Chapter 214: The Price of Ability Amplification
Chu Hang returned to his room and locked the door.
The setting sun streamed through the blinds, casting regular patterns of light and shadow on the floor. He walked to the bed, sat down, closed his eyes, and delved his consciousness inward.
The power he had copied from Apocalypse lay dormant deep within his genes, like a hibernating python, quietly waiting to be awakened.
Chu Hang could feel its essence—overbearing, dangerous, and extremely aggressive. Apocalypse had spent millennia perfecting this ability, forging it into the ultimate means of controlling others.
But Chu Hang didn't need control. He wanted guidance.
He mobilized the Law of Spirit, carefully probing the core of that power. A flood of information fragments flashed through his consciousness: gene sequence recombination, forced X-gene activation, violent release of potential. Each step was brutal and efficient, yet fraught with fatal flaws.
The biggest problem was the mental imprint. When Apocalypse amplified someone's abilities, he would plant a seed deep within their soul.
The seed would take root and sprout, eventually devouring the target's self-awareness, turning them into a puppet.
Chu Hang opened his eyes, raised his right hand, and a faint golden light appeared in his palm.
That was the power of the Law of Life—gentle, inclusive, and full of vitality. He injected this power into his body, beginning to strip away the Mental Control part of the ability amplification.
It was harder than expected. The mental imprint was deeply integrated with the core mechanism of ability amplification; forcibly stripping it away could cause the entire ability system to collapse.
He needed more precise operation, he needed time.
A knock sounded on the door.
Chu Hang extinguished the light in his palm and opened the door. Outside was Scott Summers, also known as Cyclops.
He wore his signature red quartz glasses, and his smile looked somewhat unnatural.
"Professor asked me to tell you that dinner is ready," Scottsaid, his tone stiff. "Also, he wants to talk to you after dinner."
Chu Hang nodded:
"Understood."
Scott didn't leave immediately, standing at the doorway, seemingly with something to say. He hesitated for a few seconds before finally speaking:
"You and Jean…"
"What about us?"
"Nothing." Scott shook his head. "I just think you should be careful. Jean… the power within her is very dangerous. Professor Charles spent many years just barely keeping it under control. If you get too close, something might happen."
Chu Hang looked at him, reading jealousy and worry in his eyes.
Scott liked Jean, it was no secret. But who that girl chose was never something others could decide.
"I'll be careful," Chu Hang said calmly.
Scott gave him a deep look, then turned and left.
Chu Hang closed the door, not heading to the dining room immediately. He sat back down by the bed, resuming his previous work.
The Law of Spirit was like the most precise surgical scalpel, meticulously cutting away the dangerous parts of the ability amplification. Sweat dripped from his forehead, but his hand was steady.
Fifteen minutes later, he stood up, pushed open the door, and headed to the dining room.
Quite a few people were already seated in the dining room. Students and teachers of the academy were eating at the long tables. Charles sat at the head of the table, and seeing Chu Hang enter, he nodded slightly. Jean sat by the window; she looked up, her gaze met Chu Hang's, a blush flashed across her face, and she quickly lowered her head to continue eating.
Chu Hang sat opposite Charles. The atmosphere at the dinner table was a bit subtle; several students occasionally stole glances at him, whispering. He ignored these looks, quietly eating the food on his plate.
"I heard you went to Egypt again," Charles suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but enough for everyone at the table to hear. "How was that trouble dealt with?"
"Still sleeping," Chu Hang replied briefly.
"That's good." Charles put down his knife and fork, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Come to my office after dinner, we need to talk."
Chu Hang nodded.
Dinner ended quickly. Students left one after another. Jean looked at Chu Hang as she got up, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately left with the others. Chu Hang could feel the restless power in her mental World, more unstable than a few days ago.
Charles's office was on the second floor. Pushing open the door, the scent of books wafted out. Charles was already waiting in his wheelchair, bookshelves behind him filled with various books and documents.
"Sit," Charles gestured to the chair opposite him.
Chu Hang sat down, waiting for him to speak.
Charles didn't beat around the bush. "I can feel a new power within you. It's very strong, and very dangerous."
Chu Hang didn't deny it:
"Yes."
"What ability?"
"Ability amplification."
Charles's pupils constricted slightly.
As one of the strongest telepaths in the World, he naturally understood what this ability meant.
It was a power that could change the tide of battle, but also a double-edged sword.
"Who do you plan to use it on?" Charles asked, his tone serious.
Chu Hang didn't answer, just looked at him.
Charles sighed:
"It's Jean, isn't it?"
"She needs help," Chu Hang said calmly. "Your mental shackles won't suppress it for long. That power will erupt sooner or later. Rather than letting her lose control unprepared, it's better to guide her to face it now."
"Do you know how dangerous that is?" Charles's voice was filled with anger. "That's not ordinary power, that's the Phoenix Force! Once it loses control, the entire Earth will be destroyed!"
"That's why amplification is needed," Chu Hang said. "Let her gradually come into contact with, adapt to, and ultimately control that power within a controllable range. Your method only delays the inevitable; my method is the real solution."
Charles fell silent. He knew Chu Hang made sense, but he couldn't accept the plan. It was too risky; once something went wrong, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"I don't agree," Charles finally said.
"I don't need your agreement." Chu Hang stood up. "I'm just here to inform you."
He turned to leave. As he reached the door, Charles's voice came from behind him:
"If you truly care about her, you should know that some powers are not meant for humans to control."
Chu Hang stopped, not turning back:
"I've seen things more terrifying than the Phoenix Force. I've also seen how mortals defeat gods. Charles, you underestimate human will."
He pushed the door open and walked out.
Late at night, the lights in the training room were still on.
Chu Hang stood in the center of the empty space, surrounded by various equipment used to test Mutantabilities. He needed a safe environment to complete the next step—using ability amplification on himself.
This decision was made the moment he left Charles's office. To help Jean, he first had to ensure this ability was safe. And the best test subject was himself.
He closed his eyes, his consciousness once again sinking into his body. After several hours of modification, the Mental Control part of the ability amplification had been completely stripped away. What remained now was the purest mechanism of gene activation and potential release.
But even so, risks still existed. This power would forcibly break the body's balance, fully activating all potential in a short period.
For ordinary Mutants, this process was filled with pain and danger.
And for an existence like him, who had already reached the Cosmic Overlord level, the consequences were even harder to predict.
His main body was in the Marvel Universe, his strength already touching the concept layer.
While this clone had the power of a Skyfather level initial stage, there was still a huge gap from his main body. To what extent could ability amplification push him? Mid-Tier Heavenly Father Level? High-tier? Or would it directly break through the shackles of the Skyfather level?
The only way was to try.
Chu Hang raised his right hand, and a golden-red light emerged in his palm. That was the power of ability amplification, enveloped by the Law of Life, making it gentle and stable. He took a deep breath and pressed this ball of light onto his chest.
Intense pain struck.
The gene chain was forcibly torn apart at this moment; every cell was madly dividing and reorganizing. Space Law, Law of Strength, Law of Time, Law of Spirit, Law of Reality, Law of Death, Law of Life, Devouring Law, Molecular Manipulation, Telepathy—ten Laws of power were simultaneously activated, beginning to expand wildly.
Chu Hang gritted his teeth, kneeling on one knee. Sweat instantly soaked his clothes, and veins bulged on his forehead. He could feel his body enduring unimaginable pressure, as if it would be torn to shreds in the next second.
