"My apologies, my apologies. You were the one who said you never let go of anything once you grabbed it," Ken said with a grin.
Ken ignored him and fired again.
Another brilliant streak of light cut across the World of Void.
The Right Guard dodged to one side and instantly closed the distance with Ken.
At the same time, he threw a storm of punches straight at him.
Ken dodged the punch and lightly flicked his staff.
The tip of the staff struck the Right Guard's arm on the spot.
The Right Guard bared his teeth in pain and increased the pace of his attack.
This time, it seemed like he had unleashed all of his divine power.
Ken immediately found it much harder to dodge, nearly getting hit several times.
"Brat, if I don't teach you a proper lesson today, you'll never understand how powerful a Guard really is!" the Right Guard shouted while raining down attacks.
Ken kept dodging at high speed, flickering out of sight again and again.
But the Right Guard stayed locked onto him the whole time.
Then, in the next moment, Ken's fist and the Right Guard's fist collided.
Terrifying power exploded from their two fists.
The force spread across the World of Void instantly.
The enormous shockwave tore a patch of darkness out of the empty void itself.
That darkness looked almost like a miniature universe forming in the middle of nowhere.
"That's unbelievable…" Fuwa said, full of shock. "They're fighting so hard they actually created a universe?"
Zeno-sama and the others said nothing.
"Hmph." The Right Guard snorted. "Ken, I know you've already reached level 70, but do you realize I'm level 71? I'm one full level above you!"
With that, he suddenly increased the power behind his fist and drove it at Ken.
The blow shoved Ken's fist back and landed squarely on his shoulder.
Ken was sent flying backward.
But he quickly steadied himself with a light wave of his staff.
"Again!" the Right Guard said with a smile. "It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a fight this much."
"You're right. It's been a long time since I enjoyed a fight this much too," Ken said with a nod.
"Then let's make it official," the Right Guard said, looking straight at Ken. "Whoever loses today has to bow properly the next time they meet the winner and act with complete respect. Understood?"
"Sure," Ken said without objection.
"Good. I like that attitude," the Right Guard said, the corners of his mouth lifting. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear."
"Oh?" Ken looked at him thoughtfully.
"Now I'm going to use my true strength against you. Are you mentally prepared?" the Right Guard said with a smile.
"You mean… you still haven't fought seriously until now?" Ken asked, looking almost startled.
"You really think reaching level 70 means you can fight someone like me at level 71?" the Right Guard said with a sneer. "Even if you were the one who came up with this level system, and even if your theory says that after level 70, one or two levels of difference shouldn't matter as much, that's probably why you dared challenge me in the first place, right?"
"No," Ken said slowly, shaking his head.
The Right Guard: "…"
"No? Stop pretending. If that's not the reason, then why would you still challenge me after I already told you I'm level 71?" the Right Guard snorted, clearly not believing him.
"I'm just battle-hungry, that's all," Ken said with a smile, showing a row of white teeth. "I've got Saiyan blood in me, after all."
The Right Guard suddenly didn't want to talk anymore.
Is that really all it is?
"Besides, when did I ever say the gap between levels shrinks above 70?" Ken asked, looking at him with interest.
"According to your own theory, the gap absolutely does shrink above level 70!" the Right Guard barked.
"I never said that. You just imagined it," Ken said, shaking his head.
"Fine. So you're just battle-hungry, is that it?" the Right Guard snorted. "Then I'll show you the real difference between us."
He took a deep breath, and his expression slowly turned sharp and solemn.
At the same time, enormous divine power spread outward from him in all directions.
In the next instant, a faint layer of violet light appeared around his body.
"Ready, Ken?" the Right Guard asked with a smile.
"Hold on a second." Ken's expression turned serious.
"Don't push it. Zeno-sama is right here. Don't make him wait too long," the Right Guard snorted.
"I know. It won't take long," Ken said with a nod. "Before I fight you seriously, let me level up first."
