The Eve of War

Beerus frowned, thinking to himself: It seems this group of Saiyans truly has no idea where the Super Saiyan God is. I doubt they would dare to deceive Me.

At this moment, Beerus had eaten his fill and lazily remarked, "Whis, let us return!"

"Since we cannot find the Super Saiyan God, there is no point in staying here any longer."

Following this, Beerus smiled at Bulma and said, "Mrs. Bulma, thank you for your hospitality this time. I have eaten very comfortably."

Vegeta, standing nearby, suddenly broke into a cold sweat and stood at rigid attention; clearly, he was overwhelmed by this unexpected remark from Beerus.

Bulma smiled and replied, "Oh my, you are a friend of Vegeta's, which makes you my guest. Do come again when you have the time."

Upon hearing this, Vegeta's face turned black. Come again? I pray he never returns, Vegeta thought to himself.

Whis felt that the food on Earth was truly delicious and had packed plenty to take back. Beerus looked at Whis, who was gorging himself, and felt speechless.

Suddenly, Whis stood beside Beerus and said, "Lord Beerus, I have packed many delicious things for you. We can eat them when we get hungry on the way back."

Beerus looked at Whis's flamboyant behavior and felt speechless again, though he acknowledged the wisdom in Whis's actions; the food on Earth was indeed excellent.

Just as Beerus and Whis were about to set off on their return journey, an uninvited guest jumped out: "Yo, Lord Beerus, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Son Goku."

A sense of foreboding welled up in Ye Ming. At this moment, veins bulged on Vegeta's forehead; he knew exactly what Kakarot was about to do.

Beerus smiled and responded, "Mr. Son Goku, what can I do for you?"

Son Goku scratched his hair and said, "I heard that you are the strongest god in this universe. I would like to spar with you a little—just a spar!"

At this moment, Vegeta roared, "Kakarot! You aren't even worth a single finger of Lord Beerus! Get down here and stop causing trouble!"

Ye Ming and the rest of the Z Fighters stood by without saying a word, but Kakarot remained undeterred, saying, "Lord Beerus, I sincerely wish to spar with you. I want to see exactly how large the gap is between us. Please?"

Beerus looked at the enthusiastic Son Goku and said with a smile, "Very well. I have eaten my fill today, so I shall offer you a little guidance. Though, be warned—people might die."

Seeing the playful look in Beerus's eyes, Son Goku was momentarily stunned, but soon, a surge of excitement flooded his heart.

At this moment, Vegeta felt like wringing Son Goku's neck; he cursed him viciously in his mind.

Whis, listening from the side, curled his lips into a slight smile. It seemed that besides getting a good meal, he would also get to see the level of the warriors in this mortal universe.

Suddenly, Whis said, "Since Lord Beerus wishes to fight, it is no longer any of my concern."

He immediately flashed over to the delicious food and began to gorge himself.

Whis said to the master chef in front of him, "My good master, your knife skills are truly excellent; the food you make is incredibly delicious!"

The chef replied, "As long as the guest is pleased, I shall prepare more ready-made food for you immediately."

Back on Beerus's side.

Beerus looked at Son Goku standing before him, rose slowly into the sky, and said, "Come, let us begin the battle. Do not disappoint me. Although I did not find the Super Saiyan God, I hope you can at least provide me with some amusement."

This Seat has changed his mind, Beerus continued, "If this battle does not satisfy me, the Earth might just be destroyed!"

The Z Fighters standing below heard Beerus's words and were drenched in cold sweat; they realized the worst-case scenario had already occurred.

Vegeta's eyes widened, and a wave of terror flooded his heart once more—the fear of being dominated by Beerus had returned.

But at this moment, Vegeta's gaze was firm. Ever since Planet Vegeta was destroyed, he had lived on Earth and gained a wife and child; he would never allow such a thing to happen.

With that, Vegeta glanced at Son Goku and said, "You go ahead and engage Beerus; we will observe for now!"

Ye Ming, standing to the side, also said, "The worst has already happened. This is not your fault, Son Goku. Perhaps there will be an unexpected outcome."

Seeing that his companions did not blame him, Son Goku said excitedly, "I will definitely do my best, even though the one standing before me is a supreme god."

Vegeta merely snorted and ignored him. Piccolo and Krillin said, "Good luck, Goku! We will cheer for you from below, as we are too weak."

"Show him the power of a mortal!"

Unfortunately, at this time, neither Goku nor Vegeta had stepped into the realm of gods, nor had Ye Ming.

They knew their chances of winning this battle were not high.

At this moment, Ye Ming clenched his fists. If he could spar with Beerus, he might be able to obtain the prototype of Ultra Instinct and the Super Saiyan 4 transformation.

If he could obtain that power, perhaps he could contend with Beerus. (In this book, Beerus's combat power is far stronger than in the anime; even for Ye Ming, who possesses the body of Vegito at full-power Super Saiyan 4, it would be a very precarious situation.)

At this moment, Son Goku and Beerus were already confronting each other in the air.

Beerus stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Son Goku with an indifferent expression, and beckoned for him to attack whenever he was ready.

Seeing Beerus acting so arrogantly, Son Goku was quite annoyed and thought to himself: Damn it, he's looking down on me.

Son Goku immediately transformed into a Super Saiyan 2 and launched an attack at Beerus.

At this point, Son Goku's strength had increased significantly after transforming into a Super Saiyan 2, thanks to his training with Ye Ming in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, which had greatly boosted his base combat power.

