Confrontation

Qi Heng heard the commotion and slowly raised his head.

His gaze passed over Bulla's shoulder and landed on the massive alloy gates of Capsule Corporation.

A man stood at the entrance.

He was not particularly tall, but his build was compact and solid, every muscle seeming forged from iron, as though a single burst of power could overturn the entire training ground.

His hair was black and stiff, each strand standing upright, carrying the same unyielding spirit as the rest of him.

He stood with his arms folded across his chest, his face filled with wariness and composure.

The setting sun fell behind him, outlining his figure in a hard, dark-gold silhouette.

His face was obscured by the backlight, leaving only his tense jaw and the eyes fixed on Qi Heng visible—sharp and cold, as if they could drip with frost at any moment.

His aura was not particularly overwhelming, yet the moment he stood there, the air grew heavy.

The killing intent and pride he carried from clawing his way back from death were more oppressive than a gravity training chamber.

And his instinctive protectiveness toward his daughter, along with his vigilance toward Qi Heng, this stranger, was written all over his face.

Vegeta.

He did not say a word, but the pressure of "try anything and you're finished" was enough to send chills down one's spine even from ten meters away.

The Saiyan prince, Bulla's father.

Vegeta stood at the entrance to the training ground like an insurmountable wall.

The sunset stretched his shadow long across the ground, leaving a swath of darkness.

He had just finished gravity training. His combat suit was still stained with sweat and marked by tears, and heat still rose from his body.

His gaze was like two icy blades, slowly sweeping back and forth between Qi Heng and Bulla.

The air seemed to freeze, even the dust drifting through the yard suspended motionless.

The once-warm afternoon suddenly held nothing but a chill that ran down the spine.

"Dad!" Bulla was instantly cowed by the atmosphere. Her feet unconsciously shifted half a step forward, and a hint of panic hid in her voice.

She hurriedly tried to explain, speaking faster. "He's my friend. Just now, he only—"

"Friend?" Vegeta's voice was cold as ice chips, every word crisp, scraping like a blade against metal. "Since when... did you get to know a Saiyan?"

His gaze locked onto the brown tail slowly swaying behind Qi Heng.

Vegeta's pupils abruptly shrank to pinpoints, and the veins at his temple throbbed.

That tail was like a thorn, instantly piercing the most sensitive place in his heart.

"Your tail..." He stepped forward, his boot grinding over gravel with a crunch.

His voice lowered, becoming even more oppressive, like the stillness before a storm. "You're a pure-blooded Saiyan?"

Qi Heng remained still, his eyes not avoiding Vegeta's in the slightest.

A breeze brushed through his bangs. Facing Vegeta's almost tangible stare, he calmly answered with a single word. "Yes."

That "yes" was like a spark falling into hot oil.

The lines of Vegeta's face instantly tightened, his whole body like dark clouds before a torrential downpour.

Without another word, he took three large strides forward, moving like lightning. He seized Bulla and yanked her behind him, with enough force to make one wonder whether her wrist would hurt.

Then he stepped forward and completely shielded his daughter.

His feet spread slightly apart in a standard fighting stance.

Those frost-filled eyes locked onto Qi Heng, as though they meant to bore straight through him.

"The only pure-blooded Saiyans left in this universe," Vegeta said word by word, his voice forced through clenched teeth, "are Kakarot and me. You—where did you come from?"

Qi Heng's brow twitched, as though he were slightly impatient with Vegeta's interrogation.

His voice remained calm. "That isn't important."

"Not important?" Vegeta pulled his lips into a cold smile devoid of any warmth. It was not a smile at all, but a beast baring its fangs.

His anger ignited at once. His aura began to fluctuate, and even the gravel beneath his feet trembled.

"An unknown Saiyan," his voice rose, clanging through the air like metal striking metal, "suddenly appears on Earth and dares to approach my daughter... and you dare say that isn't important?!"

Faced with this nearly explosive rage, Qi Heng merely shook his head slightly, seemingly wanting to end this tedious confrontation. "I have no interest in your daughter. I came here to find Son Goku."

"Kakarot?" Vegeta gave a disdainful, irritated sneer. "He isn't on Earth. And—"

Before he could finish, everything changed in an instant!

With almost no warning, Vegeta vanished from where he stood, leaving behind only a ring of pressure and a soft boom from the ground.

The next second, he appeared like a ghost less than a meter in front of Qi Heng's side!

His right fist clenched tight, knuckles pale, arm muscles bulging. His fist was wrapped in golden energy, with no flashy tricks whatsoever as it blasted straight toward Qi Heng's face!

The punch was fast, brutal, and precise, carrying the ferocity of the Saiyan prince, as if he wanted to smash every question and every danger to pieces in a single blow.

At the moment the air was torn apart by the force of the punch and the explosive crack pierced the sky, an ordinary person would likely see only a flash of gold before having no time to react at all.

The shockwave from his fist spread like ripples across water. The ground cracked with sharp snaps, sending rubble and dust flying into the air, turning the sunset into a murky yellow haze.

But in Qi Heng's golden eyes—

Too slow.

As slow as autumn leaves falling to the ground, every inch of its trajectory perfectly clear.

The instant the fist was about to strike his nose, Qi Heng merely tilted his head slightly, the movement so small it was almost elegant.

Vegeta's fist swept past his ear, stirring only a few strands of hair without even touching him.

The punch missed, and the force of it slammed into the ground.

"Boom—!"

The ground jolted violently.

A trench several meters long and half a meter deep split open in an instant. Concrete shattered like brittle crackers, pipes ruptured, and muddy water sprayed into the sky, scattering glittering droplets beneath the setting sun.

Before the dust had even settled, a sharp glint flashed through Vegeta's eyes, and his pupils contracted again.

"Not bad reflexes." He snorted coldly. There was a trace of surprise in his eyes, but his body had already fallen into the rhythm of battle.

Before his words had even faded, his left knee rose like a hammer, piercing through the smoke with an explosive burst of air as it drove viciously toward Qi Heng's abdomen.