The training room floor began to crack, and the metal panels on the walls emitted a harsh, twisting sound. Space warped around him, and the flow of time became chaotic, accelerating one moment, decelerating the next.
He didn't stop.
He mobilized the Law of Spirit to forcibly stabilize his consciousness, used the Law of Life to repair the cells on the verge of collapse, used the Space Law to guide the rampaging energy within his body, and used the Law of Time to slow down the speed of gene recombination.
The ten Laws of power, under his control, moved from chaos to order.
Five minutes later, the pain reached its peak.
Chu Hang's eyes snapped open, a golden light flashing in his pupils.
An energy wave erupted from his body, sending all the equipment in the training room flying.
Dense cracks appeared on the walls, and the light tubes on the ceiling exploded one after another.
Then, everything returned to calm.
Chu Hang slowly stood up, looking down at his hands.
There was no change on the surface of his skin, but he could clearly feel a qualitative change within his body.
The ten Laws of power were no longer independent but converged into an ocean.
The Space Law's control radius expanded from five kilometers to fifty kilometers, the Law of Time could slow down the local time flow to one-tenth, and the Law of Spirit's coverage was enough to envelop the entire North American continent.
High-tier Skyfather level strength, even comparable to perfection.
The clone successfully crossed two thresholds.
If he previously had to be cautious when facing Apocalypse, now he could end the battle in thirty seconds.
But the cost was also obvious.
Chu Hang could feel his internal energy consumption rate was three times faster than before. Although his gene chain had been reorganized, it had become more fragile, requiring continuous maintenance with the Law of Life to remain stable.
This state could not be sustained for long, at most seventy-two hours, after which he would have to exit and wait for the same amount of time before he could use it again.
More importantly, he clearly realized that this method was too dangerous for Jean.
Her body couldn't withstand such an impact, and the Phoenix Force wouldn't be as obedient as the Laws within him. Once the Phoenix Force lost control during the amplification process, the consequences would be unimaginable.
He needed to adjust the plan. Lower the amplification intensity, extend the activation time, and guide Jean to access the power within her in a gentler way.
This required more precise calculations and more meticulous preparation.
Chu Hang exited the amplified state, and he was surprised to find that he had actually reached the Mid-Tier Heavenly Father Level in his normal state.
"Perhaps the further analysis of the X-gene raised the power ceiling," Chu Hang mused to himself.
"Creak~," the training room door suddenly pushed open.
Jean stood at the doorway, her face pale.
Golden-red light flickered in her eyes, her breathing was rapid, and her body trembled slightly. Clearly, the energy fluctuation just now had awakened the dormant Phoenix Force within her.
"It's you." Her voice was hoarse, tinged with pain. "That power just now... did you do something?"
Chu Hang looked at her, not answering.
Jean took a few steps forward, her gaze falling on the destroyed equipment in the training room, then shifting to Chu Hang.
Her mental power reached out, trying to perceive his state, but upon touching the Law Domain around him, it was instantly bounced back.
"You've become stronger," Jean said, her voice filled with complex emotions. "Much stronger."
"Mm."
"Why?" Jean stared at him. "You're already so strong, why do you still…"
Before she could finish, she suddenly realized the answer.
Chu Hang was testing some kind of ability, an ability that could make people stronger.
And in this academy, the only person who needed such an ability was herself.
"You want to use it on me, don't you?" Jean's voice trembled. "You want to make me stronger, so I can fight against that power within me."
Chu Hang neither denied nor affirmed. He just quietly watched her, waiting for her to come to her own conclusion.
Jean's eyes reddened. She didn't know what to say; gratitude, fear, anticipation, resistance—countless emotions surged within her. She knew Charles's mental shackles wouldn't hold much longer; every day she could feel that power growing stronger, more violent. She was afraid that one day she would lose control, afraid she would hurt the people she cared about.
But what she feared more was, what if Chu Hang's method failed?
"I don't know," Jean whispered. "I don't know if I can handle it."
"You can," Chu Hang walked up to her, reaching out to gently stroke her forehead. "But not now. I need more time to perfect this method. Until then, you just need to continue living as you are."
Jean looked up, tears welling in her eyes. She wanted to say something, but ultimately just nodded.
Chapter 215: The Conception of a Perfect Cycle
The sky was turning a fish-belly white, a faint hint of dawn piercing the horizon, yet not quite dispelling the deep night that still enveloped the academy.
Chu Hang stood on the backyard lawn, dew clinging to the tips of the grass blades. He looked up at the second-floor window of the main building, Jean Grey's room, which, like a tired eye, emitted a dim and faint yellow light.
She hadn't slept all night.
Mental power, like an invisible mist, silently permeated the room. Jean was sitting on the edge of the bed, her hands tightly clutching her knees, her slender body trembling slightly as if caught in an invisible cold wind. The Phoenix Force within her was even more restless than last night, the golden-red energy like a trapped cosmic beast, violently crashing against the mental shackles Professor Charles had set. Each impact made the cracks in that barrier even clearer.
This shackle, rather than a protection, was more like a balloon about to burst.
He had to find an outlet, a way for this destructive power to be released without destroying everything. Countless solutions flashed through Chu Hang's mind like meteors, only to be rejected one by one.
Forcibly suppressing it would only lead to a more violent rebound, and channeling it... how could such a vast amount of energy be channeled?
Unless... it became a part of Jean's own power, a continuous source of energy.
A bold idea gradually formed in his mind: to use his own abilities to amplify Jean's X-gene, using the Phoenix Forceas the 'fuel' for this amplified state, turning it from a flood trying to break through a dam into a stable river driving a water turbine.
This way, the Phoenix Force would have an outlet, Jean's abilities would experience a qualitative leap, and ultimately, a perfect, self-sufficient energy cycle would be formed.
But this required an opportunity, a sufficiently powerful external pressure to force Jean to accept and try to control this power on the brink of life and Death.
She needed an opponent of sufficient caliber, one that could pose a Death threat yet remain within his control—a 'catalyst'.
"It's time to release Apocalypse."
With that thought settled in his mind, Chu Hang's figure instantly vanished from where he stood, as if he had never been there. A few minutes later, when he returned to the backyard, the eastern sky was already painted with a magnificent sunrise.
What he brought back was the revival of a heartbeat from deep within a distant pyramid, spanning a thousand years.
He turned and walked towards the main building, his footsteps unusually clear in the empty corridor before dawn. A few early-rising students saw him and cast curious glances, but retreated at his indifferent gaze; no one dared to approach him.
Charles's office door was closed. Chu Hang raised his hand and knocked gently.
"Come in," Charles's voice was hoarse from a sleepless night.
Pushing the door open, a scent of cold coffee mixed with anxiety wafted out. Charles sat in his wheelchair, facing the changing sky outside the window. He had clearly sensed something, and his bloodshot eyes were filled with worry.
"What have you done?" Charles didn't bother with pleasantries. His mental power perceived a distant, ancient malice awakening, and the source of that fluctuation seemed connected to Chu Hang, who had briefly left and returned. "I sense... something has been released."
"I removed the seal I set," Chu Hang calmly admitted, walking to the window and standing beside him, looking out.
Charles abruptly spun his wheelchair around, facing Chu Hang's back, the armrests creaking under his grip. "Are you insane? Do you know what you're doing? That power is full of destruction and violence; once it fully descends, the entire World will..."
