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Ch. 346 The Ancient One Who Read the Script Early
🕑 Added 2024-04-06 16:00:04 +0000 UTCTony and Mr. Fantastic had both been notified, and Russell certainly wouldn't forget to inform his magic teacher, the Ancient One.
Even though Kamar-Taj seldom paid attention to matters in the real world, it didn't mean they completely ignored things unrelated to the magical realm.
Not to mention heavyweights like Silver Surfer and Planet Devourer, even if Loki sneaked to Earth discreetly, Kamar-Taj would still pay a little attention.
New York Sanctum.
The reception room.
Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, brewed tea while listening to Russell's account.
After listening to Russell, the Ancient One put down the teapot and handed a freshly brewed cup of honey tea to Russell.
Then, she slowly said, "I thought you would figure out a way to handle this on your own?"
"If it were other extraterrestrial visitors, I could handle it alone without a problem. But obviously, these two are different."
Dealing with Silver Surfer wasn't too difficult, but Planet Devourer was an entirely different challenge.
Not to mention completely defeating Planet Devourer, Russell felt that facing Planet Devourer one-on-one wasn't an easy task.
After speaking, Russell took the cup of tea handed to him by the Ancient One and gently blew on it, taking a sip of the honey tea just brewed by the Ancient One.
"I've been keeping track of their whereabouts."
"However, you can rest assured, they won't come to Earth anytime soon."
The Ancient One sipped her own freshly brewed honey tea and calmly stated.
Although the Ancient One's tone was casual, Russell could tell that the Ancient One was quite certain about this.
After realizing this, he immediately thought of something.
"Teacher, have you used the Time Stone to see the future?"
Russell asked the Ancient One.
"I took a brief look."
The Ancient One smiled and said.
Using the Time Stone was much more convenient than the Space Stone. Leaving aside other aspects, just the ability to "preview the script" in advance made it unreasonably advantageous.
"So, teacher, how do you think we should handle this situation this time?"
Since the Ancient One had already seen the "script" in advance, Russell didn't bother thinking of strategies and directly asked for the answer.
"Very simple, let it unfold naturally!"
The Ancient One said in a nonchalant tone.
Let it unfold naturally?
Russell hadn't expected that the Ancient One would give such an answer.
After pondering for a few seconds, he asked the Ancient One again, "Teacher, could you please clarify a bit? I'm afraid I might misunderstand."
"Just as it sounds, let it unfold naturally."
The Ancient One put down her teacup and said calmly.
Seeing that Russell still had a furrowed brow, she continued, "For us, Earth is our mother planet."
"But for Planet Devourer, Earth is not much different from other planets."
"On the surface, they are heading towards Earth."
"But in reality, Earth is just an ordinary planet on their journey."
"Why does Planet Devourer devour planets, you should be clear about that."
"As long as he is not hungry when passing by Earth, he won't have any interest in Earth."
Uh...
Strictly speaking, the Ancient One was not wrong.
For people living on Earth, Earth was a unique mother planet.
But for Planet Devourer, Earth was no different from other planets.
Although many lives were born on Earth, Planet Devourer wouldn't care about that at all.
More importantly, as long as Planet Devourer wasn't hungry, he was a highly advanced being capable of normal communication.
If Planet Devourer arrived near Earth and happened to be satiated, with a Skyfather-level being like Odin and Ancient One, he might not be interested in taking action against Earth.
More importantly, the Ancient One's answer made Russell think of something.
Indeed, Earth was their mother planet, but Earth was not just their mother planet.
In the long history of Earth, many powerful beings were born, not inferior to Planet Devourer, and some of them were still alive and powerful.
Although these big shots were now hidden somewhere on Earth or had gone to other planets, Earth was still their mother planet.
If Planet Devourer really intended to attack Earth, these big shots might not just stand idly by.
Let's take a simple example. A billionaire born in a remote, backward mountain village.
