Are You Crazy? What Gives You the Right to Hit Me?!

It was worth remembering that on the Divine Martial Battle Star, a great many Saiyans still hadn't reached 500,000 in battle power.

They trained hard day and night, soaking their armor with sweat, yet their gains couldn't compare to the leap brought by a single fruit. They felt disheartened, but their longing burned all the brighter.

Because stellar-level fruits were so scarce, Barros simply took out fifteen of them in front of everyone:

He gave two to Broly in case of emergencies, allocated two for the Bardock Squad to share, distributed six among the six expedition squads in the East Galaxy, and kept the remaining five to reward future achievements.

In private, he also quietly gave Xuesaili and Palanti two stellar-level fruits each. His mother, Xuesaiya, received three ordinary Neural Tree Fruits to strengthen her foundation.

After two years, nearly every one of the Divine Martial Battle Star's most outstanding warriors had reached the threshold of becoming a Super Saiyan.

Bardock's battle power had reached 3.37 million. He needed only a trigger of anger to break through and transform;

The sisters Xuesaiya and Xuesaili were close behind, each with a battle power of 3.26 million;

Palanti was slightly weaker, but still had a battle power of 3.02 million.

Among the other warriors campaigning in the East and North Galaxies, the weaker ones had battle powers of 500,000 to 600,000, while the stronger ones had already surpassed a million. They could stir entire star systems, their might terrifying to behold.

After four years of painstaking work, the Divine Martial Battle Star had achieved an overall leap in battle power.

As the supreme ruler of the Divine Martial Battle Star, "the Saiyan Divine Martial Emperor," Barros, and Broly, the battle star's second-strongest warrior and a naturally born Legendary Super Saiyan, were hardly going to stand still.

Two years ago, Broly's battle power had already exceeded ten million. He was only one thin veil away from becoming a Super Saiyan.

If Barros hadn't sternly warned him, and if Broly hadn't feared that he would lose control of his reason after transforming, he could have claimed the title of the Divine Martial Battle Star's strongest then and there—even becoming the undisputed strongest person in the universe as it was currently known.

The Legendary Super Saiyan transformed from Broly's base battle power of 10.8 million. His initial form reached a battle power of 640 million; if he advanced further into the Legendary form, his battle power could soar to 1.08 billion—enough to rival Vegeta and Trunks during their battle with Cell in the original story.

But the transformation brought too many variables and too much risk.

Though Broly's battle power had crossed ten million half a year ago, he still hadn't broken through that final threshold.

He feared that his overwhelming rage, destructive urges capable of laying waste to the world, and uncontrollable violent thoughts would crush what little reason he had left.

So day after day, he forced them down and held himself in check, inch by inch.

If Barros hadn't personally taught him the Ice Heart Formula, Broly might already have been torn apart by the whispers of temptation within him and his burning thirst for power, and forced himself to transform!

Even so, over the past month, Broly had found it increasingly difficult to hold back.

With each increase in his battle power, the voice of temptation within him grew stronger.

He couldn't hold on much longer. Even with the Ice Heart Formula and the dual cultivation of Ice Soul bolstering him, he might well lose control and unleash the primal power of the Super Saiyan completely.

After all, he wasn't an ordinary Saiyan. He was the Legendary Super Saiyan, born of a bloodline that appeared only once every thousand years.

Compared with ordinary people, that instinctive call was more than five times as powerful for him.

To have held out for over half a year showed that Broly's willpower was exceptionally rare among Super Saiyans throughout history.

Of course, he gritted his teeth and held on because he feared the rage would devour his reason;

But the deeper reason was that Barros was about to open all thirty-six Heavenly Stem acupoints and clear the one hundred and eight meridians of the cosmic cycle. Once he transformed, he would become a Super Saiyan!

After spending years together day and night, Broly's trust in Barros had sunk deep into his bones.

He believed every word Barros said and followed it as if it were sacred doctrine.

Since Barros had told him to hold back and wait until he had succeeded before breaking through, Broly was willing to endure and wait for that moment.

So Broly could only grit his teeth and desperately suppress the searing urge to transform into a Super Saiyan.

Deep within the Imperial Hall.

Barros sat cross-legged on a high platform at the rear of the hall. Strands of starlight descended from the heavens, converging into a pillar that connected heaven and earth and illuminated every direction. This vast torrent of stars surged in from the boundless universe beyond the Divine Martial Battle Star, like a heavenly river pouring down, unstoppable.

All was silent. Only the pillar of starlight, towering between heaven and earth and shining brilliantly, burned quietly, as if it had existed since time immemorial.

Barros had long since fully tempered all seventy-two Earthly Fiend acupoints.

Over the past four years, with an endless supply of star cores nourishing him, he had finally succeeded in refining all thirty-six Heavenly Stem acupoints, the most difficult ones to overcome.

Once the one hundred and eight acupoints of the cosmic cycle—the thirty-six Heavenly Stem and seventy-two Earthly Fiend—were completely fused into one,

Barros would finally break free of the constraints the planet placed on Saiyan bloodlines. With the strength of his body alone, he would be able to roam the sea of stars and cross the universe.

Yet precisely because the thirty-six Heavenly Stem acupoints held such immense power, the final step of refining and linking them was especially dangerous and difficult.

Even with more than a dozen star cores piled before him—three planetary-level and one stellar-level—

tempering the final "Heavenly Pillar Acupoint" remained a painfully slow process.

Once the Heavenly Pillar was formed, the Heavenly Stems would be complete and the cosmic cycle would flow freely.

That was why Barros dared not treat this final acupoint carelessly.

