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Chapter 700: Let's Change the Source of Divine Power
The Phantom Stranger watched Tony's disappearing figure in silence.
Subconsciously, he adjusted the hat on his head, unspoken thoughts swirling in his deep, enigmatic eyes.
He and The Spectre had been partners for many years, wandering the Multiverse, defeating one arrogant foe after another, and had never failed—until now.
As The Phantom Stranger, who could freely enter and exit major Realms, he was actually well-prepared for failure from the start, as there were too many terrifying beings in this world, whether in power or wisdom, and there were always those who could frustrate them.
But he didn't expect to lose so badly, so suddenly.
"Tony..." The Phantom Stranger frowned.
A newly born god had successfully made him taste the bitter fruit of failure for the first time.
He wandered the Prime Universe for a while, then silently disappeared. With The Spectre trapped in Speed Force Prison, he had lost a valuable partner, and there was no point in continuing to entangle with Tony.
Moreover, his mission was never one of judgment.
...
Tony returned to his base camp in a sorry state; the crude severance of one-tenth of his divinity had caused him significant injury.
The Doomsday King Kong silently placed him on the ground, its rock-like body a silent, loyal guard. Only its occasionally flickering and pondering bloodthirsty eyes seemed to be thinking, or perhaps hesitating, about something.
It ultimately did not act, resisting the urge to kill and maintaining both vigilance and silence.
Tony remained expressionless, not even bothering to glance at the Doomsday King Kong.
To control a monster born for destruction and bloodlust, only fists worked. Reasoning with such creatures was useless, all nonsense.
As long as Tony did not show absolute weakness, the Doomsday King Kong would always remain "loyal," because the source of its existence came from Tony. This hierarchical life suppression was enough to maximally restrain the beast's madness.
As for how long it could be restrained... that depended on how much Tony could maintain his advantage over the Doomsday King Kong.
The Doomsday King Kong silently looked at Tony once, then retreated into the darkness without a sound.
Tony's face remained impassive as he slowly sank onto the sofa, letting out a long sigh, weariness etched on his features. He observed the divinity within his body, gazing at the defect that looked as though a dog had gnawed a chunk out of it, and fell into a deep silence.
The Divine Power Clone silently approached the main body Tony, frowning as it sensed his condition.
"The main body's divinity needs some time to repair... For a Level Seven main body, separating a Clone with such brutal means causes too much damage."
Tony silently pondered, his thoughts filtered through two perspectives.
After a while, Divine Power Avatar Donny departed Cybertron and headed directly for Earth.
The main body Tony continued to remain on Cybertron to lick his wounds. It was very safe here, with many powerhouses guarding him, enough to create a secure environment for him to heal the scars on his divinity.
Meanwhile, Divine Power Avatar Donny proceeded directly to Earth. There were some things he needed to confirm firsthand.
"The Spectre's attempt to eradicate Earth's magic system felt too sudden." Divine Power Avatar Donny frowned, instantly landing on Earth, observing the bustling streets, the vibrant lights, and the lively activity.
In the original stories, The Spectre would go so far as to make enemies of all of Earth's superheroes and supervillains to wipe out the power of magic, but that was always under the premise of a major crisis.
But the current Earth was very stable, showing no signs of world annihilation. With Tony presiding over the Prime Universe, small disasters on Earth were inevitable, but planet-shattering catastrophes were difficult to arise, because Tony would preemptively eliminate anyone trying to blow up Earth.
Earth still held immense untapped value. Tony had also secretly planted many operatives, buried many hidden pieces, and established many contingencies on Earth. He would not allow Earth to suddenly explode like this, at least not until its value was completely extracted.
"Only I would be entangled with Earth's magical community, and only I would trigger a Multiverse-level magical major event in the future."
Tony walked silently on the street, like an ordinary urban civilian, waving away several salespeople along the way before heading directly to a subway station, queuing among the crowd to wait for the train.
He generally understood The Spectre's ominous premonition now.
Because Tony had always been researching the magic system, and had deep ties with Vishanti, he had secretly listed Level Eight Korsen as one of his must-kill targets—Korsen himself wouldn't even suspect Tony wanted to kill him.
