The Sorcerer Supreme, The Ancient One

Chen Bing turned his gaze to Lin Hai, who was absently turning the golden card over in his hands as he pondered. His brows furrowed slightly as he asked with concern, "Did you know that woman from earlier? Is there some trouble?"

Lin Hai snapped out of his thoughts and met his master's worried gaze. Warmth rose in his heart, and he immediately broke into a smile. His tone was relaxed yet certain. "Don't worry, Master. It probably isn't a big problem. If there were a problem, with her abilities, she probably wouldn't have knocked on the door for a visit. She would've broken straight in."

He recalled The Ancient One's unfathomably deep yet peaceful gaze when she had left. From what she had said—"Although your existence prevents me from seeing the future clearly, perhaps that may be a good thing"—he could tell that she harbored no ill will. On the contrary, she had come with goodwill.

Hearing this and seeing his calm expression and clear eyes, Chen Bing knew he was not merely putting on a brave face, so he nodded. "You may be a little impulsive at times, but you've always known your limits and had your own ideas. Since it's nothing, just handle it yourself."

That night, when Lin Hai returned to his apartment, the city lights had already begun to glow outside. The city's clamor had been filtered through the glass into a hazy background hum. Lin Hai did not turn on the lights, allowing the moonlight to spill across the floor through the windows. He sat by the window, gazing at New York's nightscape while every detail of his encounter with The Ancient One replayed endlessly in his mind.

"The Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme..." he murmured, savoring the name. A flood of information about her surged through his mind—both the comic book and film portrayals he had known before crossing over, as well as what Old Chen had told him back in Ta Lo.

First was the difference in appearance. In the comics, The Ancient One had been an elderly Eastern man with a flowing white beard, very likely a descendant of Huaxia people, entirely unlike the bald female figure portrayed by Tilda Swinton in the films. The Ancient One in this world was clearly the latter, so this version of her should lean more toward the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But the core setting should have been largely the same. The Ancient One's original name was Yao. She had been born in Kamar-Taj village centuries ago and, through a twist of fate, discovered the secrets of magic together with her friend Kaluu.

Lin Hai's fingers unconsciously traced across the windowpane, as though outlining the threads of memory.

He recalled the rift between The Ancient One and Kaluu. The Ancient One had wanted to build her homeland into a utopian ideal state, while Kaluu had wanted to use that power to become king and ruler—not only dominating Kamar-Taj, but conquering the neighboring villages as well. Together, they had eradicated disease and poverty from the village, but their conflicting ideals had eventually brought them into conflict. In the end, they had inevitably become enemies. It was a tragedy born of differing beliefs.

He recalled the supreme treasures The Ancient One had acquired over her long life, including but not limited to the Eye of Agamotto she had received from Eternity, the Book of the Vishanti that recorded the complete teachings of White Magic, and more. He recalled that gathering of sorcerers, where The Ancient One had crushed all challengers and earned the title of Sorcerer Supreme.

"The three Sanctum Sanctorums, the dimensional defense formation..." Lin Hai muttered. New York, London, and Hong Kong—the three Sanctum Sanctorums formed Earth's protective network, designed specifically against invasions by dimensional Demon Gods.

After becoming the Sorcerer Supreme, The Ancient One had devoted herself to protecting Earth. To defend it against incursions from dimensional Demon Gods beyond the planet, she had established three Sanctum Sanctorums in New York, London, and Hong Kong. Together, they formed the three nodes of Earth's dimensional defense formation.

This defensive formation, which covered the entire planet, had only one function: to target dimensional Demon Gods. It allowed exit but not entry. Whenever a dimensional Demon God from outside attempted to enter Earth through the formation, the mages of Kamar-Taj and The Ancient One would discover it immediately and swiftly organize forces to drive it away.

Even as she protected Earth, The Ancient One had not abandoned her love of adventure. Fond of wandering the cosmos, she soon became known among Marvel's various gods and dimensional Demon Gods. She also caught the attention of Eternity, the administrator of the Marvel Universe. From Eternity, she received the Eye of Agamotto and became Eternity's subordinate. Even after death, she would return to Eternity's domain and serve that god forever.

