Wilderness Cultivation

Roland's figure entered the lion's line of sight, immediately infuriating the beast. It raised its head and let out a heaven-shaking roar to assert its majesty, yet to Roland, this was nothing but laughable.

"Roar--"

Roaring once more, the lion opened its blood-stained maw, its sharp fangs looking exceptionally savage. Its hideous beast eyes glared viciously at the intruder. With a sudden stomp of its paws that kicked up a cloud of sand and dust, its massive body leaned back and lunged forward, charging directly at Roland.

"What a ferocious beast."

Watching the lion's pounce with a smile, a playful glint appeared in Roland's eyes. The corners of his mouth curled upward, his expression calm and unhurried. He flicked his body to dodge, then clenched his fist and slammed it heavily into the beast's back.

With a howl, the lion stumbled, letting out a miserable cry. When it looked back at Roland, its eyes were filled with fear; it roared while retreating incessantly.

"A beast is a beast, devoid of any wisdom. But I'm quite hungry right now, so unfortunately, you're going to become my meal."

As soon as he finished speaking, Roland beckoned to the lion with his finger.

Hum. A small energy sphere hovered at his fingertip. Then, with a whoosh, the brilliant energy sphere flickered in place before suddenly accelerating. A blinding beam of light erupted from his finger, and in the next second, it pierced directly through the lion's skull. A spray of blood splattered like raindrops as the energy ray entered the lion's head and burst out the other side.

With a mournful whine, the lion's massive body crashed to the ground, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.

Although this lion possessed an energy level of 120, it had nothing but brute strength and no idea how to unleash it. Running into Roland was simply its misfortune.

The law of the jungle is an unchanging rule; as a Saiyan, Roland had to learn to adapt to it.

He carried the lion's carcass back to his temporary shelter, flicked a wave of energy to ignite a campfire, then skinned it, removed the organs, and rinsed the meat in clean water. After skewering it with a wooden stake, he placed it on a rack to roast. Soon, a rich, enticing aroma wafted from the charred, golden meat.

Roland stared fixedly at the roast, his throat swallowing repeatedly. As soon as the meat was roasted to a crispy golden brown, he dove right in.

A Saiyan's digestive system is incredibly powerful, digesting almost as quickly as one eats. The meat of a lion over twenty meters long vanished into Roland's stomach in the blink of an eye.

After the hearty feast, Roland rubbed his protruding belly and let out a satisfied sigh.

Once full and rested, Roland's mental state reached its peak. It was time to consider his next steps.

Planet Mapa was merely a transit point in his journey through the Dragon Ball world; he would have to leave sooner or later. Earth was a relatively ideal choice—at least until the Saiyans attacked, it was an absolutely safe place. Moreover, Earth held many resources that Roland valued highly.

Senzu beans, Dragon Balls, advanced technology, and methods for cultivating ki—these treasures on Earth made Roland's heart race with greed.

He certainly couldn't use the Planet Vegeta spacecraft, as he wasn't sure if it had a surveillance system installed, much like the energy detectors.

Fortunately, Planet Mapa was a technological world; it should have spacecraft technology.

As for the coordinates of Earth, his spacecraft had them. After all, Earth wasn't exactly a hidden planet. Frieza, who was in the business of planet trading, had long since scouted the situation there. However, because Earth had no special mineral resources beyond water and its natural environment, Frieza's forces had always classified it as a "resource-poor" remote planet, unworthy of conquest.

In the original story, if it hadn't been for Goku's father, Bardock, trying to save his son's life, he wouldn't have chosen to "exile" the child there.

Resource-poor, my foot.

Roland couldn't help but scoff inwardly.

The true treasures on Earth were such that any single one of them could cause a sensation throughout the entire universe.

"The coordinates for Earth aren't a secret, and a ship is easy to come by... Yes, that's settled." A smile bloomed on his face as Roland praised his own plan.

The intelligent lifeforms on Planet Mapa were called the Mapa People. Their individual combat power wasn't high, but their level of technology was decent. It was said they weren't indigenous to Planet Mapa, but had migrated from another world. If Roland wanted to seize their ships, he would first need powerful force.

"Then, it's time to start increasing my strength."

Clapping his hands together, a flash of determination crossed Roland's dark eyes. He began to temper his body using the training methods from Planet Vegeta.

He found heavy turtle shells and stones to strap to his body, simulating the way Master Roshi trained Goku and the others.

Even without that woman Sephiria there to supervise him, Roland practiced his punches and kicks with utmost seriousness. Soon, beads of crystalline sweat dripped down his youthful cheeks.

Striking was the foundation. While warriors in the universe preferred to use energy blasts in combat—which was certainly exhilarating—that style relied on the amount of internal energy and lacked technical depth. Although the Saiyan fighting style was rough, they were always passionate about the close-quarters combat where every blow connected.

Because this mode of fighting allowed them to enjoy the thrill of battle even more.

After honing his strikes, Roland began training his energy attacks.

"Hah!"

A deep blue energy wave erupted from within his body. Roland thrust his arms upward, and the wave surged toward the sky. With a thunderous boom, it exploded in the high atmosphere, completely dispersing the thick cloud cover.

Roland nodded in satisfaction at the destruction he had caused. His only regret was that he still didn't know how the energy wave was actually released, what the mechanism of its formation within the body was, or how to control it more effectively.

He knew the "what" but not the "why," and his understanding was still quite shallow.

Ki is a very high-level form of energy.

On Earth, martial artists like Master Roshi needed to practice diligently for decades to develop ki. Precisely because they had so little ki and it generated so slowly, their understanding of it was far more detailed than that of the aliens.

Roland wanted to master it.

With his training focused on a specific goal, the results would naturally be all the more significant.