The Troublesome Soul Stone

"There's nothing I can do about it," Stan Lee sighed and said quietly.

"In its original design, the Soul Stone required a soul-for-soul exchange, and this is irreversible."

Just as Xia Yu was about to speak, the old man raised his hand to interrupt him.

"You don't need to think of any crazy methods. Hypnotizing yourself to fall in love with someone else, finding a death row inmate, or finding someone who deserves to die to take your place—none of these will work. It has to be love etched into your soul. Friendship, romantic love, or familial love are all acceptable, but it absolutely cannot be faked. It must be a willing sacrifice to die, or a willing sacrifice for the person you love. In any case, it cannot be forced. On this point, I am powerless to help."

"But can't you temporarily take over the consciousness of the Soul Stone? For example, right now, can't you replace it and give me the stone directly?"

Xia Yu was still unwilling to give up. He had indeed thought of some shortcuts, but the old man had rejected them all just now.

Old Master Li shook his head helplessly.

"I also wish I could give it to you directly so you could end all this sooner, but it's really impossible. The Soul Stone's consciousness isn't a complete life form; some rules are unchangeable. For example, if you attack Red Skull, the rule is to either eliminate you or let you replace him. I can pretend to eliminate you, and the result is that Red Skull is still here. I can fool it."

"But a soul that is sacrificed or self-sacrifices needs to be added here for it to open the Soul Stone's interior. This cannot be changed; I cannot do it."

"What can we do then, Mr. Cartoonist? You're the creator, you should think of a way. We're the only 'fellow countrymen' in the world right now, and besides, we're on the same side."

Xia Yu helplessly spread his hands and said.

He can't sacrifice Natasha or Tony, can he? Protecting them is one of Xia Yu's ultimate goals.

"I'll try my best to find a way, but you'd better prepare for the worst. Besides, not getting the Soul Stone right now might not be such a bad thing. Don't forget, there's someone else hiding behind this, and maybe their goal is the Six Infinity Stones. There's a saying in Huaxia, 'making wedding clothes for others.' Let's take it one step at a time."

Now that things had come to this, Xia Yu had no better options and could only nod in agreement.

The most important thing right now is for Xia Yu to make all the necessary preparations to face the unknown dangers, while the old man said he would do his best to find a way to resolve the matter of the Soul Stone and, incidentally, find out what that 'antivirus software' really is.

After exchanging a few brief words, the old man sent Xia Yu's soul away, telling Xia Yu to leave Vormir as soon as possible, and that he would hand over control of the place later.

"Look who's back! Our great Mr. Xia, did you go out to save the universe again?"

Xia Yu had just stepped into the base when Rhodey's voice rang out.

Xia Yu didn't take Rhodey's taunts to heart at all, but strangely, everyone was there today.

"What's going on today? Why is everyone at the base? Are you having an important meeting?"

Xia Yu asked curiously.

If there's nothing else going on, the Avengers are all pretty much busy with their own jobs and lives. Aside from certain fixed shifts and training sessions arranged by the Captain, it's unlikely that they'd all be here together all the time.

Xia Yu cast a questioning glance at Natasha.

Natasha smiled, shrugged, and said nothing.

"We don't have anything important to do. You've done all the important things lately. I don't even know what my best friend went out to do today, or where she went to save the world."

Tony remarked, somewhat sourly.

Upon hearing this, even Natasha's eyes dimmed slightly.

Xia Yu knew he had angered everyone, so he quickly sat down, put on a smiling face, and apologized to everyone.

"The trouble last time was caused by Kamar-Taj. I went there to save the day. You know, sometimes there's not enough time, and I can just open the door and go. I forgot to tell you. Today I just went out to find something. I promise, I'll definitely call you next time there's an operation."

What else could Xia Yu say? The Dormammu incident had already made everyone very unhappy. Now that everyone had obtained a Godhood, their strength had increased dramatically. If anything happened now and they didn't let everyone know, it would really be unreasonable.

Natasha, seeing Xia Yu's embarrassed expression, felt a little sorry for him and took the initiative to change the subject, answering Xia Yu's question.

"We're all different now than before, so we've been training at the base a lot lately to adapt to our current strength and adjust our combat methods. Originally, seeing everyone here, I wanted to see who was stronger and have a friendly match."

"A friendly match? And the result?"

Xia Yu knew that he couldn't be included in this kind of thing. His strength was indeed not on the same level as everyone else's. If you had to say who could fight Xia Yu, it would be Vision and Scarlet Witch.

However, Scarlet Witch needs to be in a state of extreme rage to unleash her full power, and she still has a long way to go.

Vision hasn't fully developed his gem yet, so basically even if Xia Yu stands still, everyone attacking together might not be able to do anything to him.

"At first, everyone was practicing their own skills, but for some reason, it turned into a chaotic free-for-all, so there's no clear winner yet, except for you, you freak, of course."

Natasha said with a smile.

"No, apart from my elder brother, I am the strongest Avengers. Your Godhood can only enhance your bodies, but I, the God of Thunder, am the only one who has mastered powerful natural forces. Do you know what flows in my blood?"

Thor slammed his hand on the table and said with an arrogant expression.

"Cheese!"

"Coca-Cola!"

"Beer!"

Several people said in unison.

Corona Beer.

Tony added another sentence.

Thor gave Tony the middle finger without any hesitation.

"You seem to have forgotten, you almost got killed by my axe just now."

As Tony spoke, he brought up a screen on the table, showing Thor being cleaved through the air by an axe blow from Tony's nanotech armor.

The footage of the moment the object was slashed away was especially slowed down several times from different angles.

"You ambushed me! I thought you only knew how to attack from a distance."

Thor shouted angrily.

Tony has recently changed his fighting style quite a bit. He has analyzed martial arts techniques from all over the world using artificial intelligence and incorporated them into his combat. The ever-changing forms of his Nano Armor, combined with his powerful physique, make his close combat extremely difficult to deal with.

"Only children make excuses; we adults only state results, Mr. Little Prince."

Tony defiantly pulled out a bottle of beer, lazily took a sip, and said...

"It's all because of your Armor. Wait until I get the weapon ready, brother. I want to go to Nidavellir; I need a weapon."

Thor looked at Xia Yu. Now that the Bifrost was unavailable, the spaceship was obviously not as fast as Xia Yu opening the door directly.

"Please help your dear brother, Xia. The God of Hammers has become a crybaby without his hammer."

Tony still couldn't resist teasing Thor.

"Damn it, Stark, just wait until I chop you to pieces. This time, I'm going to forge an axe."

"I say this with confidence, "Thor said.