Li Congxin vs. Ronan

The Power Stone’s energy erupted, destroying the Collector’s entire reading room. In their panic, the Guardians of the Galaxy either escaped the explosion and the core area or hid behind cover to avoid the impact of the energy burst.

It had to be said that the shock wave released by this thing was fairly environmentally friendly. As long as they avoided the first wave of energy, they were safe, with no secondary damage such as residual radiation.

Having narrowly escaped death, Gamora and Star-Lord still remembered to put the Power Stone back into the Orb of Power and bring it with them.

Gamora snatched the Orb of Power from Star-Lord and said excitedly, "This thing is far too dangerous. We have to send it somewhere safe. I suggest giving it to the Nova Corps. Perhaps they’re the only ones who can protect it—or even control it."

"Oh, my God!" Star-Lord clutched his head and cried out when he heard the suggestion. "My God, are you crazy? Don’t forget, we’re wanted criminals by the Nova Corps!"

"Whoosh!" Just then, a strong gust of wind suddenly swept past the group of idiots, making them instinctively close their eyes. Even Gamora, the forgiving heroine, had her hair blown wildly behind her, giving her an impressive air.

When the gust passed, everyone discovered that a handsome young man had appeared before them.

The young man had a refined and handsome face. He wore a dark blue, skin-tight bodysuit that showed off his well-proportioned muscles, while a bright red cape slowly settled behind him, seemingly telling everyone that the fierce gust just now had been caused by his high-speed movement.

What left them even more dumbfounded was that the handsome young man was holding a metal sphere identical to the Orb of Power they had risked their lives to seize. The moment they saw it, everyone hurriedly turned to look at Gamora, only to discover that the Orb of Power, which had been safely in her hand moments ago, had vanished without a trace!

This guy had actually stolen the Orb of Power before anyone had time to react!

The handsome young man lightly tossed the Orb of Power into the air and caught it again, a satisfied smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Ever since Morag, I’ve always been one step behind. First, on Morag, that fellow Earthling Peter Quill got there before me. Then, by the time I reached Xandar, you had already escaped from prison. After finally tracking you here, I almost missed this thing again. Fortunately, I made it in time."

The newcomer was Li Congxin.

Although the process had differed somewhat from what he had envisioned, he had at least made it in time. Li Congxin was fairly satisfied with the result.

"Hey, listen!" Gamora immediately snapped angrily after someone snatched the Orb of Power from her hands. "That’s ours. Hand it over obediently, or we won’t be polite!"

"Don’t always look so fierce. It’s rather frightening." Li Congxin waved his hand and spoke like a caring elder. "Girls should be cultured and reasonable, but you and that lunatic girl Nebula both look like this. I really don’t know how Thanos raised his children."

"Hey, asshole!" Rocket Raccoon was already pointing his heavy cannon at Li Congxin. He said furiously, "Hand it over. Do you know how much that thing is worth?"

Li Congxin turned and glanced at the little fellow, chuckling. "If you hadn’t spoken, I would’ve thought you were a stuffed animal."

"You asshole! What did you say?" Rocket Raccoon’s face twisted viciously. The tallest among the five, the tree-man, stood beside him and shouted at Li Congxin, "I am Groot!"

Li Congxin shrugged. Then everyone saw the Orb of Power in his hand suddenly vanish into thin air. "The Infinity Stones are treasures of the universe. Only those with fate on their side may obtain them. And I can sense that this thing is destined for me."

"Besides, you were planning to hand it over to the Nova Corps for safekeeping anyway. I feel it would be safer in my hands."

After a slight pause, Li Congxin continued, "Don’t forget that although Ronan appears to be the only one trying to seize the Power Stone, Thanos is actually standing behind him. If he brings the Black Order and launches an all-out attack on Xandar without regard for the cost, do you think the Nova Corps can withstand it?"

"Although I don’t know much about Thanos, I do know that the elite forces under him are called the Black Order." Star-Lord looked suspiciously at this fellow "Earthling" and corrected him.

Li Congxin’s smile did not change as he turned to look at Gamora. She said helplessly, "It’s the Black Order of Four now. Supergiant, one of the original five, went to Earth and Asgard on business and never came back."

Li Congxin nodded in satisfaction. "She died because she was far too arrogant. She actually thought that merely invoking Thanos’s name would make me afraid to kill her? She seriously underestimated me—and thought far too highly of that Purple Sweet Potato!"

Everyone fell silent at his words. The members of the Guardians of the Galaxy might have been idiots, but they were not fools.

Since Li Congxin could kill Supergiant, his strength was self-evident. Even if they still did not believe he could defeat Thanos, killing them would certainly be effortless.

In fact, if Li Congxin had harbored murderous intent when he snatched the Orb of Power moments ago, they probably would not even have known how they had died.

Suddenly!

A large number of Kree ships charged over from the sky. At their head was an enormous black vessel that looked like a massive bird of prey.

