The sky changed color as the clouds that had dispersed gathered once again above everyone's heads, swirling around in a chaotic spiral. This wasn't due to Storm's powers, but because of Liu A'dou's microcosmos resonance.
Hulk locked his gaze onto the enemy before him, dressed in high-end crystal armor, his green eyes filled with the thirst for battle. In this moment, the desire for combat overwhelmed the control exerted on him by the X-factor detection chip.
"ROAR—" Hulk's roar was the declaration of war as he surged forward, his massive body scraping against the ground and kicking up clouds of dust as he charged straight at Liu A'dou.
The charge began. The green behemoth, unstoppable like a high-speed train, crashed through the earth with each step. His every movement shook the ground, and he was unwavering in his forward assault.
Liu A'dou didn't hesitate either. He moved first, charging head-on. His legs were faster than a galloping horse, leaving a series of straight footprints across the desert. "Ah!"
Confusion, disbelief, and utter bewilderment filled the X-Men's minds. Why would Liu A'dou wear such a magnificent suit of armor? Why did he have the courage to rush at the Hulk? And why was he smiling? All they could do was watch as Liu A'dou closed the distance between him and the Hulk, until the two titans finally collided.
It was a simple, brutal clash of fists—one large, one small. The sound of their punches meeting echoed like a thunderclap.
The crowd stood in stunned silence as a hurricane-force gust of wind swept across the battlefield, the result of the immense force of the punch. Air was pushed violently outward, creating a vacuum sphere with Liu A'dou and Hulk at its center, an enormous pocket of empty space. When the force subsided, the air from the distant surroundings rushed back, swirling back into the vacuum zone in a chaotic storm.
Power. Pure, unbridled power. It was so overwhelming that it left everyone stunned. If it had been anyone else, they would have been sent flying by the Hulk's punch. But Liu A'dou stood firm, the two of them locked in their fist fight, silently evaluating each other's strength.
Indeed, Hulk's punches had incredible force. If not for the microcosmos shielding him, Liu A'dou knew he would have been crushed. Yet, even with that protection, his arm still felt a strange numbness from the impact.
Hulk, however, only knew one thing: he needed to defeat this opponent. "ROAR!" he yelled, and the real attack began. Hulk's fists flew in an alternating barrage of punches.
Too slow. Hulk's punches were powerful, but they were too slow. Liu A'dou responded with his own fists, each blow a clash of power against power.
The desert floor cracked beneath their feet as the land split apart, the cracks growing more frequent and dense, spreading out like the threads of a spider's web, stretching hundreds of meters. It was as if hell itself were trying to claw its way out.
Nightcrawler, hearing the thunderous crashes, saw the ground splitting near him and couldn't help but wonder: What kind of monsters were these? Those were just punches! And yet, the ground was breaking apart under the shockwave of their blows—truly terrifying. Every punch felt like a missile explosion.
"Can we still move? We need to fall back. This place isn't safe," Cyclops said, his ribs cracked and still struggling to get up. "Their battle has just started. It'll reach here soon, everyone get up."
Storm, struck in the abdomen, possibly injured internally, couldn't move. Cyclops pulled her up with great difficulty. The sharp pain in his chest made it hard to focus, but he continued.
Nightcrawler, also suffering a fractured rib, looked in pain but saw that Jean Grey had already been helped up by Wolverine. It turned out that when Cyclops had helped Storm, Wolverine had already gone to assist Jean.
The five of them were in bad shape, limping and stumbling away from the battle, trying to avoid being caught in the escalating destruction.
The sky above them howled as the dark clouds continued to churn, twisting into fish-scale formations.
Liu A'dou knew that in a contest of raw physical strength, he couldn't match Hulk. But he had his microcosmos, and with the X-Men out of the immediate area, he knew it was time to try out a new move he'd been wanting to test. Hulk was the perfect opponent.
"Burn, microcosmos!" Liu A'dou's power surged as he finally went all out. His punches sped up suddenly, and before Hulk could strike, one of Liu A'dou's fists landed directly on his face.
The force sent Hulk flying across the battlefield.
Liu A'dou's microcosmos-powered fists could break the speed of sound, even reaching light speed. Now, he was about to demonstrate a move so unique that even in this bizarre world, it was unmatched—faster than lightning.
"Light Speed Punch—!"
A blinding light exploded in the gloom, as if a flower suddenly bloomed out of thin air, like fireworks in spring, dazzling and brilliant.
The X-Men, seeing a shadow rush past them, turned around in shock. Countless golden rays enveloped the desert, like a goddess threading a needle, stitching together the yellow sands and black clouds, crossing and intertwining like a chaotic mess.
"Impressive," Wolverine said, almost unable to believe his eyes. Everything that was touched by the golden strands disappeared. It was destruction and annihilation so complete that even the atoms were shattered.
It was Liu A'dou's first time using the Light Speed Punch, and he wasn't familiar with it, so only a few of his punches landed on Hulk. Most of them hit the desert and the sky. If Cyclops hadn't warned them early, the X-Men would have been caught in the wake of the light-speed punches.
The Light Speed Punch was hard to control. Liu A'dou could only compensate for the low accuracy with sheer numbers. He continued to throw punches, channeling the power from his microcosmos, his arms feeling as though they had disappeared, merging into the universe, becoming part of it.
Unless he focused on delivering just one punch, targeting a specific spot, it was nearly impossible to control. That's why the Saints' Light Speed Punches were learned and practiced as fixed sequences, lacking in variation. They were too difficult to control, and only with repetition of set movements could their full power be realized. If you compared it to a chessboard, the Saints used intricate, ancient strategies. Though lacking in adaptability, their power was immense. But once an opponent figured out the pattern, it was easy to predict their next move. Liu A'dou, on the other hand, was just throwing punches randomly, his movements disordered, with minimal impact.
It was tough to control the trajectory of his arms—too fast. Liu A'dou finally understood why Seiya, having only reached the Seventh Sense, could dodge Leo's Light Speed Punch. The punch was fixed in its pattern. Although fast, the technique was predictable. After taking a few hits, Seiya, the cheat character, could easily figure out the pattern and dodge it.
This also explained why the same technique didn't work on the Saints. Even though their punches were honed through countless battles, once their moves were figured out, further attacks became ineffective. Against an opponent who knew the technique, repeated attacks wouldn't land.
When Liu A'dou finally stopped, the dark clouds above were full of gaps, and sunlight streamed down, landing on the desert floor and casting a glow on the fallen Hulk.
Though it had only been a few punches, the Light Speed Punches, hitting a Hulk without a microcosmos or Cloth, had completely penetrated his organs. Even though the Hulk wouldn't die, he had been knocked unconscious. After expending too much energy, he reverted to Bruce Banner.
"Though tough, he's still a living creature."
But Hulk didn't die. He merely passed out, still in his underwear, his warrior spirit never fading.
Liu A'dou felt exhausted. After all those punches, he was drained, and the weight of his armor finally started to make itself known. So, Liu A'dou took off his battle suit and sent it back to Heaven Island.
But in the eyes of everyone else, Liu A'dou was far too impressive. Wolverine was starting to wonder if Liu A'dou was some kind of immortal being. How could a human possibly fight something like that?! The way they looked at Liu A'dou was a mix of awe and confusion.
"Don't look at me like that," Liu A'dou said, "The world is dangerous, and it's always good to have some self-defense techniques, right? I'm just someone who's learned a bit of basic fighting skills."
Basic fighting skills? Wolverine thought to himself. It was like calling yourself a baby just learning to walk. There's no one like Liu A'dou. You'd want to mess with someone like that, wouldn't you?