The Finale, Xiuka's Death

The two men on the stage stared intently at each other. But how could the match continue if they just kept staring?

The Announcer had no choice but to call a halt. Only then could the match proceed as normal, and the tense atmosphere from moments ago dissipated by nearly seventy percent.

The two competitors began exchanging quiet barbs.

"Xiuka, one day, sooner or later, I'll make you pay for what you did to us!"

Lan Peiling glared at Xiuka and spoke icily.

"Hahaha! That's hilarious! After all this time, I'm still living just fine. Your strength is nothing special, but you sure have a sharp tongue!"

Xiuka's attitude was utterly contemptuous. He continued, "Besides, I still remember exactly how they looked when they died. Thinking back on it now, their expressions were pretty amusing—that look of disbelief!"

"You! You... you'll get what's coming to you sooner or later!"

Lan Peiling was so furious that she could barely get the words out!

After that, she said nothing more, because the Announcer had already called for the match to begin.

The Announcer worked for the Planet Lord, so neither of them intended to disobey.

Both of them thought about how to crush their opponent in this match, then humiliate them mercilessly.

They quickly prepared the materials for the match. Xiuka used Black Cotton Soil, a kind of earth said to be extremely rare. It could supposedly be found only on planets brimming with life, and it was scarce and exceedingly precious.

Although it looked black, it gave off a faint, pleasant fragrance.

Lan Peiling, meanwhile, took out a kind of red soil said to be called Flame Soil. It grew near the edges of volcanoes, but not every volcano had it. It could only be produced beneath a tree known as the Sacred Lava Tree. This soil could even make trees grow near volcanoes, which showed just how rare it was.

It was hard to say which of their materials was better. Only a contest could settle that.

When Jiang Yun saw the soil they had brought out, he realized it contained an abundance of Vital Energy. If he had soil this rich in Vital Energy at his cultivation grounds, its influence could double the results of his training.

Jiang Yun felt a little envious. If he could get a large amount of both kinds of soil, wouldn't he and the Martial Alliance be able to cultivate much faster?

Here, though, they were being used only for Saibaman battles. Jiang Yun couldn't help feeling that it was a waste of such precious resources.

After having his body cleansed by Vital Energy twice, Jiang Yun could even clearly sense its presence and absorb a small amount. But the boost to his fighting power from that absorbed energy was still less than what he gained through his own hard training.

Jiang Yun had also guessed that cultivation was a process of drawing out one's potential, while absorbing the energy of the world to strengthen oneself.

Why did Goku often train on King Kai's Planet? Because the Vital Energy there far exceeded that of Earth. The legendary Supreme Kai's World and God of Destruction's World were said to have even more abundant Vital Energy.

There was even enough to sustain the Tree of Might's absorption. If it were planted elsewhere, it would have drained all the Vital Energy long ago to nourish its fruit.

That was also why the fruit of the Tree of Might was called a fruit fit for the gods.

Because it absorbed Vital Energy, the fruit of the Tree of Might could raise a person's fighting power. More importantly, it nourished the mind and could even increase a person's mental strength.

This effect wasn't very noticeable for gods. Otherwise, the Tree of Might wouldn't have ended up in the mortal world, where Turles eventually found it.

But for mortals, the effect was tremendous—provided the Tree of Might had absorbed enough Vital Energy.

Someone like Turles, with his low fighting power, who had stumbled upon the Tree of Might's seed, probably only dared to plant it on barren, uninhabited planets at first.

That was also why Turles's fighting power wasn't very high. Still, he was a formidable fighter by the standards of the universe.

The harvest Turles had gotten before was even worse than what he'd collected in a single trip to Earth. That showed just how cautious he had been.

Coming back to the present, both competitors began planting their Saibamen. Jiang Yun clearly sensed the Vital Energy in the soil being instantly absorbed by the Saibamen as soon as they were planted.

Lan Peiling and Xiuka's Saibamen were far sturdier than everyone else's. A single one could even fight several Saibamen of the same level.

Everyone else was focused on how powerful the Saibamen were, but Jiang Yun was focused on the reason behind their strength!

Just discovering soil so rich in Vital Energy made the trip worthwhile. Perhaps he could study it in his future training.

Jiang Yun felt a little pleased with himself. Had he found another way to grow stronger?

Perhaps once he understood this method, the people of Earth could make tremendous progress. Even if their talent couldn't match other people's, they could make up for it with resources.

As the saying went: wealth, companions, techniques, and land!

As for wealth, Jiang Yun had plenty. Whatever resources he wanted from Earth, many people in the Martial Alliance would gladly place them in his hands.

As for companions, Jiang Yun had plans for the future, but that could wait!

As for techniques, he had already begun exploring them and had made some progress!

And as for land, he had at least a little. After all, Earth was his territory, even if it might not qualify as the legendary paradise of cultivation.

But now that he had seen this miraculous soil, if he could understand how it worked, creating such a paradise might not be impossible.

That was a matter for later. For now, it could wait.

Back on the stage, the two competitors' Saibamen were extraordinarily powerful, even stronger than Raditz had been when he came to Earth. Who knew what Raditz would think if he saw them?

The fight between the two sides was fierce, and their auras were about evenly matched. It was impossible to tell which competitor's Saibamen were stronger in the short term.

The spectators were entranced. They had never seen such an exciting Saibaman battle in previous years, and couldn't help feeling that their money had been well spent.

The people in the audience couldn't tell who had the upper hand. Even the competitors onstage couldn't tell. But with Jiang Yun's keen eye, how could he miss it?

Lan Peiling's Saibamen had absorbed the Vital Energy in the Flame Soil. Although the two kinds of soil contained about the same amount of Vital Energy, the Flame Soil also held a special energy, the result of absorbing the power of the volcano.

That meant the Saibamen's attacks carried a trace of volcanic energy. It was like two people being evenly matched, except one fought with bare hands while the other had something extra behind every punch and kick.

As time passed, Xiuka's Saibaman suddenly let out a scream. Lan Peiling's Saibaman seized the opening and kicked it off the stage.

The crowd erupted in cheers. They had no idea why the match had suddenly been won, but who cared? That was awesome!

Xiuka couldn't believe it either. How had he suddenly lost?

He muttered something about his Saibaman being useless, then turned and walked away without even sparing it a glance.

The Announcer hadn't even declared the match over yet.

The Announcer was also stunned by the result. After a moment, he announced Lan Peiling as the winner.

Black Rose looked at the victorious Lan Peiling and gave her a knowing smile.

Then she suddenly remembered something and looked toward where Jiang Yun had been. To her surprise, he was already gone. She hadn't noticed him leave at all.

By then, Jiang Yun and the others had already set their sights on Xiuka as he walked away. Still seething with anger over his loss, Xiuka hadn't noticed that several people had appeared in front of him.

Only when he got close did he notice them. He was about to curse whoever was blocking his path when he looked up and saw Jiang Yun's face. His pupils instantly widened several times over, and he looked utterly shocked.

He was about to say something, but Jiang Yun gave him no chance. He turned his head and gestured to Bu Chen, who understood at once.

Bu Chen said to Xiuka, "In your next life, keep your eyes open. There are some people you can't afford to offend!"

After Jiang Yun's guidance, Bu Chen had also realized that if he wanted to survive in the universe, he had to be ruthless.

Xiuka would surely investigate their origins afterward. If he traced them back to Earth, that would spell trouble. So they had no choice but to kill him.

A fine head flew into the air, its eyes still filled with disbelief!