When Gamora saw the Kree warships, her entire face turned green. She could not help cursing, "Damn it, Ronan is here!"

"Hahaha…" Drax had remained silent from the moment Li Congxin appeared, not saying a single word from beginning to end. Now he suddenly laughed loudly, drew two short blades, and walked toward the direction from which Ronan’s ship was approaching.

Judging by his stance, was he planning to challenge an entire Kree army by himself?

Who did he think he was, Captain Marvel?

Seeing this, Star-Lord immediately roared, "Drax, did you lead Ronan here?"

Drax neither admitted nor denied it. He simply strode toward Ronan’s position and said without turning his head, "It’s time to settle this."

The giant starship did not land. Instead, Ronan walked down from a small ship, seemingly looking down on everything within his sight.

"Ronan!" Nebula, the bald mechanical woman with the same skin color as Ronan, suddenly ran over from behind and pointed at Gamora and the others. "The Orb of Power is in their hands."

Right after her, Ava also hurried over. When she saw Li Congxin, she could not help looking ashamed. "I’m sorry, Clark. I intended to wait where you instructed, but I failed to stop her from escaping."

Li Congxin merely shook his head lightly, indicating that it was fine.

By then, Drax had already charged at Ronan with both blades swinging. However, his strength was at most comparable to that of a particularly strong ordinary human. He was not even as strong as Captain America. Against an opponent on Ronan’s level, they were in completely different weight classes.

Whether in strength, speed, technique, or even the experience and ferocity he was most proud of, Drax was utterly crushed by Ronan!

His twin blades could not even touch the edge of Ronan’s clothes. His punches and kicks landed on Ronan like tickles, making no difference whatsoever.

"I don’t remember killing your wife and daughter, and I certainly won’t remember killing you!" After beating Drax until he could no longer resist, Ronan grabbed him by one leg and threw him like a piece of garbage into the foul yellow pool on the other side.

After intimidating everyone with his strength, Ronan turned to Star-Lord and the others. "Hand it over."

After witnessing Ronan’s methods, Star-Lord very decisively raised both hands, then pointed at Li Congxin in the distance. "It’s with him."

To him, Ronan was certainly a great villain, but Li Congxin, who had snatched their things the moment he appeared, was not exactly a good person either.

Star-Lord felt no psychological burden whatsoever about redirecting the trouble toward Li Congxin. Even the fact that they were "fellow countrymen meeting in a foreign land" was not enough to make him bear Ronan’s anger for Li Congxin.

Li Congxin merely spread his hands indifferently.

Ronan’s gaze fell on him, and he said coldly, "Hand it over."

Looking at the other man’s arrogant expression, Li Congxin responded with a gentle smile and asked, "Do you deserve it?"

A flash of killing intent appeared in Ronan’s eyes. He suddenly swung the warhammer in his hand, which was infused with the high technology of Kree, and a solid-looking shock wave blasted toward Li Congxin from across the distance.

As a member of the Kree’s hard-line military faction, Ronan had always upheld a decisive, ruthless approach. When he raised a hand, five fingers, one punch, one life. Whenever he could fight, he never wasted time talking!

Facing the shock wave powerful enough to blast an ordinary person into dust, Li Congxin neither dodged nor evaded. He merely raised his right hand with casual ease and waved it as if shooing away a fly. An equally formidable force sprang into existence and struck the sharpest point of the shock wave head-on.

Boom!

The two invisible energies collided directly, instantly erupting into an incredibly violent surge of air. Centered on the space between the two men, it spread in all directions.

Received 66 Impression Points from Ronan!

Received 6666 Impression Points from Peter Quill!

Received 666 Impression Points from Gamora!

Received ...

Wherever the shock wave passed, even Star-Lord, Gamora, Nebula, and the others were unable to stand steadily and were forced back one after another. Rocket Raccoon, whose body was light, was sent flying by the air current. Fortunately, Groot caught him in time, keeping him from being blown away completely.

Of everyone present, only three remained as steady as mountains beneath the impact of that powerful current.

Two of them were, of course, Li Congxin and Ronan, the instigators of the shock wave. The other was Ava, whose strength was not much greater than Star-Lord and Gamora’s.

However, apart from Nebula, no one present had witnessed Ava’s abilities. They merely assumed that she, too, was a profoundly powerful expert.

That previous clash appeared evenly matched, but with Star-Lord, Gamora, and the others’ level of insight, it was not difficult to see the difference.

Although Ronan had not used his full strength in that attack, he had already employed his signature weapon. Li Congxin, meanwhile, had casually waved his hand like he was shooing away a fly and dispelled the attack. The difference in strength was obvious.

And beside this man, whose strength surpassed even Ronan’s, stood a girl who was equally unfathomable!

For a moment, Star-Lord and Gamora simultaneously came up with a bold idea.

Perhaps he really could preserve the Orb of Power amid the struggle between Ronan and Thanos!