I, Matou Sakura, Third of the Flame-Chasers!

But without greatly supplementing the Dark Form, the two forms would never reach a balance.

She would have to pay more attention to it later.

She quickly checked her body. There were no issues; if anything, she was even stronger than before. After all, she had fused with the AllSpark, an item close to the Multiversal Level, so it was only natural that her power had risen by a great margin.

Although the AllSpark was an item close to the Multiversal Level, fusing with it could not instantly elevate her life level to something close to the Multiversal Level. However, the AllSpark could continuously provide her with abundant, powerful life energy and mental strength as nourishment for her ongoing evolution. Combined with the Kryptonian Bloodline's need for Solar Energy, her evolution speed would multiply.

Matou Sakura used light to form the familiar long robe, concealing her alluring body, then opened the system.

The system had previously notified her that it had officially activated, and that the various templates had changed.

The system panel that appeared before her eyes had indeed changed. It was simple and clear, yet not crude.

The first thing that caught her eye was the newly updated Character Panel.

Host: Matou Sakura

Abilities: Kryptonian Bloodline, King of Wrath, Light of Trigger, AT Field, AllSpark...

Items: Red Queen Motherboard, Enhancement Serum, Excalibur...

Strength: Sub-Celestial Level (minimum Planet Buster capability)

Follower: Pernor

World Markers: Nasuverse, Marvel Universe (Earth-199999 Film Universe)

Sub-Celestial Level?

This familiar classification made Matou Sakura think of how the Marvel World categorized power.

Levels one through five—the earlier levels corresponded to the classification of mutant abilities.

Level Four corresponded to the Sub-Celestial Level, with Planet Buster being the minimum standard for that level.

However, Planet Buster did not mean destroying an entire planet.

Take Professor X, for example. If connected to Cerebro, he could kill all life on Earth with a single thought. Yet his strength was classified as Level Four. The same went for Magneto. His control over magnetism could bring Earth to a complete halt, then make it rotate in reverse, killing all life without completely destroying the planet.

They might not have directly destroyed the planet, but they had still destroyed the entire planet in another sense.

That level could also be classified as Level Four, or the Sub-Celestial Level.

However, they could not be considered true Sub-Celestials, only pseudo-Sub-Celestials.

Of course, the awakened Phoenix had completely surpassed this level. She began as a complete Celestial-level powerhouse, and in some versions, she started out at the Single-Universe Level.

Sub-Celestial, Celestial, then the Single-Universe Level and the Multiversal Level.

Beyond the Multiversal Level came another cycle of transformation.

Hyperversal Level, Hyper-Multiversal Level, and finally, the Ultimate!

The so-called Ultimate represented terrifying existences such as OAA, the God of the DC Universe, and The Beyonder.

She was currently at the Sub-Celestial Level, and had only barely touched the threshold after fusing with the AllSpark and undergoing a leap in the essence of her life.

But this was the film universe, where the Sub-Celestial Level was more or less sufficient.

After all, the people in the film universe had been weakened to a certain extent.

Still, to be safe, she should first reach the Celestial Level as quickly as possible.

Even the Celestial Level would not be quite enough against Thanos after he gathered the Infinity Stones.

Therefore, obtaining the Infinity Stones was her primary mission.

After briefly studying the Character Panel, she turned her attention to the other templates. The Gacha Template had not changed much; it simply no longer distinguished between advanced and ordinary draws, while the original pity system had become stronger.

The Mission Template had undergone the greatest changes.

The mission types were gone, replaced by fixed missions. Different missions were assigned according to different worlds, though there were still no mandatory requirements.

This world had a total of seven missions. Six involved collecting the Infinity Stones, while the other was to completely raise her strength to the Celestial Level.

The rewards remained the same: one draw for each mission, plus an additional three draws for completing them all.

It seemed that the Mission Template in the Nasuverse had been entirely part of the beginner rewards. Otherwise, she would not have obtained so many good things.

Moreover, the draws she had made within the Root had brought her more than just something as valuable as the AllSpark.

There was also the Red Queen Motherboard, King Arthur's Noble Phantasm, and so on.

There were even several mission summon cards!

But the AllSpark was unquestionably the best reward among them!

As for the final Space Gate, it was simple—it was used for traveling between worlds.

Once she reached the Multiversal Level, the Space Gate Template would become part of her and turn into one of her abilities. At that point, she would be able to freely roam through endless worlds!

Then she would first take a look at this world's situation.

Matou Sakura smiled faintly, walked to the window, and pulled open the curtains.

The world outside, rich with color, unfolded before her eyes.

The current Marvel World was still in the midst of World War II, and this year was 1943—the year Captain America Steve was born!

"The Space Stone..."

Matou Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly, then suddenly turned around. A shower of sparks erupted in the space before her, and a portal slowly took shape. A figure clad in yellow robes stepped out.

