Return Journey

"So, you foresaw that Slug would escape?" Li Ming looked at the Grand Elder calmly.

"Hehe." The Grand Elder smiled and said, "The future can be foreseen, but it cannot be changed. I hope you understand."

Li Ming understood at that moment. The Grand Elder's precognitive ability was powerful, even capable of foreseeing the future to some extent. There was no reason he should have allowed Slug to escape so smoothly. And everything had been too much of a coincidence, including Nail going to collect the Dragon Balls and then appearing right along Slug's escape route.

It was such an unbelievable coincidence that even Li Ming found it incredible. He had even guessed the outcome, yet felt as though there was no way he could stop it.

"In other words, even if I had been able to suppress Slug from the start, I still wouldn't have been able to kill him?"

"Hehehe..."

The Grand Elder smiled without answering. Perhaps he understood that no matter what the answer was, it would not be one Li Ming wanted to hear.

In the end, Li Ming got what he wanted from the Grand Elder. Guiding potential truly was his talent; the Grand Elder had not lied about that from the beginning.

It simply required certain special conditions. Li Ming had no way to meet them, nor did he want to wait on Namek for several months before trying with Shenron's power. He decided to leave Namek. He had been away from Earth for over a year, and it was time to go back and take a look.

Besides, he might encounter other opportunities out in the universe. He could not count on the Dragon Balls to become a Super Saiyan. The Dragon Balls could not grant wishes related to strength, unless it was the Super Dragon Balls—then there might be the slightest possibility.

Whoosh!

The spaceship broke through the atmosphere and vanished into the vast universe.

From space, he looked back once in the direction of Namek. The area he had destroyed had already been restored. It was likely Porunga's power. As long as the conditions were met, even restoring an entire planet was possible. The power of the Dragon Balls truly was miraculous.

"My lord, where are we going next?" Stet walked over and asked.

"Earth."

"Understood. I'll set the course right away."

With Stet around, the journey back should go much more smoothly. At the very least, they would not get lost like before. That was one of the reasons Li Ming had kept Stet with him from the start.

Because he had forcefully raised his battle power before and overdrawn too much potential, he needed time to recover. Li Ming was not in any particular rush. He slowly trained and recuperated while replenishing his vitality with the Fruit of the Tree of Might.

Frieza's headquarters was a modified planet, where numerous races from across the universe had gathered. Everything had to be arranged according to Frieza's will.

"Hehehehe!" Frieza's terrifying laughter echoed throughout the entire base. A suffocating pressure filled the air, leaving everyone unable to raise their heads.

More than a dozen aliens knelt behind him, each one trembling in silence, not daring even to breathe. Vegeta's group of three was among them.

"Vegeta." Frieza's voice came after he seemed to have laughed enough—or perhaps after finally suppressing his fury.

Vegeta did not dare delay and forced himself to reply, "Lord Frieza."

The figure seated within a special machine slowly turned around. Bloodshot veins filled the area around Frieza's red pupils. He was clearly furious to the extreme.

"You've seen that Saiyan, haven't you? What was he like?"

"My lord, that guy was indeed a Saiyan, but it seems he left before Planet Vegeta was struck by the meteor, so... Urgh!"

A hand suddenly seized his throat, then lifted his entire body into the air. His face flushed red as he struggled desperately in midair.

Nappa and Raditz were below, but both of them clenched their teeth tightly. Forget trying to save him—they did not even dare move!

A horrifying gaze stared at the struggling Vegeta as though he were a dying insect. In the end, Frieza released his hand.

"A Super Saiyan? Ridiculous. I actually believed such an absurd legend. Get out!"

"Cough, cough!"

Vegeta collapsed onto the floor and coughed violently. Raditz and Nappa then took him outside, his eyes filled with rage.

Frieza had treated him like a dead dog. With Vegeta's pride, how could he possibly endure it? Yet he had no choice. Even if he could not endure it, he had to!

Frieza was too powerful—so powerful that it inspired despair. Before absolute strength, his pride was worthless!

Bang!

On the way out, Vegeta slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a deep dent. His breathing grew heavier as he gritted his teeth.

"Vegeta, are you alright?" Nappa asked uneasily. He feared Frieza, but he was equally afraid of Vegeta in this state.

Crack!

