Target: Complete the Assessment!

Looking at the slimmed-down Mount Everest, Zhang Yang was initially thrilled, but then the backlash from stirring the magic within him struck, leaving his entire body aching unbearably.

His nose felt a little cold. He reached up to touch it and found blood.

He had a nosebleed!

"This power..."

Zhang Yang smiled bitterly. Having only just changed classes, he had no way to achieve Perfect Control over his strength. Just now, merely stirring a droplet-sized amount of magic had overloaded his body, causing some damage to his internal organs.

After all, his class had come from the system, and all his magic originated from the sea of magic within him. When casting spells, his magic was simply too powerful, so his physical constitution needed to reach a certain level before he could ignore that minor damage.

Therefore, he was fundamentally different from those Kamar-Taj mages who drew energy from the multiverse!

After all, with Kamar-Taj magic, even an ordinary person might successfully cast a spell—specifically that chubby kid using a Sling Ring to open a Portal, though he had also relied on the magical wristguard Doctor Strange gave him!

"Ding, mission triggered."

"Power requires control. Please proceed to Kathmandu to take Kamar-Taj's apprentice assessment. Upon completion, you will receive the reward: Perfect Control."

Zhang Yang had not expected that merely thinking about it would trigger a mission.

And the system's idea happened to align with his own.

If he could not control his own power, what use was being strong?

It was like an untrained toddler holding a gun. Could the child pull the trigger? Could the child aim? Would the recoil injure the child after firing?

The answer was that if the child fired, regardless of whether the enemy was hit, the recoil would injure the child.

Zhang Yang was now that gun-toting child. Though he possessed endless magic, he lacked a complete and safe way to mobilize it due to the limits of his mental strength. If he forced himself to use it, it would be like the Seven-Injury Fist—hurting others and himself.

"I need to get back quickly."

Zhang Yang recalled that the driver had said yesterday that there were still two days left to register for Kamar-Taj. One day had already passed, leaving only one day.

There was enough time.

Zhang Yang dragged his faintly aching body and walked step by step toward the village.

Not long after Zhang Yang left, a Portal suddenly appeared, and a gleaming bald head emerged from it.

"This power..."

The Ancient One looked at the slimmed-down Mount Everest and sucked in a breath. "Even after some time has passed, it remains violent and filled with destructive force... Too dangerous."

Green light lit up from her chest. The Ancient One used the power of the Eye of Agamotto, the Time Stone, hoping to peer into the River of Time and see who had done all this.

But she failed.

That violent, destructive power had erased the traces of time here. Vaguely, she saw only a back that seemed both divine and demonic.

Divine, because the power possessed by that figure surpassed The Ancient One's imagination. Even the trinity of Vishanti possessed less than one ten-thousandth of the power radiating from that back.

Demonic, because the power emanating from that figure was filled with violent and destructive qualities, as though endless worlds before him were mere bubbles, shattered with a single blow.

"I hope the owner of this power is someone who upholds justice."

The Ancient One withdrew the power of the Eye of Agamotto, sweat seeping from her skin. "Otherwise, the entire multiverse will face catastrophe!"

With a sigh, The Ancient One opened a Portal and returned to Kamar-Taj. This was precisely the time when Kamar-Taj recruited apprentices, and she still had many matters to attend to.

A day later.

After resting through the night, Zhang Yang got up once his body had recovered somewhat. He took a taxi to Jagannath Temple in the city center.

After more than three hours on the road, Zhang Yang arrived downtown. Looking at the bustling crowds, he decisively got out and walked to Jagannath Temple.

Seeing the long line, he could not help worrying whether he would even manage to register.

Time passed bit by bit. The sun moved from directly overhead to the west, and by the time only a smear of red remained in the sky, it was finally Zhang Yang's turn.

After filling in his name and being told to return at eight the next morning for the aptitude test, Zhang Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He found a decent-looking hotel, enjoyed a satisfying meal of local cuisine, then opened his computer and began searching for what preparations were needed for tomorrow's aptitude test.

Through Google, Zhang Yang learned that the test consisted of two parts.

The first was a written test. The contents differed with every assessment, and only the masters in charge knew what would be tested.

The second was a mental strength test. The examinee would channel mental strength into a testing crystal ball. Once it sensed mental energy, the crystal ball would emit light of different colors, representing different levels of talent.

From lowest to highest, they were red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. Red was the lowest, while purple was the highest.

Rumor had it that there was a color even higher than purple, but few had ever seen it.

As long as one's mental strength reached orange, one had a chance to join Kamar-Taj and become an honored Mage Apprentice.

And as long as one's mental strength reached green, the written test could be waived and one could join Kamar-Taj directly.