"Hello, visitor from another world."

She raised her head, revealing a kindly expression.

"I am The Ancient One, guardian of this world."

Thirty-Seven: Paradoxes and Twisted Facts

The Ancient One!

Matou Sakura's expression changed slightly.

She had expected that she, an outsider, would be discovered by The Ancient One, Earth's guardian, but she had not expected her to arrive so quickly.

She had clearly not done anything yet.

Wait!

The Time Stone?

Had The Ancient One used the Time Stone to observe her future?

No!

She was an outsider. This world's future should not have contained her existence.

Even The Ancient One could not observe her directly.

Then The Ancient One must have observed her indirectly.

She had discovered Matou Sakura's existence by directly observing the future.

If that was the case, then Matou Sakura's future could not have given The Ancient One anything like a god's-eye view. She had only roughly seen what Matou Sakura had done.

Or there was another possibility: because of the system, Matou Sakura did not appear in the futures The Ancient One observed through the Time Stone. The Ancient One had merely discovered her existence, realized that she could not use the Time Stone to observe her, and appeared before her to prevent her from changing certain things.

"You know me, don't you?"

The Ancient One's expression was kindly, like a gentle elder who naturally inspired goodwill.

But Matou Sakura did not let down her guard. Knowing The Ancient One's true strength, she understood all too well just how terrifying this person was!

The Ancient One was absolutely Celestial Level!

Even if this was the cinematic universe, where her strength had been weakened and could not compare to a true Celestial Level being, The Ancient One, with the Time Stone, was unquestionably a Celestial Level existence in this universe!

Odin did not casually interfere with matters on Earth precisely because of The Ancient One's existence!

Otherwise, he could have handled his two sons far better. Of course, it was also possible that Odin had seen fate as well.

The eye hidden beneath Odin's eyepatch was the price he had once paid for glimpsing knowledge and fate! "May I ask why Master The Ancient One has come before me?"

Since The Ancient One had come to her, she must already know of her existence. Playing dumb would be foolish.

"Because you are an outsider, one who does not belong to this world."

The Ancient One said meaningfully, "May I ask—you came for the Infinity Stones of this universe, didn't you?"

So she really had seen the future! "The Time Stone, right?"

Matou Sakura looked at The Ancient One's chest. The Time Stone was inside the artifact known as the Eye of Agamotto.

"That's right."

The Ancient One admitted it directly.

"I'm sorry, outsider, but I cannot allow you to take the Infinity Stones."

The Ancient One's tone did not change, and her expression remained kindly, as though she were merely advising Matou Sakura against her future actions.

"I need the power of the Infinity Stones."

Matou Sakura's gaze sharpened. Although she was no match for The Ancient One right now, that did not mean she could not escape from her!

The King of Wrath granted her infinite energy, as well as power that grew stronger with her anger.

If she wished, she could cast aside all unnecessary emotions and plunge herself into complete rage, then transform into Trigger.

With Trigger's form, the King of Wrath, and the AllSpark's enhancement, she was not incapable of contending with a Celestial Level existence!

The only problem was that once she fell into rage, it became difficult to maintain her sense of self. Though she would recover afterward, she would be unable to control herself during battle.

And without control of herself, she would be no different from a Beast.

If The Ancient One used the Time Stone, she would have no hope of escape.

So that idea could only be used in a desperate final struggle!

Kryptonian Bloodline was indeed powerful, but it could not allow her to contend with a Celestial Level powerhouse in such a short time.

Clark was overpowered because he was the protagonist of the universe, just as Thanos had called it—destiny! And she was nothing right now!

"I don't want to fight you."

The Ancient One's tone remained unchanged.

"I want to ask you a question."

"What question?"

The Ancient One's attitude made Matou Sakura somewhat suspicious. With the Ancient One's strength, if she wanted to make a move against her, there was no need for all this nonsense.

Could there be a turning point here?

"What do you need the Infinity Stones for?"

"To become stronger!"

Matou Sakura answered without hesitation.

The six Infinity Stones each had different functions.

Space, Power, Time, Mind, Reality, and Soul.

The six Infinity Stones represented the universe's six authorities and were also its foundation.

In other universes, the Infinity Stones were not quite so important, but this was the movie universe. Before Tony Stark and the others used quantum travel to alter the world's structure and connect the movie universe to the multiverse, the six Infinity Stones represented infinite power in this universe!

And completing the system's mission also required the Infinity Stones!

Wait!

Matou Sakura suddenly realized something, and the system's light screen appeared before her eyes.

The mission was to obtain the Infinity Stones!

And earlier, the Ancient One had said she would not be allowed to take the Infinity Stones away!

"It seems you've thought of something."

The Ancient One smiled faintly. "You cannot take the Infinity Stones away, but they can remain in your possession until you leave this universe."