In the face of crisis, true composure separates the great from the merely competent. A leader who keeps calm waters over a storming heart commands respect. The greater the challenge, the steadier one must remain.
In the heightened state of Eyes of Death, Hong Fei had ample time to study Hulk's expression.
The creature's face was a mask of fury—jaw clenched, cheek muscles bulging, teeth grinding, eyes wide and burning with barely contained rage. Hong Fei couldn't fathom why Hulk was so incensed, especially since no one had provoked him recently.
Perhaps after being trapped within Banner for so long, he simply needed to unleash his pent-up fury.
Hulk's massive palm, larger than most men's heads, came crashing down. The wind pressure alone hit before the strike. Hong Fei tightened his core, drew his blade, and flipped backward to evade the thunderous blow.
The impact reverberated through the corridor, warping the metal wall. Hulk yanked his hand free and charged toward Hong Fei again.
Sheathing his blade, Hong Fei clenched his fists. Golden energy surged within his black armor, transforming his arms into glowing, golden-red limbs. The light pierced through the nano armor, illuminating the tension in his muscles and bones.
As Hulk barreled forward, fist raised, Hong Fei drew a deep breath. Dragon Power flowed visibly from his chest into his arms.
Their fists met in a blinding collision.
Boom!
A pale golden shockwave exploded outward from the point of impact. Hulk's fist dwarfed Hong Fei's, yet the latter's Dragon Power-infused frame held its ground.
To be fair, Hulk had already vented much of his rage tearing through the place earlier, weakening his current assault.
In slow motion, the collision sent ripples cascading up Hong Fei's golden-red arm. The force traveled through his shoulder, rocking his body slightly before redirecting down through his chest, abdomen, and legs, finally slamming into the floor.
Hong Fei sank slightly, leaving a crisp footprint in the thick metal plating.
When the shockwaves subsided, Hulk's fury reignited. The sight of this small, seemingly frail human blocking his punch enraged him further. He roared, saliva spraying from his gaping maw, then unleashed a rapid flurry of punches.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each strike erupted into pale golden shockwaves, battering the corridor walls like a relentless tsunami. The metal bore shallow and deep marks from the impacts.
Hong Fei countered with rapid punches, his Dragon Power surging like a torrential river. It fortified his bones, reinforced his flesh, and amplified his strength.
Amidst the relentless barrage of collisions, Hong Fei felt like a piece of metal heated to a glowing red, being constantly struck and forged by an unstoppable hammer.
On the display screen before him, the last digit of the Dragon Power fusion rate flashed wildly, changing every few seconds.
At this moment, everyone in every corner of the Helicarrier could clearly hear this dull, yet highly penetrating sound. It sounded like someone beating a drum several meters wide, or like an ancient bronze bell suddenly struck atop a mountain.
It was just that the rhythm of this sound was too intense, causing everyone who heard it to involuntarily knit their brows.
Behind the corridor, Tony, Steve, and Natasha jumped down again. They watched Hulk's massive back; the bulging muscles were filled with an extreme sense of power, and they watched him continuously swing his arms, his back muscles constantly stretching and tightening.
Hong Fei's body was completely obscured by Hulk's frame. All they could see was Hulk's heavy fist being blocked time and again, and then pale golden circles, like brilliant fireworks, blooming and vanishing in an instant.
The square metal corridor had been completely destroyed beyond recognition. They stared at the scene, dumbfounded, and Fury and the others, who were capturing the footage through surveillance from afar, were equally stunned.
When witnessing pure power, one usually needs a reference point to truly grasp it. Hulk's strength was already beyond doubt, and if Hong Fei's body appeared small before him, it meant the power he was unleashing at this moment was all the more immense.
If any people from K'un-Lun saw this, perhaps they would exclaim from the bottom of their hearts:
"This is the real fucking Iron Fist!!"
However, what they didn't know was that, at this moment, beneath the armor, Master Hong was on the verge of tears from the beating Hulk was giving him.
Pain! Uncontrollable, bone-deep pain!
Dragon Power had greatly increased his strength, but it did not dull his sense of pain. In just a few dozen seconds, he and Hulk had traded nearly a hundred punches.
It was equivalent to being forged more than a hundred times by a hammer whose force acted upon his entire body!
The Dragon Power fusion rate had directly increased by 1%!
But Hong Fei knew he couldn't continue. His body had to endure the infusion of Dragon Power, which far exceeded its current capacity limit internally, and withstand the impact of Hulk's heavy punches externally.
Beset by difficulties from both inside and out—a double stimulation!
Moreover, Hulk's punches were getting heavier with each strike. He believed that Hulk's anger was skyrocketing and his strength was surging as he faced someone with a small frame like Hong Fei who could still withstand his blows.
If he kept pushing, Hulk would soon break through the limit that Hong Fei could withstand, and the result might directly damage the foundation of Hong Fei's body.
After all, his current power did not come entirely from his own body, and fundamentally, there was no necessity or possibility of comparing it to Hulk's.
