Old Wang, the Master Key

Feuerstein Base.

Skye stared unblinkingly at the sixteen computer screens before her.

The densely packed windows displayed real-time surveillance of all the main streets in Hell’s Kitchen, as well as the inside of that skyscraper.

Hundreds of green and red dots flashed constantly.

Green represented allies; red represented enemies.

The sea of red dots was dwindling, the crimson field turning lush green, yet that lone yellow dot had long since vanished.

"Wang, are you okay…?"

"You absolutely can’t let anything happen to you. Other than the parents I have no memory of at all, you’re my only family…"

Skye drifted into a daze when Elektra’s voice suddenly came through her headset, weary but carrying a hint of relief. "Everyone, Beast has been killed by Master Wang. We won! Matt, Teacher, I’m coming to support you now."

Skye froze for two seconds.

Then she suddenly leaned back.

A springlike smile spread across her face.

"I knew you could do it, my Wang!"

Underground area.

The corpses of The Hand’s members lay scattered everywhere, like crayfish arranged on a platter. In the very center lay The Hand’s Four Fingers, lined up neatly like steamed crabs tied together in the middle of the plate.

They might have been delicious to Beast, but Old Wang clearly had no interest.

Even after earning the "A Bite of World of Warcraft" achievement and eating his way across Azeroth, Outland, Argus, and several other planets, Old Wang had never laid a hand on Pandaren.

Well, roasted quail had been quite fragrant. Now that he thought about it, he rather missed it…

With a casual wave, he stored the four corpses in the Heart of Azeroth, then walked to the stone prison sealing Iron Fist and reached out.

He had only observed it in soul form before and had not made any intimate physical contact with it. Old Wang’s preliminary judgment was that to break this seal, one either had to be Iron Fist or possess power great enough to overwhelm the seal—

Perhaps power on the level of Hulk or Thor.

His rosy palm pressed against the stone prison, and a stream of True Qi flowed into it.

Countless runes lit up.

The similar yet different True Qi resisted Old Wang’s intrusion like a young girl home alone. His green True Qi could not penetrate it at all, only flowing along the stone prison’s surface before being blocked by the runes.

The resistance was immense.

"Interesting." Old Wang withdrew his hand.

He was the greatest Grandmaster Monk in the history of World of Warcraft, the "god" in the hearts of all Monks. His status even surpassed Emperor Shaohao’s, placing him on equal footing with the four August Celestials. His mastery and understanding of True Qi far exceeded anyone else’s.

All True Qi came from life itself. At its core, it was life energy.

That was why True Qi of different attributes could be converted into one another.

Pandaren True Qi was primarily green, the color representing life, but Pandaren abilities were not limited to that alone.

Using True Qi as a foundation, they could draw upon all kinds of other energies, much like the cultivators of legend used their own spiritual power to command the vital energies of heaven and earth.

Brewmasters and Windwalkers were better at harnessing "energy" that likewise came from life itself, while Mistweavers resembled druids and excelled at manipulating natural magic.

Sufficiently powerful Monk masters could even manipulate elemental power—earth, fire, water, wind, and the "fifth element," the soul.

Even True Qi itself was completely different for different Monks.

The Earth-Water School’s True Qi was gentler and more profound, while the Fire-Gold School’s was fiercer and more explosive.

The Monks of the Temple of the Jade Serpent carried endless vitality in their True Qi. Those from the Temple of the Red Crane incorporated the passion and liveliness of Elemental Fire. The True Qi of Temple of the White Tiger Monks was more lethal, while Temple of the Black Ox Monks were better at defense.

Old Wang belonged to neither school nor temple.

As Azeroth’s only Grandmaster proficient in all three disciplines, Old Wang was more accustomed to using the purest, unaligned True Qi, but he could make fine adjustments whenever he wished.

Disguising himself as a member of the Earth-Water School or Fire-Gold School was as easy to him as eating or sleeping.

And what he needed to do now was imitate the "power of Iron Fist" flowing continuously through the stone prison.

The stone prison was a lock, and Iron Fist was a key.

The original key was naturally the best, but as long as another key fit, it could still open the lock. Fluttering flags were adorable, and roadside wildflowers could be picked too.

Old Wang was a master key.

Iron Fist’s True Qi came from the divine dragon Shou-Lao.

This Immortal Dragon unique to the Marvel Universe resembled the divine dragons of Chinese legend and the Azure Dragon Yu’lon among the August Celestials, but it was absolutely not the same.

A postdoctoral scholar might be able to pass as an ordinary college student, but an ordinary college student could never pass as a postdoctoral scholar, even if he had a doctorate.

An ordinary Monk’s True Qi was far too low in quality to imitate the high-grade power of Iron Fist, but Old Wang was no ordinary Monk.

His level was higher than that of an Immortal Dragon.

A full half hour passed.

Old Wang continuously changed his posture and position as ever-changing True Qi launched assaults on the stone prison. Countless runes flickered like a shy maiden’s gaze, surging with the power of Iron Fist, resisting yet welcoming him in.

In and out, back and forth.

After hundreds upon thousands of probes, Old Wang finally found the stone prison’s G-spot.

The key slid into the keyhole, and the young girl home alone blushed crimson.

Then he smiled.

He raised his hand and gently patted the stone prison, just as he had stroked the Green Dragon Queen’s smooth back after the candlelight went out that night.

Time seemed to stop at that instant.

The next moment, Old Wang heard a sound like Black Dragon Wrathion cracking out of his shell.

A tiny crack appeared in the stone prison.

Then it continued to spread and branch.

Before long, the entire stone prison was covered in tens of millions of cracks.

Amid a series of deafening booms,

the entire stone prison completely collapsed.

The enormous stone prison, one hundred meters long and wide and over thirty meters tall, vanished. The power of Iron Fist and divine dragon power that had accumulated for who knew how many hundreds or thousands of years completely dissipated in an instant, pouring out in all directions.

The ground trembled faintly.

The dust quickly dispersed.

A massive, winding bone dragon appeared before Old Wang.

Inside the building.

"It’s finally over!"

After taking down the last member of The Hand, Black Widow leaned against the wall and gasped for breath as the image of a slightly plump figure surfaced in her mind.

"Master Wang, Immortal Iron Fist…"

Suddenly, the entire building began to shake.

But it only lasted a few seconds before everything returned to calm.

"Another shallow earthquake?"

Black Widow’s beautiful eyes narrowed as deep confusion rose within her.

What exactly had happened?

Could it be…

Master Wang again?

The top floor of the building.

The swaying building settled down. Under Stick and Elektra’s watchful eyes, Matt tilted his head and listened.

Every sound was filtered, processed, and integrated by his brain and nerves, ultimately forming clear yet abstract images in his mind.

A full three minutes passed.

He nodded gently, his voice filled with immense shock. "He succeeded. He opened the seal you mentioned."

The tension in Stick’s nerves finally eased, and the last trace of doubt in his heart vanished completely. "That’s right. He is the Immortal Iron Fist!"