"Thank you for the reminder, Master Ancient One."
Bi Xiao gratefully accepted the gesture. He was not one to be unappreciative. On the path of magical knowledge, he was a complete novice and certainly wouldn't question the credibility of Master Ancient One in this field.
Master Ancient One nodded with a smile.
Subsequently, she formally began to teach some precautions about magic.
Bi Xiao noted each point diligently, and after finishing his tea and bidding farewell to Master Ancient One, he eagerly headed to the library.
The guardian was not the Asian, portly sorcerer from his memories but rather an old, white-haired, taciturn sorcerer. Having received authorization from Master Ancient One, Bi Xiao was free to enter and leave the library. He didn't reach for the high-level magic books but started from the very basic spells.
He thoroughly mastered these spells from the ground up, laying a foundation for the magic he planned to create later.
...
Time flew by, and two years passed with the seasons changing.
During these two years, Earth was relatively calm, but some observant people noticed that a particularly unique individual had settled down.
That was Bi Xiao.
Bi Xiao's notorious name as a "Butcher" was clear to some. The fact that he had bought a villa in Long Island, New York, was also known to others.
This included a certain snake—Hydra. Since learning of the existence of the butcher Bi Xiao, they had covertly initiated a plan against him under extremely secretive conditions.
This was particularly challenging because Nick Fury himself was exceptionally capable, arguably the most adept leader since the establishment of S.H.I.E.L.D.
It was immensely difficult for the Hydra within to deceive Nick Fury and plant spies around people he was very concerned about.
Still, they managed to accomplish this after much time and effort.
What baffled Hydra most was that after convincing and successfully brainwashing two maids to spy on Bi Xiao, the butcher, nothing followed.
To their astonishment, all Hydra agents involved in this operation died within a day, in various ways—jumping from buildings, drowning in rivers, being hit by cars, overeating until their stomachs burst, and so forth.
This immediately drew significant attention from Hydra, given that these were also S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. The death of so many agents in one day inevitably caught Nick Fury's high attention, and it took a considerable amount of resources and high-ranking involvement to suppress this matter.
A secretive investigation into this bizarre event followed, but it led to no results. However, the connections were too 'obvious'—everything pointed to the butcher Bi Xiao.
But they didn't know what means Bi Xiao had used.
Revenge? That was impossible. If they retaliated against someone under Nick Fury's close watch, they would expose themselves. Whether they could succeed in killing him was another matter, and it might even lead to Nick Fury fully reclaiming the butcher.
Unable to act, Hydra had no choice but to pretend the incident never happened.
Bi Xiao appeared and disappeared mysteriously, now in his estate, now mysteriously gone, as Hydra simply chose to ignore his existence.
And the source of all this, of course, was Bi Xiao himself.
As for Bi Xiao, he was currently in the world of the Mirror Dimension.
He was dressed in a simple, red jacket, white shirt, and black, tousled hair, as usual, his tall figure standing proudly against the sky.
Compared to two years ago, his features had become even more refined.
The transformation at the level of life had gradually brought his physical appearance towards its most perfect stage, with ideal proportions of height and facial features, and flawless, smooth skin.
At this moment, suspended high in the sky, he looked down like a deity.
On the ground, a gigantic Lava Demon, over five hundred meters tall, emerged and roared furiously at Bi Xiao in the sky.
"Damn sorcerer, I will tear you apart!"
"OK, OK, I know, but before you tear me apart, try this thing I created."
With these casual words, Bi Xiao's pupils gleamed with a golden light.
In an instant, magical power surged, and behind him, a space appeared, forming a giant golden wall pattern connected by golden magic circles turning into vortexes.
Various weapons slowly floated out of the golden vortexes, each imbued with tremendous power.
The originally arrogant Lava Demon's visage visibly stilled in confusion.
"Huh?"
The lava demon instinctively emitted a sound of soulful puzzlement.
Then, its massive body trembled as it sensed danger, an extremely terrifying danger.
At this moment, the Lava Demon suddenly regretted why it had smuggled itself to Earth.
And why it had encountered such a terrifying sorcerer.
Bi Xiao, with one hand on his waist, paid no attention to the Lava Demon below, already scared stupid. His figure, backlit by dazzling golden light, appeared sacred and majestic. Squinting his eyes in pleasure, his right hand made a gentle downward sweep.
Boom!
As his palm swung down, the weapons, trailing long golden tails, fell like meteors toward the ground, targeting the lava demon.
By the time the Lava Demon recovered from its stupor, it was too late to dodge or defend.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Loud explosions resonated, accompanied by faint screams, as the earth was thoroughly purged, with golden mushroom clouds erupting from the ground, spreading terror with each blast.
The terrifying tremors caused the world of the Mirror Dimension to shake as if it was about to shatter.
The air on the ground twisted and inverted, pure destruction ravaging everything, devouring the Lava Demon's body and soul.
The most terrifying aspect was the unending emergence of weapons from the golden vortexes behind Bi Xiao.
Like a torrential downpour, the barrage continued for a full minute before slowly ceasing, leaving behind a shockingly ravaged landscape as the fierce storm of explosions faded.