"There is no need to be so polite. You are the mortal that Thor mentioned, Li Yue of Midgard?" Odin waved his hand, dismissing Li Yue's formality. His left eye gazed firmly at Li Yue, peering right inside Li Yue's body.
But even someone of Odin's caliber could not find anything unusual about Li Yue's body. Li Yue's physical fitness was relatively strong, but it wasn't even worth mentioning for Odin.
(Ancient One only discovered Li Yue's spatial energy because Li Yue once crossed dimensions in front of her.)
"Yes, I am Li Yue! Please forgive me for taking the liberty to visit Asgard on my own, Allfather," Li Yue replied, his tone reverent.
Li Yue looked at the person sitting on Asgard's opulent throne. The man had white hair and a thick beard, with a black eyepatch covering the man's right eye. He looked like an old man in his twilight years. It was hard to believe that this man was the master of the nine realms, Odin the Allfather.
"I heard from Thor that you can also control the power of thunder? Is that true?"
"Yes, I can indeed control thunder. I didn't expect to be able to lift Thor's hammer when I tried, but after I lifted it and got struck by lightning, I gained the power to control thunder and lightning.
"For some reason, I lost the ability to lift the hammer again, but my ability to control thunder and lightning didn't disappear," Li Yue answered Odin's question, gesturing at Mjolnir in the grinning God of Thunder's hand.
Li Yue's recounting of the events was only half true. He had indeed been able to lift the Mjolnir, but it was only by using the energy in the sky of his soul.
Odin fell into deep thought after hearing Li Yue's answer. Li Yue must be talking about the situation Odin sensed back then, and the reason that Li Yue couldn't lift the hammer anymore must be Odin's intervention.
Thor's expression changed after he heard Li Yue's story. This was the first time he heard of someone other than Odin and himself who could lift the Mjolnir hammer.
Thor was understandably surprised. He almost questioned Li Yue about it right there and then, but they were in Odin's audience hall, and Odin was present. Thor felt that the timing was inappropriate.
The trip to Earth had allowed Thor to grow quite a bit. His recklessness was especially toned down; before his trip to Earth, Thor wouldn't have cared about the occasion and pulled Li Yue for a public interrogation.
The grown Thor had learned how to control his emotions better. He was still playful and relatively childish, but at the very least, he understood the respect he must show for his father, Odin.
...
"I believe that your power over thunder had come from the enchanted Mjolnir, but how did you know that Thor is the God of Thunder and about our Asgard?" Odin asked with a serious expression after pondering for more than ten seconds.
Odin's voice was not particularly loud, but it carried power. Li Yue felt an invisible pressure on his body.
Odin's left eye stared at Li Yue; it was as if he wanted to see through Li Yue.
"I am not a person of this universe. I had arrived in this universe by accident. I don't know why, but I was swept into the long river of time, allowing me to see many things that had happened and will happen in this universe, including about Asgard!"
Despite Odin's terrifying pressure, Li Yue displayed no discomfort. He had neutralized the Allfather's power with the blue energy inside his mind.
Li Yue used the same excuse he had made up. It didn't matter if others believed it or not; Li Yue himself had already believed it!
...
"These words are too ridiculous. I cannot accept your story." Odin's maintained his expression. He clearly didn't believe Li Yue's answer.
"This is the truth, regardless of what the Allfather believes. I had seen what would happen to Asgard, and I wished to make a deal with its king. That was why I had come to Asgard!" Li Yue didn't explain any further and instead proposed his deal to Odin.
"Oh? A deal? What can you give? And what will you ask?" Odin asked Li Yue, who was interested in the offer.
"I had seen some of Asgard's future. I will exchange this information for some of your collections!" Li Yue carefully picked his words, showing no weakness but not patronizing.
Thor was shocked by Li Yue's proposal. He didn't expect Li Yue to be so greedy as to bargain for his father's collection. The treasures in Odin's vault were all powerful divine artifacts obtained from his father's conquest of the nine worlds. What kind of information could have such great value?
"Hahaha! This was the first time that someone had dared to negotiate such a deal with me. I hope that your information is worth the price of my collection."
Odin didn't know whether he was angry or amused by Li Yue's words, but a trace of a smile actually surfaced from his serious face.
"Of course, it would be worth it. It was about the Twilight of the Gods that would soon descend on Asgard, the Goddess of Death Hela, whom you know very well, breaking through her seal, and Thanos, who slaughtered his way across the universe..."
Odin's face froze. An unbelievably powerful aura exploded from him, enveloping all of Asgard.
Odin was the most surprised when Li Yue mentioned Hela. Very few people knew about her, and virtually all of them had died long ago. The name Hela was a name Odin didn't want to hear.
Odin's appearance as an old man dissolved under his immense power. To Li Yue, Odin appeared as an apex predator, a fierce tiger descending from the mountain on a powerless mortal.
The surge of aura only lasted for less than a second before it disappeared. It lasted for such a short moment that the other residents of Asgard almost thought that they were hallucinating, but the immense power still left a deep impression on them. It was as if they were staring at death itself.
The people inside Odin's palace had no such doubt. At such close range, it was impossible to mistake the irresistible pressure for anything but Odin's power.
Thor had thought he had grown in strength and become very powerful, but the momentary glimpse of his father's aura made him realize that there was still an impassably great distance between him and his father.
...
"Father, what is the Twilight of the Gods? Why would it descend on Asgard? And who are Hela and Thanos?"
Odin's display of power had intimidated Thor, but Thor's curiosity had overcome him. He couldn't control his feelings after he saw his father's reaction to Li Yue's words.
"Frigga, would you take Thor away? I want to speak in private with Li Yue," Odin spoke to his wife instead of answering Thor.
As Odin's wife, Frigga naturally understood Odin's intent. It was clear that these matters were not for Thor to know.
"Thor, would you accompany your mother for a stroll?" Frigga stood up and walked to Thor's side before taking his arms and bringing him out of the audience chamber.
Thor was reluctant to leave, but he couldn't resist his mother. He helplessly followed his mother out of the palace.
"Now, Li Yue, let's discuss this deal of yours!" Odin said in a low voice, turning his attention back to Li Yue after making sure his wife had taken Thor away.
...