After the huge explosion, the area was left in ruins. Dust billowed, and visibility was poor.
The clash between Goku and Luya had nearly turned the entire desert into a wasteland! A bottomless-looking crater had appeared in the middle of the battlefield, with wisps of lightning crackling inside it!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
In the air, Goku and Luya held their Kamehameha poses, their bodies wrapped in energy. Both were panting heavily!
Goku lowered his hands, then let his Super Saiyan Blue form fade, slowly calming himself down.
Seeing this, Luya also let his power fade. Maintaining a form that combined a tenfold Kaioken with Super Saiyan 3 took a tremendous toll on him, and he was completely drained.
"You really are strong! It's a good thing I shamelessly followed Whis there to train back then. Otherwise, I might not have been your match!" Goku said with a smile, looking at Luya.
Luya smiled too. "If we'd kept going, I definitely would've lost!"
Goku didn't deny it. Instead, he said, "You need to train harder with your Kaioken. That way, your body will be able to withstand the strain it puts on you!"
Luya nodded. "Understood!"
Goku thought for a moment, then asked, "What are you planning to do next?"
Luya raised an eyebrow and was about to answer when the system's voice suddenly rang out:
[Beep! Congratulations, host, on completing the mission "Fight Sun Wukong for one thousand rounds..."!
[Reward: Kaioken upgraded by 2x. Current level: 12x!
[Reward: 500 million battle power!
[Reward: Sun Wukong's exclusive combat technique: Dragon Fist Explosion!
[Reward: 100 Senzu Beans!
Luya frowned slightly. He'd thought he would get the Super Saiyan Blue skill, but apparently not.
"System, why didn't you give me the Super Saiyan Blue skill?"
System: "Host, rewards are issued randomly. I'm afraid I can't make an exception for you!"
Luya: "..."
"Luya?" Seeing Luya lost in thought, Goku asked in confusion.
Luya snapped back to attention and smiled. "Right! My next goal is to train hard and reach Super Saiyan Blue as soon as possible!"
Hearing this, Goku smiled. "Really? Then you'd better work hard! Reaching Super Saiyan Blue is no easy feat. I'll take you to meet Whis sometime. Oh, right—Whis is an Angel, and there's also Lord Beerus! He's a God of Destruction!"
Luya nodded. "Got it. Thanks!"
Goku laughed. "After fighting you, I've gotten a lot stronger too. I also learned that there's another way to use Kaioken. I'm going to train hard and work on my Kaioken next!"
Luya nodded. "Good luck!"
He felt a little strange. Even without him, according to the story, Goku would have used Kaioken later in his fight against Hit from Universe 6. In other words, Goku would have trained with it on his own eventually. Had Luya simply given him an earlier nudge?
The thought left Luya feeling conflicted.
"Okay, then. I'm heading out! If you want to train, you can go to Gohan's place and look for me there! I'm really looking forward to fighting you again!" Goku said with a smile.
Luya nodded. "Definitely!"
Goku touched two fingers to his forehead and waved. "See you!"
Whoosh!
With that, he vanished from the spot.
Luya stared after him for a moment, then smiled. "Interesting!"
After landing, Luya looked at his palm, his expression complicated.
He'd only been in the Dragon Ball world for a few days, yet he'd already become this powerful! The cheat-like boost made it all feel unreal.
"My battle power is already close to eight billion. I'm way stronger than Goku and the others now, but the enemies who come later are even more terrifying than they are. Even at this level, I probably still can't beat them," Luya mused aloud.
He knew that after Frieza, the people from Universe 6 would appear, along with Zamasu from the future, Fake Vegeta, and the parasites Jaco brought along! Not one of these powerful opponents would be easy to deal with!
"Looks like I still need to train," Luya sighed. His battle power seemed impressive now, but it wouldn't amount to much later. He had to speed up his training!
Although he could already control his power, he still wasn't skilled enough. And his power had grown too quickly; even with Strongest Talent, he couldn't fully absorb and adapt to it.
So Luya vanished from the spot. He was going to find somewhere to train by himself!
Meanwhile, time passed quietly.
Elsewhere, by Bulma's Space Capsule.
Whoosh!
Goku suddenly appeared. He spotted Beerus nearby, eating dessert, and immediately brightened. "Lord Beerus! I didn't expect you to really come. I sensed your energy, so I came over!"
Beerus was taken aback, then asked, "I'm a god. How could you sense my energy?"
Goku smiled. "In my Super Saiyan Blue form, I have access to the realm of the gods! So it's perfectly normal that I could sense you!"
Beerus didn't dwell on it. He simply asked, "So why did you come here?"
Goku smiled. "I came to ask Whis to train me!"
Whis happily swallowed a cherry dumpling, chewing as he looked at Goku. "Can't you already transform into Super Saiyan Blue? You've already broken through a whole stage. Isn't that enough?"
Goku shook his head. "It's not enough. This time, I came across two incredibly powerful opponents!"
"Oh? Was one of them Frieza?" Whis asked, surprised.
Goku nodded. "Yes, he was one."
"And who was the other?" Vegeta asked as he walked over. He wore a tank top, and sweat dripped down his face. He seemed to have just finished training.
Goku looked at him and smiled. "Luya!"
"Him? Kakarot, you're sure you're not joking with me?" Vegeta's face stiffened, and he sounded annoyed.
Goku shook his head. "I'm not joking. Luya really is strong! Honestly, even using Super Saiyan Blue against him gave me a hard time!"
Vegeta gritted his teeth, seeming unwilling to believe it.
"Oh, Luya? Is that the Saiyan Bulma mentioned? Interesting. I hear he also stopped Frieza from destroying Earth. He sounds interesting," Beerus said casually.
Goku nodded. "He said he was sent by another universe!"
"Another universe?" Beerus and Whis both froze, looking a little puzzled.
Goku nodded, then thought of something and asked in confusion, "Lord Beerus, do you know that other universes exist?"