An intense wave of pain shot straight through Haynor’s brain.

For the first time in years, he experienced that sensation again.

But instead of fear, excitement surged inside him.

If he did not fight with his true power now, he would die.

The realization hit instantly.

The shock and disbelief vanished, replaced entirely by boiling adrenaline and uncontrollable excitement.

"Hah!"

With a thunderous roar, violent energy erupted from his body.

"Second Phase Transformation!"

Boom!

A massive canyon split apart across the earth.

At the far end of it, an overwhelming aura rose skyward as a towering figure slowly emerged.

Gone was the frail old man from before.

After transforming, Haynor’s body became enormously muscular and imposing, more than twice his previous size.

Even his appearance had fully returned to its youthful prime.

200000 battle power.

This was his true strength.

As his body regained its youth, so did his mentality.

His enormous aura exploded outward without restraint.

Blood still stained the corner of his mouth as he grinned arrogantly.

"Kid, it’s been many years since anyone pushed me this far."

"At the very least, you’re the first one in the past decade!"

"You talk too much."

Caelum raised a hand and fired a Ki Cannon immediately.

"Hmph."

Haynor sneered and casually swatted the attack aside.

The two figures instantly entered ultra high speed movement.

In the blink of an eye, they exchanged dozens of blows.

The only things audible were deafening shockwaves and the constant explosions of compressed air.

Afterimages flashed everywhere.

In terms of battle power, Caelum was still twenty thousand lower than Haynor.

But he did not care about taking damage.

He fought like a complete maniac.

Haynor grew more alarmed the longer the battle continued.

Caelum could exchange injuries recklessly without concern.

He could not.

Unlike Caelum, he lacked that horrifying regenerative ability.

His injuries could not instantly heal.

Because of that, Caelum gradually seized the advantage.

Despite having lower battle power, he forced Haynor into a brutal beating through sheer aggression.

Boom!

A crushing axe kick slammed Haynor down into the earth.

Caelum raised both hands.

Brilliant flashes of light erupted continuously as he unleashed a storm of energy blasts toward Haynor.

"Meteor Bombardment!"

The raining energy blasts resembled countless meteors falling from the sky.

In moments, the entire landscape was reduced to devastation.

Gigantic craters covered the earth.

Whoosh!

Haynor suddenly appeared behind Caelum.

Looking somewhat battered now, he clasped both fists together like a hammer and smashed downward with all his strength toward Caelum’s head.

The strike landed.

But Caelum’s body gradually faded away.

Residual Image Fist.

Haynor would not fall for the same trick twice.

His eyes shifted instantly.

The moment brilliant light erupted behind him, he spun around and counterattacked.

"Ki Cannon!"

"Destruction Impact!"

The two torrents of energy collided violently.

The exploding light became so blinding it illuminated the heavens.

If either blast struck the planet directly, Dalvabebit would be destroyed instantly.

The attacks remained deadlocked for several moments.

Neither side gained ground.

But even during that brief clash, Caelum’s battle power continued increasing.

At this point, he was no longer weaker than Haynor in the slightest.

Bzzzzzt—

The prolonged collision between the energy blasts shook the entire planet.

Terrifying energy overflowed into the atmosphere.

The earth cracked apart rapidly.

Mountains collapsed.

The sky trembled violently.

Boom!

Molten lava burst upward from deep underground.

Dark volcanic ash filled the heavens.

Glaciers shattered apart.

The excess energy surged into the clouds, triggering deafening thunder and lightning.

The entire planet looked like it had entered the apocalypse.

"I’m Haynor!"

"There’s no way I’m losing to some brat like you!"

After struggling against the stalemate, Haynor roared furiously and poured every ounce of his aura into the attack.

The power of his energy blast surged dramatically and began pushing toward Caelum.

Caelum’s eyes sharpened.

It was time to reveal his trump card.

"Fivefold Ki Cannon!"

In that instant, Caelum’s explosive output skyrocketed to a terrifying one million battle power.

But the overwhelming force exceeded his body’s limits.

His muscles burst apart.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

Boom!!!

The Fivefold Ki Cannon erupted forward with absolute destructive force.

It crushed Haynor’s Destruction Impact instantly.

Then the energy torrent engulfed him completely.

Haynor’s expression turned blank.

"I lost?"

The next moment, he was annihilated entirely.

The colossal stream of energy blasted straight into space before finally vanishing into the endless cosmos.

The feared commander of the Haynor Legion had died at the hands of an unknown young fighter.

Inside the spaceship, the officers stared in disbelief.

"The commander’s aura disappeared?"

"No way..."

"That’s impossible!"

Some of them simply could not accept reality.

"The commander was the mighty Haynor!"

"How could he possibly die on some primitive backwater planet?!"

"This can’t be happening!"

But deep down, everyone knew they were only lying to themselves.

Against the terrifying aura from earlier, even Haynor had stood no chance.

That was one million battle power.

One officer immediately shouted an order.

"Leave the planet immediately!"

"Hurry!"

Unfortunately for them, it was already too late.

Caelum’s aura was rapidly approaching.

Only moments later, before the spaceship could even escape Dalvabebit’s atmosphere, his figure appeared on the ship’s main screen.

The next second—

Like a blade of energy tearing through space, Caelum pierced directly into the vessel’s interior.

He stepped into the central control hall.

At that moment, it felt as though the air itself had frozen solid.

The crushing pressure of his aura nearly suffocated the officers.

Cold sweat streamed down their faces.

Caelum spoke bluntly.

"From today onward, I’m taking over the Haynor Legion."

"I’ll be your new commander."

"Any objections?"

The officers immediately dropped to one knee and submitted.

"Commander!"

"Good."

Just like that, Caelum successfully seized control of the Haynor Legion and became its new leader.

The spaceship that had just begun ascending slowly landed once more.

Afterward, Caelum arrived before the Spirit Tree.

After growing for some time, the Spirit Tree’s roots had already spread across the entire planet.

Dalvabebit’s life force had nearly been drained completely.

There was a hollow opening within the trunk. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Inside, clusters of green fruit hung densely from the upper walls.

Each fruit radiated astonishing vitality.

Behind Caelum stood a red skinned alien named Zadamor.

He was the strongest officer beneath Haynor, possessing a battle power of 25000.

Unlike the other savage and battle crazed brutes in the Legion, Zadamor remained calm and rational.

Among all the officers, he was one of the few Caelum actually respected.

Caelum asked, "How long until the Spirit Fruit matures?"

Zadamor shook his head.

"We only discovered the Spirit Tree seed recently inside an ancient ruin."

"This is our first time cultivating one."

"We know almost nothing about it."

"Then we wait."