Pulling Out All the Stops

The suffocating feeling of oxygen deprivation left Li Shu in agony.

He wasn't without a way to break out of this predicament. It was just that the intense pain and suffocation had left his mind short-circuiting, as if it could shut down at any moment.

"This isn't normal. This pain isn't normal!"

Li Shu suddenly realized something. He was afraid of pain, sure, but who among today's young people wasn't?

But he couldn't possibly be this afraid of pain. He had experienced suffocation and a heavy blow to the back in his previous life, yet neither had hurt anywhere near this much.

It was as if something had amplified his pain tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold, even ten thousandfold!

He hadn't noticed before because whenever he felt even a little pain, he had chosen to relieve it right away.

But things were different now. This was the finals, and he had to endure this extreme agony. He had prepared himself for it, but when he thought about it carefully, the pain was just too outrageous.

"Something's wrong! It has to be the Undying Body!" In the midst of his extreme agony, a flash of inspiration crossed Li Shu's mind, and he immediately settled on his prime suspect.

Of all his skills that didn't have descriptions, the Undying Body was the most suspicious.

After all, the Battle Combat skills only granted localized abilities, and he already knew his Saiyan Bloodline well. More importantly, on his very first day in the Dragon Ball world, a dinosaur had chewed him half to death and nearly knocked him unconscious.

That had been his first time being eaten by a dinosaur. Li Shu had no experience, so he hadn't noticed that the pain was abnormal.

With his thoughts in order, Li Shu's willpower strengthened. Under the influence of his Saiyan Bloodline, he managed to stay conscious despite the unbearable agony.

"I haven't hit the ground, so don't count!" Li Shu's voice sounded as if he were squeezing the words out of his throat, hoarse with pain.

The host stared in shock at Li Shu, whose face was flushed red and who looked on the verge of dying, then shouted excitedly, "Oh my goodness! Contestant Li Shu has woken up! He hasn't fainted! But he's in a terrible predicament!"

"How will he get out of this? Let's wait and see!"

"This is such an incredible match—a truly unparalleled visual spectacle!"

Wukong frowned deeply as he watched Li Shu with concern. "Big brother, give up. If this goes on, you really will die."

"Don't worry. I can't die! Big brother still has a secret move!" Li Shu said with difficulty. "Don't forget, I have a tail too!"

The instant the words left his mouth, a shadow whipped toward Wukong.

Wukong was shocked. Li Shu usually kept his tail wrapped around his waist and rarely used it, so it was easy to overlook.

Even Wukong, who had spent more than five years with Li Shu, had forgotten about it.

Smack!

His tail, like a long whip, lashed Wukong hard across the head, leaving a vicious welt. Wukong immediately clutched his head and cried out in pain.

Taking advantage of the opening, Li Shu broke free. He gulped down the fresh air, then stared at Wukong with lingering fear. He had almost lost just now!

Once he won the championship and had plenty of achievement points, he would make sure to ask the system why he was so afraid of pain, and whether it had anything to do with the hidden information about his Undying Body.

Whatever the answer, the fact was that he was afraid of pain. Once the Dragon Balls had cooled down and recovered, he would gather all seven immediately, wish for Pain Immunity, and complete his main quest check-in at the same time.

As for whether this might alter the course of the story and trigger terrible consequences, Li Shu couldn't worry about that. Nothing mattered more than himself; what mattered most was living comfortably.

Having made up his mind, Li Shu took a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks, and launched the first attack with a Kamehameha.

Just as Wukong was about to clash with him again, Li Shu's long-suppressed mouth suddenly opened, unleashing a roar that shook heaven and earth!

The Lion's Roar had appeared in the Dragon Ball world!

Under the powerful sonic attack, the surrounding walls shattered into pieces. The host, standing closest to the ring, was sent flying.

The audience clutched their ears in agony, their faces pale with shock as they stared at Li Shu in the ring.

"This guy! He was hiding such incredible power!" Master Roshi was the most shocked. It suddenly occurred to him that even in a head-on fight, he might have a hard time beating Li Shu.

For example, he would have trouble dealing with that move. One small mistake, and he could lose.

Watching this, Master Roshi's lingering reluctance to admit defeat vanished.

He had to admit that Li Shu really did have the strength to beat him.

Master Roshi gazed at the two young men before him with a sigh. He could feel a new era approaching, and he, an old-timer, would struggle to keep pace with the young.

He would become a spectator, witnessing the birth of the strongest martial artist of the new era. Master Roshi felt honored.

After all, these two astonishingly talented youngsters were both his students. Hahahaha!

"Incredible! Contestant Li Shu has caused such terrifying destruction with nothing but a single roar! How will contestant Wukong, right at the center of the attack, respond?"

The host and referee was certainly dedicated. Even now, he continued his passionate commentary.

At that moment, the area where Wukong had been standing was shrouded in smoke from the Kamehameha, making it impossible to see what was inside.

Li Shu frowned. The scene looked awfully familiar. Anyone who had watched Dragon Ball knew that, in most cases like this, the person inside came out unharmed.

Sure enough, when the smoke cleared, Wukong stood there stark naked, his face filled with shock.

"No way. The Kamehameha plus the Lion's Roar only blew his clothes off? Is this what it means to be the protagonist?" Li Shu gaped at the result.

The moment he saw Wukong's little bells, the host hurriedly shouted, "Pause the match! Contestant Son Goku, do you have a change of clothes?"

"Nope." Wukong scratched the back of his head, looking as harmless as ever.

Just then, the stunned Krillin came to his senses. He took off his clothes and gave them to Wukong, then changed into the outfit he had worn at the Shaolin Temple.

The match resumed.

"Big brother, you're amazing when you get serious," Wukong said to Li Shu. "But I'm strong too. I'm going all out!"

Li Shu watched Wukong solemnly. Aside from the Flight Technique, he had already pulled out every trick he had.

The battle ahead would be a fierce hand-to-hand fight.

Li Shu took a deep breath, ready to endure the most extreme pain.

The two brothers looked at each other and saw the fierce fighting spirit in each other's eyes.

Whoosh—!

They vanished from the spot at the same time!