Jiang Che's gaze suddenly turned cold.
He thrust his arm forward, as if hurling all his strength away.
That terrifying mass of energy nearly exploded. Like an ancient beast unleashed, it opened its gaping maw and swallowed Baby's massive body whole.
The rampaging energy swept across the entire battlefield. Sand and dust spiraled into the sky, forming a vortex that trapped everything within.
Baby let out a desperate scream that soared into the heavens.
Then the red energy erupted like a volcano, transforming into a thick pillar of light that shot straight through the sky.
The pillar was so powerful that it tore a gaping hole through the clouds, as if the sky itself had been pierced.
The ground began to shake violently. Cracks spread like a spiderweb, affecting everything for miles around.
Every nearby creature hit the ground, trembling and too terrified to move.
As the light slowly faded, the entire area fell into the deathly silence that followed a storm.
All that remained was a massive crater, its edges scorched black and unnaturally smooth, as though a god had casually pressed a mark into the earth.
The rocks at the bottom had been fused by the heat into smooth, gleaming glass, with a faint glimmer still reflecting off them.
Baby's Great Ape body, along with the Tuffle consciousness inside him, had been completely erased, reduced to the most primitive dust in the universe without leaving a trace.
A silence like death.
Only the wind howled across the barren battlefield, as if mourning the brutal battle.
[ Ding! Congratulations, host! You have completed the mission to kill Great Ape Baby! ]
[ You have received 50,000 exchange points! ]
[ Special notice: As this is the host's first completed mission, the reward is doubled! You have received a total of 100,000 exchange points! ]
The system's crisp, mechanical notification echoed in Jiang Che's mind, like a cold coin dropping into an empty can.
He nodded, the fighting spirit in his eyes slowly fading.
He drew a breath as the golden aura around him gradually receded and died out.
His transformation ended. His long golden hair quickly shortened and turned black, like the tide going out, until it returned to its original short black style and fell neatly around his shoulders.
His aura, once ablaze at its peak, settled back into calm and composure, as if the world-destroying figure from moments ago had never existed.
In the distance, Gohan lay sprawled on the ground, his face as pale as paper.
He braced himself against the rubble with both hands, his body shaking uncontrollably. His lips had turned purple, and his teeth chattered.
Baby had been completely purged from his body, and his own consciousness had returned. But the helplessness and despair he had felt while under Baby's control clung to him like a shadow, weighing him down until he could barely breathe.
"Jiang Che... you..." Gohan struggled to lift his head. His voice was as rough as sandpaper, and he forced the words out through clenched teeth. "Just how... strong are you?"
Even as he said it, he found the question almost laughable.
Strong?
That word no longer came close to describing the man before him.
That attack just now had seemed like something only a god could do.
Jiang Che slowly turned, his gaze falling calmly on Gohan.
His expression was as tranquil as still water, and a faint smile played on his lips.
He didn't boast or act superior. It was as if the thing he had just destroyed had been nothing more than an annoying fly.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, the corners of his mouth curving into a faint smile. "What do you think?"
Without another word, he bent his knees slightly and pushed off.
With a dull thud, he left a shallow crater beneath his feet, sending dirt and rocks flying.
He became a streak of brilliant light, like a meteor crossing the sky, and vanished from sight in the blink of an eye. All that remained was a fading white trail, like a blade slash across the heavens.
The wind blew.
Across the vast battlefield, only Gohan remained, standing there in a daze.
He looked toward the direction where the light had vanished, his eyes vacant and unfocused.
The wind lifted the torn edges of his clothes, and dust settled on his shoulders. He didn't notice.
After a long while, his lips finally moved, and a barely audible murmur escaped them. "What kind of monster is that man?"
Meanwhile, far away in the Supreme Kai World.
The temple was dim, and ancient battle totems had been carved into its stone pillars.
Starlight fell through cracks in the dome, illuminating the dust that covered the floor.
The Old Supreme Kai sat cross-legged on a stone platform, his white hair cascading down like a waterfall. His hands rested one over the other on his knees, his sunken eyes closed and his breathing slow and steady.
His divine robes glowed faintly, radiating an ancient, boundless aura.
Suddenly, a faint energy fluctuation pierced the barriers of the distant universe. Like ice water poured over scorching stone, it shattered the peace in the Old Supreme Kai's mind.
His eyelids trembled violently before he snapped them open. The haze was gone from his eyes, replaced by a dazzling gleam that seemed capable of piercing time and space.
His thin hand clamped around his staff, his knuckles turning white as his wizened face creased into a frown.
His lips trembled as he spoke in a hoarse, hurried voice. "This energy... impossible... how can this be?"
His voice echoed through the empty temple, startling several divine birds perched on the beams. They flapped toward the dome, shaking loose a few white feathers.
Nearby, Kibito Kai was bent over a table, organizing a stack of ancient texts.
He wore the standard Supreme Kai attire, and his silver hair was perfectly groomed.
At the Old Supreme Kai's words, the scroll in his hands paused. He straightened and turned, looking puzzled. "What's wrong? Have you sensed something again?" His tone was rather casual; he was used to the Old Supreme Kai making a fuss over nothing.
"Fool!" The Old Supreme Kai sprang to his feet and slammed his staff against the ground. The thud made the crystal ball on the table wobble.
He hurried to the center of the temple, took hold of the crystal ball, and leaned so close that his head nearly touched it. "You didn't feel it? That energy coming from Earth!"
Kibito Kai froze for a moment, set down the scroll, and closed his eyes to sense it carefully.
At first, his brow relaxed, but then it furrowed. "There is an incredibly powerful energy... but isn't it Son Goku and the others? Or perhaps the Saiyan energy of Vegeta?" His tone was quite certain.
"Bullshit!" The Old Supreme Kai was so furious that his mustache bristled. He struck the ground repeatedly with his staff, each blow ringing out with a thump. "You idiot, that's God Ki! It's unmistakably God Ki! You can't even tell the difference, and you still want to be a Supreme Kai?!" He nearly spat in Kibito Kai's face.
"God Ki?" Kibito Kai's eyes widened, his pupils contracting as if he had just heard something absurd.
He leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Could there be... another Supreme Kai?"
As he spoke, his gaze instinctively swept over the temple's sealed hidden doors, as though another god might really emerge from those sleeping divine ruins.
"It's not a Supreme Kai..." The Old Supreme Kai shook his head, his white hair swaying with the motion.
He took a deep breath and pressed both withered hands against the crystal ball. A faint glow appeared at his fingertips.
Faint purple ripples spread through the orb, its light swirling as a blurry image slowly took shape.
The light grew brighter and more dazzling, until at last the scene came into sharp focus.
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