"Ladies and gentlemen, sorry for the wait!"
"The quarterfinals of the World Martial Arts Tournament officially begin now!"
The Blonde Host's voice boomed throughout the Martial Arts Temple through high-powered speakers, making the sunshades overhead buzz.
The afternoon sun scorched the Arena, and the air was thick with the oppressive heat that came before a storm.
The blood left behind during the preliminaries had been cleaned up, but its faint metallic smell still lingered in the noses of every martial artist.
"Our first match: Crane School prodigy Tien Shinhan versus the assassin who returned from the dead, Tao Pai Pai!"
A muffled clang of the gong sounded, and the quarterfinals burst into action.
Two figures faced each other from opposite sides of the Arena.
Tien Shinhan stood bare-chested, his muscles as hard and defined as granite.
His feet were planted in a steady stance, his breathing as calm as a mountain. He seemed almost one with the Arena beneath him.
The third eye in the center of his forehead narrowed slightly. There was no fear in its gaze, only a coldness that bordered on pity.
Across from him, Tao Pai Pai's very existence was an insult to the words "martial artist."
Beneath his signature pink robe, he no longer had a warm human body, but cold alloy bones and a complex hydraulic system.
The 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 a faint crackle as it ran precise calculations on his opponent.
"Heh heh heh... my dear nephew."
Tao Pai Pai let out a grating laugh. The sound came from an electronic synthesizer, rough and grainy, like sandpaper scraping against rusted metal.
"That little runt called Chiaotzu... the sound of his bones breaking was simply delightful."
"You know, when I crushed his ribs, the look in his eyes—so desperate and helpless—was like the finest stimulant."
The corner of Tien Shinhan's eye twitched. His hands slowly clenched at his sides, his knuckles popping like firecrackers.
"What's wrong? Want to kill me?"
Tao Pai Pai caught the flicker of emotion and laughed even more maniacally.
"Get angry! Hate me! Come at me with all that negativity!"
"I'll let you experience for yourself the perfect power that technology can bring!"
"Perfect?"
Tien Shinhan finally spoke, his voice frighteningly low.
"You call that pile of scrap metal perfect?"
"Tao Pai Pai, you abandoned your body for power, and with it, you abandoned a martial artist's dignity."
"Now you're nothing but a pathetic wretch driven by fear."
"Shut up!!"
Those words struck Tao Pai Pai exactly where it hurt.
They awakened the deepest nightmare in his heart...
The humiliation of being blown to pieces by a bomb thrown by Goku all those years ago.
"I'll tear you to pieces!!"
Tao Pai Pai roared, and the stone slabs beneath his feet shattered.
With the tremendous burst of power from his mechanical legs, he shot toward Tien Shinhan like a cannonball, trailing a shrill rush of wind.
"Super Dodon Ray!!"
This wasn't an ordinary fingertip blast.
Tao Pai Pai's mechanical wrist suddenly flipped around, revealing a pitch-black cannon muzzle.
With a piercing turbine whine, a highly compressed beam of yellow energy burst forth.
The energy was a mixture of ki and high-tech thermal power.
As it passed, the air warped violently from the heat, and even the Arena's concrete surface was gouged with a charred trench.
The spectators erupted into chaos.
"Oh my god! Is that a cannon? Does that even count as cheating?"
"Run! That thing looks like it's going to explode!"
"This isn't a martial arts tournament—it's a live-action Terminator movie!"
Yet faced with this terrifying attack, powerful enough to pierce tank armor, Tien Shinhan merely turned slightly to the side.
His movement was minimal, as though he'd foreseen the beam's trajectory. The deadly blast skimmed past his shoulder and slammed into the wall behind him.
"BOOM!!"
The deafening blast blew a two-meter-wide crater into the solid concrete wall. Stone chips flew everywhere as dust filled the air.
"Wha... what?"
Error warnings flooded Tao Pai Pai's electronic eye.
"He dodged it? According to my calculations, your reaction speed can't keep up with my targeting system!"
"Your eyes can see data, but they can't see ki."
Tien Shinhan's voice rang out from the dust, cold and clear.
Before Tao Pai Pai could react, a large hand pierced through the haze and clamped around his prized mechanical left arm.
It was Tien Shinhan's hand.
His palm was broad and rough with calluses, but now it locked around Tao Pai Pai's joint like a hydraulic clamp.
"You used machines to increase your strength and defense, but you lost a martial artist's ability to sense danger."
Tien Shinhan stared at Tao Pai Pai from close range. A terrifying glint blazed in all three of his eyes.
"I'm going to defeat you. I'm going to get justice for Chiaotzu."
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