Bulma finished her call and looked up at the sky.
"With an event like this and funding on such a huge scale, a lot of powerful people are bound to show up.
And with the prestige of the championship and the frenzy surrounding the tournament...
What exactly is the Aurora Group trying to do?"
Meanwhile.
Krillin finished a day of training in the sea.
Exhausted, he returned to Master Roshi's island.
"Krillin."
Master Roshi lay on a beach chair beneath a palm tree, wearing sunglasses.
"Ah, Master Mutaito."
Master Roshi sat up.
"You've done well this past year, but something's still missing."
"Huh?"
Krillin scratched his head awkwardly, at a loss.
He had followed Master Mutaito's training instructions to the letter.
If something was wrong with his training, it wasn't something he could control.
"You train hard, but you lack real combat experience.
An excellent warrior has to be a well-rounded fighter."
Krillin was completely baffled.
He'd never heard of a well-rounded fighter.
Besides, he couldn't decide these things himself.
"Master Mutaito, there aren't that many opponents on this island."
"That's why you need to head to a big city and broaden your horizons. Then you can come back and focus on training."
Master Roshi put on the air of a wise senior, speaking cryptically and meaningfully.
Krillin shuddered, broke out in a cold sweat, and hurriedly dropped to his knees.
"Master Mutaito, please don't kick me out."
Master Roshi was speechless.
What a stupid student.
How had he ended up with such a stupid student?
"Idiot, I'm telling you to go out and gain experience."
Master Roshi couldn't take it anymore and roared.
Krillin still didn't understand what Master Roshi meant.
"Master Mutaito, my strength hasn't reached its limit yet. There's no point in going out to challenge all sorts of opponents."
Master Roshi's chest heaved with anger.
"Idiot! I've taught you all the fundamentals.
If you keep your head down and train here without going out to see all kinds of powerful martial artists,
you'll just be training in isolation, and you'll end up with an insurmountable gap between you and Goku."
He really was their master.
With a single sentence, he'd pinpointed Krillin's weakness.
Keeping up with Goku, surpassing Goku—that was practically Krillin's one weakness.
At Master Roshi's words, Krillin's expression immediately turned serious.
"I understand, Master Mutaito. I'll pack up and head out to see the world."
Only then did Master Roshi slowly get to the point.
"Mm. The Aurora Group has just announced that it's holding the Aurora Group Martial Arts Peak Tournament.
Qualifiers will be held in every city,
with results tallied monthly and regional competitions held six months from now.
The championship will take place a year from now.
It's a long-running tournament, a platform for martial artists around the world to learn from one another and exchange ideas.
We'll go together."
Master Roshi said this with a straight face, making things up as he went.
His words nearly made Krillin wet himself. He shuddered and stared at Master Roshi in disbelief.
"Huh?
Master Mutaito, you're entering too?
But if you compete, will anyone else even have a chance to win?"
Master Roshi wore a look of pure satisfaction.
Inwardly, though, he was bitter.
Forget everyone else—he'd already had a tough time facing Sun Wukong a year ago.
After a whole year, he might not be able to beat Sun Wukong, let alone Krillin.
The next generation overtakes the last, leaving the old guard washed up.
"Of course. If you don't advance in martial arts training, you fall behind. I have to keep pushing forward.
But I may not enter after all. I'll see how you do. If you place well, I naturally won't compete."
Master Roshi put it that way.
Meanwhile, he began wondering how he could keep up the charade.
Then he came up with a good idea.
"Of course, I won't go with you. You'll need to head out to the cities on your own."
After that, Master Roshi explained everything to Krillin.
Krillin's first reaction was beyond anything Master Roshi had expected.
"Master Mutaito, is there really a ring like this in every city around the world?"
Master Roshi fell into thought as well.
Over the past two years, the Aurora Group had been riding high.
Every product it released had become a global sensation. Even his little island had plenty of Aurora Group products, and he even used the company's satellite service.
You could say the whole world used Aurora Group products, and the company held a tenth of the world's wealth.
But holding martial arts tournaments in cities all over the world sounded outrageous—almost impossible.
"That's why you need to train hard in martial arts, travel through a thousand cities, and see more of the world.
Only then will you develop the judgment to tell what's what."
Master Roshi had no idea.
Because of that one remark, one of the few wise warriors on Dragon Ball Earth would go completely astray, becoming the brains at the heart of the entire team.
He would piece together every clue and provide the team with the most effective advice.
His ability to gather intelligence and analyze events and situations would give Li Xing no end of trouble.
Several times, he'd nearly been caught and exposed on the spot.
But that was for later.
For now, the important thing was Krillin's reaction.
Krillin's eyes lit up. He lowered his head, deep in thought.
"I understand, Master Mutaito."
Master Roshi nodded in satisfaction, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked away.
Krillin's eyes shone as something called wisdom began to emerge in his mind.
~
Time passed.
Li Xing continued studying various technologies, trying to make himself stronger through them.
"Wisdom."
"I'm here."
"Was the Repair Pod a success?"
"The experiment was successful, but we haven't completed a detailed analysis yet."
Li Xing narrowed his eyes slightly.
They hadn't tested it yet?
They'd have a chance soon enough.
"Has Polar Night finished its manufacturing assignment?"
"It's complete, Engineer."
Li Xing's eyes lit up.
With Polar Night finished, the Quantum Teleportation Technology was mature enough as well.
After some testing, he'd be able to use it with the Nano Heavy Armor.
The Black Armor definitely couldn't be seen in public—not if he wanted to keep anyone from finding out he owned it.
The orange-red Aurora armor, though, might be useful.
But he'd need to think of a reason to fool everyone else.
Just as Li Xing was thinking this, the system's message rang out again for the first time in a year.
"Host detected making a major change to the plot. Super Choice System activating."
"Choice One: Change everyone's understanding of martial arts and shift to developing technology with all your might. Reward: Constitution +0.1.
Choice Two: Broadcast the Aurora Martial Arts Peak Tournament around the world, sparking a global training craze. Reward: Mental Strength +0.01.
Choice Three: Cause a commotion with the Aurora Martial Arts Peak Tournament, stoking people's fear and making them yearn for martial arts to save them. Reward: Cell Guidance Technique."
Li Xing's eyes lit up when he saw the message.
What the hell was this?
It was like the heavens dropping a pie into his lap.
What was this supposed to mean?
"System, I choose three."
Li Xing didn't hesitate for a second.
He'd been in the Dragon Ball World for two years. The system had given him skills only once, at the beginning, when it granted him the Devour Ability. After that, it had provided nothing but basic stats.
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