The Ritual Battle of Wakanda

In the blink of an eye, time had entered 2018. On the original timeline, Thanos had already begun collecting the Infinity Stones across the universe, preparing to snap his fingers beneath the setting sun.

But now that Li Congxin had gotten involved and nearly all the Infinity Stones had ended up in his own hands, even if Thanos was still alive, he had no chance of doing anything like that.

As March arrived, temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere gradually began to rise. Wakanda, located on the African continent, was in the midst of a blazing summer.

According to Shuri, today was a momentous and auspicious day for Wakanda, something like an astrologically chosen lucky date—perfect for the coronation of a new ruler.

Above the broad tropical river, a flock of waterfowl took flight in unison, startled by the sound of singing and dancing.

Looking in the direction of the noise, one could see groups of wooden boats sailing over from the distance. The bow of every boat was packed with female warriors from the royal guard, each holding a vibranium spear. In perfect unison, they struck the decks again and again with their spears, merging their rhythm with the dense drumbeats. Their bodies rose and fell slightly in time with the drums.

Seen from afar, the sight was spectacular.

On the flagship at the front, Shuri was dancing gracefully with her mother, the queen mother. On the other side, Black Panther’s girlfriend, Nakia, had struck a horseback-riding pose and was twisting her ample hips in a strange dance to add to the festivities.

Among the Avengers, only two members had received invitations to attend the ceremony. Aside from Li Congxin, Mindy had also been invited as Shuri’s close friend and confidante. At that moment, they stood on the flagship’s deck, watching Wakanda’s succession ceremony with great interest.

Although, as far as T’Challa’s girlfriend was concerned, Li Congxin could not find anything aesthetically pleasing about either her appearance or her dancing.

"Forward!"

At the shout from Okoye, captain of the Wakandan royal guard, the other guards responded in unison, "Forward!"

With that, every member of the royal guard slammed their vibranium spears down onto the ship’s deck. An almost visible wave of energy immediately spread in all directions.

The energy wave released by the vibranium was merely a signal. As it spread, several piston-like underwater mechanisms suddenly rose from the depths of the river directly ahead of the boats. They pumped away the water near the cliff in advance, causing the cliff that had originally been hidden behind a curtain of water to be exposed directly to the sunlight.

Seeing this, Li Congxin could not help laughing. "Combining tradition with technology so perfectly. I have to admit, Wakanda’s coronation ceremony is quite interesting."

Mindy nodded seriously beside him, her eyes filled with curiosity.

The boats docked near the cliff. Everyone attending the grand ceremony filled every spot on the cliff where a person could stand. As Wakanda’s honored guests, Li Congxin and Mindy had been arranged at the very bottom, beside a pool near the battlefield, standing together with Shuri.

At that moment, a highly advanced Wakandan aircraft flew out from the canyon between two waterfalls and hovered above the battlefield pool. The Wakandans, who had been waiting for this, let out a unified cheer: "For T’Challa!"

As if responding to the crowd’s cries, the aircraft’s hatch slowly opened. T’Challa stepped out, bare-chested and carrying a shield and short sword, then slowly walked toward a purple-robed priest in the pool whose appearance greatly resembled Teacher Jiang Wen.

This man was Wakanda’s high priest, Zuri. He was also a member of the royal family and was responsible for conducting ceremonies.

On the cliff, the people continued to dance and celebrate. The aircraft that had carried T’Challa there had already turned around and departed.

At that moment, High Priest Zuri slowly turned around. Facing the direction of the cheering Wakandans on the cliff, he spread his arms and announced loudly, "I, Zuri, son of Badu, present Prince T’Challa, our Black Panther!"

Following Zuri’s introduction, another wave of cheers rose from the crowd. T’Challa drew his short sword, held it to one side with his shield to the other, and dropped to one knee. His movements were swift and decisive. Even in that simple salute, he revealed a glimpse of his formidable skill.

At that moment, Zuri took a bowl of medicinal broth from one of the priests nearby. As he displayed it to the people on both sides, he said in an incomparably solemn tone, "The Black Panther’s power within the prince’s body will be stripped away. The ritual battle must end with one side surrendering or dying in battle! If any tribe chooses a champion to enter the arena, then the road to the throne will now open before you!"

Mindy, standing beside Li Congxin, suddenly spoke in a low voice. "Such an important matter as inheriting the throne is decided through a martial contest? I can’t help feeling that it’s a little ridiculous. Even our selection process for the Avengers isn’t this simple."

Li Congxin glared fiercely at the girl, who mischievously blinked at him before continuing, "I’m using telepathic speech to talk only to you. The others can’t hear me."

