Are You OK?

"Fire Cloud Evil God... just died like that?"

Please forgive the Defenders for how they were feeling. After all, this was a man who couldn't even be killed by explosives, yet a streak of red sword energy had cleaved him in two.

There wasn't even a corpse left behind. He had turned into black particles and vanished into the world.

The unreality of it all stirred them, but soon they noticed Bu Jingyun's grave expression.

It was an expression of utmost seriousness, as if he sensed some lurking beast prowling nearby. He had to stay tense and alert at all times.

Whoosh.

A cool breeze swept up a few dead leaves from the ground. They spun through the air, and before they could land, one corner of a leaf had already turned to ice.

A bead of sweat ran down the tip of Bu Jingyun's nose and fell to the ground. With a stony expression, he took two steps to the left and warned them.

"Careful. There's another expert."

An expert?

Who?

The Defenders were startled. They quickly raised their weapons and cautiously searched their surroundings.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

But as time slowly passed, they found nothing.

None of them thought Bu Jingyun was joking. When they turned to ask him about it, they suddenly saw a man standing silently behind him. No one knew when he had appeared.

Shocker!!

[Emotion points from Matt Murdock +663]

[Emotion points from Frank Castle +657]

[Emotion points from Luke Cage +671]

[Emotion points from Jessica Jones +677]

"Clap, clap, clap."

The man applauded as he spoke.

"Pitiful. What a tragic fate. This is what happens when you misuse the Killing Stone Fragment.

"Tsk, tsk. His body was corrupted by evil spirits, and even after death, not a scrap of him remained."

The man's gaze flicked to the Killing Stone Fragment on the ground, then quickly moved away. He seemed both disdainful and wary of it.

He had long black hair and wore a black robe. An ice mask covered his face.

His voice was deep and powerful. Though he wasn't speaking loudly, it seemed to echo in everyone's ears, like the voice of a lofty emperor.

His presence was overwhelming. Simply standing there, he was like a vast whirlpool, affecting the air for a hundred meters around him.

"Achoo!"

Jessica rubbed her hands together and couldn't help sneezing.

"Ah, it's so cold. Who is this guy?"

The Defenders wanted to ask the same question, but Bu Jingyun, standing right behind him, wanted to know the answer even more.

His way of asking, however, was rather direct.

With a twist of his wrist, he spun around and swung the Peerless Sword in a rapid horizontal slash.

Clang!

The attack came without warning, but the man caught the blade between two fingers as casually as if he were plucking something from a bag.

His fingers seemed to hold the strength of ten thousand pounds. No matter how hard Bu Jingyun strained, he couldn't pull the blade free.

"What a fine sword."

The man seemed intrigued. He examined it carefully, then abruptly released the blade and flicked the sword with a finger.

Clang!

"But the wielder... is still lacking."

As he spoke, a tremendous force traveled along the Peerless Sword and slammed into Bu Jingyun's wrist.

If he hadn't clung to the hilt with both hands, the sword would have flown right out of his grasp!

Even so, the force drove Bu Jingyun backward, and both his hands throbbed with pain.

Ignoring his reddened, aching wrists, Bu Jingyun asked coldly, "Who are you?"

"This lord is Emperor Shitian.

"Master of Heaven Gate, and the Eighth Commandment of the Ten Rings."

Emperor Shitian made no attempt to hide his identity. With his hands clasped behind his back, he told them plainly.

Frowning, Bu Jingyun thought hard, but couldn't recall anyone called Emperor Shitian.

He was certain he had never heard that name in his life.

Seeing no hostility from the man, Bu Jingyun put his sword away for the moment and asked what he wanted.

"I came here to bring Fire Cloud Evil God into Heaven Gate as a flute-playing page.

"But your appearance has truly caught my attention!"

He chuckled and took two steps forward.

"Tell me, are you willing to join Heaven Gate and become my subordinate?"

To do what?

Become a flute-playing page?

Bu Jingyun had his pride. He immediately turned cold and refused outright.

The man's power was indeed unfathomable, but thinking he could win Bu Jingyun over as a lackey just because of that was naïve.

Being rejected to his face displeased Emperor Shitian. He was about to offer a few more pleasantries when his ears twitched at the sound of hurried footsteps approaching.

He turned around and glared in that direction, displeased.

A group of well-equipped S.H.I.E.L.D. agents carrying machine guns came running over and surrounded the two men.

Coulson leaned on his crutch, struggling along far behind them with all his might. As he walked, he shouted, "Gentlemen, S.H.I.E.L.D. is approaching this in good faith. Can't we talk?"

The only response was a contemptuous snort.

"The United States government? Hmph. I admire your courage, but pity your ignorance."

"Wait, let's talk this out."

Coulson saw that things were going badly and tried to smooth them over.

But Emperor Shitian had already lost patience. He flicked his sleeve, and a blast of icy air erupted in an instant.

Huge icicles surged up from the ground, freezing every armed agent in place in the blink of an eye.

"Bu Jingyun, you'd better think it over. We'll meet again someday!"

Ignoring Coulson's grim expression, Emperor Shitian took a step and vanished in an instant.

Frowning, Bu Jingyun tossed Chun-Li a black gourd. After walking over to explain how to use it, he used his lightness skill and quickly left as well.

"Wait! Don't go!"

Coulson reached out with a bitter smile. This was just too hard.

These people were all so powerful that none of them took S.H.I.E.L.D. seriously. They came and went as they pleased.

Are you OK?

They only had to talk. Was that really so hard?

He turned around and met Frank and the others' pitiful gazes. Embarrassed, Coulson asked, "How about we talk?"

After speaking with Coulson, Chun-Li and the others left.

The gourd Bu Jingyun had left behind was truly remarkable.

Following Bu Jingyun's instructions, Chun-Li drank a little of the water inside. Her body shuddered, and her limbs felt as relaxed as if she'd soaked in a hot spring. Her wounds began healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Seeing this, Matt and the others took turns drinking from the gourd. Each of them gulped down several mouthfuls, then marveled at the sensation of being healed. They were so comfortable that they couldn't help groaning.

Even Danny, who had passed out, was fed several mouthfuls. Before long, he stretched and woke up.

But the gourd had no effect on Elektra, who was dead.

That was only natural. The healing item from Black Myth: Wukong could restore health, but it couldn't bring someone back to life.

Over the next few days, Coulson met with Chun-Li frequently to ask her for information.

Chun-Li didn't hide anything. She gave Coulson a general account of what she knew about the Ethereal Immortal Realm and the Demon Realm.

After refusing Coulson's offer to join S.H.I.E.L.D., she attended Elektra's funeral with her companions from the Defenders.

Not long afterward, she heard that Shadaloo was active in Europe. She said goodbye to everyone and left.