The Legendary Korin Tower

"Mr. Yajirobe, do you know about the legendary Korin Tower?" Jiang Yun began asking Yajirobe about the tower.

"Don't call me 'mister.' Just use my name!" Yajirobe said, furrowing his brow.

"Korin Tower? You mean that strange-looking tower? I don't know much about it. I heard that if you climb it, you can gain tremendous power. They say only Master Roshi, the God of Martial Arts, has ever climbed it." Yajirobe shrugged, then picked up another piece of roasted meat.

"Do you know how to get to Korin Tower?"

"Oh, just head north. But I think someone guards the place. I'm not interested, though!" Yajirobe pointed north.

Jiang Yun knew about that. Someone guarded the base of Korin Tower, dressed like a Native American. His name was Bora. In the original story, he saved Kid Goku, only to be killed by Mercenary Tao.

The Bora tribe was responsible for guarding Korin Tower, which they called the Korin Sacred Land. Bora also served as a test for martial artists. If they couldn't even defeat him, challenging Korin Tower would only get them killed for nothing.

The original story had also mentioned that Bora had tried to climb Korin Tower—not just once—but had failed every time.

"Yajirobe, have you ever tried to climb Korin Tower? It should be something every martial artist is eager to do!" Jiang Yun said with a smile.

"Not a chance. I'm not interested in doing something that takes a lot of effort and gets me nowhere. Besides, it's just a legend! I'd rather think about how to fill my stomach." Yajirobe replied casually.

Jiang Yun couldn't help frowning. Looks like I'll have to train this kid hard in the future. This attitude just won't do.

Then an idea came to him. He would test Yajirobe's potential. Standing up, he said,

"Yajirobe, you're carrying a sword, so you must be a pretty capable fighter. How about we spar?" Jiang Yun was getting excited.

Yajirobe, sitting on the ground, looked up at Jiang Yun and thought for a moment.

"You seem incredibly strong. Good timing—I just finished eating, so I could use a warm-up." As he spoke, Yajirobe stood up.

"Great. Let's go over there!"

Jiang Yun pointed to an open area nearby, and the two of them headed over.

They stood facing each other, staring in silence, their expressions solemn as astonishing auras began to rise around them.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The birds in the woods were startled and took flight at once, as if some great terror had descended. A breeze swept past the two of them.

In a flash, a streak of swordlight appeared!

Fast! Blindingly fast!

The blade, gleaming with a cold light, had already left its sheath. Jiang Yun was startled. He had expected Yajirobe's sword to be fast, but this was faster than he'd imagined!

Fast! Precise! Ruthless!

That was Jiang Yun's first impression. He leaned back, dodging the deadly strike.

But the blows that followed came one after another without pause!

Using both hands and feet, he knocked Yajirobe's sword aside, then closed in. Yajirobe performed several backflips in midair, evading Jiang Yun's attacks.

Then the two looked at each other.

In an instant, they moved.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Boom! Boom! Boom! In the blink of an eye, they had already exchanged several blows.

They moved at incredible speed, far beyond the limits of ordinary people. A normal person wouldn't even be able to see them clearly.

Any martial artist who witnessed this would have been stunned by their profound martial arts skills. At that moment, they were among the strongest martial artists around. No one could match them except the Turtle Hermit, Master Shen, and Mercenary Tao.

"Jiang Yun, let's settle this with one final move. I can tell you're holding a lot back. I can't believe someone as incredible as you exists!" Yajirobe said seriously, sounding a little helpless.

"All right. Come on!"

"Iaijutsu!"

Yajirobe turned into a streak of light and slashed at Jiang Yun.

"Half-Step Crushing Fist! Explode!" Jiang Yun struck as well, though he had held his strength back to match Yajirobe's.

They passed each other, as if nothing had happened. For a moment, everything stood still.

Suddenly, Yajirobe crouched halfway down, panting. His hand trembled uncontrollably, but he still didn't let go of his sword.

"I lost. I can't believe there's a monster like you in this world!"

Yajirobe said in disbelief.

"There's always someone stronger, and there's always a higher mountain. I only reached this point through hard training."

Jiang Yun smiled faintly.

Yajirobe was indeed quite strong. He had reached this level at such a young age. He wasn't as strong as he'd been shown to be in the original story, but there were still a few years to go. Even so, his battle power was already around a hundred. As for why it would only be around a hundred and fifty a few years later, Jiang Yun guessed it was because this fat guy was either eating or on his way to eat.

Time passed quickly, and the two made do for the night...

"Yajirobe, this is where we part. I'm going to challenge Korin Tower and see the legendary sacred land of the martial arts world!" Jiang Yun said as he bid Yajirobe farewell, his hands in his pockets.

"Then this is goodbye. I'll go check out that Martial Alliance you mentioned." Yajirobe turned and waved.

Jiang Yun also set out for Korin Tower. After walking for half a day, he finally saw the tower soaring into the clouds. Excited, he hurried toward it.

When Jiang Yun arrived, he found that the surroundings were exactly as they were in the original story.

"Who are you?" A man dressed like a Native American came out.

"Hello. I'm a martial artist, and I've come to challenge Korin Tower." Jiang Yun clasped his hands in greeting.

Bora sized up the young man before him. He looked to be seventeen or eighteen, handsome enough, but not particularly muscular. He didn't have a sharp, imposing air about him, either. Instead, he gave off a feeling of returning to simplicity.

Bora realized Jiang Yun was no ordinary man. He was no stranger to the world. Over the years, he had defeated many martial artists and learned to judge their strength by their auras. But he couldn't sense Jiang Yun's aura at all, which shocked him deeply!

He also realized that Jiang Yun was a powerful martial artist.

"Guests are always welcome. Why don't you come in and rest? You can replenish your strength before challenging Korin Tower."

Bora invited Jiang Yun inside. Jiang Yun thought it over, then agreed. There was no need to challenge the tower right away. He could rest up first and take on the challenge afterward.

"However, sir, if you want to challenge Korin Tower, you must defeat me first. My people have guarded the Korin Sacred Land for generations, and we also welcome those who come to challenge the tower. But in recent years, many people have died at its base, so you must defeat me first." Though Bora knew Jiang Yun was no ordinary man, he decided to test his strength anyway. He still found it hard to believe that someone so young could be that powerful.

"I'd be happy to take your test. My name is Jiang Yun. What's yours?"

Even though Jiang Yun knew his name, he still asked. He couldn't just know a stranger's name out of nowhere.

"Hello, Jiang Yun. Just call me Bora!"

Bora replied politely as well.

Well then, I look forward to our match!