America, New York...
This land once bore that name, but now, it was nothing more than a wasteland—countless ruins and broken walls silently telling the tale of the suffering they had once endured.
The survivors of the city had already been relocated and begun new lives. Unless absolutely necessary, they would probably never return to this place of sorrow again.
Around the city, teams responsible for reconstruction are gradually advancing from the outskirts toward the center.
However, whether it's due to insufficient funding or other reasons, these teams are progressing very slowly. According to Su Ye's estimate, at their current rate, it would take at least ten years—maybe even longer—just to clear out the ruins of this city.
Among the rubble, a few tall buildings still stood.
Two particularly tall ones were the Stark Industries Tower and the Oscorp Tower.
During the Battle of New York, these two buildings were within the primary attack range of the Chitauri. However, thanks to the efforts of the superheroes, they remained largely intact.
After the war ended, Stark Industries and Osborn Group invested resources to renovate the buildings. Now, they have been mostly restored to their original state, with little difference from before.
However, compared to the desolate wasteland around them, these two buildings stand out quite conspicuously.
But that doesn't matter. They spent their own money to rebuild these towers, and others can say whatever they want—after all, this is a free country.
Now, these two restored buildings have been handed over to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the United Nations for use, allowing them to continue their operations in this once-familiar place.
Moreover, based on the crater theory, two shells rarely fall into the same crater. The chances of this wasteland being attacked again are close to zero—perhaps making it the safest place in the country right now.
With the help of the Sword Bureau, the United Nations has been equipped with numerous low-altitude flying vehicles. Travel no longer requires cars or roads, so the ruins below pose little inconvenience.
Besides the Stark Tower and the Osborn Group Tower, there is a third well-preserved building in the ruins—the New York Sanctum of the sorcerers.
The Sanctum isn't very tall, only four or five floors, so it didn't suffer much damage initially. Additionally, amid the ruins, it doesn't stand out much.
After sending people back to the Super H Academy in Los Angeles, Su Ye took a Kun-style fighter jet to the Sanctum.
The jet was still piloted by Widow, and as always, it followed the popular autopilot routine, so there's no need to elaborate on that.
Upon arrival, Su Ye jumped directly from the aircraft and landed steadily on the rooftop of the Sanctum.
The Kun-style fighter jet headed toward Stark Tower to dock, while Su Ye turned around and looked at a bald woman standing on the rooftop of the Sanctum, gazing into the distance.
"Greetings, Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One."
Su Ye bowed in respect. To this old bald sorcerer who had silently battled extradimensional creatures and protected Earth for centuries, he held deep admiration.
"Respect? If you truly respected me, you wouldn't call me an old bald one."
The Ancient One turned to look at Su Ye with a hint of teasing and mockery in her tone, but without any real resentment.
Su Ye raised an eyebrow. For some reason, seeing the Ancient One this time, he felt that her demeanor and expression had changed from before.
The Ancient One used to always have a poker face, showing no emotion to anyone, giving off the impression of a lifeless zombie.
But this time, there seemed to be a hint of warmth on her face. Her gaze toward Su Ye carried an indescribable, almost familial look—like that of an elder looking at a younger generation.
Such an expression had never appeared on the Ancient One's face before—not even when she saw Doctor Strange in the movies, knowing he would one day inherit the lineage of sorcerers.
This unsettled Su Ye so much that he almost turned around and left.
"Uh, Sorcerer Supreme, I meant no disrespect. Please don't overthink it."
Su Ye quickly calmed himself down, trying not to think too much—lest this old… cough!
"Heh, I'm not that scary, nor am I unreasonable. You don't need to be so nervous."
The Ancient One spoke, and Su Ye quickly nodded. "Yes, yes, Sorcerer Supreme, you are absolutely right."
The Ancient One chuckled. "If I told you I was only guessing just now and didn't actually read your mind, would you believe me?"
"I believe, I believe! Everything you say is right, Sorcerer Supreme!" Su Ye continued nodding.
The Ancient One shook her head. "The way you lie with your eyes wide open—it's exactly like Mu Tian!"
After saying this, she didn't pursue the topic any further.
That name hit Su Ye like a thunderclap.
What name did the Ancient One just say? Did I mishear because of the English? Is there something wrong with my ears? Or did she just slip up?
"Mu Tian?"
Su Ye repeated the name nervously, and the Ancient One nodded slightly.
"That's right—Mu Tian, Su Mu Tian."
BOOM!
Thunder struck his brain.
What the heck was this surprise?! No, not surprise—shock!
With his mind full of disbelief, Su Ye stammered, "Then… should I call you Aunt Ancient One?"
As he said this, Su Ye mentally bowed to his father, Lao Su. "You really are my dad—your taste is incredible! Nothing fazes you! A bald head, a poker face, and you still went for it…?"
Across from him, the Ancient One's expression twisted awkwardly for a moment before she reached out and smacked Su Ye on the head.
"What nonsense are you talking about!"
Su Ye didn't dare to dodge. If this Aunt Ancient One wanted to discipline him, he'd take it obediently—after all, this was a debt his father had incurred.
Who would've thought that as the Ancient One smacked his head, she would also shake her head with a helpless smile and say:
"Your father, Mu Tian, calls me 'Grandmother.' And you dare to call me 'Aunt'?"
"What?"
Su Ye was completely dumbfounded. "My dad calls you 'Grandmother'? You two must be playing some kind of..."
Before he could finish his thoughtless sentence, he wisely chose to shut up. If he kept going, it wouldn't just be the Ancient One smacking his head—his dad might fly in from China and beat him senseless.
Was this even something a person should say?
"So..."
