Persuading Mordo

Li Feng, hidden in the darkness, quietly watched the Demon put on a pitiful performance about being forced to flee out of fear of abuse from the Priest.

After Beman led the Demon away, Li Feng smacked his lips and said to the person behind him, "I think Oscar owes him a trophy. What do you think, Mordo?"

Behind Li Feng, Mordo silently stepped out of the shadows. "If Demons entered Hollywood, human actors would be out of work. Oh, and so would those special-effects people. After all, Demons come with their own sound and lighting effects."

The Demon did not understand the characteristics of Kamar-Taj's spells, so when Li Feng had cast the Mirror Dimension earlier, it had noticed nothing. Now, Mordo, whose command of magic was even more refined, had concealed himself behind the Demon without it noticing either. Only Li Feng, who understood Kamar-Taj's magic, could tell that Mordo had found the Demon long ago. He had simply not revealed himself because Li Feng had been speaking with it.

Mordo glared at Li Feng, his eyes clearly saying, "Give me a reasonable explanation."

Li Feng shrugged and said casually, "That guy wanted to teach me magic and lure me into corruption."

Mordo was no novice mage. Watching the Demon cast and explain the spell earlier, he had immediately seen that it was not an illusion spell at all.

"The Demon wanted to teach you seduction magic?"

A hint of bitterness touched Li Feng's lips as he nodded and walked toward Beman and the others. Great. Mordo's about to find out all my secrets.

Seeing Li Feng nod with his back turned, Mordo felt his mind stall. He knew that illusion magic had no Mana attribute and was considered a universal skill among mages. But seduction magic was obviously different. A spell capable of ensnaring someone's soul could only achieve perfect results when cast with Dark Energy.

Since the Demon was teaching Li Feng this kind of spell, and Li Feng was clearly memorizing its requirements, that was enough to prove that Li Feng used Dark Energy.

A mage who used Dark Energy had actually appeared in Kamar-Taj, yet Ancient One had neither discovered nor stopped him. That was what Mordo could not understand.

Walking ahead, Li Feng carefully prepared a spell in case Mordo suddenly attacked him, then said helplessly, "You're right. My Mana is naturally inclined toward darkness, so the spells I'll truly excel at in the future will be dark magic."

Li Feng had no intention of hiding the matter of his Mana attribute, because there was no need.

In the future, he would inevitably have dealings with S.H.I.E.L.D. in order to collect the Infinity Stones. Once he used his magic then, Kamar-Taj's mages would definitely find out—unless Li Feng was willing to remain an unknown little mage forever. But was that possible? Without power, how could he use the Infinity Stones?

He simply had not expected Mordo to discover the issue with his Mana attribute only a few days after arriving in the Otherworld. Li Feng had originally planned to confess only after he had become strong enough to rival Mordo. That way, even if Mordo wanted to kill him, he would have the power to resist.

Following behind Li Feng, Mordo touched his Magic Artifact. Though no emotion could be heard in his voice, Li Feng could still sense him desperately suppressing his anger. "Can't you use another kind of energy to become a mage? Just because your innate energy leans toward darkness, must you choose dark magic?"

Li Feng seemed to realize why Ancient One had sent Mordo to travel with him in the Otherworld. Compared to the Mordo ten years later—rigid, old-fashioned, and extreme in temperament—the current Mordo still rejected Dark Energy, but he had not attacked Li Feng on the spot. Did that mean his prejudice against energy could still be changed?

At that thought, Li Feng's mouth twitched. Master Ancient One, I only ate and lived for free at Kamar-Taj. Did you really have to make me Mordo's life mentor? And couldn't you have told me in advance? At least then I could've gone and gotten a PhD in psychology or something first.

"Does using Dark Energy automatically make someone evil?"

Hearing Li Feng's defense, Mordo wanted nothing more than to use the Short Staff in his hand to teach Li Feng who he should be listening to. Suppressing the urge to beat him up, Mordo explained the consequences of using Dark Energy. "Dark Energy is naturally corrosive. Once you come into contact with it, it will corrode your mind from the inside out, until it drags your soul into the abyss."

Li Feng replied without concern, "When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you. I understand. But what if I'm careful enough? Didn't you see the Illusion Seduction Spell the Demon taught me earlier? I only memorized it—I didn't learn it on the spot. I planned to go back, organize the spell's information, and figure out how to resist the corrosive effects of darkness before learning it."

Mordo felt as though Li Feng was beyond saving. So many highly accomplished mages had believed they were prepared when they researched Dark Energy. And what happened? One after another, they fell into the abyss. When facing Dark Energy, the only safe choice was to ignore it completely.

