Visitors from the Demon Race

"Stay here and don't wander off," Wuchen said after rising to his feet, then headed in the opposite direction of the tournament grounds.

He sensed an aura approaching—not particularly strong, but undeniably evil, accompanied by a faint ripple of spiritual energy.

It seemed Kami had guessed correctly; because the Great Demon King Piccolo had once been sealed away by martial artists, he was now intent on exterminating every powerful fighter in the world.

He must have sent a minion to scout ahead, likely the precursor to an all-out assault on the martial artists.

"Hey, you!" Bulma, her temper still simmering, stomped her foot. This guy was always acting so mysterious.

"You two stay here. I'm going to see what he's up to this time!" Bulma slammed a large banknote onto the table and hurried after him.

Oolong and Puar exchanged glances, neither daring to speak. They silently handed the money to the stall owner for a refill.

Before long, Wuchen had left the tournament grounds and the town-sized commercial district that had sprung up around it.

He naturally sensed Bulma trailing closely behind, so he stopped and waited for her.

"Suppress your aura and don't stray too far from me," Wuchen said the moment she caught up, immediately helping her conceal her presence without giving her a chance to argue.

As he helped her mask her aura, Wuchen felt a flicker of confusion; Bulma's cultivation hadn't made much progress.

Yet, her energy was smooth and her spirit clear. Despite signs of long-term fatigue, her vitality remained intact, and her yin-yang balance was undisturbed—she was still a maiden! So, as for Yamcha...

Of course, this was hardly the time to dwell on romantic entanglements. After masking Bulma's aura, Wuchen continued forward on foot, choosing not to fly.

Bulma followed, failing to notice his momentary hesitation.

They hadn't walked far before Wuchen stopped, nearly causing Bulma to trip.

High above in the sky, a figure swept toward them.

It was a green-skinned, black-spotted monster with wings on its back. Its head was oval-shaped with a black fleshy crest on top, sharp teeth, pointed ears, wide eyes, and tiny pupils.

The monster suddenly halted, hovering in mid-air.

"What kind of monster is that?" Bulma whispered, crouching beside Wuchen. Though she lowered her voice, she didn't seem overly terrified. "It looks like it's talking to someone."

Thanks to her training, Bulma's eyesight had improved significantly, yet she still couldn't see clearly. It appeared as though the monster was speaking to thin air, as if using a walkie-talkie.

"It's a form of telepathic communication. We've been exposed; it knows we're nearby."

Wuchen didn't speak aloud, but his voice resonated directly in Bulma's mind, demonstrating exactly what telepathy was.

Indeed, he could see clearly that the monster wore no communication device; it was unmistakably conversing through telepathy.

Wuchen attempted to intercept the transmission but failed. The method the creature used seemed unique.

However, he managed to capture and memorize every word the monster spoke.

[Great Demon King, please give your orders.]

[What? The location of that Dragon Ball has changed? It's near me now.]

[Yes! I will find this Dragon Ball first, then retrieve the list of top performers from past tournaments. Please rest assured, Great Demon King.]

In other words, the monster was communicating across the distance with the Great Demon King Piccolo. Piccolo was hunting for the Dragon Balls, knew their general location, and had informed his minion.

At the same time, just as Kami had suspected, Piccolo was indeed preparing to strike at the martial artists.

The monster began scanning its surroundings, searching for any anomalous lifeforms that might be carrying a Dragon Ball.

Of course, it couldn't immediately detect Wuchen and Bulma, who had successfully masked their auras.

"You're a monster yourself, aren't you?" Wuchen's voice echoed in her mind again. Bulma was surprised, but not overly shocked.

Her attention remained fixed on the creature in the sky.

"I don't know what's going on, but you seemed to be planning to track this thing. It looks like your plan failed. I guess you'll have to capture it and interrogate it now."

Bulma voiced her analysis softly, a hint of smugness in her tone. It wasn't quite schadenfreude, but it was rare to see Wuchen miscalculate.

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

He had learned what he needed to know; interrogation was redundant. It was time for judgment.

"Hmph!" Bulma, who had been smiling a moment ago, huffed in annoyance. But when she saw Wuchen preparing to strike, she quickly spoke up: "Wait, let me handle this."

She actually managed to stop him.

Wuchen turned to look at her, only to see Bulma quickly pull out a small box and open it.

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

The capsule vanished in a puff of smoke, replaced by a cube of unknown material, featuring a display screen and various colored buttons on its top surface.

"Over there!" The commotion naturally alerted the monster in the sky, which immediately dove toward their position.

Watching the monster swoop down, Bulma didn't panic in the slightest; she pressed a button on the cube.

The cube shifted, its sides opening to reveal numerous hexagonal holes, resembling a honeycomb.

One after another, fist-sized metal spheres swarmed out, surrounding the monster and halting its advance.

Meanwhile, Bulma stood beside the cube.

She tapped the buttons rapidly, seemingly following a specific pattern. On the central display screen, an image formed, outlined by a multitude of dots.

The image appeared dense and complex, but its structure was actually quite simple.

It was precisely the "Jia" and "Kun" diagrams that Wuchen had drawn for Bulma back then, spread out and interwoven to finally form a spherical structure!

The swarms of metal spheres also began to dart about, each locking into its designated position within moments to perfectly match the image on the display screen, before beginning to glow brilliantly.

Every five metal spheres formed a "Jia," manifesting into an earthy-yellow light shield. Between every four metal spheres, a "Kun" was formed, manifesting into a pale-yellow light rod that connected the adjacent light shields.

The entire assembly took on the posture of an interlocking scale-armor enclosure, resembling a massive soccer ball that sealed off all paths of retreat for the monster!

"What is this thing?" The monster scanned the perimeter, finding not a single gap, yet it remained unperturbed.

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

Bang! The struck light shield emitted a dull thud, then swayed violently, causing the neighboring shields to shake in turn, with the effect rippling outward to even more shields. However, the amplitude of the shaking grew smaller and smaller until it vanished completely!

The impact brought about by the monster's attack also gradually dissipated into nothingness.

"Damn it! What kind of ghost thing is this! Don't think you can trap me!" The monster, refusing to believe its luck, began to attack the light shields, which resembled individual scales, with a frenzy!

Its attacks were incomparably swift and fierce, like a violent storm. Yet, it was like a downpour striking a lake; though it stirred up ripples, everything ultimately returned to stillness.