Burning Heaven Breaks the Core, Androids Finally Defeated; Demonic Armor Clones, King Piccolo Joins the Fray

Above the sea, wind whipped and waves surged.

Two silver-gray figures hovered above the crests, their clothes motionless in the sea breeze. These were the Perfect Android 17 and Android 18. Compared to the raw, exposed edge they possessed as semi-finished products, their auras were now restrained like deep pools, with only the occasional silver-purple shimmer in the depths of their pupils betraying the terrifying energy churning within.

"Target location confirmed, situated in the deep-sea region," 17 said, looking down at the ocean surface, his voice flat and emotionless. "Preparing to execute data collection and capture protocols."

Before the words had even faded, the sea below suddenly exploded.

Four figures broke through the water, landing on the waves with a spray of seawater. Goku flexed his wrists; he had not yet removed his eight-fold gravity suit, and his pale blue aura remained condensed around him. His eyes shone with startling intensity. "You finally arrived. I was starting to wonder how long you were going to hide!"

17 flickered, appearing instantly before Goku and throwing a punch straight at his face. The tip of his fist was wrapped in a pale silver halo of Divine Essence—the very characteristic of Divine Essence dissolution he had analyzed, capable of significantly eroding an opponent's ki.

Goku did not dodge or retreat, meeting the blow with a punch of his own. Deep blue ki condensed in layers at his knuckles, the power of Triple Fission erupting inch by inch.

Bang—

A shockwave exploded, and both men retreated half a step. Goku felt a numbness in his knuckles; thirty percent of his force had been silently dissolved, but the remaining seventy percent of his true energy remained heavy and fierce, causing 17's arm to tremble slightly.

"Oh? You're much tougher than that semi-finished model from last time." Goku grinned, his fighting spirit surging. He accelerated suddenly, his fist shadows enveloping 17 in layers. Triple Fission ki was condensed into every strike; each blow was solid and heavy, no longer the wide-open style of the past, but something more refined and substantial.

Data streams flashed rapidly through 17's pupils as he analyzed Goku's movements. Yet, after a month of grueling training, Goku's techniques had been reborn. His ki flowed and retracted at will, shifting in myriad ways, and for a moment, 17 could not fully replicate them. The two collided rapidly in mid-air, trading blow for blow, the resulting shockwaves churning the sea into massive swells. For a time, they were evenly matched.

On the other side, Krillin and Yamcha flanked Android 18 from left and right.

"Try this first!" Krillin's fingertips spun with ki, and three blades wrapped in scorching heat formed instantly—the Destructo Disc: Molten Soul Pursuit. The three discs flew out in a triangular formation, suddenly changing direction mid-flight to seal off 18's high, middle, and low paths with devious precision.

18 flickered, firing several energy blasts from her fingertips to detonate the discs. But the discs clung to her like a persistent disease, sliding past the airflow of the energy blasts to strike directly at her.

"Nice footwork," 18 said calmly, her figure suddenly turning into a blur as she tried to create distance. But the moment she moved, a fierce wind from a punch arrived behind her. Yamcha's figure emerged silently, his multiple afterimages striking simultaneously, his knuckles wrapped in the power of explosive flames—the Wolf Fang Fist: Explosive Flame Heart-Piercing.

The fist shadows and the discs attacked from front and back, sealing all room for evasion. 18 frowned slightly, and her energy dissolution field suddenly expanded.

Ding—ding—

The discs struck the dissolution field, their rotation speed plummeting as their heat was rapidly eroded; Yamcha's fist energy landed on the field and vanished like a stone into the sea, its power reduced to less than ten percent.

"Still not enough." 18 struck back with a palm, silver-purple energy surging toward Yamcha's face. Yamcha flickered, his afterimages scattering as his true self retreated several yards away. Krillin seized the opening, firing a barrage of discs from his fingertips to keep 18 pinned down.

