At this moment, Huang Wen stood at the very top of the Statue of Liberty's crown, the vast, dimly lit expanse of the sleeping world stretching out beneath him.
The cold, crisp air, the gentle lapping of the harbor water far below, and the dizzying height combined to give him an unprecedented feeling—a sense of being utterly sovereign, completely detached from the mortal scramble.
He had the Rebirth Dragon Emblem granting him immortality, and the Dream Butterfly Escape granting him spatial mastery. He just needed the final, internal piece of the puzzle.
"This is the perfect place to finish this. The greatest city in the world, the dawn of my new era," Huang Wen decided, looking at the last lottery draw blinking on his task page—a legendary skill draw, similar to the Dream Butterfly Escape.
He gathered his composure, allowing the immense, borrowed Shen from the Emblem to settle his internal chaos. "Hopefully, this momentum won't break now. Give me a skill that binds everything together."
"Draw!" Huang Wen looked at the final legendary skill draw, took a deep, steady breath, and gave the order with absolute conviction.
With a powerful "Whoosh!", just as his previous suspicions had predicted, a brilliant blue light flashed, this time far more intense than the previous one. It confirmed his mental model: the basic and extraordinary lottery draws were signaled by white or yellow light, but the legendary power was announced with this vivid, soul-stirring blue.
He knew that if he ever saw a purple or gold light, that would signify the true, cosmos-shaking power—the genuine golden legend.
The blue light surged, coalescing into an icon that looked like an ancient warrior, surrounded by three swirling streams of light—red, yellow, and blue—representing Essence, Energy, and Spirit.
"Ding! Congratulations on acquiring the Legendary Skill: Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill (Originating from the peerless martial arts of the world's number one eccentric hero of Tianchi, the Invincible Mischievous Boy Gu Santong, and his inheritor, Cheng Shifei.
This skill, after system optimization and merging with the Host's foundational power, integrates Essence, Energy, and Spirit (Jing, Qi, and Shen) into one singular, unified force, with the three powers working synergistically to build an indestructible golden body.)"
"Special Note 1: The Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill is equivalent to simultaneously sharing the entire pool of Essence, Energy, and Spirit. When using power derived from the overall pool, all three attributes will be drawn upon and converted into the required force.
The higher the combined Jing, Qi, and Shen, the stronger its defensive effect, raw striking power, speed, immunity, and destructive capability. However, this skill cannot, for the time being, shatter the hard limitation of the Legendary power tier."
"Special Note 2: The Golden Body is fundamentally unbreakable and cannot be shaken by any external physical force, regardless of magnitude. The Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill is immune to both physical trauma and mental/spiritual attacks. It is impervious to all forms of known poisons, and completely invulnerable to water and fire damage. It is the definition of Vajra Indestructible."
"Special Note 3: Although the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill has no inherent limit on the number of transformations, it places an extremely high demand on one's internal energy (Qi) reserves for maintenance.
At the current Legendary level, 100 points of refined Qi can sustain one hour of transformation time and combat. Please pay close attention to the time during combat, as rapid energy depletion will result in immediate deactivation and require subsequent replenishment."
"Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill!" Huang Wen's eyes flashed with fierce, predatory light. The sheer scope of the power was staggering. It wasn't just a defensive shield; it was an integrated system that exponentially amplified his entire being, folding Jing, Qi, and Shen into a single, overwhelming tidal wave of force.
"If this works, I could even walk through the streets like a Golden Super Saiyan, terrifying anyone who crosses my path. The defense alone is ridiculous!"
He focused immediately on the consumption rate. "100 Qi per hour… right now, my base Qi is 99 points. That means my personal, refined reserve can only sustain the transformation for about 59 minutes and 24 seconds. I haven't even lasted a full hour yet! But at least I'm already better off than those superheroes who are famously limited to three minutes of power before they have to recharge."
Then, a flicker of genuine worry crossed his mind, a direct link back to the crisis currently unfolding in the world of Mutants. "Wait a minute! When I transform, will the resulting golden body be considered 'metal'? If I'm classified as metal, won't I instantly be controlled and ripped apart by Magneto? I vaguely recall that when Cheng Shifei first transformed in the original story, all the scrap metal in the vicinity was violently attracted to his body!"
Thinking of this, a hint of deep, practical concern mixed with scientific curiosity flashed in Huang Wen's eyes. He had to know. He immediately activated the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art.
Moreover, he desperately wanted to confirm whether the enormous, borrowed power within the Rebirth Dragon Emblem would be counted within the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art's unified pool. If it was, his power would be utterly terrifying.
With a thunderous "Whoosh!" that seemed to shake the very crown of the Statue of Liberty (though no one noticed it), an incomparably powerful, golden force pierced through Huang Wen's body. The transformation was instant and absolute. The gold wasn't painted; it was a pure, internal energy crystallization.
At this moment, Huang Wen truly lived up to his surname. He was entirely golden and dazzling, radiating a holy, almost blinding light. He looked far better and more refined than the "Touching Gold Powder" look of the original characters. Crucially, Huang Wen's hair remained completely black and untouched—a symbol of the skill's perfect optimization and integration.
"There really is a subtle suction force! I can feel the magnetic pull from the Statue beneath my feet, but I am not metal, and I can completely control this suction with my mind," Huang Wen realized, a satisfied grin splitting his golden face.
