First Enlightenment of Energy

Chen Hao closed his eyes. The energy inside him flowed like a river, warm and soothing.

He could still feel it surging through his meridians, rushing out from his dantian and flooding into his limbs and the rest of his body.

His blood vessels and muscles welcomed this power, trembling slightly.

He raised a hand and spread his fingers.

A ball of golden energy emerged in his palm, but it went out as soon as it gathered.

He tried again. This time, it was much steadier, like he was holding a tiny flame in his hand.

He opened his eyes, a smile rising uncontrollably at the corners of his mouth.

The movement had come too smoothly, as though his body had known how to do it all along. He did not need to think about it.

His heart continued beating at its usual steady rhythm.

He took a deep breath and exhaled a plume of white mist into the cold air.

"Since I've already transmigrated, forget all that miserable crap from my past life. Wipe it clean."

Chen Hao looked into the distance.

The sky was a deep blue, clouds torn apart by the wind. Sunlight slipped through the gaps, casting the mountain ranges into sharp relief.

Peak after peak stretched onward, their backs cloaked in dark green forests and bare stone.

"What point in time is this, exactly..." he muttered, clenching and loosening his fists as his joints cracked. "With Super Saiyan 4, at least I don't have to worry about safety."

Just as he was about to think further, that cold electronic voice suddenly exploded in his mind again.

"Would the host like to perform the first-day check-in?"

Chen Hao froze for a moment, then quickly nodded. "Check in."

"Congratulations, host, on completing the first-day check-in. You have received: unrestricted Instant Transmission, tenfold training speed."

Instant Transmission. Tenfold training speed.

His eyes immediately lit up. Instant Transmission was an ultimate technique for escaping and fighting, but what truly excited him was the tenfold training speed.

Super Saiyan 4 was only the beginning. A tenfold boost was his ticket to even higher realms. He closed his eyes and sensed two additional icons in his status panel, one of them still gleaming with golden light.

"With this, Super Saiyan 4 is nothing special." Chen Hao grinned until his eyes narrowed. "Frieza, Cell, Buu—bring them on, one at a time."

He withdrew his gaze and looked toward the forest at the foot of the mountain.

The treetops rose and fell like green waves in the wind. Sunlight gilded the mountaintops, while flashes of lightning occasionally flickered through the clouds. Golden light flowed in his eyes as well—the mark left behind by the energy inside his body.

Chen Hao stomped down with his right foot. The rock immediately split apart, sending shattered stones flying.

"Dragon Ball World, here I come."

He strode into the mountain forest, the wind howling behind him and kicking up dust and dead leaves.

After only a few steps, he stopped and closed his eyes again. His consciousness spread outward like ripples across water—by now, sensing ki had long become instinctive to him. The air carried the scent of sea salt and damp earth, mixed with scattered energy fluctuations from afar. Several faint human presences lay in the direction of North America, like candles about to go out; the mass of energy in West City was especially powerful, as if it were burning; and farther away—

Chen Hao's eyes snapped open, his pupils contracting.

"Four ki signatures. Three strong, one weak. That weak one... is fighting. No, it's being beaten senseless."

He straightened, clenching both fists as he carefully distinguished them. Of the three powerful ki signatures, one was vicious and arrogant, like the growl of a wild beast; another was sharp yet restrained, like a blade concealing poison; the third was so weak it was nearly fading. The weak ki being overwhelmed was the most miserable of the four.

"The time period... before the Cell Games? Cell, Vegeta, Trunks, and... Android 18?"

He did not hesitate. Golden light flashed, and Instant Transmission activated. His entire body vanished from where he stood, leaving behind only an afterimage and disturbed air.

The next second, he was already in the air south of Turtle Hermit Island.

Below him stretched a deep blue sea, waves crashing against the reefs. His golden battle suit snapped loudly in the wind.

He looked down.

The ground was covered in charred craters and rubble. Dust filled the air, along with the stench of blood and gunpowder. Cell stood at the center, his green carapace reflecting an eerie light, his muscles bulging, his tail raised high. The tip trembled as it aimed in a certain direction. On a massive rock not far away, Vegeta stood with his arms folded, an arrogant smile on his lips as his blue combat suit fluttered in the wind. Trunks stood on the other side, his face filled with anxiety, veins bulging on his forehead. His right hand was clenched tight, yet he did not dare rush forward.

Farther away, half of Android 16's head had been broken open, exposed wires sparking wildly. He did not move at all. Krillin lay at Cell's feet, his face bruised black and blue, his breathing weak.

Cell's tail stinger was aimed at Android 18.

She stood amid the ruins, her short blond hair covered in dust. Her purple leather outfit was torn in several places, and blood stained her skin. Her fists were clenched, and though her body was visibly trembling, her eyes remained bright as she stared fixedly at Cell's tail stinger, her lips pressed into a thin line.