"Outsider, this is not a place you can come to."
Bai Qi's appearance instantly alerted the four cosmic guardians, and the aura emanating from him made them feel a sense of aversion.
After a brief standoff, the old man leading them stepped forward and rebuked, "Outsider, leave quickly, and perhaps you can still..."
Before the old man could finish speaking, a fierce wind swept past, and in the next moment, the old man's head vanished, with scalding blood spraying into the sky.
Looking at the blood gushing like a fountain, Bai Qi mockingly quipped with a bloodthirsty tone, "I didn't expect such an astonishing amount of blood to be contained within such a small body."
The other three cosmic guardians were still stunned by the instantaneous death of their leader.
Indeed, in terms of combat power alone, they were not as formidable as the Green Lantern Corps, but they were not so weak as to be instantly killed by the opponent in a single encounter.
Unfortunately, whether they believed it or not, the reality was this cruel. These self-righteous cosmic guardians were indeed just a group of weak old men in front of Bai Qi.
As if to prove this, even when the remaining three old men attempted to resist, the outcome was still instantaneous death at Bai Qi's hands. Their attacks, which resembled energy waves, were utterly ineffective against Bai Qi.
Arriving before the Great Lantern, he raised the Dragon-Patterned Lantern Ring in his hand high.
"Do I still have to recite some embarrassing oath or something?"
Bai Qi remembered that the members of the Green Lantern Corps often recited a long and difficult oath, repeating it constantly. Did he also have to come up with an oath?
Fortunately, Bai Qi did not have to do such a humiliating thing. After raising his hand with the Dragon-Patterned Lantern Ring, the ring on his finger automatically activated, and a black light shot out from it, directly entering the wick of the giant lantern.
Under the influence of the Dragon-Patterned Lantern Ring, the Great Lantern soon underwent a transformation. First, the wick changed from green to black. Then, waves of Green Lantern energy were absorbed into the Dragon-Patterned Lantern Ring.
After all, the Dragon-Patterned Lantern Ring was a product of Bai Qi's modification of a Green Lantern Ring, and it had a strong affinity for Green Lantern energy, making absorption effortless.
After this Green Lantern energy was absorbed into the Dragon-Patterned Lantern Ring, the ring would further process and transform it into the most suitable energy for itself.
As a large amount of Green Lantern energy was absorbed and processed by the Dragon-Patterned Lantern Ring, the quality of the ring continuously improved. As the ring became stronger, it would naturally feed back to its user, Bai Qi.
However, the energy within the Great Lantern was too immense. Even with Bai Qi creating four sub-bodies to assist in absorption, it would still take some time to fully absorb it all. As the battle in space progressed, the Green Lantern Corps was defeated without surprise, and the shield protecting Oa was breached by Darkseid's punches, allowing a large number of Parademons to flood in.
The battlefield shifted from space to the planet's surface.
This, however, put Bai Qi, who was absorbing the Great Lantern's energy, in a somewhat awkward position.
The Green Lanterns fighting desperately against the Parademons landed and immediately discovered Bai Qi. Their expressions turned grim.
They had been fighting desperately against invaders in space, only to find their home being infiltrated!
To prevent others from disturbing his important task, Bai Qi had erected a protective barrier around himself and the lantern.
While the Green Lanterns were angry, the powerful Parademons had landed almost simultaneously with them. Everyone was fighting for their lives against the Parademons, leaving no one with any extra time to stop Bai Qi. Furthermore, Bai Qi's actions were not entirely detrimental to them.
If they left the Parademons unchecked, they would undoubtedly destroy the Great Lantern, the foundation of the entire Green Lantern Corps. With Bai Qi's protective barrier, the lantern was indirectly protected.
Besides, with so much energy in the Great Lantern, how much could one person really take away?
Seeing that everyone was fighting and no one was coming to stop him, Bai Qi was content to enjoy his leisure. However, his contentment was short-lived.
Darkseid, descending from the sky, immediately noticed Bai Qi absorbing the Great Lantern's energy, and his brow furrowed.
"Good heavens," he thought, "I've spent time and effort fighting the Green Lantern Corps with my Parademon army, and this brat who appeared out of nowhere is stealing the prize!"
Bai Qi felt a pang of guilt, especially when their eyes met. Even though he knew his combat strength was not inferior to Darkseid's, he instinctively shivered.
However, the current situation left him no time for contemplation. Moreover, what was done was done, and there was no point in regretting it. He should focus on absorbing more Green Lantern energy.
After all, as more Green Lantern energy was absorbed by the ring, Bai Qi could feel his strength increasing slightly due to the ring's feedback.
However, the Dark Lord clearly did not want Bai Qi, the "old schemer," to continue his pilfering. He approached the barrier and unleashed a punch.
*Bang!*
The previously intact barrier instantly showed large, spiderweb-like cracks.
Seeing this, Bai Qi dared not be careless. He quickly activated the Chronometer within him for repairs, while simultaneously analyzing Darkseid to gain targeted offensive methods for the upcoming battle.
Unlike the world of the Super Gene, where gods were commonplace, in this bizarre DC world, powerful individuals were numerous, but true gods were few and far between. Darkseid, revered as the ultimate New God, was a top-tier deity among them.
With the enhancement of Bai Qi's energy, the cracked barrier was quickly repaired, and the Chronometer within Bai Qi began scanning and analyzing Darkseid.
However, this process was lengthy, and Darkseid would not grant Bai Qi the time for analysis. Furthermore, Bai Qi had never fought Darkseid before, and his database lacked relevant information, which significantly extended the analysis time.
Seeing that Bai Qi had repaired the barrier, Darkseid did not become angry and did not continue to attack the barrier. Instead, he turned to deal with the Green Lantern Corps and the cosmic guardians, allowing Bai Qi to absorb the Great Lantern's energy.
Bai Qi was not surprised by Darkseid's actions. In fact, given Darkseid's arrogance, Bai Qi considered such behavior perfectly normal for him.
As a Dark Lord, Darkseid possessed an inherent confidence, even arrogance, in his own strength. In his eyes, Bai Qi was merely an insignificant thief who could be easily crushed. Even if he absorbed a large amount of Green Lantern energy, what did it matter? In the end, he would be killed by Darkseid, and the energy would return to him.