Three days later, Ling Yi appeared in Stark's villa again.
"It seems you've made your choice." Ling Yi looked at Tony, who was wearing his Iron Man armor, and continued mocking him in that cold, aloof tone.
Tony hadn't been idle these past three days. He had upgraded the villa's entire defense system.
"My future is mine to decide. I'll make it better and better. I haven't done anything wrong."
"Ridiculous. This isn't a matter of right or wrong. This is space-time law."
"Nobody recognizes your laws. J.A.R.V.I.S., do it." Tony didn't want to drag this out. As far as he was concerned, neither side could easily persuade the other when their beliefs differed like this. There was absolutely no need to keep talking.
Dozens of dark gun barrels emerged from every corner of the villa, aiming at Ling Yi.
"Rat-tat-tat..." Gunfire erupted, hundreds upon thousands of bullets flying toward Ling Yi in an instant. Yet they were utterly useless against him.
Before the bullets could even touch Ling Yi, they vanished on their own.
Ling Yi snapped his fingers, and every weapon instantly fell silent. He snapped again, and Tony's Iron Man armor disintegrated into pieces that clattered all over the floor.
"Tony Stark, for maliciously attacking a Punisher of the Time-Space Administration Bureau, your crimes are heinous. You are sentenced to erasure."
Ling Yi's voice was icy and utterly devoid of emotion. Tony was panicking like crazy. He hurriedly activated the chat group's summoning function, bringing over the group members who had agreed yesterday to carry out the team mission.
Three days earlier, after Tony posted about his encounter with Ling Yi in the group, he had directly triggered the first team mission since the chat group's appearance.
The mission required them to help group member Tony escape danger. Upon completion, the members would receive points based on the mission's actual difficulty and how well they completed it.
Naturally, the group members were very interested in their first team mission, especially since there were points to earn.
Almost all the group members signed up, including the group owner, Lin Feng, who also joined this team battle mission.
An enormous gate of light appeared behind Tony. The first to step through was Ye Hei, who had only recently left Earth, followed by Vegeta, Whitebeard... The last person out was Ye Feng, a somewhat handsome young man with a slightly effeminate air.
"Wahahaha! To think we really could come to little Tony's world! This old man is truly surprised!" Whitebeard's massive body shook exaggeratedly with his laughter.
"Pops Whitebeard, please rein it in a little. My villa can't take your roughhousing," Lin Feng said helplessly.
"So this is the enemy? Tch, trash with a power level of only ten. Mobilizing everyone for garbage like this is a complete waste of time." The haughty Vegeta tapped his scouter and spoke disdainfully.
"So other worlds really do exist. This ruler's horizons have truly been broadened." Cao Mengde stroked his beard, his eyes slightly narrowed, his little eyeballs darting around as he examined his surroundings and everyone present.
Beside Cao Mengde stood Zhang Sanfeng, with his immortal bearing and Daoist grace. He actually looked exactly like the one Ling Yi had previously encountered in the Heavenly Sword World.
But clearly, this Zhang Sanfeng didn't know him. In other words, this novel world was completely independent and had no connection to the worlds Ling Yi had traveled through before.
"To think you would so openly violate the laws of space-time administration and sow chaos across the worlds. You deserve death." Ling Yi's voice carried anger.
Lin Feng frowned at Ling Yi. No matter how he looked at him, he felt this so-called Punisher of the Time-Space Administration Bureau was putting on a show. Or rather, he instinctively felt that Ling Yi's purpose was definitely not as high-minded as he claimed. He had to have another objective.
"Wahahaha, looks like we'll have to fight after all," Whitebeard laughed.
"It seems you're prepared. To avoid causing even more serious damage to this space-time and adding to my workload when I reset it, let's take this fight elsewhere."
With that, Ling Yi snapped his fingers. The next instant, he and everyone else appeared in a desert.
The sudden change in surroundings instantly put everyone on guard. Whitebeard and Vegeta in particular lost their relaxed expressions and grew solemn.
"Spatial power?" Lin Feng frowned, feeling that things weren't looking good.
He had only just acquired the Chat Group System and hadn't really grown yet. Although he could draw on the system's power to take everyone away at any time, failing this team battle mission would deal the group members a tremendous blow.
Right now, Lin Feng was merely an ordinary expert who had eaten the Lightning Devil Fruit and reached the Innate level in martial arts. He hadn't touched the level of laws yet, and he couldn't gauge the strength of the fellow opposite him at all.
"Defeat me, and I will abandon this enforcement action. If you fail, there is only one outcome: erasure."
Ling Yi swept his gaze over everyone and spoke indifferently.
"Hmph, you piss me off just looking at you. Then let me, Vegeta, teach you a lesson and show you the terror of the Saiyan prince."
Vegeta attacked first. This fellow was incredibly haughty and had long since taken a dislike to Ling Yi. Without another word, he unleashed his Qi, charged at Ling Yi, and raised his hand to fire an energy blast.
Ling Yi assessed their strength inwardly.
Vegeta's strength at this stage wasn't much to speak of. Whitebeard should be the strongest.
Vegeta was still wearing a scouter now. He very likely hadn't even visited Earth yet and hadn't suffered Son Goku's savage beatings.
