Nick Fury left, but his heart was full of doubt.
The purpose of this visit had been to obtain an answer—and Lu Yi did give him one, but it was an answer he would have preferred not to hear. Lu Yi's response was ambiguous.
But this ambiguity wasn't something Lu Yi forced on him; it was something Fury imposed on himself.
That the Sorcerer Monastery had taken the Darkhold—Fury knew rationally this was false. The monastery might really exist, just as Lu Yi said, but in this situation, the claim was still false.
Lu Yi looked calm, nothing like someone who desperately desired the Darkhold.
Emotionally, Fury wanted the claim to be true. If it was, it meant there was finally an organization capable of opposing Lu Yi—and that it was one that actually protected the Earth.
The fact that the Sorcerer Monastery had remained hidden for centuries showed both how low-profile and how ruthless it was. This secrecy benefited them greatly and harmed them in no way.
Even if S.H.I.E.L.D. became just an ordinary organization in comparison, it would still appear to the public as the most powerful, now and in the future. The monastery had not revealed itself for hundreds of years—this alone said a great deal. This was a clash between emotion and reason. As the head of a secret agency, he told himself to believe in reason, yet he couldn't stop leaning toward emotion.
Tonight would be a sleepless one for Nick Fury.
And it would also be a sleepless night for Lu Yi.
After sending Nick Fury away, Lu Yi fell into deep thought.
What was there to consider?
He certainly wasn't concerned about whether Fury would believe his earlier deception. Lu Yi knew full well that fooling the director of a special agency required more than a few clever sentences—solid evidence would be needed. His earlier lie was more like a performance than a real attempt at persuasion.
Lu Yi was thinking about how to avoid being influenced by the Darkhold.
The Darkhold was like an all-encompassing encyclopedia: it could teach one how to live, how to grow stronger, even how to open doors to higher dimensions.
Wonderful.
But every time you read it, you would be affected by an evil god, becoming less and less yourself.
It wasn't that Lu Yi doubted his willpower—this matter was simply too terrifying. Everyone who had ever looked at it had been corrupted.
Lu Yi even suspected that the Darkhold contained a fragment of the evil god's own will.
He didn't want to obtain a treasure trove he couldn't use. So he had to find a way to shield his mind from the corrupting influence, so that he could read the Darkhold without being affected.
"Maybe this method will work…"
After much thought, Lu Yi finally had an idea.
He stood up from the chair he had crafted, flew to a patch of grass, and gently rubbed his hands together before carving a magic circle into the ground.
As his palms glided, countless markings appeared on the earth; with a flicker of thought, countless symbols were etched into the air. Normally Lu Yi needed only seconds to draw a magic circle, but this time it took half an hour. Only after that—when his magic was nearly exhausted—was the formation finally completed.
Once the circle was finished, Lu Yi restored his magic, then carried the Darkhold to the center and sat down.
"The next step is seeing whether it actually works. System, bless me."
Before and after his transmigration, Lu Yi had never believed in gods. In his eyes, gods were merely powerful beings unworthy of worship. At a moment where life and death were at stake, he chose instead to rely on the system that had accompanied him.
Without wasting time, he took a deep breath and opened the Darkhold.
When the book opened, the first thing he noticed wasn't its text but its blank pages. He wasn't surprised. The Darkhold was extraordinary—normally nothing was written on it, but it would display whatever its reader needed the moment it was opened.
All Lu Yi had to do was imagine what he wanted.
The instant he did, lines of text began appearing on the pages, as if written by an invisible hand.
Lu Yi had barely glanced at it when the outer edge of the magic circle beneath him suddenly burst into red flames, and the hidden runes floating in the air leapt forth, glowing brightly.
His face darkened. He quickly took a second look.
He shouldn't have.
The moment he looked again, the magic circle collapsed. The ground trembled as cracks spread across it, shattering the formation. The runes in the air cracked as well.
After just two glances at the Darkhold, most of the magic circle he had spent half an hour drawing was destroyed.
But he still hadn't finished reading what he needed. He had to look once more.
Gritting his teeth, he lifted his gaze for the third time.
Poof!
All remaining runes in the sky disintegrated.
At that moment, Lu Yi felt his vision forcibly locked by an evil power—he couldn't turn his eyes away at all.
Everything happened too quickly. A burst of energy from the shattered runes turned into an attack and struck the Darkhold's cover. With a sharp snap, the book slammed shut.
Lu Yi's vision cleared again, but he felt a chill run down his spine. It had been far too dangerous. If he hadn't prepared beforehand, he couldn't imagine what would've happened.
Still feeling uneasy, Lu Yi turned to the system. "System, can you check whether something's wrong with me?"
It sounded like he was blaming himself, but Lu Yi didn't care anymore.
"Master, please rest assured. Your mental willpower has no problems at all. However…"
Hearing that "however" made Lu Yi tense up. Before he could speak, the system continued:
"However, it is not recommended for Master to do this again. And if it is absolutely necessary, Master should at least be more thoroughly prepared."
"…Can you not gasp dramatically while you talk?"
plz support me if you can
patreon.com/fatimasoomro123
All the fanfiction is 30-chapter ahead but this Marvel: Boundless Power System is 30 chapters ahead there