The 22nd Martial Arts Tournament Starts Early

Zhang Wutian appeared in a remote mountain region, where the ground looked barren, dotted with only a few patches of green.

He could tell that he was still on Earth, and there didn't seem to be any notable dangers around. So Zhang Wutian opened another portal and brought Son Wukong over.

"Can we go see Grandpa and the other Krillin?" Son Wukong asked. She still didn't seem to understand what was going on. Since they had arrived on the other side by entering a black hole, just as before, she seemed to think they were still in the world where Evil Son Goku lived.

"No. This isn't the same world as last time. We might see people who look familiar here, but they're completely different from the people we met before. You can think of this as another world, number two."

Son Wukong tilted her head and stared at Zhang Wutian in confusion.

"In short, the Krillin who trained with you is Krillin Number One. The Krillin we met in Evil Son Goku's world is Krillin Number Two. If we meet a Krillin here, he'll be Krillin Number Three!"

Zhang Wutian explained it to Son Wukong in the simplest terms he could. After listening to him, she finally nodded, seeming to understand—at least a little.

Then they took off and began exploring this world.

They flew to Northern City, on the edge of the mountains, and gathered all kinds of information. At last, Zhang Wutian confirmed what kind of world this was.

"As expected, it's still the Dragon Ball World."

A keyword he spotted in a newspaper helped him confirm it.

"The 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament is about to begin? That's interesting. This world's timeline is two years ahead of ours. Could this be the original Dragon Ball World? Will I get to see the real Kakarot this time?"

After pondering the newspaper for a while, Zhang Wutian turned to Son Wukong. "Looks like we'll run into a lot of familiar faces here. Want to go meet them?"

"Yeah! It'll be funny to see their faces when they see me." Son Wukong had already been through something similar in Evil Son Goku's world, so she knew what to expect.

"Great. Then let's enter the 22nd Martial Arts Tournament and give them a scare."

"Hehehe..." Son Wukong covered her mouth and giggled, apparently imagining how amusing it would be.

The two stocked up on supplies, waited until the right date, then flew to the World Martial Arts Tournament venue.

They arrived at the venue right on the day of the tournament. Although they were early, the place was already packed and noisy, as lively as a festival. Having competed once before, the two went to the registration desk and wrote down their names.

"Zhang Wutian and Son Wukong, is that right?" The staff in this world had never heard of Zhang Wutian, who had been the previous tournament's champion in another world, so they didn't question his entry. But when it was Son Wukong's turn to register, the staff member paused.

"Son Wukong? A girl? That's a lot like the name of last tournament's champion."

As he spoke, the staff member looked up at Son Wukong standing beside Zhang Wutian, then said knowingly, "And you're dressed like the last champion, too. I get it—you're a fan of his."

"Who was the last champion?"

"Son Goku, of course," the staff member replied, giving Zhang Wutian a strange look. He seemed baffled that someone accompanying an imitator of the last champion wouldn't know who he was. "Son Goku won the last tournament by an overwhelming margin. Everyone agrees he's the strongest champion in the tournament's history."

Zhang Wutian continued questioning him. "Who did Son Goku face in the final of the last tournament? Was it the old man, Jackie Chun?"

"That's right. It was him."

Making way for the contestants behind them, Zhang Wutian led Son Wukong into the passage reserved for competitors.

As they walked, Zhang Wutian thought, Son Goku beat Master Roshi? I can assume that was an unlikely, unexpected turn of events. I still can't tell if this is the original Dragon Ball World, but since Son Goku and Master Roshi are both here, the story can't stray too far, no matter how much it changes. In this era, Son Wukong and I are both far stronger than Old King Piccolo. We should be able to dominate this tournament.

After drawing their contestant numbers at random, Zhang Wutian and Son Wukong ended up in different divisions. They parted ways for now, and Zhang Wutian went alone to the other division.

"Contestant Zhang Wutian, please step onto the ring."

Zhang Wutian jumped onto the ring. When he saw the contestant standing opposite him, he paused, then grinned.

"Yamcha? I didn't expect you to be my opponent."

Yamcha from this world naturally didn't know Zhang Wutian. But since he had competed in the previous World Martial Arts Tournament, he assumed Zhang Wutian had met him there. Smiling, he said, "Hello. Let's make this quick."

Looking at Yamcha's somewhat arrogant expression, Zhang Wutian chuckled and took his fighting stance.

