First Stage of Training

"Hello, Mr. Popo." Kasso smiled.

"Hello, Mr. Popo." Ausbie mimicked Kasso.

?

Is this little girl copying me?

Kasso looked at Little Biel with annoyance, while Little Biel stared right back at him. The two little brats locked eyes.

Staring contest.

Standing to the side, Mr. Popo remained silent. The three figures stood quietly in the center of the Lookout.

In this incredibly quiet environment, Mr. Popo suddenly spoke: "You two are quite good."

?

Hearing Mr. Popo's voice, Kasso was a bit surprised. Since they had met, Mr. Popo hadn't spoken a word to him, and now the first thing he said was to praise them. Kasso couldn't help but feel a little flattered.

"Alright, let us begin the training." Mr. Popo said with a blank expression.

"Okay!" Kasso nodded.

Just a moment ago, Kasso had tried to probe Mr. Popo with his lousy sensing method, but as expected, he discovered absolutely nothing.

It was precisely because he discovered nothing that Kasso felt Mr. Popo was even more mysterious.

At this moment, Mr. Popo pulled two small bells out of nowhere: "Tie one bell to each of your ankles."

Mr. Popo handed a bell to each of them, requiring them to snatch the apple from his hand without making the bells ring. Any method was allowed; as long as they snatched it, they would move on to the next stage.

Looking at the bells and the apple that had suddenly appeared in Mr. Popo's hands, Kasso was stunned. Wasn't this the method used to train Goku when he first climbed the Lookout?

His strength was now far beyond what Goku's had been back then, so Kasso doubted whether this method would be useful for him!

Just as Kasso was doubting, he suddenly caught sight of the Weighted Clothing on his own body.

Am I an idiot?

Kasso slapped his own head, mocking himself.

He had been wearing the Weighted Clothing for a week now, and Kasso could only utilize his raw physical strength, so in that sense, there was no difference between him and young Goku.

Now, in Kasso's view, the greatest truths were the simplest, and the methods were universal.

On the other side, Ausbie had already begun her training.

"Mr. Popo, here I come!"

She charged straight at him.

However!

Jingle, jingle, jingle...

The bell rang, but Ausbie ignored it, continuing to reach for the apple in Mr. Popo's hand.

Mr. Popo displayed a miraculous feat. Despite his body not appearing to move, he dodged Ausbie's attack in an inexplicable way and raised his hand, intending to flick her on the forehead as a punishment.

Suddenly, seemingly thinking of something, he withdrew his hand and flicked her outstretched little hand instead.

"Ouch, that hurts!" Ausbie immediately crouched down, rubbing her little hand.

Ausbie cursed inwardly; this coal ball had dodged so quickly, and her little hand was almost swollen red from the flick.

How hateful!

"Remember, you cannot let the bells ring." Mr. Popo said calmly, then remained standing in place.

However, Mr. Popo suddenly turned around.

Sure enough, a bell sound came from behind him as well.

This time, Mr. Popo did not hesitate, directly raising his hand to flick Kasso on the forehead.

"Ah, that hurts!"

Kasso covered his forehead with his hand, only to find a large bump forming.

Damn it, I just wanted to try a sneak attack, was it necessary to use so much force?

And why didn't he flick Little Biel's head, but flicked mine instead? Isn't this a classic case of favoring girls over boys!

At this moment, ten thousand horses were galloping through Kasso's heart, and he felt particularly speechless.

Mr. Popo looked at the two with deep, profound eyes: "Continue."

Kasso and Ausbie exchanged a glance.

The two of them refused to believe it.

They took a step forward with extreme caution.

Jingle, jingle, jingle...

Following that, with two "thuds," both of them crouched down again, clutching the spots where they had been flicked, letting out cries of pain.

Half a day passed.

After being flicked dozens of times, Kasso lay exhausted on the floor of the Lookout, with Ausbie leaning against his side.

One had a head full of bumps, the other had hands bright red, and both wore expressions of utter despair.

