Yet his body was the complete opposite: every cell rapidly restructured and strengthened in the sunlight. He was both exhausted and exhilarated, heavy with drowsiness yet unable to sleep.
He quietly released his psychic power, shrouding himself like a thin mist as he carefully examined the indescribable changes within his body.
After a long while, he slowly withdrew his perception and sighed softly. "I still can't detect it... what a shame."
Although his psychic power was strong enough to cover his entire body, it had yet to reach the microscopic precision needed to clearly detect the subtle changes deep within his cells.
He remained curious about the X-Gene ability that had emerged during yesterday's fierce battle: where exactly did this power come from? How did it resemble or differ from the Kryptonian cells within him?
As for the Kryptonian cells themselves, he only knew that sunlight made him stronger. He understood the outward effects, but not the mechanism.
"These mysteries will probably only truly unravel when my psychic power can probe inside my cells." His thoughts churned as he swiftly reviewed the details of yesterday's battle.
Judging by their performance alone, real-world mutants were not as weak as those in the movies.
Onscreen, those so-called "top mutants" often had unremarkable physical strength and reflexes apart from their abilities, but that was actually a false impression.
Or rather, that group of trainee X-Men yesterday had been far from ordinary to begin with.
Even the weakest was a level-three mutant, far beyond beginners at levels one and two.
On the other hand, they were not as outrageously powerful as their comic-book counterparts, either.
Iceman should theoretically have been able to freeze the world's oceans, Storm should have controlled the entire atmosphere, and Cyclops at full power could even shatter planets...
But when they fought yesterday, they had not posed an overwhelming threat to Chen Xiao. They were merely superhuman individuals with outstanding abilities.
On reflection, that made sense.
If Professor X, Magneto, and even these students truly possessed the power described in the comics, how would ordinary people dare tell them what to do?
One person alone would have been enough to overturn the world and crush all resistance.
"My raw offensive output at full power is slightly below Cyclops's, but already comfortably above close-combat mutants like Wolverine."
"And that only took ten days." At that thought, a faint smile touched Chen Xiao's lips.
He had yet to awaken Superman's Man of Steel, Super Speed, or Heat Vision. Once those abilities awakened one after another, and he spent another few years absorbing sunlight...
Hmph!
Then, never mind Magneto, Iron Man, or Hulk-even gods would be nothing more than dust he could casually brush aside.
Just then, his eyes suddenly itched, and he could not help raising a hand to rub them.
Over the next two days, the rumors gradually died down, and the whole school learned the truth: Vitas had not defeated Mr. Scott at all.
Even so, Chen Xiao had become famous. The younger mutants looked at him with admiration, while the older high school students would take the initiative to nod in greeting as they passed.
Clearly, even revealing just a fraction of his capabilities had quietly changed his standing at school.
The afternoon outdoor activity class proceeded as usual, with everyone free to play.
While the students laughed and played in small groups, Clarice walked to the edge of the lawn.
Beneath the shade, Chen Xiao, dressed in a black T-shirt and white trousers, crouched beside an old tree, staring intently at the ground. There was no telling what he was looking at.
She approached, tilted her head slightly, and asked softly, "Vitas, are you watching ants?"
"Do you think I'd be bored enough to stare at ants?"
Chen Xiao gave her a helpless glance, then turned back, returning his gaze to the patch of dried leaves on the ground.
His eyes had begun itching faintly the day before yesterday, as though something were quietly brewing beneath his flesh.
The strange sensation grew stronger by the day.
Now, as he focused and held his breath, a scorching sensation rose within him. Fine strands of golden energy quietly converged on his eyes, their temperature climbing steadily.
That searing power surged and gathered in his eyes, almost bursting out through his pupils, only to stop abruptly just short of the critical point each time.
Clarice crouched beside him and leaned closer to peer at the ground. Seeing nothing, she looked up at Chen Xiao in confusion.
Then she froze: his eyes were taking on an unusual crimson glow, so red it dazzled, so red it burned.
Hum!
In an instant, red light erupted! Two dazzling crimson beams shot from his pupils, piercing straight ahead.
Whoosh!
Wherever the beams swept, fallen leaves instantly curled, blackened, and sent up wisps of smoke.
The sudden change startled a soft cry out of Clarice.
Several students in the distance turned at the sound, their gazes converging on him.
They looked straight at the pair of scarlet beams pouring from Chen Xiao's eyes.
In the corridor, Storm met Scott coming the other way and spoke first. "Scott, I just heard... Vitas awakened optic blasts?"
Scott, who had been striding briskly along, paused and nodded slightly. "That's right, but we can't say for certain that they're optic blasts yet. They could be another type of energy beam."
He was just about to turn away when Storm's gaze suddenly sharpened, taking on an odd look. "Scott, Vitas... you were the one who brought him back to school, weren't you?"
"Yes. Why?"
Her expression left Scott utterly bewildered.
