Facing the overwhelming charge of the Demon Star hurtling toward him like a blazing meteor, Tachibana Kyūjō instead let a faint smile curl at the corner of his lips. He slowly closed his eyes.

It was in that very moment that he realized something—Instant Transmission, when combined with his extraordinary perception and mental strength, might very well be an ability that bordered on invincible…

Ever since his journey to Planet Yardrat, he had never truly engaged in a real battle. Not until now did he finally notice the terrifying potential of this technique.

— — —

In an instant, the Demon Star’s two sharp horns lunged straight forward, aiming to skewer the spot where Tachibana Kyūjō had been standing. They pierced through nothing but empty air—he had already vanished.

And at that exact moment, Kyūjō, still with his eyes closed, reappeared behind his opponent.

His fist came crashing down again, smashing the Demon Star’s head with brutal force—right on the wound that hadn’t fully healed.

A harsh, tearing pain shot through the Demon Star’s skull, forcing a furious growl out of him.

Yet he endured the agony, and without even turning his head, he fired a powerful elbow strike backward, aiming straight at Tachibana Kyūjō.

But even that sudden, reactive strike failed to graze the edge of Kyūjō’s cloak. His figure flickered out of existence again through Instant Transmission.

High above the battlefield, Tachibana Kyūjō shook his head with an amused smile.

“This Instant Transmission… for someone like me, it might as well be a divine technique.”

As long as he could read his opponent’s movements with his perception, it was nearly impossible for him to be caught by a direct attack.

What’s more, the technique consumed barely any Ki—its true burden lay in its mental strain.

In a chaotic, fast-paced battle, the pressure on one’s mental capacity grew exponentially. Even Son Goku in the original story rarely used the move repeatedly in combat for that exact reason.

But for Tachibana Kyūjō, his mental power far surpassed even his physical strength. Which meant—

“If I keep using Instant Transmission continuously… forget enemies with five million battle power—even those with fifteen million, I’m confident I can handle them.”

Unless his opponent possessed speed beyond his sensory limits, or even surpassed the speed of his own thoughts—fast enough to kill him before his mind could react.

Outside of those two scenarios, it seemed almost impossible for anyone to pose a real threat to him.

To surpass his perception, one would likely need a power level in the hundreds of millions.

And to outstrip the speed of his thoughts… in the entirety of Universe 7, perhaps only the God of Destruction or Whis could accomplish such a thing.

Thinking about this, Kyūjō suddenly felt that if he transformed into a Great Ape right now, he might even challenge Frieza at full power.

But he quickly shook his head.

“Unless absolutely necessary, I can’t rely too much on Instant Transmission. If I keep depending on it, the number of opponents who can actually help me grow will shrink.”

After all, what kind of sense would it make for someone with just two million power level to transform into a Great Ape and go looking for Frieza?

— — —

At the same time, a breathtaking scene from the battlefield flashed within the mind of Merus, the trainee Angel who had been observing quietly.

As a member of the Angel race, Merus naturally had mastery over Instant Transmission. He understood clearly how difficult it was to use the technique precisely during an unpredictable, high-speed fight.

Yet the young man before him was not only capable of doing just that—he was doing it against an opponent whose battle power far outstripped his own.

It was truly astounding.

“Kyūjō… you really are a prodigy. Even among Angels, talent like yours is rare.”

From the far side of Planet Gurin, Merus pondered silently.

He returned to the Golden Flash ship, already convinced that with this level of ability, Tachibana Kyūjō would have no difficulties handling the battle.

But to his surprise, the next scene made Merus widen his eyes.

Tachibana Kyūjō—who had been flawlessly relying on Instant Transmission earlier—was now not using it at all.

Instead, he had begun fighting the Demon Star with nothing but his own raw combat ability, slowly syncing himself to the rhythm of the fight.

But no matter how refined one’s technique was, a gap in Ki that was twice as large was not something one could simply ignore.

The Demon Star’s speed and strength far surpassed Kyūjō’s. In just a few exchanges, Kyūjō had already taken more than ten clean hits.

Even though he used energy-release techniques and reinforced his vital points with Ki, the Demon Star’s sheer force was simply too overwhelming.

Within moments, Tachibana Kyūjō’s face had swollen and bruised, looking like a punished boar’s head.

Furious, the Demon Star slammed another blow at him, roaring angrily,

“So you only know how to sneak attack, huh?! Where did all that confidence go now?! Come on, fight me! Or is your punch only good enough to tickle me?!”

Despite being beaten ruthlessly, his body covered in deep purple marks, Tachibana Kyūjō’s expression remained calm. As if the one being pummeled wasn’t even him.

His focus was entirely on analyzing the Demon Star’s attacks.

“This right strike… aims for my heart… my body doesn’t have enough speed to dodge it. The proper move is to intercept his wrist before impact, not clash head-on. Then… he’ll follow with a sweeping left kick targeting my abdomen… the best counter to that is…”

— — —

Watching from afar with knitted brows, Merus finally understood what was going on.

He sighed and shook his head, half helpless, half impressed.

“So that’s why… he really is a true martial artist…”

For the sake of pursuing the purest path of Martial Arts, Tachibana Kyūjō was willing to risk his life fighting opponents far stronger than him—so long as he didn’t rely on external abilities like Instant Transmission.

Merus couldn’t help but feel admiration.

But that admiration didn’t change the fact that Tachibana Kyūjō was currently being beaten senseless right before his eyes.

Unable to stand watching him get pummeled any longer, Merus finally used Instant Transmission and appeared at the edge of the battlefield, silently observing the fight from up close…

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep