In the multiverse, many powerful artifacts exist.
Some of them are even stronger than the Infinity Stones.
However, because the Infinity Stones are currently the easiest for Thanos to obtain, he spent ten years carefully planning to collect them.
What he never expected… was for Luo Bai to appear and completely disrupt his plans.
Not only did Luo Bai steal two of the Infinity Stones that Thanos had just acquired, but he also took his throne.
Realizing that negotiations had failed, Thanos decided to retreat for the time being, choosing to lie dormant once more.
Once I obtain other powerful artifacts, I will return and make Luo Bai pay for this humiliation.
Of course, while Thanos thought this in his heart, his expression remained calm, his demeanor even slightly softened.
"I understand that many people cannot accept my great ideals," Thanos said. "And I know you won't either. You humans of Earth always speak of morality and humanity… To be honest, I don't fully understand it."
He gazed at Luo Bai.
"But you are strong, Sorcerer Supreme. Stronger than I ever anticipated."
"Now that you have all six Infinity Stones, I know I cannot defeat you. So, for now, I will abandon my plans for Earth."
His tone was unusually calm.
If someone couldn't see through Thanos' true intentions and only listened to his words, they might actually believe he was giving up on destroying Earth.
But Luo Bai wasn't fooled.
He knew exactly what Thanos was thinking.
Still, he had no intention of exposing him.
After all, Thanos was a formidable enemy.
Where does this guy even get his insane luck? Luo Bai wondered. He always manages to steal powerful artifacts, no matter their size or rarity.
Now that Thanos had decided to pursue other artifacts in order to fight him, Luo Bai was more than happy to let him.
More artifacts? Sounds good to me.
Luo Bai had always been fortunate—somehow, powerful artifacts always ended up in his hands before Thanos could get them.
And honestly…
Who would say no to free gifts?
Maybe Thanos had unknowingly become the chosen servant of the Goddess of Luck.
If that were true…
Then when Luo Bai became invincible one day, he'd have Thanos to thank for his contributions.
Besides, there was still one more thing to consider—Death.
The cosmic entity of Death had once said that Thanos was born to kill.
She wanted to use him to spread death throughout the universe.
With Luo Bai's current strength, completely eliminating Thanos wasn't realistic.
Not as long as Death was protecting him.
Thinking of this, Luo Bai smiled and said, "It's good that you think this way. I hope you'll remember your words—never plot against Earth again. Never bring your army or your ships near this planet."
"Of course," Thanos replied, flashing a strange smile that was neither genuine nor fake.
Luo Bai could see the rage bubbling beneath Thanos' calm façade, but he simply waved his hand dismissively.
"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now. Oh, by the way, I'll be borrowing your throne for a few days. I'll return it later."
Before Thanos could react, Luo Bai vanished—taking the throne with him.
For a moment, there was silence on the spaceship.
Then realization hit.
Thanos and Nebula were the only ones left.
Thanos: "!!!!!"
Too much!
This Sorcerer Supreme is simply too much!
Did I ever say I'd lend him my throne?!
He just took it!!
Not even a shred of respect!
The more Thanos thought about it, the angrier he became.
As Luo Bai left, Nebula stepped forward and asked, "Are we really just going to let him go?"
Thanos gritted his teeth.
"What else can we do? He already has all six Infinity Stones. Our only hope is to find an even stronger artifact!"
"So… what's our next move?" Nebula pressed.
Thanos frowned.
"Find other artifacts. I will not abandon my plan."
With that, he ordered his army to retreat.
The massive warship gradually moved away from Earth.
Standing on the bridge, Thanos watched as the planet grew smaller and smaller in the distance.
His fists clenched.
I was so close.
So close to achieving my goal.
But… Earth still had hidden powers beyond his expectations.
That was fine.
Because this wasn't over.
I will return.
I will definitely return.
And so, Thanos left with his army.
Meanwhile, Luo Bai returned to Kamar-Taj.
The first thing he did upon returning was toss Thanos' throne into the treasury.
Then, he turned his attention to the remaining two stones—the Power Stone and the Soul Stone—ready to merge them into his collection.
But before he could begin, Tony Stark burst into the room, looking frantic.
"Luo Bai, we have a problem!" Stark said, his voice urgent.
"What's wrong?" Luo Bai asked.
As soon as he finished speaking, Stark immediately said, "The cosmic monitoring system just detected a massive spaceship hovering above Earth. It's been parked there for a long time. Although it finally left, I'm still a little concerned."
Although Luo Bai had recently given Stark some time off, he had gone back home to check on Stark Industries.
However, ever since Luo Bai upgraded the cosmic monitoring system, Stark had been keeping a close eye on it.
After all, Earth was becoming more dangerous by the day.
Luo Bai had mentioned before that both Thanos and Galactus were on their way to Earth.
That revelation had left Stark so anxious that he could barely sleep at night. So the moment he noticed something unusual outside Earth's atmosphere, he rushed over to report it.
Seeing how tense Stark was, Luo Bai smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry, Tony. I know about this."
"You… know?" Stark frowned. "Then do you know who was piloting that spaceship?"
Luo Bai nodded patiently. "Yeah. It was Thanos. He came to Earth. But I've already dealt with him."
Stark: "????"
What the hell??
Dealt with??
"Wait, hold on. Are you saying Thanos has already been taken care of?" Stark asked, his voice full of disbelief.
Luo Bai thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "You could put it that way. Anyway, Thanos has temporarily given up on invading Earth, so there's no need to worry for now."
Stark was dumbfounded.
He had been preparing for an all-out war.
As a hero, as a founding member of the Avengers—no, now the Justice League—he had to do his part.
He never expected things to be resolved this easily.
Stark sighed helplessly, then shrugged. "Luo Bai, ever since I joined the Justice League… I feel like my workload has drastically decreased."
"Oh? And why's that?" Luo Bai asked.
"Back when I was with the Avengers, I had to contribute both money and manpower. I was fighting battles left and right, big and small, multiple times a year. But since joining the Justice League… I haven't fought even once. This time, Thanos himself showed up, and I didn't even get to see his face before you took care of him."
Luo Bai chuckled. "Can't help it. The enemies are just too weak. Handling them is too easy."
Stark sighed again, shaking his head. "I know you're strong. But I still have to do something, right? What am I supposed to do, just keep upgrading my suit every day?"
Luo Bai grinned. "Relax. There will come a time when you'll be needed. If you're really that eager for action, why not take a page out of Spider-Man's book? Look at him—he's busy every day."
Stark blinked, then gave Luo Bai a deadpan look.
"Are you seriously telling me to run around catching petty criminals like him? You want me to become 'Your Friendly Neighborhood Iron Man'?"
"It's not impossible." Luo Bai smirked.
Stark: "…"
Thanos…
You were really that useless, huh.
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