Chapter 144: Utterly Arrogant, Ambition Aimed at the Ancient One
Inside the side hall of Asgard, the smoke that had filled the air quietly dissipated under the brush of some invisible force.
On the golden throne, Lin Nuo's posture appeared lazy and arrogant.
He sat with one leg crossed over the other, one elbow propped on the heavy solid gold armrest, his long fingers tapping rhythmically in the air.
Beside his knee, Hela, the Eldest Daughter of Death who had once struck terror into the Nine Realms, was kneeling in a submissive posture.
The black backless evening gown clung tightly to her body, perfectly outlining her slender yet curvaceous figure.
A large expanse of her cold, white back was exposed to the air, rising and falling with her somewhat rapid breathing.
Hela held a silver chalice filled with Asgard's fine wine with both hands, lifting it high above her head.
On her glamorous face, her previous arrogance had long since vanished, replaced by an almost instinctive obedience.
The "God of Death" divinity bestowed upon Lin Nuo by the system possessed a fatal attraction and absolute suppression for a death-controlling goddess like her.
Lin Nuo lowered his eyelids, his gaze falling on her fair shoulders.
He didn't take the chalice but instead dipped his index finger into the liquid and let a drop of the dark red fluid fall onto Hela's bare collarbone.
The slightly cool liquid made Hela's body tremble slightly, and a layer of goosebumps appeared on her fair skin.
Hela's voice was a bit raspy, mixed with a hint of lingering breathlessness.
"Master..."
She looked up slightly, her eyes that were once filled with killing intent now overflowing with weakness and a desire to please.
Lin Nuo's low chuckle rang out.
His large palm slid down her neck, his rough fingertips slowly caressing her spine.
"What, feeling cold already?"
That tingling sensation rushed up her spine straight to her brain; Hela felt her waist go weak, nearly losing her grip on the chalice.
She had to rest her forehead lightly against Lin Nuo's knee to support her weakening body.
Hela's voice was as soft as water.
"Not cold... As long as I can serve Master, Hela is willing to do anything."
She knew very well that the man before her had not only taken her power but had also completely branded her soul with his mark.
Lin Nuo snatched the chalice from her hands and casually splashed the wine onto the charred floor tiles, making a sizzling sound.
He leaned down, pinched Hela's chin, and forced her to look up with her exquisite face.
"Asgard's wine is too bland."
"Just like this land—it looks magnificent, but in reality, it's just a pile of useless, rotten stones."
Hela looked at him in confusion.
"Master doesn't like it here? This is the center of the Nine Realms, the throne countless people dream of."
Lin Nuo tugged at his collar, a sneer appearing on his face.
"Throne?"
"In the eyes of a businessman, assets that cannot continuously generate huge profits are bad assets."
"I sent Thor to mine just to squeeze the last bit of surplus value out of these ruins."
"As for ruling this place? I don't have the spare time to be some village chief."
He let go and stood up; his tall, upright figure cast a huge shadow under the sunlight, completely enveloping Hela.
Lin Nuo walked to the edge of the high platform, watching the city being reorganized by Star Umbrella warriorsoutside, his eyes full of greed and ambition.
"Asgard's resources are in hand, and the essence of the Space Stone has also merged into my body."
"Next, it's time to harvest even more valuable prey."
Hela stood up from the ground, her stilettos clicking sharply against the floor tiles.
She walked submissively behind Lin Nuo, reaching out her arms to tightly embrace the man's waist from behind.
She pressed her cheek against the man's broad back, greedily inhaling the cold, overbearing cedar scent from him.
"No matter where Master goes, Hela will be your sharpest sword."
She murmured softly, her body pressing against his back without reservation.
Lin Nuo turned around and pulled her into his arms.
His rough palm gave her waist a firm squeeze, eliciting another low moan from the woman.
"The sharpest sword? Learn the rules of your station first."
Lin Nuo pinched her chin, forcing her to meet his dark eyes.
"On Earth, there is a woman who has lived longer than you and is harder to deal with than you."
Hela's eyes flickered.
"Earth? Among those mortals, there is someone Mastercares about?"
Lin Nuo gave a light snort.
"Mortals?"
"She is no ordinary mortal."
"She wears yellow monk robes, is bald, yet controls the flow of time and travels freely through countless parallel dimensions."
"The Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj, the Ancient One."
Hearing this name, Hela's body tensed slightly.
As the eldest daughter of Asgard, she had naturally heard of the Sorcerer Supreme's title.
That was a terrifying existence that even Odin in his prime would not easily provoke.
"She has... the Time Stone in her hand."
Hela said in a low voice, an instinctive wariness flashing in her eyes.
"That's right, the Time Stone."
A wicked smile curled at the corner of Lin Nuo's mouth.
"A woman who thinks she has seen through all futures and looks down on all living beings from the moral high ground."
"Don't you think it would be very interesting to shatter that eternally calm face of hers and make her kneel obediently at my knees begging for mercy, just like you are now?"
Hela looked at Lin Nuo's handsome face, full of aggression and ambition; her heart shook slightly, followed by a morbid excitement.
This man was a complete lunatic.
But he had the capital for it.
"Master will surely succeed!"
Hela hugged his neck tightly, embedding her soft body deeper into his embrace.
She took the initiative to lean in, lightly pressing her swollen lips against the man's chin with a submissive and pleasing manner.
"Hela will help Master turn her into your private property as well."
"Good girl."
Lin Nuo was very satisfied with her attitude.
His large palm cupped the back of her head, and he lowered his head to seal her lips.
This kiss was even more overbearing than before.
He ruthlessly forced open her defenses, wantonly plundering her breath.
Hela could only endure weakly, her hands clutching his shirt tightly as broken whimpers escaped her throat.
It wasn't until Hela was about to run out of breath that Lin Nuo reluctantly let her go.
He looked at the woman slumped in his arms, lacking even the strength to stand, and the corner of his mouth curled.
"Remember how you look right now."
Lin Nuo's thumb wiped the moisture from the corner of her lips, his voice low and dangerous.
"When we return to Earth, I don't want to see a single trace of hesitation from you."
"If you dare to embarrass me at a critical moment, I'll make you experience the taste of being sealed in the Dark Abyssagain!"
Lin Nuo pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose.
The Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One was indeed a difficult opponent.
She could see through the future and use the Time Stonefor infinite loops.
But before the absolute Reality Manipulation Authorityand the essence of space, those so-called prophecies were nothing more than scrap paper that could be torn up at any time.
Moreover, Lin Nuo had the biggest variable in his hand: the system.
As long as he could get close to the Ancient One, intercept her luck, and even completely break through her psychological defenses...
A crimson light flashed in the depths of Lin Nuo's eyes.
That would be an unprecedented gluttonous feast.