What concerned Lin Hai most was The Ancient One's relationship with Eternity. As the physical embodiment of the Marvel Universe, Eternity's choice of The Ancient One as a spokesperson meant that she was not merely Earth's guardian, but also part of the cosmic order.

Lin Hai fell into deep thought. His identity as a transmigrator had made his existence an unknown variable, and even The Ancient One could not foresee his future. To the Sorcerer Supreme, that uncertainty was both a risk and perhaps an opportunity.

A conjecture gradually took shape. Perhaps The Ancient One had seen some kind of possibility—not a future witnessed through the Time Stone within the Eye of Agamotto, but a possibility born from the future becoming blurred.

The future she could not see might represent hope for breaking the predetermined tragedy. That was why she had come to Lin Hai this time and asked him to visit the New York Sanctum Sanctorum on Saturday. It seemed more like an observation, an evaluation, perhaps even an advance investment in him, the "variable" who had made the future unclear.

At that thought, more than half of Lin Hai's unease dissipated, replaced by an intense thrill at being acknowledged by a powerful being. To be recognized by someone who ranked among the strongest in the entire universe, perhaps even the multiverse—Peter would have been excited for a whole year.

But what might follow was enormous responsibility—Strange, the future Sorcerer Supreme; The Ancient One's departure; Ragnarok in Asgard; Thanos snapping his fingers; and so on. All of these events would come to have a direct connection with Lin Hai.

Although Lin Hai had once hoped to participate in all sorts of major Marvel events and become part of the story, that choice had come from the mindset of an observer.

Now, with The Ancient One's intervention, he might be forced to take part, perhaps even become the protagonist of the story. That brought Lin Hai tremendous psychological pressure.

Perhaps that was precisely why The Ancient One had come to find him. After all, where would motivation come from without pressure? Putting some pressure on this little fellow who could blur the future might yield unexpected results~

Over the next two days, school life continued as usual, as did training. Peter still wailed over Gwen's grades, Harry still grimaced in pain when the energy waves shook him during training, and Gwen remained busy between Professor Connors's laboratory and her classes. Watching his companions, who knew nothing and were enjoying this brief peace, Lin Hai ultimately decided to keep The Ancient One's matter buried in his heart for now.

What good would telling them do? Other than adding to their worries and confusion, there was no practical benefit at present. Dimensional Demon Gods, the Sorcerer Supreme, Earth's survival... such concepts were still too distant and heavy for them. Since The Ancient One had come looking for him, Lin Hai should be the first to face this possible risk and responsibility himself.

Saturday morning, sunlight streamed through the blinds onto the floor. Lin Hai arrived at the clinic from his apartment early. He had not made any particular preparations; after all, he was facing the Sorcerer Supreme. Whatever little preparation he could make would hardly be different from making none at all.

"Master, I'm going to keep the appointment." Lin Hai prepared to leave.

Chen Bing glanced at him without asking further questions, merely nodding. "Go early and come back early. Be careful in all things."

"Alright, don't worry." Lin Hai replied, then turned and left.

With the golden card in his pocket, cool to the touch and engraved with mysterious runes that seemed to possess a life of their own, Lin Hai's emotions were difficult to describe. One part was unease about the unknown, one part confusion about the road ahead, but there were also four parts anticipation and four parts excitement at the prospect of stepping into a legendary place.

Following the address that had appeared on the back of the card, which only he could sense, he took the subway through gradually awakening Manhattan and eventually stopped on a street steeped in history.

Looking up, he saw the address clearly—177A Bleecker Street. It was a grand building entirely different from the surrounding architecture, filled with Victorian Gothic Revival style. It was solemn and mysterious, as though it stood apart from the river of time. It stood there quietly, as if it had been waiting for countless ages, though unrelated people could not see it.

Lin Hai took a deep breath, sensing that the card against his chest seemed to resonate faintly with the building before him. He straightened his collar, his gaze turning resolute, then stepped forward and knocked on that door leading toward the unknown and legend.