The two attacked and defended in seamless coordination. After a month of deep-sea training, their ki perception and footwork were flawless. Even facing a Perfect Android, they could hold their own without falling behind.

"Conventional mode combat assessment complete, data collection at 60%." 17 suddenly pulled back, standing opposite 18. Blinding silver-purple light ignited in the cores on their chests simultaneously. "Initiating Perfect Overload Mode, Divine Essence Factor output at maximum power."

Hum—

A visible ripple of energy expanded outward. Silver-purple Divine Essence halos intertwined with black demonic energy, forming a thick energy shield around them. Their auras climbed steadily, nearly doubling in strength compared to their conventional state, and the power of their dissolution fields surged accordingly.

"Not good, they've gotten stronger!" Goku's expression turned serious. He immediately pushed all his ki to the limit, driving his Triple Fission to its peak.

17 moved again, his speed nearly doubling, and he was instantly before Goku. He threw a punch, the Divine Essence dissolution power on his knuckles surging. Goku blocked in a rush, feeling his arm grow heavy as the majority of his ki was instantly dissolved; the remaining force sent him reeling back, blood churning in his chest.

"How... how did the dissolution power get this strong!" Goku gritted his teeth to steady himself, but before he could counter, 17's next punch was already upon him.

On the other side, Krillin and Yamcha were in an even more desperate situation. The Destructo Discs were melted clean away the moment they came within three feet of 18, unable to even maintain their trajectory. Yamcha's explosive flame fist energy vanished like snow meeting the sun upon contact.

"This isn't working, our ki can't break through at all!" Krillin shouted through gritted teeth, throwing disc after disc in a futile attempt to probe their defenses. Yamcha's afterimage footwork also lost its effectiveness; 18's perception had increased significantly in Overload Mode, allowing her to easily lock onto his true position.

In just a few seconds, the three of them were completely on the defensive, teetering on the brink of disaster.

Just as 17's fist was about to land on Goku's chest, a figure clad in black and gold appeared out of thin air between them.

Qi Tian raised his hand, golden protective energy shielding his palm. 17's heavy punch slammed into the barrier, but instead of breaking through, it was repelled by a counter-shock, sending a wave of numbness through his arm.

"You use the Divine Essence Factor quite well," Qi Tian said, his tone flat. A wisp of black-gold flame danced quietly at his fingertips. "Too bad, it's only the surface."

Before he finished speaking, he flicked his finger, and the black-gold flame transformed into a streak of light, striking 17's chest core directly.

17's pupils shrank, and he instinctively activated his dissolution field to defend. But the black-gold flame, though seemingly weak, acted like fire on oil when it touched the field. Instead of being dissolved, it spread backward along the Divine Essence Factor, burning its way down.

"Warning! Core energy circuit damaged! Self-healing module failure!"

Mechanical alarms blared inside 17, and for the first time, a look of shock appeared on his face. This bizarre flame was capable of specifically burning Divine Essence and mechanical circuits—it was his perfect counter.

Not far away, 18 suffered the same fate. Qi Tian gripped his left hand in the air, and two black-gold chains manifested, the Divine Origin Bind locking precisely onto their cores. The chains were wrapped in Divine Essence Heaven-Burning flames, and wherever they passed, the energy dissolution fields were pierced as easily as paper.

"Divine Origin Bind: Heaven-Burning Chains."

With a soft command, the black-gold chains tightly bound the cores on their chests. The flames spread along the chains, crazily burning the internal energy circuits and demonic genes. 17 and 18 froze simultaneously, their energy fluctuating violently, but they could no longer channel even a fraction of it, and their Overload Mode was forced to shut down.

"No... impossible!" In the Desert Laboratory, Dr. Gero stood up abruptly, staring fixedly at the data on the screen that was throwing endless errors. "Divine Essence Heaven-Burning? Specifically countering the Divine Essence Factor? How is this possible!"

He watched helplessly as the life signals of 17 and 18 on the screen plummeted rapidly, their core circuits completely incinerated until they finally fell into dead silence.