"Will face a war, a war aimed at eliminating the weak and purifying the World," Chu Hang calmly interjected. "I know. This is exactly what I need."
"Need?" Charles's voice was filled with incredulous anger. "Do you know how many innocent casualties that will cause?"
"There will be casualties," Chu Hang turned around, the morning light casting deep Shadows on his profile. "But if we don't do this, Jean will completely lose control within a week. By then, the Phoenix Force will incinerate the entire Planet, and even more people will die."
Charles fell silent. He knew Jean's condition better than anyone; that mental shackle was as thin as a cicada's wing. But he couldn't accept gambling on an uncertain future with a global disaster.
"Does it have to be this way?" His voice carried a deep sense of powerlessness. "Is there no other way?"
"No," Chu Hang's gaze was sharp and firm. "The Phoenix Force must be released, and Jean must learn how to control it in true combat, rather than passively enduring it as she is now. The being I awakened is the best catalyst—he is powerful enough to push Jean to her limits, yet not so powerful that I cannot handle him."
"What if she loses control?"
"She won't." A golden glow flashed in Chu Hang's eyes, confident and powerful. "I will intervene before she loses control. Moreover, I have already thought of a way to keep her rational long-term."
He briefly explained the 'perfect cycle' plan. Charleslistened, his anger gradually replaced by shock and deep thought. This concept... was too brilliant, and too insane.
"How confident are you?" After a long pause, Charlesasked hoarsely.
"Seventy percent," Chu Hang answered truthfully. "The remaining thirty percent is Jean's own will and survival instinct. But I will control all variables."
Charles closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling violently. He knew he had no choice. Chu Hang had already opened Pandora's box; the awakening of that ancient being was only a matter of time. Now, he could only choose to trust Chu Hang, to trust this sole, insane plan.
"What do I need to do?" He opened his eyes, a hint of determination added to his weary gaze.
"After he awakens, organize the X-Men to confront him," Chu Hang said. "Let Jean join the team; don't give her any special protection. She must truly feel the threat of Deathfor the Phoenix Force to be actively accepted and guided by her as a protective power."
Charles slowly nodded, then asked, "What if... I mean, if she loses control during the battle, can you really suppress that power?"
"Yes," Chu Hang's tone held no hesitation, a confidence stemming from absolute strength.
After gazing at Chu Hang for a few seconds, Charles finally chose to trust him. He pressed the communication button on his wheelchair armrest, and the signal from the Cerebro silently spread throughout the entire building.
"Also," Chu Hang added, "evacuate the other students from the academy to a safe place. On the battlefield, only core members are needed—Scott, Jean, Ororo, Hank. Too many people will only get in the way."
Charles quickly calculated in his mind and nodded.
Chu Hang said no more, turning to leave. As his hand rested on the doorknob, he paused, without looking back: "Three days. He will be fully awake. Be prepared."
The door closed, and the office returned to silence. Charleslooked out at the fully brightened sky, the morning light falling on his pale face, making his wrinkles exceptionally clear. He suddenly felt old, too old to keep up with the rhythm of this crazy and dangerous era.
A few minutes later, the office door was pushed open successively, and Scott, Hank, Ororo, and Jean—pale-faced, with undisguised fatigue and fear in her eyes—all gathered there.
"Professor?" Scott was the first to speak. "Calling us so early, what happened?"
Charles looked around at his most trusted warriors, his gaze finally resting on Jean, filled with complex emotions.
"There's something I must tell you all," Charles began slowly, every word incredibly heavy. "A Mutant who has been dormant for thousands of years is about to awaken. His name... is Apocalypse. It is believed that he is one of the oldest and most powerful Mutants in this World. When he awakens, he will wage a war against the civilization we know."
The air in the room instantly solidified.
Hank pushed up his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses filled with horror. "You mean, we're going to face a... mythical figure?"
"Something like that," Charles nodded heavily. "He possesses countless abilities, and most dangerously, he will gather four powerful Mutants as his Horsemen, forming an almost invincible army."
Scott's fists instantly clenched, his knuckles turning White. "Then do we... have a chance of winning?"
"Yes."
A calm voice came from the doorway.
Everyone suddenly turned around to see Chu Hang leaning against the doorframe. He slowly walked in, came to Charles's side, and calmly scanned everyone present, his gaze finally settling on Jean's face.
"Jean, you must believe in yourself."
Chapter 216: Apocalypse Awakens
Egypt, on the outskirts of Cairo.
Yellow sand rolled, and heat waves distorted the air.
The archaeological team was busy in front of the newly discovered ruins, with shovels and brushes piling up in the temporary shed. In a stone chamber thirty meters underground, the walls were covered with ancient hieroglyphs, and the murals depicted a blue-skinned giant standing on top of a pyramid, with countless people kneeling at his feet.
The team leader, Abdul, crouched in front of a stone slab, his flashlight illuminating the inscriptions. The assistant was taking pictures, the flash blinking on and off.
"These characters are older than anything I have ever seen," Abdul said, wiping sweat from his forehead. "At least five thousand years old."
"Professor, look at this." The assistant pointed to a symbol in the corner. "A warning sign—'Do not awaken'."
Abdul walked to the center of the stone chamber, where a stone sarcophagus sat, covered in dust. He brushed away the dirt, revealing a carved eye pattern with an inverted triangle for a pupil.
"Open it."
"But the warning..."
"Just superstition," Abdul interrupted. "We are scientists."
The three of them worked together to pry open the lid. The lid slammed onto the floor, sending dust billowing, making them cough.
Inside the coffin lay a mummy with blue-gray skin, wrapped in decaying linen. It was preserved so perfectly that it looked like it had only died a few days ago.
Abdul leaned over to inspect it, shining his flashlight on the mummy's face. The forehead was broad, the eye sockets deep, and the lips tightly sealed.
"The bone structure isn't right," the assistant said.
Just as he spoke, the stone chamber shook.
Sand fell from the ceiling, the murals began to glow faintly, and the runes lit up one by one.
"An earthquake?" someone shouted.
No.
The vibration came from the sarcophagus. The mummy's fingers moved, first the index finger, then the whole hand. The dried-out muscles began to fill with Life, the skin turned from gray to pale blue, and the chest began to heave.
Abdul stepped back, his flashlight dropping to the floor.
The mummy opened its eyes.
Pure White eyes, without pupils, emitted a blinding light. He sat up, his neck cracking.
"Run!"
Too late.
The blue-skinned man raised his hand and made a gripping motion, and the air solidified. The three people were pinned in place, unable to even breathe.
Apocalypse stood up from the coffin, his body hovering, the stone slab beneath his feet crumbling into powder. He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the murals and the modern people, before landing on the exit.
"Five thousand years," he said in ancient Egyptian, his voice hoarse and deep.
The three archaeologists collapsed simultaneously, turning into dust. Apocalypse absorbed their knowledge—modern language, technology, politics, and weapons.
He waved his hand, and the roof of the stone chamber exploded. Debris and sand poured down, but were repelled before they could touch his body.
Apocalypse shot out from the ground, hovering above the desert. The scorching noon sun was blinding; he squinted to adjust, then opened his eyes wide, his White pupils scanning the horizon.
In the distance was downtown Cairo, filled with high-rise buildings.
