Preparation

"Damn it, who’s going to compensate me for my Stark Tower?"

Iron Man cursed unhappily. At that moment, Jean suddenly let out a furious roar, and all the rubble around her shattered. Wolverine was startled and hurriedly pounced forward, forcefully shoving Professor X away. He himself was ravaged by the invisible Phoenix Force, losing huge chunks of flesh until even his metal bones were exposed.

Seeing this, Storm quickly controlled the gale and dragged Wolverine away.

"Jean, that isn’t you."

Professor X suffered backlash from the Mind Power and vomited blood mouthful after mouthful, yet he still did not forget to continue helping Jean repair the seal.

"You deserve to die."

Jean flew into a rage and raised her right hand toward Professor X, intending to destroy him completely. Seeing this, Dr. Strange hurriedly used Space Magic to teleport the professor away.

At the same time, Iron Man fired a crimson laser at Jean. Jean suddenly turned her head, and the laser shattered on the spot. The remaining Phoenix Force spread toward Iron Man.

Sensing danger, Iron Man hurriedly dodged, but the Phoenix Force still grazed him. Half his armor instantly shattered, and his body was left a bloody mess as he screamed and fell toward the ground.

"So powerful?"

Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. This mutant was far too terrifying, wasn’t she? Even Iron Man had been defeated in a single blow.

Of course she was terrifying. An Omega-Level Mutant—did they think that title was for show? As Spider-Man swung toward Iron Man, he thought to himself, I told them not to provoke Mr. Wang. Now they’re paying for it, aren’t they? Still, Mr. Wang’s little warning is way too over the top, isn’t it?

For now, there was no need to dwell on Phoenix’s battle against the Avengers and the mutants. On Xandar, Wang Bert said to everyone, "The Infinity Stones aren’t on Earth. We won’t be returning to Earth for the time being. We’ll use Xandar as our base. I know this place well."

"Alright."

No one objected. Tony sighed. "I really didn’t expect Iron Man in this world to be such a disgrace. He’s embarrassing me."

Future Tony added, "Exactly. If we didn’t have more important business, I’d definitely beat that guy up."

"Don’t worry. Someone will beat him up for us."

Wang Bert smiled. With Iron Man’s personality, he would definitely suffer badly at Phoenix’s hands.

Future Tony asked somewhat hesitantly, "Bert, that Phoenix looks extremely powerful. Could she cause some huge disaster?"

"Don’t worry. Those Super Heroes aren’t weaklings. Besides, even if I hadn’t set off this bomb, it would have exploded eventually. I merely moved it up a little."

Wang Bert shook his head and said, "Enough of that. According to the information I gathered, the Infinity Stones are in the hands of the Council of Elders of the Universe. Let’s plan this properly."

Tony stared. "The Council of Elders of the Universe? The one where you killed half their members?"

"You make me sound like some major villain. I didn’t kill that many."

Wang Bert said irritably, "Don’t underestimate them. The Elders of the Universe in this world are stronger than those in ours. More importantly, they have the Infinity Stones."

Everyone nodded solemnly. They all knew how powerful the Infinity Stones were, because most of them had been screwed over by them before.

Future Tony asked impatiently, "Blood God, what exactly is going on?"

"Here’s the situation…"

Wang Bert explained all the intelligence he had obtained in detail, then said, "I suggest we end this quickly. The Elders of the Universe have great influence. The longer we drag this out, the more disadvantageous it will be for us."

"I agree. We need to seize all the Infinity Stones within a few days."

Future Steve nodded. "Then we’ll return to our world and save half of all life."

"If that’s the case, the best approach is to split up."

Tony said, "We’ll divide into several teams and each seize different stones."

"Splitting up is a good idea, but we have too few people."

After thinking for a moment, Wang Bert said, "Thor, I remember you participated in Grandmaster’s arena, right?"

Fat Thor laughed. "That did happen. I even defeated Hulk in the arena."

Dr. Banner snorted disdainfully. "Are you sure? That doesn’t sound real at all."

Fat Thor said, "That’s what you said back then too."

"Grandmaster is an old gambling addict. Tony, you and the others will go to the arena and use a bet to win the Mind Stone from him."

Wang Bert said, "You’ve got brains and strength. It shouldn’t be difficult."

"All of us are going to the arena?"

Tony froze. He asked, "Bert, what kind of division of forces is that? We handle one stone while you handle five?"

"Blood God, it’s not that we doubt your abilities, but dealing with five Infinity Stones in such a short time is impossible, isn’t it?"