Ling Yi had to strike the right balance. His objective wasn't to kill these people, but to provoke the Chat Group System's hostility. As long as he aroused the protagonist's system's hostility, he would have a chance to pocket that system.
Ling Yi swept his palm out and shattered Vegeta's energy blast.
"You're too weak," Ling Yi mocked. Immediately afterward, he accelerated to Vegeta's side and slammed a fist into his stomach before he could react.
"Gah!" Vegeta spat out a mouthful of blood and dropped straight to his knees.
"H-how is that possible? How can you be so strong?" Vegeta's face was filled with disbelief, his expression contorted.
Ling Yi kicked Vegeta in front of the others, kicking up a cloud of yellow sand.
"Next!"
The others didn't know exactly how strong Vegeta was, so they couldn't judge the situation for the moment.
Vegeta had lost too quickly. One punch had left him near death, and none of them had recovered from the shock.
Lin Feng's brow furrowed tightly. The others might not know, but he knew Vegeta's strength very well. With a power level of 18,000, only Whitebeard among them surpassed Vegeta in single combat.
After all, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power was practically a cheat. It could even shatter space, making it a power almost approaching the essence of the rules.
"Allow this old Daoist to experience your superior skills." Seeing Vegeta go down, Zhang Sanfeng hadn't realized the danger. It was a rare chance to visit another world and witness the power of its experts, so naturally, he was eager to try.
In the Heavenly Sword World, his power had already reached its peak. There was no road to a breakthrough, no gate to further advancement. He deeply desired to use a completely new power to help him break his shackles.
Ling Yi watched silently without saying a word. Only when Zhang Sanfeng had assumed his Tai Chi stance did he throw a punch.
It was an utterly ordinary punch, yet it contained terrifying power. Even the air trembled under Ling Yi's fist, and its force swept up great clouds of sand and dust, blowing them to either side.
Zhang Sanfeng's pupils contracted. He sensed a mortal threat. His Tai Chi True Qi surged wildly, forming a twin-fish Tai Chi diagram before him.
Yet when the Tai Chi diagram met the force of Ling Yi's punch, it shattered instantly like something made of paper. Then the punch drove Zhang Sanfeng back step after step until he finally sank to one knee.
"Why can pure strength alone unleash such might?" Zhang Sanfeng slowly raised his head and looked at Ling Yi in utter confusion. This had already exceeded his understanding of power.
"The Dao!"
Ling Yi uttered the single word indifferently.
Zhang Sanfeng froze, his whole body shuddering. The word "Dao" seemed to carry some inexplicable power, instantly taking root in his mind and giving him a vague insight into the road ahead.
"If I hear the Dao in the morning, I may die content that evening. Thank you."
Just then, a kunai suddenly shot toward Ling Yi from behind.
At some unknown point, Sasuke had actually used Earth Release to get behind Ling Yi and launch a sneak attack.
Ling Yi turned and caught the flying kunai. Then, as Sasuke stared in stunned disbelief, he swung a palm down. Poor Sasuke was sent flying far away like a torn burlap sack, utterly powerless to resist.
At this point, Sasuke hadn't even taken the Chunin Exams yet. He was weak as hell. Had Ling Yi not held back, that slap would have ended him.
By now, everyone understood that this Punisher before them was no longer someone they could handle one-on-one.
"Boy, Pops is angry now. Although this is our first meeting, they're all my family. You've hurt my family, and you'll pay the price. I absolutely won't hold back. You might die."
Whitebeard, whose burly, towering frame looked downright abnormal, strode up to Ling Yi.
As he walked, the surrounding air trembled. Whitebeard had already pushed the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power to its limit.
"Punishers take it upon themselves to maintain the normal operation of every space-time. What you consider protection is merely disrupting the world's original course, leading it toward unknown dangers."
"You are powerful, but Punishers never retreat."
"Then let defeat teach you that the future has never been fixed." Whitebeard unleashed his full presence and slowly raised his fist. Even the surrounding space seemed affected, producing crisp cracking sounds as though it might shatter at any moment.
Ling Yi's expression grew solemn, giving everyone the impression that he regarded this punch with great seriousness and wariness.
Without any flashy flourishes, Ling Yi raised his fist as well. A terrifying presence surged up, blasting the surrounding sand outward. Even the ground began to shake.
"Fall back!" Lin Feng's expression was grave as he reached out and picked up Vegeta. On the other side, Xiao Huohuo hoisted Zhang Sanfeng onto his back, and everyone hurriedly ran into the distance.
The presence of these two was too terrifying. Their immense power had even caused space to warp.
These people couldn't even remain beside the two to watch the battle.
Meanwhile, the tremendous power emanating from the pair simultaneously drew the attention of many parties in the Marvel World.
S.H.I.E.L.D., General Ross, Master Ancient One, Asgard...
"Wahahaha! Boy, take my punch!" Whitebeard finally hurled the peak punch he had been building up for so long at Ling Yi.
Ling Yi threw a punch as well.
Their fists slammed together with a thunderous crash.
"Boom! Rumble! Crack..."
All the sand and dust around them blew away, exposing the ground beneath the desert. Immediately afterward, the ground shook and split.
Massive shock waves of power swept outward in every direction, making the very earth groan and tremble.
Enormous fissures spread from the point between them, each stretching thousands of meters into the distance...