"Is this all the progress of five thousand years?" Apocalypse whispered. "The buildings are taller, the weapons are more numerous, but the essence remains unchanged. Still weak."
He closed his eyes, and his Spirit power spread, covering all of Egypt, the Middle East, and the entire Earth. The thoughts of seven billion people wove into a web in his mind.
He was looking for Mutants with the X-gene.
Ordinary Mutants were like fireflies, dim. But there were always a few stars that were exceptionally bright.
In downtown Cairo, a young girl was stealing, using a small patch of dark clouds to obscure a surveillance camera.
In Warsaw, a woman was fighting in an underground arena, her Spirit power generating pink energy blades.
Apocalypse locked onto his targets.
He vanished from the desert and appeared a second later in a slum alley in Cairo. The alley was narrow, the mud walls dilapidated, trash piled on the ground, and the air reeked.
A teenage girl crouched in the corner, clutching the stolen bread in her hand. She had dark skin, messy hair, and a wary look in her eyes.
Ororo Munroe.
"Your power is being wasted," Apocalypse said from behind her.
Ororo turned sharply, dropping the bread. A tall, blue-skinned man in worn linen robes with White eyes stood there.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Your future." Apocalypse raised his hand, golden light glowing in his palm.
Ororo wanted to run, but her legs felt like lead. The golden light struck her forehead, warm energy surged in, and something deep within her body was awakened.
The sky darkened instantly.
Dark clouds gathered from all sides, covering Cairo in seconds. Lightning rolled, and thunder shook the ground. Ororo's eyes turned pure White, just like Apocalypse's, and she felt a connection to the sky.
"This is true power," Apocalypse said. "Come with me, and you will become one of the masters of this World."
Ororo looked at her hands, where electric arcs were jumping. She had never felt this powerful.
"What do you want me to do?" Fear turned into anticipation.
"Change the World." Apocalypse turned around. "First, I need more followers."
Space tore open, revealing a golden portal. On the other side was the Warsaw underground arena, dim, smelling of sweat and blood.
Psylocke stood in the center of the octagon cage, wearing a purple bodysuit, her pink energy blade dripping with blood. A strong man lay on the floor opposite her, a wound on his chest deep enough to see bone.
The audience cheered and cursed; some had won money, but more had lost.
Psylocke walked out of the cage and grabbed a towel to wipe her face. Her name was Betsy Braddock; she had once been a model, but after her X-gene awakened, she was sold here. It had been three years, and she had survived by killing.
"Next round, ten minutes," the bookie shouted.
Psylocke didn't respond. She was tired, mentally tired.
A golden portal opened in front of her.
The whole place froze. Apocalypse walked out, followed by Ororo. He scanned the arena and looked at Psylocke.
"Your power should not be used to please trash."
The bookie reacted: "Kill them!"
Six bodyguards opened fire. The bullets flew, but stopped three meters in front of Apocalypse, suspended in mid-air.
Apocalypse waved his hand, and the bullets turned around, striking the six bodyguards, who fell to the ground. The audience screamed and scrambled frantically toward the exit.
Psylocke stood still, looking at those White eyes, feeling a strange sense of relief.
"Do you want freedom?" Apocalypse asked.
"The price?" Psylocke asked calmly.
"Pledge your loyalty to me and help me rebuild the World."
Psylocke was silent for three seconds, her gaze sweeping over the corpses and the crowd before returning to Apocalypse.
"Deal."
Apocalypse raised his hand, and the golden light grew stronger. It struck Psylocke's forehead; she gritted her teeth as her capacity to withstand power was forcibly increased. The pink energy blade transformed from a short dagger into a long sword, then into dual blades.
Her Spirit power expanded; originally capable only of melee combat, she could now easily perceive all Life within a one-kilometer radius.
"Very good." Apocalypse turned around, and another portal opened. "There are two more spots. Four Horsemen, and currently, there are only the two of you."
Ororo and Psylocke exchanged glances and followed him into the portal. The light swallowed the three of them, and the arena returned to silence.
Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, underground training room.
Charles sat in front of the cerebro, sweat beading on his forehead. He was scanning the globe with his Spirit power, trying to locate Apocalypse. Dots flickered on the screen, representing Mutants around the World, and a few of the dots were moving at an abnormally high speed.
"Found him," Charles said, his voice tight. "Cairo, Egypt; Warsaw; and also Berlin. He is recruiting followers, faster than expected."
Chu Hang stood in the corner of the training room, arms crossed, watching the screen with an expressionless face. He could sense the ancient and powerful energy fluctuation in the distance, even stronger than when he was first sealed.
"How strong is he now?" Scott asked. He was wearing his combat suit and goggles.
"I call it Skyfather level, which is the peak of the early Omega Level among Mutants," Chu Hang said. "His ability amplification can make his followers stronger. Once he gathers the four Horsemen and amplifies them, his overall combat strength will reach the mid-Omega Level."
"Then we..." Hank adjusted his glasses. "What are our chances of winning?"
"Fifty-fifty," Chu Hang looked at Jean. She was standing in the back, pale, her hands clenched tightly. "Provided that Jean can hold it together."
Jean looked up, meeting Chu Hang's gaze. The power within her was boiling; every breath felt like swallowing Fire. One-third of Charles's mental shackles had cracked, and the remaining part was teetering on the brink.
"I can," she said, her voice soft but firm.
Chu Hang nodded. He knew the real test hadn't begun yet; Apocalypse was just warming up, adapting to the era, and selecting his pawns. Only when he was ready would he launch his real attack.
At that time, the Phoenix Force within Jean would be pushed to the brink—either awaken, or be destroyed.
There was no third option.
Chapter 217: Apocalypse and Professor X
Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Charles Xavier's office.
On the huge circular screen, satellite images silently displayed a scorched Earth. What was once a peaceful Polish town was now a smoke-billowing ruin, like an ugly scar on the Earth's surface. Charles stared intently at the screen, veins bulging on his smooth forehead, his knuckles white from clenching.
"It's Eric." His voice trembled uncontrollably, filled with pain. "I felt it... he's being controlled, his anger and sorrow amplified countless times."
Chu Hang stood by the enormous floor-to-ceiling window, not turning to look at the ruins. His perception had already crossed continents, catching the four surging energies in the distance. Each had been strengthened to an inconceivable degree; Apocalypse's amplification of the X-gene was even more overbearing and thorough than he had anticipated.
"He's starting to act." Charles suddenly sat up straight, as if struck by an invisible current. The Cerebro next to his wheelchair activated, its silver metal headpiece automatically expanding and precisely clamping onto his temples.
"All television stations, radio stations, and the internet worldwide... have been forcibly taken over by the same signal source."
Before he finished speaking, all screens in the office—the TV, computer, and even the tablet Hank forgot there—flickered instantly, their displays forcibly switched. All channels showed the same scene: a tall, gray-blue ancient being standing atop a pyramid, indifferently looking down at the chaotic city of Cairo below. Behind him, Storm, Angel, Psylocke, and a hollow-eyed Magneto stood like four statues on either side.
"This World is terminally ill."
Apocalypse's voice, deep and majestic, was simultaneously transmitted through every speaker and every earphone worldwide. This was not a simple technical hijack, but a global psychic broadcast; his will was directly projected into the minds of seven billion people.
"The weak usurp power, the strong are imprisoned, and order has long collapsed. Five thousand years ago, I established civilization, and humanity prospered under my guidance. Now I return, only to see decay and corruption."
