Chapter 425: Kunlun

Chapter 425: Chapter 425: Kunlun

Besides that, scrolling down revealed various items with astonishing effects, not inferior to the life potion at all.

Taking any of these things out to the outside world would probably be enough to cause a huge sensation.

Yet here, they were simply marked with prices and hung on the store interface, left for anyone to pick like daily necessities on supermarket shelves.

Strange stared with wide eyes and asked in disbelief, "Are... are these all real?"

Mordo nodded. "Yes, these are all provided by Darian, and only Kamar-Taj mages are eligible to redeem them."

"This is too absurd."

Looking at the dazzling array of magical items, Strange drooped with envy and wished he could empty the entire store on the spot.

It was a pity that after searching through all the items, he couldn’t find anything capable of healing his hands.

Just as Strange was closing the page in disappointment, he suddenly saw a prompt pop up at the top of the store indicating a new item had been listed.

Without thinking much, he casually clicked in to take a look.

[Item: black jade intermittent ointment]

[Description: A secret medicine that repairs nerves and bones. Even if a car accident causes the bones of your hands to shatter and nerves to be severely damaged, making you unable to pick up a scalpel ever again, applying it can immediately repair the damage and restore your hands to their original state.]

[Redemption Points: 5000]

Strange: "..."

This description was too targeted; it was practically missing his name written directly on it.

Without guessing, he knew it must have been done on purpose by Darian, specifically using this item to bait him.

Yet Strange truly couldn’t resist this temptation.

He dreamed of healing his hands, and now the opportunity was right before his eyes, making his eyes turn red with desire.

However, he was currently just a newbie, without a single point in his pocket, unable to afford even the cheapest item on the shelf, let alone the black jade intermittent ointment worth 5000 points.

Strange turned his head to look at Mordo and asked eagerly, "How can I accept tasks?"

Mordo smiled. "Don’t worry. First, register an account on the Kamar-Taj official website, and every new account can claim a beginner’s gift pack."

Strange: "..."

Why did it sound just like playing a video game?

Comedies aside, he still followed Mordo’s guidance, opened the Kamar-Taj official website on the electronic screen, and clicked open the registration interface.

The process wasn’t complicated, not much different from registering a regular mobile app.

The only difference was that there was no need to set an account password; one only needed to scan their face and fingerprints against the screen and complete biometric authentication, and that was it. Anyway, there was no need to worry about account theft or similar issues.

Strange completed the authentication item by item according to the prompts, and the final prompt box popped up on the screen.

"Congratulations, your account has been successfully registered. Please choose a code name. Once confirmed, this code name cannot be changed."

"A code name?"

Strange was stunned and turned to look at Mordo.

Mordo crossed his arms and explained, "Our enemies are not only monsters from multiple dimensions, but also quite a few dark mages. They master various evil dark magics, some of which can cast curses through true names."

"That’s why Darian suggests that when we go out, especially when executing missions, it’s best to address each other by code names to directly eliminate this risk."

"Is that so."

Strange felt it sounded reasonable, but somehow felt something was a bit off.

He asked curiously, "Then what is your code name?"

Mordo puffed out his chest with a proud look. "Ancient One’s Eldest Disciple."

Strange: "..."

What an overbearing code name. Just hearing it made one know the backing was outrageously tough; enemies would probably have to weigh things carefully before making a move.

Strange pondered whether he should also follow the trend and take a code name like Ancient One’s Junior Disciple, but ultimately couldn’t swallow his pride and silently abandoned the idea.

He stared at the input box on the screen, thought for a moment, and raised his hand to type a row of letters.

Doctor Strange.

Even though Strange was no longer a Doctor, he still retained the pride belonging to a Doctor deep in his heart, so he used Dr., which was synonymous with Doctor, serving as a keepsake for his past self.

The moment he pressed confirm, the screen flashed with light, and the gift pack interface popped up.

"The beginner’s gift pack has been issued. Please check and receive it."

Just as Strange was wondering where to check and receive it, a circle of golden sparks suddenly lit up before him, rapidly rotating and condensing into a portal.

A robed mage walked out from the door, holding a square wooden box in his arms, and handed it to his hands.

"Your beginner’s gift pack."

After saying this, the other person turned around, stepped back into the portal, and disappeared.

Strange was already too exhausted to complain about this, and lowered his head to open the box in his hand.

