In the end, after smashing the entire city more than a dozen times, Hulk finally stopped, albeit reluctantly. He looked around at the intact buildings, then up at Ancient One, who was floating in midair. Ancient One had maintained a calm expression from beginning to end. Finally, Hulk gave up.
"I get it…" He sat down on the ground with a slightly dejected, bitter smile, "Magic really is… an incredible power."
Ancient One smiled indifferently and waved her hand gently. The strange Mirror Dimension vanished in an instant, as if erased like paint. Hulk found himself back at the training grounds of Kamar-Taj. After experiencing a brush with death, Mordo had regained his composure. He approached Hulk, his face now devoid of pride or resentment, replaced by heartfelt… admiration. He bowed solemnly to the Hulk.
"Your strength… truly astonishing."
Everyone gave bitter smiles, "The Sorcerer Supreme was right. You really are… a mighty warrior."
"I apologize for my earlier comments," Mordo said.
Hulk scratched his head, a little embarrassed, "It's okay, I went a bit overboard at the start."
His gaze swept past everyone, looking far into the distance, and he asked curiously, "All those masters just now… that magician… who was she? Her Mirror Dimension was so strange, I was trapped and couldn't do anything."
Everyone followed his gaze and explained with a smile, "That's… our former Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One."
"Ancient One?" Hulk suddenly understood, "Ah, no wonder she's so powerful!"
…
The Sorcerer Supreme's Private Sanctuary
Here, time seemed to lose its meaning. Lucci sat cross-legged, eyes closed, as if his entire being was one with the universe. In the sea of his spiritual consciousness, his understanding soared madly at an unprecedented rate, defying the heavens. This time, he allowed himself to deeply analyze all the mysteries behind Hulk's fusion of gamma rays and life force from up close.
Anger, fear, suppression… these intense emotions could serve as catalysts, transforming nearly endless destructive cosmic rays into potent life energy for physical enhancement. This principle was especially useful for Lucci, who had always explored the mysteries of the universe.
"All things can be consumed, all thoughts can become useful…" In Lucci's mind, countless new insights surged forth about the relationship between emotion, soul, spirit, and body.
"Great Universe Devouring Method" was to devour the energy of all things to strengthen oneself. And emotion, as one of the most primal spiritual energies of any living being, could also be "devoured" and "refined"! Joy, anger, worry, thought, sadness, fear, shock—seven emotions and six desires—are not only shackles for humans, but also fuel for the strong!
Boom!
Who knew how long had passed, but in Lucci's sea of consciousness, a great explosion sounded, as if the world was opening. A brand new, supreme method for refining body and soul was slowly taking shape in his mind:
The Soul-Refining Technique of Seven Emotions and Six Desires!
This method uses one's seven emotions as fire, and the six desires as fuel, tempering this spiritual energy into the purest origin of the soul, then feeding it back to the body, achieving double sublimation of spirit and matter!
The moment this method was created, Lucci felt the joys and sorrows of countless beings in the universe: the joy of a star's birth, the rage of a supernova's explosion… This endless energy was instantly captured, purified, and refined by him! Exceptionally pure primordial energy washed through every cell of his body! Both his body and soul soared crazily once again at a terrifying speed!
But Lucci didn't indulge in the pleasure of this surging power. To him, this was just the "appetizer" of his retreat. The real main course was… deducing the MagicNet!
"The three Sanctums can serve as major support nodes for the MagicNet, forming a stable triangular energy structure.
But… it's not enough.
This net needs a real core—a super server that can carry, process, and distribute the majestic energy of the entire magical network."
Countless plans flashed through Lucci's mind. In the end, he remembered his artifact. A smile spread on his lips. With a flip of his palm, he lightly grasped the air—
Buzz—
The Path of Flame Sword appeared in his hand out of thin air. The sword's body shimmered with flowing galaxies, as if it contained a complete universe.
"What could be more suitable as the core of the MagicNet than this infinitely growing innate artifact?"
Using his artifact as the nucleus, he would encompass the entire Earth within his "Magic Sword Domain"!
Once this idea formed, it could no longer be suppressed!
Without hesitation, Lucci set the Path of Flame Sword as the core of the MagicNet, used the three Sanctums as stage nodes, and drew energy from the multidimensional universes… An unprecedented, magnificent "MagicNet" was quickly constructed, deduced, and completed in his mind…
…
Time slipped by unnoticed.
Finally, at a certain moment, Lucci suddenly opened his eyes! In that instant, two beams of golden divine light shot from his eyes, piercing the void as if seeing through to the origin of the cosmos!
"It's done!" He gripped the Path of Flame Sword and slowly stood up. "In my name, I will guide the multidimensional universe!"
He muttered, then fully activated the "Multiversal Energy Conduction Technique"!
Zing!
The Path of Flame Sword in his hand let out a soul-stirring, joyous sword cry, transformed into a ribbon, soared into the sky, pierced the roof of the quiet chamber, and hung directly above Kamar-Taj!
Immediately, endless, invisible, majestic cosmic energy seemed to be summoned by the Supreme One, frantically converging on the Path of Flame Sword from countless dimensions! The sword's blade shone dazzlingly, like a new sun!
"Link!"
With Lucci's thought, three magical storms instantly burst from the Path of Flame Sword, connecting with the three Sanctums of New York, London, and Hong Kong! The three Sanctums erupted with brilliant magical light simultaneously, echoing the sword in the sky!
A massive energy triangle spanning Asia, Europe, and America was instantly formed! With this triangle as the foundation, countless golden threads—like an invisible giant net—radiated outwards at astonishing speed from the Path of Flame Sword and the three Sanctums, quickly covering and spreading to every corner of the world!
