The Quantum Realm and forbidden magic

Strange did not deny it. He was indeed worried.

He glanced at Spider-Man, Peter, and hesitated. Strange's lips did not move, but his voice rang out in the Ancient One's mind.

"Sorcerer... Lin Yi's abilities are far too powerful for us. Even the Time Stone has never revealed so much as a glimpse of his future."

"If something goes wrong with him, there is nothing on Blue Star right now that could stop him."

That was what worried Strange. All told, he had only known Lin Yi for a few days, and the unease Lin Yi gave him was far too strong.

When he had asked Lin Yi to come meet the Ancient One with him, he had another motive: he hoped she could help him determine whether Lin Yi would become a threat in the future.

What he had not expected was that, after barely any conversation, the Ancient One would actually send Lin Yi to the Lost Library.

Based on the Ancient One's description of the library, once Lin Yi mastered what was there, he would become even harder to handle...

"Could you stop him if he didn't go to the library?" The Ancient One likewise spoke directly into Strange's mind.

Compared with Strange's anxiety, the Ancient One seemed as relaxed as ever.

Strange fell silent, with nothing to say.

She had a point... like hell she did! Of course I know I have no good way to stop him right now. That's why I brought him here to ask you! Doesn't she understand what I mean?

The Ancient One was not worried. Was that because she also thought Lin Yi was unlikely to learn how to use magic?

Indeed, Strange's instincts told him that the odds of Lin Yi being able to use magic were extremely low. From his observations, Lin Yi's abilities seemed geared toward physical enhancement. Without the boost from the Infinity Stones, he had never displayed any means of attacking with energy.

"You think Lin Yi can't use magic, don't you?" The Ancient One suddenly said.

Strange looked up in surprise. Wait, since when could the Ancient One read minds?

He gave her a questioning look, but she merely turned her back to him.

"Your thoughts are in disarray. You need to sort them out."

"Now, come with me. We need to make some preparations for traveling between universes. Peter, just stay here and enjoy the tea..."

The "kindhearted" Ancient One had not forgotten Spider-Man. Peter had watched the two exchange "meaningful looks" for quite some time. He was very curious, but did not ask any questions.

Mr. Stark had told him to follow Lin Yi. That was his mission; anything else was none of his concern.

Meanwhile, inside the Quantum Realm, an aircraft with a distinctive design was speeding across a vast plain.

Dust swirled over the plain, severely limiting visibility. From time to time, thunderous explosions and flashes of light came from the distance.

The aircraft had been built using technology provided by Hank Pym and refined by Tony, allowing it to serve as a reliable means of transportation within the Quantum Realm.

Hank had invented the Pym Particles that could shrink people down to enter the Quantum Realm. Ever since falling out with Tony's father over those particles, he had held Stark Industries in contempt.

But with a crisis looming, however reluctant he was, he had still shared some of his non-core technology.

Lin Yi, however, thought the people online had a point. The original falling-out had happened because Hank Pym thought Tony's father had stolen his Pym Particles.

Yet those Pym Particles had not been stolen by Tony's father. Steve had taken them when Tony traveled into the past to retrieve the Space Stone in Avengers: Endgame.

It was pretty funny, though the reasoning seemed a little shaky. Lin Yi could not be bothered to investigate whether it was true and simply treated it as a joke.

"This place really makes me uncomfortable." Steve sat in the copilot's seat, his unmistakable face drawn tight as he constantly scanned their surroundings.

They had already returned all the Infinity Stones that needed returning. This was their first extended stay in the Quantum Realm.

"Tony, where exactly are we headed? We've been traveling for six hours."

"Hey, Tony, what are you thinking about? Zoning out?"

Steve patted Tony's shoulder, a little annoyed.

"Huh? Oh! Just thinking about a few things. What did you say?" Tony snapped out of his thoughts. He had been thinking about Lin Yi.

During their journey, F.R.I.D.A.Y. had informed him that Peter had carried out preset plan one—follow Lin Yi. The results confirmed that the Quantum Realm could indeed eliminate the Black-purple veins.

Peter should have met up with Lin Yi by now. From what Tony knew of Lin Yi's personality, he probably would not oppose Tony's final plan.

Tony had not devised that plan because he was too extreme. Rather, every past incident had taught him that reality and the future were always more dangerous, and more absurd, than anyone could imagine.

Ten years ago, who could have imagined that he would one day face a hulking purple alien who could destroy the universe with a snap of his fingers? Right?

Now he could only hope things would not actually get that bad.

"I said, where exactly are we headed? We've been traveling across this wasteland for over six hours!" Steve repeated.

"Carol, Carol?!"

Carol sat in the back, staring blankly at the scenery outside the window, who knew what on her mind. Apparently, Steve was the only one who had not zoned out.

Steve gave up and shot Tony a speechless look.

Tony smiled, though it came out strained. He was too worried about Morgan Stark's condition to manage much of a smile, so he simply got to work.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., how's the deployment going? How much longer until we reach the target?"

Tony had made extensive preparations, including a backup of F.R.I.D.A.Y. and a large number of the latest probes.

The probes had been fitted with sensors provided by Hank Pym, allowing them to detect anomalies within the Quantum Realm.

But that was only a theory. Hank Pym had never tested it.

"Deployment has reached eighty percent of the planned total. But sir, I must remind you that the Quantum Realm has no boundaries in the conventional sense. What we are doing is no different from searching countless Parallel Universes for a single grain of sand that is unlike the others."

Well put. The odds approached zero.

Steve sighed dejectedly. "I can't shake the feeling that we're wasting our time."

Tony, however, shook his head in disagreement.

"Don't say that, Captain. Give it a little more time. We might have a part for you to play soon."

"What do you mean?"

Tony watched another probe launch from the aircraft. Progress had already reached eighty-five percent.

"Hank Pym's wife spent a long time in the Quantum Realm. She told me there are natives here."

"The same old approach. The natives are our way in!"

Back with Lin Yi, he had become so immersed in the endless knowledge that he could no longer tear himself away.

All kinds of profoundly arcane, even "shocking," knowledge continually washed over his understanding of the world.

The structure of the multiverse, the origins and contracts of dimensional demon gods, the basic principles of reality warping, and even terms Lin Yi had never encountered, such as entropy increase and heat death.

Of course, the largest portion consisted of immensely powerful Forbidden Magic.

Lin Yi divided his attention between two tasks. As he continued reading, he picked out spells whose power did not seem too outrageous and experimented with them.

He had yet to realize that he could actually use Magic.