The pitch-black Nether Soul-Severing Blade, wrapped in a bone-chilling aura, was only a few feet from Lin Chen's head. The shadow of death instantly enveloped every inch of his body. Killing intent solidified in Gilos's eyes. He only had to press his wrist down a fraction farther to cut down this Half-Saiyan who had repeatedly broken through his limits.
But just as the outcome was about to be decided in an instant, a completely different, overwhelming presence suddenly tore through the sky. A wild, overbearing pressure swept across the heavens, forcibly interrupting the killing blow.
In midair, the black blade of light froze just before falling. Gilos's muscles tensed, and his hand instinctively drew back, still gripping the energy blade. His vertical pupils snapped toward the source of the approaching aura, his face full of wariness and surprise.
Taking advantage of the brief opening, Lin Chen quickly retreated and put some distance between them, landing firmly on the shattered ground. The battle power that had just surged to six thousand continued to churn within him. The power of his ancient ancestors still coursed through his meridians, while fragments of broken memories flickered through his mind: ancient Saiyan clansmen fighting and splintering, stars collapsing, and kin turning against one another. The images flashed through the depths of his consciousness, chaotic and heavy.
The sudden arrival of this outsider completely disrupted the fighting in the mountain forest.
Goku, who had been locked in a fierce battle, stopped moving, his little face full of confusion as he instinctively looked up at the sky. The Frieza soldier he had been keeping busy seized the chance to pull away, his body tense as he watched the distance, not daring to attack recklessly again. In the dense forest, Bulma gripped her scanner. Beside the red battle-power dots that had been jumping erratically across its screen, a hugely oppressive golden pulse suddenly appeared. Its reading climbed rapidly, then settled at a battle-power level of 8,700.
Above the clouds, the already fully transformed Full Power Super Saiyan also withdrew the aura he had been using to suppress the fleet. His golden flames flickered faintly as his green eyes turned toward the source of the new presence. For the first time, his usually calm and indifferent expression showed clear surprise.
Moments later, a lithe, upright figure emerged from the thick clouds, stepping slowly through the currents high in the sky.
The newcomer wore close-fitting, dark armor that outlined his powerfully built frame. His short black hair stood sharply on end, and his eyes held the cold, vertical pupils unique to pure-blooded Saiyans. Violent, aggressively lilac flames surrounded him. He made no effort to conceal his aura; his domineering, savage presence spread without restraint, forming a stark contrast to the golden-haired Super Saiyan's calm reserve.
They shared Saiyan blood, yet their temperaments could not have been more different.
Years of experience had made the golden-haired warrior's aura deep and far-reaching, with the indifference of someone who looked down on the world. This newcomer, however, was all sharp edges and wildness. His very bones seemed to bear the Saiyan nature: unwilling to be controlled and eager to prove his strength. Even standing still, he radiated a chilling aura that warned others to keep their distance.
His peak battle power of 8,700 placed him between Gilos and the Full Power Super Saiyan. He was no opponent to underestimate.
"Another Saiyan warrior?" Gilos murmured, his thoughts racing.
After Planet Vegeta was completely destroyed, the surviving Saiyans had fled in every direction, hiding in remote corners of the universe. Frieza had spent years hunting them down, but still hadn't managed to wipe out the entire clan. Gilos couldn't determine where this man stood. Was he a wandering clansman living beyond the empire's reach, a hidden rebel hostile to the empire, or someone pursuing another aim altogether?
If he was an enemy, the situation on the battlefield was already complicated; another powerful foe would make things even harder. If he was a fellow Saiyan, perhaps Gilos could win him over, join forces to eliminate Lin Chen and his mutated bloodline, and then deal with the troublesome Full Power Super Saiyan.
Lin Chen scrutinized the unfamiliar figure in the air. Their shared blood seemed to sense each other, yet the restless blood within him felt a faint resistance. The newcomer carried pure Saiyan blood; his instincts and the way his power flowed followed the ancient clan's established patterns. But Lin Chen's soul bore the essence of Earth, and his bloodline had undergone a radical mutation. He had long since fallen outside the bounds of the traditional Saiyan race.
This difference, even within their shared bloodline, made the fragments of ancient memories in his mind grow clearer.
In a daze, he glimpsed the splendor of the Saiyan home world thousands of years ago. The people had been numerous, their domain spanning vast swathes of space. Yet beneath that prosperity lay irreconcilable differences in ideology. Some clansmen clung to their ancestors' instinct for conquest, believing that strength could overcome everything. Others recognized the threat posed by outside races and wanted to change their clan's fate of endless slaughter. The two factions' beliefs were irreconcilable, and they eventually plunged into a brutal civil war. The clan's foundations eroded as it turned against itself.