Wanda's Chaos Magic would eventually go out of control, and the terrifying power of a single Chaos Wave, capable of destroying the entire Multiverse, needed to be dealt with.
Tony's path was destined to be deeply intertwined with magic, and Earth, as an important nexus point, was naturally unavoidable.
"Hmph, it seems that bastard The Spectre sensed something. Thankfully, only Shazam suffered the brunt of it." Tony pulled down the hood of his cloak, lowering his head as he entered the subway car.
Just as the subway train moved steadily forward, the view outside suddenly blurred. Only Tony remained on the entire train, and on the electronic screen inside, a large amount of Ancient Egyptian script abruptly appeared.
"Shazam, I want to talk to you... an honest conversation. You need my help too." Tony said calmly.
The entire train suddenly braked sharply, the doors burst open, and the deep Rock of Eternity materialized before Tony.
Tony showed no surprise, stepping directly out of the train, his footsteps ringing rhythmically as he walked into the dilapidated fortress.
Shazam sat on his throne, radiating a decaying death energy, almost at death's door, facing Tony directly.
"Good, you're still alive," Tony said.
Shazam gave a bitter smile: "I'm not far from it. I'm barely holding on, relying on the remnants of mystic energy in my body, just clinging to life."
After a pause, Shazam asked with hope: "You succeeded, didn't you? You defeated The Spectre!"
"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have the chance to stand here. That fanatical hater of evil wouldn't miss an opportunity to stomp me out. But your situation truly is dire."
Tony steadily walked towards Shazam, the closer he got, the more he could feel the decrepitude within Shazam's body.
"The legacy of Shazam's power cannot just end like this. A few years ago, I even considered becoming your successor," Tony said.
"The source of Shazam's power is gone; the Six Gods have all died," Shazam whispered.
"Then let's change the source. I'd be very happy to be your new source."
Tony casually waved his sleeve, stating indifferently: "This is why I came to you. You know this very well. Accepting the infusion of my unique divine power and becoming an upstream entity in my divine power system will be of great benefit to you."
(end of chapter)
The Phantom Stranger watched Tony's disappearing figure in silence.
Subconsciously, he adjusted the hat on his head, unspoken thoughts swirling in his deep, enigmatic eyes.
He and The Spectre had been partners for many years, wandering the Multiverse, defeating one arrogant foe after another, and had never failed—until now.
As The Phantom Stranger, who could freely enter and exit major Realms, he was actually well-prepared for failure from the start, as there were too many terrifying beings in this world, whether in power or wisdom, and there were always those who could frustrate them.
But he didn't expect to lose so badly, so suddenly.
"Tony..." The Phantom Stranger frowned.
A newly born god had successfully made him taste the bitter fruit of failure for the first time.
He wandered the Prime Universe for a while, then silently disappeared. With The Spectre trapped in Speed Force Prison, he had lost a valuable partner, and there was no point in continuing to entangle with Tony.
Moreover, his mission was never one of judgment.
...
Tony returned to his base camp in a sorry state; the crude severance of one-tenth of his divinity had caused him significant injury.
The Doomsday King Kong silently placed him on the ground, its rock-like body a silent, loyal guard. Only its occasionally flickering and pondering bloodthirsty eyes seemed to be thinking, or perhaps hesitating, about something.
It ultimately did not act, resisting the urge to kill and maintaining both vigilance and silence.
Tony remained expressionless, not even bothering to glance at the Doomsday King Kong.
To control a monster born for destruction and bloodlust, only fists worked. Reasoning with such creatures was useless, all nonsense.
As long as Tony did not show absolute weakness, the Doomsday King Kong would always remain "loyal," because the source of its existence came from Tony. This hierarchical life suppression was enough to maximally restrain the beast's madness.
As for how long it could be restrained... that depended on how much Tony could maintain his advantage over the Doomsday King Kong.
The Doomsday King Kong silently looked at Tony once, then retreated into the darkness without a sound.
Tony's face remained impassive as he slowly sank onto the sofa, letting out a long sigh, weariness etched on his features. He observed the divinity within his body, gazing at the defect that looked as though a dog had gnawed a chunk out of it, and fell into a deep silence.
