Town Attacked, Number Eight Appears, Demonic Shadow Watches and Tests

The capsule ship tore through the clouds and slowly descended at the entrance to a town on the outskirts of West City.

The moment it landed, a scene of devastation greeted them. Most of the houses lining the streets had collapsed, utility poles lay crooked on the ground, and the road was pocked with deep craters blasted out by energy shots. Scattered civilians hid behind the rubble, their faces filled with terror. The air still carried a faint smell of smoke and lingering energy, making it clear that the attack had happened not long ago.

"Those bastards really went too far." Krillin clenched his fists, anger in his eyes.

Yamcha surveyed the area with a grave expression. "There aren't any androids in sight. They must have already pulled out."

Just as he finished speaking, several loud explosions suddenly rang out from deeper within the town, accompanied by the cries of civilians. Goku's gaze sharpened, and he was the first to dash forward. "Over there!"

The others hurried after him. After racing through the shattered streets, they saw four silver-gray androids in the central plaza, surrounding more than a dozen fleeing civilians and pinning them against a wall. The leading android's arm had transformed into a cannon barrel, and energy was rapidly gathering within it.

"Stop!"

Krillin shouted and charged forward. He had already removed his triple-gravity suit, and he moved like lightning. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of them, his right fist wrapped in condensed short-range force as he smashed it viciously into the android's cheek. Its metal shell instantly dented, and the android staggered backward before crashing heavily into a broken wall.

Yamcha attacked at the same time. He condensed Qi along the edge of his hand into a sharp blade and swept past another android from the side, the Qi blade slicing precisely through its energy conduit. Sparks flew everywhere as the android collapsed to the ground, its power gone.

Goku stood directly in front of the civilians, facing the simultaneous barrage from the other two androids without dodging. He brought his hands together before his chest, forming a pale-blue Qi barrier that forcibly blocked both energy beams. The shockwaves surged, shattering the stone slabs beneath his feet inch by inch, but he did not move an inch.

"Is that all you've got?"

Goku grinned and thrust both palms forward. A compressed Kamehameha burst forth, its blue beam sweeping across the plaza. The two androids had no time to react before they were swallowed by the Qi force and exploded into fragments.

In barely more than ten seconds, all four androids had been destroyed. Having survived the ordeal, the civilians hurried forward to thank them.

"Don't celebrate just yet." Qi Tian walked over slowly, his gaze sweeping across the surrounding ruins as his brow furrowed slightly. "These androids are mediocre at best. They couldn't possibly have swept through three towns. They're only bait. The real threat hasn't appeared yet."

As though confirming his words, the sky suddenly darkened.

A tall figure slowly descended from the clouds, hovering above the plaza. It had a slender frame covered in dark-purple bionic armor. There was no exposed energy core on its chest, but its eyes glowed blood-red, and faint black vapor curled around its body. It possessed both the coldness of a machine and the sinister savagery of the Demon Clan.

"Android 8. Target confirmed."

A cold voice rang out. It was completely different from the mechanical voices before, carrying a slightly hoarse quality. Its gaze swept over the group before finally settling on Goku, a bloodthirsty glint flashing through its crimson eyes.

"So this is... an android fused with Demon Clan genes?" Bulma hid behind a broken wall, staring at the soaring readings on her scanner as her face turned pale. "Its energy reading is more than three times Android 7's! And its vital signs are strange—half machine, half organism. It doesn't resemble an artificial creation at all!"

Android 8 slowly raised a hand, gathering a black-red ball of energy in its palm. Demonic Qi and mechanical energy intertwined, and the violent fluctuations began to warp the surrounding air.

"Experiment commencing."

With a casual flick, it hurled the energy sphere shrieking toward the crowd. Goku's pupils constricted as he leaped into the air, driving both fists out with all his strength.

"Kamehameha—Wave!"

The blue beam collided with the black-red energy sphere, and a deafening explosion shook the entire expanse of ruins. Goku grunted as the recoil forced him back again and again, his feet plowing two deep trenches through the ground.

"That's some power!" He shook out his numb arms, but the fighting spirit in his eyes only burned brighter.