Later, outside enemies joined forces to attack them. The once-mighty clan gradually declined until it became a weapon of war wielded at Frieza's whim. And Lin Chen's unique mutated bloodline, born of mixed heritage, was the result of the two factions' bloodlines merging long ago and giving rise to a special descendant after countless years.
"So my differences were decided by my bloodline from the very beginning." Lin Chen marveled inwardly.
Without the ancient clan's history of division and intermingling, someone like him would never have been born—someone who could repeatedly break through his limits in desperate situations and easily reach the threshold of Super Saiyan power. But this exceptional bloodline was both an unparalleled gift and a burden, saddled with the grudges the clan had left behind.
High above, the newly arrived black-haired Saiyan cast a cold gaze over the battlefield. First he glanced at Lin Chen, whose aura was damaged and whose battle power was just over 5,200. Then he looked at the murderous Gilos, before fixing his eyes on the Golden Full-Power Super Saiyan among the clouds. A defiant smile tugged at his lips.
"I never expected so many of my people to gather on a remote, low-level planet, along with Frieza's lackeys."
His low, hoarse voice rang through the sky, brimming with undisguised arrogance. He showed no regard for anyone around him.
Gilos's expression darkened. He spoke coldly. "As a member of the Saiyan Clan, you should know the majesty of Emperor Frieza. This man has rebelled against the empire and repeatedly killed our soldiers. He must be executed here today. What brings you here?"
He had deliberately stated his position to test the other man's attitude.
The black-haired Saiyan gave a faint scoff, the purple flames around him flickering. "Frieza? He's nothing but an outsider who uses underhanded methods to oppress his fellow Saiyans. He's unworthy of every Saiyan's submission. I came here only to find the one with the mutated bloodline. The rest of this conflict has nothing to do with me."
As he spoke, his gaze once again locked onto Lin Chen, sizing him up as if it could pierce through flesh and probe the source of his bloodline.
"A mixed, mutated bloodline that broke with the clan's traditional inheritance. It certainly fits the description in the ancient prophecy."
The words "ancient prophecy" sent a jolt through Lin Chen.
So it wasn't only the Golden Super Saiyan who had noticed the uniqueness of his bloodline. This clansman who had come from afar was also here because of it. The clan's sealed past and an unknown ancient prophecy weighed on him one layer at a time, making him realize all the more that he had been unwillingly drawn into a fate spanning a thousand years.
Among the clouds, the Golden Super Saiyan spoke slowly, his voice tinged with regret and gravity. "Kallen, after all these years, you're still fixated on the ancient prophecy. You still can't let go of the grudges between the factions."
Kallen's eyes narrowed, and the flames around him instantly sharpened. "Grudges? The clan tore itself apart in a civil war and met its end. Should we just turn a blind eye to that? The mutated bloodline concerns the future of the entire clan. Of course I have to see it for myself. And you—after spending all these years apart from the world, watching your own people slaughtered at will, aren't you being a little too cold?"
Those few lines revealed the hidden history and conflict between the two.
They were descendants of two opposing factions within the ancient Saiyan clan, and their beliefs were worlds apart. One side believed they should follow the will of fate and wait for their bloodline to awaken naturally. The other was determined to change the clan's destiny, hoping to use the special bloodline foretold in the prophecy to restore the Saiyan Clan to greatness. The factions' conflict had endured for a thousand years. Even though Planet Vegeta had long since been destroyed, the rift and hostility between them remained deeply rooted.
By now, the entire battlefield had become an eerie standoff between four factions.
Lin Chen's squad, with its mutated bloodline and resolve to protect Earth; the Frieza Force, sent to purge the rebels and seething with bloodlust; the Golden Full-Power Super Saiyan, who believed in letting things take their natural course; and Kallen, a pure-blooded Saiyan determined to uncover the secrets of the bloodline foretold in the prophecy. Each faction had its own position. They were bound by their shared ancestry, yet riven by conflicts they could not resolve. The already chaotic battle had grown even harder to predict.
In the distant sky, the dense Frieza fleet remained in formation, encircling the area. Energy cannons aboard the ships continued to gather light, ready to unleash devastating fire at any moment. The soldiers of the army, no longer held back by the top fighters, looked increasingly vicious. They were just waiting for an opening in the battle to pour down a barrage and flatten the entire area.
Seeing that he had failed to win Kallen over, Gilos finally lost the last of his patience. Whatever the newcomer's purpose, killing Lin Chen and completing his mission were what mattered most.
"If you refuse to get involved, then don't blame me for showing no mercy."
As soon as he spoke, Gilos stopped hesitating and unleashed all his black Nether power. His battle power of 9,500 burst forth without restraint. Cold black mist rapidly spread out from him, forming a Nether Domain that covered dozens of yards in every direction. Within the domain, the flow of energy was forcibly warped, and even space rippled strangely.
