Ji Ming stood firm on the circular platform in the Old God Ruins, the Crimson-Gold Light Core trembling faintly within him. Zhaermu stood not far across from him, his tall, lean figure outlined vaguely by the dark red starlight deep within the ruins. Son Goku and Vegeta each occupied one side of the platform, while Piccolo and Nail landed on sensing nodes behind them. Whis stood at the platform's edge with his staff in hand. The crystal ball atop it had lit up on its own, recording every energy fluctuation within the ruins at extremely low power.
"Before I take you to the dimensional rift," Zhaermu said, shaking the scorched cloak from his shoulders, his tone as casual as if he were commenting on the weather, "let me see what level you're at now. Don't hold back. These ruins have been dead for hundreds of millions of years. They can survive being shattered one more time."
Ji Ming said nothing more. The silver-white flames of Ultra Instinct ignited across his body—not erupting explosively, but spreading with absolute quiet, every wisp flowing steadily against his skin. He stepped forward, and the stone slab beneath his foot silently cracked in a fine web of lines—not because his power had crushed it, but because the slab itself had sensed the infusion of godly ki and was actively adjusting its load-bearing surface for him.
Son Goku reacted almost simultaneously. The silver flames of Ultra Instinct rose around him somewhat differently from Ji Ming's—more uninhibited, with tiny motes of light constantly spilling from their edges. Yet every particle automatically curved back when it traveled half an inch from his body, forming a perfect closed loop. The two exchanged a glance without signaling any tactics. In the next instant, they vanished from where they stood at