Krillin and Yamcha exchanged a glance and simultaneously moved in from both sides. One targeted the joints in its lower body, while the other struck straight for its throat. Their coordination was flawless. Yet Android 8 seemed to have anticipated them, its body flickering and leaving behind an afterimage as both attacks missed.

The next second, Android 8 appeared at Krillin's side, its mechanical fist wreathed in black vapor smashing down hard. Krillin hastily crossed his arms to block, but he was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily into the rubble and getting buried up to his waist in broken bricks and stones.

"Krillin!" Yamcha cried out, and his assault faltered for a moment.

Android 8 seized the opening and chopped the edge of its hand down onto Yamcha's shoulder. Yamcha groaned and dropped to one knee, searing pain shooting through his shoulder and disrupting the flow of his Qi.

In just a few exchanges, the two had been defeated one after the other. This Android 8 surpassed every opponent they had faced before in speed, strength, and combat instinct.

"Now this is interesting." Goku rolled his neck, and the Qi around him erupted. White currents of energy swirled around his body as every strand of hair stood on end. No longer holding back, he vanished in a flash and charged at Android 8, his fists and kicks moving so fast that they left only a stream of afterimages.

Bang bang bang—

A series of dense impacts rang out. Relying on his instinctive combat talent, Goku became locked in a fierce battle with Android 8. Their fists collided head-on, Qi force and demonic Qi clashing and exploding, causing the surrounding ruins to collapse even further.

At first, Goku could match his opponent blow for blow, but as the battle dragged on, his disadvantage gradually emerged. Android 8's body had fused with Demon Clan genes, granting it extremely powerful regenerative abilities. Even when Goku's blows dented its body, it could rapidly repair itself within seconds. Worse still, it continuously analyzed Goku's moves during combat, and its predictions became increasingly precise.

After dozens of exchanges, Goku gradually fell into a disadvantage. He failed to evade in time and was struck in the chest by Android 8's fist, sent flying backward to crash at Qi Tian's feet, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"This guy... gets stronger the longer we fight." Goku pushed himself up from the ground, wiped his mouth, and panted heavily, yet his eyes remained bright.

Android 8 hovered in the air, its crimson eyes sweeping over Qi Tian. Its cold voice carried a mechanical note of judgment. "Target Qi Tian. Highest combat priority. Directive: eliminate first."

Black-red energy surged around its body. It brought both hands together before its chest, rapidly forming an energy sphere several times larger than the last. The violent power stained the sky dark red. This attack was enough to level the entire town.

"Watch out!" Master Roshi's face changed drastically. He was just about to act when Qi Tian stepped forward.

His black robes fluttered in the wind as Qi Tian slowly raised his right hand. Black-gold divine essence flowed from his palm. There was no explosive display of power, only a steady, weighty pressure slowly spreading outward. His blood vitality and divine essence merged, forming a faint golden aura over his body—the initial mastery of the fourth stage of the Divine Body Refinement Art, Blood Vitality Manifesting as Aura.

"Go."

Qi Tian gave a gentle push.

A slender black-gold beam shot from his palm. It looked unremarkable, yet it carried an indestructible sharpness. The instant it touched the black-red energy sphere, it pierced through it as easily as snow melting beneath the blazing sun. The sphere then exploded violently from within.

The violent energy shockwave spread in every direction, but Qi Tian swept his sleeve, and an invisible wall of Qi blocked every last trace of the aftermath. The ruins and civilians behind him remained completely unharmed.

Android 8's mechanical eyes flickered rapidly. It clearly had not expected its full-powered attack to be so effortlessly crushed. It tried to gather energy again, but Qi Tian had already vanished from where he stood.

The next instant, Qi Tian appeared behind Android 8. He raised his right hand into a finger strike, black-gold energy gathering at his fingertip.

Fine Qi Force: Core Break.

His fingertip lightly touched the center of Android 8's back. The black-gold Qi force burrowed into its body like a living thing, precisely avoiding every mechanical component as it rushed straight for the energy core fused with Demon Clan genes.

Android 8's entire body convulsed violently, its crimson eyes flashing on and off at rapid speed. It tried to self-destruct, but the energy within its core was firmly suppressed by the black-gold divine essence. It could not even explode.

"Data... transmission... complete..."

