A Clean Strike, and Ronan Fell

An expert’s move revealed whether he had the skill or not.

Besides, people in the Marvel universe seemed never to know the meaning of keeping a low profile. Take Ronan before him, for example. Although his previous attack had not been launched at full strength, he had already exposed his level of power completely to Li Congxin.

He was at the late Cosmic Level, probably about on par with Thor at his current stage.

If this had been Li Congxin before the Battle of New York, facing an opponent like this, he might have taken things a little more seriously. But to the current Li Congxin, it was nothing special.

He could toy with him casually. There was no need to take him seriously.

Li Congxin had already seen through his opponent’s strength, but Ronan had not figured out how powerful Li Congxin was. He could only determine one thing: this handsome young man before him was definitely no weaker than he was.

His gaze grew solemn, and Ronan said coldly, "Are you really sure you want to oppose the Kree?"

"The Kree?" Li Congxin sneered coldly. "Do you really think you can represent the Kree Empire?"

"Do you think I don’t know? The Kree have already begun seeking peace after exhausting themselves through war. You, an accuser from the hard-liners, have already been regarded as an outsider and a rebel." Facing Ronan’s threat, Li Congxin answered with a cold laugh. "Believe it or not, even if I kill you here and now, the Kree Empire absolutely won’t come after me for it."

"That bunch of damn incompetents…"

Knowing that Li Congxin was telling the truth, Ronan’s expression grew even uglier. After cursing under his breath, he suddenly leaped up from the ground, raised the warhammer that embodied the pinnacle of Kree technology high above his head, and brought it crashing down at Li Congxin. "If you have the ability to kill me, then try!"

"Try it, then!"

Facing Ronan’s nearly suicidal overhead strike, Li Congxin still did not dodge. He merely summoned Miraculous Hands, Spring Returns from behind him into his hand, transformed the cloth into a shield, and raised it, meeting Ronan’s warhammer as it slammed down with all its force.

After Short King’s modifications and upgrades, the four embarrassing characters "Miraculous Hands, Spring Returns" on the back of the cloak had been erased. However, Li Congxin had been too lazy to give it a new name, so he simply continued calling it Miraculous Hands, Spring Returns.

"Clang!" Metal rang against metal, like a thunderclap exploding across the open ground. The windows of the surrounding buildings shattered from the shock wave, and even the many experts present felt sharp pain in their eardrums. They hurriedly covered their ears, but it was already too late.

Under that blow, Li Congxin relied on Miraculous Hands, Spring Returns’s defense and remained completely unharmed. Ronan, meanwhile, vomited a huge mouthful of blue blood from the rebound force of the vibranium. His high-tech warhammer flew from his grasp, and his body was sent tumbling backward into the distant sky.

Having landed the blow, Li Congxin gave him no chance to catch his breath. Killing intent flashed in his eyes, and his figure vanished from where he stood at a speed beyond everyone’s ability to track.

When he appeared again, he was already above Ronan, having arrived before Ronan could react.

A clean, decisive elbow strike slammed solidly into Ronan’s chest and abdomen@!

After suffering another heavy blow, Ronan’s chest bones, harder than fine steel, instantly had seven of them shattered. Another mouthful of blue blood sprayed out, and his body plunged downward like a cannonball, crashing toward the ground.

"Boom!"

The perfectly intact house was directly reduced to a heap of rubble when Ronan smashed into it.

Received 999 Impression Points from Ronan!

Received Impression Points from Peter Quill…

That clean and decisive critical blow left everyone present utterly stunned!

Who was the one taking the beating?

Ronan!

The Kree Empire’s Accuser!

The executioner whose name made everyone in the universe tremble!

The existence that had given Xandar, a high-level planetary civilization, endless headaches!

The partner of the Mad Titan Thanos, leader of the universe’s super-evil faction!

And yet an existence with such a fearsome reputation had been beaten helplessly by the young man before them!

And judging from what he had said, he seemed to come from the same planet as Quill?

The gap between the two of them was far too great, wasn’t it?

With a thought, Miraculous Hands, Spring Returns in his hand transformed from a shield into a huge ghost-headed saber. Holding the weapon, Li Congxin descended directly toward where Ronan lay below.

It was worth mentioning that after absorbing the Star Core and Uru Metal, Miraculous Hands, Spring Returns was no longer connected to the Kimoyo Beads in any way. Instead, it relied on Li Congxin’s own energy and used the most basic magical energy to control its transformations, making it even easier to wield than before.

Ronan had just been gravely injured by Li Congxin. Furious, he tried to climb to his feet, only for Li Congxin to descend from the sky and plant one foot on his chest.

Then, the saber fell.

"Pfft!"

His huge head rolled away.

Received 1,000 Impression Points from Ronan!

Ronan was dead!