The first thing that came into view was a plain white robe.

In Kamar-Taj, the color of the robes corresponded to identity ranks.

White was for beginners who just started, red was for apprentices beginning to touch magic, and blue was for disciples who could skillfully use magic.

High mages above that didn’t have these rules; they could wear whatever color they wanted, as long as they were willing, they could even wear pink.

Besides the beginner’s robe, there were a few other things placed in the box.

A plainly covered Basic Meditation Manual, a standard sling ring for Kamar-Taj mages, and... a Colt M1911 pistol.

(→)

Strange pulled out the gun with a dumbfounded look. "What is this?"

Mordo’s expression was natural. "A pistol. You’re an American citizen, surely you recognize it."

Strange’s face darkened. "Of course I know a pistol, but the problem is why there is a pistol in the beginner’s gift pack? What happened to the promised magic artifact?"

"This is the magic artifact."

Mordo said with a straight face, "Darian attaches magic to firearms, allowing people to use magic without paying a price. However, the firearms after applying magic are too powerful and difficult for ordinary people to control. This pistol only has basic magic attached, making it just right for a beginner like you to use."

Hearing this, Strange finally understood what was going on with the firearms in those mages’ hands.

So this turned out to be their magic wand.

It was just that this wand was a bit special, having a barrel, a trigger, and capable of rapid-fire shooting.

Strange covered his face and sighed deeply.

He knew that in this lifetime, he probably wouldn’t be able to look at those fantasy movies straight anymore.

Because they were too fake, completely inconsistent with reality.

Fake mages stood far away holding wands, slowly chanting spells, and then casting magic on enemies, only to be captured without resistance once closed in on.

Real mages held hot weapons and sprayed a magazine upon meeting, and when the bullets ran out, they directly lifted their robes, revealing sturdy pectoral muscles and eighteen-pack abs, picked up a broadsword, and charged at the enemies.

Strange shook his head to chase away these messy images, and then clicked on the task interface.

He browsed around and found that most tasks had level restrictions.

A beginner like him couldn’t take on combat-type tasks at all; the only ones he could take right now were some miscellaneous chores.

These miscellaneous chores were posted by other mages.

They were usually busy training and going on missions, having no time to manage daily life at all, so they simply posted tasks and dumped them on newcomers.

Strange flipped through them; there were cleaning tasks, running errands, and pouring tea and water.

However, the points for these odd jobs were pathetically small, and the time required wasn’t short either.

Relying solely on doing these odd jobs to save up 5000 points would probably take until the year of the monkey and the month of the rabbit.

Strange took a few glances and closed the page, not wasting time on it.

He took a deep breath and made up his mind that he must improve his strength as soon as possible, take on tasks like other mages to earn points, and get his hands on the black jade intermittent ointment.

He turned to look at Mordo with a firm gaze. "Master Mordo, when do we start training?"

Mordo’s mouth hooked up slightly. "Anytime."

Sorcerer Supreme Entertainment Club.

Darian and Mordo sat face to face on either side of a chessboard, one holding white and the other holding black. Both of them looked focused, dropping a piece from time to time.

"How is Strange performing?"

Darian pinched a white piece, twirled it between his fingertips, and asked casually.

"Not bad, truly a moldable talent."

Mordo dropped a black piece and said with a smile, "But still a bit impatient and eager for quick success."

Darian chuckled. "It’s fine, if he disobeys, just beat him up."

Mordo hesitated a bit. "That might not be so good, after all, you said he is the next Sorcerer Supreme."

"Right, so you have to beat him early. Once he becomes the Sorcerer Supreme, you won’t be able to beat him anymore."

"That makes sense."

"Hehehe..."*2

Just at this moment, Wong walked in from outside.

Seeing the two chatting while playing chess, he didn’t dare to interrupt rashly and just stood quietly to the side to watch.

Wong wasn’t proficient in chess, but he could tell that the battle situation was extremely intense.

Black and white chess pieces were densely spread across the chessboard, interlaced with each other, and at any moment they could fight to the death to decide the final victory or defeat.

A few minutes later, Darian dropped the white piece onto the chessboard and smiled contemptuously.

"I win."

Mordo sighed and put down the black piece in his hand. "It seems your skills are still a cut above."

"Not at all, you’re also quite good."

"No, no, you played better."

"..."

Hearing the two flattering each other back and forth, Wong curiously leaned over to take a look.

With this look, his eyes suddenly widened and he gasped a breath of cold air.

Seeing among the dense chess pieces, five white pieces concealed murderous intent and quietly connected into a straight line.

Isn’t this fucking Chess!?

Playing just a game of Chess, was it necessary to put up such a grand formation!

Wong mentally complained frantically.

Seeing that the two finally ended their game, he then stepped forward, leaned close to Darian’s ear, and said in a low voice, "Sorcerer Supreme, we found the entrance."

Darian narrowed his eyes slightly. "After searching for so long, we finally found it."

The entrance they spoke of was precisely the entrance to Kunlun.

Back then, he learned about Kunlun from Daniel the Iron Fist, knowing that Kamar-Taj and Kunlun were neighbors, so he had the idea of visiting Kunlun and coaxed Daniel to take him along.

However, Daniel said he was going back to ask his master, but as a result, he never returned and hadn’t responded until now.

Darian was too lazy to keep waiting and directly asked the mages of Kamar-Taj whether they knew about Kunlun, but received mostly denials.

Mordo knew of Kunlun’s existence, but didn’t know its specific location.

As for the Ancient One, she was even less dependable; her side was a one-way call, and unless the Ancient One appeared herself, she couldn’t be contacted at all.

But Darian wasn’t out of options, directly dispatching people to launch a carpet search of the Himalayas.

Through the efforts of a group of mages, they had finally found the mysterious entrance to Kunlun today.

Wong raised his hand to swipe his fingers, and a circle of golden light lit up before him, rapidly expanding into a portal.

The other side of the portal was a steep cliff located deep within the Himalayas.

Heavy snow churned across the sky, cold winds howled past, and it was a vast expanse of white, with no signs of any buildings visible at all.

"Wong, you come with me on a trip."

Darian turned to look at Mordo, who was preparing to get up, and waved his hand. "Mordo, you stay behind and keep an eye on Strange’s training."

"..."

"Understood."

Wong followed behind Darian, and the two stepped into the portal one after another.

The biting cold wind instantly wrapped around snowflakes and blew into their faces. Darian had no reaction, but Wong was frozen to the point of shivering continuously, his leg hair almost freezing into ice.

"The portal entrance is right over there."

Wong rubbed his numb arms from the cold and raised his hand to point forward.

Darian looked in the direction he pointed and found that the void at the edge of the cliff was slightly distorted, with imperceptible fluctuations faintly rippling in the air.

He bent down to pick up a stone from beside his foot and casually tossed it toward that direction.

The stone flew into that distorted void and simply vanished into thin air, as if it had fallen into an invisible crevice.

Darian was not unfamiliar with this kind of sight.

Back when the Nine Realms connected, he had seen many similar spatial rifts.

"Follow me."

Without saying another word, Darian walked directly toward the spatial rift.

Wong felt a pang of panic seeing this.

If he missed a step, he would fall straight down from the edge of the cliff.

Seeing that Darian had already walked far away, he gritted his teeth and bravely followed along.

The moment the two stepped into the spatial rift, the scene before them suddenly changed. A transparent long bridge suddenly emerged from the void beneath their feet, its surface glowing with a faint jade-colored halo.

Darian could vaguely sense that this long bridge exuded the aura of magic, as well as a peculiar energy supporting the two of them to stand on it.

He had seen this peculiar energy before; it was precisely that kind of chi inside Madam Gao.

"Sure enough, we didn’t look in the wrong place."

Darian didn’t stop his steps and continued to walk forward with Wong.

The other end of the long bridge connected to a towering peak. As the two walked forward step by step, the scene before them suddenly opened up.

In the distance, peaks were stacked upon peaks, and clouds and mist wrapped around the mid-levels of the mountains. Up close was an ancient complex of palaces built against the mountain.

These buildings were ancient in style, with flying eaves and upturned corners, and red-tiled roofs, filled with the style of ancient Eastern architecture, giving Darian a strong sense of familiarity.

Very soon, they reached the end of the long bridge, before which stood a rustic and heavy mountain gate.

Just as they wanted to walk into the mountain gate, two figures darted out from the guardhouse beside it and directly blocked the path in front of the two.

"Who goes there!?"

Darian cupped his hands and shouted, "Two heroes, we are martial artists passing by. Yours truly is Zhang Sanfeng."

The two guards:...

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