Teacher Wu Tian's Trial

The sports car sped along the azure coastline, the salty, humid sea breeze rushing to meet them.

Bulma skillfully navigated a turn, and a small, exquisite island appeared ahead. The most eye-catching feature on the island was a house topped with a roof shaped like a giant turtle shell.

"Look! That's Kame House!"

Bulma pointed excitedly, "I hope that old pervert is home..."

The car had barely come to a stop on the open ground in front of the house when an old man wearing a floral Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, and leaning on a cane walked out slowly, looking as if he had just woken up.

"Oh my, do we have guests?"

He pushed up his sunglasses, his voice sounding aged and slightly raspy.

Bulma jumped out of the car and put her hands on her hips: "Master Roshi! It's me, Bulma!"

"Oh! It's Bulma!"

The old man, who was actually Master Roshi disguised as "Jackie Chun," walked over with a chuckle, though his gaze quickly slid to Lin Fan standing beside Bulma, looking him up and down. "And who is this?"

"His name is Lin Fan, he's my... um... travel companion!"

Bulma introduced him, "We want to participate in the World Martial Arts Tournament, and we were hoping you could take us with you!"

"The martial arts tournament, eh..."

Master Roshi stroked his fake beard, squinting his eyes, "It's a good thing to want to broaden your horizons. However..." His tone shifted, and he tapped his cane lightly against the ground, "If you want an old man like me to lead the way, I have to see if you're qualified. I don't want to bring two burdens along and make a fool of myself."

"What? Burdens?"

Bulma was immediately indignant, "I'm the heiress of Capsule Corporation! Lin Fan is very strong, too!"

"Whether someone is strong or not isn't decided by words."

Master Roshi smiled kindly, but a flash of imperceptible sharpness crossed his eyes. "How about this, a very simple little test."

He walked slowly over to a beach chair nearby and pulled a beautifully wrapped small box from his pocket, printed with a picture of a sexy woman—it was a copy of the latest beauty photo collection.

"Hmm... this one is a rare collector's item."

He placed the photo collection on the armrest of the beach chair as if it were nothing, then stepped back a few paces and said to Lin Fan and Bulma, "The test is simple: whoever can take this photo collection from in front of me before I count to ten passes. Simple, right?"

"Huh? It's that simple?"

Bulma wore an expression that said "Are you kidding me?" and immediately prepared to rush forward to grab it.

Master Roshi chuckled and began to count slowly: "One..."

Just as Bulma's hand was about to touch the photo collection, Master Roshi raised his cane casually and gave a light poke forward. Bulma felt her feet slip, let out a cry, and nearly landed on her backside, scrambling to steady herself.

"Two..."

Master Roshi continued counting, his steps appearing to shuffle half a pace, perfectly blocking the path between Bulma and the beach chair.

"Damn it!"

Bulma gave it her all, darting left and right, even trying to use feints to trick Master Roshi, but the old man, despite his slow appearance, always managed to block her at the perfect moment or cause her to lose her balance.

The photo collection, though within arm's reach, felt as if it were behind an invisible wall.

"Five... six... oh my, young people, you need to be faster." Master Roshi even had the leisure to tease them.

Bulma was so angry her face turned red, and she stood with her hands on her hips, panting: "That's not fair! You're cheating!"

Lin Fan had been standing quietly to the side, watching.

He could see that the "old man's" movements, while appearing sluggish, actually contained profound footwork and predictions that he couldn't fully grasp, and his control over his qi had reached a realm of effortless mastery.

If they tried to snatch it by force, it wouldn't matter if it was Bulma or even himself; the result would be no different.

But... the rules only said "take it," not that they had to snatch it from his hands.

Seeing Master Roshi about to count to "seven," Lin Fan moved. He didn't try to break through Master Roshi's defense like Bulma; instead, he stepped to the side to create some distance, then extended his right hand—not toward Master Roshi, but toward the photo collection resting on the armrest.

The faint thread of internal energy within his body circulated rapidly, gathering at his fingertips.

At the first level of Qi Refining, projecting energy was barely possible at a distance, let alone using it to manipulate objects.

But what he intended to do wasn't "pulling"... it was...

"Seven..." Master Roshi's gaze flicked toward Lin Fan with a hint of curiosity. What was this kid trying to do?

Lin Fan's eyes were focused, his fingertip trembling imperceptibly.

Telekinesis!

Even if it was only the most rudimentary scrap of it!

The photo collection didn't budge. Was it really too much to ask...

Just as a smile of "I knew it" crossed Master Roshi's eyes and he prepared to count "eight"—

Suddenly!

The photo collection, resting on the smooth plastic armrest, seemed to be pushed by an extremely faint current of air from the side, or perhaps... the surface of the armrest had become exceptionally slippery?

It slid outward ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly, its center of gravity shifted, and then—

Plop.

The photo album slid off the edge of the curved armrest and landed on the sand below.

The entire process was silent, without a single trace of energy impact; it was more like... it hadn't been placed securely and had simply fallen on its own.

Master Roshi: "..."

Bulma: "???"

"Eight!" Lin Fan spoke up immediately, stepping forward quickly. Before Master Roshi could even react, he bent down, picked the photo album up from the sand, and handed it to him, his tone calm. "Old man, you dropped your book."

The smile on Master Roshi's face froze.

He looked at the photo album in Lin Fan's hand, then back at the beach chair, his small eyes blinking repeatedly behind his sunglasses. Was that just... a coincidence? No! That slide was far too unnatural! This kid... he's a bit uncanny! What method did he use? I didn't feel a single ripple of ki!

Bulma was stunned for a moment, then cheered, "Wow! It hit the ground! That counts as getting it! Lin Fan, you're so lucky! Old man, you counted to eight! We passed!"

Master Roshi opened his mouth, looking at the innocent-looking (pretending) Lin Fan and the excited Bulma. After a long while, he begrudgingly took the photo album and muttered under his breath, "...Young people these days, they really don't play by the rules."

He cleared his throat, regaining his air of a worldly master (or so he thought). "Ahem... well, fine. Since you've passed the test, I'll make an exception and take you along. But let's get one thing straight: you have to behave on the way!"

"That's great!" Bulma jumped for joy.

Master Roshi cast another meaningful glance at Lin Fan. This kid clearly felt incredibly weak, yet that move just now... could it be some kind of special technique?

It seems this tournament might actually hold some unexpected amusement.

He turned and walked toward the house, waving his hand. "Pack your things and get ready to go! We have to travel for several days by boat to reach Papaya Island in the south!"