"Greetings, Lord Gods of Destruction!"
Louis rubbed his nose. At a glance, he recognized the Gods of Destruction and Angels present.
But...
There were also eleven others nearby. Their dimensions weren't very high; the highest among them had only reached King Enma's dimension.
Their dimensions might not be high, but the energy radiating from them was incredibly powerful!
Those eleven had to be the Candidate Gods of Destruction from the other universes.
Wait!
Louis suddenly spotted a familiar figure among the Candidate Gods of Destruction.
Toppo!
In the anime, Toppo was the captain of Universe 11's Pride Troopers. He fought Vegeta in the Tournament of Power, and the two were eventually eliminated at the same time.
Louis hadn't expected Belmod to have already taken him on as a Candidate God of Destruction.
"It's only been a little over ten years, and he's already made it this far. He's incredibly talented!"
"What good is talent for dimension cultivation? Haven't you noticed his power is very..."
"Wait, he has the aura of destruction!"
"He's grasped the Rule of Destruction?"
Liquir, the God of Destruction from Universe 8, spoke up. "This kid's talent is terrifying! No wonder you took him on as your Candidate God of Destruction, Beerus!"
Geene, the God of Destruction from Universe 12, said incredulously, "Incredible. In just over ten years, he's cultivated his dimension to the divine level and even grasped the Rule of Destruction!"
Champa shook his head frantically. "We were wrong! I knew it—how could that skinny skeleton joke about having a Candidate God of Destruction?"
The other Gods of Destruction were just as shocked.
As for the Angels, they were even more astonished.
They stared at Louis!
A faint, elusive aura emanated from him. The Gods of Destruction might not have noticed it at first, but it was the realm of an Angel.
How could the Angels fail to notice?
Autonomous State!
How old was Universe 7's Candidate God of Destruction? At most, he was around twenty!
Had this kid started training in the womb?
No, even training in the womb would only have given him an extra year!
This kid was terrifying.
"Well? Didn't you just say I should call Louis over? What do you think of my successor?"
Beerus rested a hand on Louis's shoulder and laughed heartily at the gods before him.
Beerus was actually puzzled. How had Louis suddenly broken through to the Divine Dimension?
But now wasn't the time to ask.
Seeing the others' disbelieving expressions, the frustration he'd carried for years vanished.
He felt thoroughly pleased.
"Don't get so full of yourself. Just because your successor is talented doesn't mean he'll win this spar!"
Quitela glared at Beerus and Louis, his face dark.
He had a grudge against Beerus, who was also stronger than him. Of all the Gods of Destruction, he was probably the one who most wanted to see Universe 7 decline.
For years, Universe 7 had continued to fall behind. It might be destroyed by Zeno at any moment.
Quitela had been delighted!
Yet now, this kid before him seemed to herald Universe 7's revival!
"That's right. Talent alone won't decide this spar. What matters is real strength!"
Belmod patted Toppo beside him.
Toppo stepped forward!
Rumble—!
An aura of destruction shot into the sky. The ground cracked, and the forest vanished...
"So strong!"
"His Rule of Destruction is incredibly powerful. He'll be a formidable opponent!"
The Candidate Gods of Destruction spoke up one after another.
The Earth trembled more and more. In the next moment, it would be torn apart by Toppo's aura of destruction.
Louis stayed beside Beerus, watching Toppo destroy the Earth with an impassive expression.
"You're asking for death, brat!"
Beerus's face darkened like ink.
Earth was a delicacy-filled planet he'd gone to great lengths to find. Anyone who dared destroy it was his enemy!
A murderous aura surged from Beerus, and he vanished in an instant.
Toppo, standing beside Belmod, suddenly found it hard to breathe, as if he'd been targeted by a primordial beast.
The aura of destruction around him abruptly dissipated.
"Stop!"
Belmod was startled. What was Beerus doing? Why had he attacked personally?
He quickly stepped in front of Toppo, muscles tensed, fists clenched with all his strength.
He charged forward!
A purple fist appeared in the void at the same time, colliding with Belmod's.
Rumble—!
Mountains crumbled, and the earth split apart!
Earth exploded in an instant, and a section of the North Galaxy caved in.
