"I repeatedly pushed against the barrier, driving my ability to its critical point. Under that extreme pressure, my power suddenly changed form, releasing pure golden energy."
"That energy was incredibly explosive. It shattered the telekinetic shield on the spot and also awakened Senior Jean's consciousness."
Professor X said gently, "Thank you, Vitas. If not for you, Scott truly wouldn't have made it this time."
Chen Xiao shook his head. "You're too kind, Professor. If Mr. Scott hadn't brought me to Xavier's School back then, I probably would have been captured by a research institution and turned into a test subject long ago."
"Not to mention how, after I enrolled, you and the other teachers personally taught me to control my abilities. That's how I was able to grow so quickly."
"As they say in the East, cause and effect follow one another. Every sip and every bite is predestined."
Of course, he had only said that casually. To him, it was all just part of the mission process.
But pleasantries took no effort, so why not?
His words brought a gratified smile to Professor X's face. "I never expected you to know about ideas like the cycle of cause and effect, Vitas."
"Heh... I was into Xia Country kung fu movies for a while, and read quite a few miscellaneous books along the way." Chen Xiao brushed it off with a casual excuse.
Then Professor X's tone suddenly grew grave. "However, Vitas, you must be careful. A leap in your X-Gene ability may bring a tremendous increase in strength, but it isn't necessarily all good."
"Oh? What do you mean, Professor?" Chen Xiao briefly paused in his steps.
Professor X seemed thoughtful and sighed softly. "Generally speaking, once a mutant awakens their ability, its fundamental nature is essentially fixed and rarely changes."
"At most, years of refinement may produce supplementary effects derived from the primary ability, but its core remains the same."
"Of course, there are exceptions."
"For example, there was once a Gamma Level mutant whose ability was extremely unstable. He could only weakly manipulate gravity within a few meters, barely moving objects the size of a television. It was almost useless."
"But during a life-or-death crisis, his ability mutated and advanced. From then on, he could freely adjust the earth's gravity, increasing local gravity a hundredfold or taking flight with a thought."
"He shocked everyone present."
"After his ability transformed, that man, who had once hidden everywhere because of his weakness, completely lost control. He robbed one bank after another and stormed police headquarters."
"Neither shells nor bullets could get near him. Within a hundred meters, the ground buckled at his command. He was unstoppable."
"At the time, the American authorities sent two elite military mutants to take him down, only for him to kill them on the spot."
"In the end, the authorities had no choice but to ask our school for help."
"Under our original agreement, we were obliged to intervene."
"But Scott, Ororo, and the others were away on a mission and couldn't get back, so I had to go alone."
"Yet before I could reach the scene and act, that mutant rapidly aged before everyone's eyes. His skin shriveled, his hair turned completely white, and his back hunched. In just sixty seconds, it was as though he had lived through thirty or forty years."
"In the end, without even leaving behind a sigh, he turned into a wisp of smoke and dissipated into the air."
"For many years afterward, I continued investigating and researching, until I finally confirmed that every mutant's upper limit is firmly set at the very moment their ability first awakens."
"In other words, the strength displayed upon awakening isn't a matter of chance. It depends on the individual's innate potential-in other words, talent."
"For those with exceptional talent, such as Scott, Jean, and Ororo, their abilities start out thousands or tens of thousands of times stronger than ordinary people's. Those of mediocre talent, however, can hardly achieve a qualitative leap, no matter how diligently they train."
"If a rare few manage to break through that shackle, their power surges abruptly, but at the same time, it tears through the limits of what their bodies can bear."
"Every use of that power draws against the very source of their life."
"Though life force cannot be seen or touched, it is a real physiological foundation. Once it is exhausted, life ends, and nothing can reverse it."
Professor X's words closely matched Chen Xiao's earlier deductions: the X-Gene after its second evolution did indeed possess astounding power.
But only someone like him, with Kryptonian blood and a body that could continuously absorb sunlight and evolve without limit, could barely keep that power under control.
For ordinary mutants, forcing that power into action meant burning away their lifeline.
Once that lifeline burned out, only oblivion remained.
That was also the fundamental reason those children at the Chris Research Institute had broken down one after another under repeated stimulation.
"So that's how it is."
A look of "sudden understanding" surfaced on Chen Xiao's face. "No wonder I felt weak all over after I stopped using my power, as though I'd been hollowed out."
He flexed his wrist and added with a little hesitation, "But my body has basically recovered now. I haven't noticed any abnormal reactions."
Professor X nodded lightly. "That is most likely because your physique far exceeds an ordinary person's, Vitas, allowing you to briefly withstand the burden of a second awakening."
"With a solid foundation, recovery is naturally faster."
"Besides, you maintained it for only a very short time, without crossing the threshold of your body's ability to repair itself."
At that point, his tone grew slightly grave. "But you must not let your guard down because of that. In future battles, Vitas, avoid triggering your second awakening unless your life is at stake."
Chen Xiao agreed solemnly. "I understand, Professor. From now on, unless I truly have no other choice, I will never unleash my full power."
Seeing that he had taken the warning to heart, Professor X quietly sighed in relief.
His greatest concern was that Chen Xiao, still young, would grow arrogant after suddenly gaining such tremendous power, lose all restraint, and ultimately destroy himself.
