Phoenix Was a Schemer

Who could have expected that, of the three escaped fragments of the Phoenix Force, one would find a host it trusted in such a short time—and that the host it chose would be Ava!

One of the women closest to Li Congxin!

Li Congxin suddenly felt that his previous impression of the Phoenix had been completely overturned.

Based on what he had learned from the movies and comics, his impression of the Phoenix had always been limited to such stereotypical descriptions as powerful, aloof, and cold. But now that he thought about it, that was completely wrong, wasn’t it?

Where was your arrogance?

Where was your coldness?

Where was your Haki?

Playing this kind of underhanded scheme with me—where was the bearing befitting a cosmic overlord?

This was simply a schemer!

As for the Phoenix displaying a personality completely different from what he had expected, all Li Congxin could say was that his understanding of Multiversal Level powerhouses had been far too self-righteous—or perhaps he had simply been prejudiced from the start.

Although in the movies and the original comics, the Phoenix had always relied on overwhelming force to solve problems, causing people to subconsciously view this Multiversal Level deity in a positive light and assume that it was a special god with a simple mind and free-spirited nature,

was that really the truth?

In fact, although Multiversal Level powerhouses had not appeared much in the movies—especially the Phoenix Force, which had existed as an ally of the protagonist’s side—it was easy for people to overlook certain established facts.

If one wanted to understand the Phoenix, one could look for clues in the other Cosmic Deities who had appeared more often.

For example, Chthon. Dormammu. Or Lady Death, one of the five Cosmic Creator Gods of the Marvel Universe. Look at their ways of doing things, and you would realize that Multiversal Level powerhouses were absolutely not as upright and radiant as you imagined.

And as an existence of the same level who often dealt with these beings, was the Phoenix really the one pure exception among them?

If that was what you thought, you were gravely mistaken!

Compared with those Multiversal Level powerhouses, the Phoenix’s methods were not the slightest bit inferior. On the contrary, they were even more sophisticated.

Hadn’t every single one of those people who had once served as the Phoenix’s hosts ended up having their hearts corrupted by the Phoenix Force and turning evil?

Jean Grey had been like that, and so had Zayn. Almost none of the Phoenix’s hosts had ever escaped that fate.

By comparison, Wanda, who had been Chthon’s host, had at least not been completely devoured and stripped of her self-awareness.

Did anyone really need to explain which of the two powers was more vicious?

And yet, people still felt immense goodwill toward the Phoenix, even believing that the Phoenix Force was an ally of justice.

As the saying went, those involved were blinded, while outsiders saw clearly.

Even we, the audience, could develop such an illusion, let alone those directly involved in the Marvel Universe.

Did anyone really need to say which of it and Chthon was more capable?

Just like this time, when the Phoenix had dealt Li Congxin a vicious blow.

Li Congxin was no moral saint. When eliminating a scourge like the Phoenix, he usually did not care whether the host it chose was innocent or not.

Zayn had originally been a kindhearted good child as well. But after suffering a series of blows, being tempted by Death, and being corrupted by the Phoenix, hadn’t he still become a calamity even more insane than Thanos?

But now that this new Phoenix host had become Ava, Li Congxin could no longer solve the problem in the simplest and most violent way.

This was not a conspiracy, but an overt scheme!

Even though he knew that the Phoenix had calculated everything in advance, he was still helpless against it.

After all, he was not the kind of person who would pull out… Ahem, ahem, ahem. You know.

The problem had now become complicated. If he wanted to separate the Phoenix Force from Ava’s body without hurting her, Li Congxin did not have the ability. Perhaps he could go ask the Infinite Witches to try?

However, toward those three mysterious old witches, Li Congxin still maintained an attitude of respectful distance.

After returning to the room and examining the Phoenix Force’s effects on Ava, he found that its manifestations in her were fairly restrained this time. Her condition was roughly similar to Wanda’s. As long as Ava did not actively use the Phoenix Force, it should not cause her any adverse effects.

Even if she used it, once or twice would not matter.

But when it came to a power as mighty as the Phoenix Force, how easy was it to restrain oneself? Especially for superheroes who frequently faced dangerous battles, there was only a difference between using the Phoenix Force zero times and countless times.

Unable to think of a better solution for the moment, Li Congxin decided not to act rashly. He gave her a portable player containing Qing Xin Zhou, then set the matter aside for now.

Given Ava’s determination, forged by years of fighting against molecular instability, she probably would not run into any major problems in the short term.

By the time Qing Xin Zhou could no longer suppress it, perhaps the problem would resolve itself.

