Consolidating Strength, Heading to King Kai's Planet for Training (Part 2)

Outside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Zhou Zilong changed into a blue tracksuit, as if preparing to meet the challenges ahead.

"Guardian of Earth, could you please take me to the Other World? I intend to seek out North Kai for further training," Zhou Zilong said, his voice firm and resolute.

The Guardian of Earth nodded with a faint smile. "I didn't expect you to know of North Kai. Very well, I shall take you to try your luck!"

The Guardian of Earth reached out and placed his hand gently on Zhou Zilong's shoulder. A soft energy enveloped them both, and the world around them instantly blurred.

When everything came back into focus, they had arrived inside a wooden structure.

In front of them sat a massive wooden desk. To the left was a telephone and a sign with the characters "King Yemma" written in bold. Seated at the desk was a giant, purple-skinned man with a thick beard, wearing a horned hat with the character "Yemma" printed in the center. He was currently busy reviewing a stack of files.

The purple-skinned man looked up, saw the Guardian of Earth and Zhou Zilong, and set down his paperwork. He asked, "Guardian of Earth, this young man isn't dead yet. Why have you brought him here?"

The Guardian of Earth replied, "King Yemma, this young man says he wishes to go to North Kai's place for training. I hope you can grant him passage!"

King Yemma looked at Zhou Zilong, a flash of curiosity in his eyes. He asked, "Young man, you possess quite impressive cultivation for your age. Why do you want to seek out North Kai for training?"

Zhou Zilong took a deep breath and replied, "King Yemma, you who hold the power over life and death, you must know that there are still many villains in our universe. To ensure that the planet I reside on isn't ravaged by these evildoers, I must strengthen my own power!"

King Yemma nodded in approval. "Hmm, your desire to protect your planet is commendable. As for whether you can meet North Kai, that depends on your own fortune. Ogi, take him to Snake Way."

Ogi acknowledged the order and led Zhou Zilong to a small red car. As the vehicle traveled along the winding, twisting road, Zhou Zilong leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to rest. He knew the journey ahead would be long and arduous, so he had to conserve his energy and prepare for the challenges to come.

After about an hour of driving, the car finally came to a stop. A winding, silver, snake-like track appeared before Zhou Zilong's eyes. This was Snake Way, the path leading to King Kai's Planet, stretching for one million kilometers.

Zhou Zilong jumped out of the car, performed a few warm-up stretches, and stood at the head of the snake. He took a deep breath and took his first firm step forward.

After raising his ki to around 8,000, Zhou Zilong began to use the Flight Technique to travel along Snake Way. His figure moved like a bolt of lightning, swift and agile.

At this moment, on King Kai's Planet, North Kai sensed Zhou Zilong's energy and muttered, "Hmm? This energy contains quite a strong combat power. I wonder why he's heading my way!"

Five hours passed, and Zhou Zilong finally saw the end of Snake Way—a small green planet. That was the residence of North Kai: King Kai's Planet!

He accelerated toward the planet, his heart filled with anticipation. As he flew above King Kai's Planet, he suddenly felt a powerful gravitational pull dragging him toward it!

It's a good thing my base combat power is high; adapting to this tenfold gravity is quite fast, Zhou Zilong thought to himself, steadying his body as he descended onto the planet.

Once he stood firm, he saw a blue-skinned person wearing unique clothing and sunglasses walking toward him. This was North Kai, the very person Zhou Zilong had come to visit.

"Ya ya ya, not bad at all! You adapted to the gravity of my planet almost immediately!" North Kai looked at Zhou Zilong with a smile, a hint of admiration in his eyes.

"Thank you for the compliment, North Kai. I have come to seek your guidance in the way of cultivation to prepare for the unknown challenges I may face in the future," Zhou Zilong said, bowing respectfully.

North Kai nodded and said, "I can teach you, but you must first tell me a few jokes that make me laugh out loud!"

To test if North Kai's sense of humor was as low as in the original story, Zhou Zilong casually started with: "A horse's tail got cut off!"

Upon hearing this joke, North Kai's expression turned peculiar. He covered his mouth, as if afraid he might burst into laughter. Seeing this, Zhou Zilong felt a surge of joy, knowing that North Kai's threshold for humor was indeed very low.

He struck while the iron was hot and told another: "A cat was chased by a mouse!"

This time, North Kai pressed his hands even harder against his mouth, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief, as if he were thinking, How is this possible?

Seeing this, Zhou Zilong felt even more confident and said, "A corner of my house is round and bright; it turns out to be a toilet!"

