Bulma Arrives, Dragon Ball Begins

Time flew by, and another few months passed in the blink of an eye.

"Wukong, at this rate, you can attempt to split your soul in a few more months." Pressing his index and middle fingers against Wukong's forehead, Wuchen felt a slight resonance and smiled with gratification. His younger brother truly possessed the potential to become an immortal!

"That's great!" Wukong was overjoyed, but after laughing, he scratched his head. Condensing his Origin Soul had been difficult enough, but this "Soul Splitting and Origin Condensation" was even more complex, leaving him quite confused. "Big Brother, how exactly should I do this? The 'breaking the shell to hatch an egg' analogy you used is so hard to understand. Do we have eggs inside our heads? And what's this about the First Heaven and the Ninth Heaven?"

"Wukong, I know you are confused. I haven't explained it in detail before because you were too young; I feared that if I said too much, your memory would become muddled."

Indeed, Wuchen had always waited until Wukong reached the appropriate stage before explaining the nuances of his cultivation, fearing that Wukong might mix things up and hinder his progress.

"Now that you have a better grasp of cultivation, I can explain the nine levels of the Soul Condensation Realm in detail."

"The Soul Condensation Realm consists of nine levels. At the peak of each level, a 'Soul Pattern' is engraved onto the Origin Soul, and the soul itself grows significantly stronger. Among the nine levels, the fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth are the most critical."

"The fifth level of Soul Condensation is known as 'Seal Consciousness.' It means sealing the consciousness realm off from the sea of consciousness, yet keeping them separate but connected."

"The seventh through ninth levels are collectively known as 'Expand Dream.' From the seventh level onward, the consciousness realm, now isolated from the sea of consciousness, begins to expand due to the pressure exerted by the ever-growing Origin Soul."

"This is crucial. The greater the pressure the Origin Soul can exert, the more significant the expansion of the consciousness realm will be. The broader the consciousness realm, the more beneficial it is for the greater realms that follow. That is why I tell you to focus on your foundation; the Origin Soul must be refined as much as possible, not rushed."

"The Nine Origin General Knowledge Art you practice is different from other methods. Every time you reach the threshold of forming a pattern, you must split your soul and condense the origin."

"To 'split the soul' means to divide the 'Mother Soul' into two. Since the Mother Soul has already been imbued with spirit, it is difficult to split if the internal and external souls share the same attributes. Therefore, you must split them both internally and externally."

"When I told you to ensure the purity of your soul core while condensing your Origin Soul, it was to prepare for a second spirit-imbue, allowing you to use the repulsion between different attributes to split the soul."

"During the split, the outer soul acts as a shell, imbued with the fire essence you have mastered, while the inner soul must be imbued with a new spirit to isolate it from the outer soul. When the soul pattern forms, the repulsion between the inner and outer parts of the soul—now possessing different attributes—reaches its peak. That is the moment to 'break the shell and hatch the egg.'"

"At that time, you only need to contemplate both attributes simultaneously, and the Origin Soul will naturally split in two."

"From now on, you must focus on comprehending a second attribute to create a layer between the inner and outer soul, preparing for the final split."

"Yes, Big Brother! I'll start comprehending a new attribute right now!" Wukong listened, only half-understanding, yet he was so curious and excited that he wanted to start immediately, making Wuchen shake his head and chuckle.

"Wukong, you've already mastered one attribute; comprehending a second isn't that simple. Go... let me think... go catch a big fish first. We can talk about cultivation and comprehension after we've eaten."

"Alright." Wukong looked a bit disappointed at first, but he quickly hopped away, happy to go fishing.

With Wukong gone, Wuchen didn't idle. He began selecting ingredients from the "vegetable garden" they used for their daily cultivation to serve as garnishes.

By now, the "vegetable garden" had taken shape, cultivating spiritual peppers, scallions, ginger, and other seasonings, as well as spiritual carrots, radishes, and cabbage. There were also several fruit trees, all brimming with spiritual energy.

Wuchen even planned to dig a channel to grow rice, perhaps even some spiritual grains.

For now, he only gathered some seasonings and vegetables to roast the big fish later, along with some spiritual fruits to cleanse the palate afterward.

After cleaning and preparing the ingredients, Wuchen closed his eyes to rest, waiting quietly for Wukong.

Before long, Wuchen opened his eyes. He sensed Wukong's aura approaching, but there was another, faint aura accompanying him. A guest? He wondered if they were friend or foe.

Soon, Wukong arrived before Wuchen, dragging a large fish, followed by a young woman.

"Wukong, who is this lady?" Looking at the woman, Wuchen's first impression was poor; her attire was far too revealing, making her look like a woman of ill repute.

Wukong was pure of heart and would never associate with such a person, and since Wukong lived with him, he hadn't had the chance to meet anyone else.

Could this woman have ulterior motives, intentionally trying to get close to Wukong?

"Big Brother, you're amazing!" Faced with Wuchen's question, Wukong was stunned. "How did you know she was a girl at a glance? Did Grandpa teach you that?"

"..." X2

Never mind Wuchen, even the woman was left with a face full of black lines. This little brat was truly something else.

Her brother, however, seemed more normal, though why was he wearing a fake tail? Was that a local custom?

"Big Brother, her name is Bulma. Bulma! Haha, isn't that a funny name?"

"Wukong! Don't be rude! Apologize to her." Wuchen was rarely this stern. Even though he didn't like Bulma, he had to teach Wukong manners.

Wukong, always obedient to Wuchen, immediately apologized to Bulma and stood still.

"Bu... Bulma, no, Ms. Bulma, hello. May I ask what brings you here?" Recalling the lessons his grandfather had taught him, Wuchen tried to be as polite as possible.

However, he couldn't help but feel astonished; he remembered "Bulma" sounded like a word for undergarments.

His surprised expression was no more polite than Wukong's; at best, his outward attitude was just a bit more formal.

This brought Bulma's opinion of the two brothers down to the same level. These two brats were truly too much. If she had known, she would have given a fake name when she first met this brat named Sun Wukong.

Besides, what did he mean by "Ms."? Even if she looked mature and charming, she was only sixteen!

"So you're him—I mean, you're Sun Wukong's brother, right? I don't know your name, little boy. Big Sister is looking for a kind of orb. Look, it's a golden-yellow orb with stars inside. Could you give it to me?"

"As long as you give me one of these orbs, you can ask for anything you want, even something a bit excessive is fine. By the way, you can just call me by my name."

Having a favor to ask, Bulma showed off her most charming side, shaking her skirt—which was already short enough to push the limits of decency—as she spoke.

Little did she know, this only made Wuchen more repulsed. He was certain now: this woman was definitely not a decent person!

"My name is Sun Wuchen..."

"Grandpa! It's Grandpa! Why do you have two grandpas?" Before Wuchen could finish, Wukong interrupted anxiously.

Wuchen began to ponder. This object was indeed identical to the orb his grandfather had left behind, save for the number of stars; he remembered his grandfather's had four stars.

It stood to reason that these orbs were part of a set. He wondered how many there were in total and what would happen if they were combined? Moreover, this woman seemed to know the location of the orbs, which was how she found them here.

Wuchen became increasingly vigilant.

"Grandpa? No, this thing is called a Dragon Ball, it's not anyone's grandpa." Bulma was secretly delighted. It seemed she was right; the Dragon Ball in this area was in the hands of these two brothers.

"Can you give the Dragon Ball to me? I can let you see my panties."