Young people were full of vigor and were the most easily blinded by a moment of brilliance.
They walked as they talked, passing through several security doors before finally entering a quiet, pure-white room.
Several specially designed sanitary pods stood neatly arranged inside, with pipes and sensor ports densely packed around their housings.
Inside one of the pods, a red-haired woman could faintly be seen lying quietly.
Chen Xiao looked over, and Professor X explained, "Her life energy has been depleted too severely. She needs a life-support pod to slowly replenish it."
"Her consciousness is also extremely chaotic. I have to soothe and guide her regularly with telepathy, stabilizing it little by little."
Chen Xiao said sincerely, "Thank you for all your effort, Professor."
Professor X smiled gently. "It's my duty."
Then, under his guidance, Chen Xiao carefully carried Scott into the life-support pod on the left and connected, one by one, the tubes and lines that maintained his vital signs and basal metabolism.
In the dim virtual training ground, Chen Xiao had just selected "easy mode" when the middle-aged opponent who had knocked him down dozens of times appeared again. He made no sound, yet an oppressive presence bore down on Chen Xiao.
But this time, Chen Xiao was no longer afraid.
His gaze hardened, and he spoke directly:
"Begin."
Boom!
Before his voice faded, the ground beneath the middle-aged man's feet cracked apart inch by inch. He shot forward like a black arrow loosed from a bow, his right fist carrying wind and thunder straight toward Chen Xiao's face.
Waves of air surged in an instant, and the air cracked with terrifying force.
At the very instant his opponent punched, Chen Xiao stepped forward. His bones and sinews rang out together as power surged up from his soles, passed through his waist and hips, extended through his shoulders and arms, and gathered entirely at his fist.
More importantly, the previously shapeless, invisible "internal force" now glowed with a layer of solid golden light.
The instant their fists collided, a vast surge of heavy, sharp, unstoppable force erupted from Chen Xiao's knuckles.
Boom!
The middle-aged man's entire right arm shattered inch by inch, sending flesh and bone flying.
Without pausing, Chen Xiao closed in again and drove a heavy punch squarely into his chest.
Violent force exploded, and the middle-aged man's body broke apart on the spot, scattering into motes of light.
Boom!
The light filling the air gradually faded. This time, the opponent who had repeatedly crushed him had been utterly slain with just two punches.
"Congratulations, host. You have cleared the easy-mode Virtual Battlefield. Reward obtained: Fist Technique Essentials."
"Huh? There's an extra reward?" Chen Xiao was slightly surprised.
Before he finished speaking, a flood of practical combat principles for Snake Fist, Qin Na Hand, and Tongbei Jin poured into his mind-the very three techniques the middle-aged man had mastered.
After a long while, Chen Xiao slowly let out a long breath.
Then his eyes sharpened, and a will as solid as a mountain and as sharp as a blade suddenly erupted, reverberating through every part of his body.
Under the command of his will, his tendons, bones, blood, and nerves instantly united. His internal force flowed without obstruction, truly achieving the realm of "Force Through the Whole Body."
Indeed, through the experience gained from this battle, his will had been tempered into form, and his strength had twisted into a single strand, free of all sluggishness.
However, at this point, "Force Through the Whole Body" offered him a relatively limited improvement.
After his X-Gene completed Energy Fission, the previously insubstantial "strength" within his body had already transformed into a tangible, condensed, pure flow of energy.
Though he had not fully activated his second awakening, collapsing the ground and cracking walls with a punch was already effortless.
That was the true basis of his confidence in killing his former nightmare with two punches.
With his enemy slain in one move and the shadows of the past swept away, bold exhilaration surged in Chen Xiao's chest.
He looked up at the difficulty selection interface that appeared before him and selected "hard mode" without hesitation.
Whoosh!
Light and shadow shifted nearby, and the taciturn middle-aged man appeared again. This time, there were two of him.
The attribute panels above their heads were identical to Chen Xiao's, and each now held a long saber gleaming with cold light.
At the same time, a long saber shining with an icy gleam appeared before Chen Xiao.
Clearly, hard mode was a weapons duel.
...I've never even touched a weapon. Chen Xiao's heart tightened, and he felt somewhat at a loss.
But never having used a weapon didn't mean he had no chance of winning. As a thought flashed through his mind, the corners of his mouth rose slightly. His gaze steadied, and he raised his hand to select "begin."
Whoosh, whoosh!
Before the rush of wind faded, the two middle-aged men had closed in like phantoms on either side of him.
Their long sabers swung in unison. Two dazzling silver streaks abruptly cleaved the air, tearing out piercing whistles.
In Chen Xiao's keen dynamic vision, the two flashes of saber light seemed to slash toward him instantaneously, but in fact, they were vibrating at high frequency every millisecond, their edges humming without pause.
Then... there was nothing.
His final memory was of those two flashes of saber light moving faster than his perception, carrying an overwhelming sharpness that swallowed him completely.
Whoosh!
The afternoon sunlight was warm. On the rooftop, Chen Xiao, who had been resting with his eyes closed, abruptly sat upright, his face deathly pale and his chest heaving.
"I... couldn't even withstand a single move?" he murmured in disbelief.
Compared with a few days earlier, his strength had already undergone a complete transformation. Killing the middle-aged man with a single punch was the most direct proof.