A Complete Victory, and a New Move (Fifth Update)

Scott, furious and fired up by Guan Heng, let out a long roar as his fighting spirit surged.

But Professor X's worried words made everyone watching tense. They all knew that Cyclops Scott's laser beams were no ordinary attack. When Scott was young, their power had been completely beyond his control. As a result, he'd been afraid of them and rarely used their full potential.

Cyclops's energy came from absorbing and storing solar power in a special region of his brain. His ruby quartz visor had the same vibrational frequency as this energy field, allowing it to block the particle beams. Buttons on the side of his visor and in the palm of his glove controlled the lenses and regulated the width of the beams.

Because Cyclops couldn't control his power, he had to wear his glasses at all times. This was the result of a head injury and emotional trauma he'd suffered as a teenager. In a state of extreme rage, he might unleash enough power to destroy everything around him.

"At this rate, Scott really might lose control," Ororo said. "We should stop the match now. It's not a fight to the death. There's no need to take it so seriously."

"No, I feel like Scott is holding back a little." Jean Grey shook her head. "I sensed Cyclops restrain the power he was about to unleash." As she spoke, Jean looked at Guan Heng, confusion in her eyes, and murmured, "Suddenly, I really want to see how he'll handle it."

By this point in the match, Professor X and the others all knew that Guan Heng was a cut above the rest—and might even surpass all the X-Men—so they weren't particularly worried about him.

At that moment, Scott finished gathering his energy. The red light that had been concentrated in his eyes now enveloped his entire body.

"Hahaha! So this is the limit of your power!" Guan Heng suddenly felt the pressure radiating from Cyclops across from him. Excitement welled up within him, and his desire to fight surged. With a low growl, he pushed his Qi Control to its limit, and white-hot light slowly covered his body. Just then, the Ice Fire Rings on his right hand flashed strangely, and red and blue light slipped silently into his invisible Qi.

Guan Heng suddenly sensed that something was off. His power had never been this immense before. He had no idea that the powerful Spiritual Power Odin had bestowed upon him was at work, increasing his Iron Fist Power several times over. On top of that, the frost from the Box of Frost and the Source of Fire God Power stored in the Ice Storm and Flame Storm rings had merged with his invisible energy. Three forces had now combined into one, forming a terrifying power.

His heart swelled with bold confidence. Guan Heng felt that he could take on all the X-Men at once and still beat them. Their strongest attack, telepathy, couldn't affect him at all. Their weather-controlling attacks were limited by range and physical stamina, while his own power could easily wipe them out.

Scott roared. The red light of his full power gathered in his eyes. With a crack and a snap, his ruby quartz glasses suddenly shattered.

Boom! A thick red beam, taller than a man, skimmed along the ground and surged toward Guan Heng with irresistible force. It was no exaggeration to call it devastating. Everything in its path—the grass, stones, and earth—was reduced to scorched ground beneath waves of steaming heat.

With a deafening roar, Guan Heng leaped forward. In an instant, a layer of icy blue covered his fists.

Bang, bang, bang! He unleashed dozens of punches at the red beam with his mountain-shaking Iron Fist. Crack, crack, crack! The biting cold around his fists actually froze the beam solid.

Under his fierce, earth-shattering assault, the red beam instantly burst into countless fragments and vanished into the air.

Guan Heng's Iron Fists, wrapped in unparalleled icy force, shot forward like a raging gale and a bolt of lightning. With a ferocious roar, he slammed a punch toward Scott's face.

Scott had used up all his energy and couldn't fight back. He was about to meet his end.

"Guan Heng, hold back!" Professor X and the X-Men shouted in unison.

Guan Heng's fist stopped just an inch from Scott's nose. The cold sweat on Scott's forehead seemed frozen in place, unable to fall. Then the icy aura vanished in an instant. If it hadn't, his head would have become a gigantic ball of ice. That biting frost had come from the Treasure of the Ice Giant, the Box of Frost. It could freeze even the bodies of the Norse gods, let alone Cyclops.

Scott, Professor X, and the X-Men watching from the sidelines had all felt the world-destroying force of Guan Heng's punch. Not one of them doubted that if it had landed, Scott would have been blasted to smithereens.

"I finally did it!" Guan Heng had been trying to combine the frost in his rings with his invisible fist energy, but he'd always been just short of a breakthrough. Then, under the pressure of Cyclops's powerful attack, he'd finally managed it. Now that he'd mastered Ice Fist, surely Flame Fist wouldn't be far behind!

"I lost." Scott, his fighting spirit gone, sank to the ground, exhausted. He covered his eyes with one hand. Without his ruby quartz glasses, he couldn't look directly at anyone without hurting them.

Guan Heng took a pair of sunglasses from his belt pouch and handed them to him. "Do you mind using mine for now? The lenses are made of polished quartz, too."

"Thanks." Scott put them on and felt a little better.

"Hey, you all right? Here, take my hand." Guan Heng reached out and clasped Scott's hand, pulling Cyclops to his feet.

The X-Men were all stunned. No one present had ever managed to utterly defeat Cyclops. Guan Heng was so powerful—he was terrifying!

"What a punch! It's countless times more intimidating than my weather powers," Storm Ororo murmured. "And his terrifying fighting spirit—I couldn't even begin to face him. I actually thought I could challenge him just now, how foolish of me! Before I could even summon lightning or wind, he'd have already sent me flying."

"Hey, you two! Now that the fight's over, hurry over here!" Professor X called to Guan Heng and Scott. "Let's go back to the school. With the teachers away for a short time, the kids might behave themselves. But if we're gone too long, those little monkeys will turn the place upside down. Jean, take Scott's car and head back first. Get some snacks and drinks ready so we can all have a good chat."

Guan Heng's strength had left all the X-Men speechless. Some of them had wanted to challenge him after Cyclops, but after seeing the fight, they swallowed their words. Now, when they looked at Guan Heng, their eyes held nothing but admiration for the strong.

The group slowly gathered their things and prepared to drive back to the school. Guan Heng patted Cyclops on the shoulder and quietly said, "Scott, the lasers from your eyes are incredibly powerful. They're truly astonishing. My fists still ache from clashing head-on with your attack."

"Really?" Cyclops, downhearted after his defeat, felt a little better at Guan Heng's praise. But he sighed. "I still lost, though."

Fifth update of the day, as promised. I'm shamelessly asking for likes and recommendations. Old Sha thanks you all.