Time passed quickly, and with the diligent training of John and Goku, what felt like a day outside had turned into a year inside the Room of Spirit and Time.
Although Goku was considered a low-level warrior among the Saiyans, it must be said that he truly embodied the protagonist of the Dragon Ball world, seemingly gathering all the fortune of the universe within him.
Regardless of whether his allies or enemies were stronger than him before encountering Goku, he always managed to catch up in a remarkably short time.
Even John, who possessed prophetic abilities as a transmigrator, found that after just one year of training in the Room of Spirit and Time, Goku's strength had already caught up to his own.
This was their first time reaching a draw in battle within the Room of Spirit and Time; both were covered in wounds, their faces bruised, with blood at the corners of their mouths.
Goku looked at John with joy and said, "Hehe! John, I finally caught up to you!"
In contrast to Goku's happiness, John felt quite frustrated. He couldn't understand why he and Goku were both Saiyans, yet Goku's progress as a low-level warrior was so rapid.
The only explanation could be that Goku was the main character of Dragon Ball; with the fortune of heaven and earth on his side, as the protagonist, it was determined that he could not be weaker than anyone else—friend or foe alike.
John took out two Senzu Beans, tossed one to Goku, and ate one himself. In an instant, both restored themselves to peak physical condition.
"Alright, Goku," John said. "Today's training ends here. Your strength has caught up to mine; now we need to adjust our training. I also want to talk to you about Saiyans."
Goku paused for a moment but followed John into the only palace within the Room of Spirit and Time.
Instead of sitting on chairs, they casually sat on the ground as John began explaining.
"Saiyans are not native life forms from Earth; they originate from other planets in the universe. So Goku, you were actually sent to Earth as a baby by a spaceship."
"I won't go into too much detail about Saiyans right now; you can learn about it later when you have free time or do your own research—it's pretty boring anyway."
"What I need to emphasize is that we are currently in an ordinary Saiyan state. Although our strength can gradually increase with continued training..."
"Eventually, that increase will slow down significantly until it becomes almost negligible."
"Therefore, Saiyan ancestors chose evolution as a means to enhance their power—from ordinary Saiyans to Super Saiyan 1."
"Then from Super Saiyan 1 to Super Saiyan 2, and from Super Saiyan 2 to Super Saiyan 3."
"Theoretically speaking, the evolution of Super Saiyans can continue indefinitely. However, just like ordinary Saiyans, once they reach a certain level of evolution, it becomes extremely difficult to continue increasing their strength."
"At this point, they need to seek new paths for evolution."
What John had said about Saiyans left Goku astonished; he never imagined there were higher evolutionary paths beyond Super Saiyan forms 1, 2, and 3.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Goku asked: "Is it Super Saiyan 4?"
John nodded: "Super Saiyan 4 definitely exists. However, in this universe, it is ultimately God who governs all beings."
"So our evolutionary direction should be towards becoming like God."
"God?" Goku looked confused. "Are you talking about the God of Earth?"
John shook his head: "Do you think the God of Earth is powerful?"
Goku thought for a moment before shaking his head: "Not really; I don't think he could even beat me."
John nodded again: "Exactly. The God of Earth is not powerful; they are merely a manager of one planet and are among the lowest ranks in the cosmic hierarchy."
"Above Earth's God is King Yemma who manages the afterlife and oversees souls. Your grandfather is under his jurisdiction; when Fortuneteller Baba brought your grandfather back to life, she needed King Yemma's approval."
"Above King Yemma is King Kai; above King Kai is Grand Kai; and above Grand Kai is Supreme Kai."
"In one universe, Supreme Kai is the highest-ranking deity."
"Does that mean the higher a god's rank is, the stronger they are?!" Goku asked curiously.
"Not necessarily," John explained. "These gods—King Yemma, King Kai, Supreme Kai—are essentially managers of their respective universes or planets; their strength does not always make them the strongest beings."
"Oh..." After hearing John's explanation, Goku felt somewhat disheartened; he had thought these gods were formidable but realized their power might not even surpass his own.
"If these gods aren't stronger than us, then why should we evolve towards becoming like them?" Goku questioned.
John continued explaining: "Goku! First off, evolving towards becoming like God isn't the only evolutionary path available. However, since gods exist in reality, I believe it's wiser to follow this more established path rather than blindly exploring on our own."
"While King Kai and Supreme Kai may not be very strong themselves, there are Destroyers who hold equal rank but are incredibly powerful fighters."
Upon hearing about Destroyers made Goku excited; that name sounded imposing. He eagerly asked: "John! How strong are these Destroyers?"
John thought for a moment on how best to describe them before finally saying after several seconds of silence: "A Destroyer can casually unleash enough power to destroy an entire planet."
"And that 'casual' power is likely just one-thousandth or even one ten-thousandth of their total strength."
"Ah!!! That's amazing!" Goku exclaimed in shock. The information John had shared today completely shattered his previous understanding and left his mind reeling.
Just when Goku thought Destroyers were the strongest beings in existence, John continued: "But Destroyers are not necessarily the strongest beings in the universe."
"What? There are beings even stronger than Destroyers?!" Still processing how powerful Destroyers were, Goku jumped up in surprise upon hearing there were even mightier entities.