Training

After putting on the weighted clothing with its miraculous effects, Chaya felt as though his body had been enveloped by a strange gravitational field. He had to expend far more effort to counteract the gravity imposed on every cell in his body. As a result, he could no longer freely mobilize his own strength, and his surging battle power immediately dropped.

Just as Frieza used transformations to suppress the uncontrollable power within his body, once most of Chaya's energy had been stripped away, the energy he could truly control became negligible.

Controlling that energy was much easier than before.

Watching Chaya and Selyne, who had difficulty moving yet still possessed tenaciously terrifying battle power, Kami was somewhat moved. A trace of surprise appeared in his deep eyes.

He had never considered taking advantage of their weakened state to kill them, because he knew it was simply impossible—although Chaya and Selyne's power was currently being used to offset the weight of their clothing, that did not mean the power had vanished from their bodies. It had merely retreated deeper within them.

Moreover, Kami's sense of righteousness would not permit him to do something so despicable.

Consider it forming a good bond with Earth. Perhaps one day, Earth may still need their help... Kami thought to himself. Leaning on his staff, he spoke in a faint voice, "Guests, Mr. Popo and Karin will train you from here on. I hope they can be of help to you."

"Just call me Chaya. The little one beside me is Selyne. We'll be in your care from now on." Chaya politely nodded to Mr. Popo and Korin, a confident smile on his youthful face.

Although the power within his body had decreased greatly, having less of it meant he could control it more easily.

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all!" Korin licked the fur on his paw and stroked his whiskers as he secretly speculated, What race are these two little ones? They can actually endure fifteen times gravity. It's been centuries since I last saw anyone like this.

At that moment, Mr. Popo, who had stood silently to the side from the beginning, stepped forward. His unruffled eyes regarded Chaya and Selyne as he said, "Karin will train you first. Once you have more or less mastered the energy within your bodies and understand what Ki is, Mr. Popo will train you!"

"Alright!"

"Mm."

"Karin, I'll leave the rest to you." Leaning on his staff, Kami smiled, wrinkles covering his aged face. After greeting Chaya and the others, he returned inside the Sacred Temple.

After Kami left, Korin looked at the two children before him. Though youthful in appearance, their strength was not to be underestimated. He pondered how he should train them.

Not long afterward, Korin somehow produced two bells and tied them onto Chaya and Selyne. Then he took out a water bottle and hung it from his wooden staff.

After finishing all this, Korin smoothed his fur and said seriously, "From now on, your task is to seize the water bottle hanging from my staff. You may do so while I'm asleep or distracted. Any method is allowed. As long as you take the water bottle from me, you pass."

"However, I have one requirement. You must keep these two bells tied to yourselves while acting, and you cannot let them make even the slightest sound. Otherwise, you fail."

Chaya nodded after hearing this. Overall, this training method was the same one Korin had used to train Son Goku in the original story. However, compared to Son Goku, Korin's current method was far stricter. A tiny bell alone increased the training's difficulty more than a hundredfold.

To move without allowing the bells to make even the slightest sound, one had to achieve a state of "a heart still as water, as calm as the sky." The difficulty was immense.

Through this kind of training, one could gradually grasp the essence of Ki.

In fact, Chaya had trained using this method himself, but he did not know what exactly he had failed to grasp. The moment he moved, the bells would stir, and he had never found the key to it.

It seemed he still needed someone who understood Ki to personally guide him!

Ki was actually a form of energy, the power contained within a living body. Most people simply could not discover its essence, and their usage of it was crude and barbaric. Korin's training method appeared simple, but it contained profound principles. This was where Earthlings far surpassed those of the universe.

It was also what Chaya had come to Earth to obtain.

"Karin, let's begin!"

Chaya nodded at Korin, then joined forces with Selyne to begin trying to seize the water bottle.

Korin's training seemed simple, but once they truly began, they discovered that it was indeed difficult. Every time Chaya made a move, he either came up empty-handed or the bells rang out with a "jingle jingle." To keep the bells silent, they had to control every movement of their bodies with extreme precision. Combined with the thin air high above the Sacred Temple and the tremendous weight on their bodies, the two of them were panting from exhaustion before long.

