At this moment, Yamiru's appearance was that of a demonized dragon form.
His limbs and entire body surged with even stronger power than before!
Yamiru threw a punch, creating a visible fist wind that tore through the air with a fierce gust, seemingly dispersing the dark golden hellish aura around him.
He was certain that the energy he now wielded should be on par with Goku and Raditz, the Saiyan brothers.
In fact, with his martial arts realm, Yamiru could easily overpower Raditz!
As for his strength relative to Goku, that was harder to say.
Especially since Goku was likely about to graduate from Korin, mastering the martial art's energy domain, which would likely lead to another leap in power.
But for Yamiru, who had faced slow progress in his strength for years, this was already an incredibly rare improvement.
"Can I control this demonization?" Yamiru muttered to himself, his body covered in scales, sharp fangs, claws, and even a lizard-like dragon tail swaying behind him. He truly resembled a monster.
Yet, the golden dragon mark remained on his wrist.
It seemed that this item, granted by the Dragon God, had protected Yamiru's rational consciousness at the final critical moment in his spiritual world.
It even helped Yamiru completely absorb and digest the evil thoughts that had been magnified by the hellish aura.
In the past, Yamiru had discarded his demonization by using the Golden Veil abilities to expel the evil thoughts amplified by the demonic energy from his heart.
This process was painful and unimaginable for others.
After his battle with Raditz, Yamiru had decided not to try this method again.
Temporarily demonizing himself could indeed increase his strength, helping him defeat nightmarish enemies like Tao Pai Pai, but the risks were too great.
If his willpower was weak or not resilient enough, the magnified evil thoughts would consume him, turning him into a genuine demon.
Honestly, if becoming a demon was just about the appearance, Yamiru wouldn't mind.
But he couldn't be sure—if he became a demon, would he still be himself?
Would the demonized Yamiru hurt those around him?
He was certain the demonized version of himself would break Tights's heart.
It was because of such beliefs that Yamiru had repeatedly expelled the evil thoughts in his heart using the Golden Veil' ability to see through and discern his true self.
Before protecting Tights and his other loved ones, Yamiru had to protect himself—his pure self.
However, the dragon-shaped mark on his wrist was different.
It didn't expel the evil thoughts amplified by the hellish demonic aura from his heart. Instead, it helped Yamiru completely absorb and digest them.
Because of this, the physical transformation and power boost brought by his demonization were completely retained.
"The golden dragon mark filtered the evil thoughts enlarged by the hellish demonic aura—or rather, the chaotic celestial energy—but the mental power that expanded because of it was completely integrated and absorbed by me through the mark. The celestial aura, or the pure energy of the heavens, can effortlessly shape a physical form with equal strength based on the internal reflections of beings like Super Saiyan Goku. This strength from the chaotic celestial energy originally required an amplified spiritual body—my evil thoughts— to control."
"With my original spiritual power, if I were to expel the evil thoughts, I would be unable to control the strength imposed on my body by the hellish demonic aura, because it's simply incompatible!"
"It's like how the gods of the Otherworld, like King Kai, wouldn't be able to create a Super Saiyan 2 form for Super Saiyan Goku, just because of a power mismatch... They could create it, but it wouldn't align with the reflection of Goku's inner self at the time! It's like how the Ginyu Force couldn't easily control Goku's body after the swap!"
"But now..."
Yamiru casually demonstrated his newfound strength in midair. His demonized dragon body felt as natural as his original form—like an extension of his own limbs, without any awkwardness!
"I can't believe I've come this far."
As Yamiru immersed himself in his own transformation, a loud voice boomed from above. He looked up to find the giant who had previously slapped him down into the abyss—now, standing in front of him was a female warrior figure, likely the Supreme Elderly Lord of the Mount Five Elements, a deity from Earth.
The Supreme Elderly Lord's enormous, beautiful eyes locked onto the demonized Yamiru, who now looked as small as an ant. She clicked his tongue in admiration and said, "You actually managed to use the chaotic energy to increase your power while still maintaining your rational mind. I must say, I'm impressed, kid."
"I had help," Yamiru replied calmly.
He could tell that the reason he had come this far was because of his unyielding faith and the protection granted by the dragon-shaped mark given to him by the Dragon God. Both were indispensable. Without the Dragon God's help, no matter how strong his will was, he would have ended up in a constant battle with the magnified evil thoughts within him, potentially trapped in an eternal struggle... Perhaps the best outcome would have been the huge, mountain-like Supreme Elderly Lord deity, frustrated by his antics, stepping in to resolve the conflict between the demonized Yamiru and the rational Yamiru.
Without his own willpower, however, it was likely that the Dragon God's mark would have simply ignored him, letting him perish on his own.
The Supreme Elderly Lord seemed pleased with Yamiru's response and nodded. "You're self-aware! You should know that even if you get rid of the evil thoughts, the power forcibly imbued by the chaotic heavenly aura won't be so easy to control. If your martial arts realm were even slightly weaker, you would end up being affected by your own power—turning into a demon at some point without even realizing it."
Yamiru was struck with shock. He hadn't expected the hellish demonic aura to be such a significant problem. It was truly full of hidden dangers.
Fortunately, the Dragon God's mark was strong enough to filter out the evil thoughts amplified by the chaotic aura, leaving only the pure spiritual power magnified by it for Yamiru to absorb.
The mention of his martial arts realm also left Yamiru in a daze.
He recalled the mysterious words of Korin from before: "The realm of Martial arts is useless, but perhaps its uselessness is its greatest use."
According to the Supreme Elderly Lord, the externally forced power infusion would be uncontrollable without a strong enough martial arts realm to suppress it. If there was not enough mastery, he would simply become a slave to the overwhelming power, eventually being assimilated by its attributes. The demonic aura's attribute clearly aimed to transform Yamiru into a demon.
A similar situation had occurred with the original Majin Buu. The foolish Majin Buu had gone around consuming people, and while his strength grew, he was ultimately influenced by the unexpected power boosts. After consuming the Grand Kaioshin, Fat Buu started transforming into a more benevolent version of himself... Majin Buu, who had assimilated Gotenks and Gohan, also displayed a Saiyan-like arrogance. If not for that, Son Goku would have had no chance to find a way to fuse with others, and Buu would have easily defeated him. Only the smallest version of Buu, despite being the weakest in terms of power, was the hardest to deal with. This version of Buu's power truly belonged to him alone, and his inner nature returned to the purest form of evil and madness, making him the most dangerous.
"The Realm of Martial arts..."
"Strength..."
Yamiru's mind was filled with countless thoughts in an instant.
At that moment, the Supreme Elderly Lord mounted her enormous Saber-tooth Dragon and called down to Yamiru, "It seems like you've come here specifically to find me. Well then, follow me."
Yamiru nodded and leaped onto the dragon's back.
The deity rode the dragon, taking Yamiru deep into the Mount Five Elements.