Grandmaster and the Mysterious Barber

English was the common language of the Marvel Multiverse, and communication was usually unhindered in most places. Among its various forms, one resembling the Chinese linguistic context was the most popular. At least, that was how things worked in the Parallel Universe Li Congxin had transmigrated into. (╯▽╰)

Using this English, Li Congxin learned the location of Saka Main City from the scavenger chief. He then summoned the Eight-legged Divine Horse once more and took Daisy straight toward the ultimate destination of this journey.

Saka Main City was the largest city on Saka Planet. It was also an extremely prosperous high-tech city, standing out particularly sharply on this garbage-covered planet.

At the very center of the main city stood a magnificent building that towered into the clouds. It was called Champion Building, and it was the residence of Grandmaster, the Elder of the Universe who truly controlled Saka Planet.

On the side of Champion Building stood several heroic heads cast from silvery-white metal. Their appearances varied, and their attire differed even more drastically.

They were Minotaur Thor Beta Ray Bill, who had deep ties with Asgard; Humanoid Ted Sallis; and an incredibly strange-looking two-headed man.

Above these three heads stood another figure who looked like a Greek warrior. Li Congxin had no idea who this person was.

In fact, Li Congxin did not recognize any of the three heads below, either. Otherwise, he might have shown off in front of Daisy again, satisfying his vanity.

Hmm… After spending so much time with Tony, Li Congxin had been influenced by him to some extent. He had become a little… showy?

With the appearance of the White Horse Divine Spear and the identity of Prince of Asgard, Li Congxin met the ruler of Saka Planet, Grandmaster, very smoothly. Nothing like the amusing "show off and slap someone in the face" scene had happened along the way.

He was an old man whose appearance somewhat resembled The Collector, while his temperament was even more similar. Both of them also seemed rather effeminate.

With an extremely insincere smile on his face, Grandmaster led Li Congxin around Champion Building’s distinctive architecture and asked at an opportune moment, "Your Highness, if I’m not mistaken, you’ve come to my Saka Planet this time for Thor and Surtur’s Crown."

"Grandmaster is correct." Li Congxin readily admitted it, then casually asked, "But from what you said, is Surtur’s Crown also on Saka Planet now?"

"I have no interest in collecting things whose uses I don’t know, but I do know where it is now." Grandmaster winked at Li Congxin, making Li Congxin break out in gooseflesh. "Why don’t we make a bet? If you win, I’ll give you this information together with Thor."

Li Congxin sneered inwardly and asked calmly, "And what if I lose?"

"Simple." Grandmaster said excitedly, "I love organizing gladiatorial matches. The stronger the warrior, the more welcome he is. A powerhouse like Your Highness is exactly the kind of warrior I like most. If you lose, you’ll stay here as my exclusive gladiator. How does that sound?"

He wanted Li Congxin to use his freedom as a wager!

Hearing this, Li Congxin truly felt an urge to turn on the spot and kill him.

However, Grandmaster was different from The Collector. He was extraordinarily interested in gladiatorial competitions, and the energy fluctuations on his body were actually no weaker than Thanos’s. Furthermore, this ancient monster who had lived for tens of millions of years might possess methods no one knew about.

Among the many Elders of the Universe, Champion was theoretically the strongest, but Grandmaster was definitely one of the most difficult to deal with.

What was more, this was, after all, Grandmaster’s territory. The principle that even a powerful dragon could not suppress a local snake applied everywhere.

Ultimately, Li Congxin was a powerful dragon who was not powerful enough!

Out of wariness toward Grandmaster, Li Congxin decided to play by his rules for the time being.

Li Congxin nodded lightly and continued asking, "This wager is fair enough. So how do you plan to bet?"

"Of course, it’ll be an Arena Gladiator Match. I like this best. If Your Highness is willing to participate, you’ll certainly be able to put on an unprecedentedly spectacular battle of the highest level."

Li Congxin did not answer immediately. Instead, he followed Grandmaster to inspect the arena without revealing any reaction, seemingly taking the opportunity to think. Grandmaster did not urge him.

Only after Grandmaster had finished introducing all the arena’s facilities did Li Congxin finally give his answer. "Participating in one of the dueling competitions you organize isn’t a problem. However, before that, I have another proposal."

Hearing that Li Congxin had agreed, a crafty smile immediately appeared on Grandmaster’s face. "What proposal?"

"Let my follower, Daisy Johnson, participate in a match first. The wager will be the same as before. If you lose, give me the information about Thor and Surtur’s Crown. If I lose, I’ll pay two billion Credits." After finishing, Li Congxin watched Grandmaster’s reaction with interest.

After hearing this proposal, Grandmaster shook his head. "Your idea is to have your follower fight in your place. Winning would naturally be good, while losing would cost you only some money. You could also take the opportunity to gather intelligence on some of your opponents. Your Highness, you’ve certainly thought this through."

Li Congxin shrugged without denying it. "In fact, if your warriors can’t even defeat Daisy, what right do they have to challenge me?"

Grandmaster shook his head and rejected the proposal. "No. I can’t agree to Your Highness’s proposal, because I don’t think it’s fair to me. If you insist on having your follower participate, that’s fine, but it can only serve as an appetizer unrelated to Thor. You can wager one hundred million Credits for information about Surtur’s Crown."