Lin Nuo let go of Hela and spoke calmly to the void.
"Potts."
In the next moment, Potts's figure appeared in a holographic projection.
"Boss, the Starship has completed its preparations and can set sail at any time."
"Thor has also been sent to the mining area, progress is normal."
"Very good."
Lin Nuo adjusted his cuffs and walked out of the hall with long strides.
Hela followed submissively by his side in her stilettos.
The perfect curves under that backless dress swayed slightly with her steps, like a noble pet that had lost its freedom.
Lin Nuo stopped, turned his head, and glanced at Hela.
"Go get my trench coat, Eldest Princess."
"It's time to return to Earth and meet an old friend."
Chapter 145: Return to Earth, Undercurrents in Kamar-Taj
New York, Star Umbrella Group Headquarters.
In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the top-floor office, Lin Nuo stood quietly.
He wore a well-tailored white shirt, ironed without a single wrinkle.
The top two buttons of the collar were casually open, revealing his exquisite collarbones.
A pair of gold-rimmed glasses rested on his high bridge, perfectly concealing the aggressive ambition in his bones beneath a gentle, scholarly air.
Outside the window was the bustling scenery of the entire New York City.
The once-towering S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion headquarters was long gone.
In its place was the iconic giant umbrella emblem of the Star Umbrella Group, reflecting a cold and dazzling light under the sun.
On today's Earth, secular power had entirely fallen into the control of Star Umbrella.
The slight sound of a mechanism clicked, and the mahogany door of the office was gently pushed open.
Potts walked in with elegant steps.
Today, she had swapped her usual tactical command uniform for a form-fitting black professional skirt suit.
Her long legs were wrapped in thin, flesh-colored stockings, and she wore a pair of red stilettos.
This sharp outfit perfectly outlined the mature, rounded curves of her waist and hips.
Potts handed over a holographic folder, her voice crisp, yet the moment she met Lin Nuo's gaze, her breathing quietly skipped a beat.
"Boss, this is the summary of the global power transition report just compiled."
Lin Nuo turned around, but instead of taking the document, he took long strides, approaching her step by step.
As he drew closer, an almost tangible sense of pressure washed over her.
Potts instinctively wanted to step back.
But Lin Nuo was faster; he extended a long arm, directly grabbing her slender waist and pulling her forcefully into his embrace.
Potts' cheeks flushed slightly, her hands pressed against Lin Nuo's firm chest, struggling weakly.
The thin white shirt couldn't block the scorching heat from the man's body; it conducted through the fabric, making her body feel a bit weak from the heat.
"Boss... we're in the office..."
Lin Nuo let out a low chuckle, the slight vibration in his chest sending a wave of numbness up Potts' spine.
His slender fingers pinched Potts' delicate chin, forcing her to look up and meet his playful eyes.
"In my domain, who would dare come in without knocking?"
Lin Nuo's voice was low and husky, carrying an overbearing authority that brooked no disobedience.
His broad palm slid slowly down Potts' waistline, giving a firm squeeze at the edge of her pencil skirt.
"Be good, and read the results of today's global acquisitions to me."
Potts bit her red lip, a few drops of pitiable mist welling in the corners of her eyes.
She wanted to refuse verbally, but her body had already compromised under the man's control, leaning limply against him, her voice even carrying a few coquettish tremors.
"Mm..."
"The major financial groups have all signed the asset restructuring agreements."
"The Uru metal veins in Asgard have also been taken over by the engineering teams. Thor mined twelve tons of raw ore today and was very cooperative..."
Lin Nuo praised her with satisfaction, then lowered his head, forcefully kissing those rosy lips.
"Good girl."
The kiss was entirely predatory.
He arrogantly pried open her pearly teeth, his warm tongue driving straight in, wantonly drinking in her sweetness.
Potts felt her mind go blank, her hands powerlessly looping around the man's neck as she passively endured this storm-like demand.
It wasn't until Potts was almost smothered and breathless that Lin Nuo released her, still wanting more.
He used his thumb to gently wipe a trace of moisture from the corner of her lip; his actions were refined, but his gaze was startlingly hot.
Lin Nuo straightened his collar, his demeanor returning to its previous elegance and composure.
"Go prepare the private jet. I need to take a trip to Nepal."
Potts, somewhat dazed, straightened her messy clothes and nodded with a blush.
"I'll go arrange it right away."
"But Boss, you're going to Kathmandu; aren't you taking Star Umbrella's regular fleet?"
Lin Nuo put on his gold-rimmed glasses, a playful smile appearing on his face.
"To deal with some mages who think they're above it all, bringing those tin cans would only spoil the mood!"
...
A few hours later, Star Umbrella Group's top-tier private jet cruised smoothly at ten thousand meters.
Inside the dim private cabin, the lights were dimmed to a minimum, creating an almost intimate and dangerous atmosphere.
Hela sat on the leather sofa opposite Lin Nuo.
She wore a seductive black backless evening gown, her large expanse of cold, white back looking like fine mutton-fat jade in the dim light.
Because of the fusion with the God of Death's divinity, Helahad developed an almost pathological instinctive dependence on Lin Nuo.
Her eyes, which were originally filled with slaughter, were now looking at Lin Nuo timidly as her body involuntarily moved closer to him.
Lin Nuo patted his thigh, his tone lazy.
"Sit here."
Without the slightest hesitation, Hela walked over quickly in her stilettos and submissively sat astride his lap.
She wrapped her arms around Lin Nuo's neck, pressing her soft body tightly against the man's broad chest.
She greedily inhaled the cold, domineering cedar scent on him.
Hela tilted her head, her warm breath hitting the side of Lin Nuo's neck, her voice sickeningly sweet.
"Master... where are we going?"
Lin Nuo's large palm slid in along the high-slit edge of her evening gown, pressing against that skin as smooth as fat, rubbing it slowly and causing waves of slight tremors in the woman.
He closed his eyes while stroking her.
"To see an old friend, and incidentally, to confiscate a toy that should belong to me."
The Space Stone essence and the Reality Modification Core Authority within him quietly operated at this moment.
A wisp of faint blue light flashed across his fingertips and vanished.
With the blessing of the Supreme Divinity, all the magicflows on the surface of the Earth transformed into a clear spiderweb in his mind.
And the source of that web pointed directly to a spatial folding point deep in the Himalayas.
The magic node of Kamar-Taj had been firmly locked by him!
Hela, in his arms, seemed to feel that terrifying fluctuation of laws; her body shrank a bit, the corners of her eyes turning red.
"Master's power... is becoming more and more frightening..."
"But, Hela likes it..."
Lin Nuo opened his eyes, looking at this completely tamed Nine Realms demon god in his arms, a wicked curve lifting the corner of his lip.
