Indestructible Soul

The void within a radius of several million li was spotlessly clean. There was not even a speck of space debris. This place had become a true absolute vacuum; even radiation and similar phenomena had been sucked completely dry by the black hole earlier.

In the boundless void, only four tiny figures stood there.

The change had come too suddenly. Aside from Zhan Liu, the others had not reacted at all before being swept into it. However, the fluctuations from the explosion were identical to those from the super-energy battery earlier, so all four of them could still sense them.

Quill stared blankly at the empty surroundings, his mind utterly blank.

Compared with the others, Quill had the least experience. Unlike Zhan Liu and Proxima Midnight, he did not treat human lives like weeds or have countless killings behind him. Nor was he like Valkyrie, with her more than two thousand years of life and her experience of following Odin in wars to conquer the Nine Realms.

Quill was merely an ordinary man raised by a Ravager. The cruelest things he had ever seen were no more than the "trivial matters" of Ravagers burning, killing, and looting. A war on the level of a kingdom’s destruction, like the one on Xandar, was probably the grandest spectacle he had ever witnessed. As for something on the level of a planet exploding, like what had happened to Sovereign, he probably could not even dream of it.

Compared with Zhan Liu and Proxima Midnight’s calmness, as well as Valkyrie’s dejection, Quill’s reaction could only be described as his entire worldview shattering.

Especially since every companion in the Guardians of the Galaxy had perished in this disaster, leaving him utterly heartbroken. If not for Worldmind supporting him inside his mind, he would probably have gone mad by now.

But even with Worldmind’s assistance, he still broke down.

"Ah…" Quill clutched his head with both hands, kneeling in the void and shrieking miserably.

"Why did this happen?"

"Why did the planet explode?"

He cried, muttering to himself:

"This is an illusion…"

"This must be an illusion!"

"I drank too much…"

"I haven’t woken up yet…"

"This isn’t real… Sob… This isn’t real!"

Zhan Liu and Proxima Midnight watched coldly from the side, without the slightest intention of going over to comfort him. Only Valkyrie’s heart softened. She sighed, walked over with a heavy heart, and embraced Quill, consoling him in a low voice.

"Quill, that’s what war is like. Anything can happen."

"As warriors, it’s inevitable that we may die on the battlefield."

"We can’t change the tragedies that have already happened. All we can do is try our best to prevent similar tragedies from happening again."

Valkyrie’s consolation did not work. With bloodshot eyes, Quill shoved her away, glared at her, and shouted angrily:

"Stop pretending to be a good person!"

"This never had to happen in the first place. It’s all because of you!"

"You came here to invade!"

"You’re the ones responsible for everything!"

"It was the same with Xandar!"

"And it’s still the same with Sovereign!"

"You’re the pests of this universe!"

Quill was merely a young man who had grown up among Ravagers. What he valued had always been profit, not justice.

Even after he joined Rocket and the others to form the Guardians of the Galaxy and tried to stop Ronan from destroying Xandar, he had done so largely because of his own safety and interests. He did not truly care much about so-called justice or evil.

Ronan had died and Xandar had been destroyed, but Quill had played no crucial role in the entire process, nor had he suffered any great emotional impact. Thus, he still had not completely transformed into a qualified superhero.

But the destruction of Sovereign this time, the death of every life on the planet, and the annihilation of all his companions made him truly realize that this universe needed superheroes. It needed people to uphold justice and eliminate evil.

Only now had Quill truly completed his spiritual transformation and become a genuine superhero, earning Worldmind’s deeper recognition.

Valkyrie’s expression darkened, and she was left speechless.

Back when she had been part of the Valkyrie Corps, she had followed Odin in conquering the Nine Realms and slaughtered countless enemies, so she did not care much for concepts like good and evil.

However, Asgardian warriors had never deliberately slaughtered the weak, much less exterminated entire planets. Thus, she was also deeply depressed by what had happened to Sovereign.

But she was, after all, a believer in the supremacy of strength and placed greater faith in the victor being king and the loser being a bandit. She would not therefore blame Zhan Liu for the destruction of Sovereign.

After identifying the culprit, Quill’s frenzied mind finally found a new purpose.

He would avenge his fallen companions!

He would uphold justice for all the dead!

He would rid this universe of the scourge known as Zhan Liu!

"WM, I don’t want to wait any longer. Right here, I’m going to fight Zhan Liu to the death!"

"Quill, this isn’t fighting to the death. You’re throwing your life away!"

"Even if I die, I’ll drag Zhan Liu down with me!"

