Illyana felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave; her breath caught in her throat, and she nodded with difficulty. "It's... it's me."
Seeing this, Chen Xiao subtly withdrew his sharp aura, and the destructive power accumulated in his palm slowly dissipated. His voice remained calm. "What is your relationship with that demon? Do you need me to kill it for you and take you away?"
"No, no need!" Illyana hurriedly waved her hand, "It... can barely be considered my master."
She was terrified that if he had a single thought, he might actually turn the entire plane upside down.
"Master?" Chen Xiao paused slightly, his expression calm. "So we made a mistake. I'm sorry."
Despite saying this, there was no trace of apology on his face; instead, a hint of regret flashed across it.
That punch, in the end, was never thrown.
Belasco could only sigh to the heavens, "Why didn't you say so earlier! You came to pick someone up, couldn't you have sat down, had a cup of coffee and chat? Instead, you came up here and started fighting, smashing things up like they were destroying the world!"
Of course, it automatically omitted the fact that it summoned a siege of ten thousand demons and tore space apart with a wave of its hand upon first meeting.
In the dimly lit and eerie living room, Chen Xiao and Colossus sat down, and the blonde girl poured each of them a cup of hot coffee.
She had fair skin, bright eyes, and a specially made, form-fitting magical battle suit that accentuated her lithe figure, exuding a heroic aura.
Sitting at the head of the table, Belasco forced a smile that could barely be described as "friendly," his voice hoarse. "I didn't expect that you two had come looking for someone. This gentleman is Illyana's brother."
"As an old saying I heard during my travels in the East, it could be considered 'no fight, no friendship'."
"It was indeed my oversight regarding Illyana. When I left the farm, I forgot to inform Peter's parents, which led to this misunderstanding."
According to it, when it passed by the farm, it noticed that Illyana possessed rare magical potential, so it took the opportunity to bring her to the Hell's Boundary. Due to the rush of the trip, it did not have time to visit her in person to explain, hence its apologies.
Of course, this is just something to take with a grain of salt. If it weren't for its fear of Chen Xiao, it wouldn't have given Peter a second glance, let alone apologized. As for informing his parents? That was just a polite formality.
As the supreme being who commands countless demons, Rasputin's ability to take Illyana in was already an incredible stroke of luck for the Rasputin family. Initially, he merely wanted to select a magical servant with potential.
Peter responded politely, "Mr. Belasco, we've come to take Illyana home. She left home at the age of seven, and her whole family has missed her dearly all these years."
His tone was humble, but he knew in his heart that the other party's softened attitude was entirely due to Chen Xiao's presence; in essence, he was still the demon king who ruled the abyss and could not be disobeyed.
As soon as he finished speaking, Belasco's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced discreetly at the black-haired boy sitting quietly to the side. He then turned to Illyana and asked in a low, gentle voice, " Illyana, do you want to go back to Earth?"
When the fierce battle broke out earlier, she was in seclusion in a secret underground chamber of the castle and did not appear immediately.
Her goal, which she has been training day and night, is to one day defeat Belasco, take his place, rule the Hell's Boundary, and return to her homeland.
Now that someone had come to pick her up in person, she nodded almost without hesitation. "Yes."
"... Alright." Belasco remained silent for a moment, then reluctantly agreed; it dared not refuse.
It knew perfectly well that if that final punch landed, it would surely die, and the entire alien realm would collapse as a result.
With a single strike, an entire alternate dimension could be wiped out. Even though this world's foundation was not as stable as Earth's, this power was still terrifying.
With this person in charge, unless Earth's power completely surpasses his one day, the ambition to "drag Earth into hell" and "unify the two worlds" will ultimately remain just a pipe dream.
At this moment, Chen Xiao spoke calmly, "Since Mr. Belasco has no objections, Miss Illyana, you should go and pack your things. I need to get back to do my experiments."
"Great!" Illyana's eyes lit up, unable to hide her excitement.
Deep beneath Xavier Institute, in a secret chamber marked with spatial coordinates, the air suddenly distorted violently, and energy hummed.
A bright light suddenly appeared, and Chen Xiao, Colossus, and Illyana appeared out of thin air.
Professor X and Storm had been waiting there, immediately smiled; Scott and Shadowcat, however, had already left due to other matters.
Professor X asked gently, "You're back safely? Are you injured?"
Colossus breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly, "Thanks to Vitas's intervention, otherwise things would have been really bad. That mage named Belasco is terrifying."
The thought of the hordes of monsters covering the mountains and plains, the tentacles of evil gods crushing the earth at will, the roaring fireballs of energy, and those ancient curses that were impossible to defend against made his scalp tingle.
The most troublesome thing is that the opponent seems to be deeply bound to this plane, almost immortal.
The blonde girl shook her head and said, "Brother, Belasco isn't as strong as you think."
"The immense magical power and boundless might it previously displayed were all due to the advantageous location at the Hell's Boundary. If it were to truly set foot on Earth, its strength would be reduced by at least several times."
"Oh?" Colossus was taken aback, then suddenly realized.