He freed one hand to pinch Hela's chin, lowering his head to bite and suck hard on her collarbone, leaving a bright red mark.
"When we get there, you'd better behave yourself."
"If you dare to lose face for me, just wait and see how I punish you when we get back to the room tonight!"
The woman's delicate body trembled slightly, her eyes full of submission and surrender.
"Hela understands... everything will be as Master says..."
...
Nepal, at the foot of the Himalayas.
Snowflakes fluttered down from the sky, dressing the entire mountain range in silver and white.
Lin Nuo wore a high-purity Vibranium windbreaker, walking leisurely on the snow-covered mountain path with his hands in his pockets.
Hela held his arm, her stilettos stepping on the snow but leaving no trace under the protection of the Bio-force field.
In the void not far ahead of them, the flow of space showed a strange sluggishness.
Ordinary people passing through here would only feel a gust of wind and sand in their eyes, instinctively detouring.
But in Lin Nuo's eyes, that ancient wooden door leading to the mysterious sanctuary of magic stood quietly in the wind and snow.
Furthermore, the door was not locked; instead, it was slightly ajar, as if quietly waiting for the arrival of a distinguished guest.
Lin Nuo stopped, a flash of crimson light passing through the eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses.
He looked at the wooden door, the corner of his lip curling into a playful smile.
He tilted his head slightly.
"It seems this mage who guards the Earth didn't even plan to close the door for me."
Chapter 146: Entering the Sanctum, Clash at the Tea Table
Hela held Lin Nuo's arm, her high heels clicking to a stop before the half-open, rustic wooden door.
She tilted her head, a few strands of her silver hair whipped up by the wind and snow, pressing against the cold white side of her neck.
"Master, do you need me to go in first to scout the way?"
Lin Nuo patted her hand resting in the crook of his arm.
"No need."
"When a Master comes to visit, there's no reason to let the bodyguard enter first."
He stepped over the wooden threshold and cast a final glance back at Hela.
"Wait outside."
"If I don't come out after half an hour..."
Hela's body tensed.
Lin Nuo smiled.
"Then wait another half hour."
"I've always been slow when having tea with people."
Hela let out a sigh of relief and obediently stepped aside to the doorframe, folding her hands in front of her and standing quietly with lowered eyes.
Lin Nuo walked into Kamar-Taj alone.
...
The long, narrow corridor was paved with rough bluestone.
Ancient prayer flags hung on both sides of the walls, their threads faded, but in his perception, the symbols of the scriptures faintly emitted weak magical fluctuations.
Those were ancient defensive enchantments.
The level was very low.
So low that in Lin Nuo's eyes, it was as cute as a "No Flyers" sign posted at the entrance of a residential community.
With both hands in the pockets of his Vibranium trench coat, his leather shoes stepped on the bluestone slabs, his pace as casual as if he were strolling through his own backyard garden.
As he turned the third corner, a faint aroma of tea drifted over.
It wasn't Longjing, nor was it Biluochun.
It was some kind of plant he couldn't identify.
Bitter, but with a subtle hint of sweetness in the aftertaste.
Lin Nuo pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses.
A few steps further, an open meditation room appeared at the end of his vision.
There was no door.
Only two stone pillars covered in Sanskrit carvings served as the entrance.
The room's layout was minimalist.
A low table.
Two clay bowls.
A sandalwood censer.
A woman.
She sat cross-legged on a futon opposite the low table.
With a shaved head.
Dressed in a plain yellow Buddhist robe, her wide cuffs revealed a slender wrist.
Her face showed no precise age.
Her skin was smooth, her features elegant, and her eye sockets slightly deep.
Her entire being exuded a sense of tranquility found only in aged wooden carvings within a temple.
She was brewing tea.
Her movements were unhurried.
The spout tilted, and hot water poured into the clay bowl, making a crisp dripping sound.
Lin Nuo paused by the stone pillars for two seconds, finished his observation, and stepped inside.
He sat straight down opposite the low table.
His long legs bent on the futon, his knees rising a bit higher than the tabletop.
His sitting posture was extremely casual, as if he were sitting in his million-dollar leather office chair at the Star Umbrella headquarters.
"To be honest, I thought the Sorcerer Supreme's living room would be a bit larger."
Lin Nuo looked around, his gaze finally landing on the teapot in Ancient One's hand.
"There isn't even a sofa. The reception standards are a bit lacking."
Ancient One lifted her eyelids.
Her gaze was as peaceful as a pool of stagnant water.
No hostility.
No fear.
Not even curiosity.
"The president of the Star Umbrella Group, Mr. Lin."
Her voice was light, as if she were reading an inconsequential list.
"Welcome to Kamar-Taj."
Lin Nuo's right fingers tapped twice on his knee.
"You knew I was coming."
"I know many things, Mr. Lin."
Ancient One pushed the brewed clay bowl of tea in front of him.
"For example, in less than a year, you went from being an ordinary university researcher to the most powerful person on this Planet."
"For example, you just conquered Asgard and made Thormine for you."
"For example, the lady outside your door was still trying to slaughter the Nine Realms three days ago."
Her wrist was very steady.
The motion of pushing the bowl didn't spill a single drop of tea.
Lin Nuo looked down at the liquid in the bowl.
Dark yellow, slightly steaming.
"You've done your homework well."
He didn't touch the bowl of tea, instead reaching into the inner pocket of his trench coat to pull out an opened bag of snacks.
It was the Japanese kaki no tane that Potts had prepared on the private jet.
He tore open the bag, poured a few pieces into his palm, and tossed one into his mouth.
There was a crisp crunching sound.
"But you missed one thing."
Lin Nuo chewed on the snack, speaking indistinctly.
"I came here today to strike a deal with you."
Ancient One watched him chew snacks in the solemn sanctuary of cultivation, showing no displeasure whatsoever.
"What deal?"
"That green stone around your neck."
Lin Nuo's index finger drew a circle in the air, pointing at the eye of agamotto hanging on Ancient One's chest.
"The Time Stone."
"Name your price."
The meditation room fell silent for a moment.
The blue smoke from the censer curled upward.
Ancient One lowered her eyes, lifted the teapot again, and slowly refilled her own bowl.
"Mr. Lin, how much do you think time is worth?"
Lin Nuo wiped the crumbs from the corner of his mouth with his thumb.
"In my worldview, everything has a price."
"'Priceless' is just a polite way of saying it hasn't been priced yet."
He raised his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses, meeting Ancient One's gaze directly.
"You've already seen my resume."
"The Hulk's physical body, Thor's constitution, Quicksilver's speed, the Scarlet Witch's magic, the Goddess of Death's godhead."
He listed them one by one, as if reading his inventory of assets.
