Tony Learns Martial Arts

The Daily Bugle was singing Thor Peter’s praises again, but this time, it also sang the praises of Iron Man, Thor’s little sidekick.

The reason Editor Jameson hated Spider-Man and was his number-one anti-fan, constantly spreading the idea that "Spider-Man is a threat," was that Spider-Man always wore a mask and wasn’t open and aboveboard enough.

Back then, Jameson’s lover had been killed by a masked criminal, which caused him to despise everyone hiding behind a mask. He believed people should act openly and honorably, and that anyone hiding behind a mask was a coward. Spider-Man had simply been caught in the crossfire.

He had clearly known before that Iron Man’s identity was Tony Stark’s, but because Iron Man wore a mask, he had deliberately portrayed Iron Man as Thor’s little sidekick.

But after Tony’s identity was exposed during the battle with Sea King, everyone knew who Iron Man was. Naturally, Jameson no longer harbored such deep hostility toward him.

He still made his own views clear in the newspaper, though. Superheroes should reveal their identities and walk openly beneath the sun, accepting both people’s cheers and their supervision.

He believed that if a superhero wore a mask, they must be avoiding responsibility. Masks allowed them to fight recklessly without facing the consequences, and they could even destroy public property without paying for it.

His line of reasoning clearly served the government’s needs, so it was strongly promoted and spread like wildfire.

The people at the center of the storm, Tony and Peter, stood at the entrance to the martial arts school’s main hall, looking at the head impaled on a spear and feeling a little sick.

That was right. Although Peter had been stabbed through the stomach, he had been discharged from the hospital after only a few days. His recovery ability was just that awesome. Of course, his recovery ability still couldn’t compare to Wolverine’s or Hulk’s, but as his Magnetic Field Rotation Realm deepened, it wasn’t impossible for him to become like those two.

"Master, couldn’t you have tossed this head somewhere? Why bring it back? And why hang it here? It’s making me uncomfortable." Although Peter wasn’t as distressed as he had been after his first killing, his stomach still churned.

"Perhaps people in my master’s hometown have a tradition of making human heads into trophies. Maybe they even boil them and eat them." Tony teased Peter maliciously.

"Urgh…" Peter finally couldn’t take it anymore and ran off to vomit.

Sharon and Gwen glared fiercely at Tony, then ran over to pat Peter’s back, have him rinse his mouth, and care for him with the utmost concern.

"What’s going on?"

It was the first time Tony had been blamed by beautiful women, and there were two of them at once. He couldn’t help being greatly surprised.

He pointed at Peter, then at the two women, and looked at Zhan Liu questioningly. Zhan Liu was speechless and silently nodded.

Tony sucked in a breath and looked at Peter with delighted recognition, as if he had found a kindred spirit.

Gwen clearly had some feelings for Peter, but Sharon was much more rational. At present, she probably only had a favorable impression of him and treated him more like a younger brother.

Zhan Liu couldn’t be bothered to waste his breath explaining all this to Tony. Who cared about such things? He simply and crudely classified the three of them as a love triangle and let Tony enjoy the spectacle on his own.

After trading a round of quips, Tony left Peter behind and entered the main hall. He looked solemnly at Zhan Liu and said, "Master, I want to learn martial arts."

Zhan Liu burst out laughing. "Very good. Looks like last time’s remedial lesson wasn’t wasted. You’ve finally realized that with Magnetic Field Rotation, the proper path is still to land your fists directly on flesh."

Zhan Liu knew Tony cared about his pride, so he didn’t provoke him too much. If Tony became embarrassed and angry, gave up, and stopped learning, wouldn’t all his effort have been wasted?

Remedial lessons were useful, but they were exhausting. There wasn’t going to be another Namor volunteering to serve as a teaching aid.

"Among the martial arts of my Ultimate Limit Sect, we have everything from fists and kicks to blades, swords, movement techniques, and hard skills. It’s all-encompassing. Which one do you want to learn?"

"Which one lets me run fastest?"

Zhan Liu’s expression darkened. He said angrily, "I thought you wanted to learn combat techniques. Who knew you’d be constantly thinking about escaping? You don’t need to learn how to run. Once you can fly, you’ll definitely be faster than you are on two legs."

"Heh heh, I was only joking. Don’t be angry, Master." Tony smiled sheepishly. "Actually, I want to learn a hard skill… Uh, is it difficult to learn? Do I have to keep striking myself with heavy objects?"

"That’s external training. My sect’s Ultimate Protective Qi is a defensive hard skill that combines offense and defense. It relies entirely on the use of energy and doesn’t require external blows. Otherwise, with your current body, even machine guns can’t break through it. Who would there be to temper your body?"

Tony was overjoyed. "That’s great! I’ll learn this one!"

"Good. Then I’ll teach you Ultimate Protective Qi. You can also study a fist-and-kick technique as a supplement. Used together with Ultimate Protective Qi, they’ll complement each other perfectly."

"Then… Ultimate Emperor Leg. Lower-body strength helps me become ‘stronger.’" Tony’s expression turned strange again.

"…A leopard can’t change its spots!"

Zhan Liu immediately taught Tony the formulas for Ultimate Protective Qi and Ultimate Emperor Leg. He then spent another day explaining them word by word and sentence by sentence, before going over some common problems he might encounter while practicing.

"There’s probably no way to cheat with technology when practicing this martial art. From here on, how far you can progress will depend on you. If you encounter anything you don’t understand, you can call me anytime."

"All right, Master. I’ll come here often from now on."

"Forget it! Every time you come, you harass the female disciples and distract them from their training. You’d better come less often. Peter is enough for this place. Besides, you’ve already entered the Magnetic Field Rotation Realm, so you don’t need the Magnetic Field Rotation acceleration effect here anymore."

"That’s not fair, Master! Peter is clearly the one harassing the female disciples." As he spoke, Tony indicated Peter with his chin. Peter was surrounded by the female disciples.

"He’s explaining the key points of martial arts training. That was originally the senior apprentice-brother’s job, but you’ve never done it. How dare you complain!"

Tony coughed dryly and said, "I’m too busy during the day. I usually teach at night…"

"Get lost!" Zhan Liu waved his hand and tossed him out again.

Tony had long grown used to this treatment. Without another word, he dusted off his backside and left.

After returning to his villa, he went straight to the laboratory.

"Jarvis, how did it go? Did you get anything?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D.’s firewall was difficult to crack, so to avoid alerting them, I only obtained some low-clearance materials."

"What is there that I should know?"

"There’s a video here. I think you’ll want to know about it."

At the same time, Nick received a phone call inside S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Nick, the item has been taken. It was mixed in with a pile of classified materials. They won’t suspect anything."

"Good, I understand. Clean everything up. Leave no record of this matter."

"Understood!"

Nick hung up, rose, and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window. He gazed at the dark clouds on the distant horizon, his expression deep and unreadable as he wondered what to do.