Time is Up

"Whoosh, whoosh."

Two streaks of golden light transformed into energy spheres, moving at the extreme limit of speed as they surged directly forward.

Li Lin, however, remained unruffled. With a light, casual wave of his arm, a powerful and terrifying aura erupted, radiating in all directions and forming a formidable shockwave.

With a soft hum, the two golden energy spheres suddenly hovered, spinning incessantly in mid-air.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

The two golden energy spheres suddenly detonated, forming two massive fireworks.

The fireworks bloomed continuously in the sky before finally dissipating into nothingness.

At this moment, Li Lin still stood in his original spot, a faint smile hanging on his face.

Seeing Li Lin neutralize Son Goku's attack with such ease, the crowd was instantly stunned.

"So... so strong!"

"It's too terrifying. Just how strong must one be to reach this level?"

"Too horrifying, too terrifying."

Everyone muttered in disbelief.

Li Lin's strength had completely exceeded their imagination.

What they found even more unimaginable was how this guy had trained to reach such a terrifying realm.

Of course, the most shocked of all was Son Goku on the battlefield.

He had his mouth agape, his face etched with deep shock.

"Shall we continue, Goku?" Li Lin asked him with a faint smile.

Hearing his words, the crowd quickly snapped back to reality. Seeing his calm, water-like demeanor, a sense of awe couldn't help but rise in their hearts.

Son Goku suddenly jolted awake. Unlike the others, he felt no awe; instead, a hint of admiration seemed to shine in his eyes.

"Of course, of course we must continue. We haven't decided the winner yet, have we?" he replied with a laugh.

Although he knew he couldn't possibly be Li Lin's match, it was impossible for him to admit defeat out loud.

Li Lin seemed to have anticipated this, nodding with a smile.

He truly admired Goku's tenacious and humble character.

"Very well, let's decide the outcome in one final round!" Li Lin said indifferently.

As soon as Li Lin finished speaking, his figure suddenly flickered, and in the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Son Goku.

Son Goku did not hesitate for a second, throwing a punch to meet him, and the two collided instantly.

"Rumble!"

A massive explosion rang out. The blinding light and wave after wave of shockwaves made it impossible to keep one's eyes open.

Terrifying power was released from their bodies, as if the entire space were trembling.

Son Goku seemed unable to withstand such force; his face turned pale instantly, and beads of sweat began to seep from his forehead.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

The two traded three more consecutive punches, the incredibly fierce force causing the surrounding trees to collapse one after another.

Dust filled the sky, obscuring its natural color, as if it were the end of the world.

"Haa!"

Li Lin exerted his heavy strength, shouting in a focused voice.

The force in his hand suddenly increased by several degrees.

Son Goku finally couldn't hold on, and was instantly pushed back several hundred meters by this immense power.

His body carved a deep trench into the hard ground before he finally came to a halt, lying on the ground in a disheveled state.

"Ugh!"

Son Goku struggled to spit out blood, his expression growing weak.

"Defeated... truly defeated," he muttered, looking up at the sky.

Li Lin was too strong; he hadn't even had the power to resist.

It had been a long time since he had tasted such a miserable defeat, or rather, this was the first time he had experienced the feeling of being completely crushed.

Even so, a smile still curved the corners of his weak face.

Because he knew that such a powerful person existed in this world, and that they would be training together in the future—how could he not be excited by that thought?

"Whew!"

Li Lin looked at the fallen Son Goku and let out a long breath.

This battle could be considered his first true fight in the real sense.

It also allowed him to see the shortcomings within himself.

If Son Goku had been at the same level as him, the outcome of this match might have been completely different.

After all, the current Son Goku had not even reached the Full Power state of a Super Saiyan 1.

Thinking of this, Li Lin checked the ki within his body and immediately beamed with joy.

He discovered that after this battle with Goku, his internal ki seemed to have increased significantly.

If he continued at this pace, by the time the Androids appeared, his strength would very likely reach the level of a Super Saiyan 3.

In a great mood, Li Lin looked at the group not far away and said with a smile, "Everyone, if anyone else wants to spar with me, you are always welcome!"

Upon hearing this, the group shook their heads with bitter smiles.

Someone as powerful as Goku had been easily defeated by him; how could they dare to show off their own meager strength?

Just like that, after exchanging a few pleasantries, the group left the area.

Vegeta, who had fallen into a coma from his severe injuries, was also taken away by the others.

Although Goku looked rather disheveled, his condition was clearly much better.

Aside from being physically weak and somewhat sore, he had no trouble walking or talking normally.

After all, Li Lin had been extremely careful with his strikes.

And so, a year passed.

Whenever they had free time, Li Lin and Son Goku would spar and train together.

Both of their strengths saw tremendous progress.

Especially Son Goku, whose current strength was even greater than in the original storyline.

After another day of combat training, as the sun set, the two of them lay on the grass, dragging their exhausted bodies.

"Goku, have you taken the medicine for your heart disease?"

Li Lin asked Goku out of curiosity.

He remembered that in the original plot, Goku had suddenly fallen ill during the battle because he hadn't taken the medicine.

"Oh, that." Goku scratched his head and said with a smile, "I haven't taken it yet. I feel perfectly fine; there's no problem at all!"

Hearing that Goku hadn't taken the medicine, Li Lin raised an eyebrow slightly.

It seemed that things were still proceeding according to the original plot.

"Heart disease is nothing to joke about. I suggest you take the medicine when you have time."

Having spent every day with him over the past year, Li Lin had come to regard Goku as a good friend.

Although he knew there was a high probability that Goku would be fine in the end, he couldn't help but offer a reminder.

"Alright, I got it. I'll take it when I get back!"

Son Goku responded with a grin.

Watching his carefree attitude, Li Lin shook his head helplessly. "I hope so!"

Days passed one by one.

The time for the Androids to emerge was drawing closer and closer.

Finally, the one-year mark had arrived; if nothing went wrong, the Androids would appear today.

Li Lin had long been prepared, knowing that the Androids in this timeline would be relatively kind.