As the hoarse voice fell silent, the red glow in its eyes went out completely. Its massive body dropped from midair and crashed heavily onto the ground, never moving again.

The battle was over, and the plaza fell silent.

Goku ran over and circled Android 8's wreckage twice, clicking his tongue in amazement. "Qi Tian, you're getting stronger and stronger. You took it out in one go."

Krillin and Yamcha emerged from the ruins as well. Though injured, neither was seriously hurt. Looking at the android on the ground, both of them still felt lingering fear. If Qi Tian had not acted so decisively, they might have fallen here today.

Bulma hurried forward, took out an instrument, and scanned the wreckage. Her expression grew increasingly grave. "Just as I thought—it fused demon clan genes. Its core cells contain Piccolo's life signatures. Dr. Gero really did join forces with him. And... all the battle data has already been transmitted away. Our techniques and our combat power limits have all been exposed."

Qi Tian said nothing, extending his divine sense toward the distant desert.

At the height of the battle just now, he had clearly sensed a cold divine sense spying on them. Piccolo had been hiding nearby, watching the entire fight. He had not revealed himself, clearly intending to assess Qi Tian's strength from the shadows.

On a mountaintop a thousand miles away, Piccolo slowly withdrew his gaze as black qi churned around him.

"Blood and qi forging into gang... piercing the core with minute precision..."

He murmured to himself, wariness and unwillingness swirling in his crimson eyes. He had thought that tempering his demon body through technology had narrowed the gap, yet after seeing Qi Tian today, he realized Qi Tian's strength had deepened once more. That seemingly casual attack was not something even he could necessarily take with ease.

"The android is still too weak." Piccolo snorted coldly, turning into a black shadow and vanishing from the mountaintop. "It seems I'll have to rely on myself."

He had already made up his mind not to place his hopes on androids any longer. Next, he would enter a deeper stage of secluded cultivation, thoroughly refine the potential of his demon body, and forge a path belonging to the demon clan alone. Dr. Gero's technology was merely an auxiliary touch of icing on the cake.

Meanwhile, in the underground laboratory beneath the desert, Dr. Gero looked at the fully returned battle data—especially the energy curves recorded when Qi Tian attacked—and fell into a frenzy.

"Perfect! Absolutely perfect! With demon clan genes and the data of a martial arts expert, Android 8's limits are far beyond this!"

He abruptly turned to look at a metal door deeper within the laboratory. Behind it lay his most crucial secret project.

"With this data, the adjustment progress for Android 17 and Android 18 can be accelerated further. As for that Qi Tian... one day, my ultimate android will crush him completely!"

Dr. Gero's shrill laughter echoed through the empty laboratory, cold and mad.

Back in town, after calming the civilians, everyone boarded the spaceship for the return trip.

The setting sun streamed through the portholes, yet the cabin was somewhat silent.

"I never thought Piccolo would get mixed up with Dr. Gero." Krillin sighed. "The enemies we face from now on will only become harder and harder to deal with."

"What's there to be afraid of?" Goku did not care in the least, grinning broadly. "The stronger the enemies are, the stronger we'll become! We'll keep training when we get back. Next time, we'll definitely beat that kind of android!"

Master Roshi stroked his beard and nodded slightly. "Goku is right. The path of martial arts is like rowing against the current. A crisis may not be a bad thing—it can force you to break through faster."

Qi Tian stood beside the porthole, gazing at the rapidly receding land below.

Piccolo had retreated into the mountains for arduous cultivation, Dr. Gero was focused on developing even stronger androids, and the Saiyans in the universe had drawn one step closer to Earth.

Only nine months remained for them.

Black-gold threads of light slowly flowed around his fingertips, and a sharp glint flashed through his eyes.

Not enough. Far from enough.

Once they returned to Turtle Hermit Island, their training had to reach another level. Not only their physical bodies and qi force, but the barriers of their realms had to be broken through as well.

Only by truly standing higher could they protect this planet amid the coming storm.

The spaceship tore through the twilight, speeding toward the East Sea.

The harsh training on Turtle Hermit Island was about to face even more grueling trials. And every lurking threat was quietly gathering strength, waiting for the day of its final eruption.