The Journey Home

The moment Ji Ming stepped out from the deepest part of the Ancient Trial Grounds, he felt as though he was not treading on dark-gold stone bricks, but on time itself, silenced for billions of years. The blue flames along the passage walls did not go out one after another as he passed. Instead, they flared to their brightest and remained burning, as if seeing off the last person to leave the trial grounds. The Crimson-Gold Light Core had completely fused with every cell in his body. It was no longer an independent core floating deep within his sea of qi, but had become the underlying hue flowing through every muscle fiber. He could sense the structure of his bones, veins, and every tendon without needing to consciously direct his perception. His body itself knew where to yield force and where to exert it.

Everyone was outside the barrier. Piccolo and Nail maintained the final preset layer of the sealing array. Their antennae snapped taut the instant they sensed Ji Ming's entirely new godly ki, then gradually relaxed. Vegeta leaned against the stone wall beside the passage exit with his arms folded, a silver-blue glow flowing quietly across his body. He gave Ji Ming a nod—so slight it was almost imperceptible, but Ji Ming saw it. Krillin stood at the very front of the viewing area. When he saw Ji Ming emerge, he instinctively took a step forward, then stopped. He swallowed the question he had been holding in for a long time and merely asked, "You okay?" Ji Ming nodded and said he was fine. Krillin looked at him once more, then dropped back onto the stone platform, setting the bag of Senzu Beans in his arms aside.

Son Goku sat cross-legged on a pile of rubble at the back of the viewing area. He did not rise to greet Ji Ming. He merely looked up at him, then smiled. It was the exact same smile he wore before eating at Mount Paozu.

Ji Ming walked into the middle of the group. Bulma's communication avatar was flashing frantically on his wristband. He accepted the call, and Bulma's voice came crashing down on him. "What exactly did you do in there? Every energy barrier in the entire trial grounds lit up after you went in. The core seal in the underground layer vanished completely, and the ground-penetrating radar can see the structure at the very bottom now—do you know what's down there? Nothing. There's a huge spherical hollow beneath the whole trial grounds, and in the center of it is an energy array that's still operating. Its output is so high my detectors can't even measure an upper limit. Are you trying to dismantle the whole trial grounds? I suggest you don't. If that thing blows up, the entire abandoned quadrant is going down with it."

"I'm not dismantling it." Ji Ming waited until she had finished. "Quite the opposite—I'm going to activate the array core. The trial grounds were the final lock. Now that the lock has been opened, what was sealed inside should return to where it belongs."

There was silence on the other end for a while. When Bulma spoke again, her pace had finally slowed. "You mean the trial grounds themselves are a sealing array? And the five trials were five locks?"

"Not entirely a seal. The trial grounds' true purpose was inheritance. It was waiting for an heir capable of passing every trial, so it could hand over the ancient Saiyans' final legacy. I've already received that legacy. Now, I need to return the part of it that belongs to all Saiyans."

Vegeta straightened away from the wall. "You mean the godly bloodline?"

"Right. The ancient Saiyans' godly bloodline was sealed within the Light Core, but the Light Core was only a vessel. The true power of the bloodline belongs to all Saiyans, not just one person. The array core at the deepest point of the trial grounds exists to return that power—once it is activated, every living Saiyan will receive a bloodline resonance from antiquity. Not everyone will become a Super Saiyan God, but everyone will gain one chance to speak with their own origin again."

Vegeta fell silent for a moment, then said one thing. "Then what are we waiting for?"

Activating the reverse summoning array required the simultaneous injection of energy at three distinct frequencies—Saiyan battle ki, Namekian sealing-wave energy, and the pure spiritual energy of Earth's warriors. Those three energies happened to correspond to the primary challenges of three among the trial grounds' five trials: strength, spirit, and emotion. Ji Ming explained every step of the plan to the others, and everyone took their assigned positions.

