Purple Sun

The silver-white aura around him flickered violently like a candle flame in a storm, brightening and dimming erratically.

Every time it was about to go out, it stubbornly reignited.

His breathing had long since fallen out of rhythm, rapid and heavy. Every inhalation seemed to drag the scorching energy around him into his lungs, while every exhalation spewed a searing current laced with electric light.

His chest heaved violently, like a bellows.

The power of Super Saiyan 5 within him, enough to shake the universe, was like an enraged silver dragon wrapped in lightning, madly battering against the gates of power.

This power brought an unparalleled burst of strength, but it also burned through his life force and stamina at a terrifying rate.

The instant sweat emerged, it evaporated into white mist from the heat.

Beerus, by contrast, had merely swayed slightly after the clash. His feet had not shifted even an inch.

But his expression was now entirely different from the lazy, mocking look he had worn before.

Every trace of languor and sarcasm on that feline face had been replaced by a pure, frenzied excitement.

His signature purple slit pupils burned with fighting spirit, contracted to pinpoints as they remained fixed on Qi Heng.

His lips split apart to reveal sharp fangs. That warped, blazing smile resembled an ancient beast that had slept through countless eras finally awakening, hungrily locking onto prey worthy of being torn apart.

"Ha... hahahaha—!!!" Beerus opened his mouth. Though sound could not travel through the vacuum, that "laughter," brimming with wild delight and the will to destroy, passed through the fluctuations of his energy like the sharpest mental assault and branded itself directly into the deepest recesses of every observer's mind.

That laughter was crazed and unrestrained, carrying a pure delight that made one's skin crawl.

"Five thousand years! A full five thousand years!" Beerus's mental waves rumbled through the void, every "syllable" making space tremble. "No opponent has ever made me feel this good!" Before he had even finished speaking, the purple aura around him underwent a drastic change! It no longer flowed steadily, but erupted from every pore and beneath every inch of skin like a volcano of destruction that had been suppressed for ten thousand years.

A pillar of purple light shot into the sky, expanding several times over in an instant and swallowing his entire body.

The light was deep and viscous, filled with ominousness and finality. Its brightness climbed geometrically, becoming so intense that no one could look directly at it.

In only a few seconds, a purple sun made entirely of condensed "destruction" seemed to rise where Beerus stood. Its merciless radiance illuminated the shattered starfield, and everywhere it reached, even space let out a sizzling sound as it was scorched and corroded.

Qi Heng's pupils abruptly contracted. An unprecedented gravity suddenly crept into the battle-hungry eyes beneath his silver-white brows.

He could clearly sense that the level of energy within that "purple sun" was breaking through yet another terrifying threshold.

Beerus's power was still skyrocketing—its expansion was simply tyrannical and unreasonable, as though it had no end.

That monster's earlier assault, powerful enough to tear apart a galaxy, had actually not been his full strength.

A storm of energy roared through the void, and every breath made the entire space tremble along with it.

"Th-this... is he even human?" Champa muttered, his mouth hanging wide enough to fit an egg, his jaw nearly hitting the floor.

His legs began to tremble involuntarily. It was not fear—as a God of Destruction, he had long forgotten what fear even was—but the oppressive force of energy spreading from the center of the battlefield washed over his divine body like a tangible tide, making even the God of Destruction of Universe 6 instinctively uncomfortable and repulsed.

He unconsciously clenched his short, chubby fists until his knuckles turned white.

Whis stood quietly beside Champa, his silver hair utterly unmoved amid the turbulent currents of energy.

At the tip of the angelic staff in his hand, the crystal ball emitted a gentle, steady glow. The light extended outward, maintaining an enormous translucent energy barrier that enveloped the entire observation area.

Outside the barrier was a raging tide of destruction; within it was an eerie calm.

Whis still wore his usual calm expression, with even a faint smile at the corners of his mouth. Yet his always half-lidded eyes had now opened fully. Distant bursts of energy reflected in the depths of his blue pupils, and he looked far more serious than usual.

"Lord Beerus is very excited," Whis said softly. His voice was quiet, yet it clearly pierced through the thunderous roar beyond the barrier. "It has been a very long time since I last saw him like this. The last time... was probably several centuries ago, when he had a 'friendly spar' with Belmod, the God of Destruction of Universe 11." His tone was casual, as though he were discussing the weather, but the words "friendly spar" carried a hint of amusement.

"And what was the outcome of that battle?" Vados tilted her head slightly, her pale purple eyes turning toward Whis. The divine staff in her hand also radiated the glow that stabilized the barrier.

Whis smiled, gentle yet distant. He did not answer, merely turning his gaze back toward the battlefield.

Vados did not press him.

She knew her younger brother too well. For certain answers, silence was enough.

Her gaze passed through the barrier and locked tightly onto the silver-white figure flashing through the purple energy of destruction in the distance.

Qi Heng's hair stood upright like burning silver flames, dense silver lightning coiling around his body. Every movement left behind a dazzling trail of light, forming a stark and brutal contrast against Beerus's deep, violent purple energy.

An exceedingly complex emotion flickered through Vados's eyes—surprise, scrutiny, and perhaps even a trace of admiration for "possibility."

"Qi Heng's Super Saiyan 5 form has indeed far exceeded my initial expectations," Vados said, her voice calm as still water, though every word carried weight. "The energy level displayed by this form is pure and vast, already approaching—or even surpassing—the average level of ordinary Gods of Destruction. In just twenty years, he has gone from a mortal to this point... Such speed and extent of improvement would be enough to make any genius in any universe feel ashamed, perhaps even despairing."

"But he is still no match for Lord Beerus," Whis promptly added, his tone firm and without the slightest hesitation.

Vados fell silent for a moment. Her long lashes lowered slightly before she gave a gentle nod.

She could not refute him, because it was the truth.

Though Qi Heng's performance was astonishing, and every eruption of Super Saiyan 5 made the laws of the universe faintly wail—enough to make countless stars tremble and go dark—the initiative on the battlefield remained firmly in Beerus's hands.

That purple figure was like a bottomless abyss that devoured all things, yet also like an insurmountable peak.

No matter how Qi Heng squeezed his potential dry or unleashed attacks dazzling enough to rewrite one's understanding of power, they were like stones cast into the deep sea. They raised only a few ripples, never coming close to Beerus's unfathomable limits.

Beerus even maintained the ease of a cat toying with a mouse, continuously probing and forcing his opponent toward his limits amid his dance of destruction.

Just as the suffocating pressure of the battle had enveloped the observers, an unfamiliar aura of a God of Destruction, carrying distinct characteristics, abruptly tore through the stable space at the edge of the observation area and descended without warning.

Whis seemed to have noticed it long ago. He raised an eyebrow slightly, and a more pronounced, meaningful smile appeared on his calm face.

"Oh my?" he uttered lightly. "It seems an unexpected guest has arrived."