A Tea Meeting with the Sorcerer Supreme

The interior of the New York Sanctum was far more spacious than it appeared from the outside. Spiraling staircases led to unknown floors, ancient wooden furniture carried the weight of ages, and the air was filled with the scent of old books, spices, and something more mysterious—the aura of multidimensional energy.

At Ancient One's signal, Daniel silently withdrew, leaving Li Wei alone with Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. Ancient One's expression was calm, without scrutiny or suspicion, as though she were simply receiving an ordinary visitor. She made an inviting gesture and led Li Wei to a secluded tea room. The furnishings were minimalist: only a low table, two meditation cushions, and an antique tea set.

"Sit." Ancient One sat down first and skillfully warmed the cups, rinsed the tea, and brewed it. Her movements flowed like water, carrying a strange rhythm, as though every step harmonized with the energy currents around them. Li Wei sat as instructed, his vigilance raised to its peak. He knew that before this Sorcerer Supreme, who had lived for centuries and could travel the multiverse, any disguise might seem laughable.

He chose to respond to all changes by remaining unchanged and observed in silence. Tea poured into the cups, filling the room with a delicate fragrance. "Try it. It comes from the tea garden behind Kamar-Taj. You can't find it anywhere else." Ancient One pushed a cup toward Li Wei, her tone as gentle as casual conversation. Li Wei thanked her and took a sip. The tea was clear and refreshing, and after it slid down his throat, he felt a faint trace of energy soothe the fatigue in his mind caused by tension and his earlier spellcasting.

This tea was no ordinary tea. "A very unusual way of circulating energy." Ancient One set down her own cup. Her gaze seemed to fall casually on Li Wei, yet it felt as though it could pierce through flesh and stare directly into the magical source fused with his system deep within his soul. "Your Kamar-Taj Magic is pure and ancient. It even carries... a trace of an origin that is unfamiliar even to me. But your use of it is immature, like a child who has only just learned to walk." Li Wei's heart skipped a beat. Sure enough, before a true expert, his crash-course skill level had nowhere to hide.

"By chance, I inherited the legacy of a departed sage," Li Wei answered after carefully choosing his words, half truth and half lie. Calling the legacy brought by the system that of a "departed sage" was not entirely unreasonable. Ancient One smiled noncommittally, lightly tracing the rim of her cup with a finger. "A legacy... an interesting term. Then did this 'sage' not tell you that casually intervening in predetermined events can create unpredictable branches in the flow of time? For example, forcibly altering the pressure point Tony Stark was meant to endure during the Battle of New York?"

Here it came! The core question! Li Wei took a deep breath, knowing this was the real issue. He raised his head and met Ancient One's eyes, which seemed to contain the stars, with an open gaze. "Master, you protect the river of time, preventing it from flowing into tributaries of destruction. What I see is one path among infinite possibilities." Li Wei began drawing on his ability as a writer to construct a setting, his tone steady. "Stark could indeed handle it at the time, but the cost would have been greater and the risk higher.

My intervention ensured that when he later carried the nuclear missile into the wormhole, his energy reserves and armor integrity increased by 3.7%. This tiny variable might not be enough to change the outcome, but it could raise the odds of success by a fraction and reduce the risk of him falling." He paused to watch Ancient One's reaction. Seeing that she remained calm, he continued, "I believe protection need not remain rigid and unchanging.

Sometimes, introducing a positive 'variable' may reinforce the 'main road' you protect and prevent it from being eroded by certain... malicious forces from other dimensions." He was clearly alluding to future threats such as Dormammu. Ancient One's eyes shifted slightly, as though she was somewhat surprised—and amused—that Li Wei could say such things.

"An interesting perspective," she said slowly. "Then what does this 'variable' seek by coming to the Sanctum today? Is it merely the knowledge in the Library?" "Knowledge is the foundation of power." Li Wei did not deny it. "I need to grow stronger more quickly. This universe... is not safe. A single legacy is not enough to weather the storms ahead. The Sanctum's knowledge can help me turn this power into a true ability to protect others more quickly, rather than merely using it to 'collect debts.'"

He cleverly elevated the seemingly absurd reason of "collecting debts" into one of "better protection." At that, the faint smile on Ancient One's face deepened. She gently set down her teacup and leaned forward slightly. Though the movement was small, it brought an invisible pressure down upon Li Wei.

