Golden Judgment

Son Goku remained silent, his gaze fixed solely on the battlefield.

A hint of excitement flickered in his eyes—not overly obvious, but unmistakable, like the battle intent a warrior cannot hide when facing a formidable foe.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly; if you didn't look closely, you would never have noticed.

On the battlefield, Jiang Che's golden energy blast was locked in a stalemate with the deep purple beam of destruction erupting from Baby's mouth.

Their clashing auras churned into a violent vortex, tearing the ground apart, uprooting trees, and sending debris flying like bullets.

The air was scorched to the point of melting, resembling the furnace of hell.

This standoff lasted only a few seconds.

Jiang Che suddenly clenched his right hand, golden light exploding in his eyes.

The golden energy blast expanded several times over, as feverish as the sun, cleaving the purple beam in two.

The golden torrent surged forward with unstoppable force, slamming directly into Baby's chest and abdomen.

Baby was struck as if by a meteorite, sent flying backward like a ragdoll.

The impact sent him crashing through three mountains, punching a hole dozens of meters wide through each one; the mountains collapsed, and giant boulders tumbled down with a thunderous roar.

He didn't stop until he slammed into the rock face of a fourth mountain with a deafening crash.

The entire mountain shuddered, and rubble cascaded down like a waterfall.

Baby roared in fury, struggling to pull himself from the rock face.

His fur was scorched black, half of his body burned to a crisp, leaving his skin and muscles exposed.

Blood dripped from his limbs, quickly forming a pool on the rocks beneath his feet.

He gasped for air, his chest heaving, his eyes filled with shock and rage.

Jiang Che gave him no time to recover.

With a flash of golden light, he appeared instantly before Baby, gathered terrifying energy into his right fist, and slammed it directly into Baby's chest.

Blood sprayed from Baby's mouth and nose, blooming in the air like a gruesome flower.

Once again, he was sent flying like a cannonball, carving a white arc of air pressure before smashing into the ridge of a distant, barren mountain.

Rocks shattered, the ridge collapsed, and dust filled the sky.

"Impossible! I absorbed so much of humanity's life force!" Baby's roar drowned out everything else.

He had completely lost his mind, his body swelling violently.

His muscles expanded like a balloon, his fur grew wildly, and his bones twisted with a sickening crunch.

Within seconds, he transformed into a giant ape dozens of meters tall; veins pulsed beneath his skin, his muscles bulged to their limit, and he became a hideous black beast.

Baby opened his blood-red maw, his fangs like daggers, and let out a roar that made the earth tremble.

"How could I possibly lose to a low-life creature like you!" he bellowed.

Jiang Che slowly raised his right hand, his movements calm and strangely steady, showing not a hint of panic.

A dazzling orb of light condensed in his palm—pure as the first ray of light at the birth of the universe.

The orb grew brighter and brighter, illuminating the mountains and rivers, bathing the entire battlefield in a sacred golden glow.

"Because..." Jiang Che's voice was quiet yet firm, every word piercing through Baby's roars and the explosions, "a parasite like you has no right to call yourself a warrior."

As soon as he finished speaking, he thrust his hand upward, hurling the orb of light toward the sky.

The orb ascended rapidly, piercing the clouds, and suddenly exploded into a golden sun thousands of meters above.

Then, countless beams of light rained down, pouring onto the ground like a torrential storm.

"No—!" Baby let out a desperate roar, fleeing frantically.

The earth shook violently with every step he took, but the golden beams pursued him relentlessly, impossible to shake off.

Finally, the beams seemed to possess a life of their own, precisely sealing his escape routes and completely trapping the giant ape.

"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!" The explosions shook the world to its foundations.

The ground heaved, and the air felt as if it were being torn apart.

Countless beams pierced Baby's body, and a rain of blood dyed the earth a dark crimson.

As his body exploded, he shrank rapidly; his muscles withered, his bones snapped, and his skin was riddled with charred holes.

"Wuaa—aaah!" His true form—a hideous black parasite—burst violently from the giant ape's body.

It had no fur, only several twisted, slimy tentacles and a pair of protruding compound eyes, emitting a nauseating stench.

It scrambled to escape, dragging a trail of murky air behind it.

"Trying to run?" Jiang Che's gaze turned cold, devoid of any pity.

He flashed forward, a streak of golden light cutting through the void, blocking the black shadow's path.

That was Baby's true form—a parasitic organism that inspired visceral disgust.

It cowered, its tentacles twitching frantically, and let out a blood-curdling plea: "Don't kill me! I will pledge my loyalty to you! I can help you rule the universe—every planet, every life form can become your power—you only need to..."

Jiang Che merely sneered, clenching his right hand.

An invisible force instantly shackled the Great Ape Baby's true form in mid-air.

No matter how its tentacles thrashed, it was useless.

"A thing like you is nothing but a pollutant while alive." Jiang Che's voice was cold to the bone.

He rotated his palm slightly, and a beam of crimson energy manifested.

The beam was as thin as a strand of hair, yet its aura was utterly destructive, as if it could pierce through the void itself.

"Ah—!" The energy beam pierced straight through the Great Ape Baby.

It shrieked in agony, its body twisting and peeling away within the beam, turning into fly ash as every inch vanished into the wind.

That shrill, mournful wail echoed across the heavens and earth for a long time.

Everything returned to silence.

The battlefield was in ruins, mountains and rivers shattered, with no corpses left behind. Only Jiang Che remained, hovering quietly in mid-air, gazing indifferently in the direction where the Great Ape Baby had dissipated.

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for completing the mission: Kill the Great Ape Baby! Obtained 50,000 Exchange Points!]

[Current Exchange Points: 50,000]

The system notification rang in Jiang Che's mind like a clear spring, the numbers flashing by with a faint golden shimmer.

He stood where he was, a faint, elusive smile curling his lips as his gaze pierced through the swirling dust and landed on the distant battlefield.

On the emerald grass, the Great Ape Baby's massive body had completely disintegrated, turning into countless specks of light that drifted away with the wind, leaving no trace behind.

Vegeta's body fell powerlessly from mid-air, his arms hanging limp at his sides as fragments of his battle armor traced arcs through the air.

Son Goku pushed off the ground, his body launching forward like an arrow from a bow; he flipped in the air and caught Vegeta steadily.

The impact caused Son Goku's feet to plow two deep furrows into the ground, sending earth and stone flying and kicking up dust half a person high.

"Vegeta!" Son Goku knelt on one knee, resting Vegeta on his lap, his voice filled with urgency.

He tapped Vegeta's cheek lightly, blood seeping between his fingers from the wound on Vegeta's temple.

Vegeta's eyes were tightly shut, his face pale, and his chest showed almost no movement.

The clothing beneath his battle armor was tattered, revealing skin covered in purple bruises and blood scabs, and his left arm hung at an unnatural angle—a fracture, without a doubt.

But upon closer inspection, although his breathing was faint, it remained steady, his chest rising and falling gently every few seconds.