The Threshold of the Divine Realm

Broly slowly lowered his right arm.

Then he raised his head, his gaze piercing through the swirling dust as he locked onto Beerus.

The corners of his mouth slowly lifted into a faint smile. It was slight, yet sharp as a blade.

"So this is the power of a God of Destruction?" His voice was so soft it was nearly inaudible, carrying a trace of hoarseness, yet every word smashed through the silence like a heavy hammer, making even the air tremble.

His tone was calm, but every syllable carried the lingering echoes of unspent energy, exploding beside Beerus's ears like invisible ripples.

In the distance, the already crumbling rock spires collapsed outright at those words. The thunderous rumble of falling boulders seemed to stamp them with immense weight.

Beerus's eyes narrowed into two dangerous slits.

He had seen it clearly—this guy had not "caught" the Destruction Sphere. Instead, by the most direct and brutal means, he had used the violently overwhelming torrent of energy within his body to grind down, counteract, and ultimately annihilate the God of Destruction's power inch by inch.

The light spilling from between Broly's fingers was not residual destruction energy, but debris left behind after two supreme powers had torn at each other.

That meant that, during those three seconds, the energy erupting from this untamed Saiyan had already touched the threshold of "godhood."

"Interesting..." Beerus murmured, his voice suppressing an excited tremor. "Very interesting."

The trace of laziness and impatience on his face vanished, replaced by the burning gleam of a hunter encountering rare prey.

His catlike pupils contracted into narrow vertical slits beneath the dim crimson sky, while a faint purple mist gradually seeped from around him—the power of the God of Destruction had begun to leak out unconsciously.

The ground beneath his feet silently turned into purple-black crystal, only to crumble into fine dust the next second.

"Whis, did you feel that?" Beerus asked in a low, dangerous voice.

"Of course, Lord Beerus." Whis lightly tapped the ground with his staff, and a rainbow-colored halo rippled outward from him. Wherever it passed, the shattered rock layers actually began slowly repairing themselves.

"Mr. Broly's control over energy has already surpassed 'instinct' and entered the realm of 'will.' His rate of growth truly is astonishing."

"No, that's not what I mean." Beerus shook his head. With every step he took, a burning purple footprint was left upon the crystalline ground beneath him.

His gaze remained fixed on Broly, as though he wished to see through that battered body and stare directly into the deepest part of his soul.

"I mean—this guy's breathing rhythm didn't even change just now."

Whis raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Like an iceberg," Whis said softly, his smile deepening. "What we can see is only the tip above the water."

"Broly, right?" Beerus stopped less than ten paces away from Broly.

To beings like them, that distance was practically point-blank.

He tilted his head, his neck giving a soft crack, while the smile on his face stretched into something savage. "I've changed my mind. This isn't a matter of whether you qualify or not—"

He slowly raised his right hand, spreading his fingers with his palm facing upward.

The dark red clouds across the sky began rotating around his hand, forming an enormous vortex that covered half the planet.

At its center, destruction energy ten times more intense than before gathered, condensing into floating purple stars.

"You have to participate in the Tournament of Power." Beerus's eyes shone frighteningly beneath the energy's glow. "No, I should say..."

He suddenly clenched his fist! All the purple stars exploded at once, transforming into countless streams of light that surged into his body.

A pillar of light erupted around Beerus, tearing a massive hole through Vampa's atmosphere. The deep starry sky glittered coldly within the breach.

"Let me see—" Within the pillar of light, Beerus's figure began to expand and warp, purple divine flames blazing behind him like a cape.

"Just how strong you can become!"

Broly drew in a deep breath.

It was an incredibly deep inhale. His chest expanded like a bellows, and the surrounding air formed visible vortices as it rushed into his nose and mouth.

His charred right hand clenched into a fist. His wounds split open, and the dark golden blood had yet to fall before the aura rising from his body vaporized it into a bloody mist.

Then came a second breath.

Each segment of his spine cracked explosively, while the muscles on either side of his shoulder blades writhed violently, as though something was about to burst through his flesh.

Pale green aura erupted from his pores, turning from insubstantial to solid, from faint to dense, until it became an emerald pillar of light soaring into the heavens, standing evenly against Beerus's purple divine flames.

Within the pillar, every strand of Broly's hair stood on end. Streaks of golden light emerged across his black hair, while a ferocious ancient-beast green gleamed in the depths of his pupils.

The rock beneath his feet collapsed and melted over vast stretches, becoming a rolling lake of lava. Yet he floated above it, lightning arcing around his body and instantly vaporizing the falling debris.

The true test—was only just beginning.