Breaking the Heavenly Net

Golden auspicious clouds pressed down, covering the sky and earth.

It was not one or two clouds, but a full ten miles of them, stretching from the horizon all the way to the sky above the Axe Gang stronghold.

Above the clouds, banners fluttered and golden armor gleamed. Three thousand Heavenly Soldiers stood in formation, their pressure rolling down in waves like a tangible tide.

The lackeys in the stronghold had long since knelt to the ground in terror.

"Oh, my mother... Heavenly Soldiers and Generals... they really are Heavenly Soldiers and Generals..."

"It's over, it's all over. When did our Axe Gang ever provoke the Heavenly Court..."

Zhu Bajie huddled under a table, shivering. "I... I'm just a bandit strategist, I have nothing to do with the Heavenly Court... I never did anything bad when I was Marshal Tianpeng... except for that one time I harassed Chang'e..."

Sha Wujing crouched in the corner, his face pale, though he at least managed to remain standing.

Zhi Zun Bao stood at the stronghold gate, looking up at the brilliant golden army in the sky, his palms slick with sweat.

"Hey, kid," he asked without looking back, "are you sure you can fight?"

Goten walked past him and stood in the open space before the stronghold.

He looked up at the golden army in the sky, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward.

"Three thousand men?"

Goten tilted his head.

"The Frieza Force that my dad fought alone was... hmm... probably a million times larger than this."

Zhi Zun Bao's mouth twitched. "Just who exactly is your father?"

"Sun Wukong," Goten replied, turning back with a serious expression. "The strongest warrior in the universe."

With that, he turned toward the sky, took a deep breath—

And let out a shout.

"Hey—!!!"

The sound echoed across the Gobi Desert.

The Heavenly Soldiers and Generals in the sky all looked down at him in unison.

Goten extended a finger, pointed it at the sky, and grinned.

"All of you, come at me together."

Within the ranks of the Heavenly Soldiers, a massive war banner parted, and a figure clad in cyan armor, holding a Jade Pipa, slowly descended.

Dhritarashtra.

He stood over ten feet tall, his face stern and his gaze like lightning.

The Jade Pipa in his hands was entirely emerald green, its strings shimmering with a faint, chilling light—they were strings made from dragon bone, capable of emitting sound waves that could shatter souls when played.

"Youth from another realm," Dhritarashtra's voice was deep and resonant, "the Jade Emperor has decreed—follow us back to the Heavenly Court for trial, and you may be spared death. If you resist the decree—"

He plucked a string lightly with his finger.

Hum—!!!

A sound wave, sharp as a physical blade, whistled past Goten's ear and split the boulder behind him in two!

"—you shall be executed without mercy."

Goten didn't even blink.

He looked down at the split boulder, then back up at Dhritarashtra.

"A sound wave attack?"

He scratched his head.

"One of my dad's friends named Jeice uses a similar move... but he couldn't beat my dad."

Dhritarashtra's brow furrowed.

This youth—he wasn't afraid of him at all.

This was not normal.

Under the might of Heaven, no living creature in the Three Realms could remain calm—even a Demon King like the Bull Demon King would show three parts of caution before the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals.

But this youth—there was only curiosity and excitement in his eyes.

It was as if he were looking at some interesting new toy.

Dhritarashtra stopped wasting words and waved his hand.

"Form up—Heavenly Net!"

The three thousand Heavenly Soldiers roared in response, raising their spears in unison!

Golden light shot from every spear, weaving together in the air to form a massive golden web—the net covered the sky for several miles, shrouding the entire Axe Gang stronghold within it!

Goten looked up at the light net, his expression turning slightly solemn.

He could feel it—

That net was suppressing his power.

It felt as if an invisible hand was pinning down the energy within his body. He should have been able to soar into the sky with ease, but now, his legs felt as heavy as lead.

"Oh?"

His eyes lit up.

"Interesting."

Dhritarashtra looked down at him from above. "Under the Heavenly Net, no one within the Three Realms can use magic or supernatural abilities. Your otherworldly power will also be suppressed to its limit—surrender now."

Goten did not answer.

He clenched his fists, feeling that sense of suppression deep inside him.

That was right; his power was indeed being suppressed.

But—it was merely "suppressed."

It was as if someone had pushed his combat power from 100 down to 70—but the problem was, his 100 and the 100 of this world were not even the same concept.

"You said two things," Goten said, looking up and earnestly holding up one finger. "First, this formation can indeed suppress me."

He held up a second finger.

"Second—you said no one within the Three Realms can escape."

Goten grinned.

"Then what if—I am not someone from within the Three Realms?"

No sooner had the words left his lips—

A golden aura erupted with a roar!

It was not an ordinary gold—it was a brilliance so blinding that it appeared even more dazzling beneath the golden light of the Heavenly Net! Goten's hair stood slightly on end, his entire body wreathed in crackling, sizzling energy!

The Heavenly Net began to tremble violently!

Dhritarashtra's pupils contracted sharply.

"This—this is impossible—the Heavenly Net can suppress all power—"

Goten pushed off the ground with all his might!

BOOM!

The ground shattered, and his figure shot into the sky like a cannonball!

The light membrane of the Heavenly Net was forced into a massive bulge by his impact—as if someone were pushing hard from inside a balloon—

Pop!

With a faint sound.

The Heavenly Net—was broken.