Chapter Summaries

After the X-Men rescued the mutant children and destroyed the facility, Chen Xiao unlocked the Virtual Battlefield and discovered how little combat experience he had. He repeatedly entered the training simulation, where an opponent with his own abilities killed him, leaving him determined to learn through painful practice.

• Scott, Logan, Shadowcat, Colossus, and Chen Xiao regrouped after the rescue, confirmed the children were safe, and withdrew from the facility.
• Ororo met the team outside after defeating her opponent, and the Blackbird carried the X-Men and children away as emergency vehicles arrived.
• Chen Xiao received one origin point and unlocked the Virtual Battlefield, a system function for realistic combat training.
• Chen Xiao reviewed the X-Men's strengths and weaknesses, examined his status panel, and recognized his own limited defenses and combat skills.
• Chen Xiao selected easy mode and was killed by a simulated opponent with identical stats, who exploited his lack of combat experience.
• Chen Xiao entered the battlefield again and lasted five moves before the opponent dislocated his arm and struck his heart; he kept the pain setting unchanged and prepared to continue training.

After dying again in the virtual battlefield, Chen Xiao learned from Logan how trained force could gather the body's strength into a punch. Back at Xavier's School, he examined the research institute's files and discovered the dangerous history of Itire Silk Greya, leaving him to wonder who had once subdued her and what powerful organization stood behind the institute.

• Chen Xiao lost a fifteenth exchange with his virtual opponent and realized the man used concentrated force that he could not yet counter.
• Chen Xiao asked Logan how to focus the body's strength, and Logan explained the trained force developed in Eastern martial arts.
• The Blackbird returned to Xavier's School, where Chen Xiao and the others reassured the rescued Mutant children before they received medical care.
• Chen Xiao opened the research institute's hard drive and found that many listed test subjects, including children, had died during experiments.
• Chen Xiao read Itire Silk Greya's file, which described her abilities, repeated rampages, and confinement after an adjudicator subdued her.
• Chen Xiao wondered who the adjudicator was and concluded that a formidable force operated behind the research institute.

After reviewing the Chris Laboratory files, Chen Xiao joined the X-Men for a monthly stipend and mission bonuses. Professor X valued Chen Xiao’s adamantium chain at twenty million dollars, but Chen Xiao chose to keep it for another purpose.

• Chen Xiao studied the laboratory’s findings on mutant abilities and learned that extreme psychological stress could activate latent powers, though the experiments often killed their subjects.
• At breakfast, Clarice worried about Chen Xiao after the previous night’s operation, and he assured her that he was unharmed.
• Professor X proposed making Chen Xiao a full X-Men member, and Chen Xiao accepted after learning about the role’s duties and compensation.
• Professor X took Chen Xiao to register his identity and explained that the adamantium chain he had recovered was worth about twenty million dollars.
• Professor X offered to pay Chen Xiao for the chain, but Chen Xiao declined to sell it because he had other plans for the alloy.

Chen Xiao asked Professor X to forge heavy weapons from the Adamantium recovered from the institute, then explained the research data’s horrors. While sunbathing with Kitty, he gave her a plausible reason for his habit to conceal that sunlight was fueling his growing strength, and they lay together beneath a tree.

• Chen Xiao asked Professor X to use half the Adamantium for a heavy, hard, sharp weapon for him and reserve the rest for Yidileisi.
• Chen Xiao showed Professor X the institute’s research data, and Professor X said similar files had often been found in destroyed Mutant laboratories.
• During Friday’s outdoor cooking class, Chen Xiao sunbathed while his Krypton-powered body continued growing stronger without anyone noticing.
• Kitty brought Chen Xiao pizza, shared a bite with him, and asked why he liked sunbathing.
• Chen Xiao described sunbathing as a way to relax and enjoy life, using the explanation to hide that sunlight fueled his strength.
• Kitty decided to try sunbathing and lay beside Chen Xiao beneath the tree.

Chen Xiao planned a trip to Westchester with Kitty and watched his strength surge after a day in the sun. After learning from Professor X why his powerful mind could not manifest abilities such as telekinesis, he drew three more chapters of Dragon Ball for Clarice.

• Kitty told Chen Xiao that X-Men members could leave campus after notifying Professor X, and he agreed to go shopping with her in Westchester the next day.
• Chen Xiao spotted Clarice practicing pastry-making, then spent the day tempering in sunlight as his grip strength rose from twenty tons to twenty-four.
• At dinner, Chen Xiao encouraged Clarice after she said her pastry attempts had failed, and promised to draw the next part of Dragon Ball that night.
• Chen Xiao asked Professor X why his strong mental power had not produced abilities like telekinesis, and Professor X explained that mental abilities depended on a mutant's mind traits and X-Gene.
• Clarice visited Chen Xiao's room to watch him draw, and he finished three Dragon Ball chapters for her in half an hour.

