In the courtyard of Kamar-Taj, snowflakes fell silently.
Stephen Strange, once a top neurosurgeon, now looked like a homeless vagrant.
His face was covered in stubble, his clothes were tattered, and his eyes held a mixture of final hope and profound doubt.
He looked at the Eastern man before him who claimed to be a friend of the Sorcerer Ancient One, then at Mage Russell, feeling like a Lunatic who had wandered onto a movie set.
"magic? Astral projection? The Multiverse?"
He tremblingly raised his hands.
"I've traveled halfway across the Earth and exhausted all my savings, and it wasn't to listen to you tell fairy tales!"
"What I need is science! Surgery! A method that can heal these hands!"
Lin Huai looked at him calmly, neither arguing nor explaining.
He simply pushed the cup of Darjeeling tea left by the Ancient One toward Strange.
"Since you don't believe it, then why did you come here?"
"I just... I just..."
Strange's words came to an abrupt halt.
Because he saw that under Lin Huai's gaze, the walls of the teacup before him began to turn transparent.
The tea inside twisted and restructured into an extremely detailed anatomical model of a pair of hands made of liquid.
Every nerve and every blood vessel was clearly visible, even pulsing slowly.
"This... this is..."
Strange's body jerked back, his mouth hanging open unconsciously, unable to make a sound.
The scene before him completely overturned all the scientific knowledge he had built up over thirty years.
Lin Huai ignored his shock, and the Infinity Gauntlet on his left hand glowed faintly.
The light of the Time Stone and the Reality Stone flashed and vanished.
Everything before his eyes began to change.
He saw himself standing at an operating table, using those steady and powerful hands to complete a craniotomy that could be called a work of art.
He saw himself driving a Lamborghini on a rainy night, plunging off a cliff.
He also saw himself waking up in a hospital bed, looking at those ruined hands fixed with steel pins, letting out a roar of despair.
Finally, he saw a completely different future.
A version of himself wearing robes with a Strange pendant hanging from his chest was floating in the cosmic sea of stars.
Behind him were thousands of collapsing Worlds.
With a boom, all the illusions vanished.
Strange gasped for air, his body soaked in cold sweat, looking at Lin Huai in terror.
"The Universe is much broader than your scalpel, Dr. Stephen Strange."
Lin Huai's calm voice smashed open a door to a new World for Strange.
"Your pride is your only chronic illness."
"The Sorcerer Ancient One saw your potential to save the World, which is why she opened this door for you."
"And I am only here to ensure her investment doesn't go to waste."
"The Sorcerer Ancient One has passed away. From today on, I will act as your mentor and accept you as a disciple of Kamar-Taj."
"If you are unwilling, you can leave right now."
Lin Huai stood up, giving Strange no chance to argue.
"Russell, Wong."
He looked at the two mages nearby.
"Prepare a super-intensive sprint study plan for our future Sorcerer Supreme, comparable to the hundred-day countdown for the Huaxia Gaokao."
"Your task is to monitor his progress; the main point is to not let him drop dead from overwork."
"I have slowed down time in this room. One year of study here is equivalent to ten years outside."
"Remember to teach the content of the Vishanti first, so he doesn't die of old age."
Russell and Wong's lips both twitched, but they ultimately bowed solemnly and accepted the order.
Lin Huai took one last look at the completely stunned Strange and opened a portal with the Space Stone.
"Remember, Strange. If you want to leave, tell Mage Russell."
"When science cannot explain everything you see, it is not the World that has gone mad, but your World that is too small."
With those words, he stepped into the portal and disappeared.
...
Avengers Tower.
Lin Huai took Banner, Steve, and Tony through a spatial portal, arriving directly at the rebuilding Asgard.
Though the Golden Palace was destroyed, the radiance of the World Tree still shrouded this divine realm.
Frigga, Thor, and Hela were already waiting at the end of the Bifrost Bridge.
The atmosphere between the siblings was still tense, but at least they hadn't started fighting directly.
"Mentor!"
Seeing Lin Huai, Thor acted as if he had found his pillar of support and quickly walked over to greet him.
Lin Huai skipped the pleasantries and spoke directly to Frigga.
"I have come here to say goodbye, and also to give a warning."
"I am going to take the initiative and head into deep space to prune Thanos's wings."
"While I am gone, you must guard Asgard well."
His sharp gaze swept over Thor and Hela.
"Thanos could send people to launch a sneak attack at any time. Put away those petty thoughts about the throne."
"If an enemy attacks, the two of you must join forces."
"If anyone dares to hold the other back at a critical moment and causes Asgard to fall, then regardless of who it is, they will no longer be qualified to talk about that throne."
Hearing this, Hela raised her chin proudly and just turned her head away, but she didn't argue.
Thor nodded vigorously, his expression serious.
"Thanos has already sent small units here a few times."
"It should be to rescue those two captives, but the most recent time was a month ago."
Hearing Thor's words, Lin Huai stroked his chin.
"Then I'll just take the people with me; perhaps they'll be useful when facing Thanos."
"You can also spread the word, but you still need to be careful; the dwarves are still there."
After receiving Frigga's permission, Lin Huai borrowed one of Asgard's fastest golden wing ships.
He took the trio of Avengers, along with the captured Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight, and turned into a streak of light, flying toward deep space.
Their goal was Xandar.
The golden wing ship turned into a streak of light and vanished into deep space.
...
At this time, in the outer space of Xandar,
A complete and utter massacre was taking place.
Ronan the Accuser's massive fleet hadn't even had time to launch an attack on Xandar.
They were precisely intercepted on the jump lane by an even larger dark fleet.
Countless Strange Q-ships, like sharks smelling blood, were frantically tearing through the Kree defenses.
On the bridge of the Dark Aster, the invincible Ronan the Accuser held his pride and joy, the Universal Weapon.
However, he was completely powerless before a thin, withered figure.
"Trash who defies the Master's will has no value in existing."
Invisible telekinetic power surged out like a tide, instantly crushing Ronan along with the throne behind him into cosmic dust.
"Clean up these small fry."
Beside Ebony Maw, another larger and more hideous figure, Black Dwarf, spoke in a muffled voice while shouldering a giant axe.
"Then, follow the Master's orders to purge Xandar and obtain the Power Stone."
"That thief is on Xandar.