Piccolo and Nail remained around the outer perimeter of the array core, using a reverse variation of an ancient Namekian sealing technique to stabilize its outer structure. Vegeta was responsible for using precise beams of Instinctive Destruction to open the connection nodes between the array core and the outer energy circuits. Ji Ming himself stood at the center of the array core, where the new godly ki formed from the Crimson-Gold Light Core burned around him as a stable crimson-gold curtain of light. Krillin pressed his hand against a spiritual-sensing node on the array core's perimeter—this step required no battle power, only a mind focused enough for the array core to recognize him as "someone qualified to connect." Krillin sat cross-legged before the node, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. Android 18's communication avatar glowed in the upper-right corner of his screen, its green online indicator blinking on and off. In a voice only he could hear, he muttered, "I can make you beef stew when I get back," then pressed his hand down.

Son Goku stood at the outermost layer of the array core. His task was not to inject energy, but to guide it. Once activated, the array core would resonate within an extremely short time with every remnant of ancient Saiyan blood scattered throughout the universe. Ji Ming, who had already fused with the Light Core, would have to bear the compounded impact of that resonance. Someone had to stand beside him and share the burden, and Son Goku—who alone could maintain a balance with his emotions in the complete form of Ultra Instinct—was the only one capable of synchronizing with Ji Ming on a spiritual level.

"Ready?" Ji Ming asked from the center of the array core.

"Been ready." Vegeta's silver-blue beam had already lit up the top row of connection nodes.

"The Namekian seal reversal array is in position." Piccolo pressed both hands against the outer ring of the array core, with Nail moving in sync beside him.

"Whatever—I'm not going to lose focus anyway." Krillin's eyes remained closed. His voice trembled slightly, but his hand was steady.

Son Goku gave no response. He simply extended one hand and placed it on the array core's spiritual contact point. Silver-white fluorescence spread along the array's etched lines, and almost simultaneously, the core beneath Ji Ming's feet erupted in a wave of multicolored ripples—strength, spirit, and emotion all poured in at once, activating every ring of inscriptions layer by layer.

In that instant, Ji Ming's consciousness was pulled into a boundless starry sky. Not the black void of the World of Void, but a true expanse of stars, with countless suns, planets, and nebulae revolving around him. He saw the remnants of ancient Saiyan bloodlines on every shining star—Saiyan descendants scattered throughout the universe. Some still retained Saiyan names and memories. Some had long forgotten who their ancestors were. Some did not even know they were Saiyans. They lived their own lives on their respective planets—some were arguing with neighbors and getting drenched with water, some were repairing old cargo ships, and some were teaching their children to throw the first straight punch of their lives. At the same moment, they all looked up at the same sky. They felt it—not heard, not seen, but a resonance rising directly from the depths of their marrow, crossing billions of years.

Ji Ming used his godly ki to drive the final stage of the array core, calling back every ancient Saiyan bloodline imprint scattered across the universe. Streaks of light flew in from every direction, crossing countless light-years to fall into the array core, then splitting apart and flowing toward every living Saiyan.

Vegeta felt the ki within him ignite without warning. His Deep Blue Form was forcibly activated by some external force, then extinguished in an instant. After several repetitions, the purity of the Deep Blue Form reached an unprecedented level—every thread of ki was precise down to the subatomic scale, and even his breathing drove the resonance frequency of the surrounding air. All the lingering scars within his body healed completely in an extremely short time.

"So this is the godly bloodline?" Vegeta looked down at his hands. The silver-blue glow had completely receded beneath his skin, yet he could still feel it there—not an extra form that required transformation to access, but a true power of origin that belonged to him, flowing through his body every second of every day.

Son Gohan stood in the plaza of Kami's Lookout, with Videl holding Pan behind him. He felt his Super Saiyan forms light up one level after another on their own, from Super Saiyan, to Super Saiyan 2, to full power, and then to his Potential Unleashed Form. The potential form that had originally required a long period of charging was fully unleashed in only a few breaths this time, and the purity of the white aura burning around him rose by more than a full level. A warm, ancient presence came from the depths of space. He heard no voice, yet his eyes inexplicably grew hot, as if someone had gently patted the top of his head.

In New Vegeta City, every Saiyan stopped what they were doing. The Saiyan soldiers training in the Gravity Chamber suddenly transformed as one, a legion of golden hair and golden flames standing in the same training ground and staring at one another. King Vegeta, who had been reviewing training reports in his office, set down his pen, rose, and walked to the window. He stared at the faint crimson-gold radiance rising along the distant horizon. He said nothing, but his fist slowly clenched against the windowsill until his knuckles turned white.