"Li Wei, I can see countless possibilities in time. In the overwhelming majority of futures, there is no trace of you." Her voice lowered. "Your very existence is a massive 'unknown.' And that Sling Ring on your wrist... the craftsmanship it contains is even more exquisite than the oldest records of Kamar-Taj. Tell me, what exactly do you, and the 'existence' behind you, intend to do?"

Li Wei was shaken to his core! She had indeed noticed traces of the system! That system-made Sling Ring had become the opening. He knew he could no longer evade the matter. He had to give an answer with enough weight, one that was at least partially true. He fell silent for a moment, as if making up his mind, then raised his head. There was sincerity in his gaze, along with a trace of gravity. "I cannot fully reveal the specific details of the existence 'behind' me. It involves certain... rules beyond the understanding of the current dimension.

" He borrowed some deliberately unfathomable language. "But I can guarantee that my position aligns with the desire to protect this dimension and this planet. One of the ultimate purposes of the legacy and 'help' I have received may be to confront a future... 'end' whose full extent even the Time Stone will find difficult to glimpse."

He directly but vaguely raised the threat of Thanos, and even greater crises beyond him. He knew that with the Time Stone, Ancient One must have foreseen some future catastrophes. "As for this Sling Ring and my ability to master magic so quickly," Li Wei raised his hand to display the system-made Sling Ring, "they are part of my 'legacy'—a kind of... direct infusion of knowledge and adaptive alteration of energy. It allowed me to get started quickly, but my foundation is unstable. That is why I urgently need the Sanctum's knowledge to solidify it."

He openly admitted his accelerated training and shortcomings, which instead made him seem more genuine. Ancient One listened quietly, her gaze deep, as though weighing every word he said and every measure of truth within it. Silence fell over the tea room. Only the faint noise of the city outside the window remained, along with the subtle hum of magical energy that seemed to exist in another dimension.

After a long while, Ancient One finally spoke again, breaking the silence. "The value of knowledge is indeed immeasurable." She repeated Li Wei's earlier words, her tone returning to its previous calmness. "The Sanctum's collection is the crystallization of the efforts of countless generations of sorcerers. It cannot be lent out lightly."

Li Wei's heart sank slightly. But Ancient One changed course. "However, as you said, protection requires strength. A powerful sorcerer who has mastered Kamar-Taj Magic yet remains outside the system—if he goes astray due to a lack of knowledge, or falls easily due to insufficient power—that too would be a loss for Earth." She looked at Li Wei and made her decision. "You may access the basic and intermediate sections of the Library for one month. But you must pay a 'price.'" "What price?"

Li Wei's spirits rose. As long as there was room for negotiation, it was enough. Ancient One extended a finger, and a point of golden light gathered at its tip. It was not the sacred light of Vishanti, but something purer, more fundamental—the faint glow of the Time Stone's power! "I need a strand of your 'possibility,'" Ancient One said slowly. "Open your mind and let me extract a trace of the chaotic branches you bring to the timeline because of your 'unknown' nature. It will not harm you, nor will it peer into your memories or secrets. It will merely provide me with a new and interesting 'variable reference' for observing the flow of time." This was an extraordinarily risky move! To hand part of his "future possibilities" to an existence capable of controlling time? Li Wei's heart pounded wildly. He was gambling—gambling on Ancient One's character, on her true desire to protect, and on whether the system could shield its core secrets. After a brief struggle, he made his choice.

"Alright." Li Wei closed his eyes and completely lowered his mental defenses. He felt a gentle yet incomparably vast force lightly brush across the surface of his soul, like a breeze sweeping across a lake and raising faint ripples. The sensation vanished the next instant. He opened his eyes and saw that within the golden light at Ancient One's fingertip was an extremely fine stream of chaotic air, constantly changing shape as though it contained countless futures. Satisfied, she put the light away. "The contract is made." Ancient One smiled faintly. "Also, I am quite interested in the 'meditation method' you mentioned earlier. Perhaps we can make some... small exchanges." Li Wei knew he had passed the initial test. Not only had he gained the right to access the Library, but he seemed to have opened a channel for "knowledge trading" with the Sorcerer Supreme. His path to establishing himself in the Marvel universe had finally taken its first solid and crucial step.