The Golden-Haired Warrior!

What was called physical cultivation wasn't simply exercising the body.

First, he had to train with the Heaven-Propping Staff and make sure it didn't break, tempering his blood and energy while refining his body.

Second, he needed to study the berserk energy within him and the altered cells. This involved "ki" and its properties.

Finally, he had to establish a balance between his blood and energy, his ki, and the berserk energy.

"Goku, keep a Senzu Bean in your mouth and raise your ki as high as it'll go!" Wuchen shouted across at Goku. Then he raised his own ki to its peak.

They said the truth came from practice, and Wuchen was ready to have a no-holds-barred spar with Goku.

With Senzu Beans as a safety net, the brothers had no reservations. They both went all out!

Their fists collided for the first time, and the impact made the air crack.

Neither of them paid it any mind. They kept attacking, trading punches and kicks.

Their moves weren't tricky or vicious, but they hit hard. One clean hit was enough to cause an injury, however minor or severe.

Whenever they were too exhausted to continue, they chewed and swallowed the Senzu Bean in their mouths, then immediately resumed fighting!

And so, apart from eating, drinking, using the bathroom, and sleeping, the brothers spent every day training with the staff and battling.

After a month, when Mr. Popo came to replenish their food supplies, both brothers' ki had improved tremendously.

"What happened during these two hours?" Mr. Popo asked in astonishment, looking at how much more muscular they'd become and sensing how dramatically their ki had grown.

He knew that those two hours had been a month for Goku and Wuchen. Even so, this much progress in a month was still unreasonable.

At Mr. Popo's words, the brothers exchanged a smile. Their progress had indeed been tremendous, thanks to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and the Senzu Beans Korin had given them.

However, Wuchen didn't plan to keep sparring with Goku for quite some time.

Using near-death experiences to awaken their potential was indeed an advantage of their physique, but too much of a good thing could be harmful.

Certainly, innate advantages largely determined one's potential and set the starting point. But it was what one accumulated afterward that determined one's limits.

After Mr. Popo left, Wuchen took out a Hoi-Poi Capsule. Inside were two turtle shells.

The brothers then began training with weighted shells.

They'd put the method they'd learned from Master Roshi to clever use in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

After Mr. Popo had visited them five more times, the brothers' surging ki began to level off and settle into their bodies. Their blood and energy, however, were more vigorous than ever.

During this time, Wuchen had also gained a great deal of insight.

The properties of ki had nothing to do with external factors or strength. They depended solely on one's heart.

Goku, for instance, had a sharp yet unedged ki. It shook evil but never bullied the weak. He loved to fight but never abused his strength. His mind was pure, and he sought only to grow stronger.

And that very purity was exactly what the berserk energy inside their bodies needed.

Or rather, the transformation of their cells required a pure heart and pure ki to bring it about, regardless of good or evil, righteousness or wickedness.

Combined with the Heaven-Propping Staff training their bodies and their vigorous blood and energy providing support, this transformation had been progressing rapidly!

Accumulated changes had triggered a qualitative shift. Both brothers could feel that their bodies were on the verge of transforming, with only one final step left!

So Wuchen decided to use a battle to stoke the battle-loving Goku's fervor!

"Come on, Goku!" Wuchen called to Goku, whose fighting spirit was ablaze, as he took up a stance.

The battle erupted at once. The brothers' fists and palms met again and again, each clash sending ripples through the air.

They seemed evenly matched, but Wuchen was always in control. This time, he planned to put Goku under some pressure!

In terms of ki and strength, the brothers were about even. Goku might even have had a slight edge. But when it came to combat experience, Wuchen had the advantage.

In their fight, Goku's attacks were constantly thwarted. They either missed or were blocked, and every so often he took a punch, a palm strike, or a kick.

As the battle wore on, the momentum gradually shifted. Goku felt increasingly pressured and frustrated.

His ki erupted, boosting him in every way. He rushed at Wuchen again, who was hovering above him!

"Not enough! Still not enough!" Before long, another kick sent him crashing down like a meteor!

