Xu Xialing changed the subject and continued:
"My original plan was to use the Dragon Balls to bring Mother back to life, then take her to see Father."
"It would shock him—make him finally stop underestimating and belittling me."
"But since my plan has failed, there's no choice but to ask him to step in personally."
"From what I know, he's been searching for a way to resurrect Mother for years."
Then she turned to Xu Shangqi:
"Don't you want to bring Mother back too?"
At the mention of their mother, Xu Shangqi lowered his head, recalling the peaceful days their family of four once had. His father had even abandoned the Ten Rings and vowed not to kill anymore—for her.
"I do… but I'm afraid of Father…"
Xu Xialing rolled her eyes and snapped:
"You useless coward. If you'd beaten Selina and made it to the finals, then defeated Iron Man, we wouldn't need Father. He wouldn't even have to know about the Dragon Balls."
Xu Shangqi had no comeback. It was true—he couldn't match the other contestants.
"I get it. Let's go see him together."
"Whatever punishment he gives, I'll accept it."
Xu Xialing was infuriated just looking at him. Pathetic.
She'd heard from Sean that Xu Shangqi was working as a valet at some hotel. The sheer absurdity of it shattered her worldview.
If it were some high-end establishment under the Assassin Brotherhood, she might've tolerated it—turning a blind eye, pretending it was strategic.
But it wasn't even a five-star hotel… just a regular one. She was utterly disappointed in her brother.
…
An hour later, Smith Dole appeared on the ring holding a microphone once again.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the final match is about to begin. Let's welcome Iron Man—Tony Stark, and the Death Walker—Selina!"
With Smith's announcement, Tony Stark launched into the sky and landed in a classic Iron Man pose, smashing the tiles of the ring upon landing.
Smith joked:
"Tony, remember to have Pepper Potts cover the damages."
Tony stood up and replied:
"I was just stress-testing your ring. Looks like you cut corners in construction—no need to thank me."
Selina then appeared on stage like a phantom, her arrival shrouded in ghostly afterimages.
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause at the dramatic entrances.
Looking at the audience below, Tony turned to Selina and said:
"Lovely lady, how about surrendering now? You're no match for me, and I'd hate to see you get seriously hurt."
"Why not grab a drink with me instead? A little chat before sunrise?"
Selina, face cold, responded:
"On this Pacific island, I doubt you've resupplied your ammunition. I wonder how much you have left from your last battle."
Hearing her strike right at the core of the issue, Tony dropped the flirtation and answered seriously:
"You're no match for me. Once someone's lost to me, there's no catching up."
Smith Dole cut in before more banter could fly:
"The final match will be fought in the ring. Falling off counts as a loss."
"If you're down and out for more than 10 seconds, that's a loss."
"Surrender is allowed."
"If there's danger to life, I'll intervene and halt the match."
Upon learning that the fight would be confined to the ring, Tony raised his faceplate and said:
"Smith, that's not fair to me. What if I fly out of bounds?"
Smith replied:
"As long as you don't touch the ground, it's not out of bounds. But if you fly beyond the audience area and don't return within 3 seconds, it counts as forfeiting."
Knowing he could still fly as long as he stayed within range, Tony smirked and closed his faceplate.
"Contestants, ready yourselves."
"The match begins now!"
As Smith Dole stepped off the stage, Selina instantly launched into a sprint, charging at Tony Stark.
Tony, however, didn't engage or defend. Instead, he launched straight up at Mach 1 speed.
Selina lunged to where Tony had been, only to find him already ascending. With a burst of strength, she leapt upward.
"You're not getting away!"
She ascended swiftly, but not high enough to match Tony's altitude. Once she hit her peak, she began to fall.
Tony was briefly startled by her jump, but when he saw her descending, he grinned, pivoted in the air, and unleashed a palm repulsor blast at her.
"Boom! Boom!"
Selina, with no room to dodge in midair, was blasted back down to the ring.
But she wasn't seriously injured. She stood up quickly and shouted:
"Looks like you've run out of missiles from the earlier fights."
Selina had jumped intentionally to test whether Tony had any heavy ordnance left. If he still had aerial bombs and dropped them on the ring, she'd be forced to choose between death or dodging.
If she dodged, the blast waves alone could easily send her flying off the stage. She couldn't fly, after all.
Now, seeing Tony use standard palm blasts meant for normal enemies, she knew she was right—he was out of ammo.
Tony fell silent. Selina was correct. He had exhausted all his missiles during previous matches and hadn't been able to restock due to the island's remote location.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., how long until sunrise?"
"Sir, given this location, sunrise will occur in about an hour."
Hearing this, Tony muttered:
"Don't blame me for being underhanded. I've got no choice but to use your race's weakness."
During the rest break, Tony had noticed that the vampire clan's seating area had a retractable black canopy, unlike the other spectators. After asking around, he learned of their vulnerability to sunlight.
It gave him an idea—to win using the sun.
After all, this was a competition for the Dragon Balls. Exploiting a racial weakness wasn't exactly dishonorable. And besides, Tony had always had a… flexible bottom line.
(End of Chapter)
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