Demon Realm, Second Heaven
Glug… glug… glug…
The War Demon Clan Head was the decisive type. He didn't waste time with speeches. The moment they arrived in the Second Heaven, he brought Son Gohan and the other four straight to the Refinement Demon Pool.
Gohan frowned the instant he saw it.
What lay before them was a massive pit, roughly ten meters wide, filled with a purple-black liquid that bubbled like boiling sludge.
He sniffed once.
A sharp, choking stink of blood hit his nose.
"This is the Refinement Demon Pool," the War Demon Clan Head said. "The liquid inside is a cleansing brew refined with the help of the Strategist after I and that old Blood Demon petitioned him together. Then we each added our own bloodline essence. This one belongs to the War Demon Clan."
"Go in. It will be extremely painful. I hope you can endure it."
His gaze sharpened as it landed on Gohan.
"Especially you, Son Gohan. I'm betting on you."
One of the four demons couldn't help asking, voice tight.
"Clan Head… besides War Demon bloodline essence, is there anything else strange in there?"
The War Demon Clan Head answered coldly.
"Besides the finest genes of my War Demon Clan, the Strategist personally added all kinds of medicines meant to strengthen the body. The path of the flesh is skin, muscle, tendons, bones. The materials inside are rare herbs, precious treasures. They start at your skin, then soak deeper and deeper into bone, meridians, flesh, bloodline."
"The pain is beyond words."
"If you want to back out, you still can. Right now."
Gohan's eyes gleamed with a wild, almost deranged excitement.
"Interesting. Let me see just how painful it is."
Splash!
Before the other four could say anything, Gohan jumped in first.
"Splash… splash…"
Four more splashes followed as the other demons clenched their teeth and plunged in too.
"Remember," the War Demon Clan Head said, voice heavy, "the longer you endure, the stronger the mutation. Little ones, hold on as long as you can."
He shut the pool's heavy gate and walked away.
"Hiss… this is great!"
Gohan actually sounded thrilled.
He felt the scorching liquid seep into his skin, slow and relentless.
Pain he hadn't felt in a long time came roaring back, stimulating every nerve.
Even more terrifying was what he sensed beneath that pain.
His Saiyan body, already hard to the point of absurdity, was being forced even further.
Entering the Refinement Demon Pool really was an unexpected jackpot.
"Monster… freak…"
The demon who had asked the question stared at Gohan like he'd seen a curse.
"Hiss… it hurts like hell!"
His face twisted, veins popping as the agony tore through him.
Did Gohan not feel pain?
Of course he did.
The instant he entered, it was like ants crawling under his skin, an unbearable itch.
As the liquid seeped deeper, it became like tens of thousands of needles stabbing him at once.
Just as the sensation on his skin started to fade, the real suffering began.
When the cleansing brew reached tendon and bone, it was like it finally showed its fangs.
His tendons and bones snapped, shattered, then were rebuilt under the brew's relentless "washing."
Again and again.
Breaking.
Reforming.
Breaking.
Reforming.
"Damn it… it hurts so bad!"
Even Gohan yelled.
The other four were worse.
One trembled violently, foam at the mouth, mind slipping into chaos.
Yet their auras were surging upward.
Gohan's base combat power climbed even faster:
160 billion… 170 billion… 200 billion… 250 billion…
That explosive aura was only a side effect.
The truly terrifying part was the qualitative transformation of his body.
Inside Gohan, two ancient, eerie primal forces churned and roared, circulating like something newly awakened.
The violent rise in power made him lose fine control over his energy.
A black aura rose around him.
Black, not the usual white flame of his normal state.
After the pool's cleansing, his aura had been stained by demonic energy, the color itself changing.
Luckily, it changed.
Otherwise, even with the War Demon Clan Head outside, someone might have sensed that "universal" signature on him.
One day. Two days.
Ten full days passed.
The first person finally emerged.
"I greet the Clan Head!"
"Haha! Good!" The War Demon Clan Head looked delighted. "Even if you're the first one out, enduring ten days is still among the top results in our history!"
He was in high spirits.
He might've lost to the Blood Demons in numbers, but in quality, he was crushing them.
His information network told him the Blood Demon Clan's longest-lasting genius had come out earlier than this kid by several time markers.
"Clan Head, you flatter me," the demon said humbly. "I'm still far behind the real monsters."
This demon's name was Mafuu.
The War Demon Clan Head's eyes flashed.
"Don't undervalue yourself. You're already impressive. As for the others… besides Son Gohan, they should be coming out soon."
As soon as he finished speaking
Tap… tap… tap…
Three sets of footsteps sounded.
The other three demons emerged together.
"Mafuu was first," one of them muttered, staring at the pool. "But that freak is still sitting in there like nothing's happening…"
Another shook his head hard.
"I'm not competing with him. No chance. None."
The three who came out were named Mashiusu, Marei, and Makasu.
Mafuu and Marei were from the same original tribe.
Mashiusu and Makasu were from another.
But after the Refinement Demon Pool's cleansing, they were all now part of the War Demon Clan.
And the War Demon Clan didn't force them to change their names.
"Alright," the War Demon Clan Head said, turning slightly. "Zankui, take them down, let them familiarize themselves with the clan. Tell them what needs to be told."
A massive figure stepped forward from behind him.
"Yes, Clan Head."
He looked at the four.
"Come with me."
Zankui led them away.
The War Demon Clan Head stayed behind, eyes fixed on the silent figure sitting in the pool's center.
"Son Gohan…"
"Let me see how long you can hold out."
"The highest record is thirty days."
"Let's see if you can break it."
Time crawled forward.
One second at a time.
A full month passed.
Gohan had remained in the pool for forty days.
And the purple-black cleansing brew had turned clear, drained of its potency.
Shing!
Gohan's eyes snapped open.
Two black-gold beams fired from his gaze.
BOOM!
The beams punched through the ceiling, then pierced the Second Heaven's dimensional barrier, shooting straight into the Third Heaven.
Deep within the Third Heaven
"Oh?"
A presence in seclusion murmured to itself.
"That direction… the War Demon Clan's Refinement Demon Pool?"
"Interesting. So a powerful genius has been born."
Then it closed its eyes again.
"Hahaha! Kid, you broke the record!"
The War Demon Clan Head looked thrilled.
Gohan rose and stepped out of the pool, drying the water off his body with a breath of energy. His expression was openly dissatisfied.
"Tch. Senior, if the medicine hadn't run out, I could've stayed a year."
The War Demon Clan Head stared at him, unable to resist asking.
"You little freak… you didn't feel pain?"
"As far as I know, the Refinement Demon Pool is pure torment."
"It hurts," Gohan said casually. "But after it hurts long enough, you get used to it."
"Then when it suddenly stops hurting… it feels kind of weird. Like you're not used to it anymore."
"…Are you even speaking human language?"
The War Demon Clan Head finally snapped.
"To hell with 'got used to it.' To hell with 'not used to it.'"
Gohan clenched his fist, feeling the terrifying density beneath his skin.
His body should've strengthened by more than ten times.
Yet his base combat power stabilized at around 300 billion.
Because body strength and raw combat power weren't the same thing.
"Alright, Clan Head, I'm not joking anymore," Gohan said, eyes bright. "Is there anywhere I can fight? My hands are itching."
The War Demon Clan Head went silent.
"…Rest for two days," he said at last, voice full of helplessness. "Let me think."
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