A Brief History of the Nine Realms

Chen Ji rested for a moment.

Then he hurried to the door and poured magic power into it.

He controlled the flow of his magic power and, in the blink of an eye, traced out a C-shaped pattern.

It was the capital initial of Chen Ji's nickname.

As his exclusive magical imprint, it immediately burst into brilliant light, making the entire room a little sturdier.

"This should do it!"

Chen Ji secretly rejoiced.

Afterward, he placed the Mystic Statue inside a cabinet as well.

The black statue looked neither human nor beast, its surface glimmering with a faint metallic sheen.

It had actually come from an Ancient God!

[Fortune Uncertain] (Black): You are an ant in the palm of an Ancient God. You will not be jumping around for many more days.

Seeing the entry description, Chen Ji's expression turned complicated.

However...

In other words...

The fact that he could become a pawn of an Ancient God clearly meant that he was extraordinary!

[Fortune Uncertain].

It also meant that Chen Ji's future held both good and bad possibilities!

With the help of the Talent Entry System, he might not be unable to turn the tide and become this Ancient God's agent!

And win boundless wealth and glory!

Thud.

Thud, thud.

All of a sudden.

A dull knock sounded at the door.

Outside.

A voice immediately called out.

"Chen?"

"Are you there?"

"Master Drumm has decided to go to the Lobby Bar tonight to celebrate your appointment and introduce you to the other Guardian Mages as well."

"At around seven o'clock."

"Don't be late."

Sally Valence stood outside the door, irritation flashing through her beautiful eyes.

This mysterious East Asian man could not even be bothered to open the door?

The thought had barely crossed her mind.

Creak.

The door opened in response.

Chen Ji revealed a smiling face and spoke politely.

"Miss Sally."

"Thank you for the reminder."

"I definitely will not miss it."

"Also... where is the Lobby Bar? What kind of place is it?"

Chen Ji's eyes flickered.

He vaguely remembered that there was a Lobby Bar in the Marvel Universe.

Yet he had never seen it before!

A bar where Guardian Mages gathered probably was not an ordinary place, right?

"You'll find out when the time comes."

"Chen."

"I'm seriously reminding you that the New York Sanctum exists to protect reality. It is absolutely not a place for romance."

Sally abruptly changed the subject, her gaze filled with hostility.

Chen Ji froze at her words.

"Rest assured."

"Miss Sally."

"Women would only distract me."

"I have already sworn to devote my life to Kamar-Taj."

Chen Ji casually made up a lie.

He wanted to lessen Sally Valence's hostility as much as possible.

Yet unexpectedly, Sally furrowed her brows. Her expression shifted unpredictably, and her chest rose and fell sharply as she snapped.

"Women would only distract you...?"

"Chen!"

"As far as I know, Kamar-Taj's Sorcerer Supreme also seems to be a woman!"

Huh?

That did not work either?

Chen Ji was dumbfounded.

Then Sally continued.

"I admit that you are somewhat handsome, but that is not a reason for your arrogance."

Sally Valence gritted her teeth in anger.

Even she could not tell what thoughts had driven her.

Toward this newly arrived Guardian Mage, she both wanted to draw closer and wanted to stay away!

"Handsome?"

"Thank you for the compliment."

"Miss Sally."

"You are very beautiful too."

Chen Ji's heart stirred.

"Soon, you will learn that I am more than just beautiful."

"Do not underestimate an heir of a Hidden Family."

"All Hidden Families were founded by Mystic Arts Masters from Kamar-Taj..."

Sally Valence's face shone with confidence.

But then she belatedly realized...

She had said far too much today!

There was no need for her to promote or prove herself at all.

"It's fine."

"Please continue."

"I have only been studying for half a month. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I know almost nothing about the Hidden World."

Chen Ji spoke frankly.

At the same time, he pondered silently.

Hidden Families.

They had all been founded by Mystic Arts Masters from Kamar-Taj?

So Sally Valence's ancestor had also been a Mystic Arts Master?

"Only half a month?"

Sally furrowed her brows.

She suddenly realized that Chen Ji's talent was simply too monstrous!

Half a month?

Could he have mastered Sanskrit so proficiently?

After all.

She had been reading and writing Sanskrit since childhood!

Only then had she been exceptionally admitted to Kamar-Taj at the age of eighteen!

And without a thorough grasp of Sanskrit, one could not fully read the Book of Arcane Arts or quickly master mystical knowledge!

Much less cast all kinds of Secret Art Magic!

"Chen."

"Show me your secret arts."

Sally's eyes shimmered.

"Now?"

"I still have several Books of Arcane Arts that I have not finished reading."

Chen Ji looked troubled.

Secret arts.

Were not something meant to be shown off.

"If you are unwilling..."

"I am unwilling."

Chen Ji answered decisively.

"You!"

"Do not forget to come to the hall at seven tonight."

Sally Valence felt a tightness in her chest.

Sure enough, East Asian men had no gentlemanly manners at all!

If Chen Ji had heard her thoughts, he definitely would have curled his lips inwardly.

Gentlemanly manners?

Could that thing fill your stomach?

"Forget it."

"Living here, every movement and stillness is cultivation."

Chen Ji watched Sally leave.

Then he locked the door again and opened another Book of Arcane Arts, A Brief History of the Nine Realms.

The Nine Realms!

This was a concept unique to the Marvel Universe.

The branches of the World Tree connected the Nine Realms!

Including, but not limited to, Asgard, Vanaheim, Jotunheim, Muspelheim, Svartalfheim, Alfheim, Hel, Nidavellir...

Midgard, where mortals lived, was also one of the Nine Realms!

The Hidden World called it Midgard.

Because of the World Tree's connections, unknown spatial tunnels also existed between the Nine Realms.

Once creatures from other realms stumbled upon a spatial tunnel, they would appear in the real world!

Depending on the region where they appeared, the Guardian Mages had to respond immediately.

The New York Sanctum.

Its jurisdiction covered not only New York, but all of North America.

The London Sanctum.

It was responsible for all of Europe.

The Hong Kong Sanctum.

It monitored all of East Asia!

"Why is there no Sorcerer Sanctum in Australia?"

"Or... do spiritual creatures not appear in Australia?"

Chen Ji's eyes were full of confusion.

Soon, he came across a passage in A Brief History of the Nine Realms!

"In the distant Battle of Tønsberg, Odin, who had only just ascended the throne, led the Asgardian army into a decisive battle against Laufey in Norway."

"Without the Eternals' help, Odin likely would have suffered a regrettable defeat."

"Today, some Eternals live within Australia."

So that was it!

Chen Ji nodded to himself.

The Eternals!

It seemed that Gilgamesh and Thena had gone into seclusion in Australia!

"The Eternals..."

"Higher intelligent lifeforms created by the Celestials had actually appeared in A Brief History of the Nine Realms as well..."

Chen Ji's eyes brightened.

The Celestials!

It was practically the current universe's ceiling of combat power.

The creatures it created also stood above mortals.

Even the benign compound the Celestials had implanted into prehistoric apes possessed the mysterious power of infinite mutation.

Modern scientists called it the 'X-Factor'!

"Perfect. I'll check what's going on online."

Chen Ji swept his gaze around.

He spotted a laptop sitting beside the bed.

Windows 7 system, booting up!

He logged into a search engine.

Chen Ji immediately saw a major news story.

Senator Robert Kelly, backed by General William Stryker, was actively pushing the Mutant Registration Act.