Sparring Match

Li Lin looked at Son Goku's excited expression and nodded with a smile.

At the same time, he silently began to examine the ki contained within his body.

As expected, although his battle with Vegeta had been fleeting, the ki inside him had still increased by a small margin.

It seemed his talent for increasing strength through combat was working perfectly.

Son Goku had no idea what Li Lin was thinking.

He only knew that he was about to spar with this top-tier powerhouse, and he couldn't suppress the joy in his heart.

He kept moving his body, preparing to warm up!

"Are these two finally going to start?"

Piccolo muttered to himself.

He was very much looking forward to their duel, as he wanted to see exactly how much Goku had improved.

His previous assessment—that even if Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan, the outcome wouldn't be much better—had been based entirely on the strength Son Goku displayed on Planet Namek.

But now, it was truly hard to say who was stronger and who was weaker!

At this moment, Krillin and the others had their hearts in their throats, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Although they knew this battle was just a normal sparring session between the two, they were still incredibly excited and nervous, their palms sweating.

After all, the two men before them were the strongest on Earth today; their clash was enough to be fully anticipated.

As for Vegeta, who had already passed out, he would naturally miss this great show.

Compared to the tension of the onlookers, the two participants appeared relatively relaxed and calm.

Son Goku had finished his warm-up, and with a smirk, he said slowly, "Then, let's begin!"

Li Lin nodded noncommittally and beckoned with his hand, "Come on, I'll let you make the first move."

"Heh heh!" Son Goku chuckled upon hearing this, then stopped being modest.

White ki surged from within his body, a formidable aura swirling around his frame and radiating outward.

With a "whoosh," he was in front of Li Lin in an instant.

Everyone watching held their breath, eyes wide, staring fixedly at the pair's movements.

They were terrified that if they blinked, they would miss a spectacular moment.

Son Goku threw a punch, a destructive force with unrivaled power, aiming straight for Li Lin's face.

Li Lin shifted his body slightly to the side, the fist grazing the tip of his nose.

Whoa, that's fast.

A flash of surprise crossed Li Lin's mind; he hadn't expected Son Goku to have such explosive power in his base state.

While marveling, he raised his leg and kicked fiercely toward Son Goku's abdomen.

The speed of the kick was not a bit slower—it was perhaps even a fraction faster.

Seeing his first strike fail, Son Goku quickly displayed his seasoned combat experience.

He instantly retracted his force, stopped leaning forward, and with legs like springs, he quickly hopped back two steps, dodging Li Lin's attack.

But it wasn't over; after Li Lin's kick met only air, he had no intention of giving up the initiative.

His figure followed up rapidly.

So fast! Son Goku thought to himself, unable to react to such speed.

Sure enough, Li Lin's right hand lunged out and grabbed his left shoulder—a heavy, powerful grip that clamped down firmly.

Son Goku winced, his brow furrowing slightly.

"You can't dodge this one."

Li Lin looked at Goku's uncomfortable expression and said in a calm tone.

Upon hearing this, Son Goku endured the pain, grinned, and said, "That's not necessarily true!"

With that, he flipped his left hand upward, grabbing the wrist that held his shoulder.

Before Li Lin could react, a massive ball of ki condensed in Son Goku's right hand.

"BOOM!" A deafening roar erupted.

A golden energy wave burst from his palm like lightning, blasting forward.

The energy wave hit its mark dead center; at point-blank range, Li Lin had no time to dodge.

His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing straight into a mountain not far away.

"BANG!"

The collapsing rocks buried him in an instant, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

Seeing that Son Goku's attack had hit the mark, Krillin looked rather excited; he raised his hand high and shouted, "Goku, nice work!"

"Well done, you really didn't let us down!"

Yamcha cheered loudly as well, seemingly even happier than the man himself.

Although Tien Shinhan remained silent, the expression on his face was equally stirred.

Upon hearing the cheers of his friends, Son Goku did not show much joy!

His gaze remained fixed on the collapsed mountain not far away.

Piccolo watched the celebrating crowd with a detached air and poured a bucket of cold water on their spirits, "Aren't you celebrating a bit too early? An attack of this level—let alone defeating Li Lin—it's questionable whether it even managed to hurt him."

The group was not discouraged by Piccolo's words; instead, they seemed rather dismissive.

"Li Lin might be strong, but Goku hasn't even used his full power yet."

"Once he transforms into a Super Saiyan, his energy might even be more exaggerated than Li Lin's, right?"

Krillin said with a chuckle, seemingly brimming with confidence now.

The others nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

"Idiots!" Piccolo felt a bead of sweat roll down his brow and cursed directly, choosing not to argue with them any further.

He could tell that the power Li Lin had just unleashed was no small matter.

The only reason Son Goku had gained the upper hand was entirely due to Li Lin's lack of combat experience.

As long as the battle continued, that gap would be smoothed over in no time.

The advantage Son Goku was relying on would vanish into thin air.

However, deep down, he was still willing to believe that Son Goku could win.

After all, power increases exponentially after transforming into a Super Saiyan; if he could take advantage of that to catch Li Lin off guard, there might still be a possibility of victory.

As for Krillin's claim that his energy would surpass Li Lin's, that was pure fantasy; Piccolo didn't believe it for a second.

Unless Son Goku could achieve further exponential growth on top of the Super Saiyan transformation, it was absolutely impossible.

It had to be said that Piccolo was indeed very sharp; if Li Lin had heard this analysis, he would have definitely given him a thumbs up.

Just as the group was still reveling in their surprise, the earth suddenly began to tremble.

"Rumble!"

At the site of the collapsed mountain, the rubble suddenly began to float into the air.

A shockwave pierced straight into the clouds, and Li Lin's figure stood tall in mid-air.

A vast and mighty power flooded the earth, and the debris swirling around his body turned into dust in an instant.