Chapter 157: Galactic Level

After effortlessly securing the championship, Taro realized there was no award ceremony or formal conclusion to the tournament. Without hesitation, he flew back to the North Kai's viewing platform.

By now, Hathaway had finished watching the match. After Taro defeated Duan, she returned to her seat, placing her laptop on her lap. A custom-made portable storage device, resembling a USB drive from Taro's past life, was plugged into the side. Of course, given Hathaway's genius, the storage capacity was nothing short of astounding.

The program she was currently writing on her laptop was a conceptual artificial intelligence system. This explained why she jokingly referred to "creating life" when the North Kai inquired earlier. The USB drive was primarily for real-time data backups.

Although her laptop was exceptionally powerful, as a portable device, it couldn't match the computational resources or processing speed of her large-scale machines back on the island. Still, given the circumstances, the laptop sufficed, despite occasional lag during debugging.

Taro, unfamiliar with such advanced technology, floated into the viewing platform, only for the North Kai to tease, "Took you long enough!" Hathaway closed her laptop, smiled warmly, approached Taro, and embraced him. "Welcome back, my champion," she said.

Taro chuckled softly.

"Cheh," came a low voice nearby. It was the West Kai. Scowling, he glanced at the trio — North Kai, Taro, and Hathaway — before taking off in the direction of Bam, who was leaving with the other participants.

Taro exchanged a few words with Hathaway before turning to the North Kai. "When will the Grand Kai begin his guidance for the tournament champion? Will there be a formal announcement?"

"Eh? The Grand Kai hasn't informed you yet?" The North Kai looked genuinely surprised before scratching his head awkwardly. "Well, I've never been to the tournament in person before, so I'm not entirely sure of the process... But one thing is certain: the Grand Kai always personally trains the champion! Just wait a bit; it shouldn't be too long now."

Taro nodded in acknowledgment.

"Is this Grand Kai a powerful deity?" Hathaway asked curiously.

"Of course! The Grand Kai is older and more venerable than any of the Kais!" the North Kai proclaimed with pride. "Even when I first assumed my position — or when my predecessor became the North Kai — the Grand Kai had already existed for countless millennia! And many years ago, he personally defeated one of Frieza's ancestors!"

He directed the last statement at Taro, assuming Hathaway wasn't familiar with Frieza.

However, having recently heard Taro recount stories of the Frieza Force's atrocities — destruction, invasion, and colonization — Hathaway clearly remembered the name.

Hearing that the Grand Kai had defeated one of Frieza's ancestors, Hathaway's expression showed genuine surprise.

"You know about Frieza?" the North Kai asked, noticing her reaction.

"Yes, Taro mentioned it before," Hathaway replied with a nod.

Given the horrifying acts of the Frieza Force, Hathaway found it hard to forget. But now, she couldn't help wondering: Was that seemingly ordinary old man really so powerful? Or was this ancestor of Frieza not as strong as the current Frieza?

As Hathaway pondered, the North Kai narrowed his eyes. "Hey, Taro's wife! Are you entertaining disrespectful thoughts about the Grand Kai?"

Hathaway chuckled lightly and brushed her hair behind her ear.

At that moment, Taro's thoughts were interrupted by a voice in his mind.

"Taro... come to me," the Grand Kai's voice commanded.

Taro's expression shifted, and his gaze darted around the main arena, grandstands, and other areas. Despite scanning the entire venue, he couldn't locate the Grand Kai.

The North Kai noticed this and asked, "Did the Grand Kai summon you?" His guess was immediate; as a Kai himself, he knew the Grand Kai would use telepathy for such instructions.

Taro nodded, suspecting the Grand Kai wanted him to use Instant Transmission. He glanced at his wife.

Hathaway smiled warmly, gently pushed him forward, and said, "Go on. Do what you need to do."

Taro smiled back, holding her soft, cool hand briefly before closing his eyes. He focused his energy, extending his senses into the spatial corridor they had traveled through earlier. The spatial fluctuations were intricate, and as Taro probed deeper, he marveled at the complexity of time and space.

It's worth noting that martial artists could sense energy at incredible speeds. In the original stories, characters could instantly locate energy sources over vast cosmic distances. For example, Goku was able to sense the new Namekian settlement across countless galaxies almost instantly.

Taro smiled, gently holding his wife's soft, cool hand, and closed his eyes. His senses surged toward the corridor they had come through, entering the labyrinth of time and space. As he focused his thoughts, he could more clearly perceive the intricate fluctuations of space-time.

It's important to mention that martial artists' ability to sense others' energy is extraordinarily fast. As seen in the original text, when anyone senses energy, they can almost instantly detect reactions from incredibly far distances. For example, when Son Goku sensed the new Namek, he crossed countless star systems in just a few seconds.

Taro couldn't explain the speed of this mental perception. Perhaps a scientific explanation could compare it to quantum mechanics or something like the transmission of information in "The Three-Body Problem"(Chinese Sci-fi Book), but Taro wasn't concerned with such explanations. As a martial artist, he followed his instincts and didn't dwell on such matters.

