The ancient saying goes: when the dragon soars too high, it will regret it. This comes from a story in the I Ching—it means that when a dragon rides the clouds to the highest, most extreme point, it looks around in confusion. Its soaring ambition disappears, and it can neither rise further nor descend. Frustration and regret follow. The proverb warns those in high positions not to be arrogant or impatient, or they'll end up failing and regretting it.
The Rozan Kō Ryū Ha is an extreme move that burns the microcosmos to the limit, taking the enemy down in a mutual destruction where there's not even a chance for regret.
But Liu A'dou wasn't about to commit suicide. Back during those 7 hours of drifting through the 15th dimension, he discovered a secret: how to merge his three powers into one.
The universe has been expanding ever since the Big Bang. But gravity fields exist within it, letting countless planets and life forms emerge as the universe grows. For example, the sun keeps producing light and heat because the gravitational field compresses it. Without gravity, planets wouldn't form, and the universe wouldn't be a universe.
Ripple is the force of expansion, the Force is the power of constraint, and both work on the microcosmos. Liu A'dou could truly feel that in one moment, he was everything in the universe. When the three powers combined, Ripple expanded the microcosmos, strengthening it; the Force enriched it, making it diverse; and the existence of the microcosmos let Ripple and the Force unleash new power. The three supported each other, cycling endlessly.
Now, to defeat Faora, Liu A'dou had to show this power.
The crew on the Wu Gang watched another beam of light shoot from the moon to Earth, flying past them at incredible speed. "…??" They had no idea what was going on. Why had space gotten so lively all of a sudden, with so many things happening they couldn't understand?
Faora struggled, but she only felt the strength behind her growing greater and greater, making it impossible to move. Her own power had also increased a lot—how could this Earthling be even stronger than her? That was impossible. They'd studied everything about Earth, and knew the most dangerous thing humans had was nuclear weapons—useless toys that couldn't even scratch their spaceship's hull. There was absolutely no way such a powerful human existed.
Boom—
The two of them were surrounded by searing hot gas, turning into a fireball that crashed down toward the ground.
They slammed into the Grand Canyon.
A massive explosion rocked the entire state, like a meteorite impact. It blasted several craters the size of football fields into the canyon. The landscape completely changed, with the deepest pits reaching 70 or 80 meters down.
Yellow sand rose into the sky, covering the charred holes. Liu A'dou was the first to fly out of the dust, revealing his figure. His Odin Cloth still shone brightly, though his face was marked with smudges of dirt and sweat, painting strange patterns. But his eyes were sharp and electric, full of excitement.
He had finally mastered a microcosmos beyond the Eighth Sense. Liu A'dou felt like the world was in his hands, like he could recreate any phenomenon in the universe—black holes, wormholes, suns, anything.
"Is this the ultimate microcosmos, a miniature real universe?" Liu A'dou muttered to himself.
He waved his hand lightly, and a breeze blew the dust away. Faora was still alive at the bottom of the crater, but her armor was shattered, revealing her pale skin. Her short hair clung to her face as she lay unconscious.
Kryptonians who had basked in the sun really were tough. Even this didn't kill her. Originally, the Rozan Kō Ryū Ha should've carried the enemy into the sun, but Liu A'dou worried that the closer a Kryptonian got to the sun, the stronger they'd become. So he brought her back to Earth, thinking the fall from the moon into Earth's gravity well would do serious damage. But clearly, the damage wasn't enough. He looked up to see Superman and General Zod appear before him.
"Kid, what are you doing?" Superman asked, puzzled by Liu A'dou's ancient warrior-like Odin armor. Seeing the woman in the crater confused him even more.
"Faora?" General Zod landed and checked on her.
"She's not dead, just unconscious. She lost to me honorably in battle," Liu A'dou admitted. This was the first woman who'd ever made him feel real fear—Faora's power truly rivaled Superman's.
General Zod lifted the unconscious Faora and glared at Liu A'dou, but his worry for his subordinate kept him from fighting. "I won't let you get away with this. The next time we meet will be your death."
Zod took off. Liu A'dou looked at Superman. "So, did you two talk it out?"
Superman nodded. "It's a shame things didn't end well. Looks like a fight is really unavoidable." Then he asked, "What happened? Why did you two fall from the sky?"
"I was exploring the moon and ran into them by accident. I had no choice but to grab her and fly straight back to Earth. Are you Kryptonians born fighters or something? After getting a bit of sunlight, you all become insanely strong. If I hadn't been quick-thinking, she would've killed me on the moon."
Superman let out a bitter smile. He had no idea his fellow Kryptonians would turn out to be a bunch of convicted rebels. "And that armor you're wearing?"
"This is a gift from Odin. It's tough enough that I didn't get vaporized in the atmosphere."
Kid really was deep and mysterious, like he knew everything. He even knew all these incredible beings. Superman was seriously impressed.
"Well, I'm going to change. See you soon." Liu A'dou looked up and turned into a beam of light, vanishing. He was now skilled at moving at lightspeed, circling the Earth 7 times in a second wasn't even a challenge.
"So fast…" Superman was stunned. Kid had gotten even stronger.
Liu A'dou took off the Odin Cloth and switched into his Kaitou outfit, equipping all his gadgets. But he didn't rush out. Instead, he bent over his workbench, getting everything ready for special situations.
Superman returned to the United Nations building, bringing bad news. "I'm very sorry, but it looks like a battle with them is unavoidable. General Zod is dead set on turning Earth into another Krypton."
The leaders of every nation nodded grimly. They realized they'd need to start preparing too.
"The Justice League will stop them," Superman declared. Then he flew off, catching one last worried look from Lois before he vanished into the sky.
The meeting place was in Metropolis. All five Justice League members had arrived. Facing 21 Kryptonians with Superman-level powers, their small group looked hopelessly outmatched. But Batman already had a plan.
"These are dark energy cannons. They simulate the same energy Zhao Gao used that day. They should work," Batman said as he handed out weapons to Kid and the Flash. Superman had brute strength, Wonder Woman had magic, so the focus was on arming the other three.
"Kid, your Ripple enhances Kryptonian power. It'll boost their strength too, so try not to use Ripple during the fight."
Liu A'dou nodded. He understood.
The dark energy guns came in two styles. One was a pistol version for Batman and Kid—good for agility. The other was a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher, made for the Flash, since he was fast enough to get around quickly.
"We should take the initiative," Batman said. He predicted massive destruction from this battle, so it'd be best to fight them on their own turf.
Superman looked at Liu A'dou. "Kid, do you know where their ship is?"
"It should be on the far side of the moon," Kid guessed.
Then they'd use the Bunny's teleport system. They absolutely had to keep the battlefield on the moon. If they let the Kryptonians land on Earth, the consequences would be catastrophic.