Dealing with Internal Troubles

The sorcerers had differing opinions about Wang Bert becoming part of Kamar-Taj. Overall, most supported it. After all, the Blood God was wealthy, powerful, and had protected the world many times.

Of course, some were dissatisfied, such as Kaecilius. He was filled with jealousy toward Wang Bert—Wang Bert possessed everything he wanted. He dreamed of becoming Wang Bert.

Mordo was also somewhat dissatisfied. He had always harbored reservations about Wang Bert’s Blood Clan identity, which was why he had not come this time.

Next, Wang Bert toured Kamar-Taj under Ancient One’s guidance, with Doom and Wong following behind them.

"Isn’t Strange here? I even brought him the Extremis Virus."

Wang Bert said, "I think that suits him better than mechanical hands. Dr. Extremis sounds pretty powerful."

"I think mechanical hands would be better. They could hold plenty of highly destructive weapons, such as laser fingers and arm-mounted missiles."

Doom said, "I have quite a few ideas. Unfortunately, there’s no workshop here."

"You just want Strange to become like you, don’t you?"

Wong sneered beside them. He had never thought much of Doom.

Doom said disdainfully, "What’s wrong with becoming like me? Loser."

Wong snapped, "You ambushed me last time. Fight me without using your powers if you’ve got the guts."

Wang Bert was a little surprised. "Wong, you lost to Doom? He’s only been here a short while, hasn’t he?"

Wong was both ashamed and furious. Doom said arrogantly, "Can’t be helped. I’m a genius. One month of training for me equals four or five years for others."

Wang Bert quipped, "With that attitude, how have you not been beaten to death yet?"

"Because they can’t beat me to death."

Wang Bert laughed. "Looks like your life at Kamar-Taj has been quite exciting."

"Not bad. I’m pretty satisfied. I just don’t know whether they are."

Doom spoke, and Wong snorted. "Satisfied? We’re satisfied enough to throw you off the mountain."

"Enough."

Ancient One shook her head. "Strange is not suited for enhancement. Let him be a pure sorcerer."

"You’re the one in charge."

Wang Bert shrugged. It seemed Dr. Strange was destined to become a kidney-deficient Sorcerer Supreme.

The Training Hall, the library, the Equipment Hall, the Insight Room, the Dormitory Area… After making a full round, they arrived at the center of Kamar-Taj—the core of the Earth Guardian Array.

Ancient One gestured, and Doom and Wong took their leave together. Then, Ancient One said, "The signs of the Convergence have begun to appear."

Wang Bert was stunned. "Signs?"

"Yes, signs. Just as strong winds come before a hurricane."

Ancient One said, "If not for the guardian array, life from other worlds would already have appeared on Earth. Bert, I need to remain at Kamar-Taj and minimize the effects of the Convergence. You’ll need to keep a closer watch on Earth."

"That’s my duty."

Wang Bert nodded and asked, "Master, will the demon gods make a move when the Convergence happens?"

The Convergence would create flaws in Earth’s Defense Net.

"Of course they will. Otherwise, why would I need to personally remain here?"

Ancient One said, "When the Convergence truly arrives, those demon gods will definitely launch an attack."

"They really never go away."

Wang Bert snorted. No wonder Kamar-Taj had never appeared in Thor 2. They had been fighting the demon gods.

"Earth is of vital importance to the demon gods."

Thinking of something, Ancient One smiled. "Fortunately, you have already crippled Mephisto, their most troublesome opponent."

Wang Bert asked in surprise, "Mephisto isn’t dead yet? With his intelligence half-crippled and so many Hell Lords besieging him, I thought he would have fallen long ago."

"Mephisto is not so easy to kill. He is currently trying to lift the curse."

Ancient One said, "Once he regains his intelligence, Blackheart will be no match for him. As for those Hell Lords, they will only kick him while he’s down. They won’t truly risk their lives against Mephisto."

"Fine. I’ll deal with him personally in the future."

"It’s still too early."

Ancient One smiled. "At the very least, you must first devour all the Space Stones. This is a great opportunity for you."

"I know."

Wang Bert hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Master, before driving out foreign enemies, we must first settle internal troubles. Shouldn’t Kamar-Taj’s internal problems be dealt with in advance?"

"You mean Kaecilius and Mordo?"

"Yes."

Wang Bert did not deny it. "I specifically designed two plans for them. They should be able to turn them back into good people."

Ancient One asked with interest, "Tell me your plan for Kaecilius first."

"It’s simple."

Wang Bert said, "Kaecilius wants immortality, so I’ll give him immortality."

Ancient One shook her head. "Kaecilius does not think highly of Vampires. They have too many weaknesses."