Exhaling a short, heavy breath of stale air through his nose and mouth simultaneously, Hong Fei withdrew both fists and tensed his back.
The next moment, his feet felt like they weighed ten thousand pounds, and a powerful physical strength surged from the ground. After fusing with Dragon Power, the light on his arms suddenly flared bright!
Seeing this, Hulk also swung both fists, his roar completely drowning out all of Hong Fei's sounds.
Boom!!
Four fists collided!
In an instant, the corridor was destroyed by both the sound wave and the shockwave, and the shattered iron plates clattered and rang out crazily.
At this moment, Hong Fei suddenly withdrew his hand, his feet lifted off the ground, and he turned and leaped away rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, he crashed through the glass a hundred meters away and suddenly stopped, turning to stand in mid-air.
He drew his blade again and slashed rapidly, sending sharp, arc-shaped energy attacks slamming into Hulk, which only made his anger double!
Hulk reached the ship's edge without hesitation. His foot slammed down hard—the metal deck groaned and buckled under the force—then he launched himself skyward like a living missile, hurtling straight for Hong Fei.
The impact sent Hong Fei rocketing upward with a thunderclap, a shockwave of vaporized clouds exploding outward in a perfect ring.
For a heartbeat, Hulk hung suspended midair, momentarily stunned. Gravity reclaimed him with a vengeance.
As he fell, Hong Fei glimpsed Fury standing behind the Helicarrier's observation glass, watching intently.
No time for that now. Hong Fei pivoted midair and streaked toward the ship's massive engines, sword already in hand.
Dragon Power and Qi surged through the blade.
The weapon trembled in his grip like a living thing. From tip to hilt, the metal flushed molten red, radiating heat that warped the surrounding air.
For the first time, Hong Fei sensed the sword's true nature—its energy signature split between Odin's divine craftsmanship and Sif's lingering essence.
This was the moment. The so-called "Sword of the Goddess of Land and Harvest" finally awakened to its full potential.
When the blade glowed white-hot, dripping phantom embers, Hong Fei struck.
A scarlet arc laced with golden motes peeled away from the sword. What began as a meter-long slash expanded mid-flight into a ten-meter crescent of destruction.
It cleaved through the Helicarrier's bulkhead before anyone could blink, continuing unimpeded into the horizon.
The rear engines detonated instantly. Severed turbine blades chewed through each other in a shower of shrapnel. A glowing red fissure split the hull from stem to stern.
Power failed. The front section sheared away, plummeting earthward in a death spiral.
Hong Fei turned to leave—only for the sky to darken with incoming shadows.
A hundred Iron Man armors streaked across the horizon.
Chaos erupted below. Terrified agents screamed as the falling wreckage accelerated. The armors dove like a swarm of mechanical angels, plucking S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel from certain death.
Meanwhile, the remaining two engines sputtered as the Iron Legion latched onto the hull, their combined thrust stabilizing the descent.
The real insult? Two armors had Hulk in a double armlock, hauling the roaring beast straight toward Hong Fei.
That furious emerald gaze held something new—not just rage, but giddy anticipation.
Did the brute actually enjoy this? Or did he genuinely believe he stood a chance?
"Arthur, activate Veronica."
"At once, sir."
Hong Fei banked hard toward the grasslands below. The armors followed suit, Hulk in tow. Above them, the crippled Helicarrier shed its cloaking field, descending in a slow, groaning death march.
Emerald blades whispered against his boots as Hong Fei touched down with feline grace. Hulk's landing resembled a meteor strike—the impact cratered the earth, sending clods of dirt skyward.
"Hulk!"
The bellow froze the monster mid-stride as he clambered from the pit.
Hong Fei's nanotech helmet retracted, revealing a smile warm enough to melt glaciers. The "Affable Smile" card slotted home; "Deceive Time and Crowd" hummed to life.
Hong Fei spoke slowly, voice dripping with honeyed sincerity.
"Hulk... you are very powerful."
"You're far stronger than that pathetic Banner." The Hulk's nostrils flared with a derisive snort.
"Truth be told, I'd rather deal with you than the bastard who keeps you locked up all day. What do you say?"
When the Hulk remained silent and unmoving, the speaker's voice turned coaxing.
"If you agree, I could help you—Jesus Christ!"
The words tumbled out in Chinese mid-sentence.
Hong Fei launched backward like a fired cannon, the ground erupting beneath him in a spray of upturned earth. The Hulk's sudden lunge sent his tree-trunk arms stretching across impossible distance, every corded muscle taut with killing intent.
That wasn't just a punch—the monster meant to grab someone and smash them into paste.
Hong Fei's heart hammered against his ribs as he barely cleared the attack radius.
Hulk was truly too insidious; he had clearly been feigning weakness to lure the enemy in. No wonder Thor kept getting ragdolled!
One moment of carelessness, and Master Hong might've starred in one of those infamous Hulk compilation reels—potentially as the opening act.
So much for maintaining thunderous composure behind a placid facade. Easy to preach serenity until you're the one staring down those emerald fists.