hands flat against the center of my chest.
The moment her skin touched mine, something impossible happened.
A sudden, overwhelming wave of pure, soothing warmth flowed from her palms directly into my overloaded core. It wasn't medical science. It was an ancient, resonant energy. My Dragon Qi which usually took hours of meditation to control became obedient to her touch. The pain in my chest vanished completely.
I looked at her in absolute shock. "How did you do that?"
Seraphina looked down at her own hands, equally stunned. "I... I don't know. Whenever I touched the silver needles on your sister. I felt a hum. But it feels like I'm unlocking a door I didn't know existed.
Her emerald eyes stared at me. She looked more beautiful than ever when the dim light showed her bruised cheek and dusty black dress. The Thorne family called her trash. The city believed that she was an illegitimate mistake.
My Qi revealed the truth about her bloodline. Her bloodline was reacting perfectly to the Dragon King's core.
A steel door appeared which the Chimera had used to exit the building after we finished speaking. The hidden computer terminal inside the dark room suddenly illuminated the entire area, revealing rows of Thorne Medical Group filing cabinets.
I stood up to help Seraphina back to her feet, then we advanced into the secret sub-lab.
The main terminal held a single file folder which carried a top-secret red stamp designating its contents as restricted access.
I opened it. The contents contained a complete DNA profile.
I read the first line, my golden eyes widening in absolute shock. I looked at the paper, and then I looked at Seraphina.
"What is it?" she asked while approaching the paper with her heart racing in her chest. "Kaelen, what does it say?
Liam's father killed your mother because he wanted to hide illegal drug trials from his wife. He murdered her because she discovered the truth about you.
I delivered the document to her.
Seraphina's eyes looked through the illuminated sheet of paper. The bold letters at the bottom of the page practically screamed the truth to the entire world.
SUBJECT: SERAPHINA THORNE.
TRUE PATERNITY MATCH: 99.9% RICHARD STERLING.
I said softly to her in the dark room that she was not a Thorne. "Chloe is the fake. You are the true, biological Heiress of the Sterling family."