Collecting the Dragon Balls

After leaving Piccolo, Li Ming recovered some of his strength before using Instant Transmission to head straight to West City. Bulma was currently overwhelmed with work and was about to head out with the Dragon Radar.

"Ring, ring, ring..."

"Bulma, are you heading out?"

Just then, Mrs. Brief came in from the backyard and said, "Your sister is on the phone!"

"My sister?"

Suddenly remembering something, Bulma rushed over to Mrs. Brief in a few strides and took the phone. They had been in contact for some time now, and calling at a moment like this could only mean one thing.

"Bulma, Jaco said he found Li Ming and is currently on his way back to Earth. But there's bad news too. It seems an even stronger evil alien is also heading for Earth."

"What!?"

She had just received good news, easing her sense of crisis, only to immediately hear bad news. The massive emotional whiplash made her explode on the spot!

Bulma immediately bared her teeth and roared, "Tell Jaco to explain himself! Why does Earth have so many enemies!? Hello!?"

Beep, beep, beep...

A busy signal came from the other end. Tights clearly understood Bulma's personality and simply hung up, sparing her ears from disaster.

Bulma tossed the phone aside and turned to look for the Dragon Balls. Although Fortuneteller Baba had said Goku would not be revived until a year later, the Dragon Balls had to be gathered beforehand.

But just as she reached the doorway, Bulma ran straight into Li Ming.

"Who is it!?"

In her bad mood, Bulma did not look carefully. Combined with the sudden change in lighting, she did not immediately see who it was and shouted outright.

"Bulma, long time no see."

Only then did Bulma raise her head. Their height difference was also why she had failed to notice him right away. She froze for a moment before reacting.

"...Li Ming! You're back! That's great!"

"Oh my, Mr. Li Ming, you're back. We just bought a cake. Would you like to have afternoon tea?"

Dr. Brief and Mrs. Brief also came out upon hearing the commotion. This surprised Li Ming somewhat, since even Piccolo had not recognized him at first glance.

After Bulma's excitement subsided, she recounted the situation to Li Ming, especially Goku's death. As one of Goku's earliest friends, his death had still hit her hard.

Even knowing that the Dragon Balls could revive him, it was not a good thing after all.

"Mm, I know the situation."

Li Ming nodded. The situation was largely within his expectations. More accurately, if Goku had not died, that would have been the real problem. Without King Kai's help, Goku's growth path might have taken some unexpected turns.

Li Ming did not know how such changes would affect him, but if the powerful enemies who might appear all focused their attention on him, the problem would become truly serious.

Rather than that, it was better to let Goku continue growing stronger while he remained hidden behind the scenes.

"Dr. Brief, it is an honor to meet you. I am Kainsen, from the Kefida Civilization."

Afterward, Dr. Brief got to know Kainsen as well. Both were geniuses in the field of technology, and their conversation quickly drifted into topics Li Ming had no interest in.

Li Ming was kept for a meal, then he and Bulma headed to Kame House. Gathering the Dragon Balls was not difficult, but they were scattered across every corner of Earth, and Li Ming's help would make things much faster.

"I really never expected there to be so many formidable figures in the universe."

Master Roshi sat in the back seat of Bulma's aircraft and sighed. "By that logic, Earth is merely a tiny speck in a corner of the universe. I wonder whether Goku and the others can handle those monsters."

"It's not quite that exaggerated."

Li Ming was helping gather the Dragon Balls mainly because he had nothing else to do. There were still more than six months left, and Slug was still drifting through space.

As for Vegeta, Li Ming had no intention of getting involved. Vegeta was Goku's opponent, and the current Vegeta was not even qualified to be Li Ming's opponent.

"That's right. Li Ming, you must have become even stronger, right? Those aliens definitely won't be a match for you, will they?"

Oolong lived at Kame House, so he had come along as well, sounding quite optimistic.

"That alien killed Goku."