"I’m not talking about turning him into a Vampire."

Wang Bert said, "I mean astral projection and taking over another body."

"That won’t work. After leaving the body, a soul can only return to its own body. It cannot possess someone else’s."

"Master, have you heard of clones?"

Wang Bert smiled. "With identical genes, the soul should be compatible."

"Cloning plus astral projection?"

Ancient One’s eyes lit up. "It can be tried, but this method is useless for Kaecilius."

Wang Bert was puzzled. "Why? This method can give him flawless immortality."

"Because he wants too much."

Ancient One said, "Immortality, resurrecting his family, becoming the Sorcerer Supreme, being invincible in the world… Sooner or later, he will fall into darkness."

"Is that so?"

Wang Bert said, "Then we might as well get rid of him now."

"He hasn’t done anything wrong yet."

Ancient One shook her head. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Bert, use my genes to clone a new body. I have a use for it."

"Master, do you want to get rid of the dark power?"

"Yes. The dark power is only in my body; it has not corrupted my soul. If I change bodies, I should be able to cast it off."

Ancient One drew a bottle covered in strange runes from thin air. "Once the clone is complete, merge the blood inside into my new body. An ordinary body cannot bear my soul."

Wang Bert took the bottle and asked curiously, "Master, whose blood is this?"

Ancient One did not answer. She merely said, "Don’t sneak a drink."

"Do I look like that kind of person?"

Wang Bert was deeply offended. He looked at Ancient One’s shining bald head and asked, "Master, should I give you some extra hair while I’m at it?"

"Hm?"

Ancient One stared at Wang Bert expressionlessly. Wang Bert smiled awkwardly and changed the subject. "What about Mordo? He can still be saved, right?"

"He can, but he can easily go to extremes. For example, humanity is so ugly that they should simply be wiped out."

Ancient One sighed. "That is why I have never allowed him to go down the mountain for training."

"That’s not a big problem. We just need to find someone of absolute kindness to stay by his side."

"Someone of absolute kindness?"

A mysterious light shone in Ancient One’s eyes. After a moment, she nodded. "It can be tried."

"Then I’ll make arrangements."

Wang Bert nodded. Thinking of something, he said, "Master, should I leave my projection here to help you? It can also study with you more. There’s still a lot of magic I don’t know."

"Letting your projection study while you go out and enjoy yourself?"

Ancient One looked at Wang Bert with a half-smile. "Good thing you are only my nominal disciple. Otherwise, heh…"

Those two words, "heh," sent chills down Wang Bert’s spine. He said, "I have other things to do. Right, Master, why not let the Super Heroes deal with those alien lifeforms? They’re idle anyway, and it can ease Kamar-Taj’s burden."

"You mean opening a Space Battlefield on Earth?"

"Yes. Humanity will soon enter the interstellar age anyway."

"Fine. I will teach you—uh, teach your projection—how to control the guardian array."

Ancient One said, "You will preside over this great array in the future."

"As I said, it’s my duty."

Wang Bert smiled. The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility.

Africa. On a speeding truck, Spider-Man Peter Parker said to the black man beside him, "Hello, my name is Peter Parker. I was commissioned by Osborn Corporation to investigate the African Warlords.

"You must be wondering why Osborn Corporation is conducting such an investigation. Let me tell you, it isn’t to sell weapons. It’s to end the war.

"Mr. Wang said that before humanity enters the interstellar age, we must first end all wars and eliminate poverty…

"By the way, I haven’t asked your name yet. Also, what is your relationship with Mr. Wang?"

Mordo finally could not endure it any longer and roared, "Can you shut up? You’ve been talking for more than twenty minutes straight."

"Sorry. It’s my first time in Africa, so I’m a little excited."

Peter smiled awkwardly. Harry shot Mordo a cold glance and asked, "Are you a sorcerer?"

Mordo turned his head and cursed with disgust, "Demon, stay away from me."

A vicious glint flashed in Harry’s eyes. Peter hurriedly stopped him. "Harry, calm down. This gentleman isn’t a bad person."

Harry snorted. "Don’t worry. I won’t waste the redemption opportunity you worked so hard to earn for me."

"That’s good."

Peter sighed in relief. Mordo gritted his teeth. If his Master had not sealed his power, he would have purified that demon long ago.

Wang Bert had returned the Hell Spider King’s power to Harry. The current Harry was both a Vampire and a Hell Demon—evil to the core.

Master, what exactly are you trying to make me train?

Mordo was utterly lost. Earlier, Ancient One had suddenly summoned him to the main hall, sealed his power, handed him a stick, and sent him to Africa for training.

