An Unexpected Encounter

Three years later...

Jiang Yun looked at everything before him, a ripple of emotion stirring in his heart. This was his starting point, and also the future of Earth.

What met his eyes was a vast training ground, an asset under the Martial Alliance. Through three years of development, Jiang Yun had quickly established a firm foothold in West City by leveraging the Chinese culinary traditions from his past life.

By now, it had developed into a behemoth, occupying fifty percent of the catering market in West City. One must realize how highly developed the food industry was in West City; for the Martial Alliance to monopolize half of it was an incredible feat. The rest was held by various other companies, though that was only because the Martial Alliance had not been overly suppressive.

Of course, there was the rapidly growing Martial Alliance and the Huayun Restaurant on the surface. That's right, Huayun Restaurant was the public-facing industry of the Martial Alliance. Bu Chen had originally wanted the Martial Alliance to develop openly, but Jiang Yun had told him that it was not the right time for large-scale expansion; the current task was to focus on cultivation.

Jiang Yun always spoke mysteriously about how a great era was approaching, a time when martial arts would flourish. Although Bu Chen didn't know why, he trusted Jiang Yun implicitly. The abilities Jiang Yun had displayed over these three years had convinced everyone in the Martial Alliance. During the early stages of the Alliance's development, it was Jiang Yun's decisions that had made it stronger step by step, until a year ago when he completely delegated authority, handing over the catering business to Bu Chen and the others.

As for Jiang Yun, he had been in seclusion for this past year, reportedly reaching a critical stage in his cultivation.

Indeed, after two years of development, Jiang Yun had gained a deeper understanding of the application of Ki. He had even developed the Flight Technique from the original story, though he guessed his mastery and understanding of Ki still didn't reach the level of the Turtle Hermit, or even the Master Shen.

But as for combat power—heh—although Jiang Yun only had a power level of a little over a hundred, which was perhaps on par with the Turtle Hermit and Master Shen, his Dark Energy's double-impact technique was enough to defeat them in a burst of power.

Moreover, having reached the level of the Turtle Hermit, it stood to reason that flight skills like the Flight Technique shouldn't be hard to learn. Yet, the Turtle Hermit didn't know it. Jiang Yun guessed it might be because it was developed by Master Shen, leading the Turtle Hermit to disdain learning it.

By the time the Saiyan invasion arrived, the Flight Technique had become widespread, and the Turtle Hermit had likely abandoned his prejudices and learned to adapt. As the saying goes, life springs from sorrow and calamity, and death comes from ease and pleasure.

The Turtle Hermit's martial arts were also constantly improving, becoming unfathomable even by the Dragon Ball Super era.

The growth of the Martial Alliance to its current state naturally aroused the greed of others. Of course, the Martial Alliance hadn't been exposed yet; those people were just coveting the wealth of Huayun Restaurant. The fact that Huayun Restaurant had been peaceful for the past three years was certainly not due to the kindness of those people, but because the hands reaching toward the restaurant had been chopped off in secret by the disciples of the Martial Alliance.

By now, Huayun Restaurant firmly occupied half of West City's food industry, and Bu Chen even planned to expand into other sectors. With money and strength, resources were naturally not lacking, and practicing martial arts became easier than before.

Of course, the core disciples of the Martial Alliance didn't worry too much about the trivialities of Huayun Restaurant, instead handing it over to a down-and-out businessman. After witnessing Jiang Yun's power, the man had revered him as a god, and under Jiang Yun's protection, he had managed the restaurant flawlessly.

Naturally, this was inseparable from the martial support of the Martial Alliance.

Within these three years, relying on the Ki cultivation methods passed down by Jiang Yun, many disciples within the Martial Alliance had reached a power level of seventy or eighty. Do not think this power level was low; in the early stages of Dragon Ball, aside from Goku and his group and a few others on Earth, this was already an invincible existence.

Although this referred to individual martial strength and could not yet compete with national weaponry, the Martial Alliance wasn't trying to oppose the state, but rather to promote martial arts—perhaps even to cooperate with the state. However, Jiang Yun always felt it wasn't the right time yet; only after experiencing despair would people truly understand the power of a martial artist.