Although this billionaire left the village long ago and hadn't returned for decades, it didn't mean he had completely forgotten everything about the village, nor did it mean he would allow others to destroy the village where he had once lived.
If one didn't have the ability or had no knowledge, of course, they couldn't do anything.
But if they knew and had the ability to protect their hometown, most people wouldn't allow others to harm their former home.
Of course, this was not a hundred percent certain.
Some people might be so heartless, or they might have no attachment to their past life.
Moreover, there was a very practical situation.
The higher the level of life and the stronger the strength, the weaker the so-called humanity.
Even Russell, who had recently become a Skyfather-level being, needed enough "anchors" to maintain his humanity, let alone those hidden big shots with higher strength and position above him.
Thinking about these things, Russell began to understand why the Ancient One said to let it unfold naturally.
"Teacher, I understand what you mean."
"In that case, I won't disturb you, teacher."
Russell said slowly to the Ancient One.
Just as he was about to use his divine power to leave the New York Sanctum directly, the Ancient One's voice sounded again.
"I heard that you got a lot of vibranium recently. I wonder if you could spare some for Kamar-Taj?"
Uh...
What's going on here?
Russell wouldn't be surprised that the Ancient One knew he had taken vibranium from Wakanda.
Although the Ancient One seemed like a recluse, she wasn't someone who turned a deaf ear to outside matters.
Russell vividly remembered that the last time he came to the New York Sanctum, he saw the Ancient One playing the most popular mobile game.
However, what puzzled him now was why Kamar-Taj needed vibranium.
Vibranium was indeed a rare metal in the Marvel Universe, but it had nothing to do with magic.
If he had acquired Uru metal that could serve as magical material, he wouldn't have any doubts.
But the problem was that what he had now was vibranium, which could be considered "magic-insulating."
"Since the teacher has spoken, I will certainly not refuse."
"However, I want to know, what does Kamar-Taj plan to do with vibranium?"
Russell had thought that the Ancient One would give a very serious answer.
For example, wanting to study if vibranium could have other effects in the magical realm, or using vibranium to help Kamar-Taj's mages craft reliable melee weapons or armor, and so on.
However, he didn't expect that the Ancient One would give an answer that he hadn't thought of at all.
"On the black market, many organizations and individuals are currently buying vibranium, and they're offering very attractive prices."
"It's been a long time since Kamar-Taj had any renovation, and I plan to use vibranium to exchange for some funds for renovations on the black market."
The Ancient One said in a serious tone.
It had to be said that the Ancient One's answer was quite unexpected.
Although Russell hadn't expected the Ancient One to give such an answer, he had no reason to object to the Ancient One's plan.
"Since the teacher plans to renovate Kamar-Taj, as your student, I naturally have to contribute."
"At nine o'clock tomorrow morning, ten tons of vibranium will be delivered to the doorstep of the Sanctum. Please arrange for someone to receive it, teacher."
Russell said with a smile.
"Good!"
The Ancient One nodded in satisfaction.
After hearing the Ancient One's answer, Russell didn't hesitate and got up directly.
Then, his body turned into golden light and disappeared.
Justice League Headquarters' study.
Golden light particles the size of sand grains appeared in the empty study, quickly condensing into a human form in the chair's position.
After using his sun divine power to teleport back to the study, Russell didn't hesitate and said to No. 3, "Retrieve ten tons of vibranium from the warehouse and deliver it to the New York Sanctum at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."
"Understood, sir!"
No. 3 immediately replied.
After giving instructions to No. 3, Russell picked up the phone and made a call to Tony Stark and Mr. Fantastic Reed Richards.
Originally, he had intended to borrow the help of Tony and Mr. Fantastic to deal with Planet Devourer when the time came. However, since the Ancient One had already suggested letting things unfold naturally, he didn't need to trouble Tony and the others anymore.
The Ancient One had already seen the future development using the Time Stone.
The Ancient One wasn't worried about the Earth suffering severe damage from Silver Surfer and Planet Devourer, so Russell had no reason to worry either.
