Rubbing his sore shoulder, Lu Yi couldn't help feeling excited.
Of course, this wasn't because he had any masochistic tendencies—he was excited because he had finally found a worthy opponent.
Ever since he had gained superhuman abilities, he had never met anyone who could truly challenge him.
Mephisto was extremely powerful, and Lu Yi had encountered him before. But without a physical form to descend with, Mephisto had been no match for him—so he didn't count.
Only Thor did.
There were a few reasons Lu Yi considered Thor a decent opponent.
Yes—Lu Yi was the one who had fought Thor earlier.
But why would Lu Yi fight Thor? Wasn't he at home refining his magic furnace?
Everything started a little earlier, when Lu Yi was still at home.
At that time, Lu Yi had been focused on restoring his magic and planning to finish constructing the magic furnace as soon as possible.
Suddenly, a sharp and piercing boom echoed out.
Lu Yi paused, then realized that his magical early-warning device had been triggered.
He already knew the plot of Thor. There was no way he would miss the chance to intervene in such an important story event. Not long after Tony Stark had visited him for treatment, Lu Yi had set up a magical detection device in the small town where the upcoming battle in the Thor plot would occur.
Whenever a violent energy reaction appeared in the town, he would immediately sense it—and take action to seize the "head."
And so, earlier—
Lu Yi had immediately stopped restoring his magic, changed clothes within a second, and teleported to the town with a phantom clone.
When he arrived, he saw Thor regaining his strength. Without hesitation, he had charged toward the Destroyer at full speed, and everything that followed unfolded.
Naturally, this explained why Thor was attacked despite trying to help.
It was perfectly normal.
Because Lu Yi didn't need his help.
Thor stepping in was basically stealing Lu Yi's kill. Only Lu Yi was allowed to take someone's head—how could he let someone take his?
Without hesitation, Lu Yi had pinned Thor to the ground—leading to the scene from just moments ago.
Lu Yi stared at Thor, and Thor stared back. Their eyes met, and the atmosphere instantly grew tense and strange.
Far away in Asgard, Loki happened to witness this through the Destroyer's sight. A curious thought flashed through his eyes, and an eerie smile crept across his lips. With that, he manipulated the Destroyer to take a few steps back and watched quietly from the side.
Lu Yi and Thor noticed the Destroyer's retreat, but neither moved. Each saw only the other as their target.
After staring for a long while, impatience finally took hold. Whoosh! Whoosh! Two figures shot forward like streaks of light, colliding head-on.
CLANG!
The moment they crashed, a deafening metallic impact rang out. The shockwave kicked up clouds of dust, once again covering the battlefield in swirling sand.
Loki's vision blurred as well, but through the haze, he could still faintly see and clearly hear the repeated metallic clashes echoing from the dust cloud.
No one knew how long the stalemate lasted. Eventually, after an especially loud collision, one figure was knocked out of the dust cloud and onto the ground.
The fallen figure was still obscured in dust; Loki couldn't see clearly.
But Loki was certain of one thing—that person could not be his contemptible brother.
Loki disliked Thor, but he had complete confidence in Thor's ability. Otherwise, Thor would never have become Asgard's first heir.
Yes, part of it was lineage—but another part was Thor's unquestionable strength.
Loki believed this firmly.
Yet as the dust around the fallen figure gradually thinned, Loki's conviction crumbled.
It wasn't Lu Yi lying there—it was Thor, the brother he had just been defending in his mind.
Loki's eyes widened. He shot to his feet, his composure shattering as shock seized him.
"What the—? Thor's power just came back, but he hasn't fully adjusted yet?"
Loki scrambled for excuses.
But it wasn't a good excuse. That should've been Thor's strength—his specialty. How could he not adjust? Had Loki learned nothing from all these years?
But it was all he had to cling to.
After forcing himself to accept this flimsy explanation, Loki refocused on the battlefield. He wanted to see what would happen next.
He would later regret it.
Lu Yi suddenly burst out of the dust cloud, diving toward Thor like a hawk swooping for prey. His fingers interlocked, tightening into a fist raised high—then he struck down with full force just as he reached Thor.
This time, Lu Yi held nothing back. If this blow landed, even with Mjolnir, Thor would be in serious danger.
Loki instinctively prepared to intervene—when suddenly he saw Thor extend his hand and summon Mjolnir. The hammer soared back toward him, aiming to collide with Lu Yi mid-attack.
Lu Yi now faced a choice.
If he continued with his strike, he would be hit by Mjolnir. And this wouldn't be like before—Thor had unleashed far more power this time. The hammer could seriously injure Lu Yi.
If he abandoned the strike, he could dodge. Thor's hammer wouldn't hit him.
Most people would choose the second option.
But Lu Yi chose the first.
As though he hadn't even seen Mjolnir, his fists continued forward with no adjustment at all.
It looked as if he was willing to die to land the attack.
At this moment, Loki abandoned all restraint and fired the Destroyer's beam.
The beam shot out much faster than either Lu Yi or Mjolnir. Before either of their attacks could land, the beam struck Lu Yi.
Blasted two meters sideways, Lu Yi's strike fell short, and Mjolnir missed him entirely, returning to Thor's hand.
But then Thor swung Mjolnir again, aiming a brutal blow at Lu Yi's face.
Lu Yi's expression darkened. Why did people always aim for his face? Did Thor not understand basic decency?
Without hesitation, Lu Yi used the small bit of magic he had just restored—teleporting behind Thor and grabbing his arm.
"Have you heard of the lotus?" Lu Yi's cold voice exploded beside Thor's ear.
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