D-Class Powerhouse

Lu Xi lounged comfortably on the sofa in the villa, holding the spellbook Ancient One had given him.

His brows furrowed slightly. The obscure theoretical knowledge was like an unreadable heavenly tome, making his head ache.

He simply skipped the earlier sections and flipped straight to the practical lessons.

His gaze landed on a page introducing a spell called "Astral Projection," and Lu Xi immediately became interested.

The description of this spell sounded quite miraculous. It could separate one's spiritual body from the physical body.

In this special state, the caster would not need to breathe, eat, or sleep. They could also cast off the constraints of physical laws, passing through objects and becoming invisible.

Lu Xi immediately followed the method described in the book and tried to learn it.

He closed his eyes tightly and focused, attempting to guide the power within him along a specific path.

However, after trying for quite some time, he got nowhere. He simply could not separate his spiritual body as described in the book.

He sighed helplessly. It seemed Ancient One had been right—his power system truly was incompatible with Kamar-Taj's magic.

This path was blocked. He could only find another way to improve his strength.

Seeing Lu Xi's frustrated expression, Daisy curiously leaned closer and asked:

"What's wrong? Why do you look so down?"

Lu Xi raised his head, shook the spellbook, and said:

"I can't learn this spell. Looks like not just anyone can learn this stuff. It really takes talent."

Daisy's eyes lit up as she asked in surprise:

"Magic really exists? Then can I learn it too?"

Lu Xi smiled. "Angels and demon kings are real. Isn't it perfectly normal for magic to exist?"

As he spoke, he handed the spellbook to Daisy. "If you're interested, give it a try."

Daisy excitedly accepted the spellbook and immediately began reading it with great interest, quietly muttering the contents under her breath.

At that moment, Lu Xi seemed to sense something and suddenly turned to look outside the villa.

He extended his thoughts toward the entrance and saw a woman in a leather jacket standing quietly there.

Her long hair carried a faint golden-red hue, glimmering with an enchanting sheen beneath the sunlight.

She was slowly approaching the door, her slender fingers lifting as she prepared to press the doorbell.

Lu Xi recognized her at once. She was the future Scarlet Witch—Wanda Maximoff.

Her face looked extremely similar to her appearance in the movies. If it was not identical, it was at least eighty or ninety percent alike.

However, the movie version had been somewhat conservative in the figure department.

The one standing outside the villa was, at the very least, a D-Class Powerhouse.

With that in mind, and out of respect for this D-Class Powerhouse, Lu Xi gave a slight mental command before she could press the bell, and the villa door slowly opened.

As expected, Wanda had been about to ring the bell when the door suddenly opened by itself, startling her.

Seeing Wanda's startled expression, Lu Xi could not help revealing a mischievous smile.

He liked watching these people tremble in fright.

Of course, that only applied when they were beauties like Wanda.

Watching Wanda cautiously walk in, Lu Xi took the initiative to rise and slowly stroll into the yard.

Pretending not to recognize her, he looked at Wanda and asked:

"Who are you? Did you get lost?"

The moment Wanda saw Lu Xi, she confirmed that he was the target mentioned in the files.

She froze slightly, a trace of nervousness flashing across her face. Unconsciously clutching the hem of her clothes, she mumbled:

"I... I came to find you."

Lu Xi raised an eyebrow and pressed further:

"Looking for me? What, do you know me?"

Wanda took a deep breath and tried to calm herself before saying:

"I heard that you have a way to help people improve their strength, so I came here."

After saying that, she slowly moved both hands. A wisp of red light drifted from her palms like a lively ribbon.

It wrapped around a lounge chair beside the pool, and the chair slowly floated into the air.

The moment Lu Xi heard that explanation, he roughly understood what was going on.

Either Wanda had been fooled into coming here by Hydra, or she was cooperating with Hydra to test him.

In any case, Hydra had definitely leaked the information.

So he could not be bothered asking where she had heard it from and said directly:

"This ability of yours has great potential. What do you want to improve it for?"

Wanda was somewhat bewildered. According to the script Baron Strucker had rehearsed with her in advance, shouldn't he first be asking where she got the information?

She had worked so hard to memorize her prepared answer perfectly, only to discover that he was not following the script at all.

For a moment, Wanda was completely stunned, her mind blank.

Seeing her space out, Lu Xi urged:

"What are you staring blankly for?"

Only then did Wanda come back to her senses and hurriedly say:

"Uh... I want to improve my abilities for revenge. As long as you're willing to help me, I'm willing to pay any price!"

Lu Xi grabbed the chair hanging in midair, set it down behind him, and sat on it.

Leaning back lazily, he raised an eyebrow and asked:

"Oh? Any price, really?"

As he spoke, he deliberately swept an obvious gaze over Wanda's body, making a blush rise on her face.

Wanda pursed her lips and said firmly:

"Yes, anything. Even myself..."

Lu Xi waved a hand to interrupt her and smiled.

"Forget it. I was just joking."

But Wanda became anxious. She stepped forward and said urgently:

"I'm serious. Please help me."

In her urgency, she even deliberately thrust out her chest, showing off the strength of a D-Class Powerhouse, as if trying to prove her determination that way.

Lu Xi looked at her, his expression turning serious.

"It's not that I don't want to help you. It's that you've already taken the wrong path. If I give you power now, I'll only be harming you."

Hearing that, Wanda anxiously wanted to argue.

Lu Xi raised a hand, signaling for her not to rush.

"Don't be so eager to refute me. Listen to me first. Your so-called target for revenge is Tony Stark, right?"

Wanda was utterly shocked. Other than Baron Strucker, no one should have known about this.

Her eyes widened as she stared at Lu Xi in disbelief.

Lu Xi continued:

"And the idea of taking revenge on Tony was also planted in your mind by that Baron Strucker, wasn't it?"

Wanda was even more shocked. With her thoughts guessed correctly again and again, she could not help wondering whether Lu Xi could read minds.

After hesitating for a moment, she still nodded. "That's right."

Lu Xi narrowed his eyes slightly and said:

"Then what would you think if I told you that you had been wrong all along, and that your true enemy had always been right beside you?"

"And that they're still using you to do their dirty work?"

Wanda looked utterly incredulous and shook her head.

"You mean... no, that's impossible. I saw that missile with my own eyes. It was clearly made by Stark Industries!"

Lu Xi explained calmly:

"Although the missile was manufactured by Stark Industries, that doesn't mean Tony Stark sold or used it."

"If you sold cars, and there was nothing wrong with the car itself, but the buyer went racing recklessly and got into an accident, would that somehow be your fault?"

"Stark Industries is only a manufacturer. The organization you're with now is the real expert in all kinds of terrorist crimes."