"I hold the origin of space, the laws of chaos, and the Reality Manipulation Authority."
"Sorcerer Ancient One, you are a sensible person."
"You should know that if I didn't want to talk, I could just take it by force."
"But today, I chose to sit down and have tea with you."
"What do you think that means?"
Ancient One picked up the clay bowl and gently blew on the steam rising from the tea.
"It means you think the cost of taking it by force is too high."
Lin Nuo's finger paused.
Then he smiled.
His smile was gentle and refined, looking exactly like that harmless, warm-hearted university researcher.
"Interesting."
"Someone who has lived for hundreds of years is indeed not easily fooled."
He tossed the snack back into his pocket and leaned forward.
He interlaced his fingers and rested them on the edge of the low table.
Less than twenty centimeters away from Ancient One's clay bowl.
"Then let me put it another way."
Lin Nuo's voice dropped half an octave.
The bitter aroma of tea in the air was mostly overpowered by the scent of cedarwood on him.
"Sorcerer Ancient One."
"You've been guarding this Planet alone. How many years has it been?"
"Hundreds of years? Thousands of years?"
"Of all the mortals outside whom you protect, how many of them even know of your existence?"
"The Vishanti gives you power, but has never once said, 'Thank you for your hard work.'"
"You have peered through all the future timelines, yet you have never dared to look at your own ending."
His index finger tapped twice gently on the tabletop.
"Because you know your ending won't be very pleasant."
Ancient One's hand holding the bowl paused at her lips.
She didn't drink.
Nor did she put it down.
It just hung there in midair.
Lin Nuo continued to press.
"Cooperate with me."
"The security work for this Planet, when calculated, is simply too costly."
"You've carried it alone for hundreds of years. It's time to rest."
"Leave the Time Stone to me, and you can retire."
"I'll ensure you're well-provided for for the rest of your life. You can choose any house with gardens you like."
He pushed up his glasses.
"Three meals a day included."
Ancient One finally set the bowl down.
She looked at Lin Nuo, a strange ripple appearing in her eyes for the first time.
Not fear.
Not anger.
More like scrutiny.
Like an old gardener examining a mutated plant they had never seen before.
"Mr. Lin, your proposal is very creative."
"But you've overlooked one thing."
"What is it?"
"You are right. I have indeed looked at many timelines."
"In most of those timelines, you were not sitting at this table."
Ancient One's voice remained very light.
"But in every timeline where you do appear, the outcome you bring is..."
She paused for a beat.
"Disaster."
Lin Nuo leaned back onto the futon, playing with the bag of kaki no tane in his hand.
"Disaster?"
"I ousted Fury, and the global crime rate dropped by forty percent."
"I took over Asgard, turning a perennially militaristic War Machine into a mining factory."
"Sorcerer Ancient One, do you have some misunderstanding of the word 'disaster'?"
Ancient One shook her head.
"The disaster you bring is not to Earth."
"It is to the rules."
She raised her hand, her slender finger pointing to the invisible sky above.
"You have broken too many things that should not have been broken."
"The balance of the Universe has a bottom line."
"Once you cross that line, someone will come to clean up the mess."
"And the price of that cleanup is not something you can bear alone."
Lin Nuo stared into Ancient One's eyes for a few seconds.
Then he reached out his right hand, pinching the bowl of tea he had ignored with two fingers.
He brought it to his nose and sniffed.
"Good tea."
He set the bowl down.
"But it's just too hot."
"It's the same with the human heart. Things that are too hot easily go to one's head."
"Sorcerer Ancient One, are you saying this out of concern for me?"
"Or are you trying to intimidate me?"
Ancient One picked up her bowl and took a slow sip.
The tea was scalding hot, yet her expression remained unchanged.
"Neither."
"Merely a well-intentioned warning."
She extended the bowl toward Lin Nuo.
Her wrist was steady, the rim of the bowl without the slightest tremor.
"Mr. Lin, this cup of tea is very hot. Some things, if taken too quickly, can easily burn your hands."
Chapter 147: Ancient One Shows Weakness, The Time-Space Chessboard Secretly Begins
Lin Nuo didn't take the teacup.
He tilted his head, the lenses of his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting a flash of white light in the dimness.
"Do you know when the last time someone gave me a well-meaning warning was?"
Ancient One did not reply.
"Back at Culver University."
Lin Nuo raised an index finger.
"My advisor told me that in scientific research, one must be able to endure loneliness."
"And what happened next?"
"Later, I took all of his funding. What he had to endure wasn't loneliness, but unemployment."
He stood up and patted the monk-robe-style cushion.
He casually brushed off the dust clinging to his trouser cuffs.
"So, Sorcerer Ancient One."
"A well-meaning warning to me is just like a sweet little tip on a takeout receipt."
"I read it, but it doesn't stop me from placing the order."
Lin Nuo took a step forward.
The low table was too small, so his step went right past its corner, bringing him to Ancient One's side.
The man's tall, robust frame cast a shadow that fell directly over Ancient One's slender shoulders.
"You can stay seated if you want."
"I'm going to take a look next door."
"I heard you have a rather interesting library here."
He turned to leave.
Ancient One set down her teacup.
"Wong's library is not open to outsiders."
"Take a guess if I'm the type to listen to that."
Lin Nuo didn't even look back.
He stepped past the stone pillars of the quiet room and gave a gentle wave of his right hand.
The Chaos Magic within him and his authority over reality modification activated in tandem.
An extremely subtle ripple of a barrier surfaced in the space of the corridor ahead.
It was the core defensive array of Kamar-Taj, specifically designed to block the movements of intruders.
In Lin Nuo's perception, the level of this barrier was indeed several orders of magnitude higher than the prayer flags at the entrance.
But that was about it.
He lightly flicked his index finger against the air.
The dark red laws of chaos washed over the barrier like flowing water.
The array distorted for 0.3 seconds.
Then, it shattered.
"Seriously, the security system here isn't even as reliable as the access control at the Star Umbrella building."
He walked deeper into the corridor.
Behind him, Ancient One remained seated on the cushion, making no move to pursue him.
Her eyelids drooped as her pale, slender fingers twirled the rim of the teacup.
A few seconds later, she let out a soft sigh.
The sound was very faint.
As if she had accepted her fate.
...
Lin Nuo crossed two corridors and arrived at an open-air plaza.
In the center of the plaza stood a towering ancient tree, its canopy blotting out most of the sky.
Several apprentices in monk robes were practicing basic spells on the plaza.
Seeing Lin Nuo emerge, the young apprentices stopped their movements in unison.
The bald young monk leading them raised his hands, orange magical constructs manifesting between his palms.
"Who are you? Outsiders are forbidden here—"
Lin Nuo didn't even break his stride.