"Quill, your emotions are extremely unstable. You’ve already fallen into a state of madness. I recommend that you calm down before considering this matter again!"

"I’m very calm!"

"Calmer than I’ve ever been!!"

"I want him dead!"

"I absolutely must kill him!!"

Quill roared in his mind, murderous light flashing in his eyes as he looked toward Zhan Liu, who was talking with Proxima Midnight.

Zhan Liu had not been affected in the slightest by the planet’s destruction. He was still joking around with Proxima Midnight.

"Hoho, if you hadn’t achieved the Fiftieth Heaven Magnetic Field Rotation, that explosion just now would have let you die as you wished."

Proxima Midnight tilted her head and carefully recalled the power of the explosion, then slowly shook her head. "Power of that level still can’t kill me."

"Oh?" Zhan Liu raised an eyebrow, suddenly interested. "Looks like your Immortal Body is quite powerful!"

"But with only the power of the Fifty Heavens, you still can’t cause me any damage!"

"If I want to kill you, it’s still only a matter of throwing one punch."

"Then it’s not very interesting."

Proxima Midnight recalled the punch Zhan Liu had thrown before the planet exploded. After a moment of silence, she said:

"I saw a method in your memories that uses life force to strengthen attack power."

"I can burn my life, drive my attack, and raise its power to the limit."

"Tsk!" Zhan Liu himself hated having other people read his memories. Now that he had discovered his own memories had been completely defenseless before Proxima Midnight, the feeling was even more unpleasant.

"Your memory-stealing ability is quite formidable. You can actually break through my Life Magnetic Field and rummage through my memories at will."

Proxima Midnight’s face remained expressionless. "This is an ability I was born with. Even Thanos cannot resist it."

"Heh, since that’s the case, there’s no need for more nonsense. Let me see just how powerful the strength you’ve driven with your life force can be!"

Zhan Liu glanced at Quill, who was radiating intense hostility from the side, without taking him seriously. Instead, he stared at Proxima Midnight opposite him with great interest, eager to receive her fatal strike.

Proxima Midnight raised her right fist and pushed her Magnetic Field Rotation Force to its limit. Then she began circulating the life-force technique, sending her own life continuously into her right fist as though offering it up in sacrifice.

A moment later, Proxima Midnight let out a thunderous shout and slammed her fist heavily toward Zhan Liu.

"Good!"

Zhan Liu felt the punch lock firmly onto him. The sharp killing intent concentrated his mind to an extreme, and he gathered his Magnetic Field Rotation Force throughout his body before raising his palm to meet it.

"Boom…"

As fist and palm collided, another sun rose out of nowhere in the void. It was no weaker than the one that had destroyed Sovereign just moments ago and was even more powerful.

The light stabbed Quill, who had been glaring furiously at Zhan Liu from the side, nearly blinding him. Fortunately, Worldmind promptly protected him with Nova Energy.

But the radiation waves and cosmic winds generated by the collision flung Quill and Valkyrie far away from the battlefield.

As soon as Quill steadied himself in the void, he immediately unfolded his body, preparing to take advantage of the two fighting and launch a sneak attack. After Worldmind assessed the power of Proxima Midnight’s strike, however, it stopped trying to restrain Quill. Instead, it adjusted his movements and assisted him in returning to the center of the battlefield more quickly. But Valkyrie, who came flying across the void, intercepted him halfway.

"Quill, I know what you want to do, but I won’t allow it."

Valkyrie spread her arms and blocked Quill’s path. "You shall not pass!"

"Valkyrie, you’re no match for me. We already determined the victor between us!" Quill’s tone was extremely harsh as he faced this defeated opponent.

Valkyrie remained utterly motionless. She pulled a short blade from behind her and refused to yield in the slightest. "The one you defeated was Valkyrie that day. The one standing before you is Valkyrie today."

"Hmph, stubborn fool!" Quill had no time to waste words with her. After cursing angrily, he leaped forward and used the Nova Corps Combat Technique he had trained in, driving a fist straight into her chest.

This was not a sparring match. Valkyrie no longer held back. Her short blade swept across, and killing moves came one after another.

However, Quill had Worldmind assisting him. Moreover, he had previously established a model of Valkyrie’s techniques. He could predict Valkyrie’s attacks and defenses every time, often striking after her but arriving first, completely suppressing her.

After one round of attacks, Quill was perfectly unharmed, while Valkyrie had suffered wounds in several places.

"Get out of my way, or I won’t mind killing you first!" Quill shouted furiously.

