Through the system interface, Gohan's current power level was now visible:
[Target: Son Gohan]
[Power Level Index: 5 gai (Note: Early stage of Ultimate Form = 1,000x boost, Power Level Index: 5,000 gai)]
Before unlocking his potential, Gohan's base power level had only reached the chao level, he hadn't even touched the jing level.
Now, in his Ultimate State, Gohan's base power level had reached 5 gai! Only slightly weaker than Vegeta's base level.
And with the Ultimate Form's enhancement, his total combat power now sat in the late stage of the 7th dimension, gai-level.
If he continued to improve, breaking through to the 8th dimension was definitely possible.
The Ultimate Form's 1,000x power multiplier was still just the initial increase.
If perfected, it might reach the same enhancement levels as Super Saiyan God or Super Saiyan 4 with black hair.
No wonder Gohan in the original story was able to dominate even Majin Buu.
If Ultimate Form is this strong, then Super Saiyan Beast would likely multiply his power by dozens to hundreds of times more!
"Uncle Lin Chuan,"
Gohan smiled excitedly upon noticing Lin Chuan approaching, like a child waiting to be praised.
"Your strength has grown far beyond what I expected," Lin Chuan praised.
"But don't get cocky, Gohan.
Once we return, you'll need steady training over time to stabilize this new form."
Lin Chuan, while praising him, also took the stance of a strict mentor.
And to be honest, that second part of his advice, was the most important.
It was also where Gohan might easily lose himself.
"Uncle Lin Chuan, you saw through it, didn't you?! I understand! I'll work even harder from now on."
Gohan nodded with bright eyes, filled with both seriousness and excitement.
Just as Lin Chuan was about to say something else, the Elder Supreme Kai, who Lin Chuan had rescued earlier, finally started to grumble,
"You brat! You have no respect for your elders, do you?!
Even though I'm a Supreme Kai, you should still consider my age!
If Lin Chuan hadn't saved me, your energy would've torn me to pieces!"
Gohan realized how reckless he had been.
He hadn't thought things through in the moment. Now it was too late, but he was still grateful to Lin Chuan.
Otherwise, he might've ended up killing the very man who helped him grow stronger.
Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Gohan apologized,
"I'm really sorry, Elder Supreme Kai. I got too excited and didn't notice you."
"Sigh… fine. You're still young. I'll let it slide."
The Elder Supreme Kai shook his head. Since the apology was sincere, he didn't press the issue.
After brushing the dust off himself, he looked toward the other warriors and placed his hands behind his back to compose himself.
"Let me be clear,
If the next person does what this kid just did,
I won't unlock anyone else's potential."
Vegeta and Piccolo didn't react. They wouldn't behave that way anyway, so they ignored the warning.
Tien, Krillin, and Chiaotzu exchanged glances, a little embarrassed on Gohan's behalf.
"Alright, who's next? Come on over."
The Elder Kai clearly didn't intend to rest.
Despite the six-hour strain, he could still keep going.
This surprised Lin Chuan a little.
"Last time when you unlocked my potential, you only lasted three hours.
I understood, you'd just escaped your seal.
But this time, after six hours for Gohan, you're still not out of juice?"
"Don't underestimate me just because I'm old! I'm just getting started!"
The Elder Supreme Kai replied proudly.
Old but vigorous.
He felt so rejuvenated that Lin Chuan briefly considered undergoing the ritual again.
Had the Elder Kai known Lin Chuan was thinking that, he'd probably pretend to be exhausted immediately.
Because while the remaining fighters were strong, the Elder Kai assumed none of them would be as taxing as Gohan.
But soon, he'd regret that thought.
The Z Fighters, none of them were ordinary.
"Since no one's speaking up, I'll go first! Elder Supreme Kai, please take care of me!"
Krillin perked up, full of energy, and dashed toward the Elder Kai.
Because Gohan had destroyed the nearby area, the two moved to a grassy patch that was still intact.
The others didn't mind waiting, they'd get their turn.
Only Vegeta let out a disgruntled "hmph."
He was eager, but he held back, not out of patience, but because he wanted to see how strong a mere Earthling like Krillin could get.
He couldn't compete for the first spot, that was Lin Chuan's decision.
Nearly three hours passed again.
Krillin's potential unlocking went smoothly, three hours faster than Gohan's.
First, because his base power was lower.
Second, while Krillin's potential wasn't weak, it was nowhere near Gohan's, one of the original series' main characters.
