Chapter 138: The Terrifying Bai Hao

“Hmm?” Bai Hao, standing on the top floor of the building, was slightly taken aback. It seemed that a mental probe had come from the direction of the Antique Café, attempting to scout him out, but his reflexes had immediately cut it off.

Bai Hao shook his head and paid it no further attention. With his strength, there was no one in the Antique Café worth bothering about.

He suspected that the twenty members of the Mizusawa Association he had brought with him alone would be enough to wipe them out. After all, all twenty were elites of the association, each possessing strength at the advanced Radiant Yellow level. Some had even taken half a step into the realm above Radiant Yellow.

Bai Hao was certain that a small group of ghouls from another plane would never be able to withstand such a force. And even if they could, he himself was still there.

“President, we’ve completely surrounded the café. What should we do next?” One of the men silently approached Bai Hao and asked in a low voice. “I suggest we break in directly. Look…”

“There’s no need to make things so complicated.” Bai Hao’s cold voice cut him off. His style was direct; he disliked dawdling.

The member beside Bai Hao seemed to realize something. The way he looked at Bai Hao instantly changed, filled with awe and admiration. The reason he had joined the Mizusawa Association was precisely because he worshiped Bai Hao’s formidable personal strength.

And now, he vaguely sensed that the president he idolized was about to take action.

Even among the second-years, Bai Hao’s strength ranked among the very best. What he was most famous for was his exceptional ice-based ability. His control over ice had already reached a transcendent level. Anything he touched could be frozen solid, and he could even transform parts of his own body into ice.

It was precisely through this remarkable power over ice that Bai Hao had forged his great reputation among the second-years.

“Whoosh…”

Bai Hao drew a deep breath. Although the ghouls had no personal grudge against him, he had no choice but to do this in order to fulfill the wish in his heart.

“Freeze.”

Bai Hao slowly raised his right hand. Vast quantities of white vapor had already coiled around it, all of it composed of air chilled to an extremely low temperature.

The member standing beside him could not help taking several steps back. A faint chill seeped into his body. For a moment, he seemed to feel the cold of winter, as though he had been transported to a frozen wasteland. Yet when he looked up at the sky, he was stunned.

It was the height of midsummer, with the sun blazing overhead.

“Frozen Ice Phoenix!”

Whoosh!

In an instant, the cold air coiling around Bai Hao’s right arm swelled violently. Vast streams of frost converged, rapidly crystallizing in the air around him. In the blink of an eye, an enormous ice phoenix—nearly the size of a car—appeared at Bai Hao’s side.

The sight was spectacular.

“Go… Ice Phoenix.”

Bai Hao spoke only a few soft words.

As his voice faded, the ice phoenix, formed entirely from frozen crystal, seemed to come alive. It spread its wings and rose into the air, circling several times. Then a streak of icy light flashed through Bai Hao’s eyes, and the phoenix plunged downward from the sky, charging straight toward the Antique Café.

…

“Damn it. We’ve run into an expert.”

Ever since his Precise Perception had been interrupted, Sikong Xu had been brooding over it. His perception had been cut off after only an instant, but he could guarantee that the person on the other end was unquestionably a true expert.

“Hmm? Why does it suddenly feel so cold?” Sikong Xu asked in confusion. “Touka, do you keep the air conditioning on in the shop?”

“No. How could you feel cold in the middle of summer? Are you getting scared?”

Even as she answered, Touka did not forget to mock Sikong Xu.

But now that he had grown cautious, Sikong Xu had no interest in bickering with her. Sensing that something was wrong, he endured the stabbing pain in his mind and activated Precise Perception once more.

Whoosh!

The instant Sikong Xu’s mental power spread outward, his expression changed completely.

A phoenix nearly the size of a car, its entire body formed from ice crystals, was diving toward the café from directly above.

At that moment, Sikong Xu realized that the battle had begun.

“Everyone, get out of here!”

While the others stood there at a loss, Sikong Xu shouted. He then paid no attention to anyone else, simply grabbing Touka, who was nearest to him, and sprinting toward the café’s exit. He had a premonition that the enormous ice phoenix would completely destroy the entire café.

Crack—boom!

Shielding Touka in his arms, Sikong Xu smashed through the glass and threw himself outside. At the very instant he escaped the café, the ice phoenix arrived.

Boom!

The phoenix, carrying an unbearable cold, slammed headfirst into the café. Under the tremendous impact, the building instantly collapsed into pieces.

But that was not the end.

In the same instant, the ice phoenix exploded completely. Countless shards of ice transformed into streams of freezing air that spread in every direction, billowing like smoke.

Everything touched by the cold was frozen solid. The scattered wooden splinters and fragments were even frozen in midair, turning into chunks of ice that fell to the ground like hailstones.

“This…”

Touka, still held in Sikong Xu’s arms, cautiously poked her head out. In only a few short seconds, she had watched the Antique Café change from a functioning building into an enormous ice sculpture. The shocking sight had completely overturned everything she thought she knew.

“Manager! Everyone!”

After recovering somewhat, Touka suddenly thought of the others. She struggled desperately in Sikong Xu’s arms. Her companions were all still inside the café.

“Touka, Touka! Calm down!”

She thrashed wildly in his arms. Afraid that danger might appear again, Sikong Xu could only hold her tightly.

“The manager and the others are fine!”

“But… but the café…”

“They’re fine. Everyone there is very strong, aren’t they? Have you forgotten?”

Sikong Xu comforted her. Through Precise Perception, he had already located everyone. Once he confirmed that no one was in mortal danger, he was able to relax.

“I can sense the manager and the others. The manager released his kagune and protected everyone. They’re all safe.”

Hearing the certainty in Sikong Xu’s voice, Touka finally calmed down a little. But once she regained her senses, she realized that Sikong Xu was still holding her tightly in his arms.

Worse still, both of his hands were pressed against her chest.

“You…”

An anger mark appeared on Touka’s forehead. Her face flushed crimson as she drove an elbow into Sikong Xu’s abdomen.

“Couldn’t you have been a little more careful?”

“Ah… haha, sorry, sorry. Things were too urgent. I didn’t mean to…”

Sikong Xu gave an awkward laugh. No wonder his hands had felt so soft just now. So he had grabbed…

No, stop thinking about it. If he kept thinking about it, his nose would start bleeding!

Sikong Xu chuckled inwardly. Touka’s chest was not particularly large, but the feel of it had certainly been pleasant.

“Hm? I didn’t expect anyone to survive the boss’s ultimate move. What a surprise!”

Suddenly, a flippant voice sounded from behind Sikong Xu and Touka.

The two turned around and saw a grinning man standing not far away, staring at them as though they were nothing more than prey.