Ancient One (Wish Me a Happy Birthday!)

A flurry of noisy thoughts flashed through his mind.

Chen Ji handed over the Book of Arcane Arts, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"Master Murphyson."

"I've come to return the Book of Arcane Arts."

"And borrow a few ancient books describing prehistoric civilizations while I'm at it."

Chen Ji had not forgotten his purpose.

He wanted to uncover the true origin of the Mystic Statue, along with the truth behind the Weird World!

"Come with me."

Master Murphyson nodded.

Then, he took the lead into the library.

The library.

It had been cleaned until it was spotless, and an ethereal aura faintly flowed through it. Even the magic seemed several degrees richer.

Chen Ji understood perfectly well.

With the knowledge recorded in the Encyclopedia of Magic Arrays, Master Murphyson had already set up several magic arrays!

However...

That still could not change the misfortune of his scripted death.

It left Chen Ji with complicated feelings.

He believed that he and Master Murphyson had already become friends.

How could he stand idly by when a friend was in trouble?

"Hm?"

"She is!"

As Chen Ji rounded a bookshelf, his pupils suddenly contracted sharply.

A refined and noble Mystic Arts Mage stood in the restricted section, dressed in magnificent golden robes as she flipped through a Book of Arcane Arts.

Her cheeks were gaunt, and not a single strand of hair grew on her brilliant head.

Her frame was frail, yet she exuded an awe-inspiring presence. Like a human-shaped nuclear bomb, she made Chen Ji's heart tremble!

Without the slightest warning or concern.

Ancient One!

She had appeared before Chen Ji just like that!

It was almost as though she had been waiting here specifically for him!

"Chen."

"Don't be surprised."

"She is the leader of Kamar-Taj, the idol of all Mystic Arts Mages, and the current Sorcerer Supreme."

"Ancient One."

"She has only just returned from her travels. She heard about your talent and wishes to discuss a few things with you."

Master Murphyson smiled.

This sudden surprise made Chen Ji's mind go blank!

"Discuss?"

"Discuss what?"

Chen Ji froze.

He was not only worried that Ancient One would see through his identity as a [Provisional Weird].

He was also worried that she would discover the Power Stone he had secretly kept!

A thief could hardly avoid feeling guilty!

Then, he instinctively looked toward Ancient One, and the system immediately generated her Entry Panel!

[Name]: Ancient One

[Identity]: Sorcerer Supreme

[Entries]: Transcendent Sainthood (Red), Omnipotence (Red), Boundless Magic (Red), Time Traveler (Purple).

[Transcendent Sainthood] (Red): She saw both the trees and the forest, grasping the whole from a single detail. Her magical attainments had reached the Unity of Heaven and Humanity Realm.

[Omnipotence] (Red): She had mastered all known laws of the current universe. She could turn decay into wonder and make the impossible possible.

[Boundless Magic] (Red): She possessed boundless magic, enough to reverse an Absolute Time Point.

[Time Traveler] (Purple): With the Time Stone, she could travel to any point in the past and see countless possibilities for the future.

"Hiss!"

"She was actually this terrifying!"

Chen Ji's body shook.

His scalp instantly went numb!

Three red entries!

One purple!

This Entry Panel was even more dazzling than his own!

For a Blue Talent to advance into a Purple Talent.

It required 1,000 Luck Value.

For a Purple Talent to advance into a Red Talent.

It required 10,000 Luck Value.

For a Red Talent to advance into a Golden Talent.

It required 100,000 Luck Value!

Yet Chen Ji's current Luck Value was pitifully low!

[Name]: Chen Ji

[Identity]: Formal Mage

[Talents]: Academic Prodigy (Blue), Grandmaster (Blue), Self-Taught (Blue), Fortune After Misfortune (Blue), Extraordinary Charm (Green), Provisional Weird (Black), Covetous Burden (Black).

[Luck Value]: 55.9

"Ancient One actually doesn't have a black talent..."

"That's ridiculous!"

"Isn't she about to die?"

Chen Ji's feelings were complicated.

After all.

In Doctor Strange, Ancient One had personally said it.

She had spent far too many years peering into the future, preventing countless terrifying futures!

Again and again, without end.

Yet every path had brought her to the moment before her death!

