Chapter 699: HHHHGYS L

Chapter 699: Chapter 700: HHHHGYS L

The Ancient One, possessing the Time Stone, could travel through time with great ease.

Therefore, time did not hold much significance for her.

It was precisely this ‘omniscient and omnipotent’ ability that made her life devoid of ‘surprises’.

Maintaining Earth’s defense network day after day had also made her feel weary.

She had long planned to retire.

However, she learned through Transmigration that a great catastrophe would befall the world.

Thanos, the Mad Titan, would lead his cosmic army to wipe out half of all life on Earth.

At the same time, as long as Ancient One was alive, Thanos’s plan to purge Earth would be postponed indefinitely.

This almost became a paradox.

As long as Ancient One, the powerful Guardian of Earth, remained alive, Thanos would not dare to cause trouble on Earth. On the other hand, if the threat of Thanos was not resolved, Ancient One could not retire in peace.

Therefore, to retire smoothly, Ancient One needed to find another way.

That was to find someone else who could replace her as Sorcerer Supreme and take over her duties.

It was under these circumstances that Stephen, with his exceptionally high magical talent, appeared.

Coupled with the subsequent appearance of Mike, an equally powerful interdimensional traveler with no ill will towards the humans of this plane, it provided a safeguard for Ancient One’s path to retirement.

This also completely solidified her retirement plan.

“There must be a way, there must be a way to keep you alive…” On the streets of New York City, Stephen, once a renowned physician, muttered as he looked at Ancient One’s body, which was like a tattered rag before him. Then he brightened, “That’s right, Mike. He must have a way.”

It was precisely because he was a doctor before that Stephen knew Ancient One’s injuries could not be healed by medical means.

He could only pin his hopes on Mike’s miraculous healing arts.

“Relax, Stephen. Life always has an end. Don’t grieve over my death…” At the same time, Ancient One’s soul broke free from her physical body and appeared before a bewildered Stephen.

Her face carried the same gentle expression as always.

“No, Kamar-Taj cannot be without you. Mike must have a way to save you…” Stephen, understanding the importance of the Sorcerer Supreme to Kamar-Taj and even the entire world, no longer cared about Ancient One’s absorption of dark energy.

He now only hoped that she could survive.

Just then, Mike, accompanied by Scarlet Witch, slowly descended from the sky.

“Mike, please. You must have a way to save the Sorcerer Supreme, right?” Stephen looked at Mike with expectant eyes.

“Time is like a river, constantly flowing, never stopping. We cannot linger in the past, nor rush to reach the future, but should seize the present and cherish every moment…” However, before Mike could answer, Ancient One spoke a string of philosophical words.

At the same time, she subtly gave Mike a meaningful look.

Unlike Stephen, who understood nothing, Mike could see that Ancient One, having broken free from her physical body, had not weakened in her energy.

In fact, having shed the shackles of the flesh, her abilities showed signs of further advancement.

This was undoubtedly a good thing for Ancient One, who pursued the eternal path.

“My condolences.” Mike, understanding Ancient One’s meaning, could only apologize to Stephen.

The grand performance Ancient One put on for her retirement, though a bit cruel to Stephen, could not be said to be wrong.

Anyone who had worked non-stop for thousands of years would likely have no less urgent a desire to retire than Ancient One.

A little trick for this purpose was nothing, harmless.

“Mike, I heard someone here needs help…” Tony, who had shared vision through his Iron Legion, knew someone had fallen from the void and rushed over.

Then, he saw Mike standing there.

“Friday, help me analyze, are the injured person on the ground and that ethereal figure the same person?” However, before he could catch up, Tony looked at Ancient One’s soul form with surprise.

There was no way around it; it was hard not to notice something like a ghost.

The most crucial point was that this ghost and the injured person on the ground looked exactly alike.

If it weren’t daytime and Mike and others were present, Tony would surely have thought he was seeing a ghost.

“Tony Stark, you’re an excellent hero,” Seemingly noticing Tony’s surprised expression, the soul-form Ancient One turned and smiled, greeting him.

As mentioned before, Ancient One, possessing the Time Stone, could travel through various timelines.

And in many future timelines, Iron Man had performed exceptionally well in the war against Thanos.

