The combined power of the Mind Stone, Soul Stone, Self Stone, and Karl's immense psychic force surged into the woman's body.
Very quickly, Karl located the fragment of the Phoenix Force hidden deep within her soul.
The moment it was extracted, the fragment reacted exactly like the previous ones.
A streak of scarlet light shot through the air and instantly merged into the Black Phoenix's body.
Boom!
An overwhelming wave of crimson energy erupted outward.
Fortunately, Karl had already prepared.
Using his own power, he confined the released energy within a controlled area, preventing the surrounding planet from suffering catastrophic damage.
At the center of the scarlet flames, the Black Phoenix's aura began rising continuously.
Her life force transformed.
Her soul evolved.
The Phoenix Force was fundamentally different from most sources of power.
As the embodiment of life and psychic energy, it naturally elevated its host's existence.
Unlike many cosmic entities, the Black Phoenix did not need to search for separate methods to evolve her soul or life level.
Every fragment she absorbed strengthened both simultaneously.
Combined with the countless benefits she had already obtained through Karl, her foundation was incomparably solid.
The result was inevitable.
Boom!
The scarlet flames condensed.
Then stabilized.
The Black Phoenix officially stepped into the Single-Universe Level.
Karl and Ganata both smiled.
At long last, Karl possessed a third true Single-Universe Level combatant.
Yan's upgrade was also nearing completion.
Once her Fifth-Generation Divine Body was fully upgraded, she would become another Single-Universe powerhouse.
As for Hela, her advancement was only a matter of time.
The death energy within the Shadow World was extraordinarily powerful.
Not only was it highly compatible with Hela's divine power, but its quality far exceeded ordinary energy sources.
With continued absorption, her breakthrough was practically guaranteed.
Afterward, Karl injected a trace of Horse Talisman energy into the fragment host to repair any damage caused during the extraction process.
At the same time, he noticed something familiar.
Like La, the woman's soul possessed unusual characteristics.
The Phoenix Force fragment had altered her spiritual essence.
The phenomenon resembled a weakened version of the Phoenix Force's legendary rebirth capability.
Karl made a mental note of the discovery.
Then he released the frozen flow of time.
By the time the woman realized that her mysterious power had vanished, Karl and the others were already gone.
...
The group spent some time exploring the planet.
Unlike Kala, this world operated under a federal government system.
Its inhabitants closely resembled humans, although their eyes possessed unusual characteristics, and some individuals displayed minor special abilities.
Observing the planet reminded Karl of something.
The Celestials had always enjoyed interfering with the development of intelligent life throughout the cosmos.
Many races throughout Marvel history traced their origins back to Celestial experimentation.
The Kree.
The Eternals.
The Deviants.
Numerous civilizations carried traces of Celestial influence.
After thinking about it for a moment, Karl simply shook his head.
The Celestials were already enemies.
There was little point dwelling on their ancient experiments.
Soon afterward, Karl returned to the warship alongside Ganata and the newly advanced Black Phoenix.
Meanwhile, Tony and the others were thoroughly enjoying themselves on the planet.
Karl even witnessed a rather amusing scene through the warship's monitoring systems.
Several fighter jets were pursuing Tony through the atmosphere.
Karl burst out laughing.
He immediately guessed what had happened.
Tony probably did not want to harm local civilians, so he simply used his liquid nanotech armor to outmaneuver the pursuing aircraft rather than destroying them.
After watching for a few moments, Karl lost interest and returned his attention to more important matters.
With Ganata and the Black Phoenix beside him, he headed toward his room.
...
Upon entering, they found La resting on a sofa.
When she saw Karl return, she immediately stood and bowed respectfully.
Karl waved his hand.
Before she could complete the gesture, he casually pulled her onto the sofa beside him.
Ganata looked curiously at the phoenix robe La was wearing.
Although it was called a phoenix robe, its primary feature was the intricate golden phoenix embroidery woven throughout the garment.
The elegant design gave La an exceptionally noble appearance.
Ganata found it quite interesting.
Meanwhile, the Black Phoenix sat on Karl's other side.
La remained noticeably nervous.
Even after spending days aboard the warship, she still found it difficult to fully adapt to her new circumstances.
Compared to her former life as a planetary ruler, everything around Karl felt unreal.
Her worldview had been shattered repeatedly.
The more she learned about Karl and the others, the smaller her previous achievements seemed.
Karl simply leaned back against the sofa and watched her reaction with amusement.
The Black Phoenix found the situation equally entertaining.
Occasionally, she would deliberately tease La, causing the former ruler to become even more embarrassed.
Ganata, meanwhile, observed everything with innocent curiosity.
The contrast between the three women made Karl smile.
...
Over the following period, the atmosphere aboard the warship remained relatively peaceful.
The Black Phoenix focused on adapting to her newly acquired power.
Ganata continued absorbing energy and strengthening herself.
La gradually learned how to function aboard a vessel capable of traversing galaxies.
As for Karl, he divided his time between cultivation, observation, and preparation for future conflicts.
The threat posed by the Celestials still loomed over everything.
No one forgot that fact.
...
Eventually, Karl decided to check on Yan's progress.
He arrived at the research facility.
Inside one of the advanced upgrade chambers, Yan floated peacefully within transparent energy fluid.
She wore a simple dress.
Her eyes remained closed as the upgrade process continued.
Countless streams of data flowed across nearby displays.
Karl quietly observed her for several moments.
After reviewing the information provided by Vastness, he learned that the process would require approximately one more week before completion.
Even with Vastness's assistance, upgrading to a Fifth-Generation Divine Body was an enormous undertaking.
Karl took one last look at Yan before leaving the laboratory.
Soon afterward, he entered the Shadow World.
Hela was still there.
The moment Karl arrived, he sensed her presence.
At this stage, Hela's strength had already reached the threshold of the Pseudo-Single-Universe Level.
...
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