Chapter Twenty-Two: Blackheart at the Pinnacle of Planetary Power!

"Let go of Tony!"

Pepper, no longer the woman who could only wait helplessly as in the original story, had already fought through countless battles. She was not merely a bystander anymore; she was Iron Lady, Pepper Potts!

The blue support armor snapped open with a blade, and under Pepper's control it stabbed straight for the joint of Soul Eater's right hand.

But compared to Soul Eater, who had absorbed tens of thousands of souls, Pepper was simply too slow. The instant she struck, Soul Eater was already lifting Tony back to the spot where he had blasted Captain away, his face twisted with mockery.

"She's your lover? Then it seems killing her will wound you even more."

Licking his lips, Soul Eater suddenly lost interest in killing Tony. He hurled him aside and lunged forward again, trying to strangle Pepper.

"Pepper!"

Tony lay sprawled on the ground, roaring in fury, his eyes nearly bursting with blood and tears. Damn it, if it weren't for him, how could they have fallen into such a desperate battle? If he had not handed the Vatican Contract to Soul Eater, the fiend before them would already have been slain by Angel!

If it weren't for him, Pepper...

No!

"Heh heh, I love seeing the despair on human faces. Souls steeped in despair are delicious."

Soul Eater could not help licking his lips again, slowly reaching out to strangle Pepper. For such a delectable soul, he would be sure to torment this woman properly.

Then...

"Boom!"

A piece of armor fell from the sky. The thunderous impact made Soul Eater falter for a moment. Everyone turned to look together, only to see the armor split open, revealing a handsome young man with an elegant bearing.

Ho Yun: Yes, absolutely elegant. I do not accept any objections!

"Ho Yun!"

"Thunder Knight!"

"Son, you're finally here!"

The entire Tony side erupted in cheers. Ho Yun cast Soul Eater a casual glance and asked the system to scan him...

Damn it! What the hell? Planetary peak, of all things!

"Tony! This is all your fault!"

Ho Yun shot Tony a hard glare. If not for him, how could they have provoked such a monstrous existence?

One must know that he was only level 9. The other side was already at the peak of the planetary level.

"Uh... heh heh, nephew, we're counting on you."

Tony scratched his head, then decisively helped Pepper over to Captain's side and began emergency treatment.

Ho Yun shook his head helplessly. This guy should remember this beating now, right?

"Who are you?"

After Ho Yun appeared, Soul Eater ignored everyone else. His gaze remained fixed on Ho Yun, locked there without a hint of wavering.

In his perception, only Ho Yun could truly wound him.

"I? Just a human from Earth, that's all."

Ho Yun smiled faintly as the power within him surged at full strength.

Within the human body, once all meridians are opened, there are seven hidden gates, known as the Seven Stars. In human martial cultivation, forging the body and opening the meridians are merely the foundation. Only when all three hundred and sixty-five meridians in the body are fully opened does true martial cultivation truly begin.

And Ho Yun, having fused every constitution and every ability, had just stepped onto the path of martial cultivation as a human powerhouse. With each of the seven hidden gates opened, the energy within doubled. Once all seven were open, heaven and earth's energy would flow through the human body, and one would become a Skyfather. At that point, lifting mountains and overturning seas would be effortless with the raise of a hand.

"Open!"

The Heavenly Pivot, Heavenly Jade, Celestial Axis, Heavenly Authority, Alkaid, Opening Yang, open!

A single spine ran through the human body, and as Ho Yun's tailbone, lumbar vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, and cervical vertebrae resonated, six stars of light blazed within him. His energy swelled madly, and in less than a second, his power had already surged to its peak.

He flexed his fist slightly, feeling the hollow detonation in his palm. Then Ho Yun turned to look at Soul Eater, and for the first time, his heart was swollen with confidence.

"Soul Eater, die!"

"An utterly ordinary punch!"

Striking with full force, Ho Yun threw out a punch, carrying no energy at all, only the raw strength of the human body.

Where the fist wind passed, the air burst apart. The shockwave roared toward Soul Eater's position, tearing the ground itself into rolling waves, like a natural disaster.

Soul Eater's expression changed drastically. He crossed both arms before his chest and resisted with all his strength...

"Bang!"

A fresh mark, twice as deep as Tony's earlier scratch, appeared before Soul Eater.

"Cough... cough..."

Coughing up a few drops of blood, Soul Eater looked at Ho Yun with a trace of fear.

Then he thought of Tony, Angel, Banner, and the others' combat power...

Damn it, who told me Earth was full of weaklings?

With strength like this, even if Father came personally, he might not be able to win. Weaklings, my ass!

"I think... there may be some misunderstanding between us."

Though he was at the peak of the planetary level, he was still a demon of the crooked path, with strength forcibly raised by external means. Soul Eater felt that admitting defeat was really not a problem.

Besides, for a demon, admitting defeat was called following one's heart.

"Misunderstanding?" Ho Yun curled his lips. His figure vanished. In the next instant, Earth Demon and Water Demon's bodies shuddered violently, then collapsed separately into piles of dirt and water.

"I think that your two subordinates dying was also just an accident. What do you think, Soul Eater?"

Ho Yun reappeared in front of Soul Eater, so close they were almost about to kiss. Yet this scene, one that would normally make fujoshi scream and imagine wildly, could only make the other party feel wave after wave of cold dread.

It was bone-deep cold!

"O-of course! Absolutely an accident!"

Soul Eater stammered as he repeatedly agreed with Ho Yun's opinion. "Water Demon and Earth Demon have always had poor health. Since they were elemental beings, dying just means they merged back into heaven and earth, contributing to Earth!"

"Tsk tsk, then Wind Demon was simply adding a bit of airflow to Earth?"

"Of course!"

Ho Yun could not help but sigh inwardly. Genius. With that instinct to survive, he would absolutely be able to retreat unscathed in front of any girl!

If he weren't an enemy, he honestly wanted to learn a thing or two from him.

"Son, how should we deal with him?"

Angel stepped forward atop a wooden dragon, and Thor stood on Angel's shoulder, holding Mjolnir...

"Uh... Mom, what do you think?"

Ho Yun was a little reluctant to kill Soul Eater. Yes, one had to respect that intense will to survive.

"I actually think we don't have to kill him."

To Ho Yun's surprise, Tony was the one who unexpectedly suggested letting him go.

"Tony, we all need an explanation," Captain said solemnly, leaning against the newly awakened Banner.

"This is my record of Soul Eater's actions after arriving on Earth." Tony waved a hand, and a swarm of nanobots automatically formed a projector, displaying a three-dimensional projection. "Soul Eater has been on Earth for a full week, and he hasn't killed a single person. Even when it came to seizing the Vatican Contract, it was the former Ghost Rider who delivered it to him on his own.

"The most serious crime was Wind Demon snatching a little girl's lollipop, and Soul Eater even scolded him for it. So, by Earth's laws, Soul Eater is guilty, yes, but at most of illegal entry... and perhaps assault as well, though we were the main offenders. And now, they've already paid enough."

Tony pointed at the corpses of the three demons. Apparently our crimes are greater?

"What? He only snatched a little girl's lollipop?"

Ho Yun's mouth fell open. The souls in the Vatican Contract were not collected by Soul Eater; at most he was the final user. But Ho Yun had absolutely not expected that, after more than a week on Earth, this was the only bad thing he had done.

Damn it, aren't you Mephisto's son? After a week you only managed this much crime, and you still call yourself a demon? Do you deserve your race at all?