The Divine Power Clone silently approached the main body Tony, frowning as it sensed his condition.
"The main body's divinity needs some time to repair... For a Level Seven main body, separating a Clone with such brutal means causes too much damage."
Tony silently pondered, his thoughts filtered through two perspectives.
After a while, Divine Power Avatar Donny departed Cybertron and headed directly for Earth.
The main body Tony continued to remain on Cybertron to lick his wounds. It was very safe here, with many powerhouses guarding him, enough to create a secure environment for him to heal the scars on his divinity.
Meanwhile, Divine Power Avatar Donny proceeded directly to Earth. There were some things he needed to confirm firsthand.
"The Spectre's attempt to eradicate Earth's magic system felt too sudden." Divine Power Avatar Donny frowned, instantly landing on Earth, observing the bustling streets, the vibrant lights, and the lively activity.
In the original stories, The Spectre would go so far as to make enemies of all of Earth's superheroes and supervillains to wipe out the power of magic, but that was always under the premise of a major crisis.
But the current Earth was very stable, showing no signs of world annihilation. With Tony presiding over the Prime Universe, small disasters on Earth were inevitable, but planet-shattering catastrophes were difficult to arise, because Tony would preemptively eliminate anyone trying to blow up Earth.
Earth still held immense untapped value. Tony had also secretly planted many operatives, buried many hidden pieces, and established many contingencies on Earth. He would not allow Earth to suddenly explode like this, at least not until its value was completely extracted.
"Only I would be entangled with Earth's magical community, and only I would trigger a Multiverse-level magical major event in the future."
Tony walked silently on the street, like an ordinary urban civilian, waving away several salespeople along the way before heading directly to a subway station, queuing among the crowd to wait for the train.
He generally understood The Spectre's ominous premonition now.
Because Tony had always been researching the magic system, and had deep ties with Vishanti, he had secretly listed Level Eight Korsen as one of his must-kill targets—Korsen himself wouldn't even suspect Tony wanted to kill him.
Wanda's Chaos Magic would eventually go out of control, and the terrifying power of a single Chaos Wave, capable of destroying the entire Multiverse, needed to be dealt with.
Tony's path was destined to be deeply intertwined with magic, and Earth, as an important nexus point, was naturally unavoidable.
"Hmph, it seems that bastard The Spectre sensed something. Thankfully, only Shazam suffered the brunt of it." Tony pulled down the hood of his cloak, lowering his head as he entered the subway car.
Just as the subway train moved steadily forward, the view outside suddenly blurred. Only Tony remained on the entire train, and on the electronic screen inside, a large amount of Ancient Egyptian script abruptly appeared.
"Shazam, I want to talk to you... an honest conversation. You need my help too." Tony said calmly.
The entire train suddenly braked sharply, the doors burst open, and the deep Rock of Eternity materialized before Tony.
Tony showed no surprise, stepping directly out of the train, his footsteps ringing rhythmically as he walked into the dilapidated fortress.
Shazam sat on his throne, radiating a decaying death energy, almost at death's door, facing Tony directly.
"Good, you're still alive," Tony said.
Shazam gave a bitter smile: "I'm not far from it. I'm barely holding on, relying on the remnants of mystic energy in my body, just clinging to life."
After a pause, Shazam asked with hope: "You succeeded, didn't you? You defeated The Spectre!"
"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have the chance to stand here. That fanatical hater of evil wouldn't miss an opportunity to stomp me out. But your situation truly is dire."
Tony steadily walked towards Shazam, the closer he got, the more he could feel the decrepitude within Shazam's body.
"The legacy of Shazam's power cannot just end like this. A few years ago, I even considered becoming your successor," Tony said.
"The source of Shazam's power is gone; the Six Gods have all died," Shazam whispered.
"Then let's change the source. I'd be very happy to be your new source."
Tony casually waved his sleeve, stating indifferently: "This is why I came to you. You know this very well. Accepting the infusion of my unique divine power and becoming an upstream entity in my divine power system will be of great benefit to you."
(end of chapter)