That finally brought out Goku's stubborn streak.

He was like a little kid being held down by an older child, swinging his fists with all his might but unable to land a hit.

Goku soared skyward again and again, only to be "pressed" back down each time. He was gradually losing his temper.

"Bang!" Once again, Goku crashed into the ground. Wuchen followed up with a probing Kamehameha, kicking up a cloud of dust.

This time, Goku didn't charge skyward again. The cloud, however, lingered, gathering thicker and thicker as it began to churn.

"Ah!!!" Goku's furious roar rang out from within the cloud. His aura rose to an unprecedented height and kept climbing!

Gradually, his domineering aura poured out, making Wuchen uneasy. Goku's ki had increased dozens of times over!

The berserk energy within Goku erupted completely as well!

That was what made Wuchen uneasy. He'd suspected something ever since the incident at Mount Fry-Pan.

Perhaps his and Goku's physiques were like certain special bloodlines: by transforming into another form, they could explosively increase their strength!

But an increase of dozens of times was far beyond what he'd expected. It might even damage Goku's foundations.

At that moment, Goku's aura was extremely unstable!

Wuchen opened his mouth to call for him to stop, but it was already too late.

The cloud below dispersed, and Goku had undergone a complete transformation.

His black hair had turned golden, his cone-shaped hair had become a mane that stood on end, and his dark eyes had taken on a jade-green sheen. Golden flames swirled around him, making space itself tremble!

"Big Brother, get out of here! I want to kill you!" Goku's emotions were slipping out of his control!

"..." Wuchen tensed as if facing a formidable enemy. His aura erupted, and the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—surged forth together, gathering before his left side to form a five-colored barrier. Yin and yang energy protected his organs and meridians within.

At some point, Goku had appeared before Wuchen's left side, throwing a punch.

"Crack!" The five-colored barrier shattered on impact, and the punch landed squarely on Wuchen's face. It sent him crashing down, scattering a ring of clouds.

The balance of attack and defense had shifted!

"Get out of here! Hurry!" Goku didn't follow up with another attack. Instead, he shouted a warning. His face showed little emotion, but he seemed to be fighting hard to restrain himself.

"Better to channel it than bottle it up, Goku. Keep some control, but let out your anger and fighting spirit!" Below, Wuchen rose to his feet and slowly ascended until he was level with Goku.

A Taiji symbol gradually appeared behind him. The forces of the five elements revolved without pause, while the four phenomena of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning shone on either side. He seemed like an immortal descending into the world.

"But..."

"Don't worry. Your big brother can still protect himself, and I need you to put some pressure on me."

The brothers were about evenly matched in their ki training. But Wuchen was far more practiced in his techniques, and had pulled far ahead of Goku.

Even against Goku in his golden-haired warrior form, he could still put up a fight.

He could tell that although Goku's ki had multiplied dozens of times, maintaining this form was a struggle. He couldn't bring out even half of its power.

"Ah!" Goku didn't hesitate any longer. With a furious roar, he darted forward and punched Wuchen squarely in the face, his attack as straightforward as before.

The barrier gave way. Wuchen brought both hands together in front of himself to catch Goku's fist, but he couldn't withstand its momentum for even a moment. Goku's punch drove his hands into his face and slammed him down like a shuttlecock smashed out of the air.

"Big Brother?" Goku's aura faltered at the sight.

"Steady your ki and try to rein it in." Near the ground, Wuchen steadied himself and cast a Cleansing Heart Mantra at Goku. Then he gathered another barrier and charged back in.

After several trips up and down like this, Wuchen was running low on both ki and spiritual energy.

He chewed and swallowed a Senzu Bean to replenish his stamina and ki. Then he took two pills to restore his spiritual energy and focus, and once again fought Goku.

As they battled, Wuchen gradually found his rhythm. Goku, too, slowly steadied his mind, his violent urges subsiding. He was also gaining more and more control over his power.

Only after his ki was completely depleted did the golden-haired form fade on its own. Goku lay on the ground, gasping for breath.

"Ha!" At that moment, Wuchen's ki began to erupt!