The Trial of God

Qi Heng's pupils suddenly contracted.

In that instant, his beastly instincts saved him—he sharply twisted aside, and the skin of his neck could even feel the bone-deep chill of Beerus's fingertips brushing past.

But in that razor-thin moment between life and death, Beerus's hand suddenly changed.

What had been an eagle-claw strike abruptly opened its five fingers. The grab became a brush, lightly yet incomparably firmly pressing against Qi Heng's wrist, exposed as he dodged.

That hand was icy cold, heavy as the stars in the sky.

Bang! A muffled sound, not loud, yet enough to make one's heart tighten.

Beerus's movement barely showed any exertion; he merely shifted his wrist slightly.

Qi Heng suddenly felt an irresistible force surge from his wrist—not a simple pull, but as though the entire space had been dragged along by that hand! The momentum he had been building, every posture he had prepared, all collapsed in that instant. His body instantly spun out of control, pitching forward and downward, completely exposed.

Beerus's movements flowed to perfection, leaving almost no opening.

The instant Qi Heng lost his balance and lurched forward, Beerus's right knee was already waiting there. Like a purple battering ram, it drove solidly upward into Qi Heng's unguarded abdomen.

Pfft—!

That sound was not merely blood being spat out. It was more like all the air and shattered organs inside him had been violently squeezed out at once.

Qi Heng's eyes bulged abruptly, bloodshot veins spreading through them as his golden pupils instantly went unfocused.

The wild expression on his face froze, leaving behind only pain in its purest, most extreme form.

His body arched violently like a shrimp stripped of all its bones, every muscle convulsing. Agonizing pain slithered from his abdomen to his limbs like countless venomous snakes, numbing even his fingertips.

Before his eyes, crimson and darkness churned in turns. His ears were filled with the roar of his heartbeat and rushing blood.

Beerus gave him no chance to catch his breath.

The hand still resting on Qi Heng's wrist suddenly tightened, purple divine light flashing.

"Up." Beerus spoke only one word.

The next second, Qi Heng's body, already unable to resist, was flung up like a rag doll. It traced a pathetic arc through the air and shot dozens of meters into the sky.

Blood sprayed beneath the sunlight, streaking into a bleakly beautiful curve.

Qi Heng's body was still spinning through the air. He tried to gather his strength again, but the excruciating pain and loss of control turned every effort into nothing.

Beerus had already vanished from where he stood.

It was not that he was too fast. Rather—like a ghost, he had directly "appeared" high above Qi Heng's head.

Still wearing that indifferent expression, he looked down at Qi Heng, who was still rising. His right leg lifted naturally with gravity, then suddenly chopped down!

The movement was simple, without a trace of unnecessary flourish.

Yet that leg was instantly wrapped in intense purple divine light. The radiance stretched out, as though it had become a massive axe burning with purple flames, the space around its edge trembling faintly.

Time seemed to stretch and freeze.

The next moment, the giant axe came down.

With a god's indifference and absolute power, it mercilessly cleaved into Qi Heng's completely unguarded chest.

BOOM—!!!!

An unprecedented roar swallowed everything.

The earth seemed about to collapse.

Qi Heng's body became a blazing streak of light, crashing irrepressibly toward the vast indigo ground below.

At the instant of impact, time seemed to pause.

Then, the earth let out a heart-rending wail.

Centered on the impact point, the ground shattered and collapsed like glass.

Dirt and rocks were hurled into the air by the immense force, and in an instant, a massive crater over three hundred meters in diameter appeared.

Countless bottomless cracks spread madly from the center of the crater like black lightning.

Rubble, clods of earth, even strange crystals torn out by the roots, were pulverized by the shockwave and swept into the sky, becoming a ring of dust that slowly spread outward.

At the deepest point of the crater, Qi Heng lay on his back at its center.

Every bone in his body felt as though it had come apart, every inch of him aching.

His internal organs felt as though they had been mangled. Sweetness rose in his throat, and blood slowly flowed from between his teeth, down his chin, and dripped into the dust.

Super Saiyan 4's crimson aura had now dimmed to the point of nearly extinguishing, like the last candle flame in the wind. It flickered around him, brightening and fading as though it could go out at any moment.

He could clearly feel that his vast, ocean-like power was draining away at an unprecedented speed.

The berserk power brought by the Super Saiyan 4 form had instead become a furnace that was draining his life away.

Especially against an existence like Beerus, every head-on clash and every limit-breaking dodge consumed his very essence.

Dust was still drifting down. Beerus silently hovered above the massive crater, his back turned toward the sky, which had darkened at some unknown point.

His arms were folded across his chest, his purple skin gleaming coldly in the dim light, his slender tail slowly swaying.

He looked down at that small figure who still refused to yield. There was little expression on his catlike face, only a hint of disappointment woven undisguisedly into his calm words. "Get up."

The voice wasn't loud, yet it pierced straight through the wind and lingering echoes, striking Qi Heng's heart. "Is that all you've got? Then this wager is truly pointless. Boring."

"Hah... hah..."

Qi Heng still lay at the bottom of the cold crater, breathing heavily like a broken bellows. Every breath tugged at the wounds across his body.

Dust settled on his bloodied face, mixing with sweat into muddy streaks.

Wave after wave of extreme exhaustion battered his will, nearly making him close his eyes and give up.

But he hadn't lost yet.

Deep within those nearly extinguished eyes, something tougher and fiercer began to burn.

Qi Heng suddenly shut his eyes, refusing to look at the hopeless rim of the crater or the God of Destruction standing high above him.

He cast aside every stray thought and focused all his attention inward, upon the remnants of his still-boiling Saiyan bloodline.

He took a deep breath, as if drawing the thin air, the smoke, and his refusal to admit defeat into his lungs to turn them into fuel.

"Ugh..."

A low groan squeezed from his throat.

He moved.

First, his fingers twitched slightly, digging into the rubble.

Then his arms began to strain, his elbows bending as he slowly pushed up his heavy upper body.

With every inch he rose, his muscles trembled and his bones creaked.

Broken stones rolled off his bloodstained back.

At last, through sheer astonishing willpower, he shakily stood again.

His body was still trembling, and his legs felt ready to snap at any moment, but he had truly remained standing—like a javelin driven into the ruins, straightening once more amid the wasteland he had carved out.

"Oh?" Beerus raised an eyebrow, his tail swishing a little faster as though he had finally become somewhat interested.

"Still want to continue? You stubborn fool."

Qi Heng did not answer right away.

He merely stood there with his head lowered, his bloodied black hair concealing most of his face.

His arms hung naturally at his sides, blood still dripping from his fingertips onto the rubble beneath his feet with soft, faint taps.