Watching the golden-haired Son Goku rush toward him—having already seen the transformation in Whis's staff—Beerus said with a smile, "Is this a Super Saiyan? How truly weak!"

Hearing this, Goku rushed toward him at high speed, pulled back his fist, and slammed it toward Beerus.

However, in an instant, Beerus appeared behind him. "Your speed is simply too slow," Beerus said indifferently.

Suddenly, Beerus slapped Goku away with one hand, sending him flying hundreds of meters by the sheer force of the blow.

After coming to a stop, Goku panted heavily, his clothes tattered and torn. He wiped his mouth and said, "He is truly terrifyingly strong."

Son Goku could not even get close, and all the Z Fighters around him were terrified; he had been swatted away so easily, and had even sustained significant injuries.

At this moment, Vegeta clenched his fists tightly. "Damn it, is he really this strong? What are we supposed to do?"

Clearly, Vegeta no longer possessed the courage he had earlier to challenge Beerus; cold sweat poured down his face as he thought: It's over, the Earth might be finished.

Just then, a pair of hands rested on Vegeta's shoulders, for Ye Ming knew exactly what was on Vegeta's mind.

He spoke up, "Don't worry, Vegeta. You still have me. Although I'm not entirely certain of the outcome, I can still hold my own against Beerus."

At this, Vegeta lowered his fists, knowing that Ye Ming had never once revealed his true strength.

After three years of training, even Vegeta didn't know just how far Ye Ming had grown, but he knew that Ye Ming's potential was far beyond that of Kakarot or himself.

Vegeta said solemnly, "You absolutely cannot lose! If you lose, given Beerus's temper, he might really destroy the Earth!"

Having said that, Vegeta fell silent, his eyes fixed on the battle between Son Goku and Beerus.

The scene shifted to the battlefield between Beerus and Son Goku, where Son Goku stood staggering, bracing himself in a fighting stance.

Son Goku thought: His power is too immense; I fear only Ye Ming could possibly trade blows with him.

However, he would be satisfied if he could just probe a bit of Beerus's true depth; he was still too weak, and it was unrealistic to think he could handle a high-level fight just because he had a little bit of strength.

Suddenly, Son Goku looked toward Ye Ming, and Ye Ming gave him a nod.

At this, Son Goku held nothing back and unleashed his full power. With a roar, lightning crackled and thunder rolled; amidst a golden flash, Son Goku's hair grew longer—indeed, this was the Super Saiyan 3 stage.

Opposite him, Beerus watched Son Goku unleash his full power and remarked, "This has indeed greatly enhanced your strength, much more than that previous form of yours."

"However, the outcome will not change. You are still a mortal, and every technique you use is useless against me."

As Son Goku listened to Beerus speak so casually, he had to admit that the words were true; all his previous attacks had been effortlessly neutralized.

At this moment, Whis also looked toward the battlefield, squinting his eyes as he sized up Son Goku, thinking to himself: His strength is just barely enough to make Lord Beerus lift a finger.

Afterward, he lost interest and continued to enjoy the food in front of him. (Generally, foodies are quite formidable.)

Watching Son Goku charge toward him, Beerus merely raised his hand slightly and blocked all of Son Goku's attacks.

Suddenly, Son Goku had an idea; he gathered the momentum of a Kamehameha in his hands, only to hear Beerus say from across the way, "It's useless."

Clearly, Son Goku was now fully immersed in the fight, and he suddenly used Instant Transmission to appear behind Beerus.

Beerus was slightly surprised: So it's the Instant Transmission of the Supreme Kai! But unfortunately, even though Son Goku had used Instant Transmission, Beerus still reacted in time.

Beerus was quite curious to taste the power of such an energy blast, yet he made no move to defend himself. Son Goku, feeling a surge of anger, fired the Kamehameha directly at Beerus's face.

BOOM!!!

A brilliant explosion echoed across the sky, and the Z Fighters clenched their fists, thinking, "He did it." But this could not escape the law of "no damage from smoke."

Beerus had not moved an inch from his original position, and there wasn't even a speck of dust on him.

Beerus looked at Son Goku, brushed off his shoulders, and straightened his God of Destruction attire.

"Is that the extent of your attack? Is there nothing stronger?" Beerus said indifferently.

By now, Son Goku was at the end of his rope; he had used his strongest technique, yet he still hadn't broken through Beerus's defense.

However, Son Goku was still unwilling to give up! Just as he prepared to attack again, he heard Ye Ming say to him, "Goku, the gap in strength between you and him is too vast; this isn't something that can be bridged in a short time. You've done your best."

"When you become stronger, you can challenge Lord Beerus again!"

Listening to Ye Ming's words, the fighting spirit within Goku gradually began to fade.

At this moment, Beerus also heard what Ye Ming said and offered a faint smile. "You must be Ye Ming. You are quite mysterious, and a powerful Saiyan at that."

Ye Ming did not dare to be arrogant and immediately replied, "Yes, Lord Beerus. I have just arrived on Earth and met these companions, but I do not wish to see my home destroyed so easily by Lord Beerus."

"Oh, is that so? Then let us see your strength—can you provide this god with some amusement?" Beerus said, spreading his arms.

"No problem, Lord Beerus. Then let the second round begin!"

The Z Fighters nodded toward Ye Ming; they trusted in his strength, for they knew that even Vegito had failed to defeat Ye Ming in the past, and had even been crushed by him.