"You... are quite something!"
The human-like skin on Ego's face shattered completely, revealing a semi-solid form made entirely of energy inside.
In billions of years, this was the first time he had been slapped in the face in public—and twice in a row at that.
"Humble lower race, it seems I must teach you a lesson today!"
As he spoke, Ego's body began to swell.
No, not just his body.
Instead, the entire Planet was shaking violently at this moment, and the distant sea of flowers was withering in large patches.
Mountains crumbled, and lakes boiled.
Those things that were originally as beautiful as products of a fairy tale World now completely revealed their truest form—energy!
Nearly endless blue-white energy!
The blue-white energy accumulated thicker and thicker, gathering more and more, gradually forming a super-sized giant over a hundred meters tall.
"Now, let me see who is going to slap whose face!"
Ego let out a low roar, making everyone's eardrums ache.
Rocket Raccoon couldn't help but adjust his energy gun to maximum power and fire a shot.
This energy cannon, powerful enough to blast a high-tech fighter into cosmic dust, landed on the giant's skin but couldn't even produce a single ripple of energy.
"Shit, what the hell is this monster? I feel like he's much more troublesome than Ronan with the Power Stone."
Ego didn't bother to pay attention to Rocket at all, simply raising his massive right foot and pressing it down towards Peter with overwhelming force.
This move had a bit of a Heavenly Silkworm Foot feel to it.
Before the massive energy foot even landed, the terrifying wind pressure it generated blew Star-Lord and the others away, and caused the ground beneath Peter's feet to begin cracking inch by inch.
Peter stood his ground, his clothes fluttering loudly under the immense wind pressure.
Looking at his solitary and upright back, Star-Lord gritted his teeth, forcibly channeling the Celestial Energy he had just mastered within his body, and reached out his hand toward Ego.
He tried to help Peter in his own way.
Surprisingly, his attempt was actually an unexpected success.
The downward movement of the sky-blotting foot paused for a moment due to his successful operation.
Star-Lord endured the immense pressure and roared at Peter:
"Get out of the way!"
Peter glanced back at him and gave him a smile. Just as he was about to say something, he was forcibly interrupted by Ego:
"My foolish child, all of your abilities originate from me."
He looked at Star-Lord with a mocking smile:
"Do you think you can use what I bestowed upon you against me?"
"Shut up!" Star-Lord's nose was bleeding because he had over-exhausted his mental power to mobilize the Celestial Energy:
"Stop flattering yourself."
"You're not my father."
"I have only one true father, and that's Yondu!"
Hearing this, the energy giant's body trembled visibly, and then, the mockery in the giant's eyes vanished.
Leaving only endless coldness:
"Very well! Since you can even say such things, then... you are not qualified to inherit my energy!"
As he spoke, he waved his hand, and a ball of energy flew out from Star-Lord's chest. Star-Lord passed out on the spot because the Celestial Energy was drained away.
And that energy foot also broke free from Star-Lord's control, crushing down toward Peter once again.
Boom!
The foot landed, kicking up a large cloud of dust.
Gamora and the others widened their eyes involuntarily, and Mantis couldn't help but shed tears, thinking her request had caused Peter's death.
Rocket couldn't help but scream:
"Dude, weren't you supposed to be tough? Don't die! Don't make me look down on you!"
Just when everyone except Sif thought Peter had been crushed to death by Ego's foot, a frivolous voice suddenly came from the dust:
"You foul-mouthed raccoon really aren't cute at all~!"
The moment the voice fell, a strong wind swept away the thick dust, allowing everyone present to see Peter's situation clearly.
Peter was standing there unscathed. Above his head, a thick wooden shield with a demon face pattern was steadily resisting Ego's stomping foot.
Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!
Seeing that this Wood Release actually resisted his foot, Ego felt somewhat embarrassed. He couldn't help but increase his power output, trying to crush the shield.
Noticing his actions, Peter couldn't help but sneer:
"Is your sole itchy and you want to step on someone's head? Be careful not to have your sole pierced through, old geezer~!"
As he spoke, he casually raised a hand. In the next second, countless branches sprouted from the wooden shield, directly piercing through that foot.
Wood Release: Cutting Technique!
The moment his foot was pierced, Ego's expression changed.
It wasn't that he actually felt pain, but rather he noticed that these branches were quite unusual.
They were actually... absorbing the Celestial Energy within his body to constantly grow!
"Young man, I admit I underestimated you, but this is my body."
As he spoke, he increased the energy output of his right foot, causing the Cutting Technique branches embedded in his sole to instantly explode!
"I am this Planet. Compared to an entire Planet, all of your attacks are nothing more than scratching an itch for me, do you understand!"
"Inside my true form, how can you possibly defeat me?"
Facing Ego's roar, Peter didn't respond. He looked down at the Omnitrix on his wrist and lightly turned the dial halfway.
This movement was too small, so small that no one present noticed.
Only Sif saw it.
She stood to the side with her arms crossed, her previous worry gone, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
She knew that there was about to be another good show!
Glancing satisfied at the Omnitrix's progress bar and confirming that gene collection had officially begun, Peter looked up, smiled slightly at Ego, and then spoke in a flat tone:
"How will I defeat you?"
"The answer is, of course... trees!"
As he spoke, Peter clapped his hands together. The ground instantly split open, and countless wooden Roots emerged from the cracks, expanding in all directions at a visible speed. Each trunk was as thick as a dozen men's embrace, and the leaves were so dense that Ego couldn't even see exactly where Peter and the others were.
Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees.
"I am Groot!" Seeing this move again, Groot couldn't help but exclaim, a hint of admiration appearing in his eyes as he looked at Peter.
But such a formidable-looking attack only made Ego curl his lip in disdain:
"Laughable. The entire Planet is my true form. Do you expect to hurt me with such primitive attacks?"
After speaking, Ego channeled part of the energy from his body into the ground.
In the next second, he caused the energy-based ground beneath his feet to petrify again.
The wave of petrification energy spread outward from beneath Ego's feet. Wherever it passed, the sea of trees summoned by Peter began to turn to ash rapidly from the Roots, branches solidified, leaves shattered, and the Roots that had entangled the tentacles broke off one by one, turning into powder and falling to the ground.
The entire forest that had taken over ten seconds to appear was completely petrified in less than ten seconds.
Looking at his masterpiece, Ego couldn't help but burst into wild laughter:
"You fool, do you still not understand? I am not just an energy body. All the energy of this Planet can be controlled by me at will. Whether it's an energy form or materialization, it's all within a single thought of mine!"
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