The Genie summoned by Jafar was puzzled. He had clearly warned Li Ming to be careful of Jafar, so how had Jafar still gotten the lamp? Wasn't this forcing him to oppose Li Ming?
It wasn't until Li Ming mentioned making a wish stronger than the Genie that the Genie widened his eyes and stared at Li Ming.
At this point, the Genie finally understood what Li Ming was planning.
He knew Li Ming wasn't just familiar with Genies—he knew far too much about them. On top of that, the Genie had previously explained in detail how he himself had become a Genie, with Li Ming constantly asking questions throughout.
Worse, the Genie had broken down every little detail for Li Ming, ensuring he fully understood the intricacies of becoming a Magic Lamp Genie.
If he still couldn't guess what Li Ming was up to now, he might as well bash his head against a block of tofu. Did they really think he'd spent a thousand years just lazing around?However, the Genie was still somewhat puzzled. Li Ming had previously mentioned that the second Genie hadn't appeared yet. Did this mean Li Ming had known all along what Jafar was planning? Or had everything been part of Li Ming's design from the very beginning?
Exploiting human greed to achieve one's own goals—wasn't that the Devil's usual tactic?
What a pity.
The Genie shook his head at Li Ming with a complicated expression, indicating that the probability of a second Genie appearing in the plan was indeed quite high. However, there was still a small flaw in fulfilling the subsequent wishes.
As a friend, the Genie wanted to remind Li Ming about this flaw. Unfortunately, it was Jafar who had summoned him. Even if he wished to give a hint, he couldn't—unless Jafar made his wish and ended the summoning. Only then would he have the chance to explain things to Li Ming.
Meanwhile, Jafar was momentarily stunned by Li Ming's words, his gaze instinctively shifting to the Genie Lamp in Li Ming's hand.
His knowledge of the Genie Lamp was limited to legends, and he had no idea what traps might be hidden in Li Ming's words. Under normal circumstances, Jafar might have been able to slowly uncover the pitfalls in Li Ming's statements—after all, he wasn't stupid. How could a fool become a sorcerer?
But would Li Ming give him that chance? Clearly not.
With a slight curl of his lips, Li Ming snapped his fingers lightly, activating the slave contract he had previously inscribed on Jafar.
Now, Jafar seemed to have several ways to break free from the slave contract, but in reality:
First, he could wish directly to the Genie to break the contract. But what then? The Genie Lamp was in Li Ming's hands, and as for Jafar's own strength—well, if Li Ming could control him once, he could do it a second time.
Second, he could make a wish stronger than Li Ming's. But Li Ming had already mentioned that the Genie Lamp was in his possession. All it would take was a little time for Li Ming to summon the Genie, and everything Jafar had done would be for nothing.
So, Jafar immediately discarded this option.
Third, he could wish to become stronger than the Genie. Then, even the Genie wouldn't be his match, let alone Li Ming, who was weaker than the Genie.
Even if Li Ming also wished to become stronger than the Genie, at worst, their powers would be evenly matched, and neither could do anything to the other.
Thinking this, Jafar endured the excruciating pain and roared at the Genie, "Genie, grant my wish! Make me the most powerful being in the universe!" He paused, then rasped with certainty, "Stronger than you!"
The Genie glanced at Li Ming, one arm crossed, the other stroking his beard, as if muttering to himself or explaining to Jafar:
"Your wish has many gray areas, but, well—" As he cast his magic on Jafar, he declared loudly, "The most powerful being in the universe? No problem~"
The moment the Genie's voice faded, black smoke and sparks suddenly erupted around Jafar.
As the swirling smoke and growing flames enveloped Jafar, Li Ming's control over him vanished at the same time. Unable to contain himself, Jafar threw his head back and laughed maniacally, reveling in the surging power within him.A few seconds later, Jafar transformed into a Genie whose height rivaled that of a giant, with his upper body revealing red skin while his lower half became swirling black-and-red smoke emitting sparks.
Poor Jafar still hadn't realized he had already stepped into Li Ming's trap. Puffed up with pride, he roared at Li Ming, "Now, I am stronger than you! I command you to grovel at my feet, or else—"
"Or else what?" Li Ming, standing casually on his magic carpet, circled around Jafar with amusement and sneered, "Try harming me first, you greedy fool."
The Genie Jafar froze in confusion. He was already the most powerful being in the universe—how dare Li Ming speak to him so insolently? Did he have a death wish?
At that very moment, Jafar, brimming with power, was eager to demonstrate his strength before Li Ming.
Since Li Ming still dared to speak insolently, Jafar decided to test his own power while teaching Li Ming a lesson. With this in mind, Jafar raised his hands high, summoning a crackling ball of lightning, and roared furiously, "Brat, I was going to let you be my servant. Since you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish."
But though Jafar had finished his threats, the lightning ball in his hand seemed glued there by some powerful adhesive—no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't throw it.