Chu Hang finally turned around, his gaze falling on the figure on the screen who called himself a god. He could clearly feel how that immense psychic fluctuation precisely and brutally covered the entire Planet.
"I give you seven days." Apocalypse's voice was devoid of emotion. "Surrender your false dominion, and let the true strong—Mutants—take over this World. Any who refuse will be deemed remnants of the old World and purged. This is not a threat; it is a prophecy. Seven days from now, the old World will face destruction, and a new order will be reborn from its ashes."
The image froze on his emotionless eyes, then faded to black.
Silence filled the office for a moment, then the screen switched back to chaotic news footage. Crowds in New York fled in terror, people in London's squares knelt in prayer, Tokyo's Shibuya crossing was completely paralyzed... In the distance, the faint wail of police sirens from the town outside the campus could be heard, one after another, merging into a continuous sound.
Charles removed the Cerebro, his face ashen. He could clearly "hear" the fear, anger, confusion, and despair of billions of people converging into an unprecedented storm on the global psychic plane.
"I must try... to communicate with him." Charles's voice was hoarse. "Perhaps... perhaps I can awaken Eric."
"Don't go." Chu Hang immediately spoke, his tone brooking no argument. "His psychic power, after amplification, is no weaker than yours. Forcibly connecting in Apocalypse's domain will cause you severe injury."
"But I must try!" Charles stubbornly put the Cerebro back on, a resolute glint in his eyes. "Eric is my friend; I cannot just watch him become a blood-soaked killing machine!"
Chu Hang was silent for two seconds. He knew that Charles's obsession with Eric was the softest yet most unyielding part of his heart, and persuasion would be useless. He slowly walked behind Charles and gently placed his right hand on his shoulder.
"Then I'll protect you." A warm and vast power flowed from his palm into Charles's body; the Law of Spiritcirculated like an invisible barrier. "If anything goes wrong, I'll pull you back immediately."
Charles nodded heavily and closed his eyes. His immense psychic power, guided by the Cerebro, transformed into an invisible torrent, crossing continents, traversing oceans, and precisely locking onto the pyramid in Cairo, Egypt.
On the edge of the tower, Eric was indifferently watching the ant-like crowds scattering below. Just then, a familiar and warm psychic touch quietly arrived. His body imperceptibly stiffened, and a fleeting flicker of struggle appeared deep within his eyes, which had been burning with rage. After less than a second of hesitation, he still opened a corner of his psychic defenses.
"Eric, this isn't you." Charles's voice echoed in his mind, filled with sorrow.
"You wouldn't indiscriminately slaughter the innocent."
"Innocent?" Eric's mind returned a cold sneer, but beneath the laughter was deep, bone-piercing pain. Charles could even see a flashback: a small cabin in the forest, a gentle woman and a girl holding a fawn doll... then, everything engulfed by fire and arrows.
"Tell me, Charles, my Nina... was she innocent?"
"That was the sin of a few; the whole of humanity cannot pay for it!" Charles struggled to maintain the connection's stability. "What you are doing now, what is the difference between it and those Nazis you hate the most?!"
This sentence was like a sharp needle, piercing Eric's most sensitive nerve. He fell silent. The amplified hatred and anger fluctuated violently for the first time. However, before the conscience deep within him could surface, a will completely crushed this wavering.
"Stop lecturing me, Charles." Eric's consciousness became hard and cold again. "This World owes us Mutants too much; now, it's time for them to pay back with interest!"
"You're being controlled! Apocalypse's power amplification has twisted your mind..."
Before Charles could finish, a third-party psychic force, like a collapsing mountain and raging sea, violently intervened! Apocalypse's consciousness was like an overturned divine mountain, brutally crushing Charles's fragile psychic connection.
"Ah—!"
Charles let out a shrill scream, his body convulsing violently, blood instantly seeping from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.
Chu Hang's eyes narrowed, and the Law of Spirit, already prepared, instantly transformed into a crystal-clear barrier, precisely blocking the periphery of Charles's consciousness.
Boom!
Apocalypse's attack heavily impacted the barrier, stirring up visible psychic ripples. The barrier struggled for three seconds before spiderweb-like cracks appeared on its surface.
Apocalypse's psychic level was even higher than expected; it wasn't just the power of a Skyfather level initial peak, but also contained an ancient divinity that touched the origin of laws.
"Interesting."
A grand voice, bypassing the barrier, directly echoed in Chu Hang's mind, carrying a condescending scrutiny.
"So it was you who secretly prevented my awakening before. On Earth, there is actually an existence like you hidden. No wonder I couldn't perceive you... you are not a Mutant, nor a god, but the purity of this psychic power approaches my level of five thousand years ago."
Chu Hang did not respond, only silently reinforcing the barrier. Charles was already unconscious, his consciousness like a candle in the wind; even a slight additional impact could lead to brain Death.
"You protect the weak, how foolish." Apocalypse's voice carried a hint of incomprehension and contempt. "The duty of the strong is to rule, not to protect. Seven days from now, I will personally come to see you. By then, you will understand that resisting me is resisting the most fundamental natural law of the Universe."
As his voice fell, the immense attack receded like a tide.
Chu Hang released his hand from Charles's shoulder; the latter slumped softly in his wheelchair, blood still seeping from the corner of his mouth, completely unconscious.
The office door was suddenly flung open, and Jean Grey, Scott, and Hank McCoy rushed in, looking flustered.
"Professor!" Scott was the first to rush to the wheelchair.
"He's fine, just fainted from psychic exhaustion." Chu Hangturned, looking back at the gloomy sky outside the window. "Take him to the infirmary and let him rest well. For three days, absolutely do not let him touch the Cerebro again."
Jean supported Charles's head, making him more comfortable, then looked up at Chu Hang's back. She could vaguely feel a lingering psychic fluctuation on Chu Hangthat made her heart palpitate, a fluctuation that made a certain power within her restless, as if warning her, yet also yearning for a response.
"Apocalypse... how strong is he exactly?" Hank pushed up his glasses, asking with a tight voice.
"Stronger than I expected." Chu Hang answered truthfully. "His ability amplification isn't just a simple power increase; it's more like a forced reshaping of X-gene expression at a genetic level. His four Horsemen now each possess pseudo-Skyfather level strength; combined, they are enough to contend with a true Skyfather level initial expert. Coupled with Apocalypse himself... the combat power of this team is already close to Mid-Tier Heavenly Father Level."
Scott and Hank exchanged glances, their faces instantly turning pale. In front of opponents of this caliber, their proud abilities probably wouldn't even qualify them as cannon fodder.
"Then do we... still have a chance to win?" Hank pushed up his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses filled with a sense of powerlessness.
Chu Hang was silent for a few seconds. He rapidly simulated various combat possibilities in his mind, calculating every variable. If he went all out without reservation, defeating Apocalypse and his Horsemen would not be difficult, but that was not his primary objective. His goal was to use this crisis to make Jean fully awaken and control that World-destroying power under extreme pressure.
This required a battlefield that was dangerous enough, yet not out of control.
"Yes." Chu Hang finally spoke, his voice calm and firm.
"But not by direct confrontation. Apocalypse gave us seven days. In these seven days, I will find a way to weaken his Horsemen and divide them. Then, you only need to do your best to hold off two of them; the rest will be left to Jean to deal with Apocalypse."
