"Golden Apples, 300 pieces."
"Ten meters of Dream Veil. I remember it's made from moonlight dew, Hypnos' snoring, and Morpheus' dream essence."
"This is... a Titan bone. Damn, Zeus actually brought out his father's remains."
"Uru alloy... I'm telling you, this stuff is incredible for enchantments. With this much, we could craft several high-grade magical artifacts!"
"Ice Treasure Box... Whoa, he's actually willing to give this away?"
"Cosmic magic... Wait, did he just include the Space Stone too?"
"Underworld Obsidian... Meh, that one's pretty average."
"Sky Crystal—now this is valuable! Formed from the tears of the Sky Goddess, it strengthens dimensional barriers and wards off evil spirits!"
"Orihalcum, the metal of the gods. I strongly recommend you combine it with Uru alloy. One is physically indestructible, and the other boosts magical effects—it's a perfect combo!"
"100 golden scarabs? Wow, the Sun God is really going all out!"
"These scarabs evolved by devouring the corpses of dead gods. They're top-tier alchemical ingredients, great for forging golden souls. Four hundred years ago, witches were practically killing each other over just ten of them."
The banquet lasted three days and three nights. After that, the gods departed.
Tony stood in front of the massive pile of magical treasures and high-grade materials—so many they could barely fit in Kamar-Taj's warehouse—and laughed so hard his face cramped.
Just then, a calm voice came from behind him:
"Just a reminder... all of that is mine."
"Your gift's over there."
Russell pointed to three lonely-looking items shoved into a corner of the warehouse.
Asgard had gifted a set of finely crafted leather armor—something that looked suspiciously like the kind Loki would wear.
The Olympian Pantheon gave a magic wreath whose flowers would never wilt or fade.
The Thebes God Realm was the stingiest of all. They sent a supposedly "sacred" hourglass—though it looked more like the kind of tourist junk sold at street stalls in Cairo.
Tony's smile froze on his face.
Still facing away from Russell, his voice dropped to an icy tone:
"I spent 300 star coins last night. The two alien girls who came in were not only ugly, but they also had flat asses. And—dammit—I didn't even get a glass of water out of it!"
"Mr. Russell!"
"Don't push your brother into moral bankruptcy... I'm begging you here!"
Russell let out a couple of mocking chuckles.
Tony nearly burst into tears. He spun around and dove forward like a tiger, hugging Russell's thighs as he wailed:
"Bro, please—"
"I'm practically bankrupt! If Wong hadn't found a free food supply, Kamar-Taj would've starved next month!"
"You can't just stand by and watch me die like this!"
"If you walk out now, I'll crash into the Eternal Temple and let the Living Tribunal judge my fate!!"
Russell sighed and spoke with heartfelt seriousness:
"Tony, you are the Sorcerer Supreme, the face of Kamar-Taj.
You have to be strong—set an example for the rest of the mages."
Tony replied weakly:
"Let me die first, then we'll talk."
Just then, a blue portal lit up nearby. A familiar, intellectual female voice came from within:
"What's going on? Why are you talking about dying when the timeline is stable...?"
The Ancient One stepped out of the portal, took one look at the scene...
...and then silently stepped back in.
"My bad. I'll come back later. You two carry on."
Russell lowered his head and smiled:
"Alright, Tony.
If you don't let go of my leg right now, you really will be going to meet Eternity. I'll help you retire early—no need to thank me."
Tony immediately stood up, pretending nothing had happened. Holding a flaming holy sword in his hand, he shouted toward the black portal:
"Hey, Ancient One! You saw it wrong earlier. I was just checking to see if Mr. Russell's leg injury had healed!"
"Come back, okay?"
"I promise—no traps this time. It's safe!"
Russell seriously considered kicking this guy's ass right then and there.
Why hadn't he realized before how damn abstract Tony could be?
He really let his guard down!
With a helpless shake of his head, he said grumpily:
"Fine. I don't need half of those cheap magical materials anyway, so you can have them for free."
Aside from the golden apples, scarabs, and rare items like the Dream Veil, none of it interested him.
As for the rest of the treasure…
Sorry, those are still under the name 'Luo.'
Giving Tony even one item was already extremely generous.
As for the special metals, everything except one piece of Uru alloy had already been fed to the Death Thorn Spear.
Even so, Tony was so touched he nearly burst into tears. He kept calling Russell "godfather" and even lamented that he wasn't a woman—otherwise, he would've thrown himself into Russell's arms instead of just clinging to his legs.
Russell kicked him aside and called toward the portal:
"Ancient One, you can come in now."
A few seconds later, the portal lit up again, and the blue-robed Ancient One stepped through once more.
She first glanced at the low-level magician (Tony) who was grinning like an idiot while holding a piece of Nile ebony. She took a deep breath to suppress her urge to clean house.
Then she turned to Russell and nodded:
"I didn't expect you to finish anchoring the second timeline so quickly. I thought you'd stay in this universe for at least another ten years."
Russell snapped his fingers, and the space around them immediately transformed into the attic where the Sorcerer Supreme typically resided.
Two cups of freshly brewed tea floated through the air, steam rising gently.
The blue Ancient One looked at the setup and smiled:
"Looks like you robbed him in the last universe. When I went there, he was at least willing to brew me a pot of tea."
She took a sip and showed a satisfied expression.
Russell's eyes reflected a hint of awe.
This version of the Ancient One—her soul had fully materialized into physical form. She was now no different from a real, flesh-and-blood being.
Even more astonishing, Russell had already stepped one foot into the Single-Entity Realm—yet he still couldn't see through her true strength.
There was no doubt.
This was a genuine Single-Entity Sorcerer—no wonder she could lead the entire Supreme Alliance!
But that wasn't what mattered right now.
There was something else he was far more concerned about.
The Soul-Form Ancient One gently set down her teacup, gave Russell a once-over, and sighed:
"Before, I estimated you had a 60% chance of breaking past the limit. And believe me, that was already considered high."
"But now... I see I was completely wrong. You now have a 100% chance."
"You're just like a monster."
When she herself had ascended, she'd nearly died in the process. But this guy? For him, it seemed as easy as eating and drinking.
Absolutely ridiculous.
However, Russell didn't look excited. Instead, his expression turned solemn:
"Even so, I can feel that something crucial is still missing. Without it, I can't complete the final transformation."
The Ancient One nodded:
"You're right."
"I came this time to fulfill the contract."
"Congratulations, Russell. You're about to be promoted to a Single-Entity Being."
"And now, you'll gain your first glimpse of the true mysteries of the universe."
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