บท 169: Chapter 164
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Tony's condition was rather complicated, as the shrapnel in his chest was too close to his heart, making surgery extremely risky. Initially, Pepper tried to contact numerous top surgeons domestically and internationally, but all were scared off. The potential for failure was too great.
No one dared to take such a risk, or else they would have considered removing the shrapnel when Tony was suffering from palladium poisoning. But the difficulty was too daunting! Regardless of who the notebook mentioned, the fact that the individual succeeded in such a surgery attested to their exceptional skill.
It's just unfortunate that surgeons weren't considered significant by Tony at the time and were habitually ignored by him. However, fortunately, the notebook brought it up, giving him a chance to rectify the situation.
"Jarvis," Tony immediately instructed, "pull up the guest list from the academic conference in Bern."
"I am on it," Jarvis's voice responded, and immediately projected a document. "Found it!"
An Asian face appeared in front of Tony. "So it was him!" Iron Man finally remembered.
Dr. Wu, a cardiac surgery specialist. Wait, it was Ethan who introduced this guy to him! Ethan really was a blessing to him. And with that...
Tony Stark logically made a decision. When time permitted, he would find Dr. Wu and get the shrapnel removed from his body. Even though the Arc Reactor meant the shrapnel no longer posed any danger to Tony, if given the choice, who would want to keep such "souvenirs" inside their body? Foreign objects in the body should inevitably be removed as soon as possible.
"A dozen suits of armor destroyed?" Nick Fury, looking at another notebook, couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. Such a wasteful son! He was indeed an enormous spendthrift! They were dozens of Iron Man armors. Even without asking Tony for details, Nick could guess that each suit was worth a fortune!
Even if Tony had moved on from his psychological trauma and no longer depended on his armor, there was no need to destroy all of them, was there? Tens of billions just thrown away like that? No matter how rich, that's too extravagant, right?
Moreover, those Iron Man armors were unique globally, irreplaceable by anyone. Their value certainly couldn't be measured by money alone. SHIELD would beg for those armors in vain, yet Tony treated them like fireworks for a show!
Iron Man was utterly surprised to find the connection between Killian and the Ten Rings in the notebook. Previously, Tony ruminated over their possible relation but had never imagined that Killian was actually the big boss of the Ten Rings himself! Killian played big - leading a global terrorist organization. Yet, considering he controlled a battalion of super soldiers, creating the Ten Rings didn't seem too shocking.
But to think the Ten Rings was a knockoff of someone else's creation was something Tony never envisioned. So, what exactly was this Ten Rings organization? And who was its leader, Xu Wenwu?
"Jarvis, look up Xu Wenwu, see if you can find anything," Tony instructed after a moment of thought.
Unfortunately, Jarvis found many individuals named Xu Wenwu, but they were all ordinary and nothing special. None seemed to be the Xu Wenwu mentioned in the notebook. Of course, there was also a possibility that the leader of the Ten Rings was too well-disguised to leave any traces for Jarvis to detect.
Regardless, Tony realized he was unlikely to learn Xu Wenwu's identity anytime soon and decisively gave up on the search.
But the fact that Xu Wenwu had lived for over a thousand years? That was truly terrifying! Could it be that he wasn't even human? Tony had spoken with Thor, who himself had only lived a little over a thousand years! Additionally, that Xu Wenwu possessed a weapon on par with Thor's Mjolnir was truly phenomenal.
Despite currently lacking more information on Xu Wenwu, the bits revealed in the notebook undoubtedly pointed to him being an extraordinarily powerful individual.
Surprised, Tony immediately had JARVIS search for keywords "Ten Rings" and "Nezha."
Of course, nothing useful came up regarding the Ten Rings.
But when it came to Nezha, the information was abundant.
"Sir, this figure comes from Chinese mythology, and is recorded in many related classics," explained JARVIS.
"To put it simply, this is a powerful war deity with three heads and six arms."
"The Universal Ring mentioned in the diary is a treasure used by the deity Nezha."
JARVIS's voice rang out beside Tony's ear.
Simultaneously, a flood of related data was projected in front of Tony's eyes.
After a quick glance, Tony was astonished.
This deity from Chinese legend actually existed!
Well, if Norse gods like Thor exist, why couldn't deities like Nezha?
Of course, the diary made it clear that the mentioned Nezha is from the primary universe 616.
However, parallel universes are essentially highly similar, particularly in terms of their fundamental structures.
