Kamar-Taj seemed like a place forgotten by time. Everything was so peaceful, with a charm tempered by the passage of time.
Li Ge had been living there for a while.
He generally spent his days reading various books on magic in the library and chatting with the librarian, Master Wong.
Occasionally, he went to the training grounds to learn how to use magic and check on Doctor Strange's progress along the way.
With Master Mordo having given instructions in advance, the sorcerers there did not stop Li Ge from sitting in on their lessons.
Li Ge rarely saw the other sorcerers there. When he occasionally spotted one, they would hurry past, busy with who knew what.
As he spent more and more time studying magic, Li Ge began to feel how this magical knowledge helped him.
In essence, magic was the guidance and use of energy and rules.
Although Kamar-Taj's magic required borrowing Agamotto's power to use, the knowledge behind it was universally applicable.
I already have the Redstone energy source I designed, and I might have other energy sources in the future. I won't lack energy.
Besides, my ability means I can design all sorts of abilities related to rules myself.
Although the abilities I design start out as nothing more than a foundation, they can be continually developed and strengthened.
Li Ge felt that this process of continually growing stronger was so much like studying magic.
Once I spread my abilities to others and they develop them, could I collect their feedback and continually strengthen my understanding and control of rules?
What I'm doing seems exactly the same as Agamotto: serving as a source of power.
It's just that Agamotto already has a complete, systematic way of spreading his power: Kamar-Taj's magic.
I'm still accumulating experience. The powers I've spread aren't systematic, and I've spread far too few of them to reach any scale.
And Kamar-Taj's magical knowledge is exactly the foundation I need to accumulate. It can help me establish a system of my own.
At that moment, Li Ge remembered the Mutant codename he had chosen for himself-Immortal.
Could such a coincidence truly exist in the unseen workings of fate?
This world has no system of continually evolving oneself that can truly be made widespread.
Even Kamar-Taj's magic is essentially just a form of borrowing, and it actually comes at a price.
Even someone as powerful as the Ancient One can't live forever or evolve her level of existence. She has to secretly use energy from the Dark Dimension to prolong her life.
Although this world has never lacked powerful people, the ways they acquire power are basically impossible to replicate.
And after obtaining their powers, they often don't know how to keep growing stronger. They simply keep developing new tricks with their original powers.
Their level of existence hasn't evolved at all. They're still no different from ordinary people.
If I could create a method of acquiring power that continually evolves one's level of existence...
Then my codename, Immortal, could truly live up to its name!
It doesn't necessarily have to follow traditional cultivation methods. As long as it continually evolves one's level of existence, that's enough.
After all, this world has no real cultivation system at all. Even if I created one, how long would it take before someone could truly grow through cultivation?
Perhaps I could collect the various ways of acquiring power in this world, then use them to create a path of evolution suited to this world's characteristics.
Having thought of this approach, Li Ge grew more excited the more he considered it.
How many people could I influence by spreading power one person at a time?
Only a complete route to acquiring power could truly turn this world into what I want it to be!
Of course, when I meet suitable people, I can still design some unique abilities for them.
After all, there's no telling how much more time I'll need to accumulate what it takes to create a path of evolution combining this world's methods of acquiring power.
Ever since he had gained a clear goal, Li Ge had spent even more time in the library.
But magical knowledge was hardly simple. Even if Li Ge could directly use Information Scanning and Recording to record it, he could not immediately understand and master it.
If all he wanted was to use the same powers, Li Ge could design corresponding abilities.
But to create a system of power, he needed to truly understand and master this knowledge.
Whenever he encountered any difficulties, Li Ge asked Master Wong.
If Master Wong could not resolve them, Li Ge sought guidance from Master Mordo or any other sorcerer he happened to meet.
If none of those sorcerers could answer his questions, Li Ge shamelessly went to the Ancient One.
He did not know whether the Ancient One knew of his goal, but no matter when Li Ge went, he could always find her.
When he sought out the Ancient One again, Li Ge took the opportunity to ask whether he could read the forbidden books in the library.
He also stated that he only wanted to study the knowledge within them, not covet their power.
"Li Ge, across countless possible futures, I have come to fully understand how powerful you are."
"And you are already a newborn Dimensional Demon God. I am not worried about you being beguiled by those powers."
"I merely hope you can bring this world a better future and not squander your talent."
The Ancient One had clearly seen some things in the future through the Time Stone.
A better future?
Squander my talent?
It seems she must have seen me doing something in the future, possibly across different potential futures.
Time truly is a powerful force!
Marvel though he might, now that he had the Ancient One's permission, Li Ge wasted no time and immersed himself in the library once more.
With a concrete goal, Li Ge felt that his enthusiasm was inexhaustible.
And his continually strengthening soul and body gave him boundless energy. He could almost go without rest or food.
As the dimensional world, measuring only a thousand meters in length, width, and height, fully materialized, the Redstone, which reduced energy consumption, began to expand rapidly.
The Redstone was now the size of a human head, and its energy absorption had become more efficient.
Energy continually flowed out of Li Ge's Divinity, passed through his soul and body, then returned to his Divinity.
Through this ceaseless strengthening, even Li Ge himself could not clearly tell how much power he now possessed.
As for why Li Ge's growing power had not affected his everyday life?
His Divinity had long since condensed into physical form thanks to the abundance of energy.
And according to Li Ge's design, a true Divinity had to, at the very least, help its owner completely control their own power.
Like an intelligent regulator, it would release the appropriate amount of power according to its owner's will.
Li Ge now kept his strength at roughly the same level as an ordinary person's at all times. He had never unleashed his full power.