Ronan, a renowned powerhouse of the universe, had died in such a humiliating manner in The Void.

When everyone saw Li Congxin slowly emerge from the ruins with the ghost-headed saber in hand, they were all filled with terror.

Received 9,999 Impression Points from Peter Quill!

Received 999 Impression Points from Gamora!

Received Impression Points from Rocket…

After witnessing Li Congxin easily inflict heavy injuries on Ronan, no one had doubted that he possessed the strength to kill him. Even so, when they saw Li Congxin actually cut off Ronan’s head, everything before them still felt unreal.

He had really killed Ronan!

Without the slightest hesitation!

The first to react was Nebula. Glancing at the ghost-headed saber in Li Congxin’s hand, which was unstained by even a drop of blood, she said mockingly, "Kid, you’re finished. Ronan is Thanos’s partner. Since you killed him, Thanos will absolutely never let you off."

Li Congxin casually tossed the ghost-headed saber away. During its flight, it automatically changed forms, once again becoming the large red cloak that was more decorative than practical. As if it were alive, it automatically settled over his shoulders and draped itself around him.

Hearing Nebula’s threat, he replied with some amusement, "Of course he won’t let me off, but it definitely won’t be to avenge Ronan. Compared to that, I’m even more certain that the two Infinity Stones in my hands are far more attractive to him. But so what?"

Seeing how unconcerned Li Congxin looked, Nebula continued viciously, "Do you really think you’re a match for Thanos? Don’t be naive!"

The smile on her face grew colder as she continued, "Thanos himself is far stronger than Ronan. If he wanted to kill Ronan, he definitely wouldn’t be any slower than you were. And the Precious Saber in his hand was forged from a special metal in the universe. Even extremely hard metals like vibranium cannot withstand it!"

Hearing this, Gamora’s face revealed a strange expression. However, having long since betrayed Thanos, she wisely chose to remain silent.

"And that’s not all." Apparently feeling that she had not said enough, Nebula continued, "Aside from his own formidable strength, he also commands the Dark Cult, composed of low-level, inferior intelligent beings who are practically fearless. He also has the powerful Black Order. Each of them may not be much weaker than Ronan, and each has their own specialty!"

"Cull Obsidian, the leader of the Black Order, possesses immense strength and extraordinary regenerative abilities. No matter how severe his injuries, he can heal rapidly. The battle blade in his hand, however, has the terrifying ability to prevent regeneration and resurrection. Anyone wounded by it will never be able to heal."

"Proxima Midnight excels at close-quarters combat and is a Cosmic Level master of martial arts. Once she throws her spear, it possesses terrifying destructive power. Anyone struck by it rarely survives!"

"Ebony Maw is a member of the rare Whisperers species of the universe. He possesses powerful verbal enthrallment abilities. Even powerful beings with super-intelligent brains cannot escape if they are caught unprepared. At the same time, he is also a powerful superhuman with the ability to manipulate objects through his mind!"

"Supergiant…"

Listening to Nebula ramble on about the specific abilities of Thanos’s subordinates, Li Congxin cooperatively listened with a smile. But when she mentioned Supergiant, he could not help interrupting, "She’s already dead."

Nebula immediately accepted the correction. Skipping over the awkward topic of Supergiant, she continued, "Hyperion possesses immense strength, super-density, and indestructible skin. On the battlefield, he can easily break through enemy formations. He’s an undying warrior!"

After introducing Thanos and his Black Order in detail, Nebula’s contemptuous expression grew even stronger. "Facing Thanos like that, facing such a terrifying Dark Cult and such a powerful Black… Four Order, are you trembling in fear yet?"

Seeing Nebula’s fearless expression, Ava turned her questioning gaze toward Li Congxin, as if asking: Just how deep is Nebula’s grudge against Thanos?

Is she really his adopted daughter?

Could the relationship between this godfather and goddaughter be similar to certain unspoken rules on Earth?

Before Li Congxin could respond, Gamora spoke disdainfully from the other side. "Don’t listen to her nonsense. Although Thanos’s Black Order is powerful, each of them is actually harboring their own schemes."

"Cull Obsidian is bloodthirsty by nature, and extremely ambitious."

"Ebony Maw is as cunning as a ghost. He would never truly pledge allegiance to anyone, not even Thanos."

"Hyperion joined Thanos only so his species could survive."

"Only Proxima Midnight is truly loyal to Thanos. Although she and Cull Obsidian are lovers, she remains devoted to Thanos."

"The team itself is riddled with internal conflicts. When Thanos is powerful, he can naturally suppress everything. But once something happens to Thanos—for example, if he is defeated or crippled—the four members of his Black Order may not even need outsiders to attack them. The internal conflicts hidden beneath the surface would be enough to make them collapse on their own!"