Wanda's combat intelligence needs no further discussion. Even a warrior like Thor can't get close to her, let alone a mage like Loki, despite his being a tank-mage.
However, compared to the future's top mages in the Nine Realms, Loki's current level is merely intermediate.
His close combat skills are quite good, but Wanda didn't give Loki any chance to approach her, bombarding him continuously and forcing him to dodge frantically.
The fight turned into a survival game.
Thus, the battle ended quickly. Wanda summoned binding chains, tying Loki up tightly. This binding magic, specially modified by Bi Xiao, had multiple magical imprints on each chain, capable of restraining even Hell lords, let alone Loki.
Loki was covered in scars, his once handsome and pale face now full of dust, making him look so pitiful that even Thor felt a pang of heartache.
But after all, it was a battle. Thor himself had experienced worse outcomes fighting Pietro and Wanda.
Despite the heartache, Thor acted nonchalant, believing that scars were a warrior's greatest honor and badge.
Moreover, Loki wasn't dead. With his strong physique, he would recover in a few days.
Wanda descended from the air, withdrew the binding magic, and the mirror dimension returned to the manor. Bi Xiao, sitting leisurely on the sofa, watched everyone. Though he hadn't entered the mirror dimension, he knew exactly what happened inside.
Seeing Loki's state, he wasn't surprised.
"So, this is your recent training? I'd call it getting beaten up." Loki brushed the dirt off his body, looking like a refugee.
Loki gave Thor an annoyed look, then glanced at the little witch sitting beside Bi Xiao, being patted on the head and looking obedient, with disbelief in his eyes.
Although Thor had warned him about the twins' terrifying strength, he hadn't expected the Midgard woman to be so powerful. He had always been confident in his abilities, thinking himself the strongest in Asgard aside from the gods and Thor.
This time, his pride was shattered by a girl from a primitive world.
He couldn't even be angry because in Asgard, losing one's temper over a duel was considered disgraceful. Thus, despite losing, Loki accepted it with composure.
"You know, Loki, we grew up getting beaten up, this is no different."
Thor shrugged.
"But she's ridiculously strong, and that power..." Loki looked at the girl. He hadn't expected Thor to fight such a monster, explaining his rapid growth.
He recognized the energy within Wanda.
It was one of the universe's most powerful forces, Chaos Magic.
Even in his understanding, such power was top-tier in the universe. He never expected the host of Chaos Magic to be a girl from a primitive world.
"Yes, she surpasses many mages and is still very young."
Thor leaned back on the sofa.
Loki nodded and glanced at Pietro, the white-haired kid praised by Thor, knowing that if the girl was this strong, the boy must be equally formidable.
It was unbelievable that Midgard had such exceptional warriors.
And there were two of them.
No wonder they were nurtured by someone as strong as his father Odin.
Loki looked at Bi Xiao, realizing that both Wanda and Pietro's strength must have been due to this seemingly young man.
"Wanda," Bi Xiao ignored Loki, considering him unworthy of attention.
Allowing Loki to join was because he could be a worthy opponent for Wanda, which could stimulate her rapid growth.
Loki's potential was undeniable.
Additionally, having Loki and Thor as sparring partners also sent a friendly signal to Odin, indicating that Bi Xiao expected Odin to pay a corresponding price.
This price was something Bi Xiao wanted.
"From the details of the battle, your combat style is a mess," Wanda, prompted by Bi Xiao, began critiquing Loki without mercy. "Your main tactics are a combination of magic and melee, but both are mediocre."
"You want to integrate your style, but both aspects are quite weak."
After being criticized by Wanda, Loki initially became angry out of pride, but his anger soon turned into contemplation.
This was because his opponent had easily defeated him in battle, even though she came from a backward civilization and was just a teenager. Strength is strength, regardless of lineage or age.
His opponent was stronger, so her critique humbled Loki.
Moreover, he knew that this was Bishaw hinting at his shortcomings. One must recognize their limitations, and Loki understood this, so he nodded, "So, you think I should focus on one direction?"
"That's up to you."
Wanda shook her head, "I'm just saying that you should excel in magic rather than becoming a warrior like Thor."
"If you only want to be a warrior, you'll never be able to defeat me or Thor. Your future ceiling is already predictable."
"So I should focus on magic?"
"It's your best choice. Your combat intelligence is high. Although you were beaten badly by me in the mirror dimension, you still managed to hold out for a long time due to your adept use of magic."
Wanda pointed out Loki's strengths.
She then asked curiously, "Logically, your talent in magic shouldn't be bad. But you only know so little magic?"
From the start of the fight, Wanda noticed Loki's use of magic was quite rudimentary, with only a few spells executed proficiently.
"Asgardian warriors value bravery, you understand? Brave warriors."
Loki blushed and emphasized.
Was it that he didn't want to learn magic? No, it was just that in Asgard, few liked to use magic. They preferred charging at the enemy and cutting off heads with their weapons.
Thor was revered because he always led the charge into enemy ranks, swinging his hammer to crush his foes.
Such bravery inspired the troops.
In Asgard, Loki was influenced by this trend. If he wanted to be king, he couldn't hide behind magic.
He needed the Asgardians' favor.
"But isn't the goal of battle to win?" Wanda was puzzled. What does bravery have to do with it if you can win the war? On the battlefield, whether through hand-to-hand combat or magic, participation is participation. Isn't that brave enough?
Thor coughed awkwardly.
This seemed like an open diss. He wanted to defend Loki, but Wanda's next sentence silenced him completely.
"And the bravest warrior still gets beaten. He was brave enough," Wanda said seriously, pointing at Thor, "but he couldn't get within 300 meters of me the whole time."
"So what's the use of bravery if it doesn't win battles?"
"Or does Asgard discriminate against mages?"