"Just as you wish."

Yamcha from this world wasn't his friend, so Zhang Wutian could attack without holding back.

"Begin!"

At the referee's command, Zhang Wutian vanished and reappeared in front of Yamcha.

"Catch the wind, and let it carry you to the clouds!"

Zhang Wutian threw a punch, stopping it precisely in front of Yamcha's chest.

The violent gust of wind that followed sent Yamcha flying off the ring.

Yamcha landed on the floor below, sitting there with an expression as if he'd seen a ghost. He'd just been bragging to Tien Shinhan of the Crane School that he'd teach him a lesson in the finals, and now he hadn't even made it through the preliminaries. This was... humiliating!

"S-so strong! How is this possible? Who are you?"

"I'm your opponent in the preliminaries," Zhang Wutian said with a smile. "My name is Zhang Wutian. Pleased to meet you."

Leaving Yamcha looking dazed and confused, Zhang Wutian used a break between matches to head over to Son Wukong's ring.

Son Wukong was fighting an unfamiliar, generic-looking contestant. Her opponent was clearly no match for her, and she tossed him off the ring in just a few moves.

"I won, Zhang Wutian."

"Good job." Zhang Wutian patted Son Wukong on the head, then said, "I ran into Yamcha just now. This world seems pretty similar to ours. Have you seen anyone familiar?"

Son Wukong nodded. "I think I saw Krillin from far away."

"Did you see anyone who looked like you, like Evil Son Goku?"

Son Wukong shook her head.

Just then, an unpleasant voice came from behind Zhang Wutian.

"There are Turtle Hermit School people everywhere. Is this little girl one of their disciples, too?"

At fourteen and a half, Son Wukong's figure had begun to fill out. Unlike when she was little, people could now tell at a glance that she was a girl.

Since she was wearing a Turtle Hermit School martial arts uniform, people naturally assumed she was a disciple of the Turtle Hermit School in this world.

Tien Shinhan, who despised Master Roshi because of their schools' rivalry, walked up behind Zhang Wutian.

"Tien Shinhan?" In Evil Son Goku's world, that world's Tien Shinhan had become a quiet, taciturn man after witnessing his master and fellow disciple die. This Tien Shinhan, on the other hand, seemed younger, more hotheaded, and more aggressive.

"I don't see the point in trading insults. If you have a grudge, settle it in the ring." Since he'd trained and fought alongside another Tien Shinhan, Zhang Wutian didn't want to pick a fight with this one, even though they weren't the same person. Out of respect for the other Tien Shinhan, he replied calmly.

"Are you a disciple of the Turtle Hermit School, too?"

"No, I'm not."

"I see..." Tien Shinhan sized Zhang Wutian up, then said, "You've got a lot of nerve, but you'd better have the strength to back it up. You're right about one thing: martial artists should seek victory in battle. If you make it into the finals, I'll show you the strength of the Crane School. Then you'll understand how foolish it is to hang around with Turtle Hermit School people."

"Tien Shinhan seems to dislike me," Son Wukong said, puzzled, after he left.

"That's because he's a disciple of the Crane School. The Crane School and the Turtle Hermit School have always been at odds. This is what the original Tien Shinhan should be like. The one we met before had gone off track." Zhang Wutian explained.

The preliminaries continued. Zhang Wutian fought several more matches, none against anyone he recognized. After defeating his opponents with ease, he qualified for the finals.

Son Wukong did just as well. After beating a few nobodies, she also qualified.

In the end, eight contestants advanced to the finals. They gathered in front of the bespectacled host and drew lots to determine the matchups.

The finalists were Zhang Wutian, Son Wukong, Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, Krillin, Son Goku, King Chappa, and Pamput.

The last two nobodies aside, the rest were all familiar faces to Zhang Wutian.

However, the moment he saw Son Goku from this world, his whole body suddenly seized up and turned to stone.

Son Goku looked very familiar to Zhang Wutian, too. That iconic, spiky black hair, the defiant sneer, the sharp eyes, and the Turtle Hermit School uniform, so out of place on the young boy—all of it pointed to a cruel reality.

What kind of original Dragon Ball World was this supposed to be?! How far off course did the timeline have to go for something like this to happen? Everything was a complete mess!

Don't forget to vote and bookmark after reading. Please continue supporting this novel.