Hong Fei felt entirely at ease leaving The Foundation in Xu Wenwu and Steve's hands—especially Xu Wenwu. It wasn't that Steve lacked the capability to handle significant responsibilities, but rather because The Foundation's operations would inevitably attract fierce criticism and overlapping attacks from both the forces of light and shadow.
Steve had spent years walking in the light, his heart firmly rooted there. Facing attacks from the shadows would likely stretch him thin, leaving him unable to sustain the pressure. Xu Wenwu, on the other hand, wouldn't falter. Hong Fei was certain that if anyone dared to threaten The Foundation, Xu Wenwu would act decisively—blowing their head off the moment he caught wind of it.
Aside from Hong Fei himself, Xu Wenwu was one of Earth's few peak combatants. In essence, he was like a slightly less powerful Master Xu. Hong Fei didn't involve himself directly in The Foundation's affairs because three major paths lay before him: entering Kunlun to claim the Dragon Power, dealing with HYDRA and the Inhumans, and advancing into deep space.
Technically, claiming the Dragon Power had to precede the deep space venture. The real question was whether he needed to finish off HYDRA and the Inhumans before leaving Earth. Originally, he hadn't given it much thought.
HYDRA, for all their notoriety, were just stirring up trouble on Earth. They didn't even require the Avengers' intervention; S.H.I.E.L.D. could handle them, even if they took their sweet time. Hong Fei could clean them up whenever he felt like it. But HYDRA had the audacity to come knocking at his door.
It was like an angler patiently waiting with his rod, only to glance down and see a swarm of fish circling in the pond right in front of him, taunting, "You coming or what?"
So Hong Fei went over. He was confident it wouldn't be long before they'd be screaming, "Stay away!"
Frank had already been dispatched to retrieve supplies and, in the process, reverse-track HYDRA's strongholds and uplines as far as possible. As for that so-called welcome banquet, Hong Fei was genuinely curious to attend.
If he suddenly turned hostile and wiped them all out, their strength likely wouldn't yield a single skill card, but it would certainly count as another decent "Good Deed."
Dragons didn't mingle with snakes, and Hong Fei had no intention of playing with them for long. Once Steve was ready, he'd bring him along as an undercover agent. Imagine Captain America suddenly shouting, "Hail HYDRA." Wouldn't those HYDRA members lose their minds? Of course, S.H.I.E.L.D. might be terrified out of their wits. With HYDRA leading the charge, the persona of "Steve the People-Lover" could be solidified.
As The Superpower Foundation implemented Hong Fei's plans under Xu Wenwu and Steve's leadership, Hong Fei himself faded from public view, returning to his peaceful, simple life. Occasionally, he shuttled between Sokovia, the manor, and New York City, "delivering public grain" in an irregular yet orderly fashion.
The rest of the time, he immersed his Soul in the Dragon Dimension, steadily progressing the fusion rate at a stable pace. He possessed half of the Dragon Power, while Shou-Lao the Undying held the other half. According to the Ancient One, Shou-Lao was the Dragon Power itself.
If one were to do a simple conversion, then Shou-Lao's combat power should equate to twice the Dragon King during the Dark Invasion. But was that possible? Hong Fei doubted it. Even if Shou-Lao's power matched his current 50% fusion combat strength, Kunlun shouldn't have been in such a mediocre state in the past.
Shou-Lao might be constantly reincarnating, but surely it had active periods too. Was it content curled up in Kunlun, or was it trapped there against its will? Danny Rand hadn't been Iron Fist for long—by the rules, Shou-Lao should still be an egg right now. What kind of threat could an egg pose? Wouldn't it be easy to just... take it?
That was Hong Fei's first thought after meeting Lei Gong, but he quickly dismissed it. Always overestimate your enemy. If he used Danny Rand—this current Iron Fist—as his sole benchmark for the Dragon Power's strength, he might as well charge in right now.
But if he measured against past Iron Fists, or even his own power? Then extreme caution was necessary. No amount of preparation would be excessive. Assembling a team wasn't just to handle Lei Gong and the so-called Jade Emperor—it was about suppressing Kunlun's entire network of experts. The real final battle would be his one-on-one duel with Shou-Lao.
He didn't believe for a second that Shou-Lao, as the original Dragon Power, wouldn't have tricks up its sleeve. Let's be honest—anyone who lives long enough gets devious. Except Thor. Of course, he didn't need to wait until the fusion rate hit 100% before confronting Shou-Lao. By then, the damn thing might have hatched naturally.
55%. That was the limit Hong Fei set for himself. Current Dragon Power Fusion Rate: 51.09%.