Chapter 218: Apocalypse's Ambition
Egypt, Cairo, the top of the pyramid.
The scorching sun was like molten gold, baking Apocalypse's rock-like blue-gray skin, yet it could not bring a hint of warmth. He stood at the summit, overlooking the city below, which looked as small as ants.
Behind him, the four horsemen stood like silent statues. Ororo's white hair fluttered beneath the oppressive dark clouds, Psylocke's fingertips were wreathed in lethal purple psionic energy, Angel's metallic wings refracted a cold, murderous intent, and Magneto, Eric, hovered in mid-air, his eyes as hollow as an abyss.
"Eric, how does his power feel to you?" Apocalypse's voice was ancient and deep, without turning his head.
A flash of intense struggle crossed Magneto's eyes, only to be swallowed by an even deeper emptiness: "That person... severed the mark you bestowed upon me. His Spirit is almost on par with yours."
"It is not just his Spirit." Apocalypse finally turned around, his pupil-less, pure white eyes sweeping across the four, carrying an indifference that scrutinized all things. "His methods of manipulating the laws are far more complex than I imagined. Spatial, temporal, spiritual, Death..."
Psylocke stepped forward, her posture seductive yet overflowing with murderous intent: "My Lord, do you need us to erase him?"
"No need." Apocalypse shook his head slowly, a playful smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "He is waiting for me. He is curious about the boundaries of my power, and I, too, want to confirm whether he is a future ally, or... an interesting stumbling block."
He raised his right hand, and complex golden runes appeared on his palm, as if he were holding the mysteries of all ancient Egypt: "Five days remain of the seven-day deadline. I want to let this weak World see clearly—Mutants are the end of evolution, and old humanity should be eliminated by history."
He clenched his palm, and the golden energy burst forth, turning into billions of light dots, ignoring distance and barriers, shooting toward every corner of the globe.
Each light dot fell precisely into the mind of a Mutant.
Deep in the New York subway, a boy accustomed to hiding in the shadows suddenly appeared from invisibility, clutching his head in terror, yet a desire he had never felt before ignited in his eyes.
In Ginza, Tokyo, a woman who had been spurned by her family for controlling Fire stopped in her tracks, tears falling. In a cabin in the woods outside Moscow, an old man who could listen to the voices of millions sighed; he heard the monstrous waves instantly stirred in the hearts of his compatriots worldwide—hatred, fear, excitement, and a fanatical longing for a new World.
"Five days from now, Cairo pyramid, final judgment. Those who answer the call will rule the new World with me. Those who refuse shall sink together with old humanity."
The grand, cold, and unquestionable voice resounded in the depths of every Mutant's Soul.
At the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, a piercing alarm tore through the calm.
Hank McCoy rushed into the war room. On the giant Worldmap, thousands of light dots representing Mutants were activated simultaneously, connecting into a prairie fire.
Jean Grey stood in front of the screen, her face as pale as paper: "Apocalypse is gathering his army... He wants to turn every Mutant in the World into his Soldiers."
Scott Summers clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white: "Professor hasn't woken up yet. What should we do?"
"Go find Chu Hang." Jean took a deep breath, her eyes becoming incomparably firm after a brief moment of confusion. "Now, only he can stop all of this."
Underground training room.
Chu Hang stood quietly in the center, nine rings of different colors floating around him. Silver-white spatial, deep-red Reality, bright purple power, ink-green Time, light-blue Spirit, scarlet Reality, pitch-black Death, emerald Life, dark purple devouring, golden physique. The ten origin laws were like ten Planets, slowly rotating around him, intertwining and reflecting each other, yet distinct, maintaining a divine and subtle balance.
Jean pushed the door open and was instantly stunned by the scene before her. The physical rules in the training room had been disrupted; the air was sometimes as hot as Fire, sometimes as cold as a prison, and gravity was erratic.
The Phoenix Force within her sensed this supreme fluctuation of laws and let out a chirp that was both awe-inspired and excited.
"Apocalypse has issued a call to Mutants worldwide." Jean suppressed her discomfort and stepped forward quickly. "In five days, at the pyramid, he wants to establish his new order."
The nine rings quietly converged and submerged into Chu Hang's body, and the chaotic space instantly returned to normal. He opened his eyes, his gaze as calm as a sea of stars: "It came faster than I expected. Severing Magneto's mark must have made him feel his game was disturbed."
"What should we do?" Jean's voice trembled slightly. "Professor is still in a coma, the children in the school are already panicking, and some senior students are even discussing... whether to respond to Apocalypse."
Chu Hang was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "Apocalypse's power amplification is indeed tempting. For those Mutants who have lived in discrimination and fear all their lives, it is no less than a divine gift, the only chance for them to turn the tables and master their destiny."
"The price is to become a puppet without a Soul!" Jean gritted her teeth. "I can feel that every Mutant who accepts his power has a mark implanted in their Spirit core. It's not simple mind control, but a fundamental distortion of their thoughts, making them revere Apocalypse as the only true god."
"So, my goal is not to stop Apocalypse." Chu Hang's words stunned Jean.
He walked up to Jean, his eyes deep: "Jean, Apocalypseand his four horsemen are not a threat to me. The real threat is within you."
He looked at Jean's shocked eyes and continued: "The Phoenix Force longs to express itself, longs to burn. The more you suppress it, the more violent it becomes. And Apocalypse happens to provide us with a perfect stage; his four horsemen are the best whetstones for you to learn to control your power."
Jean couldn't believe it: "Use pseudo-Skyfather levelenemies... as my sparring partners?"
"Exactly." Chu Hang nodded. "Apocalypse's amplification seems powerful, but it has a fatal weakness—he must be present to maintain the peak combat power of his horsemen. As long as they are lured away from Apocalypse, their power will wane. My goal is to create an opportunity for you to face them one-on-one."
Jean frowned: "But they are all guarding Apocalypse now, never leaving his side. How can we lure them out?"
"Gods will always be interested in unknown divine powers."
Chu Hang curled his lips, raised his hand, and a ball of chaotic energy blending the laws of Life, Death, and Time appeared in his palm, emitting an aura that was both primitive and powerful.
"Apocalypse's ambition goes beyond Earth. I will simulate this energy as the fluctuation of a newborn law source and divide it into three parts, deploying them to different locations. He will think that some newborn, powerful Omega-level Mutant, or even a potential fifth horseman, has appeared. In order to bring all power under his control, he will inevitably send his most capable horsemen to investigate."
Jean stared at the energy ball, the Phoenix Forceinstinctively repelling it, yet faintly longing for it. She understood Chu Hang's plan—this was a trial tailored for her.
"But what if he sends two horsemen at once?"
"That is why I need you."
Chu Hang's gaze became incomparably serious. "The Phoenix Force within you just needs the right way to be guided. It craves battle, craves opponents, so give it that. We will defeat them one by one, and you, in this process, will learn how to dance with it, instead of being swallowed by it."
Jean clenched her fists, a wisp of out-of-control Fire leaping from her fingertips: "I'm afraid... I won't be able to control it. Last time in the infirmary, I almost..."
"That's because you were fighting it." Chu Hang walked up to her, raised his hand, and a gentle, pale golden light appeared in his palm.
"The Phoenix is not an enemy; it is a part of you. It longs for destruction, but it also nurtures rebirth. You need to learn to listen to it, guide it, not imprison it."
