The System's Three Options

"Task [Path of Destiny] initiated. This is a special main quest with three sub-quests for the host to choose from."

"Sub-quest one: Kill him, and I become the protagonist. Kill Son Goku, usurp his status, and obtain the Destiny Gift Pack. Note: This action may cause massive changes to the subsequent plot; please choose carefully."

"Sub-quest two: Stepping stones on the path of growth. Continuously defeat original characters like Son Goku, including both heroes and villains. Each defeat grants a certain amount of upgrade points. You may defeat them repeatedly, but rewards are limited to once per month, with a very small chance of dropping a Character Skill Pack. Note: The first defeat is guaranteed to drop a Character Skill Pack, which may contain skills from other timelines, the past, or the future. Remark: The more important the defeated character, the greater the reward."

"Sub-quest three: I am the villain. Kill all original heroes. Each kill grants a Mystery Gift Pack. Killing the protagonist grants the Destiny Villain Gift Pack. You may also recruit original villain bosses as subordinates; each recruitment grants a Villain Small Gift Pack. Note: This choice may cause spacetime chaos, leading to unknown characters or entities appearing in this timeline, at which point the danger level will skyrocket."

He Lingxuan looked at the three options provided by the system, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably. Isn't this basically having no choice at all?

Damn, these options are truly toxic.

Choosing the first one would be equivalent to becoming Son Goku himself. He had no interest in playing babysitter on Earth; besides, with the existence of the Chat Group, his future would certainly not be limited to the Dragon Ball World.

Choosing the third would be equivalent to becoming a villainous Demon King Piccolo.

If he went on a killing spree and recruited villains as lackeys, setting aside other consequences, the members of the Chat Group would likely never accept him.

Although his system required him to eliminate creatures of varying power levels to gain upgrade points, weren't there still quests for that?

Besides, he didn't necessarily have to farm upgrade points in the Dragon Ball World. There were plenty of other worlds in the heavens and myriad realms teeming with countless species, such as the notorious Zerg.

Their numbers were beyond calculation, and even the weakest Zerg could survive in space and devour everything to evolve.

Such creatures wouldn't have a low power level according to the system's standards. Once he encountered them, a single energy blast would yield more upgrade points than He Lingxuan could ever imagine spending.

Furthermore, due to his past life, he held a favorable view of the original Dragon Ball characters. From the moment he realized he had arrived in the Dragon Ball World, he had harbored various ideas about changing the regrets of the original story, so he would never commit such acts.

For instance, he wanted to make Gohan train properly so he wouldn't turn into Yamcha-Gohan, just to see how strong he could become by the time of the Tournament of Power.

Or the legendary strongest warriors: the fusion of Vegeta and Son Goku, Vegito, and the fusion of Son Goku and Vegeta, Gogeta.

Just how strong were these two invincible warriors?

When the time came, would he be able to have a heated battle with them?

What boy hadn't had such fantasies?

Fighting side-by-side with his idols, or having a battle with them—regardless of whether it ended in a draw or a victory—that feeling would be absolutely incredible.

Beyond these, there were many other reasons, so among the three options, perhaps only the second one was viable.

The first didn't fit his personality, and the third might lead to too many accidents and troubles. Besides, he wasn't a cold-blooded murderer who committed every evil deed; there was no need to choose that path.

With the second option, he could continuously defeat original characters to earn rewards, and even have a chance at dropping a Character Skill Pack. With a cooldown of only one month, it meant he had a stable source of upgrade points.

Even if he didn't kill creatures for points, defeating an original character once a month would still net him a substantial amount.

This was a sustainable way to gain upgrade points, and the profit margin was high. As his strength grew, it would only become easier.

He could even take the opportunity to interact with characters he had only ever seen in anime and manga—this was something he had dreamed of as a veteran Dragon Ball fan.

As his thoughts deepened, he looked at Son Goku, who was watching him with a cautious expression.

He Lingxuan made up his mind and chanted silently in his heart.

"System, I choose option two!"

At the same time, in a mere instant, He Lingxuan arrived in front of Son Goku. Before the latter could even react, he punched Son Goku in the abdomen, the immense force piercing straight through!

Son Goku's eyes rolled back instantly, bile spilling from his mouth as if he were about to pass out, his body collapsing weakly to his knees.

"Kakarot, as a Saiyan, why are you so weak?"

He Lingxuan spoke with cold indifference, as if he hadn't been the one who just struck.

A notification sound regarding the chosen option echoed in his mind.

"Ding, the host has chosen option two: Stepping stones on the path of growth. From this moment on, the host will receive upgrade points and skill packs for every original character or system-recognized character defeated."

"Ding, detected that the host has defeated Son Goku. Obtained 100 upgrade points. Because this is the first defeat, a Character Skill Pack has been awarded, which can yield a random skill related to Son Goku's present or future."

Just as He Lingxuan felt a hint of joy, Son Goku was overcome by a sense of powerlessness—a massive, crushing sense of powerlessness!

The gap was too wide, so wide it couldn't be bridged by any other means. Furthermore, judging by how the opponent had insta-killed him, he certainly wasn't a friendly person; at best, he was someone who wouldn't kill innocents indiscriminately.

There was also the fact that this man had called him Kakarot. He didn't know this person, nor did he go by that name, so why did he act as if he knew him, and why did his strike feel like he was teaching him a lesson?

Son Goku's internal confusion surfaced in his mind the moment he was defeated. Feeling the intense pain in his abdomen and the insurmountable gap in power, the usually optimistic Son Goku even felt a trace of despair. This was a feeling he hadn't experienced even when Demon King Piccolo had nearly killed him. The fact that it appeared now showed just how vast the gap truly was!

"Alright, Kakarot, get up. I didn't use much force just now; after all, you only have a combat power of a mere 400 or so. I have always been very precise in my control of power."

Despite saying this, He Lingxuan knew clearly that if he hadn't reinforced his techniques beforehand, he might have killed Son Goku with a single punch, as he hadn't been able to control his own strength at all.