Lin Du Rises as a Magical Prodigy

With each subtle movement he made, the scenery within the Portal shifted wildly like clouds swept by a gale.

One instant, it was the boundless universe spread with vast stars;

The next, it became a thriving metropolis glittering with neon lights and towering skyscrapers.

With another blink, ancient ruins quietly revealed the secrets of time. Every transition was as swift as lightning, leaving them dazzled.

At last, when everything settled, the door was no longer an ordinary object. It transformed into a magical gateway that spanned time and space, connecting countless worlds.

Standing before the doorway, Lin Du spoke softly but firmly. "This is the magic I believe in—the power of connection and creation."

"He succeeded on the first try?!" Strange blurted out in disbelief.

In his memories, the magical world had never lacked geniuses, but every person bestowed with the title of "genius" had endured countless repeated incantations and the tempering of failure.

Therefore, when Strange learned that Lin Du—a newcomer supposedly accepted by the Ancient One only yesterday—knew almost nothing about magic, he could not help but feel a trace of contempt.

After all, in a world where strength reigned supreme, an unpolished jade stone often needed time to prove its brilliance.

And he, who believed he had trained diligently for three days, was the most promising candidate to become the Ancient One's personal disciple.

But when Strange and Lin Du stood side by side in the center of the empty training ground, everything changed completely.

Lin Du merely waved a hand leisurely, as though conducting an invisible melody, and a Portal shimmering with mysterious light appeared out of thin air before him.

Strange's pupils contracted sharply. Beneath his shock was even greater disbelief.

"How... how did he do that?" Strange muttered, his voice trembling slightly.

He glanced toward Wong and Mordo beside him and found their faces equally filled with astonishment.

Clearly, this sudden turn of events had exceeded everyone's expectations.

Complex emotions surged through Strange's heart, and he began secretly reflecting on his earlier disdainful attitude.

What Lin Du had done was not merely a bold subversion of conventional understanding—it was also a crushing blow to his personal pride.

Not only had this man successfully opened a Portal, but he had also displayed a uniquely original understanding of magic. Strange could not help but wonder what astonishing talent this mysterious person was hiding.

Thinking back on the past three days at Kamar-Taj,

Forget mastering the secret of opening a Portal—even after training day and night, Strange had devoted far more time and effort than Lin Du, yet he had still made no progress at all.

Lin Du seemed to have magic flowing through his veins from birth, born for this art.

"One second..." Mordo murmured, sparks of shock flickering in his eyes.

As one of the Ancient One's proudest disciples,

He knew all too well the complexity and difficulty of opening a Portal. It was the culmination of precise calculations, profound magical power, and a thorough understanding of spatial laws,

Normally, it required several minutes or even longer to prepare.

But Lin Du?

There had been no lengthy chanting of spells, no complicated hand movements.

In that single instant, in the time it took to blink, dazzling light erupted.

Space seemed to be sliced open by a sharp blade, and a Portal leading into an unknown realm suddenly stood before them.

How could this possibly have come from someone with no foundation in magic?

Then what had all the magic they had painstakingly practiced under the Ancient One for years amounted to?

Nothing more than a childish game?

Lin Du's appearance completely overturned Mordo's established beliefs.

The Ancient One's gaze remained fixed on Lin Du, her eyes filled with shock as disbelief churned within her.

Lin Du, who had once seemed to her to be nothing more than an outsider ignorant of the magical world,

Now seemed like a completely different person, displaying magical talent beyond imagination in a way that left everyone dumbstruck.

What... what is going on? The Ancient One felt as though enormous waves were crashing through her heart. She could even clearly feel the thunderous pounding of her heartbeat, like war drums urging her to understand everything before her.

The Portal—though it sounded like a basic technique, it actually contained endless mysteries of magic.

It was not merely the art of folding and linking space, but also an exquisite manifestation of mastery over time.

Accomplishing it in the blink of an eye required not only a thorough understanding of magic, but also control over one's own magical power that had reached perfection.

The Ancient One's eyes widened as she stared at Lin Du in utter disbelief, as though she wanted to brand this moment into her heart.

To her, Lin Du seemed to have effortlessly torn apart the thin veil between reality and illusion in the space of a breath.

At his fingertips, a mysterious Portal into an unknown realm quietly bloomed.

The speed was so great that even the vastly experienced Ancient One was stunned, as though she had witnessed an unprecedented miracle.

A Portal was an elementary skill everyone in the magical world had to learn. It might seem basic, but at a critical moment, it could be the lifeline that determined whether a mage lived or died.

On the battlefield, opening a Portal one second faster could mean one more chance at survival.

For that very reason, countless mages had devoted their entire lives just to gain the slightest improvement in the speed at which they could open a Portal.

Some never grasped the trick even after their hair had turned white; even those with some talent needed five or ten years before seeing any results.

But Lin Du? Yesterday, he had still mocked himself as "an outsider to the magical world." Today, he seemed to have been given a cheat, turning this most basic magic into something extraordinary.

He merely brushed his fingers lightly, as though conversing with space itself.

With a whoosh, the gateway opened at once, the movement so smooth and the speed so fast.

Even the renowned Ancient One had to secretly praise him when she saw it, grudgingly admitting her admiration.

Suppressing her astonishment, the Ancient One approached Lin Du, eager to know what other incredible secrets his unfathomable treasury of magic still concealed.

"Lin Du, just how many more extraordinary skills do you have that we don't know about?" There was a hint of urgency in the Ancient One's voice.

A mysterious smile curled across Lin Du's lips. Rather than answering immediately, he slowly closed his eyes.

As he gently raised both hands, his fingertips seemed to touch invisible strings as they lightly tapped the air.

This action immediately drew the attention of the Ancient One, Mordo, and the others.

Driven by curiosity, they all moved behind Lin Du, wanting to witness with their own eyes the miracle he was about to reveal.

At that moment, a dazzling light suddenly burst from Lin Du's palm, as though tearing apart the fabric of space. A Portal glowing with fantastical colors abruptly appeared before them.