She could not see beyond the future after her death.

Moreover, before Doctor Banner, she had also mentioned the law that death could not be reversed.

By all logic, she should have had a black talent too!

"Could it be..."

"Because of the Boundless Magic talent?"

Chen Ji fell into thought.

[Boundless Magic] (Red): She possessed boundless magic, enough to reverse an Absolute Time Point.

Absolute Time Point!

That was a concept that had appeared in another show.

Death.

Was an Absolute Time Point.

If death were reversed, it would also cause unpredictable spacetime paradoxes in the real world.

In the show, Dark Doctor Strange successfully reversed an Absolute Time Point, but it caused the collapse of the entire universe. The world was destroyed, and all things perished!

So...

Ancient One's death was still an unknown?

She had not yet decided to face death?

"Chen."

"Seeing you in person truly surpasses all hearsay."

"You are far more handsome than I imagined."

Ancient One smiled.

As though she had known Chen Ji for a long time!

That was understandable.

After all, Ancient One held the Time Stone. Only she was qualified to use and touch it, so it was perfectly normal for her to foresee Chen Ji's arrival at Kamar-Taj.

But Chen Ji was deeply worried.

That Ancient One had seen the scene of him traveling to Morag and secretly keeping the Power Stone!

If Ancient One had suddenly appeared to demand the Power Stone...

Should he give it to her, or not?

If he refused Ancient One, would Kamar-Taj still have a place for him?

Chen Ji was filled with anxiety.

"You two talk."

"I'll go sweep the courtyard."

Master Murphyson bowed and withdrew.

In the enormous library, only Ancient One and Chen Ji remained, facing one another.

"Don't be nervous."

"Chen."

"I came to see you merely because I was curious."

"Because I cannot see your future..."

Ancient One's gaze shifted.

Suddenly.

Endless prism fragments immediately enveloped the sky, and the spatial positions of the two of them subtly changed.

They had actually entered the Mirror Dimension!

What kind of knowledge required such secrecy to discuss?

Chen Ji panicked outright!

"You can't see my future...?"

"Ancient One."

"What does that mean?"

Chen Ji steadied his emotions and asked slowly.

He disguised himself as a docile little lamb.

Quietly watching Ancient One perform.

Afraid of exposing even the slightest flaw!

"How do you understand fate?"

"What do you think this world came from?"

Ancient One's expression shifted slightly.

Then, she summoned two chairs and sat down on one without a word.

"Fate...?"

"I wouldn't dare show off my limited skills before the Sorcerer Supreme."

Chen Ji gave Ancient One plenty of respect.

"You truly are a slippery little fellow."

"Chen."

"I know you. You are intelligent, wise, and brave enough, and you can also uphold justice and truth."

"There is no need to guard against me as though I were a thief."

"Tell me."

Ancient One smiled and shook her head.

She did not care about Chen Ji's past, nor did she care about the source of his magic. She only cared about Chen Ji's views.

Those views would also determine her attitude.

Even the way she treated Chen Ji.

"Then I'll make a fool of myself..."

"Ancient One."

"I believe... fate is elusive, yet traces of it can still be found. Different choices will also create different futures."

"If someone feels that fate has treated them unfairly, it may stem from a choice they made long ago."

Chen Ji's eyes flickered as he spoke at length.

All the while, he continued observing Ancient One's reaction.

"Choices..."

"Was that your own insight, or something you learned from books?"

The Ancient One's expression was inscrutable, carrying an indescribable hint of something as a trace of approval flashed through her eyes.

It put Chen Ji somewhat at ease.

"Both."

"Honored One."

"There are countless Mystic Arts Masters better than me."

"Why did you choose me?"

This was the question in Chen Ji's heart.

After all, the Ancient One had even sustained the Mirror Dimension. Didn't that consume mana?

Looking across all of Kamar-Taj, only Stephen Strange could enjoy such an honor!

Today was the Mid-Autumn Festival. First, I wished all you esteemed readers a happy Mid-Autumn Festival, reunion, and good health!

Lastly, I wished myself a happy birthday!

Year after year.

It really was deeply moving.

I had been in this line of work for a very, very long time.

I hoped that by this day next year, this book would still be updating! And I would still be at Qidian!