Tien Shinhan vs. Tao Pai Pai

"Ladies and gentlemen, you've waited long enough!"

"The World Martial Arts Tournament quarterfinals now officially begin!"

The Blonde Host's voice blasted through the entire Martial Arts Temple via high-powered speakers, rattling the awning overhead until it hummed.

The afternoon sun scorched the Arena with brutal heat, and the air was thick with a pre-storm suffocation.

The bloodstains from the preliminaries had been cleaned, but a faint metallic tang still lingered in every Martial Artist's nostrils.

"First match: the Crane School's top disciple, Tien Shinhan, versus the resurrected assassin—Tao Pai Pai!"

With a dull gong, the quarterfinal curtain was yanked open.

On the Arena, two figures stood far apart.

Tien Shinhan was bare-chested, revealing muscle lines as hard as granite.

He stood with feet planted in a loose stance, his aura steady as a mountain, as if fused with the Arena beneath him.

The third eye on his forehead narrowed slightly, its pupils holding no fear—only a coldness bordering on pity.

Across from him, Tao Pai Pai's very existence was a desecration of the term "Martial Artist."

Beneath his signature pink robe was no longer a warm human body, but icy alloy bones and complex hydraulic systems.

Sunlight struck the silver-gray metal faceplate covering half his face, reflecting a blinding glare.

His crimson electronic eye spun wildly in its sunken socket, emitting faint zzzt sounds as it performed precise data analysis on his opponent.

"Hehehe... my fine junior nephew."

Tao Pai Pai let out a grating laugh, synthesized through an electronic voice box, rough and gritty like sandpaper on rusted iron.

"That little runt Chiaotzu earlier—the sound of his bones breaking was truly beautiful."

"You know? When I crushed his ribs, that hopeless, desperate look in his eyes was like a top-grade stimulant."

Tien Shinhan's eyelid twitched violently. His hands at his sides slowly clenched, knuckles cracking like popping beans.

"What? Want to kill me?"

Tao Pai Pai caught the flicker of emotion and laughed even more wildly.

"Rage! Hate! Come at me with all that negative energy!"

"I'll let you experience firsthand what perfect power technology can bring!"

"Perfect?"

Tien Shinhan finally spoke, his voice low and terrifying.

"You call this pile of scrap metal perfect?"

"Tao Pai Pai, you abandoned your flesh for power, and with it, the dignity of a Martial Artist."

"Now you're nothing but a pitiful wretch driven by fear."

"Shut up!!"

That sentence struck Tao Pai Pai's sore spot precisely.

It was his deepest nightmare...

The humiliation of being blown to pieces by Goku's bomb all those years ago.

"I'll tear you apart!!"

Tao Pai Pai roared, and the stone slabs beneath his feet instantly shattered.

With the explosive power of his mechanical legs, he shot forward like a cannonball, a shrill wind screaming in his wake.

"Super Dodon Ray!!"

This wasn't a simple fingertip energy blast.

Tao Pai Pai's mechanical wrist flipped, revealing a dark cannon muzzle.

With a turbocharged shriek, a high-compression yellow energy beam burst forth.

This energy was a mix of ki and high-tech heat.

Where it passed, the air warped violently from the heat, and even the Arena's concrete surface was gouged into a charred trench.

The audience erupted instantly.

"Oh god! Is that a cannon? Isn't that cheating?"

"Run! That thing looks like it'll explode!"

"This isn't a martial arts match—it's a Terminator scene!"

But facing this terrifying strike, capable of piercing tank armor, Tien Shinhan merely sidestepped slightly.

His movement was minimal, as if he'd predicted the beam's trajectory. The lethal energy bolt grazed his shoulder and slammed into the barrier wall behind him.

"BOOM!!"

A thunderous crash. The hard concrete barrier wall was blasted into a two-meter-wide crater, debris flying, dust billowing.

"Wh—what?"

Tao Pai Pai's Electronic Eyes flashed with a cascade of error data.

"He dodged it? According to my calculations, your reaction speed shouldn't be able to keep up with my targeting system!"

"Your eyes only see data, but they can't see ki."

Tien Shinhan's voice rang out through the dust and smoke, cold and clear.

Before Tao Pai Pai could react, a large hand had already pierced the haze, clamping down on his prized mechanical left arm.

It was Tien Shinhan's hand.

That palm was broad and thick, covered in calluses, but at this moment it gripped like a hydraulic vise, locking Tao Pai Pai's joint in place.

"You relied on machinery to boost your strength and defense, but you lost a Martial Artist's sense for danger."

Tien Shinhan stared coldly at Tao Pai Pai, inches away, all three eyes blazing with a terrifying light.

"I'm going to beat you. I'm going to get justice for Chiaotzu."