"Kamehameha!"

The three thousand Heavenly Soldiers groaned in unison. Those with weaker cultivation spat blood on the spot!

Dhritarashtra's expression changed drastically. He plucked the Jade Pipa in his hands with a sharp stroke!

Hum—hum—hum—!!!

Three sound waves shot toward Goten in a triangular formation!

Goten didn't dodge in midair—he crossed his arms in front of his chest and took the three sound waves head-on!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He was knocked back dozens of meters. The sleeves on his arms were torn to shreds by the sound waves, revealing unblemished skin beneath.

"Mm... that stung a little." Goten shook his arms. "Still nothing compared to a Saibaman's self-destruction."

He lifted his head.

"But—is that really all you've got?"

Dhritarashtra's expression darkened completely.

He had lived for tens of thousands of years and guarded the East Heavenly Gate for countless ages, yet he had never encountered an opponent like this.

It wasn't because Goten was unbeatable—it was because his way of fighting was completely outside the Three Realms' understanding.

There were no fluctuations of immortal power, no traces of spells, no demonic aura, no devilish energy—only pure, savage, unreasonable physical strength.

"Heavenly Soldiers, obey my command—change formation!"

The three thousand Heavenly Soldiers swiftly shifted from a circular encirclement into a wedge-shaped assault formation. Every spear pointed at Goten as golden light gathered at the tips—

"Fire!"

Three thousand golden beams shot out at once!

Goten took a deep breath—

"Kame—ha—me—ha!"

He thrust both hands forward!

A massive golden pillar of light erupted from his palms, colliding head-on with the three thousand beams from the Heavenly Soldiers!

Rumble—!!!

The entire sky trembled!

The two forces clashed in midair, erupting in a blinding white light!

The Heavenly Soldiers' formation of golden beams was forced back by the Kamehameha—not shattered, but pushed backward!

Dhritarashtra's eyes widened.

In tens of thousands of years, he had never seen power like this.

It wasn't an Immortal Art or a demonic spell—it was pure, brute-force energy crushing everything in its path.

The Kamehameha blasted through the Heavenly Soldiers' formation, sending dozens of them flying. It shot straight into the sky and exploded in the night, shining like a newborn star!

The three thousand Heavenly Soldiers' formation fell into chaos.

Goten dropped back to the ground, breathing slightly harder.

"Huff... huff..." He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Being suppressed really does make using the Kamehameha a lot more exhausting than before..."

Dhritarashtra hovered in the air, his face ashen.

He had underestimated this boy.

No—not underestimated him. The Heavenly Net was simply far less effective at suppressing this outsider than he had expected.

"Dhritarashtra," a voice came from behind him. "The Jade Emperor has ordered us to capture him alive."

Another Heavenly King, clad in white armor and holding the Azure Edge Sword, had appeared at the edge of the battlefield.

Virudhaka.

He looked at Goten coldly, a flicker of interest in his eyes.

"What an interesting little brat. But—"

He raised the Azure Edge Sword and pointed its tip at Goten.

"How much longer can you keep fighting?"

Goten knelt on one knee, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

With Virudhaka joining the fight, the situation changed completely.

Unlike Dhritarashtra's sound-wave attacks, Virudhaka's swordsmanship was extremely fierce. Every swing of his Azure Edge Sword could cleave open cracks in space. Goten could withstand the blows with his body, but the damage from those spatial rifts seemed to bypass his Saiyan defenses.

"Tch..."

Goten got to his feet and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Zixia rushed out of the stronghold and stood in front of Goten.

"That's enough!"

She drew the Violet-Azure Treasure Sword and pointed its tip at Virudhaka.

"Fairy Zixia?" Virudhaka furrowed his brow. "Do you understand what you're doing?"

"I'm protecting him." Zixia's voice was calm, but the hand gripping her sword trembled slightly.

"You're making an enemy of the Heavenly Court," Dhritarashtra said coldly.

Zixia fell silent for a moment.

Then she smiled.

"So what?"

She glanced back at Goten, a trace of resolve in her eyes.

"Five hundred years ago, I couldn't protect him—"

She turned back, her sword blazing with light!

"Five hundred years later—I won't let the same thing happen again!"

Zixia charged into the ranks of the Heavenly Soldiers, sword in hand!

Her swordsmanship was exquisite. Every stroke was like a streak of violet light, weaving between the soldiers' golden armor. Their spears couldn't get close to her; she knocked them flying, one by one!

But Goten could tell—she was struggling.

With the Heavenly Net's remaining suppression, Zixia could bring out at most seventy percent of her strength.

And the second batch of Heavenly Soldiers—the reinforcements Virudhaka had brought—numbered at least two thousand.

"Sister Zixia—" Goten tried to rush forward, but Vaishravana's Primordial Pearl Umbrella blocked his way.

Vaishravana opened the treasure umbrella. The Map of Mountains and Rivers appeared on its surface, and a powerful suction force held Goten firmly in place.

"Easy, young man." Vaishravana's voice was gentle and calm. "One at a time."

Goten gritted his teeth and struggled, but the Primordial Pearl Umbrella was even more troublesome than the Heavenly Net. Its restraint was intangible, like being trapped inside an invisible cage.

Just then—

A black figure charged out!

"Hey, hey, hey! You guys—haven't you had enough?"

Zhi Zun Bao!

With a battered sword in hand, he rushed to Zixia's side and knocked a Heavenly Soldier over with one slash.

"A bunch of grown men picking on a girl and a kid—what kind of achievement is that?"

Zixia froze. "How did you—"

"I'm the leader of a band of mountain bandits, after all—" Zhi Zun Bao grinned, showing a gap where one of his front teeth had been knocked out by a Heavenly Soldier's punch. "If I don't fight back when someone messes with my turf, how am I supposed to get by in the Western Regions?"

Goten stared at Zhi Zun Bao's back and opened his mouth.