Therefore, in his own universe, Tony had no doubt that such deities existed.
This is the true face of the world!
Although Tony was smarter than most people on Earth, due to the constraints of Earth's underdeveloped civilization, he, like everyone else, was ignorant of a larger reality.
That changed the moment he acquired the diary.
The diary gradually lifted the veil of the world, confronting Tony with its startling true nature!
[This must also explain why the Soul Eater, sealed within Ta Lo, chose to deceive Xu Wenwu.]
[Because the Soul Eater knew that Xu Wenwu, with the Ten Rings, had the power to break the Dragon's seal.]
[And indeed, Xu Wenwu managed to do just that, releasing the Soul Eater.]
[If not for Xu Wenwu's son Shang-Chi's strength, the world might have been shrouded in the shadow of the Soul Eater.]
[Yet from that great battle, it seemed that though Xu Wenwu possessed the Ten Rings for a millennium, he never truly mastered them. Shang-Chi, on the other hand, did so almost immediately upon acquiring them.]
[It's just unknown who the Ten Rings sent a signal to when Shang-Chi activated them.]
Ta Lo?
Tony's expression shifted.
This term, no doubt, first appeared in the diary, but it was not the first time Iron Man had encountered it.
Or more accurately, Iron Man had just seen it recently!
It was clear in his mind; the information about Nezha retrieved by JARVIS mentioned the term!
"JARVIS, is the 'Heaven' where Nezha resides called Ta Lo?" Tony quickly organized his thoughts and sought confirmation from JARVIS.
"Yes, sir. In Chinese mythology, Ta Lo, the Heaven, is the highest and most expansive, collectively referred to as Sanqing Heaven, and ruled by the highest deities of the Taoist trinity," JARVIS clarified while projecting related information about Ta Lo in front of Tony.
Tony quickly skimmed through it.
Even though some specific terms were a bit confusing in translation, as a non-native would not easily fully understand Taoist theories.
Even for a top scientist like Tony Stark.
Still, Tony understood one thing quite clearly.
T'Challa indeed was the celestial realm in Chinese mythology!
This cemented his theory!
As he had surmised, deities like Nezha do exist in his own universe.
So, if the Norse pantheon has been proven real, what about the other mythologies?
Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and the rest?
Before, Tony only thought of these as stories for children.
But now, Tony's perspective had entirely changed.
He was no longer ignorant.
"Soul Eater!"
Tony's gaze returned to the diary, his expression immediately intensifying.
This name was also first mentioned in the diary, but the descriptions made it clear that it was a formidable villain.
First by name, "Soul Eater" likely referred to a terrifying entity capable of consuming souls.
Also, if it could deceive someone like Xu Wenwu, it meant this being could digest souls and also manipulate or affect consciousness.
In short, skill-wise, this was a "soul-based" powerful adversary.
And then there was the fact it had been sealed by a dragon and could cast the world in shadow, indicating its tremendous strength.
By any measure, a more frightening foe than the Chitauri who invaded New York.
The idea that such a threat existed in the world weighed heavily on Tony's heart.
The only consolation was that Xu Wenwu's son Shang-Chi was so powerful that he had defeated the Soul Eater.
Yet the diary suggested that Shang-Chi had achieved this by harnessing the power of the Ten Rings.
What about Xu Wenwu?
Unquestionably, he'd been defeated by the Soul Eater!
It seemed Xu Wenwu had never truly mastered the power of the Ten Rings, hence he couldn't unleash their full potential.
But Shang-Chi had done so and defeated the Soul Eater.
So it all came back to the Ten Rings!
The Ten Rings seemed to be an incredible artifact.
But what about the signal the Ten Rings had sent when Shang-Chi activated them?
Tony felt a sinking feeling.
Although he didn't know what this entailed, given the significance of the Ten Rings, this was probably not good news.
[Based on Marvel's usual direction, I suspect the Ten Rings might have sent a signal to Kang the Conqueror.]
[No records of the Ten Rings in Kamar-Taj, and even Captain Marvel, skilled in alien civilizations, couldn't discern any leads.]
[Plus, the clues seem to indicate a strong connection between the Ten Rings and Ms. Marvel's bangle.]
[So it's highly likely, like the bangle, the Ten Rings originate from another dimension!]
[Throughout Marvel, who else can manipulate time and space at will besides Kang the Conqueror?]
[Kang's dynasty is approaching!]
[This is the super-villain who has conquered the multiverse!]
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