Awakening the Limit

Super Saiyan!

Jiang Che suddenly spread his arms, and golden aura burst forth.

The floor beneath him couldn't hold. Cracks rapidly spread out like a spiderweb.

The entire space trembled. The air was filled with scorching heat, as if it burned straight into the heart.

He stood at the center of the light, raised his head slightly, and curled his lips into a faint smile.

His gaze was as steady as iron. In a low voice, he said, "It's not enough. This is only the beginning."

The tenfold gravity made the bones in his limbs creak, and the muscles across his body tensed like steel wires.

The sweat that had just begun to bead on his skin evaporated in his aura, turning into white mist.

Jiang Che closed his eyes. The power within him surged through his meridians like scorching lava. Each beat of his heart struck his chest like a drum, making him tremble.

When he opened his eyes, his gaze was sharp as a blade.

He took a step, and the ground instantly shattered. Chunks of stone flew up, then were dragged back down by gravity.

His fist shot forward. The air let out a piercing buzz, and his fist left a blurred afterimage in its wake.

Then came a spinning kick. The wind from his leg lashed through the air like a whip, cracking sharply.

His body darted around at high speed, leaving layer upon layer of afterimages, as if a dozen copies of him were practicing different moves.

With every burst of power, sweat flew from him, only to evaporate in his aura before it could hit the ground.

A week later, the Super One form was more stable than ever before.

Jiang Che clenched his fists. Golden aura coiled around his body, then settled as quietly as a living creature.

He gave a low shout. "Super Two." His voice was deep, carrying an irresistible pressure.

As soon as the words left his mouth, his aura erupted, and lightning crackled through it.

His hair stood straight up, each strand growing sharp and pointed, as if it could pierce steel plates.

His power surged several times over. The air rumbled, and the ground cracked and sank again.

He drew a deep breath, feeling the energy drain of the Super Two form. It flowed like a great river, ebbing away with every passing second.

But he had complete control over that rate. Jiang Che could even calculate exactly where every drop of energy went.

He began honing himself further in the Super Two state, striving for perfection in every movement.

When he punched, every part of the motion—from the force and twist of his waist to the way it traveled through his shoulder and into his fist—flowed like water.

When he swept out a leg, every inch of muscle from toe to heel tensed exactly as it should.

Jiang Che closed his eyes and sensed each attack's trajectory through the airflow and gravity alone. Golden afterimages lingered in the space around him.

Time slipped quietly away like grains of sand in an hourglass.

One month later, on a clear morning, he stood in the center of the training ground, surrounded by craters and cracks he had made.

He slowly clenched his fist. His expression was as calm as still water, yet a storm lay beneath it.

"Super Three." He gave a low growl, the sound rumbling up from deep in his throat.

He threw his head back and roared. The sound waves nearly shattered the air.

The muscles across his body instantly swelled to their limits, and veins bulged beneath his skin like coiling dragons.

Golden aura shot skyward, forming a pillar of light that crashed into the ceiling. The entire training ground quivered and hummed.

His hair grew wildly until it reached his waist. His eyebrows vanished, and the veins in his forehead throbbed like a drumbeat.

Super Three!

Maintaining this form felt like carrying an entire mountain on his shoulders.

Under tenfold gravity, every trace of energy was crushed beneath a heavy weight, and every cell in his body screamed.

The air turned thick. Each breath took everything he had.

Jiang Che gritted his teeth and held on for ten minutes. His muscles began to spasm, sweat poured down like a waterfall, and his aura flickered unsteadily.

He had no choice but to end the transformation. He fell to his knees, gasping for breath, as white mist from his exhales slowly faded into the air.

"I still... have to keep adapting." He raised his head, defiance burning in his eyes.

In the days that followed, Jiang Che kept honing himself like steel under a blacksmith's hammer.

He transformed into Super Three again and again, pushing himself to the brink each time.

From ten minutes to fifteen, then twenty, every breakthrough came with pain like tearing muscles and the creaking of bones. But he gritted his teeth and endured, turning pain into motivation.

Three months later, he could fight freely in the Super Three form for half an hour.

His fists were like mountains, his kicks like lightning. Every move refined power and beauty under the crushing weight.

"It's time to try Super Saiyan God." Jiang Che murmured, slowly closing his eyes and sinking his consciousness deep within himself.

The slumbering divine power inside him seemed to have been called forth. It began to awaken.

He slowly spread his arms. Red aura rose from his body like the newborn sun, tinting the space around him crimson.

His hair turned wine-red, and his pupils became a deep red, as if they could reflect the stars.

Super Saiyan God!

This transformation was more natural and fluid, with almost no resistance.

Divine power surged in like a tide, spreading in wave after wave. The space vibrated along with it, and even the gravity field was briefly shaken.

Jiang Che slowly opened his eyes. They shone like red jewels, and a satisfied smile touched his lips.

He raised his hand and condensed a red orb of light in his palm. It danced at his fingertips, radiating a chilling aura.

He gave it a gentle squeeze. The orb shattered into red light and vanished without a trace.

The air in the training pod was so heavy it felt like an invisible hand gripping every inch of space.

Jiang Che stood in the center of the training ground, his body wreathed in a faint red glow in his Super Saiyan God form.

The vivid red energy lay dormant beneath his skin. Even his breathing followed a distinctive rhythm—the frequency of a god.

For five months, he had shut himself away in the sealed training room, hardly stopping at all.

Sweat soaked him with every move. His muscles tore and healed; it had become routine.

Jiang Che closed his eyes, then snapped them open. His figure flashed away. Before his afterimage had even faded, he was already thirty meters away.

He punched, compressing the air into a shock wave that slammed into the wall and burst into a web of cracks.

He followed with a sidestep to dodge. The afterimage of an energy blast swept past where he had stood, nearly hitting the imaginary opponent.

Every move was etched into his bones, every dodge precise, as if he weren't controlling his body but his body were guiding him.

"One last step: Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan—Super Saiyan Blue." Jiang Che spoke softly, but his resolve was unshakable.

He stood still and took a deep breath. His chest swelled. The breath felt laced with flames, scorching his lungs until they tingled.

He tried to draw on the two forces within him: the wild, thunderous golden energy of a Super Saiyan on one side, and the gentle yet unfathomable red divine power on the other.

At first, the two clashed like fire and water, gnawing at each other through his meridians.

The golden energy was like a blade, the red like a giant serpent, and they twisted and tangled together.

He could clearly feel the two surging torrents of energy in his blood vessels rushing toward his heart at once. They collided there, churned, and erupted into a vast, chaotic maelstrom.

"Boom—!"

Suddenly, a violent aura burst from his body. The shock wave swept dust and broken stones off the ground. The air shook violently, and even the walls trembled.

But it lasted only three seconds before the aura vanished like a kite with a snapped string.

Jiang Che felt as though all his strength had been drained. His legs gave way, and he dropped to one knee.

He braced a hand against the floor and lowered his head, his chest heaving. Sweat ran from his hair, drop by drop, splattering onto the ground and leaving damp marks.