Facing the imminent threat of the lightning ball being hurled at his face, Li Ming showed no fear. Instead, he watched with a smirk.
Only when a bracelet—symbolizing a Genie's identity and the restriction of freedom—appeared on Jafar's wrist did Li Ming fly up to him. With one hand on his hip and the other patting his own cheek, he grinned arrogantly and taunted, "What's wrong? Weren't you going to kill me? Come on, I'm right here in front of you. If you can so much as scratch me, I'll call you grandpa."
By now, Jafar clearly realized something was wrong. Panicked, he stared at the gleaming golden bracelet and shouted at Li Ming, "What did you do to me? What did you do?!"
"I'd love to take credit, but sorry to disappoint—I didn't do anything. So those golden bracelets aren't my handiwork," Li Ming said, rubbing his ears as if they'd been deafened by the shouting. He then waved the Genie Lamp in his hand and added, "That was your own wish. Don't blame me."
Nearby, the Genie floated up to Jafar and cheerfully explained, "Genies are the most powerful beings in the universe. We possess extraordinary abilities—"
Before the Genie could finish, Li Ming interjected dryly, "But Genies can't do three things. One of them is they can't kill or harm others. So you could never have killed me. And besides—" He shook the Genie Lamp again, gloating, "A Genie without a master can only stay trapped inside a tiny little lamp."
No sooner had Li Ming spoken than another Genie Lamp materialized beneath Jafar. With a horrified scream of "No—no—!" Jafar was sucked inside.
Second Genie Lamp Acquired
Just as Li Ming, grinning from ear to ear, was about to pick up the lamp and summon Jafar, the Genie suddenly floated in front of him, snatching it up first. "Austin, you can't use this lamp yet," the Genie said.
Li Ming frowned. "Why?"
Though he had a feeling that even with two Genies, their power still wouldn't be enough to send him home, it was at least a hope worth trying. Now, with the Genie inexplicably blocking his attempt, Li Ming was annoyed. If the Genie didn't have a convincing explanation, he wouldn't hesitate to turn hostile—burying the lamp in some remote place like the Arctic or the deep sea, leaving it to wait forever in solitude.
After all, Genies couldn't harm people. Li Ming wasn't afraid of any retaliation.The Genie had no idea what Li Ming was thinking. He still regarded Li Ming as a friend, so he explained in a gentle tone, "Genies aren't born to grant wishes for others. We need to learn, and learning takes time."
The Genie pointed at the Cave of Wonders and said, "Only after Jafar learns how to be a proper genie inside the cave can you use the Genie Lamp. Otherwise, even if you summon Jafar, you'll just summon a sleeping genie."
Li Ming was stunned for a moment. "You mean genies need training before they can start working?"
Seeing the Genie nod, Li Ming scratched his forehead thoughtfully, his lips twitching. After a long pause, he asked, "How exactly does this training work?"
The Genie pointed to his own forehead and said, "As long as the Genie Lamp is inside the Cave of Wonders, the knowledge will appear directly in the genie's mind. That's also what causes the genie to fall asleep."
Li Ming narrowed his eyes. "How long does the training take?"
The Genie thought for a moment. "Quite a while, because there's so much for a genie to learn." He pointed to his bracelet and added, "As I mentioned before, this bracelet protects us from harm. Without it, the sudden influx of such vast knowledge would overwhelm even a genie, leading to certain death."
"Knowledge appearing directly in the mind?" Li Ming murmured, stroking his chin as he pondered the Genie's words, his mind racing with possibilities.
After a while, Li Ming looked at the Genie Lamp in the Genie's hand and asked, "What if I accelerate the flow of time for the lamp? Would Jafar inside learn faster too?"
"Time?" The Genie stared at Li Ming in astonishment. "You can manipulate time?"
Li Ming nodded. It wasn't exactly a secret. While time manipulation might seem miraculous in Aladdin's world, in the Marvel universe—well, the Ancient One could do it, the future Doctor Strange could do it, and later on, people wouldn't even give the Time Stone any respect, casually time-traveling all over the place. Where's the dignity in that?
The Genie stroked his small beard thoughtfully. "Theoretically, yes. But as I said, I don't know how long Jafar's training will take. A genie's slumber isn't measured in mere years." He paused, then pointed to himself. "Even someone as talented as me slept for over a century. As for Jafar, it might take even longer."
"As long as it's possible, the duration doesn't matter. I'll just cast the spell every day if I have to," Li Ming said with a grin. "This is actually a great opportunity for me to practice my time-acceleration spells. I've mostly used time-stasis in combat, so my time-acceleration skills have gotten a bit rusty."
Seeing that Li Ming had made up his mind, the Genie said no more. With a wave of his hand, he tossed the Genie Lamp into the Cave of Wonders.Li Ming, on the other hand, opened a Portal and flew near the Genie Lamp on his magic carpet, casting a time acceleration spell on it.