Thor was at a loss for words. Despite being Asgard's bravest warrior, he felt quite helpless against this little mage.
Loki, however, brightened up. He glanced at Thor, thinking how his noble brother, who always boasted in front of him, also faced setbacks.
Realizing this, Loki straightened up. He knew that as long as he could achieve the same results as Thor, any method was good. Bravery didn't suit him; he was born to be a mage.
"So what should I do?"
Loki asked respectfully.
"Expand your magic knowledge. You know very little magic, and most of it is not mastered. That's a flaw. You need to learn more magic, connect them, and form your own combat style. And to do that," Wanda smiled brightly, "just keep fighting strong opponents."
She puffed out her chest, signaling that she was that strong opponent and would "help" him well.
Beating up two Asgardian princes, two mythical gods, felt wonderful. Plus, she found Loki somewhat annoying, so having a legitimate reason to fight him was quite satisfying.
Loki didn't expect such a cute little witch to have such a ruthless idea.
He was thoughtful, determined. With Thor racing ahead on the path to growth, he couldn't stagnate. He had to keep up with Thor, or his chances of claiming the throne would diminish.
If he couldn't catch up with Thor on one track, he might as well switch tracks.
In the past, he could use various spells to toy with Thor. If he could master more magic, he would still be able to toy with or even defeat his brute of a brother.
Moreover, the powerful spells Wanda uses in combat seem like devastating weapons on the battlefield, capable of quickly wiping out enemies more efficiently than Thor.
Thinking of this, Loki looked at Wanda, his eyes flickering.
Seeing this, Wanda immediately shook her head like a rattle: "I won't teach you magic, and my magic is all related to chaos magic, so it won't be very useful to you."
Wanda's words were half-true. Her magic was all improved and taught by Bi Xiao, and they both had a shared lineage of power, making it easy for her to use.
However, if taught to Loki, he would still need to adapt it himself. It's not as simple as changing an engine in a car to make it run.
Loki wasn't disappointed. He was just thinking instinctively. While Asgard may not have many mages, it doesn't lack magic. Over countless years, Asgard has defeated many opponents, including mages, and the spoils of war contain a lot of magic.
Determined to take a different path, Loki earnestly expressed his gratitude to Wanda and Bi Xiao.
He wasn't foolish. Whether it was Bi Xiao, who was already a big shot, or Wanda, who would inevitably become one, it was essential to show goodwill and at least improve his standing with them.
Otherwise, how could he receive guidance in the future?
Having originally been full of caution, Loki now became cheerful. However, after watching the battle between Thor and Pietro, he quickly became serious again.
The destructive power displayed in this battle, along with certain details, weighed heavily on Loki.
It hadn't been long, yet the power, speed, and rapidly improving techniques Thor showed in full battle made Loki gape. He asked himself, how long could he last against Thor?
It was an answer Loki did not want to acknowledge.
Thus, Loki finally realized the harsh reality: he was far behind Thor.
If he was behind, he needed to catch up.
For the throne.
To prove to Odin and Asgard that he was superior to Thor.
Bi Xiao hadn't noticed Loki's determined face. Even if he did, he wouldn't care. Constantly comparing himself to Thor and falling short was typical of Loki in the early stages.
There's no way around it; Loki was just a clown in the early stages.
But Bi Xiao did not doubt Loki's talent for magic, though it wasn't enough to make him pay special attention. He was more focused on the golden life essence of the Celestial he had finally started to decipher.
As initially speculated, this essence was preparing to transform his genes towards those of the Celestials.
No surprise, even without killing to enhance his power, in the coming period, as his genes were fully transformed into Celestial genes, his strength would soar rapidly and some knowledge inherent in these genes would be unlocked.
Mastering the knowledge within the Celestial genes would establish his identity as a Celestial.
This discovery led Bi Xiao to a choice: to remove these genes.
These genes were beneficial to other humans, as human gene sequences already contain deeply hidden Celestial genes, a remnant of ancient Celestial experiments on Earth.
Humans, Inhumans, mutants, Skrulls, and Eternals all share a small segment of these genes.
The genes of the Celestial Tiamut are pure Celestial genes. Being injected with these genes would cause anyone to take off instantly.
But for Bi Xiao, it was entirely different. Being transformed into a Celestial, bearing that identity, would likely saddle him with Celestial duties and tasks.
Bi Xiao did not want to be restricted. Although this essence could rapidly enhance his power, the drawbacks were unnecessary for him.
Even without this benefit, his ability to grow stronger by killing meant his growth rate would not be slow.
It was utterly useless.
However, the knowledge within the Celestial genes piqued Bi Xiao's curiosity.
Removing Tiamut's golden essence wasn't difficult. In the past, he might not have been able to prevent it, but now, such a process was quite easy for him.
Soon, a ball of golden energy formed in Bi Xiao's hand.
The energy was bright and emitted an irresistible allure.
"I hope it won't disappoint me."
...
As 2006 approached, what should have been a peaceful year was disrupted by a few events.
The Hulk was born.
During a military reverse engineering of a supergene serum, a scientist named Bruce Banner injected the serum and underwent massive gamma radiation testing, transforming him into a huge green monster over two meters tall.
With superhuman strength, speed, and defense, the Hulk's birth even resulted in Bruce Banner's girlfriend Betty being hospitalized.
What should have been an accident turned into something else, as Betty's father, General Ross, saw the Hulk as the perfect battlefield weapon and sought to capture Bruce Banner to extract genes for more super-serum.
However, during a crucial moment of capture, Bruce Banner turned into the Hulk and escaped from General Ross's soldiers.
General Ross, furious, deployed a large army to hunt him down, bringing the Hulk into the sights of another group.
~~~
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— Completed (Chapter 277: Finale)