Future Tony also said, "You take three, and we take three. That works perfectly."

"I can teleport, so it won’t be a problem."

Wang Bert smiled. "I’ll send you to the arena. Get the Mind Stone within three days, and I’ll secure the other five.

There’s no need to say more. I don’t do things I’m not confident about. If you want to help me, get the Mind Stone as soon as possible."

"Alright."

Tony and the others exchanged glances and chose to nod. Wang Bert said no more and opened a portal to send them to the arena. Given their strength and intelligence, they should be able to handle it within three days.

As for Wang Bert himself, he headed to the Celestial Head to finish what he had not finished before.

The Collector really was a good person. He was actually letting himself get robbed a second time. Should he rob one Collector in every universe in the future?…

On Sanctuary, Thanos raised his head and snapped his fingers crisply. With an intoxicated expression, he said, "I am destiny."

"Big brother, aren’t you tired? You say that dozens of times a day."

Future Ant-Man complained. Ever since Thanos obtained his memories, he snapped his fingers every day and said "destiny," driving Future Ant-Man crazy.

Thanos ignored Future Ant-Man. He felt that his previous snap had not been loud enough, so he snapped again and said, "I am destiny."

Future Ant-Man complained, "You’ve already gone insane."

Thanos said disdainfully, "What do insects like you know? Not only do you fail to revere destiny, you even dream of turning things around. Hmph. If I didn’t still have use for you, I would have killed you long ago. Let me tell you, this time, I will destroy Earth completely."

Future Ant-Man shouted, "Just you? We’ll definitely defeat you."

Thanos could not even be bothered to answer. He raised his hand, preparing to snap his fingers again. Future Ant-Man lowered his head helplessly. Come on, you’re supposed to be a cosmic overlord. Could you please act normally?

At that moment, Ebony Maw, who had been lying in wait on Earth, sent a communication request and said excitedly, "Master, they’ve arrived."

Future Ant-Man’s heart sank, but he had no way to stop this. He sighed. It seemed this truly was destined.

Defying fate would naturally bring backlash.

"They’ve finally arrived?"

Thanos was overjoyed. "Are you certain?"

"Absolutely. They fought the Avengers earlier and even destroyed Stark Tower."

Ebony Maw said with glee, "Even better, an incredibly powerful woman suddenly appeared in the middle of the fight and crippled the Avengers. If Dr. Strange hadn’t banished her, New York might have been smashed to pieces."

"I don’t care about that. All I care about now is fulfilling destiny."

Thanos said, "Ebony Maw, return. We are preparing to set out for another world."

"Yes, Master."

Ebony Maw nodded, activated his ship, and swiftly left Earth.

After ending the communication, Thanos asked the void, "Tell me, where are they?"

Future Ant-Man asked curiously, "Who are you talking to? This isn’t the first time."

Thanos ignored Future Ant-Man. A moment later, he said, "Grandmaster’s arena? I understand. My dear, this time, I will definitely fulfill my destiny. No, I am destiny."

Thanos could not resist snapping his fingers again. Future Ant-Man rolled his eyes fiercely. Thanos in this world definitely had something wrong with his head.

Thanos ordered, "Supergiant, possess this guy."

"Hey, don’t come over! I’m willing to cooperate with you!"

Future Ant-Man hurriedly shouted, but Supergiant ignored him. She turned into a phantom and flew into his body. A moment later, Future Ant-Man said respectfully, "Master, I have completely taken control of this body."

"Very good. Supergiant, take the shrunken Sanctuary and infiltrate the arena. Wait there to rendezvous with those Super Heroes."

Thanos said excitedly, "The others and I will hide inside Sanctuary and follow you to the other world. This time, we will not only obtain the Infinity Stones, but also the Super Collider, and maintain the balance of all universes."

Thanos raised his hand and snapped his fingers, shouting with fanatical fervor, "I am… destiny!"

On Earth, a group of battered Super Heroes stared at the ruined streets, their faces ugly to the extreme.

Ignoring the backlash in his mind, Professor X shouted, "We must find Jean. If too much time passes, Jean’s body will be completely taken over by her second personality. At that point, she’ll be finished."

"Professor, are you joking? You saw how strong she was. If it weren’t for Strange, we would all have died today."

Iron Man, whose body was half a bloody mess, complained as he received treatment.

"The problem is, that wasn’t even Jean’s strongest state. Her main personality has been suppressing the second personality all along. Once the second personality wins completely, her power will increase tenfold and reach true planet-destroying levels."