King Piccolo was a major part of Jiang Yun's plan, an opportunity to fully launch the Martial Alliance and usher in a global era of cultivation. Only then could they protect Earth from threats from the universe; Earth needed to be guarded by Earthlings themselves, not by relying on Saiyans forever.

This reminded Jiang Yun of the Earth from his past life, the country he loved so deeply, and the national confidence it had built, which was something to be proud of.

Thinking of this, a trace of bitterness couldn't help but appear at the corner of Jiang Yun's mouth. He could never go back; he just couldn't go back.

However, this world made him yearn for it even more. Practicing martial arts allowed him to experience the joy of training, rather than the soft, flashy juggling of his past life that looked cool but lacked actual combat power.

According to Jiang Yun's current combat power, nothing could threaten him before the plot began. So, to relax his mood, he decided to stroll around West City. As the saying goes, work and rest must be balanced to achieve better results; he had been focusing on Ki cultivation for two years, and his nerves were a bit tight.

Breathing in the fresh air, Jiang Yun felt a sense of peace in his heart, and a touch of joy, his spirit feeling nourished for a moment.

Walking on the streets of West City, the coming and going of people and the hawking of vendors made him feel as if he had returned to his past life, as if it were no different from the original Earth.

If one ignored the anthropomorphic animals on the street—in the Dragon Ball World, humans and beast-men lived together in harmony—Jiang Yun couldn't help but marvel at the wonder of life.

"Ah! Help! Someone save me!"

A voice came from somewhere. Jiang Yun looked in the direction of the sound and saw three thugs in a somewhat secluded alley, holding knives and forcing a blonde woman to hand over her money.

This couldn't help but make Jiang Yun grumble, "Truly worthy of the Dragon Ball World; the crime rate is really high. You encounter this kind of thing just by going out for a walk."

However, Jiang Yun didn't intend to stand by idly; he planned to intervene.

"Stop, let her go!"

Hearing the voice, the thugs turned around and saw a handsome young man walking toward them. He wore expensive clothes, his hands in his pockets, and a warm expression on his face, approaching them with a smile.

"Excuse me, could you please let this lady go?"

Jiang Yun's words left the thugs stunned for a moment, but they quickly reacted.

"Damn, a lone guy dares to play the hero? You're courting death!"

"Get him, all of you! I hate people who look better than me the most!" said the one who looked like the leader of the thugs.

"Got it, boss."

"Kid, you're unlucky to run into us. If we don't show you what we're made of, you won't know who you're messing with!"

"Oh! Are you sure you want to attack me? There's a price to pay for attacking me, you know," Jiang Yun said playfully.

The thugs rushed toward him.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In a flash, the thugs were sent flying backward.

The one who looked like the leader was already paralyzed on the ground, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

"How are you so strong! Please spare my life! I won't dare do it again!" After saying this, he hurriedly kowtowed to Jiang Yun, fearing that if he were too slow, he would lose his life.

Seeing this, Jiang Yun lost interest and waved his hand.

"Get lost!"

Jiang Yun hadn't used much force; after all, they were just ordinary people.

The two thugs who had regained their senses quickly hoisted their weak-legged boss and fled.

After driving the thugs away, Jiang Yun turned back to look at the woman who had been robbed. The lady, who had been terrified, no longer showed any trace of fear on her face; instead, she looked at Jiang Yun with curious eyes.

"Hello, my name is Tights, I'm a novelist. How did you manage to beat those thugs away just now? Are you a martial artist?" the woman in front of him began to speak.

The name gave Jiang Yun a sense of familiarity, but he didn't think much of it.

"I am a martial arts practitioner, not one of those flashy fighters," Jiang Yun explained with a shrug.

A martial arts practitioner!

The term piqued Tights' interest immensely. She felt a spark of inspiration and decided she had to include it in her novel, so she couldn't help but press Jiang Yun for more details.

Seeing that she was being truly long-winded, Jiang Yun ignored her, turned around, and walked away.

"Hey, wait for me!" Tights hurriedly chased after him.