He gently pressed his hand on Jean's forehead, and a peaceful and vast Spirit force slowly seeped into her sea of consciousness.
Jean closed her eyes and saw that burning Spirit Worldagain, the fiery bird trapped by Professor Charles's mental shackles.
"Don't be afraid of it." Chu Hang's voice sounded in her mind like a morning bell and evening drum. "Feel it, touch it, tell it that you are ready."
Jean hesitated. She could feel the horror of that power; once it lost control, the entire Xavier estate would be reduced to ashes. But she also remembered Professor Charles's words before he fell into a coma: "You are not a monster, Jean, you just haven't learned how to be your true self yet."
She took a deep breath, her consciousness transformed into a hand, and firmly reached toward the flame that burned everything.
The flames instantly surged, engulfing her consciousness. Violent, destructive desires rushed in like a tide.
But this time, Jean did not retreat. She gritted her teeth, passed through the burning of the flames, and touched the outline of the giant bird at the core of the fire.
The Phoenix opened its eyes.
Those were eyes purely made of Fire, without emotion, only endless energy scrutinizing and questioning.
"I am not here to conquer you." Jean's consciousness sent a clear signal. "I am here to walk with you. You need a stage of freedom, and I need the power to protect. We can become each other."
The Phoenix did not respond, but that violent energy, enough to burn the stars, miraculously calmed down.
It folded its wings, its huge body shrinking, and finally turned into a wisp of docile golden flame, gently wrapping around the wrist of Jean's consciousness, like a symbiotic mark.
Jean opened her eyes abruptly, a faint golden-red light flashing in the depths of her pupils. She raised her hand, and a cluster of stable and solid flames leaped from her fingertips, full of vitality, with no more out-of-control violence.
"How does it feel?" Chu Hang withdrew his hand and asked calmly.
"It's still there." Jean clenched her fists, and the flames quietly extinguished. "But it's no longer roaring. It's waiting, waiting for me to prove that I am qualified to control its power."
Chu Hang nodded with satisfaction: "Then prove it with actual combat. In three days, I will deploy the first law source to the Sahara Desert. Apocalypse will likely send Storm Ororo—her abilities will be greatly restricted in the dry desert, making it the best breakthrough point. You come with me; you will restrain her, and I will be there to ensure your safety and strip her mark at the last moment."
Jean took a deep breath, fighting Spirit burning in her eyes: "What if I lose control?"
"I will stop you." Chu Hang's tone was unquestionable, yet carried a hint of trust. "But I believe you won't. The Phoenix chose you, not because of your weakness, but because deep down, you possess a resilience you haven't even realized yourself. All you need is a chance to believe in yourself."
Jean was silent for a few seconds, then finally nodded firmly: "I will be ready."
She turned and left the training room. The moment the door closed, Jean leaned against the cold wall in the corridor, closed her eyes, and felt the familiar yet strange power flowing steadily within her.
Footsteps approached, and Scott looked at the exhaustion on her face with concern: "Jean, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Jean opened her eyes, her gaze clear. "Just a little tired."
Scott hesitated and spoke: "I heard Hank say... Chu Hang is taking you to deal with Apocalypse's horsemen. Jean, those are pseudo-Skyfather level monsters, are you really..."
"I know." Jean interrupted him, her tone unprecedentedly firm. "But besides me, who else can go? Professor is in a coma, Eric has become an enemy. Chu Hang needs a helper who can keep up with him, and I am the only choice."
She started walking toward the dormitory. Scott stood in place, watching her determined back disappear around the corner, his fists slowly clenching.
Cairo, top of the pyramid.
Apocalypse closed his eyes, and his vast Spirit power once again enveloped the globe.
He clearly saw the layout being made by that mysterious law controller.
"Interesting." The smile at the corner of Apocalypse's mouth grew richer. "You are testing my pieces, you think you are hunting my horsemen, but you don't know you have already stepped into my chessboard."
He slowly opened his eyes, his pure white eyes reflecting the birth and Death of the Universe, full of the playfulness of a god looking down on mortals.
"Be ready, my children." His voice echoed in the Souls of the three horsemen. "In three days, we will welcome the first interesting challenger. At that time, I want to let him, and this World, understand—on my Planet, there can only be one god."
Ororo, Psylocke, and Angel knelt on one knee in unison, their voices filled with fanatical worship:
"As you command, My Lord!"
The moment the words fell, the sky above the pyramid suddenly darkened.
Endless dark clouds gathered from all directions, not because of Ororo's manipulation, but as if the weather of the entire Planet was bowing to the will of this ancient god...
Chapter 219: Phoenix First Cry
Deep in the Sahara, the Sun had scorched the sand until it was searing hot.
Chu Hang stood atop a sand dune. With a clench of his right hand, the three laws of Life, Death, and Time were kneaded into a ball, spinning in his palm.
Jean knelt ten meters away, her hands pressed against the sand.
She could feel the power within her stirring, like a Beastthat had been caged for too long, wanting to break out and tear something apart.
Deep breaths.
Don't fight against it, Chu Hang had said. You have to communicate with it.
The cry of the Phoenix resounded in her mind; it was no longer piercing, but sounded almost expectant.
It was waiting for her.
Chu Hang tossed the energy ball into the sky. It exploded, transforming into scattered points of light, throwing the law fluctuations within several kilometers into chaos.
Any being with keen perception would assume a powerful new Mutant had just been born here.
Apocalypse would definitely have sensed it.
Sure enough, in less than thirty seconds, a black dot appeared on the horizon. The dot grew larger, dark clouds surged from all directions, and the sky instantly darkened.
Jean stood up and looked up at the clouds.
Hidden behind the clouds was a powerful energy—the power of an Apocalypse Horseman, one that had been amplified.
Thunder rumbled.
A bolt of lightning struck down, slamming into the sand fifty meters away, instantly melting the sand into glass.
A white-haired figure descended from the clouds, her eyes glowing with white light.
Ororo Munroe, Storm, the first Horseman of Apocalypse.
She hovered in mid-air, looking down at Chu Hang and Jean.
"My master sensed abnormal energy fluctuations here and has dispatched me to investigate."
Chu Hang turned his head and said to Jean, "She is yours."
Jean clenched her fist, and pale golden Fire danced on her fingertips.
The Phoenix Force was responding to her—not with out-of-control rage, but with an eager anticipation ready to be unleashed.
This was the first time she was truly going to fight side-by-side with this power.
Ororo looked at Jean, a flash of disdain in her eyes. She raised her hand, and the dark clouds began to churn as dozens of lightning bolts slithered within them.
"A little girl, and you dare to challenge me?"
As soon as she finished speaking, three lightning bolts struck down.
Jean instinctively raised her hand, and the Phoenix Forceerupted. Golden-red Fire surged from her body, forming a flame shield above her head.
The lightning slammed into the shield with a deafening roar; electricity and flames intertwined, creating a blinding white light.
Jean slid back three meters on the sand, leaving two deep furrows. She gritted her teeth, her arms numb, but the shield did not break.
The Phoenix Force circulated within her, automatically repairing the damage from the lightning strike.
Ororo frowned.
She had thought one strike would be enough to finish it; she hadn't expected the energy within this girl to be so strong.
"Interesting."
She raised both hands; this time, it wasn't just lightning.
Violent winds gathered from all directions, whipping up sand and dust to form three massive tornadoes, sweeping over with the power to tear steel apart.
