Absorbing Star Technique

After watching for a while, Thanos flew directly above the pyramid-like structure, then reached out with his right hand toward the Mind Stone.

The next instant, he felt a mental force invading his mind.

But it seemed as though nothing happened, as if it had no effect at all.

After taking the Mind Stone, he left Ice Crystal Planet.

Over the following years, relying on his overwhelming strength, he destroyed one planet after another and ruled one star system after another.

In the end, he found Blue Star and led his subordinates to wipe out one force after another, including the Avengers, the Illuminati, Wakanda, and Kamar-Taj.

He eventually gathered all six Stones and became the supreme being of the Marvel Universe.

But as the years passed, he gradually began to age and lose his strength.

Yet the six Stones could do nothing about it.

As he waited for death in despair, Thanos felt a strange tremor growing increasingly intense.

The next second, he broke free from the Mind Stone's power and returned to reality.

He was still inside the same cave.

Due to the trembling ground, rocks periodically fell from the ceiling.

He had just been awakened by one of those rocks striking him.

Looking ahead, he saw that his palm was still three centimeters away from the Mind Stone.

He quickly understood.

Everything that had just happened had merely been an illusion created by the Mind Stone's power.

"Ding! Your mental power has been tempered, increasing by 50 points."

Hearing the system's voice, Thanos smiled faintly and lunged forward, grabbing the Mind Stone.

As if unwilling to be seized, the Mind Stone unleashed powerful mental energy.

But Thanos was prepared. He protected his consciousness with energy and was not dragged into another illusion.

At that moment, the Ice People below, who were immersed in the Mind Stone's illusion, clutched their heads and screamed.

"Ah!"

"It hurts!"

"My head, my body!"

After Thanos put away the Mind Stone, the Ice People emerged from the illusion.

However, some of them had been affected by the Mind Stone for too long. After returning to reality, they immediately felt that something was wrong with their bodies.

Those who had gone without food for a long time were thin as skeletons. How could they possibly feel good?

Some even died the moment they emerged from the illusion.

Meanwhile, some Ice People who had only recently entered the illusion immediately noticed Thanos in the air. Seeing that the Mind Stone had been taken, they instantly roared in fury.

"The sacred relic has been stolen!"

"Give back our sacred relic!"

"Damn invader! Die!"

The Mind Stone was the Ice People's sacred relic, their only source of spiritual entertainment for thousands of years—or rather, their spiritual opium.

The goal of most of their lives was to enter the sacred ground and come into contact with the sacred relic.

Within the sacred relic's illusion, they could experience all the joy and happiness they could never otherwise attain.

They could even meet their deceased loved ones in the illusion.

So when faced with the end of the world, the first thing they thought of was using the sacred relic to escape reality.

But the Mind Stone was no true sacred relic. It was a demonic object.

As they indulged in its illusions, the Mind Stone also absorbed their mental energy. This process was addictive and could even make them lose themselves in it until death.

Now that they saw their sacred relic taken by an invader, their addiction flared up. It made them forget their fear of the invader as they charged forward, determined to fight to the death.

Even death could not take their sacred relic from them.

But vast numbers of rocks fell inside the cave, crashing into the Ice People and taking one life after another.

Thanos merely shook his head at the Ice People leaping up to attack him, then flew out of the cave.

These ants were not worth his effort.

Once outside, he discovered that the earthquakes across Ice Crystal Planet were growing increasingly violent.

As more and more rocks fell, the cave entrance was soon sealed, leaving the Ice People inside with no way to escape.

"Rumble..."

As if Ice Crystal Planet itself sensed that its death was near, dark clouds filled the sky and bolts of Lightning began striking down one after another.

Yet when those bolts of Lightning struck Thanos, he felt nothing at all.

At his level, such heavenly might no longer mattered to him.

Ignoring the Lightning, he looked at the fingertip-sized Mind Stone in his hand.

If Captain Marvel's appearance had merely confirmed that the Marvel Universe's storyline had begun, then the appearance of the Mind Stone allowed him to pinpoint the time period.

He should be about to meet that unlucky fellow, Loki.

Shaking his head, he flew beyond Ice Crystal Planet's atmosphere and entered outer space.

From here, he could clearly watch the planet march toward its death.

Black cracks appeared across the snow-white surface like split wounds, followed by one red spot after another.

Those were volcanic eruptions.

This was a planet whose surface was ninety percent covered in ice.

Volcanic eruptions should have been difficult to occur on its surface.

That showed that the planet's Earth's Crust had undergone a major upheaval.

Closing his eyes, he could sense that the Destructive Power he had cast had expanded to a diameter of eight kilometers and was only a little over a thousand kilometers from Ice Crystal Planet's core.

In another ten minutes, it would destroy the core.

Once a planet's core was destroyed, the planet would become a dead planet.

Without an electromagnetic shield to block solar storms, its atmosphere would gradually vanish, and all organic life would eventually be killed by cosmic radiation.

It was also possible that the destructive energy would only consume part of the core's mass, causing earthquakes, volcanoes, and other natural disasters on Ice Crystal Planet.

But despite having imagined all kinds of outcomes, he still underestimated the power of his Destructive Power.

The moment it came into contact with the planetary core, the Destructive Power erupted with tremendous force.

The core's matter had been annihilated by the Destructive Power, throwing the core out of balance.

The explosion was so powerful that Ice Crystal Planet itself began to expand, then crack apart.

Seeing this, Thanos ordered his fleet to retreat again and again.

They retreated until they were several million kilometers away.

A few hours later, Ice Crystal Planet emitted an intense radiance.

"Rumble..."

Naturally, there was no sound in the vacuum.

But as they watched Ice Crystal Planet self-destruct, the sound of the explosion automatically echoed in everyone's minds.

The sight was simply too shocking.

At that moment, the system's voice rang out again.

"Ding! The host has destroyed a planet and obtained the Star Destroyer achievement. Reward: unique skill, Star-Absorbing Technique."

Thanos froze when he heard that.

He knew about achievements. When he ruled his first planet, he had received the Ruler title, along with the Ruler skill.

But what the hell was this Star-Absorbing Technique? Had a martial arts world somehow intruded?

After studying the system panel for a while, Thanos finally understood what this Star-Absorbing Technique was. It was completely different from the martial arts technique of the same name.

It was a skill capable of absorbing planetary core energy to strengthen himself.

Naturally, planets whose energy was absorbed would meet the same fate: destruction.

It seemed that next time, he would not need to destroy a planet so brutally. Absorbing it would be more effective.