Chapter 449: Beerus' Rapid Progress
Inside Whis's crystal ball, Uchiha Dali was shown meditating within the Grand Zeno's divine realm. Upon seeing this, Beerus felt a faint sense of unease.
Whis, too, looked puzzled and curious.
Instead of answering Beerus's question, Whis simply stared into the crystal ball for a while, watching Uchiha Dali closely. Then, he slowly closed his eyes.
A few seconds later, he reopened them, a flicker of astonishment flashing deep within his gaze. His eyes shifted slightly toward Beerus, who was still looking confused.
"Whis, what's going on here?"
Beerus looked up at him.
"I don't know," Whis lied casually.
Then he smoothly changed the subject. "Lord Beerus, would you like to rest now? Maybe have something to eat? There are still some limited-edition desserts in the fridge, you know."
But the usually gluttonous Beerus surprised him by waving the offer away.
"Forget it. I'll keep training a bit longer. Next, I'm going to enter the Ultra Instinct state, Whis."
As soon as he spoke, Beerus instantly entered Ultra Instinct mode.
Though his Ultra Instinct wasn't yet perfect, he had already broken through the barrier of the second stage. A faint white aura shimmered around his body—less striking than the earlier Sign form, but undeniably powerful.
His ki surged exponentially, and his strength, speed, and defense all increased in tandem.
That was exactly the kind of progress Whis had hoped to see.
Seeing Beerus suddenly so focused and serious, Whis set aside his angel staff and took up a stance once more.
"Come then, Lord Beerus."
"No, this time you attack first, Whis."
"Oh? Are you sure, Lord Beerus? In that case, don't blame me for not holding back."
"Go ahead!"
Beerus clasped his hands behind his back, floating roughly twenty centimeters above the ground.
Seeing that Beerus wasn't joking, Whis said no more. In the next instant, he moved.
His speed surpassed Beerus's perception entirely—he appeared before him in an instant and launched a strike.
Beerus's pupils constricted sharply. Even in his nearly perfected Ultra Instinct state, he almost failed to dodge Whis's punch.
"Even space itself is twisting!"
"Whis, are you fighting seriously right now?"
Beerus looked at the warped space around him, shocked and a bit displeased.
This was supposed to be training, not a fight to the death.
If Whis went all out, how was he supposed to keep up?
"You did say I could attack as I wished, Lord Beerus."
"Tch… fine. Just keep attacking at that same intensity."
Beerus closed his eyes slowly.
In his mind, Uchiha Dali's image surfaced again—like a lingering nightmare he couldn't shake off.
Then something strange happened.
The faint white glow on Beerus's body suddenly began to fade.
But a second later, it flared back to life—brighter, sharper, more radiant than before.
Silver-white lines appeared, wrapping around his body. Even his head became surrounded by the silver glow, and his ears themselves turned bright silver.
In that moment, Beerus's aura rose dramatically—hundreds of times stronger than just moments before.
The silver light continued to intensify, quickly surpassing his previous limits.
When Beerus opened his eyes again, Whis was staring at him in astonishment.
"Lord Beerus… congratulations. After all these years, you've finally grasped the true essence of that technique."
Beerus looked down at his glowing body, unfazed.
It was a sudden enlightenment, yes—but not entirely unexpected. After all, he had finally been taking his training seriously.
"Looks like it's time to rest," Whis said with a smile.
But Beerus shook his head. "No. We keep going."
"Oh? Lord Beerus, you've now reached angel-level power. Do you really wish to continue?"
"Stop talking, Whis."
"This still isn't enough."
Beerus wasn't satisfied with his current strength.
Even though he could clearly feel that he was now hundreds of times stronger than before perfecting Ultra Instinct, the image of Uchiha Dali in his mind reminded him that even now, a considerable gap remained between them.
That was something Beerus could not accept.
"Very well, Lord Beerus," Whis replied. "Then allow me to test how far you've come with your Perfect Ultra Instinct."
He raised his staff again, taking a stance.
Beerus curled a finger at him with a smirk.
Whis didn't immediately attack, though. Instead, he said, "By the way, Lord Beerus, if you can maintain this level of training for an entire day, you might actually break through to an even higher realm. After all, you've just mastered a state that others couldn't grasp even after hundreds of millions of years—in less than half a day."
Hearing the praise, Beerus grinned proudly, tail flicking and chin lifted arrogantly. "Of course."
But then his gaze sharpened again.
In his eyes, Uchiha Dali's shadow reappeared. "That kid may be stronger than me for now, but give me a bit more time to train, and I'll surpass him. After all… I am the Supreme God of Destruction."
"Then shall we continue, Lord Beerus?"
"This time, I'll attack and you defend, Whis."
Beerus entered combat mode instantly, eyes gleaming.
"Here I come!"
Before the words finished leaving his mouth, he vanished. Whis disappeared at nearly the same instant.
The two clashed at speeds beyond sight, the air filled with the sounds of boom-boom-boom, crash-crash-crash.
Despite Beerus's frenzied attacks, Whis remained calm and composed, easily keeping pace.
He even fought Beerus—now at full strength and in Perfect Ultra Instinct—using only one hand.
But Beerus was completely lost in his training frenzy, utterly unaware of Whis's quiet thoughts.
"Lord Beerus… if possible, I truly wouldn't want to see you disappear like this…" Whis thought silently.