Before his double advancement, a year's effort had boosted the fusion rate by about 5%. Now, with his enhanced progress, the remaining 3.91% would take roughly half a year. Plenty of time to dismantle HYDRA, handle the Inhumans, seize control of the Dark Elf flagship, and stabilize The Foundation from the ground up. Kill Shou-Lao, claim the Dragon Power—and then? Then Hong Fei would be leaving Earth.
"So this is your last half-year on Earth?"
The Ancient One looked up, smiling.
Hong Fei nodded.
"Roughly. But I'll be back. Don't celebrate too soon."
She'd mentioned once that after he left, she had plans. Hong Fei could guess—guiding the next Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange, maybe letting Kaecilius run wild. Just imagine if Hong Fei stuck around.
First, he might not personally run Strange over with a car, but he'd absolutely find ways to make the man's enlightenment... memorable. And once Strange entered Kamar-Taj? Even better. As Chief Instructor, Hong Fei could mold him like clay.
Second, given Hong Fei's soft spot for villains, he'd probably recruit Kaecilius as a loyal attack dog. That alone would shatter the Ancient One's carefully crafted high-pressure training regimen for Strange.
Hong Fei strongly suspected Dormammu's eventual invasion was part of her plan—deliberate flaws, calculated exposure. The real victim was that poor beheaded librarian. Kaecilius and his traitors? They brought it on themselves. If not for that, why wait until Hong Fei left to act?
But you could clearly discuss this kind of thing with me; why must you wait until I leave Earth? Aren't you afraid I'll decide to stay indefinitely? Trust between us has worn so thin it's practically transparent. Pathetic.
"What are you sighing about?"
"Nothing. Just homesick."
"Your home must be very far away."
Hong Fei scowled.
"And you still claim you don't know anything."
The Ancient One said without changing her expression, "I really don't know; it's all guesswork."
Seeing her remain as tight-lipped as ever, Hong Fei didn't bother to chat with her anymore and stood up directly: "I'll go check how their kung fu practice is going."
"Go easy on them; some people have only just crawled out of bed a few days ago."
"I know. Remember to help block off Kamar-Taj. This afternoon, people can come in, but no one goes out."
As soon as Hong Fei stepped out, he immediately bumped into little Wong again.
"Eh, why is it you again?"
Hong Fei was surprised, but little Wong was horrified.
"You, you, you... why are you here again?"
Hong Fei immediately raised an eyebrow: "Why do I feel like you don't seem very welcoming?"
Wong's eyes widened, looking at him as if seeing a ghost. Swallowing his saliva, he said, "I... I'm looking for the Sorcerer Supreme."
"What are you looking for her for?"
"To ask..."
"Ask? I am your Chief Instructor. If there's anything you don't understand, tell me."
Wong shook his head quickly: "No, it's a question about magic."
"I understand magic too. Don't you know I've read ten shelves of books?"
"But..."
"No buts. I'm telling you, the purpose of magic is to kill your opponent. Magic that can kill an opponent is good magic; the more thoroughly they are eliminated, the better the magic is."
Wong's cheeks couldn't stop twitching. Hong Fei added: "Let's go. Next, I will teach you the most powerful magic in this World."
As he spoke, he walked directly past Wong. After walking a few steps and sensing that the other party hadn't followed in time, Hong Fei said without looking back: "If I turn around later and don't see you, I'll use my magic to completely eliminate you from the Universe."
The look of conflict on Wong's face vanished instantly, and he hurriedly caught up.
Along the way, Wong's face looked like he was at a funeral. Wherever Hong Fei passed, the sorcerers would see him from afar and immediately turn their heads to flee in all directions without hesitation. Kamar-Taj was in a state of chaos. When these sorcerers hurriedly wanted to go to the sanctum to leave and hide for a while, they discovered that the entrance and exit had also been blocked.
For a time, the entire magical holy land was filled with resentment. Hong Fei didn't neglect either his cultivation or card-farming. The Superpower Foundation was also advancing rapidly. Following the principle of starting with the easy and then the difficult, Xu Wenwu took Steve, Natasha, and Yelena to London first.
As the first stop of the Dark Invasion incident, the damaged areas and the number of victims here were relatively fewer. Moreover, being a capital city, London's aid and reconstruction were much faster than New York's. No matter how shameless those politicians were, they needed to quickly restore vitality to this city and even more quickly repair Buckingham Palace as a symbol and a fig leaf.
One must know that after the Dark Invasion, there were many people taking the opportunity to clamor for leaving the Commonwealth. Thus, the London government and national officials showed great welcome to the arrival of Xu Wenwu and the others, at least maintaining their so-called gentlemanly appearance on the surface.
Regarding the cooperation plan, both sides advanced quickly, and after solving some key issues, they rapidly concluded an alliance. The whole process took less than half a month. Subsequently, Xu Wenwu handed over the follow-up tasks to Big Head to arrange and execute, while he himself led the team back to New York without stopping. Then, they encountered a problem.