For someone whose power was insufficient, climbing Korin Tower was a long ordeal. Zhang Wutian himself could have reached the top in a few leaps, just like Tien Shinhan and Krillin, who had long since disappeared above. But he chose to start climbing after Son Wukong, bringing up the rear and following behind her at her slowest pace.
"Zhang Wutian, go on ahead. I'll rest for a bit and catch up."
"Don't be ridiculous. What kind of person leaves his daughter halfway up a tower and goes on ahead?"
"I'm not your daughter!"
"Here, open wide."
"Oh, that's good! I want more!"
Zhang Wutian didn't feed Son Wukong a Senzu Bean on the way up. He only gave her ordinary food. After all, this was part of her training; feeding her a Senzu Bean would defeat the purpose.
And so, with Zhang Wutian accompanying her the entire way, Son Wukong finally reached the top of the tower the following evening.
When they arrived, Tien Shinhan and Krillin, who had gotten there long ago, were sitting and training on their own. Master Korin watched them in silence.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting." After greeting the two men and the cat, Zhang Wutian led Son Wukong, who was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion, over to the group.
"About time," Tien Shinhan said bluntly. "Is this the wonderful place for training you were talking about? I don't see how it could make me stronger."
"Tien Shinhan, that was uncalled for." Krillin turned to Master Korin. "I'm sorry, Master Korin. My companion didn't mean it. He's just too impatient. Please forgive his rudeness."
"He's not wrong." Master Korin sighed, leaning on his staff. "I've spent all these years here observing everything that happens below. I've watched your battles. You've already surpassed your masters, Master Roshi and Master Shen, and even surpassed me, the one the world calls the God of Martial Arts. I have nothing more to teach you."
"Old-timer, just stay up here and grow beans and watch TV. If you have to fight for us, that's a disgrace to us young people." Zhang Wutian turned to Tien Shinhan. "And you, three-eyes—who told you this was the sacred training ground I was talking about?"
"You..."
"I only said that Master Korin, who's known as the God of Martial Arts, lived on Korin Tower. When did I ever say we'd train on the tower, or ask Master Korin to train us? There's a limit to how much you can read into things. Or are your eyes the only thing that works, while your ears are hopeless?"
He could have kept roasting him, but watching the icy-faced man turn red and struggle to contain his anger was satisfying enough. Zhang Wutian walked over to Master Korin, the immortal who couldn't quite be called a catlike mentor, and asked, "Master Korin, could you take us to the Lookout?"
"You know about the Lookout?" Master Korin opened his eyes, which had been narrowed all this time.
"After all, we're from another world." Zhang Wutian casually blamed everything on their being from another world. Then he took a Senzu Bean from his pocket and handed it to Son Wukong.
"Eat this."
"Oh." Son Wukong obediently ate the Senzu Bean Zhang Wutian fed her, without suspecting anything. Her spirits immediately lifted. "That's amazing! What is this? I've completely recovered!"
Seeing Son Wukong full of energy again, Master Korin narrowed his eyes once more and sighed. "That really is one of the Senzu Beans I grew, but I don't remember giving one to anyone. It seems your so-called other world really does exist... Did you bring the Dragon Balls from your world, too?"
"I only brought two, but I thought the actual objects would be more convincing."
Seeing the Dragon Balls Son Wukong brought out and hearing Zhang Wutian's explanation, Master Korin pondered for a moment before finally nodding. "This is the first time in all these years that hope has seemed so close. All right, I'll make an exception and take you to the Lookout. But there's something you need to know first: Kami is dead."
"Kami is dead?!" Krillin, who belonged to this world, was deeply shaken. He didn't actually know who Kami really was, but Kami was still a god! In theory, he was the strongest being in the world.
"I know." Zhang Wutian remained utterly calm. "Kami isn't who I'm looking for."
"Then you must have a plan. I was worrying for nothing. Come with me."
Led by Master Korin, the four climbed to the very top of Korin Tower.
"Cloud, come!"
