Rapid Growth

"Who told you to use all your strength the moment you attack? You leave yourself no room to maneuver in battle; you're just waiting to be taken down."

With a sharp, dissatisfied reprimand, Sephiria's graceful figure suddenly appeared beside Roland. She pushed her fair palm forward, striking him with immense force. As the wind howled on both sides, Roland's body staggered, and he was sent flying backward.

"Get up! In a real battle, will the enemy give you time to rest?"

Without any surprise, a fierce attack followed immediately.

With a muffled grunt, Roland couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood. He looked up to meet Sephiria's stern, menacing face.

It was an ordinary morning—sunny, breezy, and pleasant—but for Roland, this period could only be described as a nightmare.

For over ten days, Sephiria had come to train Roland every day. It was indeed different from before; she taught him many crucial combat details, allowing him to learn a great deal in a short time. The only unacceptable part was that this woman truly showed no mercy. She was incredibly ruthless, never stopping until he was half-dead.

In Sephiria's own words: A real enemy will never give you a chance to stand back up.

What a profound piece of wisdom.

Roland climbed up from the ground, his eyes filled with determination as he looked at Sephiria. His body flashed, moving like a shot arrow, and he appeared beside her in an instant.

Sephiria nodded slightly, a hint of a smile touching her lips. Just as Roland thought he had succeeded, she tilted her body, dodging his attack, and her slender arm traced a graceful arc in the air.

Crystalline light suddenly flared, shimmering like starlight, and Roland was struck once again.

The battle continued.

Roland's movements gradually became more flexible. He began to think consciously during combat, summarizing his gains and losses. Under Sephiria's intentional guidance, his body rapidly absorbed the nutrients of battle.

"Keep up with my speed. I've suppressed my power to roughly your level. If you can withstand my attacks, you will be a qualified warrior."

Amidst the whistling wind, Sephiria's body flickered constantly, her black hair dancing. She glanced at Roland in the distance, then suddenly vanished, her figure blurring until she reappeared right beside him.

She twisted her body and threw a straight punch.

An afterimage!

Seeing this, Roland narrowed his eyes, his pupils darting as he searched for her trail.

Suddenly, a subtle ripple in the air caught his attention. Roland reacted instantly, his body swaying as he performed a flash-step, appearing ten meters away. Just as his figure vanished, a slender palm struck the space he had occupied.

"Finally, some progress." Sephiria nodded and continued her assault.

"Hiss!" A sharp pain flared in Roland's chest, followed by the sound of a violent impact.

Roland grimaced, gasping for air. He leaped into the air, then quickly changed direction. Just a step away from Sephiria, he shifted his posture again. A blurry afterimage remained in mid-air while he eerily appeared behind her, his hands reaching for her tail.

"Your combat technique is up to standard, but your experience is lacking."

Sephiria's cold, sharp voice rang in his ear. The warm sensation made Roland realize something was wrong; a cold sweat broke out on his back, and he quickly twisted his body to flee.

With a soft chuckle, Sephiria extended her fingers, forming a sword hand.

"Air Strike!"

As she spoke the cold command, the air seemed to churn and instantly boiled over.

Whoosh!

A brilliant, radiant energy wave was released. Facing this, a flash of electricity sparked in Roland's eyes. He raised his arm and clenched his fist, his youthful face filled with seriousness.

"Starry Sky Cannon!" He threw a punch, and infinite starlight flickered.

Surging power erupted, as if finding an outlet, pouring out like a raging flood.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The two energies collided in mid-air, triggering an earth-shattering explosion. A massive mushroom cloud rose, the ground cracked, and a powerful shockwave stripped away a layer of soil, leaving a circular crater behind.

"Cough, cough..." Blood spilled from the corner of Roland's mouth. His clothes were tattered, and the overload of energy left his brain dizzy until he finally blacked out.

After Roland collapsed, Sephiria appeared beside him, picked him up, and carried him to a nearby lake, submerging him in the water.

Whoosh!

A flash of light appeared as Hertz finished his training in the Gravity Chamber and arrived beside Sephiria. "Roland has mastered all these techniques in just over ten days and become a true warrior. His learning ability is truly terrifying. You know, it took me until I was nearly ten to reach his level."

Perfectly mastering a combat power of 1,000 at age ten was considered excellent even among elite warriors.

As an elite warrior, Hertz had experienced countless battles and only reached a combat power of 1,000 after age ten, hitting 4,000 by age twenty-six.

Sephiria stared blankly at Roland in the pool and nodded. Others didn't know, but she was well aware that Roland wasn't an elite warrior at all—he was just an ordinary mid-level warrior.

Yet, this mid-level warrior was training faster than an elite one, which was simply incredible.

Even if the energy aspect could be explained by the Gravity Chamber, combat techniques and experience could only be gained through real fighting. Sephiria could truly feel Roland growing every single day; in just a few days, he had absorbed her combat philosophy like a sponge.

Roland, this younger brother of hers, possessed a truly terrifying capacity for learning.

Soon, Roland woke up from the pool. When he heard that Sephiria had dumped him in the water and ignored him to go train in the Gravity Chamber, a look of helplessness crossed his face.

Her obsession with training was no less than Vegeta's; whenever he couldn't find her, he knew she was back in the Gravity Chamber. He knew that proper rest was necessary to regulate the body—that balancing work and rest was just as effective as grueling toil—but unfortunately, Sephiria wouldn't listen.

"Roland, I have something for you."

After finishing their meal, Sephiria took out an object that looked like a USB drive.

"What is this?"

Sephiria ate as she spoke, "I copied this from the communication logs between the Yugarites and the Frieza Force when I destroyed their command center. It seems to contain the mission data for all the Saiyans."

"What?" Roland was stunned. He hurriedly wiped his greasy hands, took the USB drive, and examined it.

Hearing that it contained information on the Saiyans, Hertz's expression turned serious. "Does that mean we might be able to find those of our kin scattered across the galaxy?"

"Probably," Sephiria replied. "If the Frieza Force hasn't managed to track them down yet, there should still be quite a few survivors. However, any organized Saiyan squads would have perished along with Planet Vegeta. Most of the Saiyans left wandering out there are low-level warriors or even weaker non-combatants."

Mid-level and high-level warriors all had their own squads and had already returned to Planet Vegeta after receiving orders from the Frieza Force. Only those overlooked low-level warriors or the "Exiled Children" cast out from a young age were left to fend for themselves.

They might still be surviving on some remote, forgotten planets.