Starry Sky Temple's Invitation

"I just sensed someone coming, so I turned back to take a look."

Jiang Che said this calmly, as if he really hadn't thought much of it.

He tilted his head slightly and glanced at Kibito Kai's tense expression. Then he curled his lip and asked with a hint of amusement, "What? Does Old Supreme Kai still need something from me?"

Kibito Kai took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Then he nodded solemnly, his voice suddenly turning serious. "Old Supreme Kai said he wants to invite you to the depths of space. He says there's something important he needs to discuss with you."

As he spoke, his hand unconsciously pointed toward the sky, his fingertips trembling slightly, as if an unspeakable secret lay hidden up there.

Jiang Che narrowed his eyes and raised an eyebrow, interest flickering in his gaze. "The depths of space?"

He asked casually, without a hint of fear. If anything, he seemed eager to go.

"Yes." Kibito Kai nodded, his voice low and firm, his expression utterly serious. "Old Supreme Kai said this concerns the fate of the entire universe."

As he spoke, he stared intently at Jiang Che, as though trying to convey the gravity of the matter to him.

Son Goku and Vegeta both froze. They exchanged a glance, shock written all over their faces.

Son Goku opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't get a word out. His throat merely bobbed once.

The fate of the entire universe?

This was no joke!

His heart began to race, and his chest rose and fell without him realizing it.

Jiang Che fell silent for a few seconds, rubbing his chin with a finger. His eyes were as deep as the night sky.

After a moment, he nodded, his voice as calm as ever. "All right. Lead the way."

He shifted slightly, looking ready to go.

Kibito Kai said no more. He took a deep breath, then suddenly reached out and grabbed Jiang Che by the shoulder.

His fingers clamped down hard, as if he needed to make sure Jiang Che was really standing there. He shouted, "Instant Transmission!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, their figures blurred, as if an invisible force had pulled them away. In the blink of an eye, they vanished completely.

All that remained was a gradually spreading ripple in space and a faint trace of God Ki in the air.

Son Goku, Vegeta, Pan, and Mr. Satan were all left stunned, staring at one another in utter bewilderment.

Pan clenched her fists and looked up at Son Goku. At last, she couldn't hold back her question. "Grandpa, who exactly was that person?"

Her words were filled with curiosity, but there was a hint of unease, too.

Son Goku shook his head and gazed at the now-calm expanse of empty space in the distance, his expression complicated. There was confusion and amazement in his eyes, along with a hint of concealed wariness.

He spoke slowly. "I don't know either... But there's one thing I'm sure of."

He paused, seeming to consider how to put it.

"What?" Pan pressed, her eyes shining.

"That guy is definitely no ordinary person." Son Goku spoke one word at a time, his voice low and firm, as though he were gritting his teeth. "His strength is definitely far beyond ours..."

He turned his gaze toward the distance, as if trying to pierce the starry sky and see right through Jiang Che.

Vegeta stood to one side, his jaw clenched and his fists balled tight. A cracking sound even came from his hands.

His chest heaved violently, the veins on his forehead bulging, but he never said a word.

Yet his clenched fists made his frustration clearer than any words could.

Jiang Che's arrival had been like a blade, slashing through the pride he held as a Saiyan prince and leaving a wound that would be difficult to heal.

Far away, in a mysterious space deep within the starry sky, two figures suddenly appeared.

Jiang Che and Kibito Kai landed steadily on a platform formed from starlight. Endless darkness surrounded them, as if they stood at the very heart of the universe.

Before them stood a colossal, ancient temple.

The temple was built from pure white stone, its surface covered in inscrutable ancient patterns. It radiated an air of age and sanctity, as if it had been weathered by time for countless eons.

Its towering roof stretched straight into the river of stars. Shining streams of energy coiled around the massive pillars on either side, and the entire temple seemed almost alive.

"This place is..." Jiang Che looked around, taking in both the vastness of space and the temple's grandeur. A flicker of astonishment crossed his eyes.

He took a step forward without thinking, the soles of his shoes tapping against the ground. The sound echoed through the empty space.

"This is the Starry Sky Temple, where the gods lived at the beginning of the universe." Old Supreme Kai slowly emerged from the depths of the temple. His hunched figure looked even older beneath the light, yet his eyes were as clear as stars.

He smiled, his voice hoarse but leaving no room for doubt. "Welcome, young God of Super Saiyans."

Jiang Che merely looked at him without being swayed by the flattery.

He stood where he was, his hands still in his pockets, and spoke bluntly. "Old Supreme Kai, what exactly did you want me for?"

His sharp gaze fixed on Old Supreme Kai, as if he meant to see the truth hidden in his heart.

Old Supreme Kai smiled faintly, his smile concealing something difficult to read.

He raised one aged hand and pointed toward the depths of the temple. There was a pitch-black doorway over there, like a passage leading to another world.

"Come with me. There are some things I'd like to discuss with you privately."

With that, he vanished in a flash and headed straight into the profound darkness.

Jiang Che thought it over, his brow furrowing slightly. He paused, but in the end, he followed.

His footsteps echoed through the empty hall, each step unusually heavy.

He could feel an indescribable pressure in the air, as if the entire temple were watching him.

He knew that whatever he was about to hear was no trivial matter.

Jiang Che followed close behind Old Supreme Kai and stepped deeper into the temple.

His footsteps reverberated through the vast hall, as though an invisible force magnified them before they faded beneath the vaulted ceiling.

The temple's interior was even more spacious than it had appeared from outside. The visible hall stretched for hundreds of meters, with two rows of towering stone pillars standing like the spines of giants. Each pillar was so thick that three people together could barely wrap their arms around it.

Ancient runes were carved into the pillars. As Jiang Che's gaze swept across them, they brightened and dimmed, as if breathing, and gave off a faint golden glow.

The light was not strong, yet it outlined the dim space in an atmosphere that felt both sacred and unsettling.

Murals depicting the birth of the universe and the battles of the gods covered the temple walls.

Jiang Che glanced at them from the corner of his eye. In the murals, giants threw punches that shattered planets amid nebulae; figures resembling Angels held up burning stars; and numerous small figures knelt before a colossal deity, as if offering something in sacrifice.

The lines in every painting were astonishingly detailed, and metallic flecks in the pigments glittered in the light.

The ancient pigments gave off an indescribable, mysterious aura. It seemed to seep into his nostrils, as if it could draw his soul in and make him lose himself in the images.

Old Supreme Kai stopped in front of a stone dais. It was hexagonal, its surface smooth, with silver-white streams of light racing beneath the top.

He didn't turn around right away. He simply gazed up at a spot in the empty space beneath the vaulted ceiling and remained silent for a few seconds.

Only then did he turn to face Jiang Che. His genial expression had faded somewhat, his wrinkles appeared deeper, and his gaze had grown exceptionally solemn, as though he could see the secrets hidden in Jiang Che's heart.