Near-Combat Mage

"Magnetic Field Sky Blade!"

Wei Xiuming spread his five fingers, then drew them together. The magnetic field's power compressed into invisible blade energy that sprayed in every direction. The peerless blade light seemed capable of shattering space itself.

Master Gu Yi's magical duplicates dared not face its edge. One or two leaped through portals and fled into the distance, while the rest controlled the portals, doing their best to redirect the Magnetic Field Sky Blade. Only a handful of duplicates were struck, turning into illusions that returned to the original.

As the Magnetic Field Sky Blade's force ran out, two portals appeared on either side of Wei Xiuming. Two magical duplicates emerged, each wielding a Sacred Sword of Vishanti. Their long blades, formed from condensed magical energy, stabbed toward Wei Xiuming's ribs.

After the chaotic battle, Wei Xiuming had become more adept at wielding magnetic field power. He no longer relied on a few signature moves to get by; the power of Magnetic Field Rotation flowed through his every movement. He had progressed faster than he had during the previous few months of solitary training. The truth was, without a senior to guide him in this power system, the road ahead had been utterly unclear. He could only take things one step at a time. Wei Xiuming didn't think he had the talent of the four founders of The Tiger; most of the famous martial arts moves in the Tiger trilogy were connected to those four.

Second, having lived a second life, Wei Xiuming cherished his life all the more. He never took risks, preferring to advance steadily.

But sometimes, being too cautious wasn't a good thing. It could make someone miss opportunities, especially on the path of martial arts. Lacking the drive to advance boldly and losing the resolve to press forward no matter what were both major taboos in martial arts.

Wei Xiuming took a step forward to open some distance, then reached behind him and grabbed the magical blade that had stabbed through a portal. Its sharp edge sliced through his palm, down to the hard bones of his fingers. Blood poured out dramatically, pumped by his heart. With one hand, Wei Xiuming yanked the magical duplicate through the portal. Then he clenched his free hand into a fist and punched it apart. He spoke aloud.

"Master Gu Yi, you came looking for me because you've already seen something about my future, haven't you? So, in the future, am I some great demon king who destroys the world?"

As his words fell, Gu Yi suddenly dispelled the Eikons of Her Shape. All the magical duplicates returned to her, and the ground beneath Wei Xiuming began to transform once more. Complex terrain joined together into a huge circular platform, like an arena.

Gu Yi herself entered the fray and landed at the opposite end of the platform. The amulet on her chest opened, revealing the green Time Stone within. Magical energy flowed from it and coalesced into a magical ring around her wrist. The ring resembled the face of a clock, which people used to represent time. Its magical runes turned ceaselessly, keeping pace with time's flow.

"Visitor from another world, an existence whose true name is Clark Kent. You know more about hidden beings than I expected." Master Gu Yi held one hand behind her back and strode toward Wei Xiuming with the air of a grandmaster.

Wei Xiuming felt a bitter taste in his mouth. How had he forgotten the Time Stone? Doctor Strange had only been in contact with magic for a short time when he figured out the time loop. He had not only reversed time to repair the destroyed Sanctum Sanctorum, but had also worn Dormammu down with an endless loop until he went mad and retreated of his own accord.

As his teacher, Gu Yi surely would have thought of using the same trick. She might even have come up with more elaborate variations.

In the past, which Wei Xiuming hadn't noticed, time loops had already been repeated countless times. During that process, Gu Yi had thoroughly studied his abilities and fighting habits, then laid out a series of tactics, A, B, C, D, and so on, to eliminate him here at the smallest possible cost. The process could be compared to Groundhog Day, Edge of Tomorrow, or the first episode of season four of Rick and Morty.

If the Eye of Agamotto wasn't a container for the Time Stone, things were even worse. The genuine Eye of Agamotto was a mystical treasure no less powerful than the Time Stone.

The mainstream of Marvel magic involved making deals with magical deities from higher dimensions. Through meditation and spell training, sorcerers established a connection with those deities. Once they gained their approval, they could borrow their power through spells.

The white-magic deity was known as the Trinity of Vishanti, an all-knowing, all-powerful magical god made up of three ancient deities: Oshtur, Hoggoth, and Agamotto. The line of Sorcerer Supremes were Agamotto's successors, and the Eye of Agamotto passed down through the generations might even have been made from one of Agamotto's lost eyes.

"Then let me ask you, Sorcerer Supreme: what exactly is the future you saw for me?" Wei Xiuming took a deep breath, trying to steady his powerful, pounding heart. He conserved his strength for the fierce battle ahead so he could unleash it to better effect.

He had fought at his limit for nearly the entire battle. His body and mind were still holding up, but he had never been pushed this far before. Since arriving in this world, Wei Xiuming had never come so close to touching his limits.

Master Gu Yi formed a hand seal with her left hand. A red magical shield, the Ring of the Vishanti, appeared in her right, and the Sacred Sword of Vishanti appeared in her left. After taking a few quick steps, she suddenly vanished, then reappeared beside Wei Xiuming and slashed diagonally.

Having suffered through this tactic many times, Wei Xiuming raised his arm, using it as a blade to block the attack, then drove out a Sea Tiger Blast Punch with his left hand.

"There are only two possible outcomes for a future in which you appear." Relying on her control of space and her familiarity with Wei Xiuming's moves, Gu Yi dodged the fierce force of his punch and spoke calmly. "In the first, you deceive everyone and steal the fruits of victory. You sacrifice every life in the universe and set foot on the path to godhood."

Gu Yi's sword and shield worked together as she advanced and retreated with measured precision. Her moves were polished; she always blocked Wei Xiuming's attacks at just the right moment, then struck at the places he had to protect. Wei Xiuming knew those moves all too well: they were the Tai Chi Fist Method he had studied. Seeing Gu Yi perform the parts he hadn't understood with her sword and shield, he grasped a great deal in an instant.

Since he knew what kind of moves she was using, he had a way to deal with them. Traditional martial arts teachers "held something back" for precisely this reason.

If you knew how an opponent's moves generated force, you could find a way to counter them. That was why old masters always kept a secret move or two to save their lives.

Wei Xiuming drew in his power. He no longer unleashed everything recklessly, but controlled its release at will, holding back until he struck his opponent so he could slow the energy draining from his body.

He also stopped being bound by the forms of his moves. Baji Quan, Xing Yi Quan, Wing Chun, boxing... Whenever the moment was right, his fists followed the flow of the fight, delivering a lethal blow to his opponent.

A younger fighter had the advantage, and one overwhelming force could defeat ten clever techniques. These were truths of martial arts. Professional combat competitions even divided fighters into weight classes. When Wei Xiuming unleashed his full power, he grew to two and a half meters tall, his muscles swelling in thick knots. He nearly overwhelmed Gu Yi—but she could use magic. Whenever the situation turned against her, space itself would shift, forcing Wei Xiuming to calculate his footing again before he could continue fighting.