The moment the two blades of energy collided, the transparent blade energy shattered instantly, but the golden light, undiminished in its momentum, tore through the air with high-frequency vibrations, instantly turning the middle-aged man into dust.
"Congratulations, host, you have cleared the Hard Mode Virtual Battlefield and received the reward: a wisp of the 'Zhen' sword intent law."
As soon as the notification sound ended, the previously intermittent and weak energy within Chen Xiao's body suddenly surged, subtly revealing a sense of complete self-sufficiency.
"The Laws of Sword Intent?!"
Chen Xiao's heart trembled slightly. He had originally thought that the dull middle-aged man was ridiculously strong, relying on his swordsmanship honed through countless trials. He never expected that the sword intent had already touched the level of laws. Even a wisp of it was enough to rewrite the level of combat power.
With a sudden thought, his consciousness entered his body and he immediately sensed a grayish-white shadow, more than ten centimeters long, hanging above his chest.
Shaped like a narrow blade, silent and still, yet exuding an indescribable profound aura.
As he stared intently at the illusory image, a chaotic scene seemed to appear before his eyes: billions of particles vibrating at high speed, atoms colliding with each other, and photons rapidly transitioning...
hiss,
Chen Xiao shook his head violently, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. The information that had flooded in just a moment was too overwhelming, almost bursting his consciousness.
After a brief moment of adjustment, his thoughts stirred slightly.
In an instant, the phantom suddenly generated a powerful suction force, precisely locking onto the golden energy dormant deep within the Krypton cells around it and drawing it all in; then, the other end emitted pure golden light, tempered by the shock force, which surged along the arm meridian and poured into the blade.
Buzz,
The blade shimmered with golden light, vibrating wildly at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, ten thousand times per second! A terrifying pressure, capable of tearing everything apart, had solidified at the edge of the Blade.
boom!!
With a casual wave of his hand, Chen Xiao unleashed a ten-meter-long crescent-shaped golden arc that pierced the air, forcefully splitting it open and causing the void to vibrate and hum.
Boom!!
The earth cracked open, mud surged into the sky, and a grotesque ravine more than twenty meters long was suddenly split open in the ground.
He hesitated for a moment, then swung his sword again.
This time, the golden arc was slightly smaller, but more condensed, whistling as it slashed towards the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!
Chen Xiao seemed to transform into a human-shaped artillery platform, his sword flashing continuously and fiercely, plundering the surrounding mountains, rocks, trees, and soil into scorched ruins.
After a long while, he slowly exhaled a long breath, sheathed his sword, and stood still.
After a series of trials, he gradually gained more and more control over this energy: its size, strength, and dispersion could all be controlled at will.
This harvest has been substantial, truly adding a sharp and ruthless killing move.
However, the overall improvement in combat power is not significant.
The reason is that the transformation of energy has its limits: a single burst can at most condense a golden ray of twenty meters and create a crack of a hundred meters.
However, if Chen Xiao were to unleash the first level of X-Gene and deliver a full-force punch, it would be enough to level half a city block.
Therefore, he knew clearly in his heart that the sword intent he was currently using was just adding another way of fighting; the real qualitative change would have to wait until the vibration frequency broke through 100,000 times or 1 million times, at which point it would have the power to truly shake the rules.
In the pavilion in the backyard, Chen Xiao slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were clear and bright, with distinct black and white, and an inner radiance like the first burst of stars. Between his brows, there was a hint of awe-inspiring superiority.
It was as if a god had descended to earth, wielding the law and indifferently looking down upon all living beings.
The invisible pressure caused the old butler, who was about to approach, to pause in his steps, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.
Chen Xiao turned his head, his voice calm. "Butler, is there something you need?"
"Young Master, Professor Jacked has reported that the underground research lab is now complete and requests your presence for inspection."
"So fast?" Chen Xiao's lips curled up slightly, and the imposing aura in his eyes quietly disappeared.
With the research institute completed, all that's needed now is for the equipment to be installed before he can begin the most crucial step: replicating the original X-Gene.
Back in the archives of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, he had read a bold hypothesis: the source of all Mutants abilities lies in the original X-Gene, that is, the "Proto-humans" who were the first to awaken the X-Gene in ancient times.
These primordial genes, through millions of years of inheritance, mutation, and evolution, have differentiated into all sorts of bizarre super-powered forms.
If we trace back to the source and artificially cultivate the most primitive X-Gene template... does this mean that we can control any power and generate it in a targeted manner?
This idea is almost arrogant.
To this end, some people have spent more than ten years repeatedly extracting, culturing, and reimplanting the gene sequence from dozens of Mutants bodies, but have still failed to reproduce the "original" gene sequence.
Not to mention the subsequent steps, such as implanting the original gene into the experimental subject and activating it through the autonomous proliferation of cells... to this day, it remains just empty talk.
After all, the human body has its own defense system. Once foreign cells, especially foreign tissues with mismatched gene sequences, invade the body, the immune system will immediately recognize them as a threat and quickly launch an attack to completely eliminate them.
Even if this step succeeds by chance, the implanted primitive X-Gene cells must then proliferate autonomously until their number exceeds a critical threshold before the superpowers can be truly triggered.