"The energy… it's flowing endlessly through my body!
And not only that, my body feels at least ten times stronger than before!"
Krillin took a deep breath, trying to calm his excitement.
Having seen what Gohan went through, Krillin stayed mindful throughout his own ritual.
And the result, was mind-blowing.
If he had trained this out himself, who knows how many years it would've taken?
Maybe never.
Most importantly, his understanding of martial arts realms deepened.
He now grasped how to truly train in Ultra Instinct.
Even divine energy cultivation made more sense now.
Sure, his boost wasn't as absurd as Gohan's, but he was deeply satisfied.
Everyone watched Krillin's transformation closely.
Being the closest, Lin Chuan used his system to see Krillin's new power,
[Target: Krillin]
[Power Level Index: 9,000 trillion]
Krillin was now close to the peak of the trillion tier.
From a few hundred billion to this level, it was unbelievable.
With a few more years of training, Krillin could definitely reach 6th-dimensional jing-level.
In the original story, this would've made him unstoppable even in the next generation.
But in this timeline, 6th- and 7th-dimensional power wasn't even that impressive anymore.
After Krillin's session ended, the Elder Kai took a short pause.
He honestly hadn't expected an Earthling to take so much out of him.
He still had some strength left, but he feared the next session might be even more intense.
Ah well, I'll just give it my all.
After the third one, I'll rest before continuing…
Let's hope the next one isn't as crazy.
He glanced toward Tien and Chiaotzu.
"Alright, you, three eyes, your turn."
The Elder Kai clapped, signaling Tien to step forward.
He chose this third one himself, so no one else argued.
Tien, surprised to be chosen, stepped forward with a nod from Krillin who cheered him on.
Another three hours passed before they knew it.
Tien's unlocking finished around the same time as Krillin's.
No one else thought much of it, but the Elder Kai was ready to cry.
Monsters… they're all monsters!
But for the sake of pride, he had to tough it out.
"This… is my strength after unlocking potential?!
I can't believe I've become this powerful!"
Tien muttered in awe.
Had he kept training normally, he might never have reached this level.
"Thank you, Elder Supreme Kai."
Filled with emotion, Tien bowed deeply.
The Elder Kai just waved his hand, he barely had the strength to speak anymore.
Luckily, Lin Chuan appeared just in time, placing a hand on the Kai's shoulder and transferring his own divine energy to him.
This quickly restored 70% of the Elder Kai's strength, preventing a total collapse.
"You've been going for 12 hours straight. Take a break."
Lin Chuan said.
The Elder Kai thought for a moment and nodded.
"Alright… two hours of rest. Then we continue."
Even in exhaustion, he maintained his dignity as a god, grateful that Lin Chuan helped him save face.
With Lin Chuan's divine energy, his power recovered rapidly.
The last 30%, his mental energy, needed to recover naturally, but he was already functional again.
No one said a word during the break.
No one objected.
After all, after waiting this long, what's another two hours?
Vegeta and Piccolo remained calm and silent.
Chiaotzu circled around Krillin and Tien, eagerly looking forward to his own turn.
Gohan was among them, since the three who had completed their potential unlocking were now discussing their shared experiences.
Shin, the East Supreme Kai, and Kibito rushed over to serve the Elder Supreme Kai, offering him tea, fanning him, during his break.
Lin Chuan sat alone atop a massive boulder, bored. He kept watching Tien's power level data.
And he was honestly surprised.
All this time, Krillin and Tien had been evenly matched, like a constant never broken.
But now, that balance had shifted.
[Target: Tien Shinhan]
[Power Level Index: 2 jing 5000 trillion]
…
Two hours passed.
After resting and recovering his energy, the Elder Supreme Kai resumed the potential unlocking.
Next up was, as expected, Chiaotzu.
The Elder Kai wasn't stupid, though all these fighters were freakish, Vegeta was a Saiyan and Piccolo was a Namekian.
Given the choice, it was a no-brainer to start with the easier ones.
That's also why he'd agreed from the beginning to develop Krillin and Tien's potential first.
Chiaotzu's unlocking process was noticeably faster than Krillin and Tien's.
It took just one hour.
And even an hour was still considered incredible.
From the Elder Kai's perspective, anything beyond one hour already marked a terrifying level of potential.
Even Lin Chuan found Chiaotzu's transformation incredible.
Not because of raw battle power, Chiaotzu's combat index only increased from tens of millions to tens of billions.
It looked like he'd hit some kind of cap.