" Illyana, let me introduce you. This is Professor X, and this is Ms. Ororo. We are currently at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."
"The students at the school, like me, are Mutants."
"Professor, this is my sister, Illyana. She was taken away by Belasco when she was seven years old."
The blonde girl greeted them gracefully, "Hello Professor, hello Professor Ororo, I'm Illyana, and I'm very grateful for everyone's help this time."
Professor X smiled and nodded. "No need to be so polite, it's good that you're safe." He paused slightly, his gaze gentle yet firm, " Illyana, you're Mutants too, aren't you?"
Illyana's eyes flickered slightly, a hint of surprise in them. "Professor, how did you determine that I awakened a mutant ability, rather than a magical talent?"
Professor X chuckled softly, "I'm too familiar with Mutants. With just a little perception, I can distinguish from their mental fluctuations whether they are born Mutants or individuals who acquired superpowers."
"So precise?" Illyana blurted out, a hint of shock flashing in her eyes.
Professor X said calmly, "This isn't the place to discuss this in detail. Let's go upstairs and talk."
"Good."
In the school's living room, Chen Xiao sat on a single sofa, with Colossus and his sister beside him; Iceman, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, sat on a small sofa opposite him.
On the other side, Storm and Shadowcat sat side by side; not far away, Wolverine was talking to Professor X in a low voice.
Scott also brought in Havok, who had just joined the X-Men. It was a rare occasion for everyone to be together, and the atmosphere was relaxed and harmonious.
With expectant eyes, Shadowcat, " Vitas, will you be staying at school for two days this time?"
Chen Xiao shook his head. "I'm afraid that won't work. Several key experiments are currently at a critical juncture."
"Although Clarice is looking after things at the research institute, there are some things I still need to oversee personally. I have to head back soon."
"I see..." Shadowcat's tone revealed a hint of regret.
Professor X, who was speaking in hushed tones with Wolverine, looked up and asked, "Speaking of experiments, Vitas, how is the research on the X-Gene progressing?"
Upon hearing this Scott and the others also turned their attention to the matter.
They knew that Chen Xiao had been deeply involved in research on X-Gene abilities, spending almost every day in the laboratory after arriving in Mexico, and had reportedly invested billions of dollars.
Mentioning the results, Chen Xiao's lips curled into a slight smile, "Progress is going smoothly. I have successfully isolated, recombinated, and stably fused the X-Gene fragment related to Telekinesis."
"What?!"
"You really 'imbued' your body with Telekinesis?!"
"It really worked?!"
Everyone was stunned and looked at him in disbelief.
Over the years, countless scientific research efforts have attempted to analyze mutant abilities and have created many artificial Mutants, including some with astonishing combat power.
However, most of these modified individuals could not escape the fate of genetic disintegration, dying from exhaustion within months to a few years; only a very few managed to survive.
Even so, people still flock to it, after all, the allure of superhuman power is simply too great.
There are very few cases where cross-capability integration can be truly achieved.
The so-called "fusion" is not the instantaneous copying like Anna or Kurd, but the complete absorption and internalization of the abilities of others into one's own function.
Wolverine doesn't count; he just replaced his bone claws with metal ones. The Esme sisters don't count either; they were clones derived from the White Queen's genes.
While everyone was still in shock, Chen Xiao calmly added, "Although I possess Telekinesis, its strength is limited because it was acquired later in life."
"Currently, I can only utilize about five percent of my own mental energy."
"Only five percent?" Storm and the others looked slightly disappointed.
That percentage does indeed sound low.
Professor X's pupils contracted slightly. He knew better than anyone how unfathomable Chen Xiao's mental strength was, so strong that even his Telepathy couldn't penetrate the boundaries of the other's thoughts.
He hesitated for a moment, then asked, " Vitas, then... can I try fusing with Telekinesis?"
As the world's most powerful Mind Stone, Professor X possesses boundless mental power.
However, this immense power is mainly used to perceive, read, and guide consciousness, lacking a physical output that directly interferes with reality, which has always been his hidden regret.
If he could combine Telekinesis with his equivalent mental reserves, he could instantly rise to the ranks of the world's top combatants.
Although they are now among the strongest, "being able to manipulate matter" and "only being able to influence consciousness" are ultimately two different dimensions.
Chen Xiao nodded. "Okay."
Upon hearing this, Shadowcat's eyes lit up. " Vitas, can the rest of us also fuse other abilities? Like Scott's Cyclops?"
"Uh... that's not possible right now."
Chen Xiao explained, "At this stage, the most technologically mature aspect is only the extraction and adaptation of Telekinesis Factor; the gene analysis and stable implantation of other abilities are still in the intensive research and development stage."
"Moreover, even producing just one Telekinesis sample takes more than half a month; repeated adjustments based on the receptor's genetic characteristics are also necessary to improve the fusion success rate."
"I see." The group looked slightly disappointed.
In fact, Chen Xiao's skills are far more advanced than they appear, but he intentionally holds back. His ability to accumulate skills at will is too terrifying and would easily attract covetousness.