~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
read 20 advanced chapter visit my patreon:
patreon.com/fatimasoomro123
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 36: The World's Strongest Martial Arts Tournament Begins
The whole world knew that Tony Stark was about to hold a martial arts exhibition tournament. The ultimate winner would receive his newest armor, the Mark V.
Under normal circumstances, the public merely watched the excitement, gossiped online, and discussed it endlessly. No one seriously thought about participating.
Of course, even if they wanted to, most people simply lacked the ability.
But everyone had underestimated Tony's determination—and his flair for spectacle.
On giant screens across the world, Tony Stark appeared in a tailored suit, wearing his trademark confident smile as he stood before an enormous steel structure.
"This is the arena I specially built for the tournament. The entire facility is constructed from steel, with a total investment exceeding one billion dollars. It contains seating for up to one hundred thousand spectators."
"The event will be broadcast worldwide through Stark-owned media networks. Naturally, we also welcome cooperation from other television stations."
Tony then introduced the arena's facilities and various safety measures.
For example, every spectator section was protected by reinforced armored glass designed to prevent accidents and ensure audience safety.
As reporters continued questioning him, viewers around the world became increasingly excited.
Both the Mark Armor and Fengshen were revolutionary mechas.
Now people would be able to witness real mecha battles live on television.
My God!
At that moment, the entire world erupted with excitement.
For countless mecha enthusiasts—especially men who loved giant robots—this was even more thrilling than finding a girlfriend.
Although ticket sales had not officially opened yet, countless netizens were already waiting online.
With Tony and the reporters working together, everyone quickly learned the tournament rules.
The format was extremely simple:
Single-elimination.
Win and advance.
Lose and go home.
Even Tony Stark himself would not receive any special treatment.
A reporter asked the question everyone wanted answered.
"Mr. Stark, you're participating as well. Aren't you worried about losing? Compared to Fengshen, your Mark armor hasn't exactly shown superior performance."
The question was blunt—almost like slapping Tony in the face in public.
Yet Tony remained remarkably calm.
"The Silver Armored War God has Fengshen."
"Iron Man only has Mark."
The moment those words left his mouth, every reporter was stunned.
What did he mean by:
"The Silver Armored War God has Fengshen, while Iron Man only has Mark"?
It sounded as though Tony possessed nothing in the world except his armor.
A reporter immediately pressed further.
"Mr. Stark, with all due respect, your statement sounds somewhat lacking in confidence. Are you saying you're not certain you can defeat Fengshen?"
Tony smiled.
"How could I lack confidence?"
"Mark V is the greatest armor I've ever created. It represents the pinnacle of human industry and technology—a key to humanity's future."
"I believe Mark V can defeat any powerful enemy."
Another reporter quickly asked:
"And what if you lose?"
Tony shrugged casually.
"If I lose, then I lose a Mark V."
"That's only a few hundred million dollars."
"Do you really think I can't afford to lose a few hundred million?"
The reporters froze.
The audience froze.
Even Rimuru nearly spat out his drink in front of the television.
Only a few hundred million dollars?!
Iron Man, you win.
Seeing Tony's smug expression on TV, Rimuru suddenly wanted to punch him.
Originally, she had only planned to win Mark V as a souvenir and then use it to tease Tony for years afterward.
But now she had changed her mind.
Not only would she win Mark V—
She would win beautifully.
And she would teach Tony a lesson he would never forget.
The liquid Adamantium extorted from Fury had already arrived.
Instead of being delivered as raw ore, it had been fully refined into molten metal.
Transporting liquid Adamantium was far more expensive and difficult, but the reason was obvious:
They feared Rimuru might reverse-engineer the alloy's composition.
Unfortunately for them, it was pointless.
After drinking a bowl of the molten alloy and analyzing it, Rimuru immediately understood everything.
If the outside world lacked the ability to reproduce Adamantium, then in the future she could practically treat the metal like scrap material.
Of course, every advantage came with disadvantages.
A mecha was a complete system.
Changing one component affected the entire machine.
Replacing the armor material required recalibrating every aspect of Fengshen.
Fortunately, with Aya's computational assistance, the process progressed smoothly.
Within only a week, Rimuru successfully upgraded Fengshen II, coating its exterior with an Adamantium layer.
Its defensive capabilities increased dramatically once again.
The most important improvement, however, was a new weapon.
A sword.
The blade's core was forged from Adamantium, making it extraordinarily hard and sharp.
It could split hair with a breath and cut through iron as if slicing mud.
Yet embedded within the blade was a block of Magic Steel from the Jurassic Plane.
Strictly speaking, the weapon was now a semi-magical sword.
Rimuru was not a professional weaponsmith, nor did she possess many reference weapons for study.
As such, the entire project was effectively an experiment.
The most remarkable property of Magic Steel was growth.
Weapons containing Magic Steel could evolve and change according to the user's will.
Not merely in shape—
But in attributes as well.
For example, Shizue Izawa, being closely connected to fire spirits, possessed exceptional fire affinity.
As a result, her sword naturally evolved into a fire-attributed weapon perfectly suited to her.
However, Adamantium never changed shape once forged.
Its nature directly contradicted the adaptive properties of Magic Steel.
Rimuru was essentially conducting an experiment by combining two metals from different worlds with fundamentally conflicting characteristics.
She wanted to see what kind of fascinating reactions would occur when they were fused together.
While Rimuru worked tirelessly in her laboratory, the tournament that had dominated online discussion finally began.
To everyone's surprise, Tony Stark himself was the first contestant to appear.
His opponent was:
Ivan Vanko.
Codename:
Whiplash.
Armor designation:
Crimson.
Aside from Rimuru, nobody had expected the world's greatest martial arts tournament to begin like this.
At the Senate hearing not long ago, everyone had heard Tony boast that his technology was at least five to ten years ahead of the rest of the world.
Yet less than half a year later, not only had arc reactor technology been replicated—
A fully functional powered exoskeleton armor had appeared as well.
The world was changing so rapidly that many people could barely keep up.
But regardless of the reasons, everyone was thrilled.
Most had expected the first major battle to be Mark vs. Fengshen, a showdown reserved for the tournament's climax.
Who could have imagined that the opening match would already feature a battle between two armored mechas?
It was absolutely insane.