Registration Turmoil and Preliminary Matches

The sea breeze of Papaya Island carried a salty, humid, and bustling atmosphere as it swept through the crowded streets.

The massive banners of the World Martial Arts Tournament were visible everywhere, and martial artists in all manner of strange costumes jostled shoulder to shoulder. The air was thick with the scent of sweat, a sense of excitement, and the faint, fluctuating presence of "ki."

As soon as she stepped off the plane, Bulma looked around excitedly. "Wow! There are so many people this year! It's much livelier than last time!"

Son Goku and Krillin were like birds released from a cage; their eyes were wide and round, finding everything fresh and new. Sensing so many sources of ki, both strong and weak, they were eager to jump into the fray, their hands and feet unconsciously practicing moves.

Master Roshi, disguised as the elderly "Jackie Chun," acted as if he were used to such grand occasions. Leaning on his cane, his eyes behind his sunglasses were nevertheless secretly sizing up several figures with formidable auras.

Lin Fan followed behind the group, his plain grey cloth robes unremarkable amidst the crowd.

The True Qi of his mid-stage Qi Refining realm circulated within him of its own accord, his spiritual sense quietly extending to keenly capture the surrounding auras.

To his perception, the "ki" of most contestants was messy and unrefined—lacking quality despite the quantity—but there were a few auras that were dense, heavy, or sharply piercing, none of which could be underestimated.

A long line had formed at the registration desk. Suddenly, a burst of arrogant laughter erupted from the front of the queue.

"Hahaha! With your third-rate skills, you dare to sign up for the World Martial Arts Tournament? Go home and suckle on your mother's milk!"

A tall man wearing flashy martial arts attire with slicked-back, greasy hair was surrounded by a few lackeys, mocking a group that appeared to be a master and his disciples from a small school.

The master's face turned red with rage, while the disciples dared not speak out of anger.

"It's that guy, Puff!"

Krillin whispered to Goku, "He's always like this, using his bit of fame to bully people."

Son Goku frowned and clenched his fists. "How annoying!"

Puff seemed to sense their gaze and turned his head. When he saw Master Roshi's group—especially when he spotted Bulma—his eyes lit up. He brushed past the master and his disciples and walked over with a swagger, a jarring, fake smile plastered on his face.

"Yo! Isn't this Master Mutian's disciples? What, did the Turtle School only send two little runts and an old man to compete this year?"

He swept a contemptuous glance over Goku and Krillin, let his gaze linger on Bulma for a moment, and finally landed on the plainly dressed Lin Fan with a sneer. "And where did you find this country bumpkin of a follower? Is the Turtle School so poor it can't afford decent contestants?"

Bulma immediately bristled. "What did you say?!"

Son Goku also puffed up his cheeks, ready to step forward and argue, but Master Roshi gently blocked him with his cane.

Lin Fan's expression remained calm; he didn't even look at Puff, simply saying to Bulma in a detached tone, "Bulma, it's a bit noisy here. Let's line up on the other side."

It was as if the other party were merely a buzzing fly, not worth the effort of his attention.

This complete dismissal stung Puff more than any retort could have.

His face stiffened as he felt like he had thrown a punch into thin air, and a few suppressed snickers seemed to drift from the crowd.

He glared fiercely at Lin Fan, snorted, and sullenly led his lackeys away.

"Tch, what's he acting so cool for!"

Bulma made a face at Puff's retreating back, then looked at Lin Fan with curiosity. "You're pretty good at keeping your cool."

Lin Fan smiled slightly, offering no explanation.

Compared to the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, such petty squabbles were truly like dust; why bother keeping them in one's heart?

The registration process went smoothly, and the staff issued each person a number tag.

Lin Fan's was number 98.

Afterward, all contestants were led to a spacious indoor preliminary arena.

In the center of the arena, thick grey stone slabs were neatly stacked, looking exceptionally hard.

The referee, a man with a booming voice, used a megaphone to announce the rules: "The preliminaries are simple! See these stone slabs? Use any method you are skilled at to break them with your bare hands! Those who can't are eliminated! Now, step forward in numerical order!"

The contestants ahead showed off their various talents.

Some had bulging muscles and roared as they smashed their fists down, shattering the slabs while wincing in pain themselves.

Others used flashy roundhouse kicks, their leg strikes sharp and fierce, shattering the slabs into pieces and drawing rounds of applause.

Puff also took the stage. To show off, he performed a few exaggerated opening stances before delivering a fierce hand-chop, causing the slab to snap in two.

He shook his hand triumphantly, accepting the flattery of his lackeys, and even cast a deliberate glance toward Lin Fan's group.

Son Goku and Krillin watched intently, whispering to each other about how they would strike if it were their turn.

Soon, it was Lin Fan's turn.

"Number 98!"

Lin Fan walked out of the line calmly and arrived before a fresh stone slab.

He neither took a horse stance nor gathered his energy with a shout; he simply stood there casually, extended his right hand, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and slowly pointed them toward the center of the slab.

Someone nearby let out a low, mocking laugh: "What is he doing? Tickling the slab?"

"Is that all the Turtle School has?"

Even the referee wore a look of confusion.

However, the next moment, all the mocking laughter came to an abrupt halt.

Lin Fan's fingertips touched the surface of the slab lightly. There was no loud crash, no flying debris, and certainly no cries of pain.

A soft "pfft" sound followed, like a balloon being pricked.

Immediately after, starting from the point where his fingertip landed, dense cracks spread like a spiderweb across the entire stone slab in an instant!

Then, the entire slab collapsed silently, turning into a pile of uniform, finger-sized rubble, as if its internal structure had been completely dismantled by a strange force rather than shattered by brute external impact!

The entire process was understated, even bordering on eerie.

The sidelines fell silent for a moment.

"Uh... Number 98, pass!"

The referee was the first to react, announcing loudly, though his eyes remained filled with uncertainty and suspicion.

Son Goku blinked in surprise: "Wow! How did he do that? It felt so strange!"

Krillin rubbed his bald head: "I didn't feel any strong ki at all... but how did the slab break?"

Bulma stood with her hands on her hips, looking smug: "Hmph! See that! That's how amazing Lin Fan is!"

Even Master Roshi, disguised as an old man, let his sunglasses slide down a bit. His small eyes stared at the pile of rubble, then back at the finger Lin Fan had retracted, as he muttered silently to himself: "This kid... he didn't use ki at all..."

Amidst the gazes of surprise, confusion, and curiosity, Lin Fan walked back to the line calmly, as if he had just performed a trivial task.

Only he knew that with that single finger, he had condensed a wisp of pure true energy at his fingertip. Instead of a head-on collision, he had instantly penetrated the interior of the slab, using its own structure as a conduit to deliver a light "vibration" that disintegrated it from within.

The path recorded in the Great Dao Source Scripture was meant to harness the power of all things in heaven and earth, not merely to compete in brute strength.

Why make a scene over breaking a common stone?

The preliminaries continued, but after Lin Fan's display, the performances of many subsequent contestants seemed rather dull.

Lin Fan cast his gaze toward Son Goku and Krillin, who were about to take the stage.

He knew that for true warriors of the Dragon Ball World, their display of power was only just beginning.

And for him, his path of cultivation in this world where the strong reigned supreme had only just taken its first step.