He raised his right hand, activating the power of the Space Stone, sensing Arishem's presence from yesterday, and a portal opened in the room.
Lynn stepped inside and disappeared into the light.
Deep in the universe, a desolate star field.
This place is millions of light-years away from the Milky Way, with no life-bearing planets around it, and even stars are scarce.
In the dark void, Arishem's enormous figure hovered silently, her dark gold armor gleaming coldly in the distant starlight. She did not leave, as if waiting for something.
A portal opened in front of her, and Lynn stepped out.
Arishem's gaze fell upon him, a hint of doubt in his eyes. "Human, what are you doing here again?"
"I'm looking to fight you," Lynn said bluntly.
Arishem paused for a few seconds. "What did you say?"
"I said, I'm looking for a fight."
Lynn repeated himself casually, "Although yesterday's matter was settled, you and I both know that once a precedent is set, others will follow suit. Countless eyes in the universe are watching this. If what they see is ' the Celestials compromising with humanity,' then regardless of my combat strength, I'll face endless trouble in the future."
So?
Lynn raised his head, looking directly at Arishem, "That's why I came. Regardless of the actual outcome, the final result will only be that I'm severely injured and forced to retreat. This way, you'll save face, the authority of the Celestials will be maintained, and no one will dare to mess with your embryos in the future. As for me..."
He paused, a slight smile playing on his lips. "I've nipped the potential trouble in the bud, and I can also test the limits of my combat strength."
Arishem fell silent again.
She had lived for countless billions of years, and this was the first time she had encountered someone like this. He actively sought out her for a fight, and even willingly offered to lose.
But she had to admit that the plan was reasonable. Yesterday's compromise had indeed challenged her authority, and it would be best to regain face with a "victory over the provocateur."
Moreover, this human is right; once the news spreads, everyone will see the consequences of challenging the Celestials.
Are you sure?
Arishem's voice held a hint of complexity, "Once the battle begins, I won't hold back. Even if you have six gems, you might still die."
Lynn flexed his wrist, and the light from six gems shone from his chest. "I'm sure. And you might not even be able to beat me."
Arishem looked at him, a complex expression flashing in his star-like eyes.
Her voice was low, "Alright. Let's fight then."
Before he could finish speaking, Arishem made the first move.
She raised a hand, and dark golden energy surged from her palm, transforming into a beam of energy over a hundred kilometers in diameter, which hurtled towards Lynn. Wherever the beam passed, space distorted and collapsed, and several asteroids along its path were instantly vaporized into elementary particles.
This is the power of the Celestials.
Lynn didn't dodge; he raised his right hand, and a purple light shone forth.
A surge of pure, extreme energy erupted from his palm, transforming into a purple beam of energy that met Arishem's attack.
boom!
Two energies collided in the void, unleashing a blinding white light. The shockwave spread outwards from the point of impact, instantly tearing apart all matter within hundreds of kilometers—asteroids, cosmic dust, everything—into the most basic particles.
After the light faded, Lynn remained suspended in place, completely still.
Arishem's energy beams have been completely neutralized.
"That's it?" Lynn raised an eyebrow, her tone laced with provocation.
Arishem didn't speak, but her actions said it all.
She raised both hands simultaneously, and dark golden energy condensed in front of her, transforming into hundreds of enormous energy spears, each tens of kilometers long, their tips gleaming with destructive light.
"Go."
Hundreds of energy spears shot out simultaneously, piercing towards Lynn from all directions, blocking all his escape routes.
Lynn smiled, raised his left hand, and a blue light shone.
The space in front of him shattered like glass, and hundreds of energy spears disappeared after piercing the shattered space. The next second, the space behind Arishem reopened, and hundreds of energy spears shot out from it, piercing towards her.
Arishem whirled around, crossing her arms in front of her, and a massive shield of dark golden energy formed before her. The energy spear pierced the shield, producing a series of deafening explosions that propelled her backward dozens of kilometers.
After the explosion subsided, several shallow cracks appeared on Arishem's armor.
She glanced down at the cracks in her armor, then looked up at Lynn with a more serious expression.
This human was more troublesome than she had imagined.
But the battle has only just begun.
Lynn gave her no chance to catch her breath. His body vanished from its spot in an instant, reappearing a second above Arishem's head. Odin's divine power condensed on his right arm, transforming into a layer of golden energy armor. He clenched his fist and slammed it down hard on Arishem's head.
This punch, imbued with the combined Odinforce and the Power Stone, was powerful enough to tear apart a neutron star.
Arishem raised her hand to block, but the force of the punch far exceeded her expectations. Her entire arm was slammed downwards, and her massive body plummeted uncontrollably, leaving a long trail in the air.
Lynn pressed his advantage, following closely behind, his left hand glowing red.
