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Chapter 418 — The Young Superman and the Accidental Cultivation Path
🕑 Added 2025-10-31 16:05:44 +0000 UTC> “Clark, are you sure you’re not coming to the bonfire tonight?”
“Just between us—Lana’s going too! Of course, that guy Whitney will be there as well.”
“Thanks for the heads-up, Chloe. But you know I don’t really like that kind of thing.”
---
The light, teasing conversation drifted through the late-afternoon air, casual and innocent—
but when those words reached Alex’s ears, his attention sharpened immediately.
Clark.
Lana.
Whitney.
He froze for half a heartbeat, then smiled faintly.
Clark Kent.
That name alone wasn’t confirmation—Smallville was a small town, and the name Clark was hardly rare.
But when it came paired with Lana Lang?
That left no room for doubt.
---
The corners of his lips lifted.
He didn’t need to search any further.
The boy who would one day become the world’s greatest hero—Superman—was right here, living a quiet, small-town teenage life.
Back in his own world, Alex had seen a thousand versions of this story:
the farm boy who didn’t fit in, who felt different, who would one day rise above the clouds.
But seeing it unfold here, in person, felt strangely… surreal.
> “So this is the young Superman, huh?”
He murmured, amusement flickering in his tone.
---
Curiosity got the better of him.
Activating his X-ray and telescopic vision, Alex let his gaze sweep through the town, past rooftops and trees, until it settled on the school field.
There he was—Clark Kent.
Tall, broad-shouldered, yet still carrying the shy awkwardness of youth.
His expression was kind, almost painfully earnest, as he talked with a blonde girl who laughed easily beside him.
High school Superman.
A boy still untouched by the weight of the world.
Alex couldn’t help but chuckle.
For all the myths that would one day surround the Man of Steel, right now he was just a teenager trying to dodge a bonfire party.
---
As for Lana Lang, she wasn’t in sight—
but Alex remembered well what she meant to Clark.
The first crush, the first heartbreak, the first lesson in love.
Even years later, in the Fortress of Solitude, Superman had built an entire crystal chamber just for her memory.
That said more than words ever could.
In some timelines, she’d even become a hero herself—Superwoman.
> “Tch. Seems even gods remember their first love.”
He smirked faintly and withdrew his gaze.
> “Forget it. Let’s focus on business.”
Superman could wait.
Right now, Alex had come for something else—Kryptonite.
He turned, the air rippling faintly around him, and disappeared from the town without a sound.
---
Twenty minutes later
The hills behind Smallville were quiet, blanketed by the late-evening sun.
Hidden beneath one of them was a cave—dark, unremarkable from the outside, but the moment Alex stepped in, his senses flared.
> “Hmm?”
“What’s this?”
The air was different here—dense, humming with unseen energy.
It wasn’t mere radiation. It felt… alive.
Each breath he took carried power that brushed against his skin like liquid lightning.
He closed his eyes briefly, feeling it swirl around him.
The energy was rich, thick—dozens of times more concentrated than the air outside.
And more shocking still—when he tried absorbing it, it flowed straight into him without resistance.
> “You’ve got to be kidding me… a place like this actually exists?”
He laughed under his breath, half in disbelief.
It felt almost like a scene from a cultivation novel—
the protagonist stumbling into a forgotten immortal cave brimming with heavenly qi.
A secret inheritance?
A celestial relic?
Some ancient Kryptonian powerhouse’s tomb?
He shook his head, smiling at his own imagination.
> “Focus, Alex. Don’t start daydreaming.”
---
He extended his senses further, scanning every inch of the cave.
Then he found it—
the source pulsing beneath the earth.
> “It’s… underground!”
Without hesitation, he let his X-ray vision pierce the rock.
A faint green glow pulsed beneath the surface, throbbing like a heartbeat.
Kryptonite.
---
> “So this is the cause…”
He raised his hand slightly.
BOOM!
The ground ruptured, and a chunk of glowing green crystal shot upward, landing neatly in his palm.
The instant he touched it, a shiver ran through him.
Every cell in his body seemed to come alive, greedily drinking in the energy.
The crystal hummed faintly, and he could feel it—
vast, vibrant, alien power trapped within its core.
> “Incredible…”
His voice was barely a whisper.
He had come here planning only to gather some Kryptonite as a safeguard against Superman.
A contingency.
An insurance policy.
But this…
this was something else entirely.
The energy inside the crystal wasn’t just destructive—it was pure, refined, and perfectly absorbable by his own body.
Kryptonite wasn’t merely Superman’s weakness—
it was a cultivation treasure.
---
> “Heh. Looks like I really did come to the right place.”
A satisfied grin spread across his face.
> “The path to greater strength starts right here.”
He sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor, the glowing shard resting in his hand, and began to draw the energy into himself.
The crystal’s light pulsed, then gradually dimmed as its essence flowed into him like streams of emerald fire.
---
But after several minutes, a sharp sting crawled beneath his skin.
His brows furrowed.
At first, he thought it was just the surge of power overwhelming his nerves.
But no—it was something else.
The Kryptonite’s energy carried a hidden toxicity.
To an ordinary human, it would be lethal.
To him, it was manageable—but still dangerous if left unchecked.
> “Tch. I’ll need to find a way to neutralize this.”
He filed the thought away, mind already working through possibilities.
Perhaps with the right balance of solar energy… or maybe through refining it directly with his telekinetic field.
Either way, it was a problem for later.
---
Just then, his super-hearing caught faint voices approaching.
> “Lana, we’re almost there—this is my secret hideout!”
“Really, Whitney? When you say it like that, I’m even more curious!”
Two sets of footsteps crunched softly on the gravel path leading toward the cave.
Alex tilted his head, a flicker of amusement crossing his face.
Using X-ray vision, he saw them clearly: a confident young man and a girl with auburn hair and bright green eyes.
Whitney Fordman—and Lana Lang.
---
> “So this is her, huh? The famous Lana.”
She was as striking as the stories suggested—graceful, warm, and effortlessly radiant.
It was easy to see why even an alien from another world had fallen for her.
Still, Alex couldn’t help but smirk at the irony.
> “Wait a second… did Superman get dumped or something?”
Because right now, she was definitely here—
with another guy.
---
As the couple drew closer, laughing and unaware of the godlike being hidden within the cave’s shadows,
Alex’s grin widened.
> “Relax, kid,” he murmured quietly, eyes glinting with amusement.
“I’m not here for your girl… yet.”
He closed his hand around the fading Kryptonite crystal.
The green light flickered once—and died.
The cave fell silent again, save for the steady hum of power still lingering in the air.
Somewhere above, Clark Kent remained blissfully unaware that destiny had just arrived in his hometown.
And that his path—
was about to cross with Alex’s.
