Climbing Korin Tower

"How do you think I'll do, Mr. Bora? Can I make it to the top and meet Master Korin?"

Bora looked at Zhang Wutian for a moment before answering. "To be frank, I don't think you can do it yet."

Hearing Bora's assessment, Zhang Wutian didn't argue. Instead, he smiled and said, "I thought so. I feel the same way, actually."

The reason was simple. In the original story, Bora had told Little Goku that he'd failed to climb Korin Tower when he was young. Zhang Wutian probably still wasn't as strong as Little Goku had been after training with Master Roshi, and he was only about as strong as Bora right now—perhaps a little stronger at most. If Bora couldn't climb the tower in his prime, Zhang Wutian probably wouldn't manage it either.

But that wasn't a reason for Zhang Wutian to give up on climbing Korin Tower.

"As a martial artist, I can't be afraid of a challenge. Besides, there's no admission fee to climb Korin Tower, so there's no harm in giving it a try."

"Is that so? Then good luck, young martial artist."

After wishing Zhang Wutian well, Bora led him to the base of Korin Tower.

Zhang Wutian looked up and said, "As expected, I can't see the top. If I fall halfway up, I'll probably die..."

As he spoke, Zhang Wutian stretched his body.

"Thank you for showing me the way, Mr. Bora. I'm heading up."

"Be careful. If you feel you can't go on, don't push yourself. Know your limits."

"Thanks for the advice."

Then Zhang Wutian crouched low before springing up from the ground and leaping into the air.

He rose about fifteen meters before his upward momentum ran out. Grabbing hold of the tower, he began to climb.

Up and up he went, repeating the same movements for an hour, until his fingers began to ache with fatigue.

Five hours later, his hands had gone completely numb. They suddenly gave out, and Zhang Wutian fell straight from the tower.

At the critical moment, Zhang Wutian clamped his legs around the tower and managed to hang upside down. His hands, however, were temporarily useless.

"So it really is like that." Zhang Wutian carefully lowered himself to the ground after failing the challenge. But he wasn't discouraged. His failure had confirmed an idea.

It further explained his ability: [As long as he fought someone stronger than himself, he would grow stronger, win or lose.]

Climbing the tower had made Zhang Wutian realize that his opponent didn't necessarily have to be a person or a living creature. Certain inanimate objects could also become worthy challenges. Korin Tower, for example, was a perfect one.

Although Zhang Wutian had fallen from the tower, he could clearly feel that his strength had increased after his failed attempt.

At the same time, climbing the tower itself was excellent training. Perhaps its material was beneficial to the human body; perhaps its design followed some special principle. Whatever the reason, while Zhang Wutian climbed it, his basic attributes improved at an unprecedented pace, and he benefited greatly.

"This is it! The feeling of getting stronger is just intoxicating!"

Was climbing boring? Of course it was. But the growth it brought was enough to make up for everything. Players back then could become obsessed with a change in a single number in a game. When that change happened to you, the thrill was even more incredible.

"Let's go again! Attempt number two!"

The third attempt...

The tenth attempt...

The twenty-fifth attempt. This time, I can definitely do it!

Nearly half a month later, Zhang Wutian, visibly more muscular than before, began another attempt.

This time, he climbed for half a day straight before gradually beginning to run out of strength. He decided to stop and rest for a while.

After he stopped climbing, Zhang Wutian accidentally glanced down.

"It's so high! I've never climbed this high before!"

Korin Tower might not charge an admission fee, but that didn't mean you could just climb it casually. If Zhang Wutian fell from here, he would surely die.

It was clear that the most terrifying part of climbing Korin Tower wasn't the climb itself. The height was the greatest challenge.

"Don't look down. Keep going in one push!"

So Zhang Wutian continued climbing. He rested and climbed, rested and climbed, until the sky gradually darkened.

"I don't have Little Goku's ability to grab onto the tower and sleep. I guess I'll just have to climb through the night."

If Son Goku fell from the tower, he had the Flying Nimbus as a safety net. If Zhang Wutian fell from here, he'd really be smashed to a pulp. So he didn't dare let his guard down for a moment as he continued climbing in the dark.

Son Goku had first climbed the tower in the morning. Zhang Wutian climbed and rested through the day and into the following evening, but he still hadn't reached the top.

"Was I really that much weaker than Little Goku was back then? Is that the difference Master Roshi's training made? As I already knew, basic training really is important."

Talking to himself as he climbed endlessly, Zhang Wutian relied on the same determination that had once kept him at his computer all night to get through another sleepless night. On the third day, dark circles under his eyes and his mind numb, Zhang Wutian finally saw the top of the tower.

His twenty-fifth attempt had finally ended in complete success.

Cautiously climbing into the room at the top, Zhang Wutian went up a flight of stairs and entered the chamber at the very center of the tower's summit.

A cat was waiting there.

"You climbed Korin Tower in just half a month. You're quite talented."

"No, I still have a long way to go, Master Korin." Zhang Wutian bowed to Korin.

"You're not the least bit surprised to see what I look like. Are you naturally calm, or did you learn about me somewhere?" Master Korin regarded Zhang Wutian with amusement, then said, "Since you know about me, you must also know about the Sacred Water."

"I'm not interested in that, Master Korin. I'd like you to teach me martial arts."

"You don't want the Sacred Water, but want to learn martial arts from me? That's an odd way of thinking."

"I'm self-taught, so I always feel like my movements are a little off without a master to guide me. I'd like a teacher to start with the basics and help me train in martial arts."

"Starting with the basics? It's rare to meet a young man as levelheaded as you." The cat immortal wore its usual smiling expression. "Since you've climbed Korin Tower, I'll naturally guide you in your martial arts training, as the rules dictate. If the Sacred Water doesn't interest you, I don't mind teaching you some basics. But before that, shouldn't you introduce yourself?"

"Zhang Wutian, a wandering martial artist," Zhang Wutian said.

"Anything else? Is that all you have to say about yourself?"

Zhang Wutian fell silent.

He remembered that Master Korin could read minds. He had read Son Goku's thoughts once before.

"I sense something unusual about you."

After saying this, Master Korin's tone abruptly changed. "But you're a kind boy. I've seen the things you've done, and I like you, so I won't ask about your origins."

As he spoke, Master Korin smiled and blinked his narrow eyes at Zhang Wutian. "Someone climbed to the top of this tower three hundred years ago. Since then, you're the first to make it up here. Oh dear, this old body of mine is getting rusty. Would you mind helping me loosen up a little?"

"I'd be glad to, but first..."

Zhang Wutian suddenly toppled over, lying flat on the floor.

"Let me sleep first. I'm so tired, and my head hurts. Zzz..."

Master Korin was both amused and exasperated as he watched Zhang Wutian fall asleep the moment his excitement wore off.

"What a trusting child. His background is strange, but he doesn't seem like a bad person. God, would it be all right if I taught him martial arts?"

After a moment of silence, as though he'd received some kind of answer, Master Korin nodded and grunted twice, then said nothing more. Leaning on his staff, he watched the sleeping Zhang Wutian without moving, his presence as distant and still as a breeze drifting through the clouds.

Partway through typing, the system crashed, and my inspiration vanished in an instant. Damn it! Does Windows 10 have to crash once after every automatic update?