Bulma was more rational, so she was not optimistic. She asked, "Li Ming, are you really confident you can deal with them?"

"As far as the current enemies are concerned, I'm not worried. But there are still some things I need to confirm."

"Hmm?"

The others froze, unable to understand what Li Ming meant. Could there be some unexpected complication?

In truth, Li Ming was worried about whether the intelligence from the Galactic Patrol was accurate. Why had Slug suddenly come to Earth? With his combat power, he could conquer any planet in the universe at will, as long as he avoided Frieza.

Yet he had specifically come to remote Earth in the North Galaxy. His target was clearly defined, which in itself was highly unreasonable.

Compared with Earth's environment, Slug was actually better suited to going to the Demon Realm.

"..."

Master Roshi stared at Li Ming for a long while, his expression growing increasingly grave the longer he looked. As for Li Ming's strength, he had long since been unable to see through it.

What he was truly observing was Li Ming's aura. Everyone's energy was different, and martial arts masters like them could sense the good and evil contained within a person's aura.

In Master Roshi's eyes, Li Ming now resembled an indistinct ball of light. He could not see through it; everything was hidden in deeper layers.

To Master Roshi, this was a dangerous situation. Being unable to distinguish good from evil effectively meant that he was unpredictable, without any fixed stance, and capable of doing anything!

This was completely different from when Li Ming had first left Earth. Back then, Master Roshi had seen that although Li Ming possessed violent power, it was restrained by a current of kindness. That was why he had passed on his martial arts experience to Li Ming.

"Found it!"

Just then, Bulma's Dragon Radar detected the first Dragon Ball. It was found deep within a remote mountain forest and was easily retrieved.

The group continued onward. In truth, it might have been faster to let Li Ming take the Dragon Radar and collect them himself, but there was still time, so no one was in a hurry.

The first Dragon Ball had gone smoothly, but the second brought a minor problem. It was located in a village, and unfortunately, a group of bandits was in the middle of looting it. To be safe, Li Ming flew down and retrieved the Dragon Ball himself.

"Damn it! Put that down!"

Clang!

Li Ming merely glanced sideways and raised a hand, catching the bandit's descending steel blade. With a casual flick, the entire blade snapped in two!

A cold glint flashed through his eyes. The next instant, an energy blast pierced straight through the bandit's brow, followed by one blast after another!

Boom!

One beam of energy struck a mountaintop several thousand meters away. The entire mountain exploded, and a massive mushroom cloud slowly rose amid the flames!

Before long, every bandit lay in a pool of blood. The plundered villagers stood frozen in place. Li Ming did not say a word before returning directly to the plane.

"Let's go."

Bulma was startled by the scene, but she still nodded. As she piloted the plane away, she forced a smile. "Li Ming, wasn't that a little too much?"

"Too much?"

Li Ming raised a brow and said calmly, "Maybe..."

Cruel as it might sound, in the universe, power was ultimately the foundation that decided everything. That was an eternal truth.

Every universe had Supreme Kais, but it also had Gods of Destruction. Wasn't that the very purpose of a God of Destruction? To use absolute power to maintain the balance of the universe.

Since the operation of the universe required such power, then it was naturally right. Not to mention a single species—even a civilization, a planet, or an entire galaxy.

As long as it disrupted that balance, it had to disappear.

In Li Ming's view, as long as the balance was not broken, there was no question of whether something was excessive or not. He had acted only because those bandits had provoked him first, not because he wanted to save those villagers. Those were two entirely different things.

The journey grew much more subdued. Li Ming's changes were not limited to his way of doing things; even his appearance had subtly changed. Aside from his hairstyle, his entire build now appeared exceptionally well-proportioned.

At over 1.8 meters tall, it was actually difficult for muscle distribution to reach perfection. One either ended up heavily muscled and bulky, or lean and wiry.

Li Ming now felt like he stood somewhere between the two, in a state close to perfection. His terrifying power was completely drawn inward, hidden without revealing itself.