Universe 6, Earth. Caulifla and Kale were sitting on a patch of grass eating buns—frozen buns they had dug out of abandoned Frieza Force supplies. They did not taste great, but they were better than nothing. They felt the resonance coming from a far-off universe at the same instant. The bun Caulifla had bitten halfway through stopped in midair before falling to the ground. She looked down at the crimson aura that had begun burning around her body on its own, opened her mouth, and her first reaction was—"What did that Ji Ming do this time? Is he making some huge mess behind everyone's backs again?!" Kale quietly picked up the fallen bun and wrapped it back up, then softly said, "It seems like a good thing."

The final light of the array core slowly faded. Ji Ming's consciousness fell back into his body, and he found himself still standing in the center of the trial grounds. The Crimson-Gold Light Core had fully stabilized. His hair had faded from crimson back to black, and his godly ki flowed evenly around him in calm currents. Krillin rolled off the spiritual node, drenched in sweat, but his eyes shone far too brightly for someone who had just exhausted his mental energy. Vegeta released the node with his fingers, looked down at them once, then slipped his hands back into his pockets. Piccolo and Nail rose from either side of the sealing array, their antennae trembling slightly as they sensed Saiyan bloodlines throughout the universe returning to their rightful places through the resonance.

Son Goku withdrew his hand from the spiritual contact point and walked over to Ji Ming. "All done?"

"All done."

"Good." Son Goku scratched his head and turned toward the passage exit. "Let's go eat. Your mom said she's making hot pot today."

Ji Ming smiled. The passage slowly closed behind him, and the final strand of blue flame went out with it. He folded that weighty final message into his heart, then followed everyone else out of the trial grounds.

When Bulma's fleet lifted off from the abandoned quadrant, Ji Ming stood before the flagship's porthole and took one final look at the brown planet. It was no longer an abandoned ruin, but a new starting point for the Saiyans. The Crimson-Gold Light Core had fused with every cell in his body, and he could feel it still burning unhurriedly, like a miniature star that would never go out.

Son Gohan sent back the latest report from Earth: the final stronghold of Babidi's remaining forces had been sealed off by Tien Shinhan's Neo Tri-Beam, while Chiaotzu had marked every hidden sentry with his psychic powers. After the bloodline resonance, more than a dozen warriors in New Vegeta City had successfully awakened Super Saiyan forms. At Kami's Lookout, Dende was giving Chi-Chi her monthly physical examination using the latest healing-technique formulas he had developed. Chi-Chi said it was unnecessary. Dende said it was necessary. The two argued without end.

Beerus sent a message through Whis, saying that next time he came to Earth, he wanted to eat Chi-Chi's charcoal-grilled steak. Zeno sent one too, saying he had a very fun dream in which every universe was eating hot pot, then woke up to find himself drooling.

Ji Ming leaned against the porthole with the complete translation manuscript of the True Origin Scroll open halfway across his knees. Vegeta sat opposite him, polishing the old armor plate he had just removed from his right shoulder with a cloth. Son Goku squatted nearby, studying the instruction manual as he repaired a Action Kamen model. He had already taken it apart three or four times, and every time he put it back together, there were several extra screws left over.

Piccolo leaned against the cabin wall with his eyes closed, resting, while Nail's snoring was soft and even. Krillin spilled every last word of his conversation with the trial participant from the third trial, only to hear Android 18 calmly say over the channel, "No wonder you came back so late." Krillin hurriedly explained that he had not meant to hide it from her. Android 18 only said, "I know."

The fleet accelerated into the wormhole. Ahead, the Milky Way's spiral arms slowly unfurled beyond the porthole, with Earth hidden in one corner like a tiny blue diamond casually set deep in the universe. The smoke from Mount Paozu's cooking fires would rise on time that night. Chi-Chi had probably already chopped the scallions and ginger and was adding the last round of water to the pot. Outside, the shallow crater among the pines that had been blasted out when he first awakened his Super Saiyan form was still there, long since filled in by wild grass. Every spring, it sprouted fresh green before anywhere else.

This new Saiyan tale, which would be written forever, had turned past its heaviest and most resounding chapter. And in the blank space of the next page, one could already hear someone's chopsticks lightly resting against the rim of a bowl.