The Battle of the River Dam

"Mr. Nam?"

As if deeply moved, Nam slowly stood up, drawing everyone else to their feet.

"Thank you," Nam said, his eyes slightly moist, as he walked before Wuchen and Goku.

"The Way of Heaven is heartless yet has its own Way. Strive, save yourselves," Wuchen said, jumping up and patting Nam's shoulder in reassurance.

Afterward, the three comforted the villagers, then rode the Flying Nimbus upstream along the river, searching for the source of the dry river.

Indeed, Nam directly boarded the Flying Nimbus. He sat more firmly than Wuchen, and no less so than Goku.

This made Wuchen's heart stir.

Only those with six roots of purity could ride the Flying Nimbus; the requirement was undeniably strict.

Therefore, Wuchen never judged a person's character by whether they could ride the Flying Nimbus, but those who could were certainly not evil!

To date, counting himself, Goku, and Chi-Chi, Nam was the fourth person capable of riding the Flying Nimbus.

Nam was truly a rare individual.

Following the river upstream, relying on the Flying Nimbus's incredible speed, the three finally saw signs of water before dusk.

Upon reaching the slightly damp section of the dry river, greenery dotted the banks. Without rushing to pursue the water's trail, Wuchen led the two to a suitable spot to rest.

The next morning, they resumed their journey.

The further they went, the more the aura of life intensified, until an oasis appeared before the three.

A lake nourished half a circle of green forest, while the other half of the lake abutted a strange cliff face.

Indeed, that cliff face was unusual, not made of rock, but composed of some strange substance.

Only trickles of water flowed from it into the lake, causing the lake to fill without overflowing, thus severing the river.

"The problem lies with these things!" Wuchen exclaimed, a hint of anger in his voice as he looked at the specially made cliff face blocking the water source. He sensed a presence above, as if they were playing in the water.

"Let's go, let's go up and see." Without bothering to summon the Flying Nimbus, the three leaped directly to the top of the cliff, dozens of meters high.

They saw seven or eight strange beasts with thick tails, narrow wings, plump bodies, and large paws, frolicking in the water. From time to time, they spat out strange substances from their mouths to reinforce the cliff!

Wuchen was about to act, but Nam's voice reached them first: "Hey, can you guys come up here for a moment?"

Wuchen shook his head. He understood Nam's intention; he likely wanted to communicate. He did not agree with this, believing that even if communication was necessary, one should hold the initiative.

Although he disagreed with Nam's approach, Wuchen still held back, watching quietly.

"What is it?!" To their surprise, the strange beasts actually came ashore, albeit with some impatience.

"We beg you! Please let this river flow freely. You're blocking the water, and we downstream have no water to drink. For us, this is the water of life." Nam appealed to their emotions and reason.

"For us, this is also the source of life!"

"Our Giran tribe loves clean water the most!"

"Your request is simply outrageous!" The beasts became indignant, vehemently rejecting Nam's plea and denouncing it as rude.

"Please, at least share some water with us, so our village can survive," Nam pleaded earnestly.

"Get lost!" He was kicked away.

Meanwhile, Wuchen held back Goku, who had wanted to step forward and help, and simply watched.

Nam continued to beg, but to no avail. Finally, enraged, the beasts ganged up and beat him.

Just as Wuchen could no longer resist stepping forward to help, Nam unleashed his power. After knocking down one beast, he engaged the rest in a brawl.

Nam was not a weakling; even under the combined assault of seven or eight naturally strong beasts, he held his ground, fighting back and forth. But Wuchen could see that Nam was still holding back.

Before long, a much larger beast of the same kind descended from the sky, seemingly to join the fray.

Wuchen could not tolerate this. He flew up, easily captured its wings, and used his hand like a blade to sever its tail: "No interfering! Or you die!" With that, he released his grip.

The much larger beast let out a scream and was glared at by Wuchen. Not only did it not dare to interfere below, it didn't even dare to cry out, merely gritting its teeth against the pain!

Hovering in the air, Wuchen continued to observe the situation below. This was not the Flying Dance technique, but a method of levitation.

Below, the evenly matched battle gradually turned in Nam's favor. Subsequently, the beasts were defeated one by one, unable to fight back.

"Please clear the river channel!" Nam clasped his hands together, seemingly apologizing for his "rough behavior."

"We said no, and it's no!"

"If you have the guts, don't leave. Wait until our big brother returns, and you're finished!" The beasts remained arrogant, leaving Nam in a difficult predicament.

"Big brother?" High in the sky, Wuchen looked at the severed-tailed beast beside him: "You?"

The severed-tailed beast trembled all over from that gaze, but before it could answer, it felt a tremendous force on its face, and its head was yanked down, dragging its body with it.

Thump! The severed-tailed beast crashed into the pile of beasts.

"Big brother? What happened to you?"

"Big brother, where's your tail!" This shattered the beasts' psychological defenses. How could their invincible big brother seem to have been defeated, with his tail severed!

"Don't kill us, please spare us. Only nine of us from the Giran tribe are left. If you kill us, the Giran will be extinct!" Regardless of what the other beasts did, the 'big brother' pleaded for mercy.

"That dam was built by sticking stones together with the Super Rubber Saliva spat out by our Giran tribe. We can't destroy it ourselves. We truly cannot destroy it. Please spare us, we know we were wrong..."

The severed-tailed monsters were terrified and begged for mercy, seeking a way out: "Spare us, we'll dig a new riverbed on the side!"

"No need!" Wuchen descended to a suitable height and, with a hand-crafted Kamehameha, struck the so-called dam. It was instantly destroyed!

The dam broke! The surging water poured down, unstoppable, pushing towards the dry riverbed!

This display of power terrified the monsters, causing them to huddle together. Especially the 'big brother', whose severed tail spurted blood!

"My companion is merciful. For his sake, I'll spare you and ensure this river flows freely for ten years. If you commit evil again, I will hunt you to the ends of the earth, regardless of heaven and earth's benevolence!"

The nine Giran dared not harbor any resentment. Instead, they bowed gratefully in thanks.

Then, Wuchen said no more and lingered no longer, taking Goku and Nam aboard the Flying Nimbus to return.

On the Flying Nimbus, Nam remained silent for a long time, as if struggling with something.

"I don't intend to change your beliefs, but while kindness is good, it also needs the support of decisive action. Isn't eradicating evil and encouraging good also a way of saving the good?" Wuchen could see that he truly thought highly of Nam.

"Thank you." As if a great weight had been lifted, Nam laughed heartily, his inner turmoil resolved.

As the Flying Nimbus flew over the village, all three smiled joyfully. Below, the riverbed had already been restored to flow.

Back in the village, Wuchen stated his purpose and obtained the Dragon Ball he desired—the Two-Star Ball.

Before leaving, Wuchen left behind some things: a Hoi-Poi Capsule filled with food, the knack for Essence-to-Spirit Conversion, and a cultivation technique—the Wuji Orthodox Method. It was the same one he had taught Krillin.

Of course, Wuchen only allowed Nam to teach others a portion of these things: the knack for Essence-to-Spirit Conversion and the cultivation technique for the Soul Condensation realm.