Perplexing Behavior

Dina and the others looked at Chen Xu with concern. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"You really took down that wolf? You didn't run back?"

"Of course I took it down."

"Before me, Chen Xu, enemies either flee in panic or suffer a crushing defeat."

Chen Xu's shameless boasting made the atmosphere around them awkward.

After this battle, Chen Xu had gained a deeper understanding of magic, and his skills had improved considerably. This sign-in mission had not brought him face-to-face with Dormammu, ruler of the Dark Dimension.

Chen Xu assumed the system had merely been trying to scare him, but another battle was taking place in a different dimension within the New York Sanctum.

Aram, the mage overseeing the assessment, had been monitoring Chen Xu and the others. When the Blackflame Demon Wolf appeared, a terrifying dark aura instantly emerged above New York. A surge of dark power appeared in New York's dimensional space, immediately alarming all the mages of the New York Sanctum.

That power naturally came from Dormammu.

Chen Xu also sensed that dark power and felt a wave of relief. It seemed the goddess of fortune was still on his side. Luckily, he had not lingered too long; if he had been any later, he probably would have died there.

Chen Xu felt proud of his own brilliance and grinned foolishly.

In an instant, every mage in the New York Sanctum appeared, each drawing their magical artifact.

Mordo appeared as well, shouting commands as he directed everyone.

"Everyone, cast your spells together! Drive Dormammu back!"

In the end, because of the seal Ancient One had set, Dormammu could only mobilize a portion of his dark power and was quickly driven back.

Watching Dormammu leave, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Dormammu had missed his chance as well.

The entire New York Sanctum was in ruins. Buildings had collapsed, and the surroundings remained dark red, the color not yet fading, as though the world had ended. An ordinary person would probably have been frightened unconscious.

After driving Dormammu away, Mage Aram rushed straight over to Chen Xu.

"Chen Xu, are you alright?"

Chen Xu was someone even the Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One had praised and personally focused on. If anything had happened to him, Aram would have been finished. Fortunately, Chen Xu was unharmed.

"I'm fine. Not hurt at all."

The other mages were astonished as well. Even the Blackflame Demon Wolf had been no match for Chen Xu. How old was he? This was fucking infuriating.

They still found it hard to believe, but it could not possibly have been the Blackflame Demon Wolf burning itself to death. Besides, it possessed fire magic. Who would believe that someone with fire magic had burned himself to death?

Only then did Dina realize that she had underestimated Chen Xu. Not just her—everyone else had as well.

In truth, this had dealt them a heavy blow. They had arrived earlier than Chen Xu, not by one or two years, but by three or four. For a moment, those who considered themselves geniuses found it hard to accept.

This was far too discouraging. Was this the advantage of possessing powerful mental strength?

It was not just Dina and the others. The Sanctum mages felt the same way. Back when they had been Chen Xu's age, they had been considered geniuses too. But compared to Chen Xu now, they were nothing. After practicing magic for so many years, they were still inferior to someone who had only just entered Kamar-Taj to study. How were they supposed to face that as Temple Mages? Was this fucking going to let anyone live?

For a moment, they suffered ten thousand points of emotional damage.

Dina had passed her assessment, and the sign-in mission was complete. Chen Xu saw no reason to stay any longer, so he planned to return to Kamar-Taj, keep a low profile, build himself up, and study magic.

"Dina, if there's nothing else, I'll be heading back to Kamar-Taj."

Dina froze for a moment, clearly not having recovered from the shock. She answered instinctively, "Ah, no, there's nothing else. Thank you for your help. See you next time."

Chen Xu also said goodbye to the others, then turned to ask Aram, the assessment mage.

"Um, teacher, I'm heading back to Kamar-Taj. Could you open a portal for me?"

"Ah, alright. No problem."

Chen Xu's voice pulled the mentor out of his gloomy daze.

He then opened a portal back to Kamar-Taj. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Chen Xu returned to Kamar-Taj to continue building himself up.

Meanwhile, Dormammu had returned to the Dark Dimension and was speaking with someone. The man had a red mark on his forehead, and Dormammu roared at him furiously.

"You failed."

"My great master, please give me another chance. I never expected Chen Xu to be so terrifying."

"I will make him disappear from this world."

Dormammu stared at him and pondered for a while. The follower named Erbi Mengbilia was already drenched in cold sweat from fear.

"Go."

At the same time, in the room of Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme observed everything, including Chen Xu's assessment and Dormammu's invasion, yet he did not intervene.

He used the Time Stone once again, wanting to learn about the future. Yet the future had become a blur, and he could see nothing. He knew Dormammu would invade this time, and he also knew there was a traitor within, but he had never been able to glimpse the future beyond that.

This left him deeply perplexed. For the first time, Ancient One, who had always held the overall situation in his grasp, felt somewhat powerless. Chen Xu's appearance had made the future hazy and uncertain.

Ancient One had also sensed the existence of Chaos Magic within Chen Xu. As the Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One naturally knew what Chaos Magic was.

Yet even someone as powerful as him could not wield Chaos Magic. Chen Xu, however, had done so. It was truly inconceivable. Even Ancient One, who had witnessed countless grand events, was profoundly shocked.

In truth, there were very few people capable of shocking the Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One. Yet one had now appeared, and Chen Xu had not shocked him only once.

Ancient One had also used the Time Stone to explore Chen Xu's past, seeking to learn his origins, but it remained shrouded in fog. He could not investigate it at all and had no idea where Chen Xu's soul came from.

This gave Ancient One a headache.

"Forget it. Let's see what other surprises he can bring me. Still, I need to deal with the internal problem. If I keep hiding a ticking time bomb, it will cause trouble someday."

Because Dormammu's follower had previously reported that Kamar-Taj had produced a genius who might become a major threat in the future, Dormammu had sent Erbi Mengbilia to eliminate him. The attempt had failed, and now Dormammu had ordered him to act once more, to deal with Chen Xu, who might threaten him in the future.

However, because Ancient One was present, Erbi Mengbilia did not dare to act personally. He planned to exploit how easily dark power could confuse people and personally seek out those connected to Chen Xu, using them to assassinate him.