Soon, Taro found himself in a specific space-time location and sensed the powerful, star-like energy of the Grand Kai. However, due to the twisting space-time changes, he couldn't tell where the Grand Kai was. Was he in his mansion, or somewhere else?

Letting go of Hathaway's hand, Taro's figure vanished in an instant.

---

When Taro arrived in the vast, white expanse, the Grand Kai was in the middle of a sparring session with Duan and Jiam. It wouldn't be accurate to call it a "battle" — "guidance fight" would be more appropriate. A vivid analogy would be the fights at the 21st and 22nd World Martial Arts Tournaments, where Master Roshi, disguised as Jackie Chun, faced Krillin and Tien. The outcome wasn't important; the emphasis was on teaching. For Krillin, it was martial arts, and for Tien, it was more about the martial way and ethics.

The Grand Kai was far above Master Roshi's level, and the difference between Duan, Jiam, and the Grand Kai was much greater than that between Krillin, Tien, and Roshi. Thus, the "guidance fight" was more about instruction than competition.

As soon as Taro appeared, the Grand Kai noticed him. He was floating in the vast "white earth," casually pointing out the mistakes of Duan and Jiam with ease. When Taro arrived, the Grand Kai even had time to greet him. "You're here!" he said, flying backward through the air, his long white beard creating a horizontal line in the sky.

Duan and Jiam, surprised, quickly looked toward the "entrance." However, just as they glanced over, the Grand Kai's attack struck them.

"Don't get distracted during battle! How could you not know that?"

Duan and Jiam were both sent flying, internally screaming, "Isn't it you who distracted us by greeting him first?"

---

Taro watched the Grand Kai return to his teaching and turned his attention toward the "entrance." It was a door-like structure, standing alone in the vast, empty white space. Looking around, Taro saw that the white world stretched seemingly endlessly. Returning his gaze to the door, it stood out sharply in the monotony of the environment.

He might have mistaken it for the Anywhere Door from Doraemon if he didn't know better.

The door wasn't fully closed, and through a small crack, Taro could see the darkness outside — it must be the corridor filled with fluctuations in space-time. This was clearly one of the countless rooms within that corridor.

It seemed that the mental time chamber in the Earth's temple had indeed originated from here.

Given the limited abilities of Kami Piccolo, it was likely that the mental time chamber had already existed. This led Taro to think that throughout the history of Earth's Kami, there might have been some truly extraordinary individuals. However, that wasn't too surprising. After all, Earth was the place that birthed the genius who created androids capable of overpowering Super Saiyans. Nothing unusual about some strange occurrences.

After waiting for a while, the Grand Kai finally decided it was time to finish his guidance fight with Duan and Jiam. The two were exhausted, drenched in sweat, and completely drained of energy.

"Phew." The Grand Kai landed in front of Taro, sighing, rubbing his large white beard with a smile. "I'm getting old; just a bit of exercise and I'm already tired. I noticed you were focused on this place. From the look in your eyes, it seems you've seen a similar place before?"

He asked casually, but Taro felt a chill in his heart. The Grand Kai seemed to be watching him closely.

After thinking for a moment, Taro replied, "Yes, I've seen a similar room in Earth's temple. The environment was similar, though harsher, and it was separated from the outside world in terms of space. As for time... one day outside was one year inside."

The Grand Kai raised an eyebrow. "Oh? It seems that person tried to replicate this place. Not bad, though. He never cared for martial arts; he was more interested in studying these mysterious techniques."

Taro silently took note of this information, offering a casual remark. "Creating worlds... it's indeed a marvelous technique."

"Creating worlds?" The Grand Kai smiled slightly, scanning the endless white landscape. "He's far from being able to create worlds. The only one truly capable of creating worlds is the legendary Kaioshin…"

"The legendary Kaioshin?" Taro's heart skipped a beat. The Grand Kai referred to Kaioshin as a "legend"? For someone like him, Kaioshin was indeed a legend?

The Grand Kai, with his vast experience and sharp vision, had caught the subtle change in Taro's expression. He glanced at Duan and Jiam, who were still lying on the ground, and smiled at Taro. "How about you give them three of those beans you have?"

Taro glanced at the exhausted duo and silently retrieved three Senzu beans. The Grand Kai took them, tossing two of them to the lying figures. "Eat these!"

Duan had experienced the power of the beans before, and Jiam had seen it with his own eyes. So, when the beans landed on them, they exchanged a surprised glance but didn't say a word. They simply weakly grabbed the beans, popped them into their mouths, and with a crunch, swallowed. Instantly, all their strength was restored.

"This is unbelievable..." Duan thought to himself, silently amazed, as he and Jiam floated up, fully recovered.

The Grand Kai waved his hand at them, and the two flew over.

"Now that you're both here, I'll show you something…" The Grand Kai seemed to have gained interest. He stood with his hands behind his back, stroking his long white beard as he looked around the endless white expanse. "This world... was left by the Kaioshin. He said: It's not suitable to always stay here, so I'll make you a room. Heh…"

The Grand Kai chuckled, remembering long-forgotten past events.

