True Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts

The abandoned old house.

Old Wang came back to his senses, the Darkhold in his hand.

It was actually quite a pity that Old Wang was not a mage.

Otherwise, he could have learned the spells within, contacted the Dark Dimension and Hell, and perhaps achieved no less than Doctor Strange in the future. He might even have replaced him as the new Sorcerer Supreme.

Unfortunately, mage was a profession that demanded intelligence, and Old Wang had little confidence in his own IQ.

Wait...

Mages in the Marvel Universe did not seem to have particularly high IQ requirements. This was different from World of Warcraft.

Baron Mordo and a certain librarian with the same name did not seem all that intelligent either...

There was no need to study magical knowledge tirelessly or painstakingly weave spells. As long as one found a way to contact the Vishanti Trinity or other magical entities from other dimensions, one could borrow their power and make it look like magic.

That was what casting spells meant.

Pretty damn impressive.

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

What if you used someone else's power and they suddenly did not like it?

What if they had ulterior motives?

And casting spells seemed to come at a price. That price might be losing an arm or a leg, being trapped in some Mirror Dimension or time island and refusing to come out no matter what, or suffering bodily harm and shortened life.

That was why Kamar-Taj's mages were all so good at fighting. Every last one of them was a Gandalf-style battle mage—

Their main stats went into Strength, Agility, and Constitution, with Spirit as a secondary stat. Intelligence could be assigned however they pleased, because they really did not need much of it.

Charisma could be completely ignored.

They did not even need to invest in Light. Their spells were all given to them by others.

Their spells could not be used carelessly, and they had few types to choose from. There was neither Frostbolt nor Fireball, so most of the time, they could only fight hand-to-hand.

Unlike World of Warcraft's mages, who started out as apprentices and needed to learn a great deal of magical knowledge and establish a complete magical system. They often studied for years, even decades, before they began casting spells. Their foundations were solid, and their spellcasting relied on themselves rather than external power.

Kamar-Taj's mages were more like shamans and warlocks... at least a little.

A World Shaman could destroy a castle after only two years of study. A warlock could sell his soul and become stronger just like that. Doctor of Kidney Deficiency had only been active for a few years, yet he could already become the guardian of the New York Sanctum... Talent was important.

That talent lay in communicating with magical entities and other dimensions of the multiverse, and also in the use of energy.

None of that mattered to Old Wang.

What mattered most was...

Mages who used the power of the Dark Dimension and Hell were corroded by dark forces. Basically, none of them looked particularly good. Every one of them looked like they had cultivated immortality for ten days and nights straight.

Their foreheads were dark, their lips purple, their eyes dull, and the circles around their eyes were on par with giant pandas.

Something seemed off...

Old Wang suddenly felt that it suited him quite well.

After all, he had been a panda with dark circles under his eyes in his previous life!

Besides, did that not make him no different from Kamar-Taj's mages?

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

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

So I was not just a Monk.

By the Marvel Universe's definition, I was also a damn mage!

True dual cultivation of magic and martial arts!

The difference was that Kamar-Taj's mages had to pay all kinds of prices when casting spells, such as being corroded by darkness.

The only price he paid for casting spells was money...

They cast spells at the cost of their lives. I cast spells at the cost of money!

Was there anything more miserable than that?

When they saw the Darkhold reappear, the eyes of the new ghosts instantly lit up.

When the Darkhold had vanished earlier, they had nearly broken down, as though the woman or man they loved had been snatched away. Now that it was back, they were overjoyed.

But just as smiles appeared on their faces, the Darkhold vanished again.

Their emotions were like a roller coaster, undergoing sine-wave-level changes in just a few minutes.

"Give me the Darkhold! Otherwise, I'll fight you to the death!" Vincent, the hot-tempered fat ghost, flew into a rage.

Frederick, the rational skinny ghost, hurriedly wrapped his arms tightly around him.

Buddy, do not cause trouble.

If you want to die, fine, but do not drag us down with you!

I still want to become human again!

Lucy fell into thought.

It had been invisibility before, but now it seemed to be another space. Was it the Quantum Realm or a parallel universe? Was it related to wormholes or phase shifting? Was the boss a Mutant with special abilities, or had he acquired some surreal high-tech?

Skye looked at Old Wang without saying anything.

This guy had more secrets than Egghead. When the Darkhold disappeared earlier, had it merely become invisible, or had it truly vanished?

Of course, she could not ask that.

There were outsiders here, after all.

They could get a room somewhere tonight and talk it over slowly and calmly.

Within Robbie, the Spirit of Vengeance rarely calmed down.

It did not like the Dark Energy on the Darkhold, just as it disliked anything related to Hell.

But getting the Darkhold would not be bad. It might even strengthen it. After all, compared to Chthon, it was indeed several levels weaker. Even Mephisto and Dormammu were not qualified.

It truly wanted to snatch it away, but it feared Robbie would not agree.

More importantly, it might not be able to beat him!

Old Wang swept his gaze over them and took in everyone's reactions. A warm, boy-next-door smile appeared on his face.

These new ghosts were all scientists with doctorates. Their IQs were sufficient, and their emotional intelligence was not low either.

Logically, they should not have been so impulsive.

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

"You know where Roxxon Power Plant is, right?" Old Wang stared at Lucy with a faint smile.

Lucy froze.

An incredulous look appeared on her face.

The boss knew even that?

Knowing about Roxxon Power Plant was nothing unusual. It was a subsidiary of Roxxon Corporation, and Roxxon Corporation had existed since World War II. It was even older than Stark Industries and was one of the largest companies in the United States. Every American knew about it.

But what did he mean by that?

The boss actually knew about the connection between The Laboratory and Roxxon Power Plant?

The Laboratory's research had begun during World War II. The Laboratory from that era was what was now Roxxon Power Plant.

It had a full set of equipment for building a Quantum Generator.

The Laboratory's Quantum Generator and batteries had all used materials obtained from Roxxon Power Plant.

Did the boss know even that?

Was he really that omniscient?

"No need to doubt it. I know more than you imagine."

Old Wang smiled mysteriously.

He clapped his hands. "Next, we'll split into two groups. You go to Roxxon Power Plant, and I'll get Eli out... You do not have much time left, do you?"

Lucy nodded.

She could feel that dark force tearing at her.

Hell—the Dark Dimension, as the boss called it—possessed infinite darkness. It had been stripped of every form of light and warmth, and it sought to absorb any creature that came close to that state of existence. She, trapped between dimensions, was one of them.

There was not much time left.

There were no other options.

They could only take the risk!

"Skye, Robbie, go to Roxxon Power Plant and wait for me first."

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

Los Angeles Prison.

Natasha went out for dinner and brought Coulson a portion as well. "Should we keep waiting?"

Coulson rubbed his stiff face. "My experience tells me that whoever took the batteries will definitely come. He cannot do without Eli."