Floating in outer space all day might accelerate your growth, but in the long run, you'll be no different from a salted fish hanging on a shelf—shriveled, dull, and utterly boring.
Nothing compares to what I have now: I spend my days basking in the sun to hone my skills, and my nights conducting experiments and analyzing data; when Yidileisi returns, I rest for a while, and occasionally I accompany Clarice for a stroll and a chat. Life is fulfilling and vibrant.
Suddenly, Chen Xiao clenched his right fist and swung it fiercely forward!
boom!
The heavens and earth hummed, and an indescribable, Berserk power exploded out!
In an instant, a dark corridor, more than ten meters wide and stretching for a kilometer, was torn open in the center of the sea of clouds. Wherever it passed, the water vapor evaporated completely, the air was crushed into a vacuum, and even the light seemed to be forcibly cut off.
Gazing at the void rift that had not yet healed, Chen Xiao's eyes darkened slightly, as if he had gained some insight.
With that attack, he used the X-Gene's energy regulation capabilities to precisely awaken the dormant "super energy" within the Krypton cells of his right arm.
What appears to be a casual swing actually possesses a force as sharp as a blade, domineering and unparalleled. The outward-released fist pressure materializes, destroying everything in its path and leaving no one in its way.
Lately, he has been exploring the path to integrate the X-Gene with the power of Superman's Origin. It's not a simple superposition, but rather using the X-Gene as a catalyst to leverage, guide, and release the power that was already dormant within the Krypton body.
Superman's strength is rooted in relentless evolution: an indestructible body, the power to shake mountains and uproot peaks, the speed to tear through space and time, and a near-complete immune system.
Overall, the Superman of the Bronze Age are essentially "humans" who have evolved to their physiological limits. However, this "human" has tens of millions of times the strength of an ordinary person and a metabolic rate hundreds of millions of times higher.
Judging from his actual combat performance, he is far less unpredictable and versatile than Mutants, nor does he follow the laws of nature like a god. His power form is somewhat limited: ranged attacks, consisting only of Heat Vision and Freeze Breath.
It wasn't until he transformed into the Golden Superman that his abilities truly blossomed.
But in Chen Xiao's view, Superman in the Bronze Age shouldn't be so "simple".
For example, he himself, through the Second Awakening of the X-Gene, materialized pure "brute force" into a controllable energy flow, and his actual combat destructive power has steadily surpassed that of Superman of the same level; after further activating the super energy deep within the Krypton cells, both his offense and defense have undergone a qualitative change: his defense is indestructible and his attack is unstoppable.
Perhaps, this is the fighting stance that Superman should have.
However, only by evolving to the gold or even Silver stage can one truly unleash the full potential of their entire body.
Amidst the turmoil of his thoughts, a slight impulse stirred within him, and his attribute panel appeared as if summoned:
Host: Chen Xiao [ Vitas Chen]
Race: Human
Rating: Four stars
Bloodline: Krypton Superman [Bronze Age]
Strength: Grip strength 340,500 tons, arm strength 1,220,000 tons, punching strength 3,150,000 tons
Speed: 2550~380 meters per second
Eyes: Heat Vision [Characteristics: High temperature of 295,000~470,000℃, with strong energy impact] | X-ray vision of the eye...
Ears: Capable of detecting the faintest sounds within 300 kilometers, without the need for a medium.
brain:...
Breath: Absolute Freeze
Defense: Man of Steel | Bio-Force Field
Physiological: The body's cells can absorb and convert solar energy, continuously evolving; sunlight storage efficiency has been enhanced by 200,000 times.
X-Gene Ability: Energy Berserk /Control [Level 1: Burns internal energy, increasing strength eightfold; can focus energy into a sphere for targeted attack]
Energy Fission [Level 2: Secondary energy disintegration, amplification increased to twenty-seven times]
Telekinesis [Materialization of mental energy, capable of disrupting reality, current conversion rate 100/5]
Law: Quake Blade Intent [Residual, 100/5; can compress internal energy thirty times, condensing it into a sharp, dense vibrating blade aura]
Origin: 10
Functions: Virtual Battlefield | Storage Space [1000×1000]
During this period, research at the genetic level had not yet yielded results, but Chen Xiao's abilities were advancing by leaps and bounds:
A punch with a force exceeding three million tons, a speed surpassing ten times the sound barrier, and Heat Vision temperature approaching three hundred thousand degrees Celsius;
The compression efficiency of sunlight remains stable at two hundred thousand times, and the Freeze Breath is also naturally mastered;
More importantly, the X-Gene, continuously infiltrated by Krypton cells, is evolving rapidly, with its first-level amplification ability already stabilized at eight times and still climbing.
It should be understood that with his current foundation, the addition of an eightfold increase means that the strength of the X-Gene itself has already far exceeded the norm.
He had previously worried that as Superman's power continued to expand, the amplifying effect of the X-Gene would diminish.
But the reality is quite the opposite. The stronger the Krypton cells are, the more surging the super energy they contain. The X-Gene, on the contrary, absorbs, transforms, and feeds back into itself with great eagerness, and the speed of evolution is getting faster and faster, even subtly breaking through some kind of constraint.
This phenomenon even surprised Chen Xiao somewhat.
Perhaps the solar energy that has been repeatedly purified and compressed 200,000 times by cells carries the primal power to catalyze the leap of life.
"I really need to find some time to investigate this thoroughly..."