As soon as these words left his lips, North Kai couldn't help but start muttering to himself: "A corner of my house is round and bright; it turns out to be a toilet! A corner of my house is round and bright; it turns out to be a toilet!" His voice grew louder and louder until he finally collapsed onto the ground, roaring with laughter.

"On a pitch-black night, a tadpole was sunbathing!" Zhou Zilong added.

"Hahahaha!" North Kai, who was already laughing, laughed even louder now.

Seeing this, Zhou Zilong seized the opportunity to ask, "May I ask, most humorous North Kai, have I passed the test?"

After his fit of laughter, North Kai finally calmed down. He adjusted his sunglasses and said to Zhou Zilong, "Your sense of humor is excellent. You have passed the test. From today on, you shall train with me until the day you decide to leave!"

Zhou Zilong was overjoyed and quickly bowed to express his gratitude.

Just like in the original story, North Kai's first task for Zhou Zilong was to catch one of his pets, Bubbles—the monkey that had given Goku such a hard time when he first arrived.

"North Kai, I suggest you add some weight to this outfit of mine, otherwise I'll catch Bubbles in no time!"

Seeing Zhou Zilong say this, North Kai replied, "Don't underestimate Bubbles; he is extremely agile!"

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!" Bubbles, jumping from side to side, also signaled that he was being underestimated.

"Then please, North Kai, keep the time for me!" Zhou Zilong replied.

Seeing Zhou Zilong's confidence, North Kai immediately produced a stopwatch, and Bubbles began to prepare for the chase.

"Then, begin!" North Kai pressed the start button on the stopwatch and signaled for Zhou Zilong to start.

Zhou Zilong didn't hesitate for a second. He pushed off the ground with all his might, shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow. His speed was immense, and he closed the distance to Bubbles in an instant.

He reached out both hands, grabbed Bubbles by the tail, and with a powerful tug, lifted the monkey right off the ground.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!" Once caught, Bubbles let out a startled cry. He struggled to escape, but Zhou Zilong's hands were like iron pincers, holding him firmly in place.

"0.2 seconds, so fast!" North Kai looked at the time on the stopwatch and couldn't help but exclaim. He hadn't expected Zhou Zilong to catch Bubbles in such a short amount of time.

"My apologies, Bubbles!" Zhou Zilong released his grip and set the monkey down.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!" Bubbles responded in his own way, as if to say, You're too polite; you really are amazing to have caught me so quickly.

"Next is the second test. If you can hit Gregory, I will let you begin formal training!" North Kai's voice rang in Zhou Zilong's ears as he conjured a mallet and handed it to him.

Zhou Zilong took the mallet, feeling its heavy weight. He understood that this was not just a simple test, but a dual challenge of his speed and reaction time. He took a deep breath, gripped the mallet tightly, and prepared himself.

Just then, a small, earth-yellow grasshopper appeared before Zhou Zilong's eyes. This grasshopper was North Kai's other pet—Gregory!

"Gregory! Gregory! My speed is incredibly fast, so you had better watch closely!" Gregory chirped with a hint of arrogance, as if showing off his speed to Zhou Zilong.

After speaking, a cyan-blue light enveloped Gregory's body.

The moment the cyan-blue light vanished, Gregory lunged toward Zhou Zilong with lightning speed.

With a dull thud, Zhou Zilong dodged to Gregory's side with astonishing speed, tapping his iron hammer lightly and landing a precise blow on the back of Gregory's head.

"0.4 seconds, what incredible speed!" North Kai exclaimed, unable to contain his amazement as he stared at the stopwatch.

After being struck, Gregory swayed slightly before clutching his head and crying out in pain, "Ow, ow, ow! That hurts!" He clearly hadn't expected Zhou Zilong to strike him so quickly.

"I never imagined a human from Earth could be this strong, completing both of my trials so swiftly!" North Kai looked at Zhou Zilong, a flicker of admiration in his eyes.

"Lord North Kai, I am not actually from Earth," Zhou Zilong said with a smile, pulling the tail he had wrapped around his waist out from under his clothes.

"You are a Saiyan!" North Kai said, clearly startled.

"Yes, Lord North Kai. Although I am a Saiyan, Earth is my home. I came here to learn how to become stronger so that I can better protect it," Zhou Zilong replied respectfully.

"That perspective is certainly different from the many battle-hungry Saiyans I've encountered!" North Kai added, sounding surprised.

"It must be the environment. Had I grown up in those conditions, I suppose I would have turned out the same way," Zhou Zilong replied.

North Kai nodded in approval. "Your mindset is excellent. I will give you the rest of the day to relax, but starting tomorrow, I shall teach you everything I know. Just don't go complaining about the hardship!"

"No matter how difficult it may be, I am prepared!" Zhou Zilong declared firmly.