Lightning, The Situation Reverses

In Washington D.C. at this moment.

A young Caucasian man, barely out of his teens, walked home with a backpack slung over his shoulder. He stifled a yawn as he pulled out his keys to open the door.

He changed into his house slippers at the entrance.

"Oh, right." Barry Allen suddenly remembered something. Last night, a friend had entrusted him with a kitten to look after.

The kitten had been sleeping from last night until this morning. He wondered if it was awake yet.

With that thought, Barry took a can of cat food from his backpack and headed to his room.

He opened the door.

What greeted Barry's eyes was his pet carrier on the desk, its zipper open. The Little Orange Cat that had been curled up inside was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did it go?" Barry muttered, but he wasn't too worried. With his extensive experience in pet care, and even planning to apply for a job at a pet store, he had made sure to close all the windows and doors and unplug the electrical outlets before leaving home this morning.

Even if the cat ran around the house, it shouldn't be in any danger.

"Huh?" Barry seemed to notice something and stared blankly at his desk.

Wait, where was his chair?

Where did the chair go?!

A large chair that had been in the room had vanished into thin air?

Just as Barry thought his house had been robbed, a soft meow came from behind him.

Barry turned around and saw a seemingly harmless Little Orange Cat standing at the doorway, watching him with a wary and guarded expression.

"Kitty, so you were here." Barry breathed a sigh of relief, shaking the can of cat food in his hand. "Look, I brought you something to eat."

Barry stepped forward, about to get close to the Little Orange Cat.

Suddenly, disaster struck—

The Little Orange Cat suddenly opened its mouth wide in a terrifying manner, and several thick, fearsome tentacles shot out, rapidly sweeping towards Barry in the room.

Barry's eyes widened in shock. In the nick of time, beside him, faint electrical currents began to flow!

The next moment.

The Little Orange Cat, the room, and indeed, everything in this world, fell into stillness!

No, it wasn't stillness!

It was that Barry was too fast, so fast that time itself seemed to pause for him!

Entering some kind of enhanced state, Barry circled around, observing the almost-frozen Essence Devourer Beast before him, falling into a moment of silence.

He remembered.

His friend had seemed to mention that this kitten was a bit special.

This was special?

This wasn't a cat at all!

On the training grounds of Themyscira.

Clang!

For what felt like the hundredth time, the Greek Sword in Xi Nian's hand was knocked away, embedding itself in the grass.

Xi Nian's palm was bright red, almost bleeding.

Despite this, he showed no intention of admitting defeat. He walked towards the sword again, gripping it tightly with his right hand.

"Again!" Xi Nian gasped for air, holding the sword firmly, and faced Antiope, who stood before him without a hint of exhaustion.

Around them, a crowd of female warriors had gathered. Beyond them, many Amazon residents stood by the buildings, watching this battle where the disparity in strength was so vast.

"It's useless." Antiope's expression was unreadable as she lunged forward, her sword striking with both power and speed.

Xi Nian raised his sword with all his might to block. The result was that he and his sword were sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the grass.

The female warriors and residents around them shook their heads. Only Antiope, on the field, suddenly showed a subtle expression.

This time, Xi Nian held onto his sword and didn't let it slip again.

Of course, the price was that.

As Xi Nian used the sword to support himself and stand up, a drop of blood trickled down between his fingers, landing on the hilt of the Greek Sword.

Antiope looked at the resilient boy standing up and said coldly, "It's useless. Surrender early."

"Antiope, you're right." Xi Nian smiled, gripping his sword. "If I want to protect her in the future, I still need to become stronger!"

He then said, inexplicably, "You're sweating, aren't you?"

"It's just the sun. You're not strong enough to make me sweat." Antiope glanced down at her body. To be honest, Xi Nian was indeed more tenacious than she had imagined.

But that was all. She couldn't see any hope in Xi Nian...

This, in turn, made Antiope feel a sense of disappointment, and the thought of questioning the Princess's choice resurfaced.

Stomp!

Just then, Xi Nian, as if dragging his long sword, charged towards Antiope!

Antiope's brow twitched. She absolutely didn't expect him to take the initiative to attack.

"Useless." Antiope shook her head. Just as she was about to parry with her sword, she found Xi Nian throwing his long sword halfway through his charge!

He abandoned his sword voluntarily?

"Foolish!" Antiope grunted. With a swing of her sword, she immediately knocked the thrown long sword to the ground!

But at the same time, Xi Nian had rushed close to Antiope's body. The hand that had been holding the sword clenched into a fist, and he struck Antiope's exposed shoulder with all his might!

Antiope's body didn't budge, like a sturdy mountain, impossible for a human youth to shake.

"You lost." Antiope's right hand transformed into a hand blade, slashing towards Xi Nian's neck. But before the hand blade could fall, her wrist was firmly grasped by a hand!

It was Xi Nian's hand!

"Now!" A faint light flashed in Xi Nian's eyes. He twisted his waist sharply, and coordinating with the powerful force from his hand, he lifted Antiope's entire body and hurled her fiercely into an open space nearby!

The sword in Antiope's hand fell, and Xi Nian snatched it up!

Clatter!

Not only Antiope, who was thrown over ten meters away, but even the female warriors on the field were stunned, looking at Xi Nian, the only one standing.

The situation was completely one-sided, yet it had been reversed in an instant?!

What happened in that moment?

"What's going on?" Antiope, lying on the ground, was still a bit dazed, unable to comprehend what had just happened. The power transmitted from Xi Nian's hand was comparable to her own—

No, it was a bit stronger than her own!

She naturally didn't know.

The moment Xi Nian landed that punch, the blood on his hand had exchanged with Antiope's sweat, fulfilling the prerequisite for triggering the Lord of Kin!

Antiope's physical strength had been added to Xi Nian's, which caused the reversal!

"The General was repelled?"

"How is that possible..."

"So, so strong!"

After the shocked and noisy discussions, applause echoed through the training ground.

The Amazonian female warriors didn't care about anything else. Whether it was the youth's unyielding spirit and courage, or the spectacular reversal shown at the end, it was enough to earn their respect and make them feel ashamed of their previous rudeness.

Looking at Xi Nian, who had changed everyone's impression of him, wearing a crown and holding a long sword, Antiope also showed an expression of "I concede defeat to you":

"Your Highness Diana, is this what you call—a miracle?"