He spread his five fingers and clenched them towards Arishem's armor.
Reality rewritten.
The energy patterns on Arishem's armor instantly became chaotic, the dark golden light flickering. Several sections of the armor lost their energy supply and turned into a pile of ordinary metal. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lynn punched Arishem in the chest, sending her flying.
Arishem tumbled through the void for hundreds of kilometers before regaining his footing. A large dent appeared in his chest armor, and dark golden energy leaked out from the crack.
She looked up at Lynn, her fighting spirit growing stronger in her eyes.
Arishem's voice held a hint of excitement. "Interesting, very interesting. No one has ever pushed me to this point before."
She clasped her hands together, and dark golden energy surged from her entire body, coalescing behind her into a gigantic phantom of Celestials composed of pure energy. The phantom was ten times larger than Arishem himself, with four arms outstretched, each palm holding a dark golden energy ball.
" Celestial Judgment."
The four energy spheres were launched simultaneously, merging together during flight to form a giant energy projectile with a diameter exceeding one thousand kilometers, which hurtled towards Lynn. Wherever the energy projectile passed, space completely collapsed, forming a massive spatial rift, as if the universe had been torn open.
This was Arishem's all-out attack.
Lynn's expression finally turned serious.
He raised both hands simultaneously, and the light of all Six Infinity Stones shone brightly. The six colors of light intertwined in front of him, forming a six-colored energy shield.
At the same time, his body lit up with a blue-white light as he focused on analyzing the material and energy structure of the energy bomb.
Countless pieces of information flooded his mind: the composition of the energy blast, its energy frequency, and its structural weaknesses.
Lynn said in a low voice, "Found it."
He raised his right hand, pointing his index finger towards the center of the energy blast.
A thin beam of light shot from his fingertip, striking precisely the core of the energy blast.
Those were the structural weaknesses he identified.
The next second, the giant energy blast, with a diameter of a thousand kilometers, began to collapse from the inside. Like a punctured balloon, the energy began to dissipate from the core, and within seconds it completely disintegrated, turning into a rain of light that vanished into the void.
Arishem's pupils contracted sharply.
Her all-out attack was neutralized by this human with just one finger?
Before she could react, Lynn had already charged forward again. This time, he used all his strength.
With all six gems unleashed at full power, Odinforce bolstering his physical body, and his own abilities continuously analyzed, Kamar-Taj's magic formed layers upon layers of defensive arrays around him.
He stumbled into Arishem's arms like a shooting star.
One punch, two punches, three punches...
Each punch carried the power to destroy a star, slamming into Arishem's armor and leaving it dented and cracked. Arishem tried to retaliate, but every attack was deflected by Lynn using the Space Stone, rewritten by the Reality Stone, or neutralized after his weaknesses were analyzed.
From the start of the fight until now, Lynn has been steadily suppressing her.
If this were a true life-or-death battle, Arishem has already lost.
The aftershocks of the battle have already been sensed by other powerful individuals.
On a planet three hundred light-years away from the battle zone, in an interstellar civilization's observation station, all the instruments were frantically alarming. On the screens, the energy readings had exceeded the limit, and the observers stared in horror at the ever-expanding energy fluctuations on the screens, their faces filled with fear.
"What is that?"
An observer's voice trembled, "Is it a Nova explosion?"
The stationmaster's face turned pale. "No. A Nova explosion doesn't have that much energy... This is... This is a battle between entities on the scale of a single universe?"
The stationmaster roared, "Quick! Initiate emergency evacuation! Everyone, get out of here right now! It'll be too late if you wait any longer!"
Similar scenes have played out in countless civilizations around us.
The interstellar empire's fleet made an emergency turn, moving away from the battle zone.
The reclusive cosmic powerhouse awoke from his meditation and tore through space to escape.
The interstellar caravan abandoned its cargo and fled at faster-than-light speed.
Even the few normally domineering space pirate groups didn't dare to look back and ran desperately in the opposite direction.
No one dared to approach.
A battle of that magnitude could destroy a planet from the aftershocks alone, enough to kill them. If they got close, they probably wouldn't even leave ashes.
No one knows who the two sides in the battle are, and no one knows the outcome of the battle.
All they knew was that two cosmic-level beings were fighting in that star field. And all they, these ants, could do was run.
Battle zone.
Lynn punched Arishem, sending him flying hundreds of kilometers before stopping.
He took a breath; the continuous high-intensity output had left even him feeling somewhat fatigued.
If they keep playing like this, Arishem won't be able to hold on. At that point, it will be difficult for him to lose.
Lynn took a deep breath and deliberately revealed a flaw.
His right hand slowed down for a moment as it retracted.
