Qin Xiao had no way to answer the two questions Gu Yi had asked.
All he could do was play dumb, staring blankly as he said,"I'm sorry… I don't really understand what you're talking about."
Inside his head, he was desperately calling out to the system.
"System! After time travel, my identity shouldn't have any problems, right? Why is the Ancient One saying I shouldn't exist? Do something—quick!"
The system completely ignored Qin Xiao's panic and instead carried on with its own internal process.
"Congratulations, Host! You have made contact with the Ancient Sorcerer Supreme and left a deep impression. You have been awarded 500 points.Detected that total accumulated points have exceeded 5,000.System upgrade in progress. Second-floor shop unlocked.Upgrade begins now!"
Then came a countdown:
47:59:59
"Hey! Hey!"
Qin Xiao shouted internally several more times, but the system remained locked in its countdown state.
"Damn it!"
Qin Xiao roared inwardly.
When he snapped back to reality, he realized that at some point Gu Yi had bent forward and was now standing directly in front of him.
Her face was so close to his that if their eyelashes were any longer, they would have touched.
"What—what are you doing?!"
Qin Xiao froze, then screamed and recoiled backward.
What was happening? What exactly was happening?Gu Yi was over a thousand years old—there was no way she had any inappropriate intentions toward him.
"Who were you talking to just now?"Gu Yi ignored his reaction and spoke to herself."I sensed an unstable mental state. It felt like you were communicating with someone… but there are only the two of us here. Strange."
Qin Xiao was horrified.
He knew the Ancient One was powerful, but he hadn't expected that even when communicating mentally with the system, she could sense it.
"I really didn't understand what you were saying earlier. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now!"
At this point, Gu Yi hadn't shown hostility, nor could Qin Xiao defeat her—and she might even glimpse his secret by accident.
All Qin Xiao wanted right now was to get the hell out of here.
Even for a split second, he regretted taking Thor's mission.Odin himself was a Skyfather-level being—who knew how many hidden methods people like that possessed?
If beings like them realized he didn't belong to this world, who knew what they might do?
Under such uncertain circumstances, Qin Xiao's instinct to retreat was absolutely correct.
Unfortunately, the difference in strength between them was far too great for him to simply leave.
"Interesting. Let me take a closer look myself."
Gu Yi muttered to herself.
The moment her words fell, her hands moved like lightning, pressing directly against Qin Xiao's forehead.
Qin Xiao's entire body went rigid.
It felt exactly like waking from a nightmare, aware but completely unable to move.
He knew where he was.He knew Gu Yi's hand was on him.His senses were perfectly clear—yet he couldn't move a single muscle.
"Damn it. They said with this system I'd be invincible. I'm not dying here today. If I'm going to die, let it be fighting some big villain like Thanos. Dying at Gu Yi's hands would be way too pointless. I surrender!"
He hadn't even spent the three billion yet.He hadn't even slept with Black Widow!
Qin Xiao couldn't even move his eyes—he could only scream internally, furious at how unfair this death would be.
Fortunately, Gu Yi only examined his soul and mental fluctuations.
The imprisoned sensation came quickly—and left just as fast.
Almost instantly, Qin Xiao regained control and collapsed weakly onto the sofa.
That feeling of having no control over his own body was deeply unpleasant.
Taking several deep breaths, Qin Xiao realized he could neither fight nor flee.
So he went all in.
"What exactly do you want?! If you want to talk, you pull me over, touch my head, and ask questions I don't understand. If you don't want to talk—then let's fight!"
Overexcited, Qin Xiao blurted this out in Chinese.
He never expected Gu Yi's verbal skills to surpass his own.
"Heh. You're not arrogant, nor are you impulsive. You're mysterious—full of secrets. I'll uncover them one by one, eventually."
She paused, then smiled.
"You want to fight me? Are you sure?"
When Gu Yi switched to Chinese, her demeanor changed entirely.She became quieter, more composed.
She calmly rolled up her sleeves.
With a casual flick of her right hand, a golden energy whip materialized.
Her left hand formed a seal, and a ring of green energy appeared around her wrist.
"Holy shit!"
Qin Xiao blurted it out instinctively.
He'd been in the Marvel universe for a while now, yet Captain America still hadn't gotten around to teaching him how to curse properly.
Gu Yi—identity aside—what are you hesitating for?The Time Stone should be your top priority. Why aren't you acting already?!
Although Qin Xiao had only seen the green energy ring on Gu Yi's wrist a few times in the movies, it had left a deep impression on him.
That was the Time Stone—one of the six Infinity Stones.
Whatever Qin Xiao was thinking, Gu Yi clearly noticed his reaction.
Hearing him swear, she gave him a meaningful smile.
Raising her left wrist, she said,"So… you really do understand the Time Stone."
Qin Xiao cursed himself inwardly.
At this point, the Infinity Stones were far too dangerous for him to deal with, and he'd spoken out of sheer panic.
If he continued pretending to know nothing now, he'd just be treating everyone like idiots.
Qin Xiao stiffened his neck.
"Do you know what makes the Time Stone truly terrifying?" he said."You think only you can foresee the future? Haven't you heard of the I Ching, the Eight Trigrams, the River Diagram, or the Luo Shu?"
"I did the calculations with my fingers—I knew five hundred years ago. I knew it five hundred years ago."
Watching Qin Xiao finally admit something—and then immediately start spouting nonsense—
Gu Yi smiled faintly, withdrew her energy, and said calmly,
"You're very good with words. Don't worry. I didn't find anything abnormal just now, so I won't force you to reveal your secret."
"However… your existence does violate the laws of the universe. And even—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
"Even what?" Qin Xiao asked cautiously.
Though Gu Yi had withdrawn her power, he still kept his distance, remaining on guard.
"If you don't reveal your secret, I'll keep it for you," Gu Yi said softly."But tell me, boy—are you interested in working with me?"
"Working together… how?"
Qin Xiao had no idea what Gu Yi was planning. Unease gnawed at him.
"I can't tell you what we'll be doing just yet," Gu Yi said, leaning back against the sofa with a smile."But are you interested in learning magic from me?"
"Why would I learn magic from you?"
Qin Xiao still stood behind the sofa.
Of course he was interested—if nothing else, portals alone were worth it.
But right now, he didn't trust her intentions. How could he agree so easily?
"Yes… why would you learn magic from me?" Gu Yi mused, stroking her chin.
Suddenly, both her hands formed seals.
The pendant on her chest began to glow green, slowly unfolding.
A brilliant emerald gem appeared in her right hand.
"Is that reason… enough?"
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