Four Powers Stand United, Ancient Grudges Trace Their Source

The sharp, pitch-black Nether Soul-Severing Blade, wreathed in bone-chilling cold, hovered mere feet from Lin Chen's skull. The shadow of death draped over every inch of his skin. Murderous intent solidified in Gilos's eyes; he needed only to press his wrist down a fraction further to utterly execute this half-breed Saiyan who had broken his limits time and again.

Yet, in that fleeting moment where victory hung in the balance, a vastly different, majestic aura tore through the horizon. An arrogant, untamed pressure swept across the sky, forcibly shattering the momentum of the killing blow.

High above, the descending black blade-light froze abruptly. Gilos's muscles tightened, and he instinctively pulled back the hand gripping the energy blade. His slit pupils snapped toward the source of the incoming aura, his face etched with vigilance and surprise.

Lin Chen seized this brief gap to retreat, putting distance between them as his feet landed firmly on the shattered earth. The battle power that had just surged to 6,000 points continued to churn within him, the power of his ancient ancestors still flowing through his meridians. Fragmented memories flickered in his mind—the ancient Saiyan race locked in fratricidal slaughter, stars collapsing, and kin turning against kin—all flashing through his consciousness in a chaotic, heavy stream.

The rhythm of the battle across the entire mountain forest was thoroughly disrupted by this sudden, powerful outsider.

Goku, who had been locked in a fierce struggle, halted his movements. His young face was filled with shock as he instinctively looked toward the high heavens. The Frieza Force soldier who had been tangled with him seized the chance to pull away, his body tense as he stared into the distance, not daring to launch another reckless attack. In the dense forest, Bulma gripped her detector. Beside the erratic red dots of battle power on the screen, a new, highly oppressive golden fluctuation had abruptly appeared, its value skyrocketing until it locked at the 8,700 level.

Above the clouds, the fully-realized Super Saiyan, who had been suppressing the fleet, also reined in his aura. His golden flames flickered slightly, and his emerald eyes turned toward the source of the energy. For the first time, his previously calm, ripple-free expression showed a distinct tremor.

In a mere moment, a sturdy, upright figure stepped out from the thick clouds, treading upon the high-altitude air currents.

The newcomer wore dark, form-fitting combat armor that outlined a physique brimming with explosive power. His short, jet-black hair stood up sharply, and his eyes held the cold, slit pupils unique to pure-blooded Saiyans. A violent, aggressive light-purple aura swirled around him. He made no attempt to conceal his presence; his overbearing and fierce aura spread unchecked, forming a stark contrast to the steady, restrained golden-haired Super Saiyan.

Though they shared the same Saiyan blood, their temperaments were worlds apart.

The golden-haired warrior carried the weight of time, his aura deep and distant, tinged with an indifference that looked down upon the world. In contrast, this newcomer was sharp-edged and wild, his very bones etched with the race's innate refusal to be governed and their competitive nature. Just by standing there, he exuded a chilling aura that warned others to keep their distance.

With a peak battle power of 8,700, falling between Gilos and the full-power Super Saiyan, his strength was not to be underestimated.

"Another Saiyan warrior?" Gilos muttered, his thoughts racing.

After Planet Vegeta was thoroughly annihilated, the surviving Saiyans had scattered, hiding in the remote corners of the universe. Despite Frieza's years of systematic purges, he had failed to wipe the race out completely. Gilos couldn't gauge the newcomer's stance; he didn't know if this was a wandering clansman, a hidden rebel harboring hostility toward the Empire, or someone with a different agenda entirely.

If he were an enemy, the battlefield was already complex enough; adding another powerful foe would only make things harder. If he were kin, perhaps he could be swayed to join forces to eliminate the mutant bloodline of Lin Chen, and then deal with the troublesome full-power Super Saiyan together.

Lin Chen studied the stranger in the air. Their shared bloodline sensed one another, yet a faint sense of repulsion stirred within him. The newcomer possessed an orthodox, pure-blooded Saiyan lineage; his habits and methods of channeling power followed the established trajectory of the ancient race. Lin Chen, however, had a soul infused with the essence of Earth, and his bloodline had undergone a subversive mutation, placing him far outside the category of his traditional kin.

It was precisely this difference in their bloodlines that made the fragments of ancient memory in his mind grow clearer.

In a trance, he glimpsed the splendor of the Saiyan planet thousands of years ago—a vast population, a territory spanning countless star systems. Yet, beneath that prosperity lay irreconcilable ideological divides. One faction clung to the ancestral instinct for conquest, believing in the power to subjugate all; the other, sensing threats from outside, sought to change the race's fated cycle of slaughter. The two sides were like fire and water, eventually erupting into a brutal civil war that eroded the foundation of their race.