Chen Xiao reassured Clarice about his kindness, then used repeated fights in the Virtual Battlefield to improve his ability to coordinate his whole body’s strength. The next day, he joined Clarice and other students on an outing to Westchester, where Logan warned him to stay reachable in case the group needed him.

• Clarice asked Chen Xiao why he was so good to her, and he told her she was likable and that he wanted to protect her.
• Chen Xiao fought the black-clad man seven times in the Virtual Battlefield, increasing the number of punches he could withstand from nineteen to fifty-seven while learning to coordinate his strength.
• Chen Xiao and Clarice joined a group of students on a supervised trip into Westchester, where Storm gave them safety rules and free time until four o’clock.
• As Chen Xiao and Clarice left the bus, Logan told him to keep his communicator signal available in case he needed to step in.

Clarice went shopping with Chen Xiao and Kitty, who helped her feel more confident and arranged an expensive makeover for her. Meanwhile, Scott left the school to travel to Alkali Lake, and Clarice’s new hairstyle and look were still being completed.

• Kitty joined Clarice and Chen Xiao on a shopping trip, where Clarice revealed that Vitas had drawn a manga called Dragon Ball.
• Scott told Professor X he planned to visit Alkali Lake, then rode away from the school on his motorcycle.
• Clarice felt out of place in Westchester’s upscale mall until Chen Xiao reassured her, and Kitty reminded her that the X-Men upheld order.
• Kitty bought several outfits, and Chen Xiao offered to buy clothes for Clarice with the hundred thousand dollars Professor X had given him as a mission reward.
• Chen Xiao chose a fresh, lively hairstyle for Clarice at an upscale image consulting salon, where the stylist began her makeover.

Chen Xiao struggled to overcome his virtual opponent despite mastering connected force, then learned that Scott had left for Alkali Lake. An emergency mission prompted him to race after Cyclops before Jean Grey fully awakened.

• Clarice drew attention at the station in her red dress, then told Chen Xiao she liked the outfit but disliked being surrounded by admirers.
• Chen Xiao fought his virtual opponent repeatedly, mastered connected force, and still died eight times without breaking through the opponent’s defense.
• The next day, Chen Xiao heard students say Scott had left and realized he was likely heading to Alkali Lake.
• Chen Xiao decided to intercept Scott, and the system issued him an emergency mission to escort Cyclops safely out of the area before Jean Grey awakened.
• Chen Xiao accepted the mission and raced toward the underground base entrance at two hundred meters per second.

Chen Xiao persuaded Professor X that Jean Grey might still be alive and could awaken dangerously if Scott reached Alkali Lake, so Professor X sent Chen Xiao, Logan, and Storm to intercept him. Scott arrived at the lake and Jean rose from its waters, but she faced him with cold indifference.

• Chen Xiao told Professor X that Jean might have survived the flood and that Scott’s optic energy could trigger her dormant power.
• Professor X sent Chen Xiao, Logan, and Storm to Alkali Lake aboard a fighter jet.
• Scott reached Alkali Lake after riding through the night and heard Jean’s voice calling to him from the water.
• Scott fired his optic beams across the lake, stirring a huge vortex at its center.
• Jean Grey emerged from the lake and approached Scott, showing no warmth as he stared at her in shock.

Chen Xiao rushed to Alkali Lake as Jean Grey drained Scott and fought to break through her telekinetic barrier. After enhancing his X-Gene ability with his last Origin point, he clashed with Jean in a devastating lakeshore battle, and the two ended the chapter facing each other across a crater.

• Jean kissed Scott and began draining his energy as her telekinetic power surged across the valley.
• Chen Xiao jumped from the Blackbird and struck Jean's barrier, but she blasted him into the woods.
• Chen Xiao spent his remaining Origin point to enhance his X-Gene ability and unleashed a stronger golden-powered attack.
• Chen Xiao's punch collided with Jean's blood-red telekinetic barrier, creating a massive explosion that left a crater on the lakeshore.
• Chen Xiao and Jean stood on opposite sides of the crater, still facing each other as Storm and Wolverine watched.

Chen Xiao stopped Jean from killing Scott, but using his newly evolved Energy Fission nearly drained his life force. At the underground base, Professor X explained Jean’s instinctive attack and asked Chen Xiao to help move Scott to a life-support pod.