Before the thought was even finished, his phone vibrated in his pocket. The screen lit up, displaying the caller ID: Professor X.
Chen Xiao's gaze sharpened, and he lightly swiped his finger to answer the phone.
Professor X's gentle and steady voice immediately came through the receiver:
" Vitas, is now a good time?"
"Professor, is something the matter?"
"It's not me looking for you, it's Peter into some trouble and he'd like to ask you to come over and help him out. Would it be convenient for you to come to the school?"
"No problem."
Chen Xiao originally planned to go into seclusion and cultivate until he reached the Bronze Peak before making his appearance, but since Colossus had run into trouble, he was willing to take the trip.
He had a pretty good impression of Peter, and with his current fighting power, he was no less than Superman at his Bronze Peak.
boom!
A sharp explosion suddenly erupted above the clouds, tearing the air apart. Chen Xiao, enveloped in a ring of ghostly blue plasma flames, pierced the sky like a meteor and disappeared in an instant.
At supersonic speed, he traversed more than 4,000 kilometers in just half an hour, transforming into a streak of silver light that descended from the sky.
But just a hundred meters from the ground, his figure suddenly froze, and the surging, Berserk energy around him vanished without a trace.
On the playground, Shadowcat was supervising a group of elementary school students' extracurricular activities when he looked up and saw Chen Xiao descend from the sky and land steadily in front of him.
Her eyes lit up, and she blurted out, " Vitas!"
Chen Xiao's lips curled into a slight smile, clean and crisp. "Long time no see, Kitty."
Having not seen him for months, Kitty was both surprised and delighted to suddenly bump into him. She couldn't help but ask, "By the way, Vitas, weren't you still on a mission in Mexico? Why are you back all of a sudden?"
"The professor informed me that Peter urgently needed assistance, so I rushed over."
Upon hearing this, Kitty paused slightly, then nodded. " Peter... has indeed been acting a bit strange lately."
Since returning from their joint raid on the Sentry Laboratory, she has noticed Peter frequently visiting Professor X's office.
"I'm going to see the professor now, do you want to come with me?"
"I'll go," she agreed readily.
She and Colossus were close friends, and when she heard he was in trouble, how could she stand idly by?
Hi, Ms. Kitty!
Hello, teacher!
As the two walked toward the teachers' building, students kept coming up to greet Kitty warmly, a stark contrast to the deserted scene they had witnessed before.
Chen Xiao sighed with emotion, "The school is really popular now."
Kitty smiled and nodded.
Just then, as they stepped into the teachers' building and turned a corner, they encountered three junior high school girls who looked almost identical and had hair as bright as gold foil.
These were the three girls Chen Xiao rescued from the Sentry Laboratory.
The three bowed in unison, their voices clear and crisp. "Good afternoon, Ms. Kitty."
" Esme, Sophie, Phoebe."
Kitty responded gently and then walked past them.
But after taking only a few steps, the three of them stopped at the same time, turned around, and their eyes fell on the tall and straight figure walking side by side with Kitty.
The girl on the left hesitated slightly. " Sophie, don't you think... his mental fluctuations seem a little familiar?"
The girl in the middle nodded slightly. "It really does look like it."
The girl on the right lowered her voice. "So, we weren't mistaken, it really is him."
As Mutants cloned from the White Queen's genes, they are born with Telepathy abilities, enabling them not only to sense others' thoughts but also to exert influence; they also inherited the White Queen's Diamond Form physique, which, although currently only partially hardened, has astonishing potential.
More importantly, when the three of them coexist, their Mind Stone powers can resonate and amplify each other, making them exceptionally sensitive to any changes in their mental state. Just now, they clearly sensed a familiar aura emanating from Chen Xiao.
They understood each other implicitly.
At that moment, the three girls recognized their junior high school teacher at a glance—a middle-aged Mutants was nodding and exchanging pleasantries with Chen Xiao and the others.
As the person approached, the three immediately suppressed their usual liveliness, adopting a docile yet tentative expression. "Ms. Mala, who was that person walking with Ms. Kitty just now?"
"Many senior students and even quite a few teachers have greeted him."
The middle-aged man didn't think much of it and casually replied, "You mean Vitas? He used to be a student at our school too. He was selected for the X-Men after only half a month of enrollment."
"However, not long after, he returned to Mexico to take over family affairs."
The three Vitas sisters exchanged glances and silently repeated the name in their hearts.
After leaving the teachers' building, they encountered a highly experienced high school Mutants student on the school path, and they promptly activated their Telepathy abilities.
From the student's deepest memories, the three sisters quickly extracted a series of events that occurred after Chen Xiao entered the school, including all the key changes.
After reading it, a strange light flickered in the eyes of the three people.
Superman... Vitas!
In the underground base, inside a pure white, sealed room, Professor X, Colossus, Cyclops, and Storm had been waiting for a long time.
As soon as Chen Xiao and Shadowcat arrived, everyone gathered around a control panel. Floating on the panel was a black wooden piece, the very one that Colossus had brought back.
Professor X turned to Chen Xiao: "This is a magical talisman, possessing both bloodline tracking and Spatial Teleportation functions. It's a common communication token used by magicians."
"A magician?" Chen Xiao raised an eyebrow slightly.
"That's right, a magician." Professor X nodded, and seeing the slight unfamiliarity in his expression, he took the opportunity to explain:
"There are still Inheritors of an ancient power in the world. Their lineage has spanned hundreds or even thousands of years, and their strength is unfathomable."