He raised his right hand, and his Bio-force field expanded silently.
The young monk felt an irresistible downward pressure descend from above, forcing his knees onto the stone tiles instantly.
The magical construct in his hands popped like a soap bubble.
"Don't be nervous, I'm just taking a casual stroll."
Lin Nuo bypassed the kneeling monks and walked beneath the ancient tree.
He looked up.
A few beams of sunlight filtered through the gaps in the canopy, reflecting off his gold-rimmed glasses.
"Just as I thought."
He murmured to himself.
Deep within the roots of this ancient tree, there was a faint but exceptionally pure fluctuation of the laws of time.
It was like an anchor.
Securing this space to a specific position on the timeline.
Lin Nuo reached out, his fingertips brushing against the rough bark.
"Found it."
"Sorcerer Ancient One, you hid your defense hub inside a tree?"
"To be honest, this aesthetic is a bit provincial."
Before he could finish his sentence.
The air behind him suddenly twisted into a knot.
A slender hand reached out from the void, resting gently on his shoulder.
Lin Nuo turned his head.
Ancient One stood less than half a meter behind him.
Her appearance was entirely without warning, as if she had stepped directly out of a rift in space.
"Mr. Lin, you are right."
Ancient One's voice was much lower than before.
It carried a hint of exhaustion.
"I have guarded this place alone for far too long."
"Your power has indeed exceeded my expectations."
She released her fingers from his shoulder and took a step back.
Her movement carried a subtle hint of concession.
"Star Umbrella has already taken control of Earth, and Asgard as well."
"I know I cannot stop you."
She lowered her head.
Her shoulders slumped slightly inward.
On that face, which was always as serene as still water, the first crack appeared.
"If you want the Time Stone..."
"...I can negotiate terms with you."
Lin Nuo turned around to face her.
With his hands in his pockets, he tilted his head to size up this sorcerer who had lived for hundreds of years.
"Are you giving in?"
"I acknowledge your strength," Ancient One said softly.
"But I have a request."
"Speak."
"Do not tear down Kamar-Taj."
"This is Earth's final magical line of defense."
"Even if you take the Time Stone, please preserve the sorcerers' heritage here."
Lin Nuo looked at her slightly lowered eyelids.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Ancient One took another step back.
Her back was now pressed against the trunk of the ancient tree.
The surrounding apprentices were still kneeling on the ground, not daring to make a sound.
Lin Nuo took a step forward.
And then another step.
The distance between them was compressed to the extreme.
His height advantage forced him to look down to see Ancient One's face.
The man reached out his right hand.
His long index finger rested against Ancient One's chin, forcefully tilting up that elegant, serene face.
"Sorcerer Ancient One."
His voice was very low, carrying an undisguised sense of pressure and scrutiny.
"For you to be so cooperative..."
"...doesn't really seem like your style."
Ancient One was forced to tilt her head up.
Her pupils reflected Lin Nuo's exceptionally handsome yet thoroughly dangerous face.
"I simply do not wish for more people to get hurt," she said.
"Tsk."
Lin Nuo's thumb lightly brushed across her chin.
"To be honest?"
"What I like most are women like you who claim to do everything 'for the greater good'."
"When people like you surrender, it's the most thorough, and the most beautiful sight."
Ancient One's eyelashes trembled slightly.
"Mr. Lin—"
"Don't be in such a hurry."
Lin Nuo released his fingers and took half a step back.
He swept his gaze around, his eyes passing over the kneeling apprentices.
"First, dismiss your little disciples."
"Then we'll find a quiet place to sit down and finalize the agreement."
"I'm a man who values efficiency."
The authority over reality modification within him was starting to warm up.
He was already prepared.
As long as Ancient One took one more step back, he could activate the system's interception sequence and swallow the core essence of the Time Stone in one bite.
Ancient One looked at him.
Her lips pursed slightly.
Then, she nodded.
"Alright."
She pressed her palms together and spoke a sentence in Sanskrit to the apprentices.
The apprentices scrambled up and exited the plaza with lowered heads.
Only the two of them remained in the plaza.
Ancient One slowly opened her hands, palms facing upward.
Lin Nuo keenly sensed that the magical defenses around her body had completely dissipated.
This woman had truly withdrawn all of her defenses.
Like an animal stripped of all its quills, standing defenseless before a hunter.
The corners of Lin Nuo's lips curled up slightly.
"That's more like it—"
He stepped forward.
The Chaos Magic in his right hand surged wildly, preparing to initiate the interception and plunder of Ancient One's destiny through the system link.
At the very instant his fingers were about to touch the eye of agamotto on Ancient One's chest.
The stone tiles beneath his feet exploded.
It wasn't because Lin Nuo stepped on them.
Rather, countless golden geometric patterns rose from below.
The patterns spread in all directions with explosive speed.
The ground, walls, and sky of the entire open-air plaza were covered in dense golden runes.
Space began to fold.
The ground beneath Lin Nuo's feet vanished.
In its place, a multi-dimensional mirror plane slowly unfolded.
Countless mirrors aligned and combined in the void, trapping him in a geometric cage of infinite reflections.
Mirror Dimension.
Ancient One's signature trick.
Lin Nuo's step froze in mid-air.
He looked down at the false floor pieced together from mirror shards, then looked straight ahead.
Ancient One stood on the other side of a giant mirror.
Her monk robes rustled despite the lack of wind.
Her hands were clasped behind her back.
In those eyes, which had been filled with exhaustion and concession just a second ago, absolute calmness had now returned.
Like a chess player placing the final piece on the board.
Lin Nuo's hand was still suspended in mid-air.
He did not panic.
His expression didn't even change.
He merely pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose.
"Fair enough."
His tone was casual.
"Nice acting. I almost fell for it."
Ancient One's voice echoed from the mirrors in all directions, as if thousands of her were speaking at the same time.
"You are indeed very strong, Mr. Lin."
"But in the long river of time, you are moving too fast."
"It is time to stop."
Chapter 148: Collision of Laws, Deathmatch in the Mirror
Lin Nuo stood in the very center of a void made of infinite reflections, surrounded on all sides by twisted, rotating geometric facets.
Every single mirror reflected his own image.
Gold-rimmed glasses.
White shirt.
Black trench coat.
A thousand Lin Nuos looked back at him simultaneously.
"Stop for a moment?"
He tugged at his collar.
"Sorcerer Ancient One, did you forget what I told you before I came?"
"I hate being told what to do the most."
He spread the fingers of his right hand.
Dark red Chaos Magic condensed into a twisted sphere of light in his palm.
The moment the sphere of light expanded to the size of a fist, Lin Nuo flipped his wrist and slammed it toward the nearest mirror wall.
An explosion.
The sound of the Chaos Law colliding with the Mirror Dimension was nothing like a normal collision in the real World.
