True Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts

An abandoned old house.

Old Wang snapped back to reality, the Darkhold held firmly in his hands.

It was actually quite a pity that Old Wang wasn't a sorcerer.

Otherwise, he could have fully mastered the spells within, established contact with the Dark Dimension and Hell, and his future achievements might not have been inferior to Doctor Strange's. He might even have been able to take his place and become the new Sorcerer Supreme.

Unfortunately, being a sorcerer was a profession that required a certain level of intelligence, and Old Wang lacked confidence in his own.

Wait...

Sorcerers in the Marvel Universe didn't seem to have high requirements for intelligence, which was quite different from the World of Warcraft.

Baron Mordo and a certain librarian who shared his name didn't exactly seem like geniuses either...

There was no need to study magical knowledge diligently or painstakingly weave spells; one only needed to find a way to contact the Vishanti Trinity or other magical entities from different dimensions to borrow their power. It certainly looked like spellcasting.

This was what they called casting.

Pretty impressive.

The only problem was that this whole thing was like a castle in the air—unreliable and dangerous.

If you use someone else's power, what happens if they decide they aren't happy about it?

What if they have ulterior motives?

Moreover, casting seemed to come with a price. This cost could be a severed limb, being trapped in some Mirror Dimension or a time loop forever, or it could damage the body and shorten one's lifespan.

This was why the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj were all such capable fighters, all of them Gandalf-style battle mages—

They prioritized Strength, Agility, and Constitution, with Spirit as a secondary stat, while Intelligence was just a dump stat because it really wasn't needed.

Charisma could be ignored entirely.

They didn't even need to learn a simple Light spell; their magic was all provided by others.

Spells couldn't be used recklessly, and the variety was limited. There were no Frostbolts or Fireballs; in most cases, they had to resort to melee combat.

Unlike the mages of the World of Warcraft, who started as apprentices and had to learn a vast amount of magical theory to build a complete system—often spending years or even decades before casting their first spell—their foundations were solid. They relied on themselves, not external forces.

The sorcerers of Kamar-Taj were actually more like Shamans and Warlocks... at least, a little bit.

The World Shaman could destroy a castle after only two years of study, and Warlocks could become powerful the moment they sold their souls. Doctor of Kidney Deficiency hadn't been in the game for many years either, yet he could serve as the guardian of the New York Sanctum... Talent was everything.

This talent manifested in one's ability to communicate with magical entities and other dimensions of the multiverse, as well as in the utilization of energy.

For Old Wang, none of that mattered.

The most important thing was...

Sorcerers who used the power of the Dark Dimension and Hell were eroded by dark forces, and their complexions were generally terrible, looking exactly like someone who had been cultivating for ten days and ten nights straight.

Their foreheads were dark, their lips were purple, their eyes were dull, and their dark circles were on par with a giant panda.

Wait, that didn't seem right...

Old Wang suddenly felt that this was quite suitable for him.

After all, in his past life, he was a Pandaren with dark circles!

Besides, didn't he seem no different from the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj?

They could contact powerful magical entities in the multiverse and treat them as a source of energy.

And for him, Azeroth Miss was his source of energy.

So, actually, I'm not just a Monk.

According to the definitions of the Marvel Universe, I'm a sorcerer too!

A true dual-cultivator of magic and martial arts!

The difference was that when the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj cast spells, they paid various prices, such as being eroded by darkness.

But the only price for his spellcasting was money...

They paid with their lives to cast spells; I pay with my money!

Could anything be more miserable than that?

Seeing the Darkhold reappear, the eyes of the few new ghosts lit up instantly.

Just a moment ago, when the Darkhold vanished, they had nearly collapsed, as if their beloved woman or man had been snatched away. Now that it was back, they couldn't have been happier.

However, the smiles had barely formed on their faces before the Darkhold vanished again.

Their moods were like a roller coaster, undergoing a sine-wave level of change in just a few short minutes.

"Give me the Darkhold! Otherwise, I'll fight you to the death!" the irritable fat ghost Vincent roared.

The rational thin ghost Frederick hurriedly held him back with all his might.

Buddy, don't mess around.

If you want to die, fine, but don't drag us down with you!

I still want to be reincarnated!

Lucy looked thoughtful.

Was it invisibility before, and now something else—a different space? Was it the Quantum Realm or a parallel universe? Was it related to wormholes, or perhaps phase-shifting? Did the boss possess special abilities as a Mutant, or had he acquired some kind of surreal, advanced technology?

Skye looked at Old Wang but said nothing.

This guy had more secrets than Egghead. When the Darkhold vanished just now, had it really turned invisible, or had it truly disappeared?

Of course, she couldn't ask that.

After all, there were outsiders present.

She would find a place to get a room tonight and have a calm, thorough chat.

Inside Robbie, the Spirit of Vengeance had grown uncharacteristically calm.

It disliked the dark energy on the Darkhold, just as it disliked anything related to Hell.

But if it could obtain the Darkhold, that wouldn't be bad either; perhaps it could even enhance its own strength. After all, compared to Chthon, it was indeed several tiers behind, and even Mephisto and Dormammu were not quite on that level.

It actually wanted to snatch it, but it feared Robbie wouldn't agree.

The key was that it wasn't certain it could win!

Old Wang swept his gaze across the room, taking in everyone's reactions, a warm, boy-next-door smile on his face.

These new ghosts were all scientists with doctoral degrees; their intelligence was sufficient, and their emotional intelligence wasn't low either.

Logically, they shouldn't be this impulsive.

It was all the Darkhold's fault; it had altered their temperaments, seduced their desires, and invisibly lowered their IQs.

"Roxxon Power Plant, you know where that is, right?" Old Wang stared at Lucy, a faint, inscrutable smile on his lips.

Lucy was stunned.

An expression of disbelief appeared on her face.

The boss even knew about this?

Knowing about the Roxxon Power Plant was nothing; after all, it was a subsidiary of Roxxon Corporation, which had existed since World War II—even earlier than Stark Industries—and was one of the largest companies in the United States. Every American knew it.

But what was the meaning behind that sentence?

Did the boss actually know the connection between The Laboratory and the Roxxon Power Plant?

The research conducted by The Laboratory had begun during the Second World War, and the laboratory of that era was the current Roxxon Power Plant.

The full set of equipment for building a Quantum Generator was there.

The Quantum Generator and batteries in The Laboratory, as well as the materials, had all been obtained from the Roxxon Power Plant.

Did the boss know even that?

Was he really that omnipotent?

"Don't doubt it; I know more than you imagine."

Old Wang smiled, looking profound and mysterious.

He clapped his hands. "Next, we split into two groups. You go to the Roxxon Power Plant, and I will go get Eli out... You can't wait much longer, can you?"

Lucy nodded.

She could feel the tearing sensation of that dark power.

Hell—the Dark Dimension in the boss's words—possessed infinite darkness, stripped of any form of light and warmth, and attempted to absorb any creature that approached its state of existence. She, trapped between dimensions, was one of them.

There wasn't much time left.

There was no other choice.

She had to take the risk!

"Skye, Robbie, you two go to the Roxxon Power Plant and wait for me."

Old Wang smiled. "Lucy, you and the others come with me to find Eli!"

Los Angeles Prison.

Natasha returned from dinner and brought a portion for Coulson. "Shall we keep waiting?"

Coulson rubbed his stiff face. "My experience tells me that the person who took the battery will definitely come; he cannot do without Eli."