Marvel's Master of Heavenly Magic

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*****

"Not fighting anymore?"

George returned to the real world, hovering above the town park.

Holding the now-dismissed Sun Staff, Eriol Hiiragizawa squinted with a gentle smile.

"Not anymore. You're a member of the Li family, and you have such power. I suppose I can tell you the truth."

Had they fought with full strength, the opponent wouldn't have been able to defeat him—but he wouldn't have been able to defeat the opponent either. In that case, there was no point in continuing the fight.

His goal was to fulfill Clow Reed's last wishes while achieving his own objectives.

He hadn't wanted to reveal the truth to this senior from the Li family, fearing that the man might interfere over the ownership of the Clow Cards.

But now, seeing that the other party possessed power equal to his own, it was unlikely he'd be greedy for the cards. And even if he did try to take them, it would be difficult to stop him. So rather than keeping secrets, it was better to be honest and discuss things slowly.

"I'm all ears."

George nodded slightly.

In truth, he had already fought with all his strength earlier, yet Eriol still seemed unfazed. If the battle had continued, he most likely would have lost.

However, since he had already used two magical familiars, that meant even if there was still a gap between them, it wasn't that significant anymore.

In any case, his true objective wasn't to defeat Eriol Hiiragizawa—it was simply to make contact and build a connection so they could exchange magical knowledge.

"The story begins with Clow Reed. I'm essentially the reincarnation of a portion of his soul."

Eriol no longer concealed anything. He explained everything—his background, his goals, and the purpose behind his actions.

After listening, George pretended to sigh in admiration.

"No wonder your staff looked so familiar. It's just like the Sun Staff recorded in our Li family archives—the one that belonged to Clow Reed. And you can even use all the magic from the Clow Cards.

Too bad, though—our Li Xiaolang is destined to never inherit the Clow Cards."

"Although Sakura is the chosen successor of Clow Reed, surely you, sir, have realized something after observing for this long.

Even if Sakura inherits the Clow Cards, isn't the Li family the one who ultimately benefits?" Eriol replied with his usual gentle smile.

George looked at Eriol and burst into laughter.

"You sly devil. You have a point.

Fine, I won't interfere with your plans."

The implication in Eriol's words was clear: Even if fate had chosen Sakura to inherit the Clow Cards, she would eventually marry Xiaolang—meaning she'd still become part of the Li family.

Not only would the Li family gain ownership of the Clow Cards, they would also gain a powerful successor of Clow Reed's magic. In that case, wouldn't they be the ultimate winners?

So as an elder of the Li family, George—whose real name was Li Xuan—naturally couldn't stand in the way of Sakura obtaining the cards.

"However, I do have one condition."

Suddenly, George's tone changed. He stopped laughing and looked directly at Eriol.

Everything before had just been theatrics. This next part was what he truly cared about.

"You've surely noticed—I don't only practice the Taoist arts of the Li family. I've also been researching Western magic, trying to follow the same East-meets-West path Clow Reed once walked.

Recently, I've been studying the magical principles behind the Clow Cards.

Since you inherited Clow Reed's memories, would you be willing to offer some guidance?"

"I wouldn't dare claim to guide you. But exchanging magical insights sounds perfectly fine."

Eriol agreed without hesitation.

He wasn't the type obsessed with magical supremacy or becoming the strongest mage. Otherwise, he wouldn't have considered splitting his magical power with Sakura.

So he didn't mind if George eventually surpassed him through their exchange.

To him, this condition was truly nothing significant.

"Yes, just a mutual exchange."

Seeing that everything was settled, George didn't linger. He asked Eriol Hiiragizawa for his address in the town, then teleported away.

"I never expected there'd be a mage in this world who could actually fight you to such a degree."

With butterfly wings fluttering behind her and the appearance of a young girl, Ruby Moon stared in amazement at George's disappearing figure.

Beside her, Spinel Sun, whose form resembled a black panther also bearing butterfly wings, responded in a steady tone:

"Eriol is merely the reincarnation of half of Clow Reed's soul—he is not Clow Reed himself."

"So what? He's still one of the world's strongest magicians," Ruby said, sticking out her tongue.

Eriol smiled and replied,

"I am who I am—not Clow Reed. I have no desire to be the world's strongest magician. I only want to live the life I choose.

Besides, it works out well this way—if Mr. Li becomes the world's strongest, that takes the pressure off me."

The title of "world's strongest" didn't just come with honor—it came with countless troubles.

There would always be people wanting to challenge him to prove themselves, others who coveted his power, or tried to exploit it, or expected him to solve their problems.

But Eriol was someone who valued peace and quiet; he didn't enjoy dealing with so many complications.

—One week later, at night, atop Tokyo Tower—

George and Eriol sat on a white cloud, watching the Judgment of the Moon unfold below.

Over the past week, George had visited Eriol almost daily to discuss and exchange magical knowledge, and their relationship had grown much closer.

During that same week, Sakura and Xiaolang had successfully captured the final two Clow Cards together.

"He lost. Even without Clow Reed's power, neither Kero nor Yue is someone Li Xiaolang can handle,"

George muttered, shaking his head slightly as he watched Xiaolang get effortlessly defeated by Yue in the Judgment of the Moon, unable to even put up a fight.

Despite his young age, Xiaolang's mastery of Taoist arts placed him among the stronger adult practitioners of the Li family.

In the outside world, he could probably defeat at least 80% of the magicians out there.

But this was different—his opponent was Yue, a magical familiar personally created by Clow Reed as the final judge.

Even though Clow was long gone and Yue's power had diminished significantly due to the absence of Clow's magic, he was still far beyond what Xiaolang could manage.

This was the difference between an ordinary magician and someone like Clow Reed.

"She really is the biological daughter, huh? That amount of leniency is enough to flood a sea."

After Xiaolang's defeat, it was Sakura's turn. Compared to Yue's clean, ruthless efficiency against Xiaolang, he went far easier on Sakura.

In truth, the Judgment of the Moon wasn't about defeating Yue in combat—it was about earning his approval.

Kero, as the selector of Clow Card successors, had likely recognized Sakura from the very beginning.

To truly inherit the Clow Cards and become their master, one had to gain the acknowledgment of both Kero and Yue.

Xiaolang hadn't even earned Kero's approval, so how could he be the successor? That's why Yue went all out from the start, eliminating him without hesitation.

After Sakura's first trial failed, Touya's classmate, Kaho Mizuki, appeared and gave her the Bell of the Moon, allowing Sakura to attempt the judgment a second time.

From George's perspective, the so-called failure was just a setup. The real purpose was to push Sakura into awakening her potential—something Clow Reed had likely calculated before ever leaving this world.

Sure enough, when the second judgment began, Sakura transformed her Sealing Wand into the Star Wand, making it her own.

Yue barely resisted. As soon as she summoned the Windy card, he allowed himself to be captured.

(End of Chapter)