It was a direct clash between two underlying laws.
It sounded like someone tearing metallic fabric.
A massive crack appeared on the mirror surface.
The crack spread outward from the center, and the shattered shards of glass hovered in mid-air.
But after three seconds, the shards automatically reassembled.
The crack repaired itself.
The mirror was as good as new.
"The structure of this space is self-repairing."
Ancient One's voice came from overhead.
Lin Nuo looked up.
Ancient One was hanging upside down from a mirror above, her monk robes draping down like a bat roosting on the ceiling.
"You can tear it down a hundred times, and it will rebuild itself a hundred and one times."
"Interesting."
Lin Nuo did not hesitate for a second.
He raised both hands simultaneously.
This time, the Chaos Magic no longer condensed into a single point, but instead transformed into a sky full of dark red threads of light.
The threads of light exploded in all directions like a spiderweb covering the sky.
Every single thread of light was a miniature reality-rewriting command.
They slid along the surface of the mirrors, attempting to fundamentally rewrite the underlying code of this space.
Ancient One's brow furrowed slightly.
She spread her hands, and a golden magic circle exploded in front of her.
Shield of Vishanti.
The golden shield, constructed from pure law energy, blocked the path of the dark red threads of light.
The moment the threads of light collided with the golden shield, the entire mirror space shuddered.
Dense cracks appeared in the void beneath their feet.
This time, the cracks spread faster and wider.
A trace of blood seeped from the corner of Ancient One's mouth.
She took two steps back, her back pressing against the mirror behind her.
"Your authority over Reality Modification indeed can affect the fundamental structure of this space."
Ancient One wiped the blood from her mouth.
"But you still underestimated the repair speed of the Mirror Dimension."
Lin Nuo did not stop.
He kicked off the void, his figure turning into an afterimage at the extreme speed of Quicksilver's level.
Within 0.1 seconds, he traversed the gaps between thirty-seven mirrors, appearing less than a meter directly in front of Ancient One.
His Hulk-level right fist, carrying dark red fluctuations of the law, slammed brutally toward Ancient One's face.
Before the wind from his fist even arrived, the air was compressed to the point of producing a piercing shriek.
Ancient One drew a complex magic configuration in front of her with both hands.
The mirror beneath her feet shattered instantly, and she plummeted through the crack into the next layer of the mirror space.
Lin Nuo's fist struck empty air.
But that physical Impact force directly shattered seven layers of mirrors in front of him.
Shards splattered everywhere.
Like a torrential rain made of glass.
Lin Nuo did not give chase.
He spread his five senses throughout this space.
His Asgard-level perception captured the coordinates of Ancient One's relocation.
She was inside a folded mirror two dimensional layers directly beneath him.
Shattering the mirror beneath his feet, his body crashed straight down.
Free falling.
Through the first layer.
Through the second layer.
At the entrance of the third layer, Ancient One was already waiting there.
Her hands hovered in front of her chest.
The green light of the eye of agamotto shone through the pendant on her chest.
Orange magic constructs arranged themselves behind her into a giant, gear-like magic circle.
Fluctuations of the Law of Time began to spread.
Lin Nuo felt the surrounding air grow viscous mid-fall.
His speed was forcibly slowed down.
It was not a physical deceleration.
It was the flow of time in the localized area around his body that Ancient One had dragged down.
"Time deceleration?"
Lin Nuo abruptly raised his left hand.
He pushed his palm forward.
The authority of Reality Modification went into full operation.
He forcibly established an independent law barrier around himself.
Within this barrier, the flow of time was redesignated by him.
At the intersection of the two time rules on his body's surface, wild interference patterns emerged.
The entire layer of space was turned upside down by this conflict of laws.
The speed of the mirrors shattering began to outpace the speed of their repair.
Dimensional shards were flying everywhere.
"You are using brute force to tear apart the Dimensional Barrier."
Ancient One stood opposite him, the hem of her monk robes whipped up by the storm of laws.
Her voice remained steady.
But fine beads of sweat had already broken out on her forehead.
"Do you know the consequences of doing this?"
"Consequences?"
Lin Nuo tore through the last layer of the time-decelerated zone.
His speed returned to normal.
His Quicksilver-level figure burst in front of Ancient One, every single strike of his fists and feet carrying physical destructive power sufficient to demolish mountains.
Ancient One was forced to constantly dodge and displace.
Her magic constructs were shattered one after another by Lin Nuo's dark red Chaos Law.
The Shield of Vishanti cracked and mended, mended and cracked again.
With every collision, the mana reserves within her body plummeted sharply.
"The consequence is..."
Lin Nuo's fist finally grazed the edge of Ancient One's sleeve.
Impact sent her flying.
Her back slammed into a giant mirror, which became covered in web-like cracks.
"Your broken mirrors cannot hold me."
Ancient One slid down from the mirror.
She knelt on one knee in the pile of shards, wiping away the blood that kept seeping from the corner of her lips.
She looked up at Lin Nuo, who was striding toward her.
"You are right."
For the first time, a hint of hoarseness appeared in her voice.
"The Mirror Dimension cannot hold you."
"But..."
Her hands slowly came together in front of her chest.
The eye of agamotto emitted an unprecedentedly dazzling green light.
The light pierced through the entire Mirror Dimension.
An ancient Sanskrit chant escaped her lips.
That was the deepest and most ancient forbidden incantation within the Vishanti system.
Paid for with the lifespan of the caster's soul.
Guided by the core origin of the Time Stone.
It was not an attack.
But a seal.
Lin Nuo's Chaos Magic experienced an unprecedented stagnation.
The perfect source of Chaos Magic within his body, which came from Wanda, was tightly wrapped layer by layer by golden runes appearing out of thin air.
The operational speed of his Reality Modification authority suddenly plummeted.
Lin Nuo frowned.
He tried to forcibly activate the law, but those golden runes were like blood-sucking leeches, firmly embedded in his magic core.
With every tug, the runes locked even tighter.
"What are you doing?"
Lin Nuo's tone finally carried a trace of coldness.
Ancient One knelt in the pile of shards, her hands maintaining the clasped position.
Her complexion turned pale and withered at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Hundreds of years of lifespan were being rapidly devoured by the forbidden spell.
"Doing what should have been done long ago."
Ancient One's voice echoed within the Mirror Dimension.
"Your power of law is far too powerful."
"If it is not locked away here, no one on this Planet will be able to stop you."
"How high-sounding."
Lin Nuo sneered.
"To put it bluntly, you're just launching a sneak attack while I'm off guard."
The Hulk physiology within his body began to run wild.
Dark green muscle fibers bulged beneath his white shirt, yet his physique still maintained a perfect human proportion.