To ensure everything went smoothly, before entering seclusion to break through the Heavenly Pillar Acupoint, he had specifically sent away Broly, who was on the verge of losing control, and urgently summoned Xuesaiya, Xuesaili, and Palanti back to guard him.

If Bardock hadn't been so far away on his expedition to the frontier of the East Galaxy, Barros would even have torn through space to summon him back!

Still, with Xuesaiya and the others standing guard, Barros was certain that this stage was as secure as a fortress.

Beneath that towering pillar of starlight,

Barros's blood and qi surged like a river, and his body was as hard as divine iron. The two clashed and tempered one another, rapidly growing stronger.

The Heavenly Pillar Acupoint was a vital hub of the human body, as well as the central point that governed the thirty-six Heavenly Stems and linked the seventy-two Earthly Fiends into the one hundred and eight acupoints of the cosmic cycle.

A star core quickly withered, while Barros's body seemed like an abyss with a gaping maw,

swallowing every trace of its vast stellar energy in the blink of an eye.

Each star core that vanished meant his body had advanced another step, his blood and qi had grown a little stronger and purer, and the Heavenly Pillar Acupoint had moved a little closer to taking shape.

Time flew. One after another, the star cores before Barros dimmed and ran dry.

To forge the strongest body and bear the acupoints of the cosmic cycle, he should have immediately refined the Heavenly Pillar Acupoint after absorbing the last ordinary star core—

But instead, he did the opposite, dispersing all the star-core energy that had been reserved for the Heavenly Pillar Acupoint throughout his limbs and body, repeatedly tempering his bones, muscles, and flesh.

The final ordinary star core shattered with a rumble, crumbling into drifting ash.

Barros, still seated cross-legged and motionless, then drew on one of the three planetary-level star cores before him, slowly absorbing its surging stellar power.

Divine Martial Battle Star, Imperial Hall.

At that moment, Kamosi, the Saiyans' chief scientist, was beaming and striding briskly toward the Imperial Hall.

The thought that the news he was about to report could earn him a generous reward—even a stellar-level Neural Tree Fruit—made his heart pound. He could barely contain himself.

The figure in the distance, rapidly drawing nearer and, in the blink of an eye, reaching the sky above the Imperial Hall,

made Xuesaiya, Xuesaili, Palanti, and more than a dozen top Saiyans, including Jiyande, frown in unison as their sharp eyes fixed on the newcomer.

Kamosi was still giddy with excitement. Though he caught sight of the pillar of starlight soaring above the rear of the Imperial Hall and the dozen figures standing guard in front of it—

he paid them no heed and simply sped up, diving straight down.

Seeing that the newcomer showed no sign of stopping and was heading straight for the forbidden grounds, the frost returned at once to Xuesaiya's strikingly beautiful face.

"Hmph!"

Meisu, one of the Saiyans' top ten warriors and as loyal to Barros as iron, saw the man daring to trespass on the seclusion grounds. Before Xuesaiya could speak, he let out a cold snort and fired a blast of ki at Kamosi, the wind howling around it.

Anyone who disturbed the Emperor's seclusion was to be killed without exception.

That was the ironclad rule Barros himself had established, and the line between life and death that no one among them would allow to be crossed.

Kamosi was still lost in his daydream when he suddenly felt a sharp surge of energy slashing toward him. His expression changed, and he hurriedly twisted aside.

He barely dodged it. Clutching his numb arm, he glared at Meisu and shouted, "Meisu! Are you crazy? What gives you the right to hit me?!"

That single shout set everything off.

A moment ago, Meisu had been the only one to attack. But before Kamosi had even finished speaking, Xuesaiya, Xuesaili, Palanti, Jiyande, and Meisu, along with eight other peak warriors of the Divine Martial Battle Star, all raised their hands—

More than a dozen blasts of ki tore through the air, all aimed at Kamosi!

None of the blasts were charged to full power, but the combined assault of more than a dozen top warriors was enough to make Kamosi's heart freeze with terror.

With attacks raining down from all sides, he didn't have a moment to dodge. He could only cross his arms in front of his chest and endure the barrage head-on!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dull impacts erupted one after another.

In moments, Kamosi was battered and bleeding, his skin split open.

If he hadn't been a Saiyan scientist familiar to Xuesaiya and the others, not one of them would have held back during that first barrage of ki blasts.

Likewise, if Kamosi had truly been an enemy, he would have been pulverized thousands of miles away. He wouldn't have gotten anywhere near the Imperial Hall.

After a long while, Kamosi landed unsteadily, his face full of confusion and pain.

"Lady Xuesaiya, Lady Xuesaili... What did I do to offend you all?" Even now, he was still completely baffled.

"Hmph!"

Xuesaiya gave a cold snort. Before he could say anything else, her voice shot out like an icicle:

"Barros is in seclusion. Anyone who comes near without permission will be killed without exception!"

"E-Emperor!" Kamosi looked up at the pillar of starlight that pierced the clouds and connected heaven and earth. His legs went weak, and he nearly fell onto the steps of the Imperial Hall. In that instant, he understood everything. No wonder Meisu had attacked him, and Xuesaiya and Xuesaili had immediately joined in.

He had approached without permission, which was already a grave offense. Then he had gone and shouted, practically throwing himself straight onto the blade at Barros's door.

At the same time, Kamosi felt a chill of fear. If the Saiyans before him hadn't all been familiar faces, and if he weren't the chief scientist of the Divine Martial Battle Star, personally appointed by the Emperor, he would probably have been blasted to bits the instant he entered the forbidden grounds. He wouldn't have lived long enough for any of this to happen.

His cold sweat hadn't even dried, but he no longer felt the slightest resentment. This was entirely his own fault. To have escaped with his life was a blessing beyond measure!