Time Had Come

Whoosh, whoosh.

The two golden beams turned into energy balls and shot forward at incredible speed.

Li Lin remained unfazed. With a casual wave of his arm, he unleashed a powerful, terrifying aura that radiated in every direction, forming a mighty shockwave.

A faint tremor rang out.

The two golden energy balls suddenly halted in midair, spinning rapidly!

Boom, boom!

The two golden energy balls exploded, blossoming into enormous fireworks.

The fireworks continued to bloom in the sky before finally fading away.

Li Lin still stood where he was, a faint smile on his face.

Everyone was stunned to see Li Lin effortlessly neutralize Goku's attack.

"He's so strong!"

"That's terrifying. How powerful would someone have to be to do something like that?"

"How frightening! It's terrifying!"

Everyone murmured in disbelief.

Li Lin's strength had completely surpassed their imagination.

What they found even harder to imagine was how this guy had trained to reach such a terrifying level.

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

His mouth hung open, his face full of astonishment.

"Want to keep going, Goku?" Li Lin asked with a faint smile.

At his words, everyone quickly came back to their senses. Seeing how calm he was, they couldn't help feeling a renewed sense of awe.

Son Goku came to his senses, but unlike the others, he felt no awe. Instead, his eyes seemed to hold a trace of admiration.

"Of course! Of course we should keep going. We haven't decided who's won yet, have we?" he replied with a grin.

He knew he couldn't possibly beat Li Lin, but getting him to admit defeat aloud was probably impossible.

Li Lin seemed to have expected as much and nodded with a smile.

He really liked Goku's tenacious yet humble personality.

"All right, then. Let's settle it in one more round!" Li Lin said calmly.

As soon as Li Lin finished speaking, his figure flickered. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Son Goku.

Son Goku didn't hesitate either. He swung a punch to meet him, and the two collided in an instant.

Rumble!

A tremendous explosion rang out. Blinding light flashed, and shockwaves rolled over one another, making it impossible to keep one's eyes open.

A terrifying force burst from their bodies, as if the entire space were trembling.

Son Goku seemed unable to withstand such power. His face turned pale, and beads of sweat began to form on his brow.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The two traded three more punches in quick succession. Their incredible force sent the surrounding trees crashing down.

Yellow sand filled the sky, blotting out its natural color like the end of the world.

"Haah!"

Li Lin struck with immense force and let out a low shout.

The strength behind his fist suddenly increased.

Son Goku could hold on no longer. The tremendous force sent him flying hundreds of meters.

His body carved a deep furrow across the hard ground before he finally came to a battered halt.

"Ugh!"

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

"I lost. I really lost..." He gazed up at the sky and murmured.

Li Lin was far too strong. He hadn't been able to fight back at all.

It had been a long time since he'd tasted such a humiliating defeat—or rather, this was the first time he'd experienced being completely crushed by someone.

Even so, a smile tugged at the corner of his pale lips.

He knew someone this powerful existed in the world, and that they would train together in the future. How could that thought not excite him?

"Whoo!"

Li Lin looked at Son Goku lying on the ground and let out a deep breath.

This was his first real fight, in the truest sense of the word.

It had also shown him where he still fell short.

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

After all, Goku hadn't even reached the full-power state of Super Saiyan 1 yet.

Thinking of this, Li Lin checked the ki inside him and broke into a delighted smile.

He discovered that after his battle with Goku, his ki seemed to have grown considerably.

If he continued progressing at this rate, by the time the Androids appeared, he might well reach the level of Super Saiyan 3.

In high spirits, Li Lin spotted the others nearby and smiled. "Anyone else want to spar with me? You're welcome anytime!"

At his words, everyone could only smile wryly and shake their heads.

Even someone as powerful as Goku had been defeated with ease. How could they dare show off their meager strength?

After exchanging a few pleasantries, they all left the area.

A few of them also carried away Vegeta, who had been badly injured and knocked unconscious.

Goku looked rather battered, but his condition was clearly much better.

Aside from feeling weak and sore all over, he could still walk and talk normally.

After all, Li Lin had been very careful to hold back.

And so, over the course of a year,

Li Lin and Son Goku spent nearly all their free time sparring and training together.

Both of them made tremendous progress.

Goku, in particular, was now even stronger than he had been in the original story.

After another day of fighting and training, the sun set. The two of them lay on the grass, their bodies exhausted.

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

Li Lin asked Goku curiously.

He remembered that in the original story, Goku had suddenly fallen ill during a fight because he hadn't taken his medicine.

"Oh, that?" Goku scratched his head and said with a grin. "Not yet. I feel perfectly fine. Nothing's wrong with me!"

When Li Lin heard that Goku hadn't taken the medicine, one eyebrow lifted slightly.

It seemed things were still following the original story.

"Heart disease isn't something to take lightly. I suggest you take your medicine when you get the chance."

Having spent the past year with Goku day in and day out, Li Lin had come to think of him as a good friend.

Although he knew Goku would probably be fine in the end, he couldn't help warning him anyway.

"Okay, I got it. I'll take it when I get home!"

Son Goku replied with a cheerful grin.

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

The days passed, one after another.

The time until the Androids appeared grew shorter and shorter.

At last, the year was up. If nothing unexpected happened, the Androids would appear today.

Li Lin had been prepared for a long time. He knew the Androids in this timeline would still be relatively kind.