"After the three-day competition ends, I’ll arrange for you to fight my strongest warrior on the fourth night." At this point, excitement finally appeared in Grandmaster’s eyes. "If Your Highness wins that match, I’ll immediately release Thor and return him to you. How does that sound?"

Li Congxin smiled faintly. "Fine. But I don’t want Thor to be among Daisy’s opponents."

"No problem."

After they finished negotiating the terms, Grandmaster arranged for a maid to act as Li Congxin’s guide and handle the arrangements for their food, lodging, and everything else.

After saying goodbye to Grandmaster, Li Congxin went to see his grandnephew Thor.

When uncle and nephew met again, Thor was overwhelmed by mixed emotions. He seemed to feel the desolation of "you are an honored guest while I am a prisoner," and tears circled in his eyes several times. He nearly burst into tears on the spot.

Although he was furious that this fellow had run off to fool around and ultimately gotten himself sent here, when faced with a junior in such a state, Li Congxin could only offer some words of comfort. He then asked the two questions that had puzzled him all along.

First, after getting Surtur’s Crown, why the hell hadn’t he taken the Bifrost straight back to Asgard? What had he gone to Xandar for?

Second, he was Thor, at least. What kind of interstellar pirate could capture an expert like him alive and sell him here?

Faced with Li Congxin’s questioning, Thor could only grit his teeth and answer one question after another, despite knowing how embarrassing it was.

After hearing his grandnephew’s answers, Li Congxin truly wanted to slap him hard across the face.

Of the two answers, the answer to the second question was fairly plausible. Thor had been ambushed by interstellar pirates and knocked out with a neural-speed electrical shock device. Everyone knew that this was his weakness. Being taken down once because he was caught off guard was understandable. He had learned his lesson.

He could treat it as paying for experience.

But when it came to why this fellow had carried Surtur’s Crown to Xandar, Li Congxin did not know what to say about him.

As it turned out, the origin of the matter lay with Li Congxin.

Before Li Congxin returned to Earth and was invited to Britain by Sharon, he had once invited her to taste a bottle of a beverage he had brought back from Xandar. Sharon thought it was excellent, so at a gathering later, she had used the matter as something to brag about and told Jane Foster.

Jane Foster had not paid much attention at the time, but afterward, she asked Thor whether he had tried it.

How could Thor have drunk something like that? In Asgard, he had always drunk alcohol.

Sweet things like that were, in his eyes, something only women drank!

But what could he do when the woman he liked was interested?

As it happened, Odin had sent him out to handle a matter, so the fellow decided to stop by Xandar and buy several cases to bring back for Jane Foster to drink to her heart’s content.

Then he encountered the cosmic pirates, and after that, he became what he was now.

The neural-toxin electrical shock device that had knocked him out was still embedded in his neck. He could not even pry it off.

"Wait here peacefully for now." Li Congxin glared fiercely at his troublemaking grandnephew before continuing, "Over the next few days, I’ll find a way to get you out."

After leaving Thor, Li Congxin turned to Daisy and asked, "Do you want something to eat, or would you rather go back and rest early?"

"I’ve been tossed around in space for several days, and my hair’s a mess." After complaining casually, Daisy finally made her request. "If possible, I’d like to get my hair done."

Before Li Congxin could say anything, the maid beside them answered first. "If this lady wants her hair styled, we don’t need to go outside. The best hairstylist on all of Saka Planet is in Champion Building. If you’d like, I can take you there at any time."

Li Congxin had originally refused to do something as extremely time-consuming as accompanying a woman to get her hair done, but Daisy changed his mind with a single sentence.

"As a gentlemanly Prince of Asgard, shouldn’t taking your follower to maintain her appearance be only right?"

Sensing the tiny look in Daisy’s eyes that said, If you dare refuse, we’ll have a good talk about this follower business, Li Congxin decisively declared that he was also quite curious about Saka Planet’s finest hairstylist. He happened to want to see how aliens handled hair.

Thus, led by the maid, the two of them witnessed a mysterious white-haired old man dressed like the King of Hearts, holding a special hair clipper resembling a combination chainsaw, as he cut the hair of a howling prisoner.

Seeing "King of Hearts" greeting the prisoner with an expression that seemed to say, "A sapling won’t grow straight unless it’s pruned," Daisy shuddered for no reason and hurriedly shook her head. "I think I’ll pass. I suddenly feel that my hairstyle is actually quite good and doesn’t need any fixing."

At that moment, the combination-chainsaw-like hair clipper finally stopped spinning. The prisoner’s hair had been trimmed neatly and cleanly. What was astonishing was that after the old man had worked on him with that meat-grinder-like device for so long, the prisoner’s scalp had not even been scratched, despite the hair being cut away. It was truly a display of astonishing skill!

Setting down the vicious hair clipper, the old man turned around and gave Li Congxin and Daisy a kindly smile. "Would the two of you like your hair done?"

Daisy hurriedly shook her head. "No, we were just passing by to take a look… Yes, that’s right, just taking a look."

The old man sighed helplessly. "That’s such a pity. I actually enjoy helping people. When I help others, I can also find happiness in it."

"If you encounter some trouble you can’t resolve in the future, you can also try helping someone else. Perhaps after helping another person make up for two enormous regrets, the trouble that originally seemed impossible to solve will no longer be troublesome."

After saying this incomprehensible thing, the old man stopped paying attention to Li Congxin and Daisy and turned around to greet his next "customer."

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