Li Congxin gave a helpless, wry smile and replied through telepathy, "We were invited here. Even if it’s just to preserve T’Challa and Shuri’s dignity, we have to put on a serious expression. It’s a matter of courtesy."

They were both using telepathy, but Mindy’s mouth still moved while she spoke. Although others could not hear what she was saying, anyone who noticed her would certainly realize that she was speaking softly. Li Congxin, on the other hand, seemed far more natural. His face was expressionless, his eyes looked straight ahead, and his mouth did not move in the slightest. His voice simply entered Mindy’s ears, and no one else could possibly detect anything unusual.

The contrast was clear!

Seeing this skill that Li Congxin had revealed so casually, Mindy could not help feeling a little jealous. "I’ve already learned telepathic speech and ventriloquism, but I can only use them separately. I simply can’t combine the two. By the way, when will you teach me some tricks, Brother Clark, so I can do what you just did?"

Li Congxin shook his head slightly. "There are no shortcuts in martial arts training. I’ve already taught you the simplest method. As long as you practice diligently for a few more years, reaching my level won’t be difficult. All right, focus on the ceremony."

While the two of them were talking, Wakanda’s major tribes had already announced their positions one after another.

"The Merchant Tribe has no challenger!"

"The Border Tribe has no challenger!"

"The River Tribe has no challenger!"

"The Mining Tribe has no challenger!"

The four tribes affiliated with the royal family had all announced their positions. In truth, T’Chaka had arranged everything long ago. The necessary political negotiations and compromises had already been completed. Explaining all the exchanges of interests would probably take thousands of words. To give one obvious example, T’Challa’s girlfriend—and the future queen of Wakanda—Nakia was the princess of the River Tribe.

It had originally been a standard political marriage, but T’Challa had somehow turned it into true love. One had to admit, the man did have something extraordinary about him.

After receiving the unanimous approval of the four tribes as if merely going through the motions, Zuri finally asked the last question. "Do any other members of the royal family wish to challenge for the throne?"

The other members of the royal family naturally referred to members of T’Challa’s family. They were the group least likely to raise an objection. As long as they once again received a unanimous declaration of no opposition, today’s ritual battle could end peacefully.

However, just as Zuri finished asking his question, a voice suddenly rang out from a cave beneath the tattered cloth. "I challenge!"

The words caused an uproar.

Following the sound, they saw a Black man about the same age as T’Challa emerge from the cave. He wore a bulletproof vest, and killing intent radiated from every inch of him.

The moment he saw the Black man, Li Congxin’s brows furrowed.

Killmonger?

He had actually made it here!

The instant he guessed the man’s identity, Li Congxin’s voice simultaneously rang in T’Challa’s and Shuri’s ears. "This man is a huge problem. He really does have the right to issue a challenge, and he will be an extremely terrifying opponent. T’Challa, Shuri, if you’re willing, nod at me. I can make him die of cardiac arrest in the next second!"

Although Li Congxin could have acted without asking them, out of respect for his friends, he still intended to let them make the choice themselves.

Yet after hearing Li Congxin’s words, the siblings shook their heads in perfect unison.

T’Challa naturally did not want to obtain the throne through such means, while Shuri was unwilling to kill someone without distinguishing right from wrong.

At that moment, Zuri, who was responsible for conducting the ceremony, asked, "Who are you?"

Sigh…

Seeing this, Li Congxin shook his head lightly. Perhaps it would be good to let them learn a lesson. As long as he, Li Congxin, was here, no matter how the situation changed, he was confident he could keep everything under control.

Sure enough, upon hearing Zuri’s question, Killmonger immediately answered loudly, "My name is N’Jadaka, son of Prince Njodbu!" As he spoke, he first pulled down his lower lip, showing everyone the purple mark possessed only by those born in Wakanda, then took out a ring that could prove his identity.

Under the utterly shocked gazes of everyone present, the Black man who called himself N’Jadaka declared proudly, "I will exercise the right granted to me by my bloodline. For the throne and the title of Black Panther, I challenge T’Challa!"

At this point, Killmonger’s identity had been completely confirmed. According to tradition, he naturally had the right to challenge the Black Panther.

Seeing this, Li Congxin spoke to T’Challa once more. "You’ve helped me many times before. If you allow me to act during the battle, I can make him suddenly die of cardiac arrest or seal his movements, then let you deliver the final blow. Don’t worry. If I act, no one will be able to detect anything."

However, faced with Li Congxin’s final offer of goodwill, T’Challa still stubbornly and firmly shook his head.