…
Meanwhile, Thousands of Kilometers Away: Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters
In the deep underground of the school, a bald man in a suit and a wheelchair wore an intricate metallic helmet. He was none other than Charles Xavier. At this moment, he was using Cerebro to amplify his telepathy to the limit, searching for new, undiscovered mutants across the globe. His consciousness swept through cities, countryside, and oceans like an invisible radar…
Suddenly! Professor Charles' body shuddered violently! He had "seen" it! In a spiritual sense, he saw it with perfect clarity—a majestic, indescribable net! It was made of the purest, most magnificent mystical energy, far beyond the limits of his perception! Like a living neural network, the net was spreading from the direction of the Himalayas, New York, London, and the Yangtze River, covering the world at an astonishing pace!
"What… what is this?"
For the first time in his life, Charles felt such a grand spiritual energy creation! This was not the ability of any mutant! Even with Cerebro's help, his telepathy could only cover a limited range, but this net… covered nearly everything!
Stunned, Professor Charles took off his helmet, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He immediately hurried to the schoolyard in his wheelchair, gazing up at the sky. Though nothing was visible to the naked eye, he could clearly feel the net covering the North American sky.
"Logan! Ororo! Scott!" He summoned his strongest disciples with telepathy.
Soon, a rugged man with a cigar in his mouth and a difficult expression—Wolverine, Logan; a cold, white-haired woman—Storm, Ororo; and a young man in special red glasses—Cyclops, Scott—all rushed to him.
"Professor, what happened?" Wolverine asked suspiciously.
Professor Charles' face was more serious than ever. He pointed eastward and said deeply, "Prepare the jet—head to the Himalayas immediately! Something incredible is happening there!"
Everyone was stunned. "Himalayas?" Cyclops asked, puzzled. "Professor, what could possibly be out there besides snow?"
"I don't know." Professor Charles shook his head, eyes full of confusion and worry. "But I can sense it. A mysterious net is covering the world, and the core source of that energy is… in the Himalayas!"
Seeing the professor's grave expression, the team nodded and headed for the runway without hesitation.
Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. Command urgently dispatched agents to investigate the Himalayas.
…
Back at Kamar-Taj
As the Path of Flame Sword transformed into a net and hung above Kamar-Taj, an indescribable, majestic, and vast magical energy poured down like a galaxy bursting from a dam! The entire Kamar-Taj was enveloped in a gentle yet magnificent sea of energy!
In the air, the free magical elements were more lively than ever, as if cheering, rejoicing, and worshiping their king! Every monk of Kamar-Taj, whether meditating, training, or reading, stopped in unison. They all looked up, eyes filled with shock!
Ancient One, Mordo, Wong… one by one, the core members of Kamar-Taj appeared in the central square. They gathered spontaneously, faces full of awe and reverence!
"My god… this is… truly majestic energy…" The mature and calm Wong could only mumble in awe, feeling as small as dust before the torrent of the universe.
"The source of this energy… it's… the Sorcerer Supreme's private chamber!" Mordo's voice trembled. He could feel that the celestial force emanated from Lucci's place of retreat, soaring straight up to the sky!
At this moment, Hulk also followed Mordo to the square. Seeing everyone's ghostly expressions, he couldn't help but be curious. He looked up… the sky was the same blue, with white clouds and distant snow-capped mountains. Nothing unusual.
He patted Mordo and asked in a frustrated voice, "Master Mordo, what are you all looking at?"
Without turning, Mordo explained in a shocked tone, "We're looking at the net—the net that's being woven!"
"A net? What do you mean?" Hulk was even more confused.
Mordo glanced at Hulk, then remembered that although Hulk's power reached the heavens, he wasn't a mage and couldn't see magical energy. He pointed to the sky above Kamar-Taj.
"There, an unimaginable magical storm is pouring from the Sorcerer Supreme's chamber, forming a… solar core above our heads! Centered on that core, the MagicNet is spreading across the globe!"
Hearing this, Hulk was shocked. "Energy storm? Solar core? A giant net?"
He blinked and looked up again, but still saw nothing.
"How come… I can't see anything?" Hulk was bewildered.
Mordo calmed his pounding heart and explained, "The net is woven from magic. Only mages, or those with very strong spiritual power, can see or feel it!"
Hulk nodded, understanding, but he couldn't see it himself. Still, seeing the shocked expressions of the surrounding mages, he felt the seriousness of the situation.
He asked unconsciously, "What is… this… all about?"
This question was also on every mage's mind. They could sense the vast energy, but didn't know what the Sorcerer Supreme intended.
Just then, Ancient One spoke up, her voice tinged with excitement and endless awe.
"The Sorcerer Supreme is using the three Sanctums as nodes, with Kamar-Taj as the core, to build a global surveillance and defense network… a Super MagicNet!
Once this network is complete, any extraterrestrial visitors or unknown threats arriving on Earth will be detected the moment they appear!"
As Ancient One finished, the whole square fell silent. All the mages, including Mordo and Wong, were utterly shocked.
Her words echoed in their minds: Global… surveillance… defense… MagicNet…
After a brief stunned silence—
Boom!
The square erupted into an uproar!
"Magic… a MagicNet? A magic net covering the world?"
"My god! The Sorcerer Supreme… he… he actually wants to create something like this?"
"Is this even possible? Is such a miracle really possible?"
Mordo and Wong trembled with excitement! They alone understood what this MagicNet would mean for Earth. The planet had always been passively defended by Kamar-Taj. This was the end of an era—and the beginning of a new one!
Ancient One looked at the fanatical, incredulous faces around her, her own heart surging with excitement. She looked up at the invisible yet real giant net and cried out:
"Why not? The Sorcerer Supreme is making it reality—right now!"
…
Bonus chapter at 100 PS
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