"Do not touch her!" I roared into the phone, my grip tightening so fiercely that the cheap plastic and glass of the screen spider-webbed under my fingers.
The Vanguard Commander standing in the rain before me immediately stood up to attention. "What are your orders, my King?"
"The City Hospital must be put under lockdown," I commanded, as my voice cut through the thunder, which sounded like an actual blade. "Secure all exits. I will personally take your head if a single Sterling thug leaves that building with a heartbeat.
"Yes, my King!"
I didn't wait to get into the armored SUVs. The vehicles moved too slowly for me. The ancient seal on my body was broken after three years of marriage. The legendary Dragon Qi—a pure explosive energy which I had kept under control for a thousand days—surged through my veins like boiling lava.
I bent my knees and launched myself forward.
The concrete asphalt under my boots broke apart into a pattern of deep craters. I moved faster than the human eye could track, a dark blur tearing through the storm. The heavy rain didn't even touch my skin because my awakened cultivation caused the drops to convert into hissing steam before they could land. I crossed the two-mile distance from the manor to the hospital in less than forty seconds.
I crashed through the hospital's sliding glass doors, ignoring the screaming receptionists, and vaulted up the central staircase three flights at a time.
Fourth floor. Intensive Care Unit.
The heavy double doors of Lily's ward were already torn off their hinges. I stepped over the ruined metal and took in the absolute chaos of the room.
Three hulking men in black suits, wearing the Sterling family crest on their lapels, were tearing wires out of the wall.
A young nurse stood directly between them and my sister's fragile, pale body. She wore light blue scrubs, her dark hair falling in messy waves around her striking face, which showed her anger. She held a metal IV pole horizontally like a spear, refusing to back down. Her name tag read: Seraphina Thorne.
Seraphina shouted, "Step back!" as her voice shook slightly, but her stance remained solid. "This patient is in critical condition! You cannot move her!
The lead thug laughed in an ugly sound that made my blood boil. "Move out of the way, sweetheart. The Sterling family revoked her charity pass. The boss lady wants the trash taken out.
He raised a massive hand and violently backhanded Seraphina. She flew backward and crashed into a stainless-steel tray of surgical tools. The linoleum floor became covered in klattering surgical tools while she slumped against the wall with a cut opening up on her cheek from her fall.
That was the exact moment I stepped fully into the room.
The temperature in the ICU dropped to freezing point. The fluorescent lights above the room flickered and buzzed as they reacted to my murderous aura, which seeped out of my body.
The lead thug sneered, "Who the hell are you?" while he spun around. He started to recognize someone when he saw who it was. "Well, well. Look who finally dragged himself out of the rain. It's the billionaire's garbage dog. Chloe said you might come crying. Grab him, boys. Break his legs.
Two of the massive thugs rushed me, grinning like hyenas.
My eyes remained fixated on the scene. I stepped inside the first man's guard, my open palm striking the center of his chest.
CRACK. His ribs shattered inward. He flew backward as if hit by a speeding freight train, crashing straight through the drywall and into the hallway outside. He remained on the ground.
The second man panicked and swung a heavy steel baton directly at my head. I didn't dodge. I raised my bare hand and caught the solid steel weapon mid-swing. The thug's eyes bulged in pure horror as my fingers closed, crushing the steel pipe into a twisted lump of useless metal. I kicked his knee before he could scream. The joint bent completely backward with a sickening snap, and he collapsed to the floor, wailing in agony.
The lead thug turned pale. He yanked a suppressed pistol from his jacket. "You freak!
He never got to pull the trigger.
I closed the ten-foot gap in a fraction of a second. My hand locked around his throat like a vice grip. I raised him while holding his entire two-hundred-pound frame above my head with one arm. He kicked and gurgled while he turned purple.
You touched the nurse who protected my sister. I whispered, my eyes burning with a terrifying golden hue. You tried to unplug my family.
I tossed him like a useless ragdoll against the reinforced glass window. The glass webbed heavily as he slumped to the floor, unconscious and broken.
An alarm with a high-pitched continuous sound began to pierce through the room.
Beeeeeeeeep. I turned to face the sound. Lily's heart monitor displayed a flat green line, which glowed. The thugs who ripped out her oxygen supply caused her heart to stop beating.
Three elite hospital doctors entered the room after the thugs had been neutralized. The Head of Cardiology, Dr. Aris, pushed past me and grabbed a pair of defibrillator paddles.
"Clear!" he shouted while shocking Lily's chest. Her body jerked upward.
The monitor remained flat.
"Clear!" He shocked her again. Nothing.