The key was that the golden body was refined energy, not elemental metal. "Perhaps, I can even combine my special ability for controlling objects—telekinesis—with the raw power of my indestructible Vajra martial arts, to completely dominate the physical world. I could even impersonate the greatest of the psychic and magnetic mutants…"
He paused, collecting his thoughts, the vastness of his current strength settling into his soul.
"Or rather, my current combined abilities are already enough to surpass the raw power of both Magneto and Charles Xavier in their normal states," he mused. "Of course, there's still a gap compared to their absolute strongest, most focused forms, but at least I don't need to be so cautious until those truly powerful, world-ending figures—like the fully awakened Phoenix, or Apocalypse—finally show their faces!"
Thinking of the sheer numbers, Huang Wen instinctively brought up his task panel for a real-time assessment of his combat state.
Host: Huang Wen (Invincible Vajra Divine Skill State)
Energy and Spirit: 3215 points (+1989)
"As expected! The gargantuan power from the Rebirth Dragon Emblem has been factored into the total unified pool!" A triumphant smile appeared on Huang Wen's lips, his golden form radiating supreme confidence. "Moreover, controlling this combined power is actually far simpler and more intuitive after transforming. It feels like this skill is the perfect container for the Emblem's power!"
The logic was clear: the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill was his true, inherent Legendary power, while the Rebirth Dragon Emblem was merely an equipment item—a magnificent battery. The skill was the necessary circuit breaker and control unit.
"So, by this calculation, the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill is equivalent to increasing my Essence, Energy, and Spirit by three times each, then adding the Emblem's power, and then unifying them. Although the numerical value is displayed as 3215, my combat power in all three forms is that high! A unified, synergistic force!
"Furthermore, using the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill has given me an absolutely perfect idea for a safe, permanent way to secure the Regenerating Dragon Emblem…"
As soon as this thought flashed through Huang Wen's mind, the Regeneration Dragon Emblem, which was originally hanging loosely around Huang Wen's neck, changed instantly. The simple chain necklace holding the Emblem was mentally shunted into the system space, treated as nothing more than a miscellaneous item.
The Rebirth Dragon Emblem did not leave Huang Wen's chest and fall. Instead, he anchored it firmly to his sternum, fixed there by a highly concentrated field of his innate Divine Power. Unless Huang Wen's Shen was completely exhausted (an impossibility with the Emblem's 9.9 point supply), the Rebirth Dragon Emblem would not leave Huang Wen's body.
In this way, even if Huang Wen encounters Magneto—the man who can control all metal—and Magneto discovers the shimmering green Emblem on Huang Wen's chest, the security is absolute.
As long as Huang Wen instantly activates the Invincible Vajra Divine Skill, the combined locking force of his powerful telekinesis and the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill's signature feature—that it cannot be shaken by any external force—will prevent Magneto from taking it away, regardless of the magnetic force applied! It was the ultimate failsafe.
"My power was clearly draining away. Based on my estimation, my 99 points of internal Qi were completely exhausted in about 45 minutes, not the predicted 59. I was just one step away from fully mastering the Legendary level of Qi, but when I actually pushed the skill, it was so much weaker than the formula predicted?" After experiencing the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill at maximum output, Huang Wen concentrated and withdrew his transformation, returning to his normal, human appearance.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, Huang Wen's eyes snapped wide open, a hint of profound surprise flashing in them.
The effort, the sustained Legendary output, and the sheer volume of power that had flowed through his body, even for just 45 minutes, had pushed his internal energy to a new breaking point. He felt his dantian surge—the essence, energy, and spirit had been forcefully merged and separated, stimulating his own dormant Qi and forcing a long-awaited breakthrough opportunity.
He was about to level up his true, internal power!
His figure immediately transformed into a spot of blue light, using the Dream Butterfly Escape technique, instantly disappearing from his original spot on the crown and reappearing in his quiet room at the Wing Chun martial arts school.
"I have something urgent to attend to and must go into seclusion immediately. Do not, under any circumstances, disturb me for the next few hours."
With a thought, Huang Wen sent a direct, focused voice message—a pure psychic burst—directly into Logan's ears, and then used his powerful Shen to seal off his room, making it impervious to all light, sound, and intrusion. The breakthrough could not wait.
"Seclusion? What the hell does that even mean? Is the kid having a spiritual crisis?" Logan suddenly jolted awake, clutching his head, scratching his temples in confusion as he looked towards Huang Wen's firmly shut and eerily silent room.
"Never mind, he said not to disturb him. But, that voice just now… it was inside my head, loud and clear, and it sounded somewhat like a deeper, more demanding version of Charles's voice…"
Logan ran a hand over his face, his usual confusion compounded by the sudden psychic intrusion. "Is this what he meant by the spiritual power that arises after martial arts reach a certain, high level? I really, truly should find a chance to learn this martial art before that little genius explodes or something!"
But the bigger problem always returned, gnawing at his survival instinct. "But what exactly happened to Charles? Why isn't he using his own mental powers to contact us? Could he really be at that damned, desolate Lake Alkali? And if the kid knows something, why can't he just tell me what's going on like a normal person?"
Logan's patience was wearing thin, but the loyalty to his friend, Charles, burned hotter than his rage. He knew he couldn't wait forever.