Master Roshi... Defeated

On the stage, two afterimages collided violently in midair, each clash of fists and feet sending visible rings of white air bursting outward.

Jackie Chun's long robe snapped wildly in the force of the blows. His toes barely hooked the edge of the ring as he twisted aside, narrowly evading Tien Shinhan's vicious knee strike. Though his sunglasses firmly concealed his eyes, the palm hidden within the sleeve of this martial arts god who had lived for centuries had begun to turn faintly cold.

In the end, he could not help but glance toward the darkest corner beneath the stage.

There, Chen He stood leaning against a stone pillar with his arms folded. His black training uniform was nearly drenched through with sweat, his skin flushed with an unnaturally scorching red, while wisps of white steam drifted up from his collar and cuffs.

Veins bulged across Chen He's forehead as he clenched his teeth and forcibly used his body to resist the gravity that seemed ready to crush his bones to dust. Pushing his flesh to its limit made every breath feel like he was swallowing red-hot iron filings.

Within his empty mind, that deathly silent gray interface remained utterly still.

"Damn it... the growth was too fast. It drew attention... I was almost discovered..."

The system's final, terrified mutter from three months ago, distorted beyond recognition, still replayed endlessly in Chen He's mind.

In this dangerous world where planets could be destroyed at any moment, what kind of existence could frighten that cold, mechanical system into playing dead across the endless void? Were they the lofty gods, or some horrifying beings lurking in the depths of the universe?

All information had been cut off. Without the system, he could not check his point balance or access the Level 2 shop that had only unlocked after the Red Ribbon Army headquarters had been wiped out.

He only remembered the icons in the Level 2 shop, glowing with cold, faint light—those "Super Saiyan Fragments" that could directly unlock transformations, as well as the "Legendary Super Saiyan Bloodline Fragments" that could completely evolve one's bloodline. That despairingly long progress bar had once been his sole motivation for signing in desperately every day and frantically gathering points. But now, the doors to the shop had been locked tight, and even the nascent "Hyperbolic Time Chamber" function had become an untouchable gray block.

The unknown was like an invisible hand, tightly strangling Chen He's throat.

Yet Chen He did not panic. Under this extreme pressure, his coldest rationality instead erupted forth.

"So what if I was discovered... If the system can't be relied on, then I'll rely on my own fists." Chen He drew a deep breath of scorching air. Only this pain could assure him that he still held his own fate in his hands.

"Haah!!"

On the stage, Tien Shinhan let out a furious roar. The third eye on his forehead snapped open as his hands formed an unusual clasp in front of his chest.

"Tri-Beam—!!"

"Wait! Tien Shinhan! Stop!" Beneath the stage, the Crane Hermit's expression changed drastically as he screamed at the top of his lungs. Though he hated the Turtle School to the bone, he knew all too well how powerful this move was—Tri-Beam would not only destroy the opponent, but would also drain the user's life force to an extreme degree!

But Tien Shinhan could no longer hear anything.

His third eye, set in his forehead, was locked tightly onto the black-haired youth beneath the stage from point-blank range. The heavy, viscous, oppressive "ki" spilling from Chen He felt like a guillotine hanging above his head, driving this once-in-a-century genius of the Crane School to the brink of collapse.

I don't believe it... I don't believe I can't even defeat that old man! If I can't even get through this so pathetically... what can I use to fight that monster?!

Tien Shinhan roared hysterically within his heart, his eyes bloodshot and flushed red. His pride and self-respect had long since twisted into an almost crazed obsession in the face of Chen He's violent palm strike that had shattered the air.

BOOM—!!

A blinding white pillar of light crashed down, carrying a devastating blast of air.

Facing this nearly life-risking attack, Jackie Chun let out a long sigh. Behind his sunglasses, a trace of appreciation and helplessness flashed through his eyes. This young man may have gone down the wrong path, but his sincerity toward martial arts and his fighting spirit truly earned him the title of genius.

The old man shifted his footing, and the ki within his body erupted to its peak in an instant. With exquisitely precise footwork, he sprang off the edge of the ring just before the beam descended.

RUMBLE—!!

The thick marble ring was blasted by the Tri-Beam into a bottomless square crater, while dust and shattered stone rained in all directions.

Tien Shinhan landed half-kneeling at the edge of the crater, his face pale as paper as he gulped down breaths of air. Every muscle in his body trembled faintly from the severe exhaustion.

"Out... out of bounds! Contestant Jackie Chun is out of bounds! The winner—Contestant Tien Shinhan!!" the referee shouted at the top of his lungs against the violent pressure of the wind.

The entire audience erupted in an uproar, followed by thunderous cheers.

Yet Tien Shinhan, standing by the crater, felt not the slightest joy at winning. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh, his eyes staring through the dust-filled air at Chen He in the corner of the contestants' area.

"The old man conceded..." Goku leaned against the wall and brushed the dust from his clothes, but his eyes shone with unusual brightness. He turned to look at Chen He, who had slowly risen to his feet. "Next, it's your turn, Chen He."

Krillin tugged worriedly at Goku's sleeve from beside him. "Goku, is Senior Brother Chen He really okay in that condition? Every time he takes a step, I feel like the ground is shaking."

Chen He said nothing. With steps so heavy they made one's teeth ache, each leaving behind a deep footprint, he slowly walked toward the cracked ring under the gradually quieting gazes of tens of thousands of spectators.

He undid the top three buttons of his training uniform, revealing the gravity vest beneath, which gleamed with a dark metallic sheen.

He raised his head, and in his abyss-dark eyes was reflected Tien Shinhan's face, filled with wariness, fear, and unwillingness.

"A genius of the Crane School?"

Chen He slowly exhaled a breath of scorching, turbid air. Under the pull of fifty times gravity, his right fist emerged from his pocket with a deep rumble like muffled thunder.

"Don't bore me too much."