Facing the Ancient One

"Come on, everyone, here's a little something for you! There's something for everyone!"

"What is this, a cell phone?"

"Steve, stop using your old button phone and adapt to the new era. If you don't know how, ask Sam; he's sitting to your left."

"Wow, it's pretty, but it's a bit too big; it'll be inconvenient for close combat."

"It's okay, if it breaks, call Tony, he can fix it."

Tony stood at the hangar entrance, watching Lin Xu mingle with the others, but rolled his eyes when he heard Lin Xu's words.

Do I need to contact him for phone repairs?

"Lin, come here, I have something to ask you!"

After greeting everyone, Lin Xu went to Tony.

What are you doing?

What's the deal with the photos?

Which one are you referring to?

"Steve, why is he there? Or is this the one I know?"

"So you also know that it's a parallel universe. It's impossible for someone not to have jumped off the plane and lived until 1991!"

"Impossible!" Tony glanced at the crowd, and seeing that they weren't paying attention, he continued, "He gave me his blood, and after testing, I found that the serum he injected didn't extend his lifespan."

"Judging from his age in the photo, he was either salvaged in the 1970s, or... he traveled back from the future. I lean towards the latter!"

"Then what?"

"I think..."

No, you don't want to!

Lin Xu knew that Tony had witnessed Steve's time travel and wanted to experience it himself.

But Lin Xu resolutely refused. As someone who also had a knack for causing trouble, he knew that Tony could create too many variables. Now that the decisive battle was about to begin, he couldn't let him do anything reckless.

"I know you've already recorded the structure of the Quantum Tunnel, and rebuilding one is only a matter of time. The only limitation is the Pym Particles."

"But I must tell you, no matter how many parallel universes you travel through, Howard and Maria in this world are already dead, and they can never be brought back."

Watching Lin Xu's departing figure, Tony sighed. Yes, they were already dead...

Kamar-Taj

Ancient One looked at Lin Xu, who was kneeling in front of the statue of Vishanti, without saying a word.

You did it!

"It's all luck, and... you didn't tell me that the Aesir Divine Body has so many limitations."

"I thought that when you hit a bottleneck, you would continue to seek help from Cyttorak..."

"Sigh, it's not good to keep troubling Old Cyttorak..."

"So, you're always bothering Vishanti, are you?"

"... It's all Loki's fault!"

Ancient One shook her head, ignoring the shameless Lin Xu, and walked around the statue of Vishanti, muttering something under her breath.

What are you spinning?

"Let me see if this land is suitable for building a fourth statue."

"Wow, I didn't realize, Old Deng, you're not even retired yet and you're already thinking about erecting a statue for yourself?"

"Ha, what right do I have? I'm just a wretched old man. The statue must be for the great son of Oshtur, brother of Agamotto. It's a testament to the friendship between Asgard and Midgard..."

"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Lin Xu feigned embarrassment. "It'll be difficult to address you in the future! The Four-in-One Vishanti?"

"..."

Ancient One suddenly ripped off her shoe and threw it at Lin Xu.

"You dare to answer my question?"

"Hey... hey? Old Deng, let me tell you, I'm not the same person I used to be. Don't force me to fight back!"

"Hey, I wonder where you've been gallivanting around for the past few years, your temper's gotten quite something, huh? Fine! This old man's going to weigh you up today!"

Without Ancient One making the slightest movement, the Mirror Dimension was directly unfolded.

Then, more than forty Mystic Portal opened around Lin Xu, and long whips of energy, exceeding the speed of light, directly bound Lin Xu.

Wow, they're getting the same treatment as Thanos.

However, Lin Xu did not panic at this moment. His Heavenly Eye between his brows lit up, and with a sweep of vertical energy lines, all the long whips were instantly cut off.

Then, the folding fan at his waist transformed into Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade, which he held in his hand.

He had no intention of using magic; after all, it would be like showing off his limited skills to the person in front of him.

His greatest advantage now is the body he gained by trading his Odinforce.

"Old Deng, watch out for your gun!"

Two hours later~

Lin Xu left Kamar-Taj, feigning nonchalance.

That old geezer has no sense of martial ethics!

At first, the fight went smoothly, with both sides tacitly agreeing that Lin Xu wouldn't use magic or his Crimson Cloak, and that the Ancient One wouldn't use forbidden techniques.

With his physical strength and speed, he dodged the vast majority of magical attacks; those he couldn't dodge, however, didn't hurt him much.

Meanwhile, Ancient One, with her exceptionally high mana and cooldown reduction, kept kiting Lin Xu from even getting a chance to touch her.

Then the old man transformed into Strange, a Strange with a dark aura and sunken eyes.

At that moment, Lin Xu thought that Dark Strange had crossed over to the other world ahead of time. Although his Heavenly Eye had seen through the changes, it was too late.

In that instant, the old man seized the opportunity, snatched the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade and the Crimson Cloak, and covered his Heavenly Eye. He was bound to the spot with straps, unable to exert any strength.

Finally, I was pinned to the ground and given a brutal beating that I felt nothing physically...

"My combat experience is still too lacking."

Lin Xu returned to Houston and carefully recalled every detail of the battle. He realized that he actually had many opportunities to touch the Ancient One, but he wasted them every time.

Finally, he was also affected by the sudden appearance of the Dark Strange.

If he were to face the real Dark Strange, would he have a chance of winning?

That's an existence capable of going toe-to-toe with Six-Stone Ultron. He himself only managed to defeat Ultron because of a superior elemental advantage.

I need to find a place to hone my combat skills!

Ancient One stood where Lin Xu had disappeared and finally couldn't help but laugh.

"Haha, not bad, kid! My retirement plans are finally looking promising, haha!"

"You said you were going to find Banner?"

The next morning, Lin Xu arrived at the Avengers Compound. After much deliberation, he finally found a place where he could fight to his heart's content: Sakaar!

Although the vast majority of the people there were defeated by Hulk, it doesn't mean they lacked combat experience.

They're just not strong enough in terms of numbers.

Moreover, even if a suitable opponent cannot be found, isn't there still the Grandmaster, an ancient god? Surely he has some skill!

So, anyone want to join?

Natasha was the first to stand up. "Count me in."

Tony thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I still have a lot of things to finish here, I'm afraid it won't work..."

I'll go too!

In the corner, Bucky raised his hand. To be honest, although Tony hadn't said anything harsh to him, he felt a little uncomfortable staying there and preferred to go for a walk.

Seeing his best friend raise his hand, Steve also stepped forward.

Hawkeye opened his mouth, but ultimately remained silent. Winter Soldier and Steve had both been enhanced, and Natasha was going to sing a lullaby. He was just an ordinary superhero; he shouldn't go and join the fun on an alien planet.

Seeing Steve approach, Lin Xu's eyes lit up. "By the way, Tony, help me investigate someone..."

P. S.: Hawkeye is an ordinary person, but that doesn't mean the actor is an ordinary person. On January 1, 2023, a snowplow slipped, and he went to save his nephew, but he got caught in the tracks. The snowplow weighed six or seven tons, but he didn't die... (his heart stopped, and he was revived).