Combat Power Soars

Three years later, in the same Combat Simulation Room.

"Afterimage Fist!"

Hawking left an afterimage where he stood, dodging the shell fired at him before swiftly circling behind a Giant Robot.

"Qi Bullet Barrage!"

A stream of qi bullets fired from his hands like a rapid volley, hurtling straight at the Giant Robot's head and blowing it apart.

Just then, another Giant Robot raised its millstone-sized fist and smashed it viciously toward Hawking.

Yet Hawking did not dodge. He raised both arms and steadily blocked the blow, then seized the massive fist and powered through his waist with a textbook Overhead Slam, actually hurling the Giant Robot through the air.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

The last Giant Robot detached its right hand, firing four Homing Missiles in rapid succession.

"Destructo Disc!"

He gathered qi in one hand to form a rapidly spinning disc, then forcefully threw it.

"Boom!"

The Destructo Disc sliced apart all four Homing Missiles and continued onward, splitting the Giant Robot's body in two.

"Simulation complete."

As the three Giant Robots were destroyed, the combat simulation came to an end as well.

Looking at the Training Room as it returned to normal, Hawking said regretfully,

"It seems the enemies this Combat Simulation Room can produce can no longer meet my training needs."

He was now fifteen years old. Since he could eat his fill every day and fully replenish all the nutrients his body needed, he had shot up in height and now stood at one meter eighty.

At that moment, he was bare-chested, displaying powerful muscles as tough as Steel Bones.

Over the past three years, he had spent nearly every morning on various high-intensity Weight Training exercises from the Turtle Hermit Style. In the afternoons, he came to the simulation room to fight all kinds of enemies and develop his potential. At night, he practiced and studied the various spells in Harry's memories.

Now, even without loading the Goku Template, his own Combat Power had already reached around one hundred and forty.

If he loaded the Goku Template, his Combat Power could instantly soar to two hundred and eighty.

If he transformed under a full moon again, it would reach two thousand eight hundred. Even against Captain Marvel, he was confident he could defeat her rather than merely barely hold her off as before.

Likewise, over those three years, he had absorbed every spell from Harry Potter's memories. Even without loading the Harry Template, he could freely wield all kinds of magic.

If he loaded the Harry Template, then with the bloodlines stacked together, the power of his magic would increase dramatically.

However, ordinary training was now having trouble producing good results. Even with the Combat Simulation Room set to its highest difficulty, it could barely pose any threat to him, much less force out his potential like it had in the beginning.

"I hope Professor Hank can develop the Gravity Training Room soon."

The Gravity Training Room was definitely the shortcut he needed for the next stage of improving his strength. Unfortunately, Beast was usually busy with matters at Mutant Affairs and simply had little time for research.

Moreover, the Gravity Training Room was a large-scale piece of equipment. Other than him, none of the other Mutant students had any use for it.

"Perhaps it's time I considered earning some Justice Points and making some money."

Reaching for the shirt beside him, Hawking began considering his next move.

Over the past three years, aside from taking Wanda and Pietro home during holidays, he had not gone into New York City to fight criminals and earn Justice Points to unlock new Protagonist Templates.

On one hand, his own strength had been too weak, so he needed to focus on improving himself first and ensuring his safety.

On the other hand, unlocking a new Protagonist Template required no small amount of Justice Points. Saving the lives of all the Mutants on Earth before had only been enough to fill the requirement once. If he relied on fighting ordinary criminals, it would probably take a very long time.

From a cost-effectiveness standpoint, it was better to spend more time on the Saiyan Bloodline, which was currently in a period of rapid growth. Besides, the stronger he became, the more efficiently he would earn Justice Points later.

Now that his strength had begun entering a slower growth period, he could naturally consider going out to earn Justice Points, unlock new bloodlines, and find a way to make some money.

Money was important everywhere.

At Mutant School, he did not lack food or clothing, but money still had an extremely important role for him.

The clearest example was that he wanted a Gravity Chamber to keep improving his strength, but Beast did not have much time to help, and Hawking had no way to force him.

If he had enough money, he could hire other scientists to build a Gravity Chamber for him and help his strength continue to advance.

"Hawking, are you done training?"

Just as Hawking was thinking, the doors of the Combat Simulation Room suddenly opened, and a familiar voice reached his ears.

He turned around and saw Storm, her figure as fiery as ever.

Behind her were Deathstrike, Colossus, Iceman, Shadowcat, and Rogue.

"I just finished. What are you all doing here?"

Seeing the group appear so suddenly, Hawking looked puzzled. It seemed to still be class time.

Storm explained with a smile,

"I brought Iceman, Shadowcat, and Rogue here for some preliminary combat training."

"So you're graduating soon."

Hawking immediately understood.

Once students at Mutant School reached a certain age, they could choose to graduate and leave the school, or remain and join the X-Men.

Iceman, Pyro, Shadowcat, and Rogue were all seventeen now, so they were nearing graduation age. Clearly, they had all chosen the latter.

Actually, when he first met Shadowcat, he had thought she was about the same age as him, twelve years old. In truth, she just developed slowly; she had already been fifteen at the time.

"Then go ahead and use it. I probably won't be coming here to train for a while anyway."

"That's unusual."

A trace of surprise appeared on Storm's face.

She knew that over the past three years, Hawking had spent most of every day fighting in the Combat Simulation Room.

"Because the highest difficulty no longer has much training effect on me."

Hawking pulled on his shirt, turned, and left the Training Room.

"What a great body!"

Watching Hawking's perfect physique disappear beneath his shirt, Deathstrike, Storm, Shadowcat, and Rogue all secretly sighed in admiration.

It was not only men who liked looking at good bodies. Women did too, especially Western women, most of whom preferred strong physiques filled with masculine vigor.

Hawking's body, tempered through countless trials, happened to perfectly fit the tastes of the women here.

Of course, for Shadowcat and Rogue, aside from admiring his physique, they were also very curious about Hawking himself.

To them, Hawking was a legendary figure at the school. Though he was only fifteen, his deeds had long been passed around among the students.

Three years ago, he had saved the school on the very day he enrolled, driven back the invading soldiers, and rescued many students.

Later, he had gone out on missions with the Professors. Unlike them, he did not need to attend classes, and every day they could see him performing all kinds of terrifying physical training throughout the school.

For example, he would hold a barbell weighing over a thousand pounds while frog-jumping around the school, or swim in the school lake with huge rocks tied to his body—actions frightening just to watch.

There was also his astonishing appetite.

If every Mutant student would be considered an oddity at an ordinary school, then Hawking was an oddity even among Mutants.

Still, more than half the students at the school admired Hawking to some extent.

The boys admired the immense strength Hawking displayed, while the girls were conquered by his perfect, marble-like muscles under the sunlight. Of course, sometimes it was not only girls who were conquered by muscles.

Others simply felt grateful that Hawking had saved them from those soldiers three years ago.

"Professor, is the highest difficulty really that hard?"

After Hawking left, Iceman asked Storm.

Storm spread her hands.

"It's not that hard. But even with Professor Scott, Professor Logan, Professor Jean, and Piotr added in, we might only have a chance of winning!"