Chapter Forty-Five: Mordo’s Doubts

The Supreme Sorcerer smiled sincerely, as if to convey that she was not some lofty deity. As Yang Xin beheld her stunning, gentle smile, lines from the Han Dynasty poet Li Yannian’s ode to beauty inexplicably surfaced in his mind:

“There is a lady in the north, unparalleled and alone;
One smile topples a city, another smile topples a nation;
But who knows, once the city and nation are fallen,
Such beauty will never be found again…”

Baron Mordo, too, stared blankly at Master Ancient One. In his memory, she had never smiled like this.

At this moment, the Supreme Sorcerer sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed, waves of energy surging around her. In an instant, Baron Mordo’s expression changed dramatically; he sensed a thick, dark power emanating from Ancient One, as if this intense darkness sought to escape from her body.

Yet Ancient One became a vortex, and within a few breaths, absorbed every trace of darkness. Then, she opened her eyes.

“Sharingan!” Natasha suddenly rose to her feet.

Natasha had seen Nick Fury’s Sharingan more than once, but now, Ancient One’s eyes had also transformed into the Sharingan. First, her eyes displayed the single tomoe Sharingan, which rapidly evolved.

Two tomoe, three tomoe, Mangekyo, Eternal Mangekyo, Rinnegan, then Rinnegan morphing into Byakugan, and finally Tenseigan…

Yang Xin was not surprised by Ancient One’s transformation. Who was she, after all? The Supreme Sorcerer! Earth’s foremost mage! Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Obito, the Sage of Six Paths, Kaguya Otsutsuki—all of them were insignificant before her.

Even the strongest, Kaguya Otsutsuki, only stirred trouble in the Land of Wa. Ancient One could traverse the multiverse long ago. The gap between them was beyond mere words.

“I wonder, what effects would these ninja arts have in the hands of the Supreme Sorcerer? Would a C-rank Fireball Jutsu be enough to destroy a small country?” Yang Xin mused.

“So this is chakra? Such an exquisite cultivation law—three channels, seven wheels.” Ancient One felt the power within her, then turned to Yang Xin with a gentle smile. “Would you like to become my first Ninja Sect leader?”

Yang Xin laughed wildly in his heart. “Heavens above, earth below, which goddess has finally given me this justice? Sharingan, Rinnegan, Tenseigan—I want them all! All those dazzling, world-shattering ninja arts! This wretched treasure system finally did something right. No, it’s thanks to Ancient One’s vast wisdom—no wonder she’s the Supreme Sorcerer…”

Suppressing his excitement with great willpower, Yang Xin pretended to ponder deeply, then nodded calmly.

Ancient One smiled, touched Yang Xin’s brow, and he felt a surging power enter his body, his soul seeming to ascend to new heights.

Page 1/3

Yang Xin immediately closed his eyes, then snapped them open. “Sharingan!”

But he found no change in his vision. Where was the promised heightened perception and insight? He quickly pulled a mirror from his dimensional pocket, only to see his eyes were still black, not the crimson Sharingan.

“I merely gave you a seed of the divine tree,” Ancient One said with a smile.

“It’s more than just a divine tree seed…” Yang Xin muttered inwardly. As Ancient One touched his brow, the treasure system activated, randomly selecting a skill: Supreme Sorcerer’s potential.

This random selection, like the seed granted by Ancient One, wouldn’t yield immediate combat power, but it pointed out a path for the future.

The future held promise.

How powerful was the Supreme Sorcerer? The ability to traverse multiverses alone spoke volumes. And Yang Xin’s future would only surpass hers, never fall short.

Yang Xin was very satisfied. The remaining task was to take steady steps on the path of cultivation. As for the Avengers, he felt he had already helped enough; the crops had been harvested, and whatever was left, surely the Avengers could manage. It was time to strengthen himself.

“I wonder if I am fortunate enough to formally enter the Supreme Sorcerer’s tutelage?” Yang Xin asked.

“So your ambitions are not small? A Ninja Sect leader isn’t enough for you,” Ancient One remarked, slightly surprised.

“There’s nothing else—I simply cherish my life.”

Are the top-tier powerhouses of the Naruto world strong? Certainly, or there wouldn’t be sayings like, ‘First came Madara, then came heaven; Eight Gates kicks gods.’ But their strength is confined to that world, while Yang Xin aimed to traverse all worlds. To him, merely becoming a Ninja Sect leader was not enough.

His plan was to build a foundation with the myriad, unpredictable ninja arts—for defense or escape—and to rely on the Supreme Sorcerer’s spells for offense. In Yang Xin’s view, the offensive ceiling of ninja arts paled in comparison to the Supreme Sorcerer’s magic.

Hence his question.

Page 2/3

“In that case, become my disciple,” Ancient One said calmly. “This is my senior disciple Mordo; you may address him as Brother Mordo.”

“Greetings, Brother Mordo,” Yang Xin said, bowing respectfully.

But Mordo did not respond, as if he hadn’t seen Yang Xin at all, staring at Ancient One with incredulity.

“Master! Why do you possess Dormammu’s power?” Baron Mordo’s face was taut, jaw clenched as he spat out each word.

Yang Xin exhaled deeply; the worry he felt had come to pass. Baron Mordo was extremely rigid. Once he accepted a rule, anyone who broke it was guilty. If someone behaved contrary to his principles, even his master would be condemned.

Yang Xin could not understand why Ancient One insisted on transforming the dark power into chakra before Mordo, instead of doing it alone. But seeing Ancient One’s smiling, hopeful gaze, he understood—she hoped to use him to change Mordo’s perspective.

Yang Xin felt a headache coming. The hardest thing in the world was to change someone’s worldview. In “Nezha,” Shen Gongbao once said, “The prejudice in people’s hearts is a mountain; no matter how hard you try, you cannot move it.”

“Brother Mordo, do you believe it’s unforgivable for Master to use the power of darkness? Even if she uses it against Dormammu?”

“Brother Mordo, do you know that power is simply power; it has no inherent morality. It’s the user who defines good and evil. If someone uses dark power to do good, can you call them wicked?”

“If someone wields light and commits heinous crimes, are they still righteous in your eyes?”

Yang Xin tried to persuade him, but seeing Mordo’s stubborn expression, he knew his words were futile. In Mordo’s eyes, Yang Xin was now in the same camp as Ancient One.

Yang Xin was speechless. With someone as hardheaded as Mordo, even beating him wouldn’t make him accept your view; the more you fight, the more convinced he is of his own correctness.

“Master, could you seal Brother Mordo’s magic?” Yang Xin suddenly asked.

Page 3/3