Cold War

"Krillin, come have a drink! Same place."

Jiang Ling sent the message in a group chat.

Then he went to his little courtyard, enjoying some drinks and occasionally picking at the snacks he'd bought from a roadside stall earlier.

It was getting late.

The sun had long since gone down.

After a while, Krillin arrived at Jiang Ling's courtyard, bathed in the last rays of dusk.

"Damn! Bro!"

"Why are you drinking by yourself?"

Krillin called out loudly as soon as he came in.

Seeing that he'd arrived, Jiang Ling pointed at the beer and said, "You're here? Sit down and drink!"

Krillin downed a bottle before picking up his chopsticks. As he ate, he said, "What's with the feast today?"

"Of course it's a feast. When have I ever not laid on a feast?"

Jiang Ling said with a smile.

They clinked glasses again.

Then they started chatting.

"Bro, why are you out drinking? Shouldn't you be home with Bulma? With her temper..."

Krillin trailed off, but Jiang Ling knew what he was about to say.

It was common knowledge that Bulma had a fiery temper. Krillin still hadn't escaped her shadow.

"Forget it!" Jiang Ling waved a hand. "Let's not talk about that. I'm free tonight, so let's drink our fill!"

Clink!

After they'd been drinking for a while,

Krillin rubbed his gleaming bald head. Under the light, it visibly turned red.

"Bro, I feel like no matter how much I train, I'll never catch up with you guys..."

"What do you think I should do?"

Jiang Ling picked up a beer and took several gulps. After thinking it over, he said, "I'll give you three suggestions. Which one you choose is up to you."

Krillin's eyes lit up. He asked eagerly, "Tell me."

"First, find the Dragon God and wish for Super Saiyan blood."

"But you've been killed by a Saiyan before. You probably don't want their blood, right?"

Jiang Ling said.

Krillin nodded. "That's right!"

He really did have a shadow hanging over him...

But that didn't mean he had anything against Goku or Jiang Ling.

Those two were different.

Jiang Ling paused, then continued, "The second method is to find Kai and have him teach you Kaioken."

"After that, focus your training on your body. Build up your physical strength, and you'll be able to stack Kaioken higher and make it stronger."

"Whoa..." Krillin bit his finger and furrowed his brow in thought.

"What's the third?"

"The third is to keep training under Master Roshi."

Krillin hesitated.

Jiang Ling smiled and added, "Master Roshi might not be able to keep up with the times in terms of battle power, but none of you can match him when it comes to training your State of Mind. Train your State of Mind with him, and you'll benefit immensely."

"I see..."

Krillin thought it over, but decided to learn Kaioken!

State of Mind wasn't something he could learn overnight.

It took years of experience, along with experience in battle.

Once all of that accumulated to a certain point, he would naturally reach a certain level!

Jiang Ling looked at him and nodded.

A promising student.

They ate, drank, and chatted. Before they knew it, both of them had passed out drunk.

A faint glimmer of dawn gradually appeared in the sky.

Morning.

The clear chirping of birds rang out.

It woke Jiang Ling.

He stirred groggily and rubbed his throbbing temples.

He really had drunk too much last night.

As the birds kept chirping, Jiang Ling sighed.

"The early bird gets eaten by the bird."

With a wave of his hand, he put away the mountain of beer bottles, and the trash scattered across the table disappeared as well.

Where did it go?

The answer was the System Space.

This made it easy for Jiang Ling to transport the trash to the dump.

The system had a lot to say about that, though.

[My System Space is for you to haul trash!?]

Jiang Ling ignored him. He suddenly needed to pee.

He staggered into the air, and muscle memory carried him back above the forest.

He whipped out his water hose, and a torrent of water came pouring out.

It showered the flowers and grass, and the lush forest.

Each drop became a bead of dew.

Jiang Ling felt wonderfully refreshed. His little bird was hopping with joy, as if celebrating the relief he felt afterward.

He was wide awake now!

Jiang Ling leisurely returned to the courtyard.

He boiled a pot of water.

Then he took out a packet of tea leaves.

The leaves were packed in a plastic bag. They seemed to be loose tea, with no brand name.

Only Jiang Ling knew they were a reward from the system for completing a mission!

And they'd come from the Big Red Robe Mother Tree!!

He opened the bag, and the tea leaves' distinctive fragrance immediately perked him up.

"Excellent tea!"

With the hot water ready, Jiang Ling brewed the tea.

The steam carried an indescribable fragrance that drifted through the courtyard!

Jiang Ling took a sip, and his eyes lit up.

The tea's fragrance filled his mouth, and the tea itself had a distinctive taste.

Its aroma filled the air, leaving a lingering fragrance on the tongue.

Krillin slowly woke from his sleep. Drawn by the tea's fragrance, he walked over.

"Bro! What kind of tea is this? It smells amazing!"

"Does it? Describe the fragrance in one sentence."

"Hmm..." Krillin thought for a moment, then blurted out, "Damn, it smells amazing!"

"Uh..."

Jiang Ling was speechless.

He couldn't blame Krillin for not knowing how to describe it. The guy had skipped his studies as a kid, and he still didn't know the right words.

"I told you to go to school, but you ran off to feed pigs... Uh, I mean, you ran off to train. Look at you now!"

Krillin awkwardly scratched his head.

Wisps of smoke rose from his bald head.

Jiang Ling noticed the detail.

He asked the system what was going on.

[Ding! These tea leaves came from a mother tree that was transplanted into a cultivation world rich with spiritual energy an unknown number of years ago. After going through a series of processing steps, they became the tea leaves in your hands...]

Jiang Ling nodded. "I see."

Looks like he'd better drink more of it.

"Krillin, you remember what I told you yesterday, right?"

Krillin nodded to show that he did.

Then he drank another cup and got up, heading for the Temple of the Gods.

He planned to ask Kami to take him to the underworld. From there, he could travel along Snake Way to King Kai's Planet.

After all, he'd never been to King Kai's Planet before.

But several of his friends had been there. Naturally, they knew how to get there.

Jiang Ling stood in the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

"Time to train. I'll take it one step at a time."

Although the androids posed no threat to him, no one could say for sure whether Cell would show up!

Jiang Ling didn't know whether he was strong enough to beat Cell right now!

How frustrating!

All he wanted was a peaceful life with a wife, a child, and a warm home. Was that really so hard?

Well, he did have two wives.

Even if they were in different timelines.

Now it was time to train!! Train like his life depended on it!!

He was currently in a Cold War with Bulma, so he could devote himself entirely to training!

Women would only slow down my progress...

With that thought, Jiang Ling took out a Capsule and tossed it into the courtyard.

Poof.

A Gravity Training Room appeared in the courtyard!!

That's right, he carried the Gravity Training Room around with him.

[Ding! The host's determination to train has been detected. Reward...]