Mount Paozu was truly quiet for a while after the Void Scar completely dissipated. Chi-Chi turned over the soil in the radish patch again, fertilized it, and planted cabbage seeds for the winter. The Gravity Chamber schedule returned to its normal rhythm—Vegeta at five in the morning, Ji Ming at seven, Son Goku at nine; in the afternoon, Son Gohan and Piccolo alternated training sessions, while Saiyan recruits occasionally dropped by for a practical combat class in the evening. The expansion of New Vegeta City progressed steadily under Bulma's coordination. The first crop of radishes in the resettlement district for the old god's descendants was ready for harvest. The general textbook on Planet Namek sealing techniques, co-written by Dende and Nail, had completed its first-round proofreading. Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu had taken in their fourth batch of disciples at their small dojo deep in the mountains. Krillin and Android 18 planned to take Marron to Universe 6—supposedly at Caulifla's emphatic request. She said she wanted to see how high a half-Earthling, half-Saiyan child could jump in Universe 6's gravity.
Everything was on track. But Ji Ming knew this peace would not last forever. Not because some new threat was brewing—the Grand Priest had personally confirmed that, after all the God-Imperial remains had been purified, the lingering fluctuations of the Void Scar had vanished completely, and the multiverse's stability index had reached its highest recorded level—but because the word "breakthrough" was carved into Saiyan blood from birth.
Inside the Gravity Chamber, Ji Ming sat cross-legged at the center as the Crimson-Gold Light Core within him slowly flickered. The silver-white aura of Ultra Instinct did not ignite. He merely let the two powers circulate separately in the depths of his energy sea, observing their natural state without the pressure of combat. Ever