Ancient One had said, "Mordo, this stick contains a demon’s power. As long as you use it, you can recover your strength."

Mordo had asked in confusion, "Master, what do you mean? How can we use a demon’s power? Even if I, Mordo, die, I will never use this stick to restore my strength."

Ancient One had said nothing more. With a wave of her hand, she sent Mordo to Africa, where a demon and an extremely talkative Super Hero were waiting for him.

"Spider-Man and Harry are both the Blood God’s people. Could this be the Blood God setting me up?"

Mordo gritted his teeth. That Blood God really was no good person.

As Mordo pondered, Peter’s voice suddenly sounded beside him again. "Sir, there’s something else I forgot to mention. I actually entered the country illegally this time. Mr. Wang opened an unscientific portal right in front of me…

"By the way, have you noticed? It sounds like there’s something behind us. Could it be an animal?"

Mordo wanted to smash his head into a wall. Heavens, just put me out of my misery.

Several hours later, the driver stopped the truck and pointed ahead. "Welcome to the poorest and most chaotic place in the world. Mr. Wang said you’ll be staying here for half a year."

Peter was about to say something when a group of people suddenly rushed out ahead, aiming guns at them. Though he could not understand what they were shouting, it was obvious they were robbing them.

Peter stared in shock. "There are even children?"

"What’s so strange about that? Children need to eat too. Do you know how many children starve to death here every year?"

The driver shrugged and said to the three of them, "Welcome to Hell."

"Hell?"

Mordo and the other two frowned together. They had rarely gone hungry and could not understand what it felt like to starve to death.

Thinking of something, the driver opened the rear compartment. "You have two more companions."

The three turned around and saw two people locked in an iron cage in the truck bed. One was A San, unconscious, while the other was a mercenary in a red-and-black uniform. His mouth was stuffed shut with several layers of cloth. The moment he saw Peter and the others, he began making muffled noises.

Peter and Harry covered their faces at the same time. "God, why is he here too?"

"These two idiots were bold enough to swindle Blood Clan money. Mercury President asked me to bring them here as cannon fodder for you."

Mordo blinked. For some reason, he suddenly felt that his future was bleak.

In the blink of an eye, it was 2011. Over the past year, many major events had occurred around the world: the Inhumans, the first space war, Wakanda becoming the sixth permanent member, America’s proposal for an Earth Federation, and more.

People had the feeling that the world had changed, becoming completely different from before. A great new era was slowly unfolding.

In an underground laboratory, Wang Bert received a call from Tony. "Bert, there are more monsters on the battlefield again. It looks like the true Convergence isn’t far away."

Last year, Wang Bert had opened a Space Battlefield in Africa. All alien lifeforms transported to Earth due to the Convergence would appear on that battlefield.

Tony and the governments of various countries were extremely interested in the battlefield. They had eagerly taken it over and fought there every day with great enthusiasm.

"The Convergence will officially arrive within three months. At that point, the number of alien lifeforms on the battlefield will greatly increase."

Wang Bert said, "You need to be prepared."

Tony nodded. "No problem. The governments of every country are hoping for more monsters."

Thinking of something, Wang Bert asked, "By the way, how is your knockoff Bifrost research with Dr. Richards going?"

"It’s nearly complete. We successfully teleported to the moon last month."

Wang Bert sneered. "How far off were you?"

Tony chuckled. "Not much. Just a few hundred kilometers."

"And you call that not much? There can’t be the slightest deviation, or you might end up stuck inside the ground."

Wang Bert said irritably, "Keep researching."

"I’ll keep researching even if you don’t tell me to."

Tony said, "By the way, over the past half year or so, we dug up a large amount of deuterium on the moon. The new energy source can more or less be rolled out now."

"Don’t rush. Use it as leverage to make the other countries agree to establish the Earth Federation."

Tony nodded. "They do need some pressure. Otherwise, who knows how long they’ll keep arguing."

"It won’t be easy. It will take at least a few years."

Wang Bert smiled. "By the way, in a few days, I’m going to Asgard to discuss the Convergence with Odin. Want to come?"

"Meeting the All-Father? Bert, it feels like you’re operating at a very high level now."

Tony said, "I’m in. It’s a good chance to let Ivan see my new suit. I designed it specifically for him. But I can’t stay too long. Too many things on Earth depend on me."

"He also designed a Magic Suit specifically for you."

Wang Bert burst out laughing. "Don’t worry. I’ll carry you back when the time comes."

"A Magic Suit?"

Tony was stunned, then said stubbornly, "Hmph, who’s afraid of whom? I’m hanging up. I’m busy over here."