• Jean’s telekinetic power surged as she struggled over Scott, then subsided when she lost consciousness.
• Chen Xiao withdrew his power after the crisis, exhausted, and received two origin points for completing the mission.
• Storm and Wolverine carried Jean and Scott to the jet, while Chen Xiao followed; he later inspected his status and learned that level-two Energy Fission burned his life essence.
• At the medical wing, Professor X said Jean had attacked Scott by instinct to absorb energy and repair her failing body, and warned the X-Men not to agitate her when she woke.
• Professor X kept Chen Xiao behind to help move Scott to a life-support pod and asked about the golden energy he had unleashed at the lake.

After awakening a tremendous new power, Chen Xiao learned that using it could consume his life force, then defeated his longtime virtual opponent in easy mode and gained combat techniques. He tried hard mode against two saber-wielding opponents but was killed before he could withstand a single move.

• Professor X warned Chen Xiao that mutants who exceed their limits burn through their life force, and Chen Xiao agreed to reserve his second awakening for emergencies.
• Chen Xiao saw Jean in a life-support pod and helped place Scott in another pod under Professor X's care.
• Chen Xiao defeated the virtual opponent who had repeatedly beaten him, clearing easy mode and receiving the Fist Technique Essentials reward.
• Chen Xiao absorbed the principles of Snake Fist, Qin Na Hand, and Tongbei Jin, then selected hard mode.
• Two saber-wielding opponents killed Chen Xiao almost instantly, and he woke on the rooftop shocked that he had not withstood a single move.

Chen Xiao trained against two blade-wielding opponents, grew stronger, and watched Dragon Ball become a hit among the school’s mutant students. A pharmaceutical company announced a permanent treatment for mutants, and Storm arrived to question Chen Xiao about his abilities.

• Chen Xiao repeatedly lost to two blade-wielding opponents in the virtual battlefield, but studied their vibrating blades and improved during each fight.
• Clarice asked to photocopy Chen Xiao’s Dragon Ball comics for her dormmates, and he agreed; over the next few days, the comics spread throughout the school.
• Chen Xiao’s constitution rose to 2,600, his mental attribute neared 1,000, and his grip strength exceeded 41 tons as he continued attending class.
• Mutant students crowded around Chen Xiao to discuss Dragon Ball, while Clarice grew more sociable with her dormmates.
• Worthington Kedes announced that his company had developed a drug that could permanently suppress mutant gene expression.
• Storm found Chen Xiao resting in a tree and asked how he could lie on its branches without sinking, connecting the trick to his jump from ten thousand meters.

Chen Xiao and the X-Men began a combat simulation against Sentinels designed to copy mutant abilities. The team discovered that the machines could adapt to their powers, but Colossus, Storm, Kitty, and Iceman managed to disable two of them while another Sentinel pursued Chen Xiao.

• Storm gathered Chen Xiao and the X-Men at the training base and explained that their exercise was to defeat mechanical soldiers capable of simulating mutant abilities.
• The simulation began with a rocket barrage; Iceman froze incoming rockets, Shadowcat phased through one, and Chen Xiao destroyed three with Heat Rays before three Sentinels appeared.
• Chen Xiao recognized the machines as first-generation Sentinels and realized Professor X had designed the exercise to prepare the X-Men for real attacks.
• The Sentinels split up and overwhelmed the team with gunfire and grenades, forcing Chen Xiao to evade while the others struggled to find an opening.
• Colossus punched one Sentinel and Storm struck it with lightning, but it copied Colossus's metal form and resisted the electricity before its attempt to copy Storm's power overloaded its circuits.
• Kitty trapped another Sentinel's legs underground, and Iceman froze it solid; the remaining Sentinel continued pursuing Chen Xiao.

The X-Men defeated the Sentry training robots, but Wolverine questioned Professor X’s growing focus on combat as the team returned to the school. Professor X then led an ethics lesson about how mutants should use their power, leaving Chen Xiao under his solemn gaze.

• Wolverine warned that a frozen Sentry was still alive, and he decapitated it after it burst free while Chen Xiao destroyed another robot with overwhelming force.
• Storm praised the team’s coordination, and Iceman and Rogue Anna discussed the threat the training machines could pose in reality.
• Kitty praised Chen Xiao’s performance, while Anna worried that her copying ability made it difficult for her to fight without harming others.
• Wolverine challenged Storm about Professor X’s increasingly intense preparations for war, and Storm reminded him that threats to mutant peace remained.
• Wei'er Kadi greeted Chen Xiao and the others before a caregiver escorted her away, and Professor X invited them to his ethics class.
• Professor X taught that mutants must use their power responsibly and argued that law and morality set limits, while Colossus asked how those standards applied to a marginalized people.

Hank McCoy informed Professor X that the government-backed Mutants Cure had been developed, sparking fear and debate among mutants. As opposition gathered at Mox Cathedral, a hidden force drew powerful mutants to Duwa City, where several voices accused humans of seeking their extinction.

