The aliens who were picked up by Superman at the beginning

"What do we do now?"

Shazam had already used Batman's spatial disintegration device to unleash seven magical lightning bolts in succession, but the gate to the realm of gods, which had been clearly open before, now seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Aside from leaving behind a large, unpleasant, and pungent ozone smell in the air, it accomplishes nothing.

Shazam was extremely anxious.

"I know Zeus's power firsthand. That guy and Wonder Woman probably won't last much longer."

Batman silently watched the disintegration device slowly recharging, ignoring Shazam's anxious shouts in his ear without uttering a word.

Superman looked at Batman, pondered for a moment, and his previously worried expression suddenly calmed down.

"You always have a Plan B. You spent three minutes alone with that kid at the bridge exit of the watchtower earlier..."

Shazam turned around abruptly, his face showing a mixture of surprise and doubt.

He clenched his left fist and slammed it into his right palm, excitedly seeking confirmation from Batman.

"Really? I knew it. Batman always has a plan, a secret weapon or something—well, but if we keep stalling, something might go wrong. Aren't you going to tell us about your Plan B?"

Batman placed his hands directly beneath the mask, and the screen in front of him lit up again with the indicator light showing that the device was fully charged.

"How many more times can you come?"

Shazam's face was stiff, and his expression was full of bitterness.

"Under normal circumstances, I would not have enough strength, but this is Mount Olympus, the closest place to Zeus, so I should be able to trigger three more of Zeus's lightning strikes."

"The next action to open the gates of the divine realm will be delayed by five minutes, and the one after that by ten minutes."

"What? You're not planning to leave me a single drop?"

As soon as Shazam finished shouting, he was met with Batman's disapproving gaze, who chuckled twice and stepped back.

"Then I'll go and rest for a bit."

The burly figure in red disappeared in a flash.

"I saw that you gave that child something before you left."

Superman glanced in the direction Shazam had gone and suddenly mentioned it.

Batman nodded slightly at the Blue Scout who was more reliable than Shazam.

"That kid is very smart. In those three minutes, I only suggested one backup plan, but he immediately came up with a better, but also more risky, plan."

"Which one to use depends on his choice."

……

It took Li Zhen about four or five seconds to struggle to get up from the ground again.

Bending over, he coughed several times and vomited a mouthful of blood. Only then could Li Zhen barely lift his head. His vision was so blurred that he could no longer make out Hercules's face.

Only a tall figure could be vaguely seen, standing a few meters in front of him with his arms crossed, waiting quietly.

"Another gentleman, huh?"

Hercules frowned deeply as he looked at Lee Jung, who seemed to be on the verge of death at any moment.

"My divinity forbids me from doing despicable things. I will stand here and wait until you bleed out and can no longer stand."

"Actually, I'm still far from death, really."

Li Zhen glanced in the direction where Zeus was roughly located.

"Would the God-King allow you to wait for me like this until you die?"

"Even the King of Gods cannot force us to do things that go against our divinity. I can even tell you directly that I am not as good as the two gods who died at your hands before. Even Ares could easily defeat me."

Hercules' tone was always bright, like that of a person who stands tall and upright in the sunlight, with a clear conscience.

"If you have a way to kill me while I'm so badly injured, then go ahead and do it. As long as you're in this critically injured and dying state, I will absolutely not lay a hand on you."

A hint of disappointment finally flashed in Li Zhen's eyes.

In fact, he is still far from death. His current injuries are not as severe as when he first arrived on Earth.

Moreover, he is much stronger now than he was back then.

With her current self-healing abilities, Li Zhen could probably recover almost completely if she stood quietly in this place for a week without receiving any treatment.

But it's rare to encounter such a formidable opponent on Earth.

I'm already injured, so it feels like a waste not to be able to fight to my heart's content in one go.

It's just a pity that they ran into a fool like Hercules.

"I don't understand what you gods are thinking. You could easily achieve your goal by sending any strong person over in the third round."

Li Zhen blinked, as if she had suddenly realized something.

"So, whether I challenge the seven gods or the seven gods challenge me, as long as certain conditions are met, your divine power sharing magic will work?"

Zeus, watching from afar, glanced at Wonder Woman, who was still under the command of his oracle and unable to move freely, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Where did you find this student? Is he really just a child?"

Wonder Woman turned her head away, clearly not wanting to talk to the old man.

Hercules perfectly followed his divine code of conduct, refusing to do anything base, not even lying.

He affirmed Li Zhen's statement.

"This is a hero's ritual, with at least seven challenges. Each challenge you face is only slightly more difficult than you are capable of, so there is still a chance of completing it. If you are still full of energy after defeating the Titans, Apollo will be the one to stand before you."

Seemingly afraid that Li Zhen wouldn't believe him, Hercules quickly added a sentence.

"The God of War was an accident. Our information about you is limited to what Eris brought up. After that, we can no longer use magic to discern your specific condition."

After pondering for a moment, Li Zhen sighed and took a box out of her waist.

The material is black and has a slightly rough, sharp feel to the touch. The box is only about three square inches in size.

Immediately afterwards, Li Zhen took a bright yellow ring out of the box.

Hercules was taken aback; the ring emanated an aura that he found extremely repulsive.

Li Zhen picked up the ring and gently slipped it onto the middle finger of her other hand.

"It's hard to imagine that someone like you exists in this world. Out of respect, I will only heal two layers of my injuries."

A dim, terrifying light enveloped Li Zhen's entire body, and under the yellow light, her seemingly horrific injuries began to show signs of healing in no time.

Two seconds later, Li Zhen quickly took off the ring.

"Now, our fighting strength should be on the same level, and I will go all out against you on that basis."

Hercules finally stopped standing by with his arms crossed and solemnly opened his hands, revealing a huge club in his right hand.

He stared intently at the light of fear that Li Zhen had put back into the box, his expression full of vigilance.

"What exactly is it...?"

The air suddenly exploded with a reverberation. Li Zhen, holding the ring box in one hand and making a horizontal slashing motion with the other, had already flashed to a distance where she was face to face with Hercules.

Wiping away the blood dripping from her fingertips, Li Zhen looked at Hercules, whose pupils were unfocused and who was lying on his back, spitting blood after a laceration to his neck. She shook her head helplessly.

Although he didn't get enough significant combat experience, his strength was improved once again.

Even though the injuries look alarming, this level of injury is still considered minor for a future elite Vitrum warrior.

"You are simply not suited for combat. Life in the realm of the gods has made you too comfortable for too long, Hercules."

Leaving the corpses on the ground, Li Zhen, who had risen back into the sky, pointed at Zeus, who remained expressionless and was about to summon the next god.

"I'll choose the next opponent. According to your rules, Mr. Prince should also be able to meet the requirements of your ritual."