But!
Chiaotzu gave Lin Chuan a distinct feeling that his true strength was being underestimated by numbers.
His unique psychic abilities had reached a whole new realm, he had undergone a fundamental transformation.
"Though it's different from my own studies on spiritual power, if Chiaotzu's abilities continue evolving, they might become god-tier techniques."
Lin Chuan evaluated silently, observing but not interfering with the process.
Then,
"Next up, you two, who's going first?"
The Elder Supreme Kai asked Piccolo and Vegeta after finishing with Chiaotzu.
Vegeta stayed calm and silent, looking at Piccolo.
He didn't fight for it, he wanted to see just how far Piccolo could go.
Piccolo didn't hesitate. He seemed to realize Vegeta intended to go last.
So he calmly walked over to the Elder Kai, sat cross-legged, and awaited the ritual.
He didn't say a word, maintaining a composed demeanor.
With others paving the way, he didn't feel nervous.
"Gohan took six hours. Krillin and Tien both took three.
How long will it take you, Piccolo?"
Vegeta stared intently, wondering to himself.
After several observations, even the slowest person could tell, the longer the ritual, the greater the power boost.
Gohan was proof. So were Krillin, Tien, and even Chiaotzu.
On this side, the potential unlocking continued.
Meanwhile,
Thanks to their sudden power boosts, some of the warriors began to feel itchy for a fight.
Unexpectedly, the most eager wasn't Gohan, it was Krillin and Tien.
Having reached such power levels, they were desperate to test it out.
Gohan, Chiaotzu, and Lin Chuan became the closest spectators.
Naturally, Vegeta, Shin, and Kibito also watched with interest.
Though they didn't get close, they just observed from a distance.
…
They arrived at a wide, open area.
Tien and Krillin stood several meters apart, facing each other.
An overwhelming pressure radiated from their bodies.
At this strength level, even Vegito from the Majin Buu arc wouldn't stand a chance.
Both fighters had reached the peak of the 5th dimension, trillion-level.
Tien could be even stronger, but he was holding back to use Krillin as a sparring partner to stabilize his powers.
Pale white energy flames radiated from their bodies, and the pressure in the area grew terrifying.
Lin Chuan had to personally release divine power to form a barrier, otherwise their clash would disturb the Elder Supreme Kai and Piccolo's ongoing ritual.
"As expected of you, Krillin. Even after potential unlocking, we're still perfectly matched.
This battle, you better not hold back."
Tien took a stance from the Crane School, wearing a faint smile.
He didn't plan to go easy on his friend either.
"You too! Come on, Tien.
It's been a long time since we truly fought.
Last time was in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."
Krillin assumed his classic Turtle School stance. His aura flared explosively.
When both had powered up fully, Krillin struck first, his speed explosive.
With power at this level, even their presence could shake space itself.
Krillin dashed toward Tien, unleashing a flurry of fierce punches and kicks.
Though smaller in stature, Krillin's compact frame held astonishing power.
Tien, though technically stronger, was forced to retreat from the onslaught.
Feeling Krillin's pressure, Tien's body heated up, the thrill of battle pushed him from defense into offense.
The two exchanged relentless blows for some time.
Eventually, Tien leaned back, using clever footwork to create space, then launched a powerful counter-kick toward the pursuing Krillin.
BOOM!!
Krillin lost control of his body and was blasted several kilometers away before finally stabilizing mid-air.
"Ow ow ow! You really didn't hold back, Tien!
But this fight… really brings back memories of the old World Martial Arts Tournaments…"
Krillin clutched his stomach, not in pain, but in excitement.
The sensation of pain only fired up his fighting spirit.
Krillin clapped his hands together in preparation to release energy.
In an instant, a deep blue glow gathered between his palms.
Seeing this, Tien didn't hesitate. He began charging his energy as well,
"This really is nostalgic.
Not just you, I'm also feeling that old fire again."
"Take this, Ka—Me—Ha— Me—HAAAAA!!"
Krillin launched the iconic blue energy beam like a meteor toward Tien.
"Nice! Ki Cannon!!"
Tien fired his own attack in response.
BOOOOOM!!!!!!!
The two energy waves collided mid-air, releasing a scorching shockwave in all directions.
As the explosion lit up the field, both fighters burst forward again, diving through the smoke and flames, exchanging close-range blows.
Their battle techniques and experience were incredibly rich.
And in this evenly matched clash, both were further adapting, awakening their deep combat instincts.