The Downtrodden Shi’ar Queen

Seeing that Li Congxin had no intention of competing with him after killing Dormammu, but instead immediately used his spatial abilities and vanished with a "whoosh,"

The Phoenix had been so furious with nowhere to vent its anger that it almost wanted to burn the entire X-Men Universe to ashes. However, it did not do so. Instead, it quickly calmed down.

What calmed the Phoenix was a lingering sense of danger weighing on her heart.

In fact, this sense of danger had already appeared when she teamed up with Dormammu to fight Li Congxin and heard those several nonsensical words from that brat: "Not Below Me." It was just that they had held an absolute advantage at the time, and she had also been furious, so the sense of danger had been diluted by her rage and the fierce battle. She had therefore not paid much attention to it.

But now, Dormammu was dead, while Li Congxin had completed his objective and left without a care, hiding his achievements and fame.

Left alone in the empty Hyperdimensional Space, the feeling that disaster was imminent immediately became much clearer. Once this heart-palpitating sense of danger came to her attention, even the Phoenix Body, a veteran Multiversal Level powerhouse in the late stage, could not help feeling a chill run down her spine.

Thinking of all the methods Li Congxin had displayed that exceeded her understanding, thinking of Dormammu’s miserable death after she and Li Congxin had joined forces to besiege him, and then recalling how she and Dormammu had worked together to trick that sinister brat, as well as the scene of that brat nearly being beaten to death by their combined attacks…

The Phoenix could not help shuddering.

With Li Congxin’s many unconventional methods, going into the Singular Universe to finish him off would only amount to delivering herself to him on a platter. Thus, the Phoenix Body did not even dare entertain the thought of pursuing Li Congxin. She immediately turned around and flew silently toward the depths of the Hyperdimensional Space.

To avoid Li Congxin coming after her for revenge once he recovered, the great and invincible Phoenix Body decided to find some remote corner to hide in for a while and lie low.

What?

You say the Phoenix had chickened out?

How could that be!?

When it came to a Multiversal Level powerhouse, could this be called chickening out?

This was simply following her heart!

She was using her actions to pay tribute to the name of that little fellow who could easily escape from her grasp!

I hope he can forgive me…

As she flew, the Phoenix silently prayed in her heart.

After returning from the Hyperdimensional Space, Li Congxin did not immediately hurry to the Himalayas, because the overall situation there had already been settled. Therefore, after returning to the X-Men Universe, the first place he arrived at was the Dark Dimension, where Tony and the others’ battlefield was located.

At this moment, in the battlefield of the Dark Dimension, Tony’s team and the Spider-Man army had already completed their encirclement and extermination of the mysterious species. Only one slim, blue-eyed, blond-haired white woman remained. She was releasing the Phoenix Force and endlessly fighting Ava, who was likewise empowered by the Phoenix Force, and Gwen, who was imbued with Vengeance Divine Power.

Although the woman was firmly suppressed by the two girls, Ava and Gwen still could not take her down in a short time.

When Li Congxin appeared, the two girls simultaneously let out a sigh of relief. Then, like obedient children, they retreated together, leaving Li Congxin ample room to act.

Almost at the same moment Ava and Gwen noticed Li Congxin, the slim blond woman also realized that this handsome man in tattered clothes had appeared out of thin air behind her. Yet despite possessing the Phoenix Force, she had actually failed to detect his presence!

Just who was this man!?

Received Impression Points from Lilandra +999!

"Lilandra?" Li Congxin frowned and looked the woman over several times before asking in confusion, "In the universe we come from, Lilandra is the name of the queen of the Shi’ar Empire. I never expected to encounter a woman with the same name here today—and one who has fallen into such miserable circumstances, at that."

Received Impression Points from Lilandra +999!

Hearing Li Congxin’s words, Lilandra’s eyes widened. "You really are from another Parallel Universe! In that case, in your universe, is the Shi’ar Empire still known to people?"

"Of course!" Li Congxin did not mind telling her a bit of the truth. "In the Parallel Universe we come from, there are three great cosmic empires: the Shi’ar Empire, the Kree Empire, and the Skrull Empire."

Standing with his hands behind his back, Li Congxin looked like a transcendent being removed from worldly affairs, naturally giving off an awe-inspiring presence. That unique bearing was not diminished in the slightest by his ragged clothes. On the contrary, the tattered garments added a touch of vicissitude and mystery to his extraordinary aura.

His calm gaze swept over everyone one by one, as if he were looking at each person present, yet also as if he were looking at no one. Li Congxin spoke leisurely: "However, the Skrull Empire has already been completely scattered. The few survivors left have all become interstellar refugees, hunted by the Kree from place to place. They can only hide throughout the universe, struggling to survive."

"The Kree Empire is also steadily losing ground in its war with the Shi’ar Empire and can only occupy a corner. The general situation is that, in our Parallel Universe, the Shi’ar Empire has emerged as the sole dominant power."

Hearing the beautiful picture Li Congxin painted, Empress Lilandra’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.

After Li Congxin finished speaking, her expression changed from delight to disappointment, then from disappointment to relief. The emotions on her face were extraordinarily vivid. After a long while, she let out a deep sigh. "I never imagined that the Shi’ar Empire in a Parallel Universe would have become the strongest empire in the universe. How pitiful that the Shi’ar Empire under my leadership has been reduced to the point where even its home planet was devoured by the Phoenix Force, while the surviving members of my race all perished in today’s battle… Still, being able to hear such good news from you means this journey was not in vain, I suppose?"

