At this moment, Ronan was solely focused on reclaiming his warhammer. He paid no mind to why Bai Qi was standing so still, not reacting at all to his attack. However, as he reached within a meter of Bai Qi, the unexpected happened.
Ronan felt his legs become incredibly heavy, as if filled with lead, and a great stone seemed to press down on his chest, making it difficult to breathe.
Then, to the shocked gazes of everyone present, Ronan began to float. His feet left the ground, and his body hung suspended in the air, struggling in vain.
Bai Qi extended his right hand, fingers spread towards the floating Ronan. He then clenched his fist, and with a sickening squelch, Ronan's body was instantly compressed into a ball, blood squeezing out of him like mist.
Everyone present was stunned into silence. The members of the Guardians of the Galaxy were particularly astonished, as they knew how tough Ronan's body was and how difficult he was to deal with. Now, he had been so easily killed, like crushing a small chick, which was simply unacceptable.
Unacceptable as it was, Ronan was now dead, and the crisis for Xandar had been averted. All that remained was to retrieve the Power Stone. At least, that's what Star-Lord and the others believed.
Star-Lord looked around and saw that everyone was too terrified by Bai Qi's power to approach. It seemed he had to do it himself, after all.
Star-Lord brushed off the dust from his clothes and tidied his messy hair. He then strode confidently towards Bai Qi.
"Friend, I'm glad you helped us deal with Ronan. However, I must ask you to hand over the Infinity Stone. Its power is too terrifying and unstable, and it needs to be kept in a safe place for proper safekeeping."
Bai Qi looked at Star-Lord, who stood before him with a face full of sincerity, and grinned, "How do you intend to properly safeguard this Infinity Stone?"
Star-Lord, not yet realizing what was happening, continued, "We can hand it over to Xandar. With Xandar's technological prowess, they can properly seal the Infinity Stone..."
Before Star-Lord could finish, Bai Qi interrupted him and said, "And then let the Xandarians research it to create even more destructive weapons, becoming a second Kree Empire?"
"Xandar will absolutely not become a second Kree Empire."
As soon as Bai Qi finished speaking, a Xandarian officer stepped forward.
This Xandarian officer had also participated in the recent battle and had sustained injuries to both his legs, causing him to limp.
The Xandarian officer's expression was grave. He hobbled over to Bai Qi and said, "The people of Xandar are peace-loving. We are fundamentally different from the Kree Empire. Even if the Infinity Stone were placed with us, we would only guard it, not research it, and certainly not use this immense power to develop weapons of mass destruction."
Bai Qi responded to the officer's righteous declaration with a mere chuckle.
As an officer, his concerns were solely about leading troops in battle. Faced with the aggressive Kree Empire, Xandar had long played the role of the defender, repelling wave after wave of Kree attacks. Over time, this had led these officers to believe that Xandarians were a peace-loving civilization, and their combat was merely a choice born out of necessity.
However, he was unaware that in this world, there was no absolute good or evil. History was often written by the victors. Once the Kree Empire conquered Xandar, it wouldn't be long before, in Kree history, Xandar would be depicted as an evil, chaotic, bloodthirsty, and violent planet, while the Kree Empire would be portrayed as a just force that rescued people from suffering. The opposite would also be true.
Given the Kree Empire's constant attacks, now was a chance for Xandar, a chance to end the conflict once and for all. Bai Qi didn't believe they wouldn't be tempted to research the Power Stone. After all, they could always concoct a hypocritical excuse to gloss over it.
Seeing that Bai Qi had no intention of handing over the Power Stone, the impatient officer decided not to wait. He lunged forward, reaching out to snatch it.
"No!"
Star-Lord tried to stop him, but it was too late.
As the officer closed within half a step of Bai Qi, his body rapidly expanded like an inflated balloon. The next moment, with a loud bang, he exploded. Blood, brain matter, and bone fragments mixed together, splattering everywhere.
"You killed him? Why?"
Bai Qi looked at Star-Lord as if he were an idiot and asked, "Why? He tried to snatch the Power Stone from my hand. What's wrong with me killing him?"
"But you didn't have to. With your strength, you should have been able to subdue him easily."
Bai Qi nodded in response, "That's true. But why would I go through all that trouble? Isn't killing him faster and more convenient?"
Star-Lord was about to say something else, but Bai Qi spoke first.
Bai Qi was already getting bored. He waved his hand and said, "Why do you think I'm on your side? Just because I killed Ronan?"
"Look at the sky!"
As Bai Qi spoke, someone shouted, and everyone looked up.
The sky was now turbulent. Warships laden with weapons broke through the clouds, appearing before everyone's eyes.
Star-Lord looked at the numerous warships in the sky, then down at Bai Qi. He seemed to understand something. Before he could speak, an invisible force acted upon him, flinging him more than ten meters away.
When Star-Lord was helped to his feet by Gamora and Drax, Bai Qi had already returned to the flagship with the Power Stone.
"Your Majesty, you have returned."
Upon seeing Bai Qi appear, Kree's flattery immediately followed.
"Your Majesty is wise and divine, heroic and invincible, playing those fools for fools. Truly brilliant."
"Enough with the empty words."
Bai Qi reached out and pulled the Power Stone from Ronan's hammer.
For anyone else, merely touching the Power Stone would have vaporized them with the energy it emitted. But Bai Qi was different. Not only did he possess immense strength, but he had also absorbed numerous Infinity Stones from other worlds. He now had a high degree of affinity with the Power Stone of this world.
However, even so, holding the Power Stone barehanded without any protection had still affected Bai Qi's arm.
"Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Seeing the purple veins spreading upwards on Bai Qi's arm, Kree asked with some uncertainty.
"It's nothing, just a minor issue that can be easily resolved."
With that, Bai Qi exerted force. The veins that were spreading upwards instantly stopped and retracted at a visibly rapid pace.