After all, the BGM of Moving Heaven had now finished charging, and he also had the Reality Stone in hand. He could break through his current limits and reach a higher realm at any time.

Perhaps another breakthrough would mean stepping across the threshold into the Multiversal Level?

A broad road leading straight to the peak lay before Li Congxin. He had considerable confidence in the speed of his own progress. Once his strength surpassed the Phoenix, the Phoenix Force remaining within Ava might be nothing more than a minor nuisance to him.

Feeling refreshed, he walked out of the room with Ava. Only after asking around did he learn that all the weapons the Avengers needed had been completed.

Of course, even with the Dwarf King Eitri personally working on them, it was impossible to equip every Avenger with an artifact on the level of Mjolnir.

If artifacts of that level could be mass-produced, the Warriors Three of Asgard would have had one each long ago. Loki would not have spent his adult years swaggering around with a pair of little daggers.

This required heaven, earth, and people to be in perfect harmony, along with the wielder meeting certain conditions. Otherwise, the difficulty would increase geometrically. The Eight-Edged Plum Blossom Bright Silver Hammer and Great Sage Staff had already cost Li Congxin quite a lot of effort.

The Great Sage Staff in particular was somewhat weaker than the former, but Li Congxin had spent far more effort on it.

Ultimately, Star Core artifacts were not something just anyone could control.

Either you had great strength, a powerful bloodline, or a strong heart. In any case, you needed at least one quality far beyond that of ordinary people, or it was extremely difficult to gain the recognition of a Star Core artifact.

Yi Long could also be considered a determined person, but he was still somewhat lacking compared with Captain America. He was likewise a little short of being able to wield a Star Core weapon.

To make up for that small gap, Li Congxin had put in considerable work back then.

Thus, after a simple test this time, it was ultimately discovered that among the Avengers Li Congxin had brought with him, only Daisy and Natasha could truly wield Star Core artifacts.

After Daisy’s ancestral awakening of the Eternals’ gene, her strength had now risen to the Sub-Celestial Level. Although she was certainly still no match for Purple Sweet Potato, the two were basically on the same level. As for Natasha, Li Congxin could not quite explain the reason. However, in the comics, she had also been able to lift Mjolnir. Perhaps, like Captain America, she possessed an exceptionally strong heart?

For Daisy, as long as an artifact was not as absurdly arrogant as Mjolnir, she should have no trouble using it.

While she had been following Li Congxin to God’s Quarry, Eitri had already followed Li Congxin’s earlier instructions and forged a pair of bracers for her, using two Star Cores!

Their main purpose was to optimize and amplify her own abilities.

After obtaining her exclusive artifact, Daisy’s strength rose yet again. Wanting to punch and shatter a satellite as large as the moon was now ridiculously easy for her.

Black Widow’s situation was more complicated. As a former agent, her combat style revolved around all kinds of modern firearms. Even her commonly used weapons, such as her Widow’s Bite and Widow’s Kiss, were based on modern technology, with their power focused on science and technology. They could not be compared with Li Congxin’s Miraculous Hands, Spring Returns.

Because of this, Black Widow’s weapon had still not been finalized by the time Li Congxin and the others returned.

Only after Li Congxin came back and joined the discussion did they take into account the fact that she had used spear-like weapons in both the first and third Avengers movies, with fairly good results. In the end, they decided that her exclusive weapon would be a spear.

With Li Congxin helping design it and the Dwarf King Eitri personally forging it, it took only one day for the gorgeous spear to be completed. Its shaft was snow-white, and its blade resembled flower petals.

Following his usual style, Li Congxin named the spear Stormy Pear Blossom without obtaining Natasha’s consent.

Never mind how out of place such a name was in the Marvel Universe. As long as Li Congxin felt it sounded convincing, that was enough.

As for the other equipment, it had generally been strengthened on the basis of the originals. Hawkeye’s Black Blade: Night, for example, had become even sharper in its flying slashes after Uru Metal was added.

Captain America’s shield had likewise been reforged after Uru Metal was added, making it sturdier than before.

The current Captain America, with a shield in his left hand and a hammer in his right, could probably fight Hela to a standstill for quite some time. Perhaps they could even battle for an entire day?

Well, if they developed feelings for each other during the fight…

Everyone’s equipment had been fully upgraded and strengthened. Not only had the Avengers who had accompanied Li Congxin to Nidavellir been equipped, but those who had remained behind on Earth to guard the home front had not been left out either.

Only then did everyone leave Nidavellir contentedly and return to Earth.

Thanks to reader Foot-Picking Banana Wolf for the 500 starting coins!