Storm folded her arms across her chest and studied him thoughtfully. "You brought Vitas back, and he has black hair. You have black hair too."
"And you have optic blasts, and what he just awakened are also optic blasts..."
Before she finished, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly, and an "I've figured it out" expression appeared on her face, leaving Scott even more confused.
What exactly had she figured out?
She moved half a step closer, gently patted his shoulder, and lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Scott, could Vitas be your biological son from outside the school?"
"You never dared acknowledge him or bring him back before because of Jean."
"It wasn't until he recently showed mutant abilities that you had no choice but to come forward and formally bring him into the academy."
Scott did not know whether to laugh or cry. He waved a hand in exasperation. "Ororo, stop making wild guesses."
"I swear on my standing as a teacher: Vitas and I have no blood relation whatsoever."
"Besides, my hair is dark brown, almost black, not pure black."
With that, he could not be bothered to explain further and turned to walk briskly toward the headmaster's office at the end of the corridor.
In fact, Ororo was not the only one. Rumors had quietly begun spreading through the school as soon as Chen Xiao suddenly displayed an ability resembling optic blasts.
After all, ever since mutants became publicly known, there had never been two mutants with completely identical abilities. Even highly similar ones were extremely rare.
Scott knocked and entered, finding Chen Xiao already in Professor X's office. As soon as he stepped inside, both of them looked over.
Professor X smiled. "Scott, you're here."
"Professor. Vitas." After greeting them, Scott walked up to Chen Xiao and asked with some surprise, "I heard you awakened a new beam-type ability?"
Chen Xiao nodded. "Yes, Mr. Scott. But my beams are relatively limited in power."
"'Relatively limited'? What exactly do you mean?" Scott frowned.
Professor X gently added, "Vitas's situation is different from yours. His beams are a secondary ability resulting from his physical enhancement, so their initial strength is low."
When Scott first awakened his optic blasts as a child, a single beam had toppled an entire building, unleashing terrifying destructive power.
During Chen Xiao's test today, however, their range had been only a little over ten meters. Beyond that distance, the beams rapidly weakened. Even firing continuously for a minute could melt no more than a fist-sized lump of iron, with a temperature of around a thousand degrees Celsius and a slight accompanying shock wave.
In other words, this ability was currently little better than nothing. At most, it could subdue an ordinary adult.
After hearing the explanation, Scott felt somewhat regretful. "I see... that's a shame. I thought you'd gained another powerful skill."
"It's all right." Chen Xiao smiled, his expression calm and free of disappointment.
Was Superman's Heat Vision powerful? Of course it was.
The Silver Age or Golden Age Superman's Heat Vision could burn entire galaxies to nothing. Even his Bronze Age incarnation could easily level skyscrapers.
The fundamental reason his own Heat Ray was so weak was that he was still far too weak himself. He had absorbed only ten or so days of solar energy, and his evolution was still in its early stages, nowhere near its peak.
"Don't be discouraged."
Professor X gently shook his head, his tone steady. "Vitas, precisely because your beams are tied to the growth of your physique, they have clear room for improvement."
"As your physical capabilities and psychic power gradually increase, your beams will naturally grow stronger as well."
With that, he turned to Scott. "You have a beam-type ability and extensive experience controlling energy. Next, I'd like you to give Vitas specialized instruction and help him master this new ability as soon as possible. Would that be all right?"
"Of course, Professor."
With Professor X personally making the arrangements, and Scott already admiring Chen Xiao, he agreed without hesitation and took him straight to his own training room.
"That's right. Keep your energy output steady."
Inside the training room, two scorching red beams burst from Chen Xiao's eyes, striking the alloy wall several meters away.
Under the sustained beams, that section of wall quickly glowed red. Sparks flew, and waves of heat rolled toward them.
"At this point, you should faintly sense a large number of tiny energy channels around your eyeballs, transporting and converting the beams' energy."
"What you need to do next is use your willpower to close those channels precisely, one by one."
Standing beside him, Scott patiently explained, "Once you can shut off eighty percent of those channels at will, you'll be able to freely control the beams' strength, length, and thickness."
As Chen Xiao practiced, he still had enough attention to spare to ask, "Sir, can you close most of your channels now?"
"Ahem... not entirely. I'm just a little short."
Scott coughed lightly, then said seriously, "Control on this microscopic level is extremely difficult."
"The eyes themselves are extraordinarily intricate, let alone the energy channels inside them. They're as fine as capillaries, and the slightest distraction makes them hard to detect."
"I can control most of the channels thanks to decades of repeated practice. You'll have to put in plenty of hard work too."
Difficult?
Silently sensing the tenth of his channels that had already closed, Chen Xiao quietly placed a question mark in his mind.
Although their abilities were merely similar and shared a common origin, under Scott's unreserved guidance, Chen Xiao completely mastered the use of Heat Ray in just two days.