Bai Qi prevented the further spread of his injuries by excising the damaged flesh, but this also meant he could no longer sustain the torrent of Dragon's Breath.
The moment the Dragon's Breath dissipated, Darkseid descended from the sky.
Bai Qi's Dragon's Breath was arguably his strongest attack, and its power had grown significantly with his increasing strength. It had currently engulfed Darkseid. Even though the duration was short, even a New God could not escape its effects.
At this moment, Darkseid was severely burned all over his body, with many parts already charred. Fortunately, he wasn't trapped in the Dragon's Breath for long; otherwise, less than a minute, perhaps even thirty seconds, would have been enough to turn this ultimate boss of the DC Universe into ash.
Upon touching the ground with his feet, Darkseid showed no hesitation due to his injuries. Instead, it was precisely these injuries that forced him to acknowledge that this demonic dragon was the one that had inflicted the most damage among all the dragons he had slain.
Seizing the opportunity while Bai Qi was self-healing, Darkseid struck decisively, launching a punch directly at Bai Qi's unhealed wound.
Bai Qi had anticipated this. With quick reflexes, he blocked Darkseid's attack, then pivoted his body, deflecting most of Darkseid's force, and moved to his front. He then struck Darkseid in the chest with a punch, sending him flying. Simultaneously, Bai Qi teleported above Darkseid, maintaining high-speed movement, creating a state of relative stillness for both combatants. He plummeted down, landing both feet on Darkseid, forcefully slamming him into the ground.
As Darkseid attempted to rise and resist, Bai Qi gave him no opportunity. He gathered Dragon's Breath in his maw and unleashed a long torrent directly at Darkseid's face.
However, this time Bai Qi could not sustain the attack for long. Three seconds after the Dragon's Breath erupted, Omega Beams shot out, forcing Bai Qi to retreat and evade, dodging the pursuing Omega Beams.
It was no wonder Superman often resorted to such underhanded tactics as gouging out eyes when fighting Darkseid. There was no other way; the opponent's Omega Beams were simply too insurmountable. Without some form of restriction, if Darkseid could use them without limit, the battle would be unwinnable.
Just as Darkseid stood up, preparing to continue his fight with Bai Qi, his body suddenly faltered. His brow furrowed deeply. He looked at Bai Qi, then at the unexploded lantern, and said, "Hold them off. I will deal with this personally."
With that, Darkseid turned his gaze back to Bai Qi, his aura completely transformed from moments before.
"Holy crap, this guy's getting serious."
Facing a Darkseid with such an imposing aura, even Bai Qi couldn't help but adopt a serious expression.
However, instead of attacking Bai Qi immediately, Darkseid produced a syringe filled with a silver liquid and injected it into himself.
As the silver liquid was injected, Darkseid's injuries began to heal at a visible rate.
Seeing this, Bai Qi could no longer remain idle. The opponent was clearly regenerating, and he would not allow him that time.
Bai Qi instantly appeared before Darkseid. Relying on his immense size, he towered over Darkseid and brought his massive fist down with great force.
Bai Qi was quite confident in his own strength, especially after absorbing the power of the Power Stone. His strength had ascended to an incredibly terrifying level.
But the next moment, Bai Qi fell silent. Darkseid not only dodged but also threw a punch of his own, striking Bai Qi's fist from below.
As their fists collided, the ground beneath Darkseid sank significantly. Bai Qi was also repelled several meters by the immense impact.
In that collision, both combatants were evenly matched. However, Bai Qi was more shocked.
Although neither gained a significant advantage in this exchange, Bai Qi was quite surprised. He hadn't expected the opponent's raw strength to be on par with his own after absorbing the Power Stone. It truly was worthy of being called Darkseid.
After a moment of shock, Bai Qi attacked Darkseid again. He had to act quickly. He didn't know what the opponent had injected into himself, but his injuries were already about seventy percent healed. If he didn't hurry, the damage he had painstakingly inflicted would soon be undone by the opponent's self-healing.
Seeing Bai Qi rush forward to engage him, Darkseid did not falter. He gathered his strength and met Bai Qi head-on.
This time, Bai Qi did not use Dragon's Breath, and Darkseid did not use Omega Beams. It was as if they had prearranged it: only fists met flesh.
In terms of strength, Bai Qi and Darkseid were evenly matched. Both were intensely fond of this kind of visceral combat. After all, with Bai Qi's increasing strength, fewer and fewer opponents could engage him in such exhilarating close-quarters combat.
Darkseid felt the same. As a New God, he possessed formidable physical attributes and astonishing strength. Aside from that blue-skinned alien from Earth, no one could withstand three of his punches. Even that blue-skinned alien, in a real fight, would have the cowardly Earthlings surround him and interfere. A one-on-one duel like this was almost unheard of.
However, their one-on-one, true-man's battle did not last long.
As time progressed, more and more Green Lantern energy was absorbed by the four ring-constructs. More importantly, the energy of the Central Power Battery had been completely drained under the master of the Shadow of War.
Looking at the current situation, given their physical capabilities, it was impossible to decide a winner in a short time. If they fought without restraint, Darkseid might be heavily wounded, but Bai Qi would also pay a great price. The cost and the reward were completely disproportionate.
Seizing an opportunity, Bai Qi unleashed a punch that struck Darkseid directly in the face. As Darkseid attempted to retaliate, Bai Qi dodged to the side, then grabbed his arm and executed a suplex, slamming him to the ground. Without a word, Bai Qi, abandoning any pretense of honorable combat, unleashed the Dragon's Breath he had long been brewing.
The searing Dragon's Breath instantly engulfed Darkseid.
Darkseid was stunned. Wasn't this supposed to be a fistfight? What was with the Dragon's Breath?
Feeling deceived, Darkseid exerted all his strength, dispelling the Dragon's Breath that enveloped him. His eyes glowed red, about to make Bai Qi experience the power of the Omega Beams.
But Darkseid soon discovered that Bai Qi had already vanished. All he could see was the destruction caused by their battle, the corpses of the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe. Bai Qi was nowhere to be found.
"Bastard! I'll kill you!"
Knowing he had been tricked, Darkseid's rage surged to unprecedented levels. But as things stood, Bai Qi had long since departed. No matter how furious he was, he could only rage at the empty air.
In the end, it was OA that bore the brunt of his fury, turning to cosmic dust amidst Darkseid's wrath.