"Looks like my techniques have been completely seen through!" Valkyrie took a deep breath, clearing the distracting thoughts from her mind as she once again assumed an attacking stance. "In that case, there’s only one option left: fighting to the death!"

Valkyrie leaped forward and launched another attack, stabbing with her short blade. Guided by Worldmind, Quill easily dodged to the side and thrust his palm toward her ribs. At the same time, following the instructions of the combat model, he stepped toward the direction Valkyrie was about to retreat.

Unexpectedly, Valkyrie did not dodge at all. Quill’s right palm smoothly pierced through her protective god-force, penetrated her sturdy divine body, and entered Valkyrie’s body directly.

Quill froze. His body was suddenly seized by Worldmind and violently retreated backward.

Quill was shocked. "WM, what are you doing?"

But immediately afterward, he felt a chill in his lower abdomen. Valkyrie’s short blade swept past him from the front, cutting through his protective energy and opening a long gash across his stomach.

Worldmind controlled Quill’s body as it rapidly retreated, while using Nova Energy to accelerate the healing of his cells.

Valkyrie pressed her advantage and followed closely, striking ruthlessly.

She knew she had already been completely defeated when it came to techniques, so she simply stopped using any techniques at all. Instead, she returned to simplicity, using only the most basic speed and strength to pursue and kill him.

Facing Worldmind’s counterattacks, Valkyrie no longer dodged in the slightest. Instead, she directly exchanged wounds for wounds. This completely unpredictable, desperate fighting style could not be anticipated at all, suppressing the fighting method Worldmind excelled at.

Once techniques became ineffective, the only things left for the two of them to compete with were the pure intensity of their energy and the strength of their will.

After several consecutive exchanges, Worldmind confirmed that Valkyrie had fused the Nova Energy she obtained with her original Asgardian God-Force, creating a higher-level energy capable of contending with his Infinite Nova Energy and even faintly surpassing it.

Valkyrie was an Asgardian Valkyrie, a natural-born warrior born for war. Although she had suffered many injuries while desperately fighting Worldmind, the fierce battle had instead stimulated and activated her bloodline, making her appear increasingly vigorous.

The power of the newly fused energy had gradually revealed itself as the battle progressed, causing Valkyrie’s battle intent to grow increasingly vigorous. But her enemy would not allow her to continue growing stronger.

"Valkyrie, this new fused energy of yours is indeed formidable. Even I can’t determine its upper limit in the future. But unfortunately, you shouldn’t have used my Nova Energy to fuse with it!"

After Worldmind finished speaking, a thought flashed through his mind, and he sealed off the channel of Nova Energy inside Valkyrie’s body.

He controlled the Nova Force. Every outlet through which energy emerged from the Nova Force was under his control. He could grant anyone Nova Energy and make them a Nova warrior. Naturally, he could also block the outlet of that energy, turning the energy of every Nova warrior into rootless water.

"Without the support of the Nova Force, let’s see how long the Nova Energy inside your body can last."

With victory in his grasp, Worldmind immediately unleashed a series of heavy punches, forcing Valkyrie to clash with him head-on and deplete the Nova Energy in her body. He was certain that the moment the Nova Energy inside Valkyrie was exhausted would be the moment she died on the spot!

Meanwhile, at the other end of the starry sky, the battle between Zhan Liu and Proxima Midnight had already reached its conclusion.

The fatal punch containing all of Proxima Midnight’s life force had increased her Magnetic Field Rotation Force to a terrifying degree, directly raising its destructive power from her original Fifty Heavens to the Ninety-Seven Heavens.

With the support of her life force, Proxima Midnight had brought everything she had stolen from Zhan Liu’s memories into full play through this one punch—even the Complete State was reproduced without the slightest deficiency.

Zhan Liu had effectively used his full strength to exchange a punch with his prime self. His right arm was blown apart on the spot by the strike, and in the shockwaves that followed, his bones and sinews were shattered throughout his body, leaving him in a miserable state. But for a Magnetic Field Warrior, as long as one did not die, it was not a major problem.

After Proxima Midnight unleashed her fatal punch with all her life force, her Immortal Body finally collapsed. Cracks began appearing across the surface of her blue body. They grew larger and more numerous until they covered her entire body, which finally shattered with a boom.

However, just as Zhan Liu thought Proxima Midnight had died, he suddenly saw a transparent soul emerge in the void beneath the collapsing and dispersing Immortal Body.

"Holy shit! Indestructible Soul!" Zhan Liu’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.