Super Saiyan God

"What are the conditions?" Jiang Che asked, watching the other man warily. He folded his arms across his chest, not relaxing in the slightest.

"Show me your transformation first." Old Supreme Kai blinked, a sly, mischievous grin spreading across his face.

He tapped his staff against the floor and leaned forward.

"I need to make sure you're really qualified to learn this technique," he drawled, his tone carrying a hint of scrutiny and a hint of anticipation. Even his breathing had grown quieter.

Jiang Che smiled faintly, looking casual. "Sure." He nodded, his hair swaying with the motion.

With that, he stood firm, feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent. His toes pressed against the floor, making him as steady as if he'd taken root.

He drew a deep breath, his chest slowly swelling, then exhaled with a soft hiss.

The candlelight in the hall dimmed, as though all the light had been drawn toward him.

The next moment, a layer of crimson aura rose around him.

The aura wasn't fierce. Instead, it flowed quietly, like magma churning deep beneath the sea, its gentle currents concealing terrifying power.

Its edges flickered softly, caressing the air and scattering the dust on the floor as they formed a faint halo around him.

A wave of warmth filled the air, as though the temperature had risen.

Then Jiang Che's hair abruptly turned scarlet. Each strand looked as if it had been dyed by fire, shining from root to tip.

His eyes changed, too. His irises turned the same crimson, and the blood vessels in the whites seemed to melt away in the heat. A deep, noble light shone from his eyes.

His eyebrows, eyelashes, even the texture of his skin, all took on a faint divine glow. It was as though a veil of divinity had enveloped him.

God of Super Saiyans—complete!

Old Supreme Kai's pupils constricted. He had been lounging in his chair, but now his body snapped upright. His staff nearly slipped from his hand; he clung to it at the last moment, his knuckles turning white.

His lips parted slightly, a strangled "Uh" catching in his throat. His old eyes reflected the crimson aura, and for several seconds he forgot to breathe.

"Th-this is..." His voice trembled. He could hardly believe it. "It really is the God of Super Saiyans!"

He tapped his staff against the floor again, as if afraid he was dreaming.

Kibito Kai was dumbstruck, too. His mouth formed an O, sweat beading on his forehead as his gaze darted between Jiang Che and Old Supreme Kai.

His palms were drenched in sweat, and he had nearly twisted the fabric beside his belt out of shape.

It took him a long while to recover. Then he asked Old Supreme Kai in a hushed voice, barely able to contain his shock. "Lord Old Supreme Kai, what kind of background does this kid have?"

He instinctively took half a step back. The crimson light made him feel an oppressive weight.

Old Supreme Kai shook his head, his beard trembling faintly against his chest.

He didn't answer right away. His eyes remained fixed on Jiang Che, and his cloudy pupils suddenly lit up, as if someone had set them ablaze.

He muttered under his breath, but the stillness in the hall made his words perfectly clear. "I don't know either... But I'm certain that this kid will change the world someday..."

His staff tapped the floor once more with a sharp knock, as though stamping the words with a seal.

A breeze blew in from outside, making the candle flames flicker. Jiang Che's silhouette fell across the wall, its crimson outline stretching so far and wide it nearly covered the entire hall.

The sky above Supreme Kai World was cloudless and pristine, like a blue sapphire polished countless times.

Sunlight streamed through the lattice windows overhead, casting intersecting bands of light and shadow across the floor.

An ancient, solemn feeling hung in the air. Even time seemed to move more slowly here.

Jiang Che stood at the center of the raised platform, his crimson God of Super Saiyans form blazing like a flame. His hair shone, and extraordinary God Ki coiled around him.

He drew another deep breath. The crimson radiance faded like the tide receding, and his hair returned to black, strand by strand. The golden aura around him drew inward until only his tall, quiet figure remained.

Old Supreme Kai stood three paces away, leaning on a wooden staff taller than he was.

His face was covered in wrinkles, his eyes wide and round. The shock he'd just felt still lingered in his pupils.

He slowly raised a hand and stroked his white beard, which hung down to his knees. His voice trembled uncontrollably. "I've lived for so many years and seen countless battles and prodigies, yet I never thought I'd get to witness the Legendary Super Saiyan God with my own eyes... Even the Supreme Kai Scriptures only mention him a few times."

Jiang Che clapped his hands, then casually brushed dust that wasn't there from his sleeves. His tone was as indifferent as if he were talking about the weather. "You've seen enough, right? Can you teach me Instant Transmission now? I don't want to waste any more time."

Old Supreme Kai was jolted back to his senses. The corners of his mouth twitched. He seemed a little exasperated by how casually Jiang Che had said it, but he still nodded. "I keep my word. Since I agreed to teach you, I won't go back on it."

He paused, narrowed his eyes, and looked Jiang Che over again. His hand slowed as he stroked his beard. "Hmm... You certainly surprised me. Your God Ki has already reached a very high level of stability, and even its basic pathways are clear to you. Learning Instant Transmission shouldn't be difficult—certainly much easier than teaching those fools who can't even sense ki."

"Then let's begin." Jiang Che walked straight to the open space in the middle of the hall. He stood with his legs naturally apart and his arms at his sides, calmly watching Old Supreme Kai.

Old Supreme Kai sighed and walked over one step at a time, leaning on his staff. Its rhythmic knocks echoed across the floor.

He stopped in front of Jiang Che and used his staff to sketch a rough circle on the floor. Then he began his explanation, speaking slowly and solemnly, as if each sentence had been unearthed from memories ten thousand years old.

"First, you need to understand this: Instant Transmission is absolutely not a spatial leap."

He held up two dry fingers. "Look at the clouds drifting in the distance. You can't take a single step and be there. If you imagine space as a sheet of paper, you find where the ki is on that paper, then connect your ki to your destination... like this."

As he spoke, he raised his right hand. A ball of pale violet energy flickered in his palm.

The next moment, he vanished without warning, as if the air had erased him.

Less than a second later, he appeared in the same spot again. His staff landed in precisely the same place.

"You saw that, right? I didn't tear through space to get there. I sensed the ki, then 'folded' the space between me and my destination—like folding a sheet of paper so two points meet, then taking a single, easy step to arrive."

Old Supreme Kai narrowed his eyes. "The difference is, you don't have to fold the whole sheet. You only need to find the point where the ki resonates, wrap yourself in God Ki, and then... take that step."