Later, they faced joint sieges from external enemies, and the once-great race gradually declined, eventually becoming mere war tools for Frieza. His own unique, mutated half-breed bloodline was, in fact, the special progeny born after the fusion of those two opposing bloodlines, tempered over countless ages.

So, my uniqueness was fated from the very root of my blood, Lin Chen mused to himself.

Had it not been for the history of the ancient race's division and fusion, he would never have been born with the ability to break his limits in the face of death and touch the threshold of the Super Saiyan state so easily. Yet, this special bloodline was both a supreme gift and a shackle of the grudges left behind by his ancestors.

High above, the black-haired Saiyan swept his cold gaze across the battlefield. He glanced first at Lin Chen, whose aura was damaged and whose battle power sat at 5,200, then at the murderous Gilos, and finally locked his eyes on the golden-haired Super Saiyan in the clouds, the corner of his mouth curling into an arrogant arc.

"I didn't expect such a remote, low-level planet to gather so many of my kin, along with Frieza's lackeys."

His low, gravelly voice echoed through the heavens, his tone dripping with undisguised arrogance, as if he held no one present in any regard.

Gilos's expression darkened at these words. "As a Saiyan, you should know the majesty of Emperor Frieza. This person has rebelled against the Empire and slaughtered our soldiers; he must be executed here today. I wonder, what is your purpose in coming here?"

He deliberately clarified his stance, testing the other's attitude.

The black-haired Saiyan let out a faint, mocking laugh, his purple aura surging slightly. "Frieza? He is merely an outsider overlord who uses despicable means to suppress our kin. He is not worthy of the submission of all Saiyans. I have come here only to find the one with the mutated bloodline. Other disputes have nothing to do with me."

As he finished speaking, his gaze locked firmly onto Lin Chen again, his scrutinizing eyes seemingly trying to pierce through flesh and bone to probe the origin deep within his blood.

"A mutated half-breed bloodline, breaking the inherent inheritance of the race—it matches the appearance described in the ancient prophecies."

The words "ancient prophecy" struck Lin Chen with a jolt.

It wasn't just the golden-haired Super Saiyan who had sensed the uniqueness of his blood; this clansman from afar had come for it as well. The sealed history of his race and the unknown ancient prophecy layered heavily upon his heart, making him realize that he had long been passively drawn into a destiny that spanned a thousand years.

The golden-haired Super Saiyan in the clouds spoke slowly, his tone tinged with a mix of lament and gravity: "Kallen, after all these years, you are still obsessed with the ancient prophecy, unwilling to let go of the grudges between the factions of the past."

Kallen, the black-haired Saiyan, narrowed his eyes, his aura instantly turning sharp. "Obsession? The race split and consumed itself, eventually leading to our annihilation—would you have me turn a blind eye to that? The mutated bloodline concerns the future of our entire race; I must confirm it with my own eyes. As for you, you have wandered outside the world for years, watching as our kin are slaughtered at will. You are far too cold-blooded."

In just a few sentences, the hidden origins and conflicts between the two were laid bare.

They were descendants of the two opposing factions of the ancient Saiyan race, their philosophies diametrically opposed. One side believed in following destiny, waiting for the bloodline to awaken naturally; the other was obsessed with changing the fate of the race, seeking to revitalize the Saiyans through the special bloodline mentioned in the prophecy. The factional conflict had lasted a millennium; even though Planet Vegeta had long been destroyed, the rift and opposition between them remained deeply rooted.

With this, the entire battlefield formed a strange, four-way standoff.

Lin Chen's team, who possessed the mutated bloodline and defended Earth; the murderous Frieza Force, tasked with the purge; the golden-haired full-power Super Saiyan, who held to the philosophy of letting nature take its course; and Kallen, the pure-blooded Saiyan obsessed with the prophecy and the mysteries of the bloodline. Each of the four factions held a different stance, bound by the ties of a shared bloodline yet divided by irreconcilable conflicts. The already chaotic battlefield became even more inscrutable.

In the distant sky, the dense Frieza fleet maintained its encirclement, the energy cannons on the ships continuously accumulating light, ready to launch a devastating bombardment at any moment. Having lost the restraint of the top-tier fighters, the soldiers of the legion grew increasingly vicious, waiting for any opening in the situation to pour their firepower down and raze the entire area to the ground.

Seeing that his attempt to win Kallen over had failed, Gilos's last shred of patience vanished. Regardless of the newcomer's purpose, executing Lin Chen to complete his mission was the top priority.

"Since you do not wish to intervene, do not blame me for being ruthless."

With those words, Gilos hesitated no longer. His black Nether energy erupted, releasing his full 9,500 battle power without reservation. A cold, black mist spread rapidly from him, forming a Nether Domain that covered dozens of meters. Within the domain, the flow of energy was forcibly distorted, and the very space rippled with eerie waves.

