The Practice of the Mystic Arts

After fooling those big idiots at S.H.I.E.L.D.,

Lin Xu ended the video call and checked his missed calls and messages.

There were five missed calls, all from Adrian.

There were five unread messages, two from Houston mayor Sylvester Turner.

[Lin, got time for a round of golf?]

[We should find time to discuss the drone safety production standards you mentioned.]

Three were from Adrian's daughter, Liz.

[Lin, where did you go?]

[Dad said you went home, but I didn't see you come out of the basement.]

[Oh my god, he didn't do anything to you, did he? If you don't reply in an hour, I'm calling the police!]

Now that was... some powerful filial piety.

Sigh, she was such a nice girl. Too bad she was mixed-race...

-Adrian- [I'm fine. I might be busy for a while, but the research center should keep running as usual.]

-Mayor- [Oh, sorry, my dear Nat. Golf will have to wait a while. I'm on vacation in South Asia. As for the drone safety production standards, you only need to remember one thing: no factory, no license. Without a license, even research and development is illegal!]

-Liz- [Sorry, something urgent came up. I left without telling you.]

After replying to each of them, Lin Xu prepared to continue exploring the sea of sorcerous knowledge.

Ding-dong~

Liz: [Wait, send me another message. I'm watching my dad right now. What if he's using your phone to reply?!]

-Liz- [...]

Liz: [Hee-hee.]

Hee-hee, my ass! Stop interrupting my cultivation!

Lin Xu was soon immersed in the ocean of knowledge.

There were no realms or levels in the cultivation of the mystic arts, only differences in methods and the amount of energy.

The first method, relaying power, involved communicating with the power of other dimensions that lingered on Earth, then using spells and magical artifacts to wield it. The Vishanti had dispersed their power throughout Kamar-Taj, and this was the method used by the vast majority of practitioners of the mystic arts.

The advantages and disadvantages of this method were obvious. The Vishanti were powerful, beyond any doubt, but Kamar-Taj had many practitioners, and the energy they had dispersed on Earth was limited. As a result, these practitioners didn't have enough mana and weren't suited to prolonged battles.

The second method, borrowing power, involved communicating directly with a dimensional demon god and entering a contract, willingly or otherwise, thereby connecting the dimension to oneself and gaining an endless supply of power. Spells or magical artifacts could then be used to bring that power to its fullest potential.

For example, Wong communicated with the Vishanti, while Kaecilius communicated with Dormammu. Both had entered their contracts willingly.

There were more who had done so passively, or rather unwillingly: Scarlet Witch and the chaos demon god Chthon, Ghost Rider and Mephisto, and Juggernaut and the Lord of the Crimson, Cyttorak.

People in this category were difficult to kill outright unless their connection to those beings was severed with overwhelming power. Just as in Deadpool & Wolverine, the Void had severed Juggernaut's connection to Cyttorak, so X-23 had killed him with ease.

The third method, intercepting power, required borrowing power as a foundation. One had to strive to strengthen oneself until the contract's restrictions could be ignored, then forcibly intercept the dimensional power and make it one's own.

Examples included the Ancient One, Doctor Strange Supreme, the chaos Scarlet Witch, and once upon a time... Dormammu!

Lin Xu closed the two books and stretched. It had already grown dark outside. He had read from morning until night, and counting the entire day he had spent in Houston, he had gone two full days without closing his eyes, yet he didn't feel the slightest bit sleepy.

Knowledge really could enrich a person.

"Which dimension should I communicate with, then?"

Lin Xu knew exactly what he wanted: if he was going to practice, he would practice the strongest method. That ruled out relaying power, but intercepting power required him to borrow it first.

So he had to consider carefully whom to borrow from. They couldn't be too weak or too strong. If they were weak, their power would be limited. If they were strong, what would he do if he fell out with them later and couldn't beat them?

There were many dimensional demon gods in Marvel: Dormammu, Lord of Darkness; Mephisto, Lord of Hell; Cyttorak, Lord of the Crimson; Nightmare, Lord of the Dream Dimension; Dweller-in-Darkness, Lord of Fear; Chthon, God of Black Magic; the Vishanti, Gods of White Magic; Shuma-Gorath, the eye demon the Ancient One had sealed at the cost of her life in the original comics; and one who might not even exist... Chiyou!

Thinking of Chiyou made Lin Xu angry.

The setting came from Three Sovereigns: Battle Warriors, a comic created jointly by Marvel and wy. In ancient times, Chiyou, the demon god of the war dimension, invaded Earth, and the three ancient great gods Shennong, Nüwa, and Fuxi joined forces to seal him away.

Later, Fuxi's archaeologist descendant used the Fuxi Sword, imbued with divine power, to fight Chiyou after he broke the seal...

The setting was hard to describe, and so were the weapons: the Fuxi Sword, the Nüwa Gauntlet, and the Shennong Whip. It was one thing for Marvel not to understand Chinese culture, but wy had joined in too.

Besides, Chiyou was one of the founding ancestors of Chinese civilization. How was he still being cast as a villain after all these years?

"If I remember correctly, the Three Sovereigns should be gone by now. I wonder if any power remains from dead gods." Putting the thought aside, Lin Xu stood at the window and gazed at the lingering glow in the distance.

To put it bluntly, borrowing power was much like taking out a loan. Borrowing and repaying was logic for those at the bottom. As long as you were strong enough and borrowed enough, you were the one in charge.

Then there were those who had taken out online loans just before the lending company went bankrupt. They could wake up laughing in their sleep... Wait...

What if the creditor died just after he borrowed their power? Could he intercept the power and keep it for himself?

There were no dimensional lords on the verge of death, but there was a god-king who was about to die!

At that thought, Lin Xu turned around, picked up the two books from the bed, and rushed out of the room. He had to find the Ancient One and discuss whether this was feasible!

When it was evening in Kamar-Taj, it was morning in New York.

Tony dragged his exhausted body back to the Avengers Compound.

He had been through too much over the past two days: his close friend Rhodey had been gravely injured, the Avengers had split apart, he had learned the truth behind his parents' deaths, and the "man who killed his father" had been saved by someone who had once been his closest comrade.

Of the people who had originally been on his side, Natasha had turned against him, Rhodey was gravely injured, Vision had withdrawn into himself after accidentally injuring an ally, Black Panther had returned to his country, and Spider-Man had gone home.

In the vast Avengers Compound, he was the only one left, all alone.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., how's Rhodey?"

"Sir, the situation is not optimistic. Mr. Rhodey has suffered severe nerve damage and may need mechanical assistance going forward."

"Then get another doctor, the one we mentioned yesterday."

"Stephen Strange, the world's best neurosurgeon. However, due to his car accident a couple of days ago, his emotional state is currently unstable and does not meet healthy medical practice standards."

"Is he the only doctor in the world? What about Judy Wu, the one who removed the shrapnel from my chest?"

"Sir, Judy Wu does not specialize in neurological medicine."

"Shit!!" Tony finally exploded after bottling it up for days.

"Then find Lin. He knows so much, he must know who can fix Rhodey's damn leg!"