Vegeta crushed the scouter on his ear, then raised his hand and crushed the scouters of the other two as well. He immediately flew away. Nappa and Raditz exchanged a glance before following him. They knew why Vegeta had done it. Those scouters were also how Frieza monitored them.

Whenever this happened, it usually meant Vegeta had something to tell them that Frieza could not know about.

They landed in a wilderness on the planet. Vegeta had already destroyed everything around them, and had vented most of his anger.

"Ha... Hahaha!" Seeing Vegeta panting heavily and laughing wildly, the two froze. Raditz asked uncertainly, "Vegeta, are you... are you really alright?"

"Ginyu is dead. That guy killed him. Frieza is afraid—I could see it. He's terrified. He's terrified of the Super Saiyan! Hahaha!"

Vegeta laughed with a twisted expression. In that instant, his heart, which had nearly gone numb, was reignited. Frieza was simply too strong, so powerful that he had not even been given room to breathe.

Forget Frieza—he could not even defeat Frieza's two top henchmen or the Ginyu Force!

Now, Frieza's right-hand men and the Ginyu Force were dead. It was like the mountain pressing down on his head had suddenly become lighter. Though the heaviest weight had not been removed, at least he could finally see hope.

Sometimes, a single spark was enough to start a raging fire!

"Vegeta, can that guy really fight Frieza? Isn't... isn't that too risky?"

Bang!

Vegeta suddenly turned around, raised his hand, and slapped Raditz straight to the ground!

"Hmph!" He glared at Raditz with the disgusted look one would give trash. "If we weren't the last Saiyans left, garbage like you wouldn't even deserve to stay here."

"Hey, Vegeta, Raditz isn't wrong, is he? Frieza's strength is too terrifying. H-how could we possibly defeat him? And wasn't Planet Vegeta destroyed by a meteor? There's no need for us to resist Frieza, right?"

Nappa felt that Vegeta had gone a little too far. Besides, resisting Frieza was, in his view, no different from seeking death.

Vegeta's expression turned grim as he snorted. "Hmph! Nappa, Raditz, do you really think Planet Vegeta could have been destroyed by some mere 'meteor' impact? Use your pig brains. That was a planet inhabited by countless Saiyans!"

"Th-this..."

The two hesitated, then fell silent. Of course they did not believe such a thing either. What kind of meteor could directly destroy Planet Vegeta, where the average combat power numbered in the thousands and there were hundreds of warriors with combat power exceeding ten thousand?

In truth, they had both guessed that Frieza might have been responsible, but so what? Knowing would not help them. Frieza was the emperor of the universe!

Even Planet Vegeta at its peak had been unable to resist him, let alone the few of them. What could they possibly do?

Vegeta continued, "That guy killed Ginyu. I got a medicine from him that can instantly heal all injuries and restore stamina. You should understand what that means for us Saiyans, right?"

Nappa's expression changed as he said incredulously, "Does something like that really exist?"

"S-so that's it. That guy actually has something that good. No wonder he's so much stronger than us. Damn it!"

Raditz was deeply afraid of Vegeta, and the root cause was his status as a low-class warrior. Back on Planet Vegeta, they had been taught from childhood that low-class warriors could never surpass high-class warriors.

In fact, this was not unique to Planet Vegeta, but a common belief among most races throughout the universe—simple and brutal.

"..." Vegeta raised an eyebrow. He was still fairly rational and was not as optimistic as Nappa and Raditz. In his eyes, low-class warriors were nothing more than cannon fodder, and Nappa was not much better.

However, there was one point he agreed with. As the prince of the Saiyans, his talent was beyond question. If he could obtain the medicine in Li Ming's possession, he would definitely become a Super Saiyan!

At that point, why would he need to fear Frieza!?

Elsewhere, Frieza truly had no one useful left at hand, so he began planning to recruit subordinates. But such matters could not be rushed; after all, most opponents he had encountered in the past had been killed by him.

"Lord Frieza, that Saiyan's trail has disappeared. Our people have no way to get close to him. His last known trace was within North Galaxy."

"Hehehe!" Frieza laughed again, then coldly glanced back at the alien reporting to him. "Die."

Splat!

"Wha!?"

Before he could even react, a red beam pierced through his chest. He soon collapsed to the ground, completely dead.

"Spread the news. Whoever delivers that Saiyan's head to me can take three planets from my hands. I'll make sure that Saiyan has nowhere to hide in the entire universe!"

"Yes!"