Crimson Divine Might

Chen Feng's shoulder armor—the shield condensed from high-intensity energy—was sliced open by a single strike from Vados, as cleanly as a hot knife through butter.

Flickering silver fragments of energy still clung to the edges of the wound, stubbornly preventing it from healing itself.

A cold, bizarre stabbing pain burrowed through the gash and into his nerves. Chen Feng stomped hard, and even the void seemed to ripple beneath his foot.

Using the force of the step, he shot backward and widened the distance between himself and Vados.

The golden aura around him surged violently with his emotions, like an enraged solar prominence.

He glanced down at the gash in his left shoulder—not the agonizing pain of a severe wound, but more like a warning, reminding him that a gap still existed between his level and Vados's.

Yet the corners of his mouth curled upward. It was anything but a bitter smile.

It was the excitement and fighting spirit surging from the depths of his soul upon encountering a true foe and touching a higher realm.

"As expected of a god's angel." Chen Feng's voice carried through the energy field, clear and steady. "Ultra Instinct entrusts the body's reactions to instinct, completely discarding unnecessary thought and emotional interference. This ultimate art of evasion and combat truly lives up to its reputation now that I've witnessed it firsthand. The little I've grasped cannot even be compared to your level."

Vados remained hovering where she was, her staff already held horizontally before her, both hands elegantly clasped around it.

A faint smile that seemed to embrace all things appeared on her face. "Lord Chen Feng, you are too modest. Your strength has truly exceeded my expectations. Since my birth in the Sixth Universe and throughout my long years of service, I have witnessed countless powerful beings, including the Gods of Destruction themselves... Yet someone like you, who has unearthed such power and potential with a mortal body, is indeed unprecedented."

"A mortal?" Chen Feng gave a soft laugh, his tone resolute and proud. "Perhaps in terms of life level, I am still a mortal. But the word 'mortal' has never been merely a limitation. It is also the pride and possibility of endlessly surpassing one's limits and climbing ever higher."

After saying that, he spoke no more and took a deep breath.

That single breath seemed to stir the invisible energy in the surrounding space.

The golden aura around him began to change in a way visible to the naked eye.

Like ink spreading through clear water—a trace of crimson quietly emerged at the core of the aura, swiftly spreading outward.

That red was neither evil nor violent. Instead, it carried a sense of weight and sanctity.

Like molten glass, and like the most primal lifeblood of life itself, it flowed and intertwined amid the boiling golden flames.

Within seconds, the gold was completely swallowed by an even fiercer crimson.

Chen Feng stood amid the crimson aura, slowly bringing his hands together into a distinctive opening stance.

The crimson aura blazed fiercely, its light casting his face in unwavering resolve and dyeing vast stretches of the void red.

An unprecedented aura rose from within him, climbing higher and higher—not in linear growth, but in an insane leap like an exponential explosion.

Completely unlike Beerus's purple divine power, which was filled with destruction and finality, this power was older, purer, and deeper, as if it touched the origins of creation and life at the dawn of the universe.

Vados had been smiling all along, but this time, her brows furrowed slightly for the first time.

The fingers gripping her staff tightened unconsciously.

The ever-brightening crimson reflected in her azure eyes, revealing undisguised surprise and gravity.

"This aura... this nature of energy..." Vados's voice fluctuated for the first time. She murmured softly, as though questioning herself and confirming an unbelievable suspicion at once. "What exactly is this?"

Champa hid behind a floating meteor in the distance, the rough rock reflecting his face, twisted with shock.

He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails nearly dug into his palms, yet his body would not stop trembling.

When the crimson radiance tore through the deep-purple backdrop of the universe and erupted like the birth of a star, all color instantly drained from his face.

"W-What... what is that?!" Champa's voice seemed squeezed from the depths of his throat, trembling uncontrollably. Though it could not travel through the vacuum, it buzzed loudly in his own ears.

"This aura... How could this be..." Champa had lived for millions of years. He wielded the authority of destruction, witnessed countless galaxies be born and perish, and dealt with all manner of so-called powerful beings.

He had felt the pure brutality of destructive energy and seen the vibrant force of creation, but the power rising from Chen Feng was completely different.

It was not simple destruction or rebirth, but something more primordial, more fundamental—as if it directly touched the underlying laws of the universe, transcending such crude distinctions as "god" and "mortal."

Before this aura, his pride and majesty as a God of Destruction became small and absurd.

Not far away, the calm, elegant face of Vados also cracked for the first time.

Her light-purple eyes widened slightly, their depths reflecting the increasingly brilliant crimson.

Her slender fingers clenched tightly around the angelic staff, her knuckles turning faintly white from the force.

The crystal ball at the top of the staff seemed stimulated. The silver starlight within it suddenly began circulating faster, becoming even more dazzling.

A solid radiance, like liquid mercury, spread from her body as she tried to resist the omnipresent crimson pressure.

"Super Saiyan God." Chen Feng's voice finally rang out, piercing through the turbulent energy. It was clear and steady, every word carrying immense weight while containing a restrained resolve. "For short, Super Saiyan God."

After saying that, he slowly raised his head.

The golden hair that had stood upright in his Super Saiyan form now seemed to shed its ostentation and return to its origin, turning a deep, profound black.

But his eyes—were burning.

Crimson irises replaced the azure blue, as though they contained the fire of stars that would never be extinguished. Blazing fighting spirit boiled and surged within them.

Merely being swept by that gaze made one feel as though their soul would be scorched.

Centered on him, the crimson aura was no longer a mere covering—it erupted completely! It surged skyward like a beacon connecting heaven and earth, like a blood-red torrent carving open primordial chaos, sweeping forth madly and staining everything around it.

In the cosmic void, the stars, nebulae, and dust all seemed coated in a flickering red glow. The entire region became a crimson domain ruled by him.

"Ten years." Chen Feng's voice was low, as though whispering to the past, yet also confirming a certain fact.

The crimson aura rippled faintly along with his words.

"I haven't... let this form reappear in the world for a full ten years."

Vados fell silent. The silence lasted only a few seconds, yet it felt as long as a century.

She stared at the inhuman crimson in Chen Feng's eyes, sensing the vast divine might that was utterly different from the intelligence reports of ten years ago—a power that had undergone a qualitative transformation. At last, she spoke slowly, her voice carrying a trace of gravity. "Ten years... So ten years ago, your strength had already reached this realm?"

Chen Feng did not answer.

He merely stood there in silence, upheld by the crimson aura as his black hair stirred faintly in the turbulent flow of energy.

Yet his silence was more convincing than any words. It was the calm assurance born of absolute strength, needing no argument or defense.

Vados drew a soft breath, a gesture that appeared especially solemn coming from her.