After resting and recovering their strength, they once again began trying to seize the water bottle hanging from Korin's staff.

Yet they failed every time. Several times, they were clearly about to grab the bottle, only for Korin to sway his body slightly and make them miss again.

In the blink of an eye, six or seven days passed. Life at the Sacred Temple was exceedingly dull and monotonous, but Chaya and Selyne were both people who could endure loneliness well, and neither grew irritated by it.

Over the past few days, they were like sponges absorbing water, continuously taking in the martial arts principles Korin taught during training. They reshaped their understanding of strength and how to control it, gradually changing from instinctive, rough control to something meticulous and refined.

On the ninth day, Chaya and Selyne were still trying to seize the water bottle, but compared to the first day, they could now keep the bells from making any sound quite well.

Korin watched in astonishment. Faced with their inhuman rate of improvement, even someone with Korin's solid martial arts foundation felt thoroughly crushed.

Korin naturally knew that this training method was already far more difficult than his previous methods. In the past, whenever someone climbed Korin Tower, he would train them by having them seize the water bottle. Ordinary challengers usually needed two or three years to pass.

But adding the restriction of "not letting the bells ring" on top of that was a first, because that was usually a test from the Heavenly Realm for challengers of the Sacred Temple.

"This won't do. You must learn to regulate your breathing. Once your breathing becomes erratic, your rhythm will be off, and your movements will reveal openings." Korin shook the water bottle in his hand, his cat eyes narrowing into slits.

"For example, like this..."

Korin suddenly launched an attack at Chaya and Selyne. His soft paws struck their bodies, accompanied by a rapid series of slaps. The two figures flew straight back more than ten meters, then skidded across the ground for several more.

"To learn how to regulate your breathing, you must first calm your hearts. The air in the Heavenly Realm is very thin. Any unnecessary movement will increase the burden on your body and affect your breathing. Once you can make your hearts as still as water and as calm as the sky, you will be able to control every movement of your entire bodies."

Korin waddled over, dragging his staff behind him. Strangely, the water bottle on it had not shaken at all, and not a single drop of water had spilled.

Chaya stood there in thought for a while. Then a sharp gleam flashed through his eyes. Without bothering to wipe away the sweat on his face, he let out a low cry, drenched in perspiration.

"Again!"

Chaya attacked first. He moved like the wind and struck like lightning, an orange blur flashing through the air. In the blink of an eye, he arrived before Korin, then shifted his position and attacked the target on Korin's staff. Korin's gaze tightened as he narrowed his eyes and prepared to move.

Suddenly, Korin's expression changed, and his white fur stood slightly on end.

Just one step away from Korin, Chaya unexpectedly changed his posture once again. A stationary afterimage remained in midair, while his actual body appeared eerily behind Korin. A slender hand darted toward the target.

Hiss!

At the critical moment, the staff drew downward, and Chaya's hand grabbed empty air. This was followed by a violent удар as Korin's plump body bounced slightly, one foot kicking toward Chaya.

Chaya's body was flung away uncontrollably.

After repelling Chaya, Korin patted his chest and let out a long breath. Looking at the still-swaying water bottle, cold sweat had unexpectedly seeped down his back.

"Wow, that was so sudden. If I hadn't reacted quickly enough, he really would have taken the water bottle." Korin's gaze toward Chaya became difficult to read.

"What an impressive little brat. He almost succeeded. Back when Kami climbed to the Sacred Temple, it took him decades to snatch a bell from Mr. Popo. These two are no ordinary people!"

Meanwhile, Selyne carefully observed Chaya's every movement from the side. Seeing that he had nearly succeeded but ultimately fallen short at the last moment, she could not help feeling regretful. At the same time, she seriously pondered Korin's earlier words.

The more she thought about them, the more unfathomable she found them.

They were far more profound than the teachings of Planet Vegeta.

"Earth truly is an incredible place." A delighted light shone in Selyne's bright eyes. Perhaps following Chaya to Earth had truly been the right decision.