- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 571
One year later, deep within the Earth’s core, Leo murmured to himself as he gazed at the Celestial embryo before him:
“This thing seems to be maturing soon.”
According to his senses, this Celestial embryo would fully mature in about six months, then absorb all the energy of Earth and its life forms, transforming into a new Celestial.
“It seems like it’s time to move.”
Over the past year, Leo had essentially absorbed all the energy from Dormammu’s avatar, consolidating everything he had gained. His strength had increased once again.
However, despite this, he didn’t dare be careless when facing an opponent like the Celestials.
After all, the Celestials were not just one, but a group of beings. Some of them were powerful enough to reach multiversal levels, and they were even connected to the Five Godheads.
To be safe, he decided to first enter the world of *The Lotus Lantern Prequel* to see if he could gain even more power.
But this time, the entry would last ten years, making him a bit reluctant to leave Wanda and little Charlie behind.
Still, there was no choice—initial entry time couldn’t be adjusted. Once he re-entered, he could alter the time however he liked.
Using apparition, he returned to his hidden residence, spending some tender moments with his family before he opened his virtual panel and chose to enter.
The scene shifted, and his surroundings became a dense forest.
“This mortal got hit by Lord Tiger’s claw and yet didn’t die!”
A fierce voice suddenly reached his ears.
Leo turned his head to see a massive tiger with white markings above its eyes. The tiger was not only speaking human language, but was also at least three times larger than a regular tiger.
“Don’t blame me for eating you alive,” the tiger growled.
Seeing Leo’s calm expression, the tiger roared and leaped through the air with its mouth wide open, aiming to swallow Leo’s head whole.
But as the beast lunged at him, Leo merely widened his eyes slightly.
“Ah! It hurts!”
With a cry of agony, the tiger was torn in two midair, its body crashing to the ground.
“It already formed a demon core, looks like it has a hundred years of cultivation.”
With a simple flick of his hand, a marble-sized demon core flew into Leo’s palm.
He casually tossed it into the Tsukuyomi world, where it fell like a shooting star onto the mortal lands, waiting for some lucky person to find it.
Closing his eyes, Leo began sorting through the memories given by the panel.
His new identity was Li Qing, a distant relative of General Li Jing from Chentang Pass. His mother had died young, and his father had fallen in battle alongside Li Jing.
Seeing that the immortal Taiyi Zhenren had taken Nezha as a disciple, Li Qing was inspired to pursue immortality and asked Li Jing to find him a path to cultivate.
Out of respect for Li Qing’s father, Li Jing thickened his face and asked Taiyi Zhenren to accept Li Qing as a disciple.
Taiyi Zhenren, however, did not think much of Li Qing’s potential. Yet, out of consideration for Li Jing being Nezha’s father, he didn’t reject him outright. Instead, he remembered his least accomplished junior brother, Yu Ding Zhenren, who had yet to take a disciple.
So, he wrote a recommendation letter, sending Li Qing to Yu Ding Zhenren’s Golden Mist Cave on Yuquan Mountain.
Unfortunately, fate was unkind, and on the way, Li Qing was killed on the spot by a tiger demon.
“Yu Ding Zhenren, huh? That works. No need to create too many false identities.”
After reviewing the memories, Leo nodded in satisfaction.
In the world of *The Lotus Lantern*, Yu Ding Zhenren was a direct disciple of Yuan Shi Tianzun, and though he had immense potential, he spent too much time studying various techniques and spells, causing his cultivation to stagnate.
His power was barely at the level of an immortal, and his combat ability was extremely poor—he wasn’t even proficient in cloud-riding.
However, if Leo could become Yu Ding Zhenren’s disciple, he would officially enter the lineage of the Three Pure Ones, becoming a grand-disciple of Yuan Shi Tianzun, and a senior to both Yang Jian and Sun Wukong. This would give him a strong foothold.
Moreover, Yu Ding Zhenren’s weakness in combat meant that being his disciple would afford Leo plenty of freedom in executing his plans.
Had he been taken in by more powerful figures like Nanji Xianweng, Guangchengzi, or Chijingzi, whose powers were akin to that of Golden Immortals or even Great Luo Immortals—comparable to universal or multiversal beings in the Marvel Universe—his later plans would have been much more restricted.
Finally, while Yu Ding Zhenren was currently weak, his innate talent was the highest among the Twelve Golden Immortals. Once he understood the essence of the Dao, his strength would increase rapidly, eventually placing him in the upper ranks of the Twelve.
He was also the best teacher among the Golden Immortals. Although Yang Jian and Sun Wukong were incredibly gifted, without Yu Ding Zhenren’s expertise in virtually every mystical art, their strength wouldn’t have grown so rapidly.
“Yuquan Mountain’s Golden Mist Cave.”
Taking out Taiyi Zhenren’s recommendation letter, Leo used cloud-riding to fly toward Yu Ding Zhenren’s cave dwelling.
“Are you really recommended by Senior Brother Taiyi?”
Inside the Golden Mist Cave, Yu Ding Zhenren, wearing a robe decorated with the eight trigrams, fanned himself as he looked at Leo skeptically.
Leo smiled and nodded, then presented the recommendation letter from Taiyi Zhenren.
Yu Ding Zhenren took the letter, opened it, and glanced through it:
“Well, it’s true, you’re recommended by Senior Brother Taiyi.”
However, despite the letter, Yu Ding Zhenren didn’t immediately agree to accept him as a disciple. Instead, he puffed out his chest and, with a mysterious air, said:
“As a disciple of Yuan Shi Tianzun, I have very high standards for accepting students. Even with Senior Brother Taiyi’s recommendation, if you can’t pass my test, you won’t be accepted as my disciple.”
“Naturally, Master. Before coming to Yuquan Mountain, I had already heard of your great name. You are known as the most talented and knowledgeable disciple under Yuan Shi Tianzun.”
As Leo showered Yu Ding Zhenren with compliments, the latter’s smile grew broader, and his head tilted higher in pride.
Flattery, after all, needed to be done right. Praising Yu Ding Zhenren’s strength would only backfire, as he’d interpret it as a veiled insult. Everyone knew that among the Twelve Golden Immortals, his power ranked the lowest, and he hadn’t improved since becoming an immortal.
But praising his vast knowledge and exceptional talent? That was something Yu Ding Zhenren enjoyed, as he saw himself that way.
“Oh, by the way, I brought some earthly wine and food as a token of my respect. It may not be as exquisite as celestial treasures, but it comes from the heart.”
With a wave of his hand, Leo made a variety of delicious food and wine appear on the stone table.
Yu Ding Zhenren’s eyes lit up at the sight—this was exactly his favorite kind of offering.
“Not bad. Seems you’ve learned some magic already. Tell me, what’s your current level of cultivation?”
By this point, Yu Ding Zhenren had forgotten all about the supposed test. Looking at Leo with satisfaction, he even began referring to himself as “Master.”
Even if Leo didn’t have the best aptitude, he thought, it wouldn’t hurt to take him in as an outer disciple and teach him a few spells. After all, Leo was respectful and could help run errands from time to time.
(End of Chapter)