"This is really hard!"

At first, Kasso thought this training would be simple, but once he actually started, he realized the difficulty was at a nightmare level.

No matter how he moved, he couldn't stop the bells from ringing, which was truly hopeless.

Kasso closed his eyes, deciding to rest for a while first.

He remembered that Goku was the same at the beginning; no matter what he did, the bells would ring. The only way to keep them silent was to stay perfectly still, but how could he snatch the apple if he didn't move?

Thinking of this, Kasso fell into a logical loop.

"How did Goku do it back then?" Kasso muttered.

He remembered Mr. Popo saying: Be as calm as the sky...

That's it!

That was the phrase.

To keep the bells from ringing, the first requirement is stillness—not just of the body, but of the mind. Combining the two, one must follow nature and act according to one's heart, letting the mind guide the body and making the bells a part of oneself...

"Mr. Popo, let's go again!"

Kasso seemed to have realized something! He immediately jumped up from the floor and spoke to Mr. Popo.

Meanwhile, Ausbie remained lying in her original spot, watching Kasso's back and muttering, "Brother Kasso, is he in such a rush to go get beaten up?"

In the distance.

Kasso and Mr. Popo stood in a straight line, and Kasso suddenly closed his eyes.

Seeing this, a flash of light crossed Mr. Popo's calm eyes.

"Good intuition!"

Soon, Kasso's entire body entered a state of calm. At this moment, his mind was incredibly clear, and he seemed to be able to sense the location of the bells.

Suddenly, Kasso moved.

Ausbie, lying on the floor, widened her eyes in disbelief.

Kasso, in the distance, was actually moving quickly without causing the bells to ring.

"Brother Kasso is amazing!" Ausbie exclaimed in surprise.

But two seconds later.

Jingle, jingle, jingle...

Ausbie curled her lip: "Who are you trying to fool!"

Kasso: "..."

After a while.

Ausbie had also rested, and the two resumed their training.

Time passed quickly, and a week went by just like that.

On the Lookout.

Mr. Popo had an apple balanced on his head and was holding a banana in his hand; he peeled it, opened his mouth, and took a bite.

Suddenly.

Two figures darted out from nowhere, silent and soundless.

The two showed great coordination, with one attacking Mr. Popo's lower body and the other attacking his upper body.

Yet, Mr. Popo continued to eat his banana with a calm expression. With a light push from his toes, his entire body curled into a ball, placing him safely between their attacks, while the apple on his head didn't move an inch.

Kasso and Ausbie leaped into the air, about to land on the ground.

Suddenly!

Kasso took a deep breath, his chest swelling up, and blew with all his might, sending the apple from Mr. Popo's head directly into Ausbie's arms.

Tap, tap, tap!

The three of them landed on the ground simultaneously.

The Lookout was deathly quiet at that moment; the three stood motionless, as if the scene had frozen.

Mr. Popo's hand, which was stuffing the banana into his mouth, also remained still.

A few seconds later, Mr. Popo said expressionlessly: "Next stage."

The moment he turned around, out of sight from Kasso and Ausbie, the corners of Mr. Popo's mouth curled up slightly.

"Oh yeah, Brother Kasso, we did it!" Ausbie was overjoyed and jumped directly onto Kasso.

"Hahahaha." Kasso laughed as well.

Heaven knows how much effort he and Little Biel put in just to snatch that apple. Even though they only managed to grab it by playing dirty in the end, a win is a win!

As the two of them danced around joyfully.

Jingle, jingle, jingle...

Only then did the two bells finally ring out.

At the entrance of the Lookout, Kami's mouth twitched slightly, a thousand emotions galloping through his mind. What a pair of little monsters!

While Kasso and Ausbie were still celebrating, Popo walked over, holding two strips of black cloth in his hands.

"Your bells have stopped ringing; you have essentially achieved a state of inner peace as vast as the sky. The first stage of training is complete."

"Now, we begin the second stage of cultivation: your movements must be faster than lightning."