It was clear that every word she spoke came from the heart. She was not deliberately trying to win sympathy.

Li Congxin smiled faintly at her words, his gaze finally settling on the alien woman before him. "You really are remnants of the Shi’ar Empire, and you really are this universe’s Empress Lilandra? You look rather different from the Lilandra I met in our universe."

Received Impression Points from Lilandra +555!

Lilandra’s eyes lit up. She secretly wondered whether, since this young man had met his universe’s Lilandra, he might have some relationship with her.

If so, perhaps she could rely on that connection to escape this calamity?

Although all the Shi’ar Empire’s surviving members had just died, and as their empress she had already lost her purpose in life, Lilandra still wanted to keep living if she could avoid death.

As for using the Phoenix Force to counterattack or anything of the sort, she did not even dare consider it.

Ava and Gwen had already pushed her to the brink just now. How could she possibly contend with this unfathomable young man before her? Even the girl who had only exchanged a few hurried blows with her earlier before rushing off to reinforce another battlefield—Lilandra was certain she was no match for her either.

The situation was stronger than the person. At present, Lilandra could only hope to play the emotional card.

However, before she could say anything, she heard Li Congxin continue: "I remember it was back when I was challenging powerful figures throughout the universe. After defeating Gladiator, who was known as the Shi’ar’s strongest warrior, I wanted to see exactly how capable Lilandra, the Shi’ar queen, was. But after taking a look, I was rather disappointed. Her personal strength was far inferior to Gladiator’s."

Received Impression Points from Lilandra +999!

So there’s no relationship after all…

Lilandra gave a bitter smile and muttered to herself, "Ever since ascending the throne, I, Lilandra, have always worked for the survival and development of the Shi’ar Empire. After Planet Feather was devoured by the Phoenix, I led the surviving members of my race across the universe in search of a place to survive. I even pursued the Phoenix Force for the sake of my race’s glory. I can honestly say I never made a single wrong step."

"I never imagined that after working hard, struggling, and scheming all my life, I would still be unable to change the outcome of my race’s destruction."

"You’re both queens of the Shi’ar Empire. The other one gets to sit high above everyone else, while you’ve ended up looking like some tribal chief. I might as well call you Sis Workaholic." Seeing Lilandra’s utterly hopeless expression, Li Congxin suddenly spoke. "Sis Workaholic, it isn’t completely impossible for me to spare your life. However, I want you to do something for me."

Received Impression Points from Lilandra +999!

Life’s dramatic reversals had come too quickly. Lilandra could hardly believe her ears, and hurriedly asked, "What is it?"

Li Congxin gently beckoned to Ava. The latter immediately came obediently to his side.

Li Congxin first reached out and stroked Ava’s hair, then turned back to Lilandra and said, "I heard them say earlier that you possess the ability to draw the Phoenix Force out of another person’s body. That ability is excellent. I like it very much. So now, please help me draw the Phoenix Force out of Ava’s body without harming her. If you can do that, I won’t kill you today."

"What did you say!?" Lilandra could hardly believe her ears. "Not only do you not want to reclaim the Phoenix Force I absorbed earlier, you even plan to abandon such powerful energy completely!? My god, did I hear that right?"

"Of course." Li Congxin replied calmly. "I just fought the Phoenix Body to the death. I don’t think leaving its power inside someone’s body beside me would be a good idea."

Received Impression Points from Lilandra +999!

This young man could actually fight the Phoenix Body and emerge unscathed!

Lilandra finally understood why he could disregard the Phoenix Force. If she possessed the strength to face the Phoenix Body head-on, she would not care about such power that did not belong to her either.

Regarding Li Congxin’s request, Lilandra immediately nodded. "I can try."

A smile that seemed to say "You know what’s good for you" appeared on Li Congxin’s face. He then encouragingly patted Ava on the shoulder. Ava immediately stepped forward, gave Lilandra a sweet smile, then stretched out her neck and let Lilandra squeeze it however she pleased.

Lilandra: …

After taking a deep breath, the downtrodden Shi’ar empress slowly extended her right hand and placed it on Ava’s neck.

In the next moment, Lilandra pushed her ability to absorb the Phoenix Force to its absolute limit. She actually intended to absorb Ava’s life force along with the Phoenix Force in one stroke!

"Are you trying to die!?"

Seeing this, Li Congxin shouted angrily. He casually flicked out a finger, cleverly using the force of vibration to separate the two of them. At the same time, surging Vengeance Divine Power had already seized Lilandra and held her in its palm.

"Hmph!" Seeing that her plan had been exposed, Lilandra said in a hoarse, desperate voice, "I had no choice! You asked me to extract the Phoenix Force without harming her, but that was simply impossible. She has already become a Phoenix host. Her life force and the Phoenix Force have completely fused together. Let alone me—even the Phoenix Body probably couldn’t fulfill your request."

"If I was going to die either way, of course I had to go all out!"

"In that case, then go die." With a cold snort, the palm formed from Vengeance Divine Power suddenly tightened, completely crushing Lilandra, the Shi’ar queen of the X-Men Universe.

Received Impression Points from Lilandra +1000!

Sis Workaholic, deceased!

Thanks to book friend G Mengxing for the 100 starting coins!