What's Their Background?

He glanced at Hit, then looked toward Chen Feng and found that Chen Feng still wore the same calm expression.

His gaze finally settled on where Hit stood—half a step behind Chen Feng, positioned as though Chen Feng were the center of everything. He looked like a guard, yet not quite a guard.

That small detail stirred something within Champa.

Who was Hit? Of course Champa knew something about him—he was one of the universe's top assassins, a name even Gods of Destruction had heard of.

He kept a low profile, his strength unfathomable, and he belonged to no faction at all.

Why would someone like that appear beside the king of a Saiyan planet? And with such a strange attitude... Interesting.

Just who was Chen Feng, this self-proclaimed King of the Saiyans?

Champa's thoughts raced. Before the doubts in his heart could settle, Chen Feng had already spoken.

Chen Feng stepped forward by half a pace, stopping at the very front of the platform.

The great hall lay behind him and the square before him, all of it falling into his sight at once.

His voice remained steady, yet it carried an invisible pressure that suppressed the agitation in the air and even the divine might itself. "Lord Champa has come a long way. Though Planet Sadala is not particularly wealthy, we have prepared some tea. Why not come inside and sit for a while, rest a bit, and then discuss the tournament?"

His words were polite, but everyone could hear it—this was not obedience. It was a negotiation.

Champa's brows immediately knitted together, fury surging in his chest.

A mortal king from the lower realm actually dared to evade a God of Destruction's demands, and even put on airs as though they were equals?

Purple-black destruction energy began to churn around him, on the verge of erupting.

Just then, Vados, who had been quietly floating behind him with her angelic staff in hand, drifted over to Champa's side.

With light, graceful movements, she gently tugged at the sleeve of Champa's broad cloak, her mysterious smile unchanged.

"Lord Champa," Vados said softly, like a breeze, though Champa heard her clearly, "since we have already come, and His Majesty Chen Feng has sincerely invited us, why not go in and hear his thoughts? Perhaps there may be an unexpected gain."

Her emerald-like eyes curved slightly as she gave Hit a meaningful glance.

Champa let out a muffled snort, barely forcing down the aura of energy around him.

He shot Chen Feng a fierce glare, then could not help looking at Hit again before saying gruffly, "Hmph! Fine. I'll give you that much face and go in for a sit. Let's see what you have to say! If I'm not satisfied..."

He did not finish, but the threat was plain enough.

Chen Feng acted as though he had not heard it at all, the smile on his face unchanged.

Turning slightly toward the corridor leading deeper into the palace, he made an elegant gesture of invitation.

Sunlight swept across his sharply defined profile, deep light and shadow reflected in his golden eyes.

The Saiyan higher-ups—warriors who had followed Chen Feng into battle and witnessed him lead their people to rise—held their breath.

They knew their king too well.

Beneath that calm smile was neither compromise nor fear, but a dormant volcano that would shake heaven and earth once it erupted.

The entrance to the royal hall was like the gaping maw of some colossal beast, ready to swallow these visitors from the divine realm and draw them into a game controlled by the King of the Saiyans.

The atmosphere within the hall was tense to the extreme, as if even the air had solidified.

Beneath the towering dome stood majestic stone pillars carved with ancient Saiyan totems. Torches flickered along the walls, stretching everyone's shadows long and dark like beasts lying in wait.

The heavy doors were violently pushed open with a thunderous boom.

Champa swaggered in, his round body nearly blocking the doorway.

Without a care, he let out a loud burp. His catlike eyes gleamed faintly as he casually surveyed the resplendent yet murderous hall, his gaze full of disdain and impatience, as though he had entered a marketplace rather than a royal palace.

Vados followed lightly behind him, her feet seeming to barely touch the floor. The crystal atop her angelic staff glowed with a soft light.

She looked utterly at ease, an almost imperceptible smile on her lips, like a spectator watching a show—completely out of place amid this drawn-swords atmosphere.

Chen Feng was already seated upon the throne, his back as straight as a pine.

Hit stood just behind and beside the throne like Chen Feng's shadow, arms crossed. Beneath the brim of his hat, his gaze was cold as iron as he stared fixedly at this uninvited guest, an icy aura keeping all others at a distance.

Below the throne, Cabba, Caulifla, and Kale stood in a triangular formation.

Cabba clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, his body leaning slightly forward like a cheetah ready to pounce at any moment.

Caulifla grinned, battle-hungry flames burning in her eyes as she glared at Champa.

Kale kept her head lowered, her heavy bangs concealing most of her face. The air around her had begun to stir chaotically, and a faint golden aura flickered across the tips of her hair.

"Go on, then," Champa said casually as he strode to the center of the hall, where a heavy stone chair carved with beast patterns stood.

He dropped into it without ceremony, making the chair groan beneath his weight.

He grabbed a fruit from the platter on the stone table, picked up an alien fruit resembling a grape, and stuffed it into his mouth in one bite. Juice ran down the corner of his lips. He wiped it away with one hand and said indistinctly, "What is it you want to discuss? My time is precious, so don't drag this out."

The crunching of fruit sounded especially piercing within the hall.

Chen Feng quietly watched him eat so crudely. There was no anger on his face; only the corner of his mouth lifted slightly in an unreadable smile. "Lord Champa has traveled across the stars to come here, so naturally I must show you some hospitality and let you rest first. However, you previously said that you wanted Planet Sadala to send several of its strongest Saiyans?"

"That's right!" Champa flicked away the pit, which lodged in a distant stone pillar like a cannonball and left behind a shallow dent.

Champa matter-of-factly grabbed another fruit. "Aren't Saiyans the best fighters in the universe? You have so many Saiyans here, so just pick out a few of the strongest for me. Don't worry." He patted his chest, making the fat wobble. "Follow me, Lord Champa, win the tournament, and you won't lack rewards! If I'm in a good mood, I might even give you a few energy planets to play with."

Chen Feng did not answer immediately.

His gaze slowly shifted down to the hall, meeting Cabba's eyes.

Cabba pressed his lips together, his gaze resolute yet rejecting, and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

Caulifla clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes, while Kale lowered her head even further.

The torches in the hall crackled.