All the Angels sprang into action to protect their respective Candidate Gods of Destruction. Whis also made a show of protecting Louis.
In the starry void.
"Beerus, have you lost your mind?" Iwan stared in disbelief.
"Gods of Destruction aren't allowed to fight each other! Do you want Lord Zeno to erase you, Beerus?" Heles shouted.
The Gods of Destruction all came forward to rebuke Beerus, but not one of them dared attack him.
Even Champa only dared to run his mouth. He knew Beerus was angry.
At that moment,
Belmod and Beerus separated, and Belmod retreated to Toppo's side.
"B-Beerus, if you want to fight, then I'll give you one!"
Belmod talked tough, but the hand he'd used to clash with Beerus was still trembling.
Toppo's pupils contracted. He'd noticed.
He looked up and stared at Beerus.
The God of Destruction from Universe 7 was incredibly powerful. Even Lord Belmod couldn't withstand a single punch from him!
The other Candidate Gods of Destruction also looked incredulous. So there really were differences in strength between Gods of Destruction.
Beerus ignored the gods and turned away. "Whis, restore the Earth."
"Of course!"
Whis waved his staff, turning back time by two minutes. The Earth and the surrounding region of space returned to their undamaged state.
Louis's lips curled slightly as he watched the show from the sidelines. If they wanted to taunt Beerus, fine—but why destroy the Earth? Weren't they just asking for trouble?
Still...
Beerus was genuinely strong!
"I'll let you off this time, brat!"
Beerus looked at Toppo behind Belmod, then said coldly, "I'm warning you all: if anyone dares destroy my Earth, I'll kill you!"
The Candidate Gods of Destruction shuddered. What a terrifying killing intent.
Toppo's back was already soaked with cold sweat. He'd clearly been frightened.
"Enough talk, skinny skeleton. Are you ready? Let's start the spar."
Champa stepped forward. He was the only one who dared speak up when Beerus was angry.
After all, he was Beerus's own brother!
"What's the rush?"
Beerus put away his icy expression and switched to a cheerful grin, as if nothing had happened.
"Louis, you tell us. When do you want to fight them?"
"Let's wait a few days. The Gods of Destruction have traveled all this way to Universe 7, so we should let everyone rest first," Louis finally said.
The Gods of Destruction smiled. Geene mocked, "Look at your successor, Beerus. He's so considerate of others. Now look at yourself!"
"Tch. If you don't like me, then come fight me!"
Beerus finished speaking, then vanished with Whis, leaving Louis alone to keep the gods company.
"This is infuriating! After all these years, that skinny skeleton is still as arrogant as ever!"
"Damn it, I wish I could kill Beerus!"
"Kill him? Do you have the strength?"
"..."
Hearing the Gods of Destruction grumble, Louis chuckled and said, "Lord Gods of Destruction, please follow me."
Louis flew into the sky.
The Gods of Destruction exchanged glances, then followed him.
The other Candidate Gods of Destruction followed close behind, watching Louis as he flew ahead. This kid's talent was truly frightening.
But talent wasn't the same as strength. They still had plenty of confidence in the upcoming spar.
They'd still get to taunt that skinny skeleton!
The Gods of Destruction following Louis felt pleased at the thought.
The Angels flew at the very back.
"I didn't expect Universe 7's Candidate God of Destruction to be so talented."
"Right. That young man named Louis seems to have grasped the perfect Autonomous State!"
"No wonder Beerus took him on as a Candidate God of Destruction. Universe 7 is about to rise again."
The Angels chatted among themselves.
Just then, Vados furrowed her brows. "Big sister, did you notice that tower in the middle of the forest?"
A towering spire stood in the northern forest on Earth, reaching high into the clouds.
The Angels shuddered. They'd noticed it too. It was ancient!
And it was covered in mysterious markings!
All the Angels looked toward Kusu.
Kusu's expression was grave. "I see it. That tower is incredibly ancient. I can't identify its origins either. This planet isn't simple!"
At her words,
the Angels were all dumbfounded.
Even their big sister couldn't recognize the tower!
"Let's wait until the youngsters finish their spar, then ask Whis about it..."
Kusu furrowed her little brows. "We should ask him what that sacred aura from back then was, and whether he knows anything about the tower on this planet..."
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