Taro and the others listened quietly, their attention fixed. These were secrets known only to ancient beings like the Grand Kai, and they were fortunate to be hearing them now.

"I know you all thought that this place and the space-time fluctuations in other rooms were my doing... But no, I don't understand the laws of space-time. Perhaps I knew how before, but now... I certainly cannot do such things." The Grand Kai shook his head. "Creating worlds... that's the power of the Kaioshin." His gaze turned distant, though his eyes lacked focus. "Many of the rooms on this space-time corridor outside, just like here, hide a 'small world'..."

"Well, I've digressed a bit." The Grand Kai returned his gaze to Taro and the others, then continued, "Do you know? Our universe is actually incomplete. How could the universe only consist of one galaxy? If there were only the Milky Way, why wouldn't the universe just be called the Milky Way?" He sighed, "The universe once went through a terrible calamity. It was a catastrophe from 'another world' that shattered the legendary sacred land, the Kaioshin's realm. The Kaioshin's realm was at the center of the universe back then, and its destruction caused the entire universe to fracture..."

"So, after this calamity, the universe split into twelve unequal pieces. We are here, just in one of them... probably the smallest one." The Grand Kai's expression grew solemn, with an indescribable sense of melancholy.

Duan and Jiam's faces were filled with shock. The things the Grand Kai had just said were truly unheard of.

Taro, on the other hand, remained much calmer, as he had already known all this. In his previous life, he had watched the final Dragon Ball movie, Battle of Gods, where Beerus, the God of Destruction, mentioned it. However, the "calamity" wasn't mentioned.

What surprised him more in the Grand Kai's words was the mention of the Kaioshin and Kaioshin Realm. It seemed... different from what he knew about them from the storyline.

From what the Grand Kai had said, it seemed that the Kaioshin held the power of "creation"?

This was strikingly equivalent to the God of Destruction, who wielded the power of destruction.

It seemed that the Kaioshin in the original work had been weakened by that calamity. If the Sacred World had already been shattered, it made sense that the Kaioshin would also be diminished.

The Grand Kai continued speaking, describing the state of the universe before it was split.

"What I remember now is limited. After the calamity... I don't know the situation of the other universes, but our universe has become unstable. Or rather, it's developing in the direction it believes is more stable, guided by the natural laws. Since the day it separated from the other universes, our universe began to 'split'."

The Grand Kai paused for a moment, then continued, "It's not the same kind of splitting as before, with the other universes, but rather a splitting starting from the dimension of space-time. Our universe, due to the differences in the activities and choices of all the life forms and events within it, will give birth to billions of parallel universes. Perhaps the existence of 'me' in these parallel universes is what caused my memories, powers, and even my strength to become unstable and diminished."

Because, even in the pre-calamity universe, the Grand Kai was one of the closest beings to the Kaioshin, a "semi-divine" entity. This level of power had touched the core of the universe, yet still hadn't fully mastered it.

The turbulence of the universe had affected even such beings.

Taro understood now. No wonder he had often wondered how beings like the Grand Kai, who had existed for countless years, could be so easily surpassed in strength by Son Goku and others in just a few short years. Time that was nothing but a drop in the ocean compared to the Grand Kai's existence.

But if this was the cause of the Grand Kai's regression or stagnation in power, it made sense.

"In the previous universe, Super Warriors were countless. The pre-calamity universe was many times larger than ours, a time of extraordinary geniuses." The Grand Kai paused. "If we used the so-called battle power rating of our current universe..."

The Grand Kai turned to Jiam and Duan, saying, "Both of you... your battle powers are over ten million. In the terminology of the pre-calamity universe, you'd be considered 'stellar-level' experts. As for you..." Duan and Jiam exchanged looks, unsure if the number was high or low, when the Grand Kai turned to Taro and calmly said, "If I'm right... your 'battle power' is probably already at 'one hundred million,' right?"

Taro had once fought Frieza at full power, and now, with nearly sixty years of training, combined with his unique martial arts, it was likely that his battle power had reached one hundred million.

Hearing this, Taro neither hesitated nor denied it, simply nodding.

If his Muken were to unleash all fifty times its power, his battle power would indeed reach one hundred million.

There was no need to hide anything in front of the Grand Kai. Besides, judging by the information the Grand Kai had shared, it was clear he had seen it all. One hundred million? That was probably nothing to him.

However, this was as far as he could go. He could no longer break through. Not only was the fifty times boost of his Muken unbreakable, but even the one hundred million seemed to be an insurmountable threshold.

"I figured as much, and I would also bet that even with your special techniques, you can't surpass 'galaxy-level' now, right? Oh, 'galaxy-level' refers to the 'one hundred million' battle power in our universe..." the Grand Kai said. "Actually, the Frieza race... was originally a 'naturally galaxy-level' super-race in the old universe..."

Taro looked surprised but nodded calmly.

Meanwhile, Duan and Jiam, upon hearing the Grand Kai mention Taro's "one hundred million" battle power and seeing Taro confirm it, looked at him as if they'd seen a ghost.