The Demon Clan Arrives

"Wait here, and don't wander off." After getting to his feet, Wuchen said this before heading in the opposite direction from the tournament venue.

He sensed an approaching presence. It wasn't very strong, but it was deeply sinister. There were also faint fluctuations of spiritual energy.

It seemed Kami had been right. Because he had once been sealed away by martial artists, King Piccolo intended to wipe out every powerful martial artist in the world.

He had probably sent a minion to investigate. It seemed likely he was about to target the martial artists.

"Hey, you!" Bulma, still not over her anger, stamped her foot in frustration. That guy was always acting so mysterious.

"You two stay right here. I want to see what he's up to this time!" Bulma slapped the table again, left a large bill behind, and hurried after him.

Oolong and Puar exchanged a glance, neither daring to say a word. They silently handed the money to the stall owner and ordered another round.

Before long, Wuchen had left the tournament grounds, along with the town-sized commercial district that had sprung up around them.

He sensed Bulma following close behind, of course, so he stopped and waited.

"Keep your presence concealed, and don't stray too far from me." As soon as Bulma caught up, Wuchen spoke and began helping her conceal her presence, giving her no chance to say anything.

As he concealed her presence, Wuchen was a little puzzled. Bulma's cultivation really hadn't improved much.

Yet her energy was flowing smoothly, her mind was clear, and overall, despite showing signs of fatigue, she hadn't lost her vitality. Her yin was abundant and balanced—she was still a virgin! Then what about Yamcha...

Of course, this really wasn't the time to dwell on relationship matters. After concealing Bulma's presence, Wuchen continued on without flying.

Bulma followed, not noticing Wuchen's momentary hesitation.

They hadn't gone far when Wuchen stopped, nearly causing Bulma to trip over him.

A figure soon swept across the sky above them.

It was a green-skinned monster covered in black spots, with wings growing from its back. Its head was oval, topped with a black fleshy crest; its teeth were sharp, its ears pointed, and its eyes wide with tiny pupils.

The monster abruptly came to a halt, hovering in midair.

"What is that thing?" Bulma crouched halfway down and whispered beside Wuchen's ear. Though she kept her voice low, she wasn't particularly afraid. "It looks like it's talking to someone?"

Training had greatly improved Bulma's eyesight, but she still couldn't make out the details clearly. It looked as though the monster was talking to thin air, as if using a walkie-talkie.

"It's some kind of telepathic communication. And it's already sensed us. It knows we're nearby."

Wuchen didn't speak aloud, but his voice appeared directly in Bulma's mind. He was showing her through action what telepathic communication meant.

Yes, he could see clearly. The monster wasn't wearing any kind of communication device. It was obviously talking to someone telepathically.

Wuchen tried to intercept the message, but failed. The other party's method of telepathic communication seemed unusual.

Still, he caught and remembered every word the monster itself said.

[Great Demon King, please give your orders.]

[What? The Dragon Ball has moved? It's right near me now.]

[Yes! I'll find the Dragon Ball first, then get the list of top performers from past World Martial Arts Tournaments. Please rest assured, Great Demon King.]

In other words, the monster was probably communicating with King Piccolo over a distance. King Piccolo was searching for the Dragon Ball, knew its approximate location, and had told the monster before them where to look.

And just as Kami had suspected, King Piccolo intended to target the martial artists.

The monster had already begun scanning the area, searching for any unusual creatures that might be carrying the Dragon Ball.

Naturally, it didn't immediately notice Wuchen and Bulma, whose presences were concealed.

"So you're a monster too, then." Wuchen's voice sounded directly in Bulma's mind, bypassing her ears. She was a little surprised, but not overly shocked.

Most of her attention remained on the monster in the sky.

"I don't know what's going on, but it looks like you were planning to follow that monster. Now it seems your plan has failed. I guess we'll have to catch it and interrogate it."

Bulma quietly voiced her assessment, a hint of smugness in her tone. She wasn't gloating; it was just rare for her to see Wuchen's plans go awry.

"That won't be necessary," Wuchen replied calmly.

He already knew what he wanted to know. There was no need to interrogate it. They could go straight to its punishment.

"Hmph!" Bulma, who had been smiling just a moment earlier, suddenly huffed in annoyance again. But when she saw Wuchen preparing to act, she quickly called out, "Wait. Let me handle it."

She really did manage to stop Wuchen.

Wuchen turned to look at her and saw her quickly pull out a small box and open it.

Inside were several Hoi-Poi Capsules. Bulma took one out and tossed it onto the ground.

In a puff of smoke, the capsule turned into a cube made of an unknown material. The top face had a display screen and buttons of various colors.

"Over there!" The commotion naturally alerted the monster in the sky, which immediately swooped toward them.

As the monster sped toward them, Bulma remained completely calm and pressed one of the buttons on the cube.

The cube changed at once. Numerous hexagonal holes opened along its sides, making it look like a beehive.

One after another, metal spheres about the size of fists swarmed out, surrounding the monster and stopping it from moving any farther.

At the same time, Bulma stepped up beside the cube.

She tapped its buttons rapidly, as if following a particular pattern. An image appeared on the screen at the center, outlined by numerous dots.

The image looked dense and complicated, but its structure was actually simple.

It was made by alternating the two diagrams Wuchen had once drawn for Bulma: "Jia" and "Kun." Together, they spread out into a spherical structure!

The metal spheres began to move as well. In moments, each had settled into position, perfectly matching the image on the display. Then they began to glow.

Every five metal spheres formed a "Jia," transforming into an ochre light shield. Four metal spheres between them formed a "Kun," becoming pale yellow light rods that joined neighboring shields.

Together, they closed around the monster like overlapping scales, resembling a gigantic ball and blocking every possible escape route!

"What is this thing?" The monster searched all around but couldn't find the slightest gap. Even so, it didn't panic.

It swung its fist and smashed into one of the light shields!

Bam! The struck shield gave a deep thud and shuddered violently, making the adjacent shields tremble too. The vibrations spread to even more shields, but grew weaker with each one until they vanished completely.

The force of the monster's attack gradually dissipated without a trace.

"Damn it! What the hell is this? You think you can trap me?" The monster refused to believe it was helpless and began furiously attacking the light shields, which looked like overlapping scales!

Its attacks were astonishingly fast, like a violent storm. But just as rain pelted a lake, it raised ripples that soon settled back into stillness.