Jean took a deep breath and did not retreat.
She could hear the Phoenix murmuring in her mind—it was a longing for battle, excitement at facing a strong enemy.
She went with the flow of this power, not suppressing it, but guiding it to follow her own will.
She pushed her hands forward, and the golden-red Fire surged out like a tide, coalescing into the phantom image of a Fire bird before her.
The Fire bird let out a long cry and charged into the center of the tornadoes; the intense heat melted the sand, and the three tornadoes collapsed, turning into a sky full of glass shards.
The disdain in Ororo's eyes vanished.
She could feel that the power within Jean was extraordinary; it wasn't a normal Mutant ability, but an existence on a higher level.
Apocalypse's voice resounded in her mind: "Test her limits."
Ororo pointed a finger at the sky, and she mobilized all the energy accumulated in the dark clouds.
A massive bolt of lightning, ten meters thick, crashed down. The entire desert was illuminated, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of ozone.
Jean looked up at the attack that was enough to reduce her to ashes, her heart seemingly stopping.
Fear sprouted in her heart, but the Phoenix Force was roaring—a roar of excitement.
She closed her eyes, not thinking with her brain, but feeling with her instincts.
The Phoenix's will overlapped with her own; she could feel the energy within her boiling, burning, and longing to be released.
The moment she opened her eyes, Jean's pupils turned into pure golden-red.
Flames erupted from every pore, coalescing into a twenty-meter-tall Fire Phoenix behind her.
The Phoenix spread its wings, and its cry resonated across the world, containing both creation and destruction.
The Fire Phoenix flapped its wings and soared into the sky, colliding head-on with the destructive lightning.
Boom!
The Impact leveled all the sand dunes within a five-kilometer radius; the glassified sand particles were melted by the intense heat and then instantly cooled, solidifying into crystalline shards in the air, falling like rain.
Jean knelt on one knee, gasping for air.
The Phoenix Force circulated crazily within her; the power was too immense, and her body could barely withstand it.
Fine cracks appeared on the surface of her skin, and golden-red light surged from the fissures, as if she were about to be torn apart.
No, she couldn't lose control.
Jean gritted her teeth, recalling what Chu Hang had said.
The Phoenix was not an enemy; it was a part of her. It wasn't about suppression, but guidance—like taming a river, not building a dam.
She forced herself to relax, letting the rampaging energy flow along with her will instead of running wild.
Slowly, arduously, the violent flames began to recede, re-gathering at the core.
The cracks healed, and her breathing steadied.
But Ororo did not give her a chance to catch her breath.
Storm's eyes glowed with an even more intense white light; she felt a threat, a real threat.
The amplification Apocalypse bestowed upon her gave her pseudo-Skyfather level power, but the essence of the energy within the girl before her faintly surpassed her own.
She had to be defeated before she gained full control.
Ororo crossed her arms, and the dark clouds in the sky began to rotate, forming a massive eye of the storm over a kilometer in diameter.
Amidst the howling winds, hail, lightning, and sandstorms were all mobilized, transforming into a Pillar of Heavenly Punishment capable of destroying the world, descending from the sky.
Jean looked up, watching the attack capable of wiping out a city.
Her body was trembling—not from fear, but because the Phoenix Force was longing, excited, and urging her to release more.
But she could feel that if she unleashed her full power again, she might truly lose control.
The instant the Pillar of Heavenly Punishment was about to fall, a figure appeared in front of Jean.
Chu Hang raised his right hand, and a complex magic circle appeared in his palm.
The three laws of Space, Spirit, and Time were activated simultaneously, interweaving into a transparent barrier that stood firmly above their heads.
The Pillar of Heavenly Punishment slammed into the barrier; the deafening roar shook the entire desert.
But that seemingly fragile barrier didn't budge, and all the attacks were guided to the sides, plowing two hundred-meter-deep trenches into the sand.
Jean was stunned.
She could feel that Chu Hang hadn't even used his full power.
"Is this the gap between you and me?"
Chu Hang looked back at Jean, his gaze calm.
"You did well, but it's not enough. The Phoenix Force is not a rampaging Beast; you must learn delicate control, not just unleash everything every time."
Jean bit her lip and nodded.
She could feel the Phoenix Force within her quiet down after Chu Hang appeared, like a disciplined child.
Ororo hovered in mid-air, looking at Chu Hang, a flash of apprehension in her eyes.
Apocalypse had warned her that the Law Power this man mastered far exceeded that of ordinary people and could not be opposed by force.
"Who are you? How dare you interfere with my master's plan?"
"A passing traveler."
As soon as Chu Hang finished speaking, his figure vanished.
The next second, he appeared three meters behind Ororo.
Storm turned around sharply, waving her hands, and a dozen lightning bolts wove into a net and enveloped him.
Chu Hang simply lifted his right index finger, and the Space Law condensed into a point at his fingertip.
The moment all the lightning touched that point, it was sucked into a pinhole-sized Spatial Rift and vanished without a trace.
Ororo's pupils shrank.
Her weather manipulation, which she prided herself on, was as fragile as paper before this man.
Chu Hang did not attack; he just quietly stared into her eyes.
There were no pupils in those eyes, only pure white distorted by the mark of Apocalypse.
"You were not originally this kind of person, Ororo Munroe."
Storm froze for a moment, and vague images flashed through her mind—the slums of Cairo, a little girl curled up by a pile of trash, hungry, afraid, helpless.
Then that existence who called himself a god appeared, giving her power, dignity, and also... shackles.
"No, my master bestowed a new Life upon me; I am willing to offer everything to my master!"
She roared, mobilizing all her energy; the clouds in the sky were compressed to the extreme, brewing a terminal storm capable of destroying everything within a ten-kilometer radius.
But just as she was about to release it, Chu Hang's figure vanished again, this time appearing less than ten centimeters in front of her.
So close that she could see her own reflection in his eyes; those eyes were as deep as the Universe, containing vast laws she could not comprehend.
Chu Hang raised his right hand and tapped his index finger lightly on Ororo's forehead.
The Law of Spirit probed into the depths of her consciousness like threads, finding that golden mark radiating ancient divinity amidst countless memory fragments.
That was the control core implanted by Apocalypse, which had twisted Ororo's thinking, amplified her hatred and anger, and made her willingly become a slave to a god.
Chu Hang did not forcibly tear the mark apart, as that would destroy Ororo's spiritual core.
He mobilized the three laws of Life, Time, and Spirit, weaving them into a precise scalpel to peel the mark away, bit by bit.
Ororo's body trembled violently, and blood seeped from her seven orifices.
She could feel something being pulled out of her mind; the process was so painful it almost tore her apart.
But soon, the pain disappeared.
The pure white light in her pupils slowly faded, returning to their original deep brown.
She stared blankly at Chu Hang, confusion and fear flashing in her eyes, followed by deep-seated remorse.
"I... what have I done..."
She looked at her own hands; these hands were stained with the blood of the innocent.
The ruins of the Polish town, the civilians who perished in the storm she created—scene after scene replayed in her mind.
Chu Hang withdrew his hand.
"You were merely used. Return to Xaviers School; Professor Charles will help you."
Ororo knelt in mid-air, covering her face with her hands, weeping silently.
Chu Hang didn't say much more, simply leaving a spatial coordinate on her before snapping his fingers.
A Spatial Rift opened beneath Ororo, teleporting her away.