After passing the aptitude test, there was supposedly another assessment. However, aside from those Mage Apprentices who had already been accepted, no one knew what it was.

After learning all this, Zhang Yang finally washed up and went to sleep, restoring his energy for the next day's assessment.

The next day.

Zhang Yang got up shortly after seven and arrived at the north gate of Jagannath Temple to line up.

The testing proceeded quickly. Some passed, leaping up in excitement before happily heading to the White Tower on the west side for the written test.

Others failed, their spirits low and their expressions dazed as they left like walking corpses.

Such was the variety of life.

"Chu Yang!"

The mage in charge of the assessment called out a name. It belonged to a young man standing in line before Zhang Yang. He stepped forward and began the mental strength test.

"Focus your mind and look at the crystal ball before you."

The mage repeated words he did not know how many times without showing the slightest impatience, guiding the young man named Chu Yang through the test.

The crystal ball gradually began to glow, shifting from red to orange before barely reaching yellow.

"Fifth-grade mental strength. Qualified."

After announcing the result loudly, the mage pointed toward the nearby White Tower. "Go to the White Tower for the written test."

Chu Yang happily bowed to the assessment mage, took the wooden token signifying that he had qualified, and headed to the White Tower for the written test.

The people around them looked at Chu Yang's retreating back with envy. They all knew that if he passed the written test, he would become a distinguished Mage Apprentice. Even if he could not remain at Kamar-Taj for further study after graduating, he would become a local sage, and his quality of life would improve tremendously.

"Zhang Yang."

Next, the assessment mage called Zhang Yang's name.

The mage still offered gentle guidance. Zhang Yang did not waste any time, focusing his mind and staring at the crystal ball.

Perhaps because of his concentration, the ocean-like magic within him stirred slightly, and a grain-of-rice-sized drop of magic was released.

The crystal ball began changing colors at an astonishing speed.

Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple... It did not stop even after reaching deep purple.

No one around had ever seen anything like this, and they were all stunned. Even the mage conducting the assessment was shocked.

When he himself had joined Kamar-Taj, his mental strength had only been green. Even now, it had only risen to cyan... Yet this young man had already reached deep purple, and there was still no sign of it stopping?!

Finally, the purple grew darker and darker. In the end, as though it could no longer endure, the crystal ball flashed with a multicolored black light and exploded...

Yes, it exploded...

Fortunately, the assessment mage reacted quickly and swiftly created a golden barrier that blocked all the shards. Otherwise, aside from Zhang Yang, who had magic protecting his body, everyone else might have been injured.

This scene thoroughly shocked everyone.

Another mage in charge of the assessment stared blankly at Zhang Yang and muttered, "Even Temple Mages... their mental strength cannot make a crystal ball explode... His mental strength has surpassed that of a Temple Mage!"

This mage happened to be responsible for Kamar-Taj's logistics and knew very clearly the upper limit of what the crystal ball could withstand.

Temple Mage.

The upper limit of mental strength the crystal ball could endure was that of a Temple Mage.

Mental talent beyond deep purple, mental strength beyond that of a Temple Mage... The two assessment mages looked at Zhang Yang as if he were a monster.

One had to know that every Temple Mage possessed unfathomable strength. For example, Black Dwarf, one of the Black Order under the Purple Sweet Potato, had been thrown to the Arctic by Temple Mage Wong, who had even severed his arm.

Even if Wong represented the upper limit of Temple Mages, the other Temple Mages would not be much weaker than him!

"You... have passed."

The assessment mage's lips moved as he took out a black wooden token and handed it to Zhang Yang. "Take this token and register at the door on the right."

"Thank you."

Zhang Yang thanked him politely. Under the shocked and envious gazes of the others, he walked toward the right-side door and entered the White Tower.

"He hasn't even entered Kamar-Taj yet, and he already possesses mental strength beyond that of a Temple Mage... Is he a monster?"

"It appeared... The legendary mental talent beyond deep purple... So multicolored black really exists in this world!"

"A Temple Mage... I heard the sages say that it is a realm they have long dreamed of reaching."

"..."

The discussions outside drifted faintly over, but Zhang Yang remained calm as he walked steadily toward the registration desk.

Ever since learning what kind of world this was, he had understood one truth.

Strength represented everything.

Only with strength could he control his own fate, survive that deadly snap, and even prevent that deadly snap.

Only with strength would he no longer fear that alien hiding in Texas, even if he seemed harmless and could even be said to be excessively kind.

Only with strength could he do what he wanted and obtain true freedom.

Now, he already had a foundation. As long as he could perfectly control his strength, even if he could not fully unleash it, he would possess enough power to protect himself in this era.

As he pondered, Zhang Yang's aura changed with every step.

From loose at first, to solid, then resolute... He was now walking the path toward taking control of his own destiny.