"Trash! All of you are trash!" Dr. Gero smashed his fist against the console, his chest heaving violently. But then, he looked at the data analysis of the Divine Essence Heaven-Burning on the screen, and a fanatical light reignited in his eyes. "Excellent... to think such power exists! The complete mystery of the Divine Essence is getting closer and closer!"

He turned his head sharply toward the spherical incubation tank deep in the lab, where the insect-like flesh inside was beginning to take shape, its energy fluctuations growing stronger by the day.

"Cell... once I inject all this data, you will be the ultimate lifeform that transcends everything!"

Above the sea, the bodies of 17 and 18 lost power and plummeted straight into the ocean. The black-gold flames had completely incinerated their cores, leaving no possibility of self-repair.

Goku landed on a wave, looking at the direction where the two had sunk, feeling a bit unsatisfied. "Qi Tian, you acted too fast. I had just started to figure out the patterns of their Overload Mode."

"If you kept fighting, you would have been injured," Qi Tian said calmly. "The dissolution power of the Perfect Overload Mode can continuously wear down your ki cores; prolonged combat is disadvantageous."

Krillin and Yamcha landed as well, both still shaken. If Qi Tian had been a moment later, they likely wouldn't have been able to hold on. The strength of the Perfect Androids far exceeded their expectations.

"Dr. Gero's development speed is too fast," Yamcha said in a low voice. "This time it was two Perfect models; next time, there might be even stronger ones."

Qi Tian did not speak, his Divine Essence perception spreading in all directions.

In the direction of the deep mountains, Piccolo's aura was moving rapidly toward them. The blood-red baleful energy surged; clearly, he had sensed the battle and intended to reap the rewards.

Deep in the universe, those two Saiyan auras were significantly closer, their violent pressure becoming increasingly clear.

There were only five and a half months left until they reached Earth.

"Should we head back to Turtle Hermit Island?" Krillin asked tentatively.

"It's too late." Qi Tian looked toward the western horizon, where a blood-red light was faintly emerging within the clouds. "He is here."

Goku's eyes lit up instantly, and he clenched his fists. "Piccolo? Perfect, I just finished with the Androids, let's have another round with him!"

"His current strength is no weaker than the Perfect 17," Qi Tian said, his tone deepening. "And he didn't come alone."

As the words fell, blood-red demonic energy flooded the western sky. Within the clouds, four figures stood proudly. The leader was draped in blood-red demonic armor, his baleful aura soaring as demonic patterns flowed across it—it was King Piccolo, his demonic arts perfected. Beside him, three demonic shadows stood with heavy auras, their appearances identical to his own; they were his Demonic Shadow Clones, possessing seventy percent of his true combat power.

During his month of seclusion, King Piccolo had perfected his Demonic Essence Blood Armor and mastered the Demonic Shadow Clone Technique, heading straight for the battlefield.

The blood-red demonic clouds pressed down upon the sea, and even the sea breeze carried a bone-chilling cold.

King Piccolo's crimson eyes swept across the sea, his gaze landing on Qi Tian. His voice carried a biting chill. "Taking care of two Androids saved me quite a bit of trouble. Qi Tian, today is the day you die."

The three Demonic Shadow Clones moved simultaneously, splitting into three directions to surround everyone on the sea. The demonic energy wove into a net, sealing off all paths of retreat.

Goku and the others immediately stood back-to-back, their ki running at full capacity, their eyes grave. They could feel that the Piccolo before them was several times stronger than he had been two months ago, and with the three clones, the danger of this battle far exceeded the fight with the Androids just moments before.

Qi Tian stepped forward slowly, black-gold Divine Essence flowing around him. His golden protective energy expanded ten yards outward, resisting the blood-red demonic energy from afar.

"If you want to kill me, we'll see if you have the ability."

As the calm voice fell, black-gold and blood-red energy collided violently above the sea.

The great battle was about to erupt.