Professor X's Invitation

"Make yourself comfortable. I don't have that many rules here." Zhan Liu pointed to the seat beside him and gestured for the trembling Jimmy Yang to sit.

Jimmy Yang was the newly awakened Mutant. He wasn't a student at Midtown High School, but the son of a shopkeeper in Chinatown who attended some public high school.

He was a fan of Bruce Lee and a kung fu enthusiast, so he joined as soon as the martial arts school was established. He had been there for several months now.

He had originally been the kind of delinquent kid who got poor grades and would likely have joined a Chinese gang to make a living in the future. But now he was helplessly staring at the feathers covering his body, wanting to sit down but afraid he would crush them.

"Then forget it. You'd better keep standing. I don't know whether sitting down would affect your feathers."

Jimmy felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He remained where he was, nervously watching Zhan Liu.

"Don't be nervous. I don't discriminate against Mutants. They're not monsters. You know that I'm not from this world, and I don't think Mutants are dangerous. So you don't have to worry about me hurting you."

"Thank you, Master." Jimmy's nervousness eased somewhat, but he was still extremely uneasy. "How did I suddenly awaken my Mutant gene?"

"I can't figure that out either. In principle, though, anyone could awaken their Mutant gene. It's not that many people lack a Mutant gene; their X-Gene is simply recessive. When subjected to some kind of powerful stimulus, the recessive gene may become dominant, causing an awakening."

"What is your ability? Can you control the wind?" This was also Zhan Liu's first time meeting a Mutant, and he was quite curious.

"Uh... I think so." Jimmy held out his hand, and a breeze appeared above it. With a flick of his hand, the breeze suddenly transformed into a blade and shot out, leaving a shallow cut across the nearby table.

"Not bad. You can control your ability immediately after awakening. It's still a little weak, but you should be able to grow stronger through scientific training in the future." Zhan Liu nodded approvingly.

"I don't know what's going on either. Controlling the wind feels pretty easy, much easier than practicing Ultimate Limit Qigong."

"That makes sense. Controlling the wind is your Mutant ability. It's an innate ability rooted in your genes, just like fish can swim and birds can fly. The Qigong of my school, on the other hand, is acquired through training, so of course it's more difficult."

When he heard Zhan Liu mention birds flying, Jimmy flapped his feather-covered arms and even hopped around a few times. In the end, he stopped dejectedly and said, "Looks like these feathers are useless. I can't fly."

"Birds can fly partly because of their hollow bones, and you don't have wings either. But don't be discouraged. As long as you reach the Nine Heavens stage of Magnetic Field Rotation, you'll be able to fly too." Zhan Liu comforted him.

"Uh... can I continue studying at the martial arts school?" Jimmy asked in surprise.

"Of course. You haven't reached the three-month deadline I set last time. Or are you planning to move away and stop studying here?"

"No, of course not. I have no plans to move, and I want to continue studying here. It would be even better if I could pass the assessment and become a formal disciple. I was just worried..." He hesitated.

"I can't control what happens outside, but within the grounds of my martial arts school, racial discrimination is forbidden. Discrimination against Mutants is forbidden too."

Jimmy was overjoyed. "Thank you, Master."

"I'll take you home first. Your parents don't know about your current condition yet. Have you thought about how you'll face them?"

"I... I don't know." Jimmy's smile stiffened again.

"If your parents can't accept your current condition, you can come to the martial arts school. I'll arrange a suitable place for you."

Zhan Liu didn't believe in sayings like "even a tiger won't eat its cubs." Although many parents were willing to sacrifice everything for their children, there were just as many who were selfish and cared nothing for them.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of children were abandoned in the United States, and nearly ten million children had no fathers. Most children were the result of moments of passion.

Even when both parents were present, that didn't necessarily mean they loved their children.

Parents all over the world could have children without needing to pass any kind of test. What a terrifying thing that was.

Zhan Liu didn't know what kind of people Jimmy's parents were, but in Marvel's Mutant-related comics, there were plenty of stories about parents betraying, abandoning, and selling out their Mutant children.

So there was nothing wrong with assuming the worst.

As for how to accommodate Jimmy afterward, that would be easy enough to resolve.

If Jimmy could become a disciple within the three-month deadline, he would naturally live at the martial arts school. If he couldn't, Zhan Liu would dump him on Professor X. That old man was already raising a whole bunch of children, so one more wouldn't matter. He would even have to thank Zhan Liu for it.

However, the next day, when Zhan Liu saw Jimmy arrive with his parents, he knew that Jimmy was lucky. His parents weren't the standard Marvel parents.

Although they were still somewhat afraid of Mutants, that fear hadn't overshadowed their love for their son.

They had come to express their gratitude. Clearly, Jimmy had told his parents what Zhan Liu had said to him.

Mr. and Mrs. Yang had come to truly acknowledge Zhan Liu as Jimmy's master, rather than merely the instructor at his martial arts school.

Not only did they express their thanks verbally, they had also brought a gift of apprenticeship. They hoped Jimmy could formally become Zhan Liu's disciple, entering the kind of traditional master-disciple relationship involving three prostrations and nine bows, with Jimmy caring for Zhan Liu in his old age and seeing him through to the end.

They certainly had a beautiful vision, but Zhan Liu didn't accept just anyone.

So Zhan Liu clearly stated his standards for taking disciples. If Jimmy could become a disciple within the deadline, he would be worth cultivating, and Zhan Liu would be willing to take him under his wing. If he couldn't, then there was nothing more to discuss.

Seeing how firm his attitude was, Mr. and Mrs. Yang didn't press him further. They merely hoped that Zhan Liu would be strict with Jimmy, beating him when necessary and scolding him when necessary.

To dispel Zhan Liu's concerns, Mr. Yang even wrote an authorization and liability waiver on the spot.

Zhan Liu found the whole thing both amusing and exasperating, but he truly felt their sincerity.

After seeing Mr. and Mrs. Yang off, Zhan Liu brought Jimmy into the courtyard and publicly stated his position to everyone: no one was allowed to discriminate against Jimmy in any way, or they would be expelled from the school without exception.

Of course, he wasn't forcing anyone to stay. Anyone who didn't want to remain could leave of their own accord.

There might be many people who felt disgust toward Mutants, but those who truly regarded Mutants as mortal enemies were usually people whose families had been harmed by Mutants. Even if ordinary people disliked Mutants, they wouldn't let that affect their prospects and future.

The minor disturbance thus faded away, but several days later, he received an invitation bearing the name Charles Xavier.