Castle and Five Replication Opportunities

Professor X and the others only knew that Ron seemed to have used the Red Devil's ability to send the Black King away, but they had no idea where exactly.

It turned out to be the furnace tube of a crematorium?

They never would have guessed that the Black King, the mastermind plotting to spark World War III and destroy the world, would end up in such a pathetic, miserable state at Ron's hands.

"Well done. He burned countless people to death when he was a Nazi."

Magneto imagined the scene and bared a shark-like, vicious grin, filled with a sick sense of satisfaction.

"That's exactly where he belongs!"

"I figured the furnace tube's thin oxygen and thick smoke from the burning might suffocate him to death."

Sitting on a bench, Ron voiced his idea.

In a direct confrontation, no one in the world could kill the Black King.

"It's unlikely to succeed."

Professor X sighed and said.

"I've gone through the White Queen's memories. One of the Black King's abilities is extraordinary stamina—he can go two or three hours without breathing."

An ordinary person's breath-holding limit is around ten to twenty minutes; the Black King can exceed that by ten times.

"In that case, the bottom of the sea probably couldn't kill him either."

Hearing Professor X's words, Ron murmured.

Given the Black King's strength, he might take just over ten minutes to swim up from the deepest point on Earth, the Mariana Trench over ten thousand meters down, or even less time.

To kill the Black King, they'd need another method.

"A place to train... come with me." Professor X thought for a moment and suggested everyone go to his home.

"My home is spacious enough to accommodate this many people."

On the outskirts of New York.

"This... this is your home?"

In a sprawling estate covering hundreds of acres, in front of an exquisite, ancient castle, Darwin, the former taxi driver, stammered.

"If I'm not mistaken, it looks like a castle."

This was what rich people called "spacious enough"?

Forget their group—even if the numbers multiplied tenfold, it could still fit them.

"We'll stay here for now."

Professor X ignored Darwin's amazement and said.

"Charles, how much money does your family have?" Alex couldn't help but ask in surprise.

"I don't know. I've never cared about that."

He shrugged, showing no interest in it, preferring to focus on academics.

Magneto stood silently nearby, recalling his childhood after escaping the concentration camp—wandering, starving three meals a day.

"The future Mutant School."

Ron gazed at the castle before him. Professor X would eventually use this castle and estate as the site for the Mutant School.

"Come on, time for a tour."

Mystique smiled and led everyone through the castle.

Walking down the redwood-floored hallway, the interior decor was classical and elegant. Antique clocks hung on the walls, and antiques were everywhere.

Professor X was undeniably a winner in life—a true blue-blooded New York aristocrat. His ancestors had lived in this castle two hundred years ago. Born into a wealthy family, he had endless money for life. As a child, he found his adopted sister Mystique stealing food in his own kitchen.

Growing up handsome and gifted, the most powerful psychic on Earth, with such a setup, he should have been happy and fulfilled.

But in his early years, he was a playboy who didn't understand people's hearts. He missed out on the shape-shifting Mystique, allowing Magneto to capture her heart and take her away.

"Later, he developed a savior complex, spending his life toiling for mutants until his death."

Ron shook his head inwardly. "Pitiful."

After the castle tour, Professor X assigned rooms and began training each person.

In a bunker that could withstand a nuclear blast, he let Alex freely practice his devastatingly powerful ability.

He worked to untangle Magneto's emotional knots, urging him not to always channel his power through rage but to think of pleasant things and master subtle changes in calmness.

He created various environments to help Darwin familiarize himself with how his ability reacted to different dangers, so he could use it with preparation.

As for Hank... Professor X, as a master psychological mentor, successfully untied his knots too, getting him to loosen up and briefly accept his big feet. He ran faster—several times faster than an ordinary person.

Of course—that was useless. They didn't need someone to haul ammunition in a trench.

Professor X gave up and let Hank go work on his own research.

Finally, it was Ron's turn.

In the room.

"Ron, your situation is rather complex and unique."

Professor X chose his words carefully, pausing as he looked at the young man before him, then asked.

"It seems you... can possess the abilities of other mutants?"

To ordinary people, mutant powers were like magic, like miracles. If someone could freely wield the abilities of other mutants, wouldn't they eventually become a god in every sense of the word in people's eyes?

He couldn't help but doubt—could there really be such an unrestricted, overpowered ability in this world?

"Five times."

On the sofa, Ron shifted his gaze from Magneto, who was practicing his abilities on the lawn outside, and suddenly spoke.

"What?"

Professor X didn't catch on at first.

"I can copy other people's abilities, but I can only use it five times in my lifetime. After that, it's gone."

He held up five fingers and smiled.

"Five times? Meaning five abilities."

If it was only five abilities, that was acceptable. Professor X breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Logically, such a powerful ability shouldn't exist.

Otherwise, sooner or later, Earth's fate wouldn't be decided by the other six billion lives, but by the will of this young man sitting before him. That would be terrible.

His budding sense of saintliness subconsciously recoiled at the thought.

"The best god for humanity is one that exists only in fantasy!"

"How many have you copied so far?"

Professor X pressed on.

"Longevity Self-Healing, Tiger-Leopard Body Enhancement, Teleportation, and Darwin and Alex's abilities—five in total."

Ron counted them off casually, lowering a finger with each one until all were down.

"Wait, you said longevity?"

Professor X froze for a moment after Ron finished, as if he'd heard something earth-shattering.

"How long can you live?"

"A few hundred years, maybe a thousand—I'm not sure myself."

Ron said it lightly, much like Professor X had earlier when talking about his family's wealth.

Sabretooth and Wolverine shared the same ability, but the Adamantium skeleton had become one with Wolverine, greatly hindering his Longevity Self-Healing.

"Though my natural lifespan is short and somewhat hindered, with Sabretooth's ability, living at least a few hundred years is no problem."

He wasn't bothered by it. His lifespan might even grow longer, perhaps truly eternal one day.

Elsewhere.

Raven lay on a workout bench, repeatedly lifting a 100kg barbell to train her strength.

Suddenly, the barbell slipped from her control and floated up into the air.

Magneto walked in slowly.