In other words, this research is virtually impossible to achieve in reality.
It was this theoretical framework, along with the detailed and rigorous experimental data, that gave Chen Xiao a breakthrough.
He didn't need any "original X-Gene cells" at all; he was targeting X-Gene fragments that had already shown powerful effects, such as molecular manipulation, spatial distortion, and other advanced abilities.
Therefore, he only needs to screen out these X-Gene sequences with specific functions, and then gradually remove the genetic imprint of the donor individuals carried in them through multiple generations of targeted breeding and amplification.
Once an "ownerless," pure, primitive X-Gene cell line is obtained, the next step can be taken.
Chen Xiao's idea for this step is to precisely embed his own DNA into these ownerless cells, so that they naturally carry his biological markers when they divide and replicate. In this way, the newly generated cells are essentially a part of his body.
While Krypton cells are rapidly destroyed by cosmic laws once separated from their host body, X-Gene cells are not; they are stable, sustainable, and can take root in the human body and continue to function.
Once this path is established, he can inject X-Gene cells carrying specific abilities into his body, and then, through the almost terrifying self-iteration ability of Krypton cells, drive these X-cells to proliferate, divide, and expand wildly until the minimum number of cells required for ability activation is met.
Of course, this is still in the theoretical stage at present. Chen Xiao urgently needs a top-notch biological experimental platform, a massive amount of Mutants gene samples, and hands-on opportunities for repeated trial and error.
This is the fundamental reason why he insisted on leaving Xavier's School and turning his attention to the Sentry Laboratory.
Because the directed cultivation of gene cells is essentially close to cloning, it not only has extremely high technical barriers, but some of the operational procedures also teeter on the edge of ethical red lines.
"Here, here, and these few places, we've already reserved wiring interfaces, making it very convenient to install access control or security systems in the future."
"The entire underground structure is two meters thick, and the wall strength has reached the limit of existing concrete materials. Even a bunker-buster missile could only penetrate the first layer of protection at most..."
In the underground laboratory, Jacked and four others, who had been working continuously for several days, were introducing the progress of the research institute's construction to Chen Xiao.
Looking at his Mutants companions who had offered their invaluable assistance, Chen Xiao sincerely thanked them, "Thank you all for your hard work these past few days."
Jacked waved his hand. " Vitas, don't be so formal. We're all Mutants. If we can be of use, we'll feel at ease, proving that our abilities are never a burden."
"The teachers are too modest."
After a few pleasantries, Chen Xiao asked the butler to take them to rest.
Not long after, Yidileisi drove back to the estate.
Today, she looks almost exactly the same as in the photos when Chen Xiao first met her: a sharply tailored black women's suit with a pure white shirt underneath, outlining her tall and well-proportioned figure; her full breasts almost fill the fabric, her features are exquisitely perfect, and her brows exude a sharp and captivating aura, making her more dazzling than top international stars.
But the servants and bodyguards in the manor instinctively took a half step back when they saw her, all of them intimidated by the silent, chilling killing intent emanating from her.
Even Chen Xiao, upon catching a glimpse of her, couldn't help but shake his head. "How many people were eliminated this time?"
The red-haired girl approached with her hands behind her back and a light step, reporting with a hint of playfulness, "Reporting, darling, not many, just about 1,100."
"You used the word 'just'..." Chen Xiao paused slightly, but his expression remained unchanged.
He had no pity for those shady forces involved in the black market for dried flour, human trafficking, and controlling the prostitution chain; their deaths were simply a matter of life and death.
The same Bloody Hand Society's thugs.
Since you've chosen this profession, you have to be prepared to risk your life at any time.
Ultimately, he himself had taken quite a few lives.
Through repeated clashes, battles, and making enemies with various forces, he had long been mentally prepared: powerful enemies could come knocking at any time.
That's why, even though he already possessed the Superman ability to "increase his combat power by sunbathing," he was still determined to acquire top-tier X-Gene abilities. More power meant more insurance for survival; more methods meant more trump cards to turn the tide.
"Let's go, I'll show you the new suit. We can adjust it on the spot if there are any problems."
The red-haired girl's eyes lit up instantly, and she exclaimed excitedly, "Darling, you really want to take me?"
Chen Xiao glanced at her, his tone calm. "Your physical abilities are already forty times that of an average person. Even if your abilities are limited, your close combat strength alone far surpasses that of ordinary experts."
"Moreover, that base has a lot of people. If you can kill another batch, your physical condition will improve significantly, making you even more valuable to me."
At this moment, Chen Xiao felt slightly disappointed.
Previously, after killing only thirty-odd people, Yidileisi's physique had doubled;
When she destroyed the Trunk Society, she personally killed nearly three hundred members, and her physical strength increased sevenfold, reaching twenty-two times the level of an ordinary person;
Now, after reaping another 1,100 lives, the price has only increased from 22 times to 40 times.
An 18-fold increase is equivalent to needing to kill an average of over 60 people to double one's growth.
Clearly, while she can strengthen herself by absorbing the life energy of the dead, the higher she goes, the less efficient she becomes.