He slammed a fist into the void ground beneath his feet.
The entire layer of the Mirror Dimension split in half right down the middle.
A storm of shards covered the sky and the earth.
Ancient One was pushed back over ten meters by Impact.
She barely managed to stabilize herself, her clasped hands never parting.
But dry wrinkles had already begun to appear on her skin.
She was using her own life to forge this lock.
Lin Nuo looked at her desperate struggle and spoke coldly.
"Using your life to forge this lock?"
"Ancient One, how long do you think you can keep me locked up?"
Chapter 149: Sealing the Authority, Temporarily Losing the Power of Creation
There was no panic in Lin Nuo's tone.
Only pure anger and mockery.
But at this moment, his body experienced an unprecedented sense of abnormality.
Deep within his chest.
The source of Chaos Magic, wrapped in layers of golden runes, saw its pulsation frequency drop frantically.
Every pulse felt like a struggle in a quagmire.
The operation of the Reality Manipulation Authority turned from flowing mercury into solidified magma.
He raised his right hand.
Splaying his five fingers.
He tried to condense a modification command in his palm.
A dark red light flickered twice at his fingertips.
Then it extinguished.
A chill flashed in Lin Nuo's eyes.
"... Sealed?"
He flicked his hand and tried again.
This time, not even a glimmer appeared.
Those damned golden runes had wrapped the core of Chaos Magic into a dead star that emitted no light.
The Ancient One knelt in the pile of debris opposite him, her hands clasped together, motionless.
Her face had aged at least ten years in a few dozen seconds.
Fine lines covered her previously smooth skin.
Her eye sockets were deeply sunken.
Her cheekbones protruded.
She was burning her own life to buy time for this seal to take effect.
"The source of Chaos Magic and the Reality Manipulation Authority within you have been locked by the forbidden mark of the Vishanti."
The Ancient One's voice was low and hoarse, like an echo from the bottom of a dry well.
"This seal is anchored by my soul and lifespan."
"As long as my will remains, this lock will not open."
"Stop acting."
Lin Nuo clenched his fist.
His Hulk-level grip strength made his finger bones creak.
"This kind of sacrificial seal is, in my eyes, just a suicide bomber."
"Don't you think it's a bad deal?"
"Using hundreds of years of lifespan to seal my Law abilities?"
"It's not like I only have these two things in my arsenal!"
As his voice fell, his body had already charged out at Quicksilver's limit speed.
His Asgardian Divine Constitution burned with full force within his muscles.
His fist, carrying pure physical power capable of destroying mountains, slammed toward the Ancient One once again.
The Ancient One did not dodge.
She had no spare magic power left to dodge.
But at the very moment the fist was about to land, the Ancient One uttered the final Sanskrit syllable.
The eye of agamotto exploded with a circle of blinding green light on her chest.
The gears of time reversed by three seconds throughout the entire dimensional space.
Three seconds.
Lin Nuo's fist was pulled back to its starting position by the time reversal.
His body was forcibly rewound.
"You!"
Lin Nuo gritted his teeth.
His muscles were resisting the time reversal.
The resistance of the Asgardian Divine Constitutionallowed him to retain full consciousness.
He knew he had been pushed back.
And he knew what the other party was doing with these three seconds.
But his Law abilities were already sealed.
He could not negate the effects of time reversal from the underlying logic.
The three-second reversal ended.
Lin Nuo stood back in his original position.
The scene before him had changed.
Behind the Ancient One, the giant mirror that had shattered the most severely had cracked into a massive vortex-like entrance.
That was not a passage to another layer of the Mirror Dimension.
That was a space-time rift.
Inside the rift flowed colorful temporal turbulence.
Each band of light was a different branch of the timeline.
The entire vortex rotated frantically, like a giant beast with its mouth wide open.
Lin Nuo immediately understood the Ancient One's true intention.
"You never intended to just seal my abilities from the beginning."
His voice turned cold.
"You want to throw me out."
The Ancient One knelt in front of the vortex.
Her face had aged beyond recognition.
Her fair hands were withered, leaving only skin and bone.
But in her cloudy eyes, a certain unshakeable determination still burned.
"This rift leads to a parallel Universe outside the timeline."
"You will be unable to contact your Star Umbrella there."
"Your Chaos Magic and Reality Manipulation Authority will not recover until the seal is lifted."
"You can understand this as temporarily inviting you to leave Earth."
She gasped for air with difficulty.
"Inviting?"
Lin Nuo curled his lips.
"You call this an invitation?"
He activated Quicksilver speed again.
His body left an afterimage in the void.
But the Ancient One's Law of Time had already fully permeated this closed dimension.
She no longer needed to cast specific spells.
As long as she maintained her clasped hands without letting go, the time of this entire space remained under her control.
Lin Nuo's speed was forcibly slowed down three meters away from her.
It wasn't slowed to zero.
It was slowed to the level of a normal person running.
"Are you really planning to bet your life to block me?"
Lin Nuo smashed a floating mirror beside him with a punch.
Fragments flew everywhere.
His physical Hulk constitution was still desperately powerful.
But in the face of the Ancient One's life-risking time blockade, pure physical strength could not find a breakthrough.
Because what needed to be broken was not matter.
It was time itself.
And time was the only Law he could not touch right now.
"I am not betting my life to block you."
The Ancient One's voice grew weaker and weaker.
"I am buying time for Earth."
Her clasped hands finally loosened.
It wasn't that she let go voluntarily.
It was that her body could no longer hold on.
The tips of her fingers began to turn into golden light dust.
She was dissolving.
But in the very millisecond before her hands were about to separate, the suction of the space-time vortex suddenly increased tenfold!
Lin Nuo felt the void beneath his feet shatter.
An irresistible dimensional suction force came from behind, dragging his entire body toward the vortex.
His feet plowed two deep tracks in the void.
Quicksilver's speed was resisting.
Hulk's muscles were resisting.
The Asgardian Divine Constitution was resisting.
But he had no Law abilities to negate this dimensional-level teleportation.
"Ancient One!"
Lin Nuo roared.
He thrust his right hand out suddenly, his five fingers grabbing the edge of a mirror that hadn't shattered yet in the void.
His fingers embedded into the mirror, gouging out five deep pits.
His body hung at the entrance of the vortex.
Temporal turbulence roared beneath his feet.
He looked at the Ancient One, more than ten meters away, whose body had already mostly dissolved.
"Do you think you can get rid of me like this?"
His voice remained clear within the dimensional storm.
"Very well, old nun."
"I will remember this debt!"
His fingers crushed the last mirror.
His body was completely swallowed by the space-time vortex.
In the final instant before losing his vision, his voice pierced through the dimensional barrier.
"When I return, watch how I strip your Kamar-Taj bare, inch by inch!"