The Right Guard's expression changed. "W-What did you just say? Level up? Level up what?"
"First, I'll raise myself to level 71," Ken said with a grin.
And the moment he said it, a huge surge of Angel power burst out of his body.
The dazzling brilliance lit up the whole area in an instant.
Wave after wave of increasingly powerful Angel force spread out from Ken, rippling through the endless void.
The Right Guard was dumbstruck.
What kind of joke is this?
How is he leveling up right now?
It wasn't just the Right Guard. The Left Guard's expression grew grave as well.
This kid is really leveling up in the middle of the fight?
Did he calculate all this in advance and deliberately wait until battle to do it?
Otherwise, there's no way he would have provoked Righty on purpose.
No, wait. Righty was the one who provoked Ken first.
Righty only reached level 71 two years ago. If his level had decimals, it would basically be 71.0.
Ken had just now risen to level 71, which also meant he was 71.0.
Their levels were essentially identical.
Which meant the deciding factor now would be combat experience.
And if it came down purely to combat experience, then Righty definitely had the edge.
After all, we've lived for hundreds of millions of years.
There's no way we'd lose to some little Angel who's not even a hundred years old.
"Huh… Ken leveled up?" Zeno-sama asked, looking thoughtfully at him in the distance.
"Y-Yes… Zeno-sama," Merus said quietly, wiping away sweat as he looked up at Ken.
In that moment, Merus's emotions became incredibly complicated.
He really has become someone I can only look up to.
Ken is level 71 now.
And I'm only level 51.
There's a full twenty-level gap between us.
"Merus-nii, Ken really reached level 71? I'm not seeing things, am I?" Bier asked, her face changing.
"That's right. Judging by the purity of the Angel power gathered around him, he's definitely reached level 71," Merus said with a sigh, his expression dimming at once.
"As a trainee Angel from the same generation as him, that really is rotten luck…" Bier sighed softly.
"Yeah, yeah, exactly," Merus said, nodding. He thought that was painfully accurate.
"Especially for male Angels," Bier added.
Merus: "????"
"Why especially male Angels?" Merus asked in confusion.
"If I ever really can't handle only admiring him from afar, I could always just marry him," Bier said after some thought, suddenly deciding that this was actually a pretty good solution.
Merus: "…"
Merus was utterly speechless.
Could you please not abandon your original convictions so easily?
"But Merus-nii, Angels don't really compare strength very often anyway… and he's not even a true Angel. He's still someone who trained his way up from being mortal," Bier added, trying to comfort him.
"You really don't need to comfort me," Merus said, shaking his head.
The way you put that leaves me with no possible comeback.
How is he not a true Angel?
Could someone who isn't a true Angel reach level 70?
"Merus, what level am I?" Fuwa suddenly asked out of curiosity.
"Supreme Kai Fuwa… it might be better if you didn't know," Merus said, looking at him almost too sympathetically to speak.
"It's fine. Just tell me. I can take it," Fuwa said, gritting his teeth.
Merus slowly held up a single finger.
Fuwa: "…"
"Level 10?" Fuwa asked with a bitter smile, scratching his big, round head.
"No. Just level 1," Merus explained.
Fuwa instantly looked like his whole world had fallen apart.
Only level 1?
Am I still in the beginner zone?
"When the level system was first established, the Grand Priest deliberately used Universe 7's Supreme Kai as the benchmark for level 1," Merus explained.
Fuwa: "????"
"Why Universe 7's Supreme Kai?" Fuwa asked, baffled.
"That was the Grand Priest's decision. Maybe because Universe 7's Supreme Kai represents a fairly average power level among all Supreme Kais," Merus said. "And that standard happened to line up reasonably well with the purity scale of Ken's Angel power."
Fuwa had no answer.
So I'm only level 1?
"What about Gods of Destruction?" Fuwa asked despite himself.