This was also why Ancient One showed him goodwill.

“According to the database, no corresponding identity information was found for the target…”

“Warning! Warning!!! The illusion before you possesses powerful energy. Please proceed with caution…”

At the same time, the new generation AI butler, Friday, also issued a warning to Tony.

Having had a previous sad experience, Tony did not inject too much personal emotion when writing the new AI butler using Jarvis’s underlying code.

Therefore, Friday, this new AI butler, did not seem to have the human touch that Jarvis had.

Of course, this was also what Tony wanted.

“You must be the Sorcerer Supreme of Kamar-Taj that Mike mentioned. Hello there,” Ignoring the AI butler’s reminder, Tony greeted Ancient One’s soul form.

Then, he leaned close to Mike and whispered, “What’s going on now? And what’s the deal with that Sorcerer Supreme?”

Having witnessed Mike use magic, Tony had a basic understanding of its wonders.

Therefore, upon seeing Ancient One’s soul form, he was only surprised for a moment and quickly regained his composure.

“Things here in New York City are basically over. As for the Sorcerer Supreme’s current state, she merely wants to retire…” While Ancient One was giving her final instructions to Stephen, Mike also quietly explained the situation to Tony.

Then, he asked, “By the way, how are the aftermath operations on New York City streets going?”

The chaos had only lasted about half an hour from start to now, meaning the golden hour for rescue was not yet over.

Now was the perfect time to carry out rescue operations.

“Don’t worry, except for some casualties at the very beginning of the disaster, everyone else has been rescued and sent outside the district…” With the help of the Iron Legion and Vision, Tony’s rescue operation went smoothly. “By the way, I also want to thank those street heroes for their help. Especially that young man named Quicksilver, he was very fast at saving people.”

Just then, Captain America, Quicksilver, and others, whose rescue operations were nearing completion, also noticed the situation here.

So they all walked over together.

Then, they inquired about the situation from Mike and Tony.

Over there, Stephen, who had not yet recovered from his grief, first received the Time Stone from Ancient One.

Then he was imbued with a host of knowledge and ideals for maintaining world peace.

Yes, during this time, Ancient One had already completed the transfer of the Sorcerer Supreme’s duties.

Before Stephen could process it, a large group of chattering superheroes and street heroes arrived.

This made his sorrowful emotions disjointed.

“Alright, we will handle things here ourselves. You all go help elsewhere.” Mike, realizing Ancient One had something to tell him, then dispersed the gathering superheroes and street heroes.

“This duplicate of the Book of Vishanti might be helpful to you. Also, if circumstances allow, please help keep an eye on Stephen in the future…” Ancient One handed over a magic book and then made a plea to Mike.

While pursuing the great eternal and exploring truth had always been Ancient One’s goal, it did not mean she no longer cared about Earth’s safety.

Moreover, Stephen, taking over the position of Sorcerer Supreme so hastily, would certainly have many shortcomings, and therefore needed someone to assist him.

And the powerful Mike could serve as that reliable support.

“Stephen is also my friend. I will help when needed.” Mike, having received the Book of Vishanti, then gave his promise.

If Mike, Ancient One, and Odin’s abilities were on the same level, then Thanos, who had not gathered all six Infinity Stones, was clearly a tier below them.

Of course, even if Thanos gathered all six Infinity Stones, he could only barely contend with the current Mike.

This was just the present situation.

It would still be a long time before Thanos gathered all six Infinity Stones, and by then, Mike’s strength would certainly have increased further.

This meant that whether now or in the future, Mike had sufficient confidence to deal with Thanos.

If they didn’t meet, so be it. But if the time came when he needed to act, Mike wouldn’t mind giving the opponent a lesson.

For this, returning a favor to Ancient One was no big deal.

Afterward, Ancient One, having received Mike’s promise, gave Stephen a final set of instructions, and then her body gradually dematerialized and disappeared.

Along with her, Ancient One’s already cold corpse on the ground also vanished.

“Kaecilius, even for the Sorcerer Supreme, we must stop him…” As all traces of Ancient One completely disappeared, Stephen’s attention returned to the Zealots attempting to release Dormammu.

Compared to before, Stephen’s tone now carried a hint of ferocity…