The golden and red flames vanished once more, and Xie Yi slowly raised his drooping head. Vegeta had already sensed that something was amiss, but he simply watched quietly.
No one knew that deep down, Vegeta was eagerly anticipating Xie Yi's next transformation.
A smile curled at the corners of Xie Yi's lips.
Golden-red auras suddenly burst forth to envelop his entire body.
"Kaio-ken!"
"Tenfold!"
"Boom! Boom!"
Xie Yi gazed coldly at Vegeta.
"Are you just going to stand there and watch without making a move?"
Vegeta said excitedly, "Defeated foe—no, Xie Yi, I can finally treat you as an opponent now, a true opponent!"
"Ah! Aah! Ah!"
With a mighty roar, Vegeta flew at incredible speed right up to Xie Yi.
"I saw that!"
"Bang!"
Xie Yi effortlessly caught Vegeta's fist.
"Impressive! Aside from Kakarot, you are the first opponent who can force me to get serious!"
Disregarding his trapped fist, Vegeta raised his knee to strike at Xie Yi.
Xie Yi countered with the exact same attack.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
With their hands locked in a test of strength, the two men launched a relentless barrage of kicks at one another.
Accompanied by the crackling roar of lightning surrounding them, both men shouted in unison as golden light surged outward in all directions.
Leveraging his advantages in strength and speed, Xie Yi landed the first punch on Vegeta.
"Bang!"
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Caught off guard, Vegeta took several blows in a row before finally managing to counterattack.
"Damn it! How could I be completely suppressed by you like this? You're nothing more than a Super Saiyan 1 Full Power!"
Vegeta roared furiously, and the aura surrounding him immediately changed, its golden flames taking on a darker tone.
The dark golden aura reflected in Xie Yi's eyes. Just as Xie Yi was wondering whether Vegeta's transformation was some sort of mutation, a gale-force wind swept over him.
"Bang!"
"Vegeta!"
Xie Yi and Vegeta's fists collided head-on.
"What happened to your transformation?"
"Hah! Could it be that you're scared?"
"Won't say? Or do you not even know how you triggered it yourself?"
"Save the nonsense for after this is over!"
Vegeta launched into a fierce flurry of attacks, his fists weaving into a cross-pattern. After a few rounds, Vegeta was ultimately a fraction behind and knocked backward.
Just as Vegeta was about to charge back into the fray, Yade produced a megaphone and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Stop fighting, you two, stop fighting!"
Naturally, Vegeta had no intention of paying him any mind, but upon seeing the scene down below...
Vegeta hesitated, weighing his decision.
A stream of information flashed through Xie Yi's mind.
"Time-limited mission completed. The battle between Vegeta and the host is judged a victory for the host. Although the fight did not exhaust every last ounce of strength, based on the breakdown of the combat performance—"
"The System declares the host the winner."
"The host's chosen reward, the Super Saiyan 3 transformation, has been issued."
Xie Yi let out a breath and thought, *He could have defeated Vegeta in this fight, but it would have taken a considerable amount of time.*
*My main concern was that Planet Yardrat wouldn't be able to withstand it. After all, it doesn't have as many patches reinforcing its defenses as Earth does.*
"Do you want to keep going, Vegeta?"
"Hmph!"
With a snort, Vegeta reverted to his Base Form.
Yade broke into a heartfelt smile.
"Thank goodness! Thank goodness!"
Although the residences across the planet had suffered a certain degree of damage from the shockwaves, none of the inhabitants of Planet Yardrat had been hurt.
"It seems that after emerging from the Secret Realm, Mr. Vegeta's sense of justice is gradually growing as well. But what's most astonishing of all is that Mr. Vegeta managed to master the physical enhancement technique from the Star Formula."
"The Astral Body!"