Professor X shouted, "Do you think she’ll spare Earth then? She has been trapped for decades. She hates Earth to the bone."

"Tenfold?"

Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. Dr. Strange said unhappily, "Professor, you kept someone this dangerous hidden from us all this time?"

Professor X fell silent. Captain America said, "If he hadn’t hidden her from you, you would definitely have attacked Jean. If you hadn’t stubbornly insisted on your way, this battle would never have happened."

"Our fault? We’re protecting the world, alright? This incident only proves my plan is right."

Iron Man shouted, "We have to drive them away. Otherwise, they’ll definitely cause enormous trouble. No, they’ve already caused enormous trouble."

"Mr. Stark, do you know this is merely Mr. Wang’s little warning? If you anger him again, he alone can destroy Earth."

Spider-Man shouted unhappily, "Mr. Wang and the others have been holding back the entire time. You were the one relentlessly pressing them, like an ant provoking a giant."

Iron Man’s expression turned extremely ugly. "You’re saying we’re ants?"

"In front of Mr. Wang, you really are an ant. A foolish ant that doesn’t know death is coming."

Spider-Man shouted, "If you hadn’t been so arrogant earlier, none of this would have happened. They’re good people. Even after you attacked them, they were still willing to let bygones be bygones."

Iron Man snorted. "Let bygones be bygones? Then what was Jean Grey about?"

Barton said, "That was because you and the sorcerers were too arrogant. If you had let them leave back then, none of this would have happened."

"Yes, yes, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have worked so hard to protect the world."

"Are you sure you were really protecting the world? Why do I feel like Greed got the better of you and you wanted their Super Collider for yourself?"

"You’re questioning me?"

Seeing everyone arguing, Professor X shouted, "There is no point arguing about who was right or wrong now. We have to find Jean as soon as possible. You absolutely do not want to face Jean at full strength."

Everyone fell silent upon hearing this. After a moment, Dr. Strange said, "We’ll organize a team to search for Jean. I left a mark on her."

"Good."

Professor X breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I must go with you."

"I’m going too."

Wolverine and Cyclops spoke at the same time. They looked at each other, both curling their lips in displeasure—Cyclops was Jean’s boyfriend, while Wolverine had always wanted to steal Jean away from him.

"There’s no time to waste. Let’s leave immediately."

After thinking for a moment, Iron Man said, "I have a spaceship that can take us into outer space."

In this universe, spaceships were not rare. Iron Man had already seized several of them.

"I’ll kill all of you! I’ll destroy Earth!"

Phoenix, who had been banished by Dr. Strange’s Space Magic, roared on an abandoned planet. The ground beneath her feet rapidly vanished. In the blink of an eye, a crater over a thousand meters wide had appeared.

Phoenix calmed down slightly. A moment later, she transformed into flames and flew into space, heading toward the Celestial Head.

She sensed that the person who had released her earlier was at the Celestial Head. She wanted to find him and have him help erase Jean Grey completely. Then, she would kill him.

That was right, kill him. There was an aura on that man that made Phoenix extremely furious!

At the Celestial Head, Wang Bert wandered casually down the streets with a large group of people following behind him. Don’t misunderstand, these people had not been sent by the Collector to monitor him. In fact, the Collector had not even discovered that Wang Bert had returned.

These people were Wang Bert’s newly recruited underlings.

"Huh? Aren’t you that coward from before?"

At that moment, an expert employed by the Collector recognized Wang Bert and mocked him loudly. Wang Bert smiled faintly and flicked out a strand of blood that entered the expert’s forehead. The expert’s eyes immediately became vacant.

A moment later, the expert said respectfully, "Master."

"Slap yourself, then follow behind us."

Wang Bert said blandly. All these people had been controlled by his Blood Puppet Technique—his Blood Puppet Technique had already leveled up. As long as someone was far weaker than him, he could control them even without having drunk their blood.

In addition, before crossing worlds, Wang Bert had given part of the Blood River’s power to the Dragon Soul Clone. Therefore, the Dragon Soul Clone could also use the Blood God’s power.

"Yes, Master."

The expert obediently slapped himself. Slap! Slap! Slap! He hit himself so hard that his teeth were nearly knocked out. Then, he followed behind Wang Bert and paraded through the streets with him.

By the time the Collector realized something was wrong, Wang Bert had already led most of the people on the Celestial Head to surround his collection hall. Wang Bert said blandly, "The Reality Stone, or I kill you and take the Reality Stone from your corpse."