• Professor X taught his students that mutant rights and responsibilities were linked, and Chen Xiao challenged the idea that power automatically required greater responsibility.
• Hank McCoy told Professor X and the X-Men that a pharmaceutical company had created a lasting antibody to suppress mutant genes, and Storm rejected the idea that mutants needed a cure.
• Chen Xiao reassured Clarice that her friends accepted her, but warned that mutants stripped of their abilities could become targets for experimentation.
• News of the cure spread through the Xavier Institute and the world, prompting mutants across America to stir and powerful mutants to gather in Duwa City.
• At Mox Cathedral, a middle-aged mutant called for resistance and unity, while voices in the crowd claimed humans wanted mutants to disappear.

Magneto recruited mutants opposed to the cure while the X-Men school grappled with the cure’s announcement. Jean suddenly awakened with overwhelming telekinetic power, and Professor X set out to find her as Wolverine warned against trying to restrain her.

• Magneto denounced the authorities’ cure as a threat to mutant survival, then left with Pyro John and several new followers, including Callisto, Arclight, and Psylocke.
• At the school, Rogue Anna insisted she would take the cure, while Bobby tried to change her mind; Chen Xiao told Kitty he would not take it and dismissed her fears about mutants being forced to submit.
• A blast tore apart the basketball court, and Jean shot into the sky amid immense telekinetic power; Professor X told the students she was alive but had fled because she could not control her newly awakened abilities.
• In the underground base, Professor X said Jean was blocking his telepathy and that the X-Men needed to find her before her power caused a catastrophe.
• Wolverine cautioned Professor X that trying to restrain Jean could make her resist more fiercely, leaving Chen Xiao to recognize that Logan was urging the professor to stop confining her with his will.

Chen Xiao accompanied Professor X, Wolverine, and Storm to Andry Town to find Jean, while the system assigned him a mission to defeat Juggernaut. On the journey, Professor X admitted he had sealed Jean’s power and revealed the Peak Agreement that kept Mutants and other hidden powerhouses from intervening in one another’s affairs.

• The system issued Chen Xiao a mission to defeat Juggernaut as Professor X set out to find Jean with Wolverine, Storm, and Vitas.
• Nightcrawler sensed an immense magnetic field, and Magneto realized Jean’s power had returned before deciding to bring her back.
• Storm drove Professor X, Wolverine, and Chen Xiao toward Andry Town after Jean’s rampage had left the academy’s jet unusable.
• Chen Xiao warned Professor X that his presence might worsen Jean’s state, but Professor X insisted on going and confirmed he had sealed her power when she was a child.
• Professor X told Storm, Wolverine, and Chen Xiao about the Peak Agreement, which restricted Mutants and other hidden powerhouses from interfering in each other’s affairs.

Chen Xiao realized Professor X planned to let Jean kill him so she might overcome her dark personality, while relying on consciousness transfer to survive. Professor X admitted the transfer had a seventy percent chance of success, and he and Magneto arrived at Jean’s old home, leaving Storm and Wolverine outside as they prepared to enter together.

• Chen Xiao connected the professor’s plan to Jean’s possible awakening and realized Professor X expected to transfer his consciousness into his vegetative twin brother’s body.
• Professor X telepathically confirmed Chen Xiao had guessed his plan, then revealed that consciousness transfer had only a seventy percent chance of success.
• Chen Xiao recalled how Jean would later lose control and how Wolverine would ultimately kill her, but kept his knowledge to himself.
• Storm drove Professor X, Chen Xiao, and Wolverine to Jean’s former home, where Professor X remembered first taking her away with Magneto.
• Magneto arrived with several mutants and said he had come to visit Jean, then offered to accompany Professor X inside.
• Professor X told Storm and Wolverine to wait outside while he entered alone, prompting Storm to object.

Chen Xiao faced Juggernaut outside the villa while Storm and Wolverine fought Magneto’s subordinates and Professor X entered to reach Jean. After their first clash ended in a stalemate, Juggernaut began building momentum for a stronger charge as Chen Xiao prepared to fight back.

• Professor X asked Chen Xiao to watch over Ororo and the others while he went with Magneto to take Jean home.
• Chen Xiao provoked Juggernaut, and Nightcrawler sensed a terrifying power within him.
• Storm broke through the villa’s door to reach Professor X, while Arclight’s Shockwave blasted Wolverine into a shed.
• Chen Xiao met Juggernaut’s charge with a golden-powered punch, and their collision shattered the pavement and forced both men backward.
• Chen Xiao activated level-one Energy Berserk mode as Juggernaut circled the avenue to build momentum for another charge.