Bai Qi’s lips curved slightly as he looked at John, his face contorted in pain. With a wave of his large hand, the cultivation pod’s hatch opened, and the body of Hawkgirl slowly floated before Bai Qi.
Bai Qi hooked Hawkgirl’s chin with a finger as if playing with a toy. After a brief appraisal, he said, “This is my important trophy. How could I possibly hand her over to you so easily?”
Seeing Bai Qi so brazenly manipulating Hawkgirl’s body, John couldn’t sit still. Ignoring the pain in his body, he lunged forward to snatch his girlfriend’s body back. Fortunately, Superman held him down, preventing a disaster. Rem, who witnessed all this, revealed a hint of disappointment in her eyes.
She had been prepared to beat the man before her into a pulp, but he hadn’t charged forward, leaving her with no reason to act.
Unlike the impulsive John, Batman showed no emotional change in the face of Bai Qi’s undisguised provocation. He was acutely aware of the power disparity between them. If a fight were to break out, he doubted all of them combined could take on Bai Qi.
What about Superman?
Hadn't they fought last time? The result was Superman’s crushing defeat, and it took him a long time of treatment to barely recover.
This meant that if a fight were to occur now, Superman’s role wouldn’t be to be the main damage dealer, but to help a few people escape at the first opportunity.
“What do you want?”
“Hmm? What do you mean by that?”
Bai Qi waved his hand, tossing Hawkgirl’s body back into the cultivation pod. He looked at Batman with a playful expression.
Batman spoke again, “Name your price. Hawkgirl is an important member of the League. Even if she is a spy from the Czarnians, such infiltrators should be handled by the League. We are very grateful that you helped us capture her, so what are you willing to accept in exchange for taking her away?”
Bai Qi was stunned for a moment, then erupted in thunderous laughter, tears streaming down his face.
“Good, good! As expected of Batman, you truly have courage.” After laughing heartily, Bai Qi’s face turned grim as he asked Batman, “But can you afford what I want?”
“How will you know if we can’t afford it if you don’t tell us?”
“Good, you have courage. I like that.”
Bai Qi raised his hand and said, “In that case, I want you to travel to the Heimerapuya space and retrieve the Chaos Crystal from the ruins for me. In exchange, you can take the body of your friend.”
As the main world grew increasingly powerful, the forces of Black Energy and Positive Energy grew bolder, beginning to salvage world fragments floating in the void. They integrated these fragments into the main world or used them as sub-spaces to fill in spatial rifts within the main world.
Heimerapuya space was a world fragment that Positive Energy had salvaged not long ago and transformed. This world fragment was very special; it was formed from the collapse of a magical world, and it still contained remnants of the original world.
Logically, Bai Qi wouldn’t normally be interested in things from such world fragments. However, this time was an exception. This world fragment contained a relatively complete magical ruin, and within it was a magical crystal with incredibly strong chaotic magic.
Since absorbing the chaotic magic within Zombie Wanda last time, Bai Qi had not absorbed any more chaotic magic. Yet, the chaotic magic had brought him immense benefits. Therefore, upon learning of the existence of the Chaos Crystal on this world fragment, Bai Qi’s interest was piqued.
As Bai Qi’s strength grew and humanity became increasingly incompetent, even Positive Energy gradually changed its perspective towards Bai Qi, beginning to subtly try to win him over. Thus, even for sub-spaces formed from world fragments salvaged by Positive Energy, Bai Qi could enter if he wished.
However, Bai Qi’s current strength was too great, and this sub-space had only recently formed and was not yet stable. If Bai Qi entered rashly, his formidable power might cause the sub-space to collapse.
Of course, Bai Qi could send his subordinates into the sub-space to retrieve the Chaos Crystal for him. However, the chaotic magic contained within this Chaos Crystal was surprisingly potent. The chaotic magic that emanated from it had spawned a group of deformed chaotic creatures within the ruins of the sub-space.
These chaotic creatures were extremely violent under the influence of the chaotic magic and lacked intelligence. They attacked anything alive on sight.
Bai Qi valued his subordinates and would not allow them to enter rashly and be killed without knowing the full strength of these chaotic creatures.
Thus, Bai Qi set his sights on the members of the Justice League.
Firstly, these people were not his subordinates, and he bore no responsibility for their safety. Secondly, these individuals were already quite powerful. Even if the chaotic creatures were extremely strong, with Superman and Batman present, they should be able to handle them with relative ease. Lastly, and most importantly, Superman and Batman, as well as other veteran members of the Justice League, held significant importance in this world. For whatever reason, Positive Energy would not allow them to perish so easily.
Upon hearing Bai Qi’s request, Batman fell into contemplation. He wasn't foolish; the term "sub-space" sounded extremely dangerous. Otherwise, why wouldn’t Bai Qi retrieve it himself or send his own subordinates? Batman had thoroughly investigated Bai Qi. This individual not only possessed destructive power himself but also commanded a large group of powerful criminals, along with his own research center and church.
It was highly illogical that he would ask others to retrieve it when he had so many capable subordinates.
After a moment of intense thought, Batman decisively said, “Your Majesty, we are very willing to complete the task you have assigned us, but as you know, we do not possess your immense power. Forget retrieving the Chaos Crystal; we cannot even enter the sub-space.”
Bai Qi had anticipated this reasoning. With a wave of his hand, an item resembling a tracer amulet appeared before Batman.
Bai Qi said, “It’s fine. This is a sub-space tracker. I have already input the coordinates of the sub-space you are to go to. You just need to follow the tracker’s guidance to find the entrance to the sub-space.”
Seeing that Bai Qi had gone this far, Batman had no reason to refuse. After all, they were the ones asking for a favor, and it was already difficult enough for Bai Qi to agree to an exchange. More importantly, the meticulous Batman noticed the obvious magical fluctuations emanating from Bai Qi as he spoke. If he refused again, the other party might turn hostile on the spot.
Reaching out and catching the tracker in the air, Batman bowed slightly and said, “Thank you very much for Your Majesty’s help. We will definitely fulfill your request, and we hope that Your Majesty will keep his word once we obtain the Chaos Crystal.”
“Rest assured.”
Seeing Batman take the tracker, Bai Qi waved his hand and smiled, saying, “As everyone knows, I, the Holy Lord, am a man of my word.”
Then, Bai Qi looked at Rem beside him and said, “Alright, the transaction is complete. I have other matters to attend to. Rem, see them out.”