"The last time I saw Lord Champa, he was level 51," Merus replied.
Fuwa no longer felt like speaking.
The gap was just too large.
"So even Lord Champa would have to act respectfully in front of Ken now, right?" Fuwa finally asked after several long seconds.
"In terms of strength, yes," Merus said with a nod.
Broly and Ai remained silent the whole time, calmly watching the battle in the distance.
Broly's eyes were filled with unshakable confidence.
That's Ken.
My best friend.
There's no way he'll lose.
"Alright." Ken let out a deep breath, finally completing the level-up.
In truth, the process itself was simple and took almost no time at all.
For an Angel, leveling up was really just a matter of condensing Angel power to a higher degree of purity.
Now Ken's Angel power had risen another full step in purity.
Ken was thrilled inside.
He had honestly thought that after reaching level 70, he might never move forward again.
And yet after three years, he had finally gained another level.
That felt like a great result to him.
"Come on, little Righty," Ken said, beckoning with one hand.
The Right Guard: "…"
The Right Guard flew into a rage, glaring coldly at Ken. "Fine. Since our levels are the same now, the next step is to compare combat skill."
"That's more or less right," Ken said with a nod.
Neither of them wasted another word. They shot toward each other.
In the very next instant, Ken and the Right Guard launched into a fierce clash in the center of the World of Void.
Neither of them held back. They brought out every bit of their battle technique and attacked each other relentlessly.
Ken did not transform.
If he pulled out one flashy transformation, his level would jump by two whole levels.
At that point, he could crush him with ease.
There was no need.
Ken wanted to use this fight to improve his technique a little.
Once the Right Guard had nothing left to teach him, then he could do one flashy transformation and rub him into the ground.
Their speed climbed faster and faster, leaving afterimages all across the World of Void.
Zeno-sama: "…"
I can't see anything anymore!
And it wasn't just Zeno-sama. Aside from the Left Guard, no one there could really keep up anymore. Even Merus and Bier had already lost track of the flow of the fight.
Broly could barely follow it, and even he kept losing them now and then.
As for Fuwa, with his level still stuck at 1, he was basically watching nothing at all.
"Hey, you two, slow down!" Zeno-sama finally shouted.
You're both flickering around so much my eyes are getting dizzy.
Apparently hearing that, the Right Guard immediately slowed down.
Ken didn't take advantage of it. He simply shifted away and widened the distance again.
"Yes, Zeno-sama," the Right Guard said, quickly bowing.
"Not so fast," Zeno-sama said with a black expression.
If I can't even see the fight clearly, how embarrassing is that?
"Understood, Zeno-sama." The Right Guard nodded repeatedly. Then endless fighting spirit lit up in his eyes again. "This is fun. Let's keep going."
"Your combat skills aren't really that impressive," Ken said with a sigh and a shake of his head. "I thought they'd be amazing, but you've only managed a draw against me. And that's after living for hundreds of millions of years."
The Right Guard immediately felt stabbed through the heart. His face flushed red as he glared at Ken.
"So from what I can tell, combat technique doesn't actually need that much technique at all," Ken said with a smile. "What battle really needs is instinct, not technique."
"Are you… lecturing me?" the Right Guard said, his face darkening.
"It was obvious from that last exchange," Ken said with a small nod. "You've got plenty of techniques, but your combat instincts are clearly lacking."
"Stop spouting nonsense!" the Right Guard roared in fury.
"Then let's continue," Ken said with a smile.
"We absolutely will," the Right Guard snorted. "But if we're testing combat technique, then let's not use divine power. Otherwise Zeno-sama won't be able to see."
"What did you just say about Zeno-sama? I didn't catch that last part," Ken suddenly asked.
"I said Zeno-sama won't be able to see clearly," the Right Guard shouted.
"Zeno-sama, little Righty just said you can't see clearly," Ken called back over his shoulder.
Zeno-sama's face instantly darkened.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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