Zhang Wutian didn't show off his knowledge of the story by asking Son Wukong to take out the Power Pole. Master Korin didn't mention it either. Clearly, aside from the Power Pole, which had served as a plot device in the original story, Master Korin had other ways of getting to the Lookout.
After raising his staff high and shouting with great force, Zhang Wutian and the others saw a cloud appear beneath their feet, soft and sturdy like a cushion.
Like an elevator, the pale yellow cloud carried them higher into the sky.
A huge, semicircular platform stood there. This was the realm of the gods, and at its edge, a black creature resembling an Arabian genie had already been waiting for them.
"It's been a long time, Mr. Popo."
"It has been a long time, Master Korin." They exchanged bows, and then Master Korin introduced Zhang Wutian and the others to the strange man called Mr. Popo.
"Mr. Popo manages the Lookout. They say he served several Kamic."
Mr. Popo bowed to Tien Shinhan and Krillin, then said, "You two are warriors who protect the world. Before he died, Kami often praised the Turtle and Crane schools for standing up to evil. Please, there's no need to stand on ceremony here."
"Mr. Popo." Zhang Wutian stepped forward, speaking before Mr. Popo could address him and Wukong. "I'll get straight to the point. I'd like to use the Hyperbolic Time Chamber in the Lookout."
"No," Mr. Popo replied flatly.
Zhang Wutian was taken aback. He hadn't expected that answer. Come on, the world was about to end. Did Mr. Popo really still need to be so strict about the rules?
"You aren't ready to enter that room yet. Even if you forced your way in, you'd only waste time and life," Mr. Popo said in a strangely even tone. "Before you enter, let Mr. Popo train you."
Zhang Wutian and Son Wukong readily agreed.
Krillin and Tien Shinhan, especially Tien Shinhan, seemed to have objections. But after Mr. Popo firmly put them in their place, they quieted down.
Zhang Wutian had never met Kami, so he didn't know which of them was stronger. But Mr. Popo was definitely stronger than him and Wukong at the moment, so training under him would be ideal for the two of them.
Since this wasn't his world, he wouldn't be heartbroken if it got destroyed during training. Helping this world was a matter of principle, but if the locals weren't in a hurry, he certainly wasn't going to be either. With that in mind, Zhang Wutian was more than happy to train here with Son Wukong.
"Mr. Popo is so strong."
"As long as we keep training, we'll become stronger than him."
Zhang Wutian was telling the truth. Since leaving Son Wukong's home, this was the first time the two of them had spent a long stretch of time training together. Their endless cycle of improvement started up again, and they embarked on a path of growth that defied reason. At first, Zhang Wutian was stronger than Son Wukong, but her unparalleled fighting potential quickly closed the gap between them, and she gradually began to overtake him. Once she did, Zhang Wutian's ability kicked in, and he too began to grow at an unreasonable pace, his battle power rapidly rising until it was on par with hers. Feeling him gaining on her from behind, Son Wukong exploded with power once more, casually surpassing her previous limits and leaving Zhang Wutian behind. Then Zhang Wutian doggedly began catching up again, and another burst of growth followed...
Before long, Tien Shinhan, who had once been forced to swallow his pride and put up with Zhang Wutian just to get the Dragon Balls from another world, was horrified to discover that their battle power was climbing at a staggering rate. They hadn't reached his level yet, but it was only a matter of time before they caught up and even surpassed him.
Tien Shinhan had no doubt that, given a little more time, the two visitors from another world would leave him far behind—just like that monster had.
Faced with such unreasonable growth, Tien Shinhan grew anxious. He had already pushed himself to his limits, and now he began abusing his body, pushing it beyond them. If not for the Senzu Beans keeping him going, his body would probably have given out before he could get any stronger.
Under such extreme training and Mr. Popo's guidance, Tien Shinhan and Krillin finally broke through as well. Their battle power, which they'd thought had already reached its limit, rose another level.
"Now you're ready to enter the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Mr. Popo will open the door for you." One day, Mr. Popo stopped their fiery training and calmly addressed the four of them.
Before you continue