Li Feng said, "Energy itself has no good or evil. It is human hearts that are evil. And how do you know that everyone who uses Dark Energy will definitely fall? Based on experience? Whose experience? The pioneers who already fell into the abyss? At best, they proved that their own methods could not resist darkness. But what about the future? Who can say? Maybe I'll find a path that resists Dark Energy's corruption. You should know that there are countless worlds behind me. I'm sure I can find a way."

Li Feng turned to look at Mordo and said quietly, "The Church in your impression should guide people toward goodness, right? But in this world, do you think The Church is righteous?"

"Look at the Church in our world, then look at it now. While Plague runs rampant, what are the people of The Church doing? Gathering troops for crusades, slaughtering everyone who does not believe in God, and treating that as saving the world."

"Look at how that Priest treated you. You did nothing in this world, yet he called you a heretic the moment he opened his mouth and a black devil whenever he spoke. Can someone like that truly be called a Priest?"

Mordo agreed with that point. After all, he had resisted many foreign invaders in his own world. Forget radiating holy light from head to toe—what kind of title was heretic?

Li Feng said, "If you think a man who enjoys abusing prisoners is also an upright and kind Priest, then fine. I admit that using Dark Energy makes me a Demon King."

Li Feng pointed at Beman and the others in the distance. "Now look at who is truly saving the world and curing the Plague."

"By The Church's rules, Beman and Felson were traitors who should have been sent to the gallows. But they left the army because they could not accept their superior's order to slaughter women and the elderly. And that earned them the charge of desertion from The Church? Do you think only Beman and Felson were dissatisfied with the Crusaders' atrocities? Give me a break. The rest simply feared The Church would order their entire families hanged, so they did not dare resist."

"Forget this era. Even in ours, if your superior ordered you to slaughter unarmed women and the elderly, would you do it? Humanitarians would tear you apart."

"After Beman and Felson, let's talk about Ekkehard, who just died. Because he refused to blindly follow every instruction from the monks, he was a heretic in the Priest's eyes too. Then there's the guide, a swindler sentenced by The Church. And Kay is still a simple-minded novice."

"A group that The Church sees as deserters, heretics, swindlers, and novices is trying to save the Plague. Aren't they afraid that this escort team protecting the Witch will be wiped out by a single mistake?"

"Don't tell me you actually believed that idiotic Bishop's nonsense about The Church having no troops. Beman came from the front lines. It took him one month to get here. If they sent a few people from the battlefield, they could complete the task of escorting the Witch in a month and a half. I suspect The Church never viewed this mission as saving the world. Maybe, in their eyes, slaughtering all women, children, and elderly people who do not believe in God is what truly saves the world."

"Who do you think represents justice—the Church, or them?"

Li Feng rattled on at length, leaving Mordo somewhat dazed. After a long while, Mordo refuted him. "But with the rise of science, hasn't the Church gradually changed itself?"

One corner of Li Feng's mouth rose in mockery. "Yes, The Church changed. Then tell me, how did Copernicus, Bruno, Kepler, Galileo, and the others who devoted themselves to science die?"

"They were like pioneers resisting the corrosion of Dark Energy. They knew The Church would oppose them and burn them to death, yet they still studied their theories. Look at things now—who still says their research failed?"

At that point, Li Feng said quietly, "Perhaps among the Dark Mages you hunted down, there were people who had already discovered how to resist Dark Energy's corrosion. But you stubbornly believed Dark Energy could not be resisted and killed them, burying the method of resisting its corruption forever."

Mordo was so angered by Li Feng's twisted logic that he almost laughed. "So by your reasoning, I'm the Church of this era? By killing those mages who fell into darkness, I've been making mistakes all along?"

"Not necessarily." Li Feng shrugged. "But before you kill those Dark Mages, could you at least check whether they actually broke the law?"

Turning toward Mordo, Li Feng said expressionlessly, "But you did get one thing right. You are like the Church of this era. As long as you believe you are right, you crush every opposing voice. Perhaps in a few hundred years, future generations will remember you as more than just a hero who resisted foreign invaders. You may also earn the title of 'Butcher.'"

Li Feng concluded, "I only want to tell you this: don't judge a world using only your current beliefs and perspective. Time will slap your face swollen."

As they were about to return to the group escorting the Demon, Mordo no longer wanted to argue with Li Feng. He also needed to reflect on his own thoughts. But before that, he warned sternly, "I will tell Ancient One that you use Dark Energy. And I will watch you closely from behind. The moment I discover any sign that you are falling into corruption, don't blame me for Purifying you."

Purification sounds nice, but isn't that just killing me?

Rolling his eyes, Li Feng waved at Mordo behind him. "Think whatever you want. I know the nature of Dark Energy. Unless I'm two hundred percent certain, I have no intention of touching it."