Lin Chen, caught inside the domain, immediately felt a powerful sense of restraint. Even the energy flowing through his body became sluggish.
"Goku, stay alert. He's about to attack with everything he's got," Lin Chen warned the boy beside him.
Goku nodded quickly, tensing his body and focusing on the enemy, ready for a sudden attack at any moment.
Kallen hovered in the air, watching coldly. He neither stepped in to help nor tried to stop Gilos. He simply watched to see how Lin Chen would face this deadly battle. The Golden Super Saiyan also held back, his green eyes fixed on the figure within the domain. He wanted to see just how far this inheritor of the mutated bloodline could push his potential.
Under the watch of so many eyes, Gilos suddenly vanished into the Nether Domain.
Countless black energy afterimages surged in from every direction, layer upon layer of deadly attacks closing in on Lin Chen. Empowered by the domain, the Nether Killing Art grew several times stronger. Every strike carried a terrifying force that devoured life.
Lin Chen took a deep breath and pushed the chaotic ancient memories to the back of his mind for the moment.
Brooding over the past was useless now. Only by clenching his fists and facing the enemy could he protect himself and the Earth beneath his feet. His ancient bloodline's battle instincts awakened fully. His eyes clearly picked out the true paths of every afterimage, and he unleashed all six thousand points of battle power. White flames, edged with a faint golden light, erupted around him.
He no longer stuck to conventional fighting moves. He blended the steady, powerful techniques of his ancient ancestors with the explosive strength he had unleashed by breaking through in desperate situations. His fists flew in turn, his powerful bursts of energy repeatedly smashing against the incoming dark attacks.
A continuous barrage of heavy impacts rang out. Shock waves spread in every direction as the ground cracked and collapsed, sending broken trees and stones flying everywhere.
At first, Lin Chen seemed to struggle under the pressure. But thanks to the combat insights brought by his awakening bloodline, he quickly adapted to the strange suppression of the Nether Domain. His rhythm in attack and defense gradually steadied, and the clever use of his techniques and bloodline talents helped close the gap in their battle power. After several dangerous exchanges, Lin Chen seized the moment when Gilos paused to catch his breath and reset his stance. He gathered all his energy into one palm and struck with the weight of his ancient bloodline behind it.
A muffled boom rang out. Gilos hastily raised an arm to block, but several long, deep cracks appeared in his standard-issue armor. His body lurched backward several yards, and a trace of dark blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
For the first time, the Frieza Force's Personal Guard Captain had lost the upper hand in a head-on clash.
Gilos raised a hand to wipe the blood from his mouth, his face contorted with rage. He had never imagined that this Half-Saiyan, whose level was lower than his own, could use his strange bloodline power to wound him head-on.
"I underestimated you."
A fierce glint flared in Gilos's eyes. The power hidden within him began to stir. He was clearly preparing to use the trump card he had kept in reserve, ready to overdraw his own strength if necessary to kill his opponent once and for all.
The tension on the battlefield once again climbed to its breaking point. A new and even more perilous fight was about to erupt.
Just then, layers of ripples suddenly spread across space throughout the universe. One after another, presences of varying strengths broke through the darkness and raced toward Earth. Among them were several waves of pure Saiyan blood—and a bone-chilling imperial presence so overwhelming it could crush everyone on the battlefield.
The Golden Super Saiyan among the clouds and Kallen changed expressions at the same time, both looking up toward the depths of space.
Lin Chen also sensed the terrifying presence, powerful enough to make his soul tremble, and his heart sank.
At that moment, the broken fragments of ancient memories in his mind finally fit together completely. A truth sealed away for a thousand years came to light: when the Saiyan Clan was destroyed, the attack by the outside enemy Frieza was only one cause. What truly brought about the clan's complete decline was that traitors among their own people had betrayed their kin and secretly colluded with the enemy.
Among the powerful figures now racing toward them were not only surviving clansmen fleeing pursuit, but also descendants of the bloodline that had betrayed the clan in the past.
A thousand years of factional grudges, betrayal by their own, an emperor's campaign of conquest, and the fate of their bloodline all converged on this blue planet. Facing the enemies glaring at him from all sides and sensing an unknown threat drawing ever closer from beyond the skies, Lin Chen clearly understood that there was no escaping this anymore.
His mutated bloodline was the center of a vortex, drawing every grievance and battle toward him. The ultimate clash that would reshape the Saiyan Clan's fate and decide whether Earth survived was now imminent. And deep within his bloodline, the will of an ancestor sealed away for a thousand years slowly opened its eyes amid the endless danger.
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