Dr. Aris stepped back while he cursed. Sweat poured down his wrinkled face. He looked at the nurse on the floor. "Time of death, 9:14 PM. Her organs have completely shut down. There's nothing more we can do.
"Get out of my way," I growled as I approached the bed.
Dr. Aris scoffed because he recognized my face from the local tabloids. "Kaelen Vance. I know you're grieving, but you are the Sterling family's useless son-in-law, not a doctor. Step away from the corpse before I call security. You can't fix this with a mop and bucket.
I ignored his pathetic insults. From the hidden lining of my wet leather belt, I withdrew a small, black velvet roll. I unrolled it across the bedside table, revealing seventy-two gleaming, ancient silver needles. They weren't ordinary medical tools; they hummed with an unseen, vibrating energy.
"What is that trash doing?" another doctor whispered loudly. "Is he trying to do cheap acupuncture on a dead girl?"
I took a deep breath to direct Dragon Qi energy into my fingertips. My hands moved at such a fast speed that they became invisible to the eye.
The ancient medical method known as Nine Dragons Restoring Heaven enabled the Dragon King to bring back souls from the underworld. The ancient medical technique remained forbidden to all people except for the Dragon King, who possessed knowledge about it.
I placed the initial needle at the center point of Lily's heart. A gentle golden energy wave expanded throughout her body. The second needle I placed at her throat base, while the third one I placed on her forehead. Thwack, thwack, thwack. Thirteen silver needles started to shake violently inside her pressure areas after five seconds had passed. I turned my face to look pale after I used my complete strong energy to help her damaged organs start to function again.
Dr. Aris shouted for all people to end this wild behavior while he attempted to stop me by reaching for my shoulder. He charged into the room to stop me from performing bodily desecration.
Before I could hit him away, a slender hand with visible bruises shot out and seized the doctor's wrist.
The identity of the nurse who appeared to me as Seraphina had been revealed to me. The nurse had pulled herself up from the floor. The woman had a bleeding lip, but her emerald-green eyes remained fixed on my hands.
Seraphina instructed the doctor to stay away from the patient while her voice displayed complete power over him despite her position as a lowly nurse. The monitor shows the current conditions.
Dr. Aris sneered while he forcefully pulled back his arm from her grip. The monitor shows a flat display, which you foolishly believe—
Beep.
The entire room froze. The doctors stopped all breathing.
Beep... Beep... Beep.
The flat green line transformed into a powerful rhythm that displayed an unthinkable strength. Lily's lips turned from a bluish, death-like appearance to a healthy, warm pink color. Her chest heaved upwards and downwards as she took deep, natural breaths.
Dr. Aris dropped his metal clipboard, which created a clattering sound. His jaw practically hit the floor, his eyes wide with absolute disbelief. The woman retained a heartbeat, but her body showed total medical failure. The medical procedure displayed witchcraft as its result.
The other elite doctors stepped back from me while they regarded me as a living deity. They had just witnessed a dead girl return to life with a handful of silver needles.
I wiped away sweat from Lily's forehead while my heart started to calm down in my chest. She was safe. The poison in her veins was temporarily suppressed by my Qi. The medical ingredients needed to treat her condition required rare items.
I turned my body to face the nurse who had protected my sister while putting her own life in danger.
Her name was Seraphina Thorne.
She possessed breathtaking beauty, even though her hair appeared messy, and a dark bruise was developing on her cheek. The girl had an attractive appearance, which caught my attention. The girl had an intense fire in her eyes, which matched the fire I had within me.
You protected her I said to her in a voice that became soft for the first time in three years. I want to express my gratitude to you.
Seraphina stared at me, breathless, her eyes darting from the vibrating silver needles to my face. I have seen every top specialist in this city try to stabilize her, but you have failed to do any...
A loud sound of dozens of combat boots walked through the hospital corridor after she started speaking.
A useless dog named Sterling attacked my men inside the room, so I must inform you.
A familiar obnoxious voice rang out. The tall, arrogant man who wore a tailored silver suit was standing in the ruined doorway. It was Liam Thorne. The wealthy man whom my ex-wife Chloe will marry tomorrow.
The Hospital Director and twenty private security guards entered the room with him while they aimed their batons and stun guns.
Liam ordered his men to grab that piece of trash while he pointed his finger at me with a wicked smirk on his face. He ordered his staff to take his dead sister to the morgue.
I slowly cracked my neck while I turned my head to look at the man who wanted to damage my family. The room turned into a freezing environment for the second time. The dark, terrifying smile spread across my face.
Tonight was going to be a very long, very painful night for the elites of this city.