Growing Stronger

For the next month or so, Chaya stayed quietly inside the infant incubation pod, growing stronger little by little under its care.

Although Saiyans were cold by nature, they took excellent care of newborn infants.

These incubation pods all used Planet Dadar's latest technology. Not only did they contain soft, silk-like mattresses and a mild, comfortable environment for growth, but they also regularly supplied infants with large doses of specially processed nutrient fluid, ensuring that they could grow faster and better.

A month later, Chaya stared at the transparent display before him. The data showed that his battle power had reached 95, an increase of 6 points from a month ago. Though the increase was not much, it was already quite good for a newborn Saiyan infant.

Chaya knew that his aptitude placed him among the best of the Mid-Class Warriors. Though he could not compare to those Elite Warriors whose battle power exceeded 100 at birth, he was already quite outstanding among all newborn infants.

Around ten thousand Saiyan infants were born on Planet Vegeta each year. Elite Warriors made up only a tiny fraction of them, numbering fewer than a hundred. The overwhelming majority were Low-Class Warriors, along with a small number of Mid-Class Warriors.

After their incubation period ended, these Low-Class Warriors would be sent to low-level planets to carry out missions, while Mid-Class Warriors would remain on Planet Vegeta for three years of training before being dispatched on missions.

As for Elite Warriors, they all came from Planet Vegeta's prominent noble families and were treasured like precious gems. They would receive the best training and care on Planet Vegeta until they became the finest Saiyan warriors.

It sounded cruel, but that was how Saiyans handled the next generation. After the incubation period, the Saiyan hierarchy would be laid bare: Elite Warriors received the best care, while Low-Class Warriors were sent out to struggle between life and death until they became strong enough to return to Planet Vegeta.

Saiyans practiced the cruelest form of survival of the fittest. They were a race born for battle. They had no need for the weak; only the strong could earn a place on Planet Vegeta.

During that month, Chaya also met his parents. They were a very typical Saiyan couple, with the belief that the strong devoured the weak ingrained in their bones. After hurriedly seeing Chaya once, they quickly left to carry out another mission.

Chaya merely watched quietly. After his parents left, he silently closed his eyes again.

However, to Chaya's surprise, he actually saw Bardock.

At this time, Bardock was still very young, probably not even twenty years old. He had come with his comrades to visit a comrade's newborn child.

Bardock was still so young, which meant there was still quite a long time before Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta—at least another ten years. That was enough time for him to grow slowly and then leave Planet Vegeta.

This discovery left Chaya ecstatic.

"Hehe, there are still at least ten years before Planet Vegeta is destroyed. That's enough time for me to become a powerful warrior." A delighted smile appeared on Chaya's childish face, and confidence flashed in his eyes.

Next, I'll receive three years of training on Planet Vegeta, then I'll be sent to some remote planets to carry out missions. Maybe I can take that chance to secretly slip away to Earth. Chaya quietly calculated in his heart, but then shook his head and abandoned the idea of heading to Earth immediately.

It was still too early to go to Earth. He planned to wait a few more years, until his body had grown a little more.

More importantly, every Saiyan spacecraft had a tracking system. He worried that if he went to Earth now, he might draw Frieza's attention too early and increase the risk of Earth being exposed.

Since he had come to the world of Dragon Balls and had been fortunate enough to become a Saiyan, Chaya had no intention of settling into obscurity, accomplishing nothing, and then becoming an ordinary Saiyan who died alongside Planet Vegeta at Frieza's hands.

He wanted to become a strong man, one who held his own fate in his hands.

Frieza, the androids, Majin Buu—these people would all become his stepping stones, obstacles that had to be kicked aside on his path to becoming strong. He would surpass the original story and become even stronger than Son Goku and Vegeta.

For now, Chaya needed to carefully plan things out so that his growth could continue more steadily and smoothly.

Among Saiyans, those born with battle power below 30 were Low-Class Warriors, those between 30 and 100 were Mid-Class Warriors, and those above 100 were Elite Warriors.

A Saiyan's battle power at birth largely limited what they could achieve in the future. After growing up, Low-Class Warriors generally had battle power below 2,000, while Mid-Class Warriors fell between 2,000 and 5,000. Only Elite Warriors could reach or surpass 5,000 battle power.

That was why Elite Warriors held an especially noble status among Saiyans. They were the prominent noble families of the entire Saiyan race and represented the Saiyans' highest battle power.

At present, there were fewer than twenty warriors on all of Planet Vegeta with battle power exceeding 10,000. Without exception, they were all among the finest Saiyans.

Chaya did not deny the importance of aptitude. Outstanding aptitude could make training twice as effective with half the effort. With the same amount of effort, someone with good aptitude would gain several times more than someone with poor aptitude. Without proper guidance, if one relied entirely on primal instinct and reckless struggle, aptitude would become the greatest shackle on the road to strength. Those with good aptitude would inevitably surpass those with poor aptitude.

But he also understood that aptitude was by no means the sole standard for measuring a person's future achievements, especially for Saiyans.

There were many examples of this.

Son Goku's father, Bardock, was a Low-Class Warrior, yet the battle power he displayed when Planet Vegeta was destroyed far surpassed that of other Elite Warriors. That was an achievement Bardock gained through years of battle, constantly breaking through his body's limits.

Then there was Son Goku. A mere Low-Class Warrior, yet he was able to surpass his limits again and again, eventually becoming one of the strongest people in the entire universe.

Could that really be limited by aptitude alone?

No. Aptitude might measure the achievements of ordinary people, but it was not the deciding factor. One's environment for growth played a crucial role as well.

Why was Son Goku able to break through his limits time and again? Saiyan blood undoubtedly played a part, but there were other bloodlines in the universe that surpassed the Saiyan bloodline. Before Son Goku, Saiyans may have been called a warrior race, but how many of them could truly be considered universe-level super warriors? Frieza would not even need to act; the captain of the Ginyu Force alone would probably have been enough to wipe out the entire Saiyan race.

It was not as though possessing Saiyan blood meant one could dominate the universe. In the end, it still came down to foundations. Chaya felt that Earthlings' methods of cultivation were extremely advanced. Unlike the crude energy attacks used by most races in the universe, Earth's cultivation methods were more restrained and better suited for the strong.

Perhaps Saiyan blood combined with Earth's cultivation methods would be a better fit. Only through long accumulation before explosive progress could one continuously break through one's limits.

Once my body has fully grown, I'll find an opportunity to go to Earth and learn their cultivation methods.

As he thought, Chaya gradually drifted off to sleep.