Caught within the domain, Lin Chen felt an intense sense of restraint, and the circulation of his own energy became sluggish and slow.

"Goku, be careful. He's going all out," Lin Chen whispered to the boy beside him.

Goku nodded quickly, tensing his body and focusing his guard, ready at any moment to deal with a sudden attack.

Kallen hovered in mid-air, watching with cold eyes. He did not offer help, nor did he block Gilos's movements; he simply watched quietly to see how Lin Chen would handle this fight to the death. The golden-haired Super Saiyan also refrained from interfering, his emerald eyes fixed on the figure within the domain, wanting to see just how far this successor of the mutated bloodline could push his potential.

Under the gaze of many, Gilos's figure suddenly vanished within the Nether Domain.

Countless black energy afterimages emerged from all directions simultaneously, a dense barrage of killing moves closing in on Lin Chen from all sides. Under the enhancement of the domain, the Nether Killing Art's power surged several times over, each strike carrying a terrifying force that devoured life itself.

Lin Chen took a deep breath, forcing the chaotic ancient memories in his mind to subside.

At this moment, idle thoughts of the past were useless. Only by clenching his fists and facing the enemy head-on could he protect himself and the Earth beneath his feet. The combat instincts of his ancient bloodline fully awakened. His eyes clearly captured the true trajectory of every afterimage, and he pushed his 6,000 battle power to the limit, his white aura exploding outward, wreathed in a faint golden light.

He no longer clung to conventional fighting styles, instead fusing the steady, heavy power-generation methods of his ancient ancestors with the explosive, violent power he had gained from breaking his limits. He threw his fists out in succession, his thick energy constantly colliding with the incoming dark killing blows.

The sounds of violent collisions rang out incessantly, energy shockwaves rippling outward time and again as the ground continuously cracked and collapsed, sending broken wood and debris flying through the air.

Initially somewhat passive, Lin Chen quickly adapted to the eerie suppression of the Nether Domain by drawing upon the combat insights granted by his bloodline awakening. His rhythm of attack and defense gradually became composed, the once-vast disparity in combat power being steadily bridged by his exquisite technique and bloodline talents. After several perilous exchanges, Lin Chen seized a gap in Gilos's breathing and recovery, condensing all his energy into a single palm strike that carried the heavy, ancient power of his bloodline as he slammed it forward.

A dull, thunderous boom erupted. Gilos raised his arms in a hasty block, but his standard-issue armor instantly fractured with several deep fissures. His body was forced back several meters, unable to maintain his footing, and a trace of dark blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

In this head-on clash, the captain of Frieza's personal guard had actually been pushed onto the back foot for the first time.

Gilos wiped the blood from his mouth, a look of fury surfacing on his face. He had never expected that this half-breed Saiyan, whose cultivation realm was lower than his own, could actually injure him head-on by relying on such bizarre bloodline power.

"I underestimated you."

A fierce glint surged in Gilos's eyes, and the power hidden within his body began to churn; it was clear he intended to use his final trump card, willing to overdraw his own combat strength to utterly annihilate the opponent before him.

The atmosphere of the battlefield tightened to a breaking point once more, and a new, even more dangerous round of slaughter was about to erupt.

Just then, the entire expanse of space suddenly rippled in layers, and auras of varying strengths tore through the darkness one after another, rapidly closing in on Earth. Among them were several pure Saiyan bloodline fluctuations, as well as a chilling, imperial pressure that was enough to crush the entire field and make one's heart tremble.

The golden-haired Super Saiyan amidst the clouds and Kallen both had their expressions change drastically, looking up toward the depths of the universe in unison.

Lin Chen also sensed this terrifying aura that made his soul shudder, his heart sinking abruptly.

The fragmented ancient memories in his mind pieced themselves together completely at this moment, and a truth sealed for a thousand years surfaced before his eyes: when the Saiyan race was annihilated, the encirclement by the foreign enemy Frieza was only an external factor; the true cause of the race's total decline included the descendants of traitors who had betrayed their own kin and colluded with the enemy in secret.

And among the group of powerhouses rushing toward them at this moment, there were not only the surviving kin who had been evading pursuit, but also the hidden descendants of those who had betrayed the race all those years ago.

The factional grievances spanning a millennium, the betrayal of kin, the conquest of an emperor, and the destiny of bloodlines all converged upon this blue planet. Watching the powerful enemies eyeing him from all sides and feeling the unknown crisis approaching from beyond the heavens, Lin Chen realized clearly that he could no longer stay out of the fray.

His own mutated bloodline was like the center of a vortex, drawing all the grievances and flames of war toward it. A grand, ultimate melee capable of rewriting the fate of the Saiyan race and deciding the survival of Earth was already imminent. And deep within his bloodline, that ancestral will, sealed for a thousand years, slowly opened its eyes alongside the endless crisis.