Su Ye hesitated for a moment before using telepathic communication, quickly reaching out across the distance to China, and within seconds, he connected with his father, Lao Su.
"Dad, the Ancient One says you call her 'Grandmother'!"
As soon as he connected, Su Ye got straight to the point—no beating around the bush.
On the other end, Lao Su was just as direct: "The Ancient One may not look it, but she's actually very old. Also, your master, Jiraiya, once studied at Kamar-Taj. Back then, he treated the Ancient One with the respect of a disciple toward a master."
"So, by that logic, it's only natural for me to call the Ancient One 'Grandmother'!"
"And you—don't be so disrespectful and call her by name so casually. Strength is one thing, but we must follow the proper etiquette. When you see the Ancient One, you must show respect. Understood?"
"So that's how it is… At first, I thought..."
Su Ye didn't say his initial guess out loud. If he did, there was no way he could avoid a beating.
After ending the call, Su Ye looked at the Ancient One with newfound respect.
"Junior Su Ye greets the elder!"
Su Ye chose to call her 'Elder' instead of 'Grandmother' since his father did the same. He wasn't sure about the exact relationship between his master, Jiraiya, and the Ancient One, but following his dad's lead seemed like the safest choice.
With the matter of titles settled, the Ancient One looked at Su Ye and asked softly:
"What brings you here?"
Returning to the main topic, Su Ye's expression became serious.
"Elder, I came this time regarding Doctor Strange."
"Doctor Strange?"
The Ancient One pondered for a moment, then shook her head. "Sorry, I don't know this person."
"You don't know him?" Su Ye frowned. "You don't know him now, or you won't know him in the future either?"
As the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One was practically a prophet. She could see five hundred years into the past and five hundred years into the future—she knew more than even Feng Jie.
This ability was connected to her magic and the Eye of Agamotto hanging on her chest.
Her entire life seemed to revolve around this Eye of Agamotto. Once she handed it over to Doctor Strange, she basically retired, wrapped up her storyline, and logged off permanently.
And her departure was rather sudden, quite rushed, and even a little unexpected.
But that was the past. Now, the Ancient One was different. Without Doctor Strange, she had no one to pass the Eye of Agamotto to. She could only keep wearing it and continue fulfilling her duties as the Sorcerer Supreme.
"Elder, I actually came to invite you to step out of seclusion and become the head of the magic division at my Super H Academy."
"Super H Academy? Magic division?"
The Ancient One repeated the words, then shook her head.
"This kind of thing isn't for me..."
"You don't need to do anything directly. You just need to hold the title of dean, and the actual teaching can be handled by other sorcerers."
Su Ye interrupted the Ancient One's refusal.
"Like that Brother Wang I met on the southern slope of Mount Everest—he could do it, right?"
Without Doctor Strange, Kamar-Taj wouldn't just sit around waiting. Sorcerers with two legs weren't that hard to find—Wang, Yondu, they could all do the job."
Better than letting Yondu go rogue and not knowing if he'd become friend or foe later, right?
"If you have no objections, let's settle this!"
What objections could the Ancient One have? Su Ye was funding and recruiting people to train new sorcerers, who would then join the Great Wall Guardians and protect Earth under his leadership.
This protection wasn't just against forces from the real world or alien planets, but also against threats from other dimensions.
By then, the sorcerers and the Great Wall Guardians would merge into one entity, protecting both this planet and this dimension together.
That would be wonderful.
So, this matter was basically settled.
"After I return, I'll have Wang handle the coordination with you. Just discuss the details with him."
The Ancient One was never one to micromanage. After living for centuries and doing so much, she was already tired. Otherwise, she wouldn't have so decisively handed everything over to Doctor Strange.
Now, without Doctor Strange, the title of Sorcerer Supreme and the Eye of Agamotto still needed to be passed down.
As for the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One had more or less decided to pass it on to Wang.
But the Eye of Agamotto couldn't be given to Wang.
Wang was different from the Ancient One. The Eye of Agamotto might not be a good fit for him.
And the Ancient One no longer wanted to bear all the responsibilities and burdens of the Eye herself.
So, just as Su Ye finished discussing the matter and was preparing to leave, the Ancient One suddenly spoke.
"By the way, as your elder, I don't have much to give you as a greeting gift, so take this!"
As she spoke, the Ancient One took off the Eye of Agamotto from her neck.
"This is the Eye of Agamotto. It has some useful functions, but it's not really that important. Just take it. You're not allowed to refuse. Doesn't your country have an old saying—'When an elder grants a gift, one must not decline'?"
As expected from a sorcerer who had lived for centuries and even taught Jiraiya—she was quite knowledgeable about Chinese customs.
On the other hand, Su Ye was a bit numb from shock.
What did she mean? The Eye of Agamotto—the sorcerers' most treasured artifact passed down for countless generations—was just handed over to him so casually?
And she even said it wasn't that important!
Would the Ancient One not know that the Time Stone was inside the Eye of Agamotto? Would she not know its immense power?
Of course, she knew!
She was just deliberately finding an excuse to give it to Su Ye.
To make sure he accepted the Eye without hesitation, she even pulled out an old Chinese saying to guilt-trip him into taking it.
She completely blocked off any path for Su Ye to refuse.
"I…"
Su Ye had words of refusal on the tip of his tongue, but no matter what, he couldn't bring himself to say them.
"Alright then, since you insist, I'll humbly accept it."
"That's the right attitude," the Ancient One smiled and nodded, then handed him a Sling Ring.
"Take this as well. I'll teach you some magic, and from now on, you'll be considered a proper sorcerer!"
Su Ye pouted. Honestly, I wanted to be an unorthodox sorcerer instead.