Cultivation Ends

"Kamehameha!!"

Son Wukong pressed her palms together and fired a shockwave from between them.

"Urgh!!" Krillin was sent flying by the direct blast.

He rolled over and lay flat on the ground, his body going limp. It was clear he had given up on the rest of the fight.

"I lost this one," Krillin said with a wry smile, staring up at the pale sky.

"Krillin's brother, you haven't even used your real skills yet, how can you just give up? Let's go again!"

"Haha, a loss is a loss. No need to make excuses for myself." Too lazy to even correct her about being Krillin, he continued, "You're really something, Wukong. To be able to fight me to this extent while still so small—you truly live up to being that person from the other world."

"Hehe." Son Wukong giggled at the praise, then turned her gaze toward another battlefield a short distance away.

"Empty Fist!!"

"Dodon Ray!!"

The flying fist imprint and the linear shockwave collided. Tien Shinhan's Dodon Ray pierced through Zhang Wutian's Empty Fist, pushing forward relentlessly.

But Zhang Wutian was no longer where he had been. Clearly, the previous strike was a feint. He moved at blinding speed to a position diagonally above Tien Shinhan, his fists glowing as he swung them downward in a cross pattern.

"Double Palm Empty Fist, Spin!" The two fist imprints rotated in tandem, forming a tornado-like force that slammed into Tien Shinhan, who remained rooted to the spot in his Dodon Ray stance.

To force his Dodon Ray through Zhang Wutian's attack, Tien Shinhan had expended a massive amount of ki, leaving his recovery speed a step slower than Zhang Wutian's. Now, facing Zhang Wutian's true finishing move, he was forced into a state of passive defense.

Blocking with both arms, Tien Shinhan took the brunt of Zhang Wutian's strike.

"This level of attack..." Tien Shinhan shouted.

"Of course it won't be enough to take you down, right?" Zhang Wutian's voice appeared right behind him.

"Dash Heavy Punch!"

Zhang Wutian's fist landed lightly against Tien Shinhan's spine.

"Checkmate."

Tien Shinhan's body stiffened, then he relaxed, abandoning his combat stance.

"I lost," Tien Shinhan said dully, his head bowed.

"Phew... finally won one. At least I saved a bit of face." Seeing Tien Shinhan's stiff expression, Zhang Wutian patted him on the shoulder. "What's with that look? This is my first time beating you, can't you be a better sport? You've beaten me hundreds of times before this; just win the next one back."

"The next one..." Tien Shinhan remained silent. Only he knew that he should have lost the previous encounter. He had been pushed to his absolute limit by Zhang Wutian and forced to use a technique that shouldn't be used in practice. Even then, he had ended up more injured than Zhang Wutian. If this hadn't been a regulated practice session but a real fight, he would have lost back then.

He had tried every trick to delay the outcome until the next time, undergoing even harsher training, only to be met with a belated defeat. This loss signaled that Zhang Wutian had surpassed him in every aspect.

Tien Shinhan could no longer defeat Zhang Wutian. It was a reality he couldn't face, yet had to. It wasn't just Zhang Wutian; even Son Wukong had made tremendous progress. Krillin's defeat was the best proof of that.

"Wukong, want to go a round?"

"Sure! I won't hold back, though."

Watching the two of them start to brawl, Tien Shinhan walked over to Krillin in silence.

"If it's those two, can they defeat that guy?"

Tien Shinhan was silent for a moment before saying, "When I faced that guy, I felt unparalleled despair and hated my own weakness. Now, someone else has given me that same despair."

"Don't say such discouraging things." Krillin watched the fight ahead. "I actually think those two are the hope of our world!"

In Krillin's line of sight, the practice match between Zhang Wutian and Son Wukong was rapidly changing in nature.

Zhang Wutian threw a punch. Although it didn't hit Son Wukong, the wind pressure from the strike shredded her already tattered martial arts uniform.

The growth spurt Son Wukong had undergone already made her slightly small uniform struggle to hold up, and with Zhang Wutian's follow-up, her outer garment finally fell away, revealing her still-developing chest.

"Amazing! You actually managed to ruin my clothes. Let's go again!"

"Go again my foot!" Zhang Wutian, flustered, took off his own top and draped it over Son Wukong.

Son Wukong wrapped herself in Zhang Wutian's clothes, looking awkward and dissatisfied. "It's just clothes, isn't it? Back in the mountains, I used to go hunting without clothes all the time."

"That was then. You're grown up now."

"So?" Son Wukong looked at Zhang Wutian, confused.

"You're a young woman now. Didn't Master Roshi tell you not to expose your body?"

"Master Roshi said it's okay to expose my body in front of my husband. Zhang Wutian, you're my husband, right?"

"You still haven't forgotten that joke? Hasn't Master Roshi taught you the meaning of 'husband' yet?"

"He did! Master Roshi told me a husband is someone who can keep me full. Zhang Wutian, you always make sure I have plenty to eat, so you're definitely my husband!"

"Your dad can keep you full too, you silly girl! Accept a father's love as heavy as a mountain! Take this: Hell Paradise Cradle!!"

"Ha... haha, it's so spinny! Let me go, Zhang Wutian..."

Locked in a playful grappling hold by Zhang Wutian, held firmly in his arms as they rolled across the ground, Son Wukong let out a peal of silver-bell-like laughter.

"The hope of the world, huh?"

Watching the two, whose fight had gradually turned into a display of affection, Tien Shinhan said gloomily.

"No, maybe I was wrong..." Krillin covered his face and let out a helpless, wry laugh.

Since everyone's clothes were already tattered and their training seemed to have hit a bottleneck—and most importantly, because Tien Shinhan and Krillin judged that their strength had seemingly caught up to that world-destroying guy—Zhang Wutian and the others finally left the Hyperbolic Time Chamber after half a year of training, returning once again to the Lookout in the outside world.

Outside the door, Mr. Popo had been waiting for a long time. He seemed not to have moved at all; his every gesture was exactly the same as it had been half a year ago, or rather, half a day ago when he had sent the four of them inside.

Watching the four return, Mr. Popo spoke in his characteristic tone: "Were you unable to endure the harsh environment and fled from within, or have you achieved success in your training and gained the power to overcome all obstacles?"

The four looked at each other, then stood in a row before Mr. Popo.

"Now that we've finally returned to normal gravity, our bodies feel much lighter. Shouldn't we let out a few shouts?" Zhang Wutian suggested.

"Hehe." Son Wukong was, of course, unconditionally supportive.

"That's a good idea," Krillin chimed in. "Tien Shinhan, what do you think?"

"Whatever."

The next moment, the four of them roared at the top of their lungs.

"Haaaaaaa!!!"

A massive surge of energy erupted from within the four, and the resulting shockwave left Mr. Popo stunned.

Having been able to suppress the four of them just half a day ago, he was forced to retreat repeatedly in the face of the combat power erupting before him, using the distance to evade the pressure the four were exerting upon him.

After stepping back five paces to a relatively distant spot, Mr. Popo finally managed to steady himself through his own strength.

Clearly, the answer required no further words.