Korin's Trial

The morning sun rose...

Jiang Yun had gotten up early to prepare for Korin's trial and instruction.

After all, besides training on his own, he would finally get to meet another master of ki. Jiang Yun was extremely excited. He was sure he could learn a great deal from Korin.

He eagerly began warming up.

Korin watched Jiang Yun, who seemed unable to wait any longer.

He couldn't help smiling. "Young people certainly have plenty of energy! But are you ready?"

"Master Korin, I'm ready!"

Jiang Yun calmed himself and respectfully answered Korin.

"Good. Carefully sense the ki within me, and lower your power to match mine. Then take this Ultra Divine Water from me."

Korin looked at Jiang Yun as he spoke.

He thought, This freakish kid needs to have his power held back, or the training won't do much good. Korin would never admit that he was really doing it to protect his own life.

Yes, that's exactly it!

"Put on this bell. You need to take the Ultra Divine Water from my hand without making it ring!"

Korin said with narrowed eyes.

Jiang Yun was astonished!

He had to wear a bell, too!

That hadn't happened in the original story, but after thinking it over, he understood how clever Korin was. It was no wonder the man had lived for hundreds of years.

Korin had immediately figured out how to train Jiang Yun's power. This was much harder than Kid Goku's trial in the original story—several times harder, in fact. Jiang Yun had to take the Ultra Divine Water while matching Korin's power, all without letting the bell ring.

Jiang Yun couldn't help looking forward to the trial. Once he had put on the bell, Korin nodded to signal that they could begin.

Jiang Yun sprang into action and reached for the Ultra Divine Water in Korin's hand. Korin merely leaped lightly, evading his attempt. Jiang Yun immediately jumped after him, then reached for Korin in a flurry of dazzling movements.

This time, Korin didn't move. Jiang Yun knew he'd failed when Korin pointed his staff at the bell. Sure enough, it had rung. He had to take the Ultra Divine Water without making it ring.

Jiang Yun tried again. Korin dodged, then brought his staff down on Jiang Yun's head with a thump.

"Ah! That hurts!"

Jiang Yun hadn't expected Korin to coat his staff with ki. That made the blow hurt especially badly.

"Cut out the unnecessary movements. You don't make many, and it looks like you trained hard before, but your style is too wild. I'm guessing you worked it out on your own."

Jiang Yun was slightly surprised. That was exactly what he had learned during his half a year in the wilderness.

Korin's eyesight was even sharper than he'd imagined.

Then, amid one cry of pain after another, Jiang Yun began his grueling training. The sun rose and set again and again, while the cries and the ringing of the bell gradually grew less frequent.

"Jiang Yun, you really are a genius. It's only been a week, and you've already come this far. Your movements are almost completely free of wasted effort; everything flows as one. I can't see a single opening!"

Korin couldn't hide his amazement. The young man before him was improving at an astonishing pace. He could grasp Korin's lessons from the smallest hint and understand the whole picture from a single detail. Jiang Yun also had a deep understanding of ki, and some of his questions even surprised Korin.

"Master Korin, here I come!"

Jiang Yun's movements had improved enormously. Before, he had been quick; now, he was like a ghost, moving without making the slightest sound.

Smack! Jiang Yun's hand struck the Ultra Divine Water. That sound was deliberate: it meant he had managed to snatch it without making the bell ring.

Korin looked at the spirited young man before him and couldn't help sighing.

"The future belongs to the young!"

Korin had watched Jiang Yun's progress from the beginning and expected him to eventually seize the Ultra Divine Water. Still, he hadn't expected Jiang Yun to do it in just a few days!

"You're already very strong. From here on, you just need to keep training. Your power is sure to improve with time."

Master Korin nodded.

"Next, you'll train in the ocean. Blindfold yourself, catch ten thousand fish in the deep sea, and bring them to me."

Korin seemed to have remembered something. The delight on his face was obvious. Thinking of this training—which hadn't been in the original story—Jiang Yun felt a bead of sweat form on his brow. Could it be that Korin just wants to eat fish?

But after a moment's thought, Jiang Yun agreed. It would benefit him, too.

Then Jiang Yun began training again. It was much harder than he'd expected. On the first day, he didn't catch a single fish.

Jiang Yun was deep underwater. He'd thought that with his incredible speed, he would complete the training quickly. But once he got there, he discovered just how difficult it was.

The fish swam away long before he could get close. The water also created enormous resistance, and he had to withstand its pressure as well. All of this made his task much harder.

But clever as ever, Jiang Yun soon guessed that Korin was training his ability to sense and suppress ki. He had to learn to conceal his ki so the fish wouldn't sense him and flee, while also mastering his ability to sense ki so he could catch them blindfolded. Both tasks were a test of his control over ki.

Day after day, as he continued his training, Jiang Yun never neglected his martial arts practice alongside Korin's trial.

"Explosive Flame Meteor!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A towering column of water erupted, even knocking a seabird out of the sky.

A figure shot out of the sea. His brows and eyes were sharp, and his build was straight and tall. He was the very picture of a handsome gentleman, and the sunlight made his striking looks stand out even more.

It was Jiang Yun. After a month of training, he had kept up with Korin's trial while devoting all his remaining time to martial arts. He had also been working on a special move of his own.

If the Jiang Divine Body was his trump card, then the Explosive Flame Meteor he had just used was the kind of move he could use in an ordinary fight, much like the Turtle Style Ki Blast.

Just as its name suggested, the Explosive Flame Meteor combined half the power of an explosive blaze with the speed of a meteor. Drawing inspiration from the Turtle Hermit's Thunder Shock Surprise, Jiang Yun had created a technique with tremendous burning power. It was one of the strongest moves at his level, and it could be unleashed instantly. But don't underestimate it.

Underestimating it could cost you your life. Its power was immense, and it could even trigger a second explosion when it hit its target.

The slightest mistake could leave an opponent caught completely off guard. As for why it could be unleashed instantly, that had to do with the accident that had happened earlier.

That very accident had led Jiang Yun to create the Explosive Flame Meteor!