The Magneto Who Never Grew Up

Magneto was forced back by Professor Charles and the X-Men, failing to enter New York, but that didn’t mean he was willing to give up.

That night, one of the disciples came before Zhan Liu and arrogantly handed him a letter.

"Mr. Zhan, this is the challenge Magneto sent you. On the fifteenth of next month, atop the Sahara Desert, Magneto will personally teach you what Magnetic Field Control really is! Surely, as a martial artist, you aren’t too cowardly to come, are you?"

Zhan Liu glanced at him indifferently and said, "You should call me Master, Hansen."

"No, you aren’t qualified to be my master. I only came here to investigate. And by the way, my name isn’t Hansen either."

After saying that, Hansen’s body seemed to reassemble itself from tiny blocks. It shifted from head to toe, rapidly transforming into a naked woman with blue skin, red hair, and golden eyes.

Mystique, whom Storm had been desperately searching for, had taken the initiative to appear before Zhan Liu.

"I don’t care what your name is. Since you paid your respects and bowed to your master before the founding patriarch, you’re my nominal disciple. Now that you’re going back on your word, are you planning to betray your master and wipe out your ancestors?" Zhan Liu didn’t even look at the letter. With a casual flick of his hand, he shook it into dust.

"Perhaps you don’t know what happened to the last person who violated the sect rules. But who gave you the courage to act so insolently in front of me?"

Zhan Liu’s gaze turned cold, and Raven immediately felt as though she couldn’t breathe, as if her heart were about to stop.

Raven discovered that Zhan Liu’s gaze was actually colder and more ruthless than Magneto’s. She couldn’t help regretting her rash appearance this time.

She hurriedly explained, "The person who became your disciple was Hansen. I came later. I was only using his identity."

There wasn’t the slightest warmth in Zhan Liu’s eyes as he said coldly, "In other words, you killed my nominal disciple and took his place?"

"No, no, he’s not dead. I only pretended to be his behind-the-scenes employer and transferred him to another city on business. He was actually a member of a secret organization. Such secret organizations usually communicate through single lines, so it was easy to fool everyone." Raven hurriedly poured out the entire story.

"So you learned martial arts without becoming my disciple. That makes you a thief…" Zhan Liu said indifferently.

"I’ll become your disciple right now and make up for that step." Raven hurriedly made her position clear.

"That’s more like it." The coldness in Zhan Liu’s eyes vanished.

Raven collapsed onto the ground and gasped for breath. She had no doubt that if her answer hadn’t satisfied Zhan Liu just now, she would have died here.

This man seems even more bloodthirsty than Erik. Perhaps Erik’s decision was a mistake.

Zhan Liu rose and brought Raven to the main hall, where he repeated the discipleship ceremony and then explained the sect rules once more.

Raven had actually understood all of this long ago, but she no longer had the courage to provoke him in any way. No one could have imagined that this usually gentle and amiable master would be so terrifying when angered.

After completing the ceremony, Zhan Liu brought Raven back to the room and sat down. He said to her, "Since Magneto wants to die, I’ll grant his wish. I’ll let him witness the power of Magnetic Field Rotation and see whether he’ll still have the nerve to call himself ‘Magneto’ afterward."

Raven hesitated for a moment before advising him:

"Master, I don’t think you’re a softhearted person. When you killed those police officers before, you didn’t hesitate in the slightest. Since that’s the case, why don’t I mediate between you and Erik and have the two of you talk things over? Perhaps you’ll find that you have something in common."

"Heh, what is there for me to discuss with him?" Zhan Liu sneered. "He’s nothing more than a big child who was hurt in his youth, developed a psychological trauma after growing up, and never managed to move past it."

"I know a little about his experiences. When he was young, he was taken by Nazi scientists and used for experiments. Although he escaped later, he was never able to emerge from that shadow."

"Look at the Brotherhood he’s created. Its core ideals are things like Mutant Supremacy, survival of the fittest, and the strong preying on the weak. How is that any different from what the Nazi concentration camps preached back then?"

"He merely changed Aryan Supremacy into Mutant Supremacy. The Nazis believed that Jewish genes were inferior and that Jews should be exterminated, while he believes that ordinary humans have inferior genes and that Mutants are the future of the world."

"Put bluntly, all of his current ideas were instilled in him by the Nazi scientists who experimented on him back then."

"What a joke. So many years have passed, yet he still hasn’t awakened from the brainwashing he received as a child. He still worships that doctrine as gospel."

"What can a child who never grows up accomplish, no matter how high his combat strength is?"

"He lacks an adult’s way of thinking and has no mature values or system of knowledge. He always approaches things with a simple binary mindset: either this or that."

"Of course, if he were strong enough, there would be nothing wrong with that. When he and the world come into conflict, if he can’t change himself, then he can change the world to suit him. But unfortunately, his strength is pathetic. Forget being invincible under heaven—even destroying a country by himself is beyond him."

"And he calls himself ‘Magneto’? ‘Iron King’ would be more accurate. He can only control metal and has no understanding of the true nature of magnetic fields. The government could defeat him with nothing more than specially made plastic weapons."

As Zhan Liu spoke, he pointed toward the plastic tray and glass on the nearby table. They rose into the air and flew into Raven’s hands.

Raven held the glass in one hand and the plastic tray in the other, examining them over and over with a stunned expression.

"Raven, Magneto is an illiterate, while Professor X is a bleeding-heart saint. Neither of them can be relied upon. The future of the Mutants can only be carried on your shoulders." Zhan Liu began forcefully deceiving Mystique.

Mystique’s ability could actually become extremely powerful. This was specifically demonstrated by the Sentinel Robots.

The Sentinel Robots could switch to any Mutant’s ability at any time. Their core lay in Mystique’s X-Gene ability.

So the question was, if Mystique reached the Magnetic Field Rotation Realm, would it cause a qualitative change in her ability and allow her to achieve an effect like that of the Sentinel Robots?

If things really turned out as Zhan Liu imagined, then Raven’s ability might one day break through the limit of the Ultimate Limit Qigong Magnetic Field Rotation’s Fifty Heavens.

Even if she failed to break through the limit and only reached the Fifty Heavens, that still wouldn’t be bad.

Zhan Liu’s system mission required ten native War Gods to reach Magnetic Field Rotation’s Fifty Heavens in exchange for the reward of an opportunity to comprehend a breakthrough beyond the technique’s upper limit.

Thanks to the FFF Regiment Leader for the donation!