Aside from other things, Russell had several backup plans, such as his divine realm, City of Sin.
Even in the mortal world, he still had a planet where Earthlings could live normally.
With these backup plans in place, he didn't need to worry about being homeless if Earth were to be destroyed.
Putting aside the matters of Silver Surfer and Planet Devourer, Russell resumed his decadent life as a divine being.
....
Time flies by.
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
The Ancient One had told Russell that Silver Surfer and Planet Devourer wouldn't come to Earth anytime soon. However, as it turned out, the Ancient One's statement was a bit too vague.
After half a year, Silver Surfer and Planet Devourer finally arrived in the solar system. Although they were still some distance away from Earth, on the day they entered the solar system, the Ancient One summoned Russell to the New York Sanctum.
"Planet Devourer has now entered the solar system, and it won't be long before it reaches the vicinity of Earth."
"Instead of waiting for it to arrive, we should take the initiative to meet with them."
The Ancient One sat in her usual spot in the reception room and said slowly to Russell.
"I don't have any objections, but are you sure you want to go with me, teacher?"
Russell asked the Ancient One.
The Ancient One's power had indeed reached the Skyfather-level being, and she possessed the Time Stone, a cosmic-level artifact. However, the Ancient One's physical constitution wasn't much stronger than that of an ordinary person.
Russell didn't doubt that the Ancient One had enough protective magic to allow her to move freely in the vacuum of space. But no matter how you looked at it, voluntarily leaving Earth was not a good idea for the Ancient One.
To put it bluntly, if something unexpected happened, like magic suddenly failing, the Ancient One's physical constitution wouldn't last more than a few seconds in a vacuum environment.
The Ancient One did have the Skyfather-level being, but her physical body wasn't particularly robust.
Setting aside beings like Russell, who was almost a monster, even the physical constitutions of individuals like Peter and Gwen, who were superpowered, far exceeded that of the Ancient One.
"Why, are you worried that I won't be able to protect myself?"
The Ancient One immediately sensed Russell's concerns and smiled as she replied.
"Well, I don't doubt your abilities, teacher. I just have some concerns, that's all."
"In the vacuum of space, it's not an ideal environment for you, teacher."
Russell replied to the Ancient One.
"Don't worry, since I've volunteered to go with you, I've considered all the possibilities."
"Besides, don't forget, I am your magic teacher."
"If I can't handle situations like these, then I'm quite inadequate as a teacher."
The Ancient One closed the bamboo fan in her hand and calmly stated.
"Well then, since you've made up your mind, I won't continue to oppose you, teacher."
"When do we depart?"
Russell didn't dwell on the issue and asked.
"It's something we'll have to deal with sooner or later, so let's go now!"
The Ancient One replied promptly.
"Alright!"
Russell agreed without hesitation.
After deciding to depart immediately, the Ancient One quickly cast a spell. She casually raised the bamboo fan in her hand and tapped into her magical power. In the blink of an eye, the Ancient One's body shimmered with various colors of magical light.
Russell could perform all magic below the Legendary level, and as the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One was even more proficient in this regard than he was.
In just an instant, the Ancient One applied over a dozen types of protective spells to herself.
Seeing the colorful magical aura enveloping the Ancient One, Russell didn't hesitate either. He immediately channeled his divine power, forming a thin protective layer around his body.
In truth, with Russell's current physical condition, he could traverse the cosmos even without adding any protection. However, if things could be resolved with magic and divine power, there was no need to rely solely on his physical body.
Although the golden light surrounding his body appeared thin, this protective layer was no less effective than the over a dozen protective spells on the Ancient One.
"Let's go!"
Seeing that Russell had also established his protective measures, the Ancient One said directly.
After that, she raised the bamboo fan once again and casually drew a circle in the air. A circular portal with shimmering golden sparks appeared in front of them.
As soon as the portal took shape, the Ancient One walked into it without looking back.
When the Ancient One entered the portal, Russell didn't hesitate either and followed suit.