Chapter 150: Falling into the Abyss, Wait for Me to Return and Settle the Score
Kamar-Taj, open-air plaza.
After the Mirror Dimension completely collapsed, the distorted reality space slowly returned to its original state.
The bluestone tiles reassembled.
The branches and leaves of that towering ancient tree swayed quietly in the wind.
Several terrified apprentices cautiously poked their heads out from the end of the corridor.
They saw the Ancient One lying in the center of the plaza.
The Sorcerer Supreme's robes had lost all their luster.
Her whole person seemed to have been drained of vitality, her face so aged that it was unbearable to look at.
The eye of agamotto flickered weakly on her chest with a final bit of green light.
"Teacher!"
The lead apprentice rushed over to support her.
The Ancient One did not have the strength to stand up.
She was supported and leaned against a stone pillar, her breathing weak.
"Mordo... call Mordo over..."
Her voice sounded like dry, cracked paper.
"And Wong... tell him..."
"Tell him the Time Stone is safe..."
"The duration of the seal... will not be too long..."
She coughed twice.
A few grains of golden light powder drifted from her palm.
"That person will return."
She closed her eyes.
The expression on her face was extremely complex.
There was relief, worry, and a trace of something even she herself could not explain.
She had seen Lin Nuo in countless future timelines.
In every timeline, this man was the greatest variable.
She had exhausted all means.
The result was only a temporary exile.
"Go quickly."
The Ancient One urged in a low voice.
Several apprentices carried her and ran toward the interior of the sanctum.
The plaza returned to calm.
Only a faint spatial crack remained in mid-air, shining with a dim blue light under the sunlight.
That was the scar Lin Nuo had forcibly left on the edge of the passage using pure physical violence before being sucked into the vortex.
...
Inside the space-time passage.
Colorful ribbons of light shuttled crazily in all directions.
Lin Nuo's body fell at high speed in the turbulence.
Or rather, there was no distinction between up and down here.
In a void where direction could not be defined, he was carried forward by a tremendous force.
Time had lost its meaning here.
It might have been a second, or it might have been ten thousand years.
Lin Nuo was very clear-headed.
His consciousness was not affected in the slightest.
His Hulk-level body remained motionless under the scouring of the space-time turbulence.
The dimensional shearing forces, sufficient to tear apart ordinary matter, felt like bathwater running down his back when they hit his skin.
He clasped his hands behind his head, his posture as relaxed as if he were lying in his own swimming pool.
"System."
He called out in his mind.
[Ding! The host is currently in a cross-Universe space-time passage.]
[Reality Modification core authority: Sealed.]
[Perfect-level Chaos Magic origin: Sealed.]
[Space Stone core source fragment: Partially restricted.]
[God of Death divinity: Core retained, external release restricted.]
[Hulk physical body: Normal.]
[Asgardian Divine Constitution: Normal.]
[Quicksilver limit speed and core endurance: Normal.]
[Bio-force field: Normal.]
[Ultimate molecular reorganization: Normal.]
[Communication link with Star Umbrella Earthheadquarters: Interrupted.]
Lin Nuo finished reading the list silently.
What was sealed were mainly law-based abilities.
Physical combat capabilities were almost intact.
That is to say, he could still crush everything with his physical body.
It was just that he couldn't modify reality at will like God for the time being.
"I've gone from playing a max-level account to a trial server."
He muttered to himself.
"A bit of a dimensional drop, but it's not a big problem."
His personality never allowed him to bow his head in adversity.
Moreover, this didn't count as adversity at all.
The Ancient One could seal his magic, but could never seal the violent genes in his body.
"Wait until I find the way back..."
Lin Nuo turned around in the turbulence, facing the direction he came from.
Although that direction had been closed by the passage, he still faced the void and revealed a standard suave scumbag smile.
"Ancient One, wash clean that unworldly body of yours, and wait honestly on Earth for me to return and settle the score!"
His voice was torn apart by the space-time turbulence.
But every syllable carried unquestionable arrogance.
A flash of white light appeared at the end of the passage.
That was the exit.
The white light grew larger and brighter.
Finally, it swallowed him whole.
...
The impact force was weakening.
The light was changing.
The surrounding temperature soared from absolute zero to a bearable temperature.
Then, he crashed down.
Boom!
A loud noise.
Like a small meteorite crashing into the arid Gobi Desert.
Dust soared into the sky.
The crater was about thirty meters in diameter and five meters deep.
In the center of the crater, Lin Nuo knelt on one knee on the cracked rock layer.
His white shirt was torn in several places by the space-time turbulence.
A button on his left sleeve had fallen off.
His Vibranium trench coat was covered in reddish-brown dust.
But his gold-rimmed glasses sat steadily on the bridge of his nose, not crooked at all.
He stood up and shook the dust off his hem.
He looked around.
Desolate.
Extremely desolate.
A Gobi Desert that stretched as far as the eye could see, gray-yellow sand and stone steaming with heat waves under the scorching Sun.
The sky was very blue.
There was only one Sun.
There was no binary star phenomenon like in Asgard.
Earth-type atmosphere.
"Where is this?"
The system popped up a line of text in his mind.
[Detected that the host has landed in a parallel Universe: X-Men Mutant Universe.]
[Current coordinates: Central North America, about forty-seven kilometers from the nearest human settlement.]
"Mutant?"
Lin Nuo narrowed his eyes.
"Interesting."
He remembered this setting.
Mutants, X-gene, Magneto, Professor X.
And a group of eccentric, distinct-personality Mutantsuperpowered individuals.
There was no shortage of high-quality female characters among them.
The system timely added a prompt.
[Note: Due to cross-Universe teleportation, all communication links between the host and the original Universe Star Umbrella Group have been disconnected.]
[The Snatch System remains effective in this Universe.]
[It is recommended that the host integrate into the local environment as soon as possible, find new targets for conquest and sources of power, in order to accumulate enough strength to break the law seal.]
Lin Nuo whistled.
"As long as the Snatch System still works."
"Leave the rest to me."
He reached out his right hand and clenched his fist.
Then he stomped on the rock layer beneath his feet.
A dull roar.
With him as the center, the rock layer within a hundred-meter radius split directly in half from the middle.
The crack was dozens of meters deep and extended for hundreds of meters.
Hulk physical body.
Intact.
Full health and full state.
"Not a big problem."
Lin Nuo brushed the dust off his hands.
He straightened his shirt collar and pushed his gold-rimmed glasses straight.
Then, he chose a direction and strode forward with his long legs.
His leather shoes stepped on the shattered rocks, his pace leisurely.
As if taking a walk in the park.
"A World of Mutants?"
"It seems there should be quite a few eccentric, high-quality wild cats here, waiting for me to smooth their fur."