New York Has Been Flooded Again

Most of the Mutants were trash, but there were still quite a few with decent qualities. If they could pass the three-month trial and successfully enter the sect, they would certainly become the backbone of the sect in the future.

And if he was lucky enough to recruit some Mutants with protagonist or supporting-character plot armor, that would be even better!

Breaking through the limits of Ultimate Limit Qigong through technology was only one path. There was no need to hang himself from this one tree.

Mutant abilities and Inhuman abilities were both worth considering. As long as something helped Zhan Liu achieve his goal, he was willing to give it a try.

As for Zhan Liu provoking Cyclops right away and beating up all three members of the X-Men, the essence of it was showing off his strength, advertising, and attracting the children who had a strong desire for martial power.

As for beating up their teacher, would it cause them to become hostile toward him and resent him?

Those children who fervently pursued power would only worship him even more wildly because of it; they would not grow resentful. And those who did become resentful were bound to have deep feelings for the X-Men or share similar ideals with them. Such people were not Zhan Liu’s experimental subjects.

What if these children failed the assessment after three months?

It didn’t matter. He could simply sell them to Old Magneto and recruit another batch from him.

Take Pyro, for example. Someone who would eventually run off with Magneto could spend some time in Zhan Liu’s hands first. There was nothing wrong with that.

After Zhan Liu left, Professor X sighed, controlled his wheelchair out the door, and went to check on the three injured people.

He wasn’t too worried about the others. He was only worried about Jean Grey. If Jean had an emotional fluctuation and released Dark Phoenix, it would become a major disaster.

Although Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters had no Mutant with healing abilities, it possessed quite a bit of advanced technology, so the three people’s injuries had already been brought under control. They were currently recuperating in bed.

When Professor X entered, the three struggled to sit up and greeted him.

Professor X ignored Cyclops and asked Jean Grey first, "Jean, how are you feeling emotionally right now?"

Jean naturally understood what the professor meant. She nodded at him and said, "Don’t worry, Professor. I fluctuated emotionally for a moment just now, but I calmed myself down in time. I’m fine now."

Professor X stopped his wheelchair in front of the three and said:

"Our intelligence on Zhan was completely wrong. Zhan isn’t someone who treats humans and Mutants equally, as I previously thought. He is equally indifferent to both humans and Mutants."

"He doesn’t care about humans, and he doesn’t care about Mutants. He doesn’t even revere life. From his words, I could tell that he doesn’t care in the slightest about other people’s lives."

"He is not our friend."

Cyclops’s spirits lifted, and he immediately shouted, "Professor, I knew he was a bad person. We should bring Jimmy back. We can’t let him stay in that martial arts school with that man. That child will definitely take the wrong path."

Professor X hesitated over this point. In the end, he shook his head and said, "I still need to observe the specific situation further."

Cyclops grew anxious. "Professor, what else is there to consider? The longer Jimmy stays there, the closer his relationship with that man will become."

"Scott, did you notice? When Jimmy awakened, he caused very little damage to the surrounding environment."

Cyclops furrowed his brows and thought carefully, while Professor X continued, "Furthermore, when you went to see Jimmy earlier, his control over his ability was also extremely precise. He didn’t seem like a child who had just awakened at all."

"Perhaps his talent is simply very good," Storm said hesitantly.

"No. No matter how good his talent is, it’s impossible for him to improve so dramatically all at once. It’s like a bird being unable to fly the moment it is born." Professor X shook his head. "I suspect that Zhan’s Qigong is beneficial for Mutants in controlling their abilities."

"How is that possible? He isn’t a Mutant!" The group found it difficult to believe.

"Although he isn’t a Mutant, Qigong is meant to regulate the mind in the first place. Moreover, his Qigong produces superpowers, so there must also be training related to energy control."

"So, if a person has a certain degree of self-control over both mind and body, could that also help them control their Mutant abilities?"

"I think it’s very possible!"

Professor X glanced at them and continued:

"I even have another suspicion. Could his Qigong activate the hidden Mutant genes in the human body and turn the X-Gene from recessive to dominant?"

This time, the three were even more astonished. Looking at the pensive Professor X, they found it extremely unbelievable.

"Professor, isn’t that too exaggerated? We tried many methods before, but none of them could affect the X-Gene."

"The methods we used before were all scientific. But we don’t understand something like Qigong, so we’ve never tried it."

Jean stared at the professor in shock and asked, "Professor, you’re not planning to…"

"That’s right. I plan to send some students with extremely poor ability control to study under him. However, I’m also worried that these children might lose control there and cause a hugely negative impact. That means someone will need to look after them there."

After saying this, the professor looked at Storm and said:

"Jean would normally be the best candidate, but her condition is extremely unstable, so she can’t leave Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. And Scott had a very unpleasant interaction with Zhan today. So, Ororo, I can only entrust all of this to you."

"Although you also clashed with him today, as long as we explain the situation clearly, I imagine he won’t refuse to let you go there."

Storm nodded. "I understand, Professor. I’ll take good care of the children. But I don’t speak Chinese. And how should we deal with the human authorities?"

"I’ll handle the authorities. I still have some connections I can make use of. As for Chinese, Jean will teach you from now on. Likewise, the school will add Chinese classes, and every student will have to study it."

Storm hesitated for a moment before asking, "Professor, can’t we hire him as a guest lecturer at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters?"

Professor X shook his head. "Ororo, you don’t understand the Eastern master-disciple relationship. It is a form of inheritance distinct from the Western teacher-student relationship, and it is much more intimate. Many Eastern secret arts will not be passed down unless there is a formal master-disciple relationship."

"Tell the children that, for the sake of strengthening their studies, they’ll be sent to New York in batches for three months of intensive training. I heard Zhan say earlier that even after becoming his disciples, he wouldn’t mind them joining the X-Men. That is good news for us."

"All right, I understand."

After leaving Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, Zhan Liu flew straight to New York. However, before he even arrived, he saw from far away that a tsunami was raging over New York. It poured in from the sea toward the city like a vast blanket, flooding the streets.

New York had been flooded again!

Zhan Liu was extremely surprised.

The last time New York was flooded, it had been because his battle with Carol had been too intense and stirred up the tsunami.

So what was the reason this time?

Could Tony and Peter have started fighting each other?