For ordinary people, it's negligible. But for someone of Arishem's caliber, this fleeting opportunity is enough.
Her entire body surged with dark golden energy, all converging on her right hand. That hand swelled to twice its size, with a tiny, incredibly dense energy ball condensing in its palm.
"Divine Judgment."
This punch contained all her strength.
Lynn didn't have time for a complete defense, and could only hastily use the power of the six gems to form a shield in front of him.
boom!
The fist slammed into the shield, shattering the six-colored shield instantly. The fist, still carrying considerable force, slammed into Lynn's chest.
Lynn's body was blasted away like a cannonball, leaving a long trail of blood in the air.
His chest caved in, the light emanating from his body dimmed instantly to almost nothing, and a trickle of golden blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
He tumbled through the void for an unknown distance before barely managing to regain his footing.
Lynn raised his head, glanced at Arishem in the distance, and then "awkwardly" tore open a spatial rift and slipped inside.
The spatial rift closed, and his presence vanished completely.
Arishem stood still, watching the direction Lynn had fled, but did not give chase.
She glanced down at her right hand; she had indeed used all her strength in that punch.
But she could sense that at the last moment, Lynn's defensive shield had weakened by a third.
He did it on purpose.
Arishem remained silent for a long time before slowly withdrawing his power.
The dark golden energy faded from her body, and the cracks in her armor slowly healed under its nourishment. She glanced at the ravaged star field around her—the battle had destroyed all matter in this area, creating an absolute vacuum hundreds of light-years in diameter.
" Lynn." Arishem repeated the name softly, then turned and flew into the depths of space.
Fifty light-years from the battle zone, in an asteroid belt, a dilapidated interstellar cargo ship is fleeing at top speed.
Inside the cargo ship's cockpit, an alien merchant with three eyes stared intently at the radar screen, his face filled with terror. The aftershocks of the battle had nearly torn his ship apart; he had barely escaped to this point.
Just then, a bright spot appeared on the radar screen.
The point of light flew from the direction of the battle area at great speed, but its trajectory was somewhat unstable, as if it had been seriously injured.
The alien merchant curiously adjusted the observation lens and looked towards the point of light.
Then he saw it.
A human-like figure tore open a spatial rift and emerged from it. His chest was caved in, golden blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and his breathing was extremely erratic. Six different colored lights flickered on his chest, as if they might go out at any moment.
After the human figure emerged, it glanced back at the direction of the battle area, then tore open another spatial rift, slipped inside, and disappeared.
The whole process took less than three seconds.
The alien businessman sat blankly in the driver's seat, and it took him a long time to react.
He swallowed hard, then frantically shouted into the communication channel, "I saw it! I saw it! A human was badly injured and escaped!"
The news, like a virus, spread throughout the surrounding star systems over the next few days.
Some say the challenger is a human who has collected Six Infinity Stones, and he is challenging Arishem the Judge of the Celestials.
Some say he was punched through the chest and nearly died in space.
There are more and more versions, and the details are becoming more and more exaggerated, but the core message is only one--
Those who provoke the Celestials will not have a good ending.
Those forces that originally had designs on the Celestials quietly abandoned their ideas after hearing this news.
Are you kidding me? Even someone who collected Six Infinity Stones was beaten like that. Wouldn't these minor characters just be throwing their lives away if they went up there?
SSC Base, Lynn's Room.
A spatial rift opened in the room, and Lynn tumbled out, crashing heavily to the ground.
Natasha happened to walk in carrying a glass of water. Upon seeing this, she dropped the glass and shattered it on the floor.
" Lynn!"
She rushed over, knelt beside him, and stared at the deep wound on his chest and the golden blood at the corner of his mouth, her face deathly pale. "Didn't you say it was just an act? How did you get hurt like this?"
Lynn lay on the ground, grinning, which aggravated his wounds, causing him to wince in pain. "It's acting, but that last thrust has to be real."
Natasha's voice trembled, "Are you crazy? You've ruined yourself like this just for an act?"
"Don't worry, you won't die."
Lynn slowly sat up, the six gems on his chest glowing faintly, beginning to slowly repair his body. "With the six gems and Odinforce, this injury will heal in a few days. And..."
He paused, a satisfied smile playing on his lips, "I didn't hold back for most of the fight. If I didn't let him hit me at the end, the story of him escaping seriously injured would be too convincing. This outcome, once it gets out, both saves her face and intimidates everyone. From now on, no one should dare to provoke the Celestials and Earth so easily."
Natasha looked at him, feeling both angry and heartbroken. In the end, she could only sigh, take out her first-aid kit, and begin to treat his wounds.
"Don't do that again next time."
Lynn smiled, leaned against the wall, closed her eyes, and said, "I know. I'm not a masochist, it won't happen again."