Top Eight Showdown

To be honest, the preliminaries showed that the overall quality of the World Martial Arts Tournament was truly not that high. Maybe more than a decade ago, there might have been something worth watching.

But in recent years, it had gradually declined, as if foreshadowing the decline of martial arts itself.

That was why, even after Goku and the others had saved Earth several times, no one paid them much attention. Ordinary people simply could not imagine speed beyond the limits of vision, much less the shock of a single Tri-Beam shattering a planet.

The preliminaries passed effortlessly. Li Ming even spotted the bespectacled man possessed by Kami, but he did not expose him.

"Hm?"

The preliminaries ended, and the top eight emerged. Goku and Piccolo naturally made it without question. If Li Ming had not appeared, they should have been the main characters of this tournament.

Of course, Li Ming also hoped to gauge his current level through their match. Without a clear standard to measure his own combat power, he still felt uneasy about universe-level powerhouses.

"The first match of the top eight: contestant Tien Shinhan versus contestant Tao Pai Pai!"

Li Ming was clearly not very interested. In his eyes, the gap between their ki was simply too vast. Their strength was not even comparable.

Turning his attention to the arena, he saw Tao Pai Pai being forced back step by step. His mechanical body was even worse than his original one, and clashing head-on with Tien Shinhan put him at a severe disadvantage.

Still, Tao Pai Pai's Super Dodon Ray after becoming a cyborg was fairly interesting. Unfortunately, the difference in strength was too great, and Tien Shinhan took it head-on.

With just one heavy punch, Tao Pai Pai collapsed flat onto the ground.

"Is that robot Tien Shinhan's martial uncle? He's actually Master Shen's fellow disciple? No wonder he's so sinister."

Bulma complained from the crowd. Unlike the World Martial Arts Tournament more than a decade later, the spectator stands now were really just separated from the arena by a fence.

People were packed shoulder to shoulder. Fortunately, blonde Launch cleared the way, and no one dared stand nearby at a time like this.

"Bulma, is this guy your new lover? He's pretty handsome, but Tien Shinhan looks stronger," Launch said without any restraint.

Oolong and Puar were already used to Launch's blunt mouth. Bulma was thick-skinned, so she naturally did not care either, but she became unhappy when she heard that last part.

"Hey! What are you talking about? Of course he isn't, but Li Ming is definitely stronger!" Bulma waved her hand. Although she was angry with Yamcha, she was not planning to change boyfriends yet.

"Tien Shinhan is stronger!"

"Li Ming is stronger!"

"Tien Shinhan!"

"Li Ming!"

Sure enough, once women got angry, reason went out the window. As they argued, they forgot why they had started arguing in the first place.

Tien Shinhan's old face reddened at once, while Li Ming remained unmoved.

Honestly, under Master Roshi's guidance, he only wanted to pursue the true meaning of martial arts. He had little interest in marriage and such things.

It was strange when he thought about it. As native martial artists of Earth, aside from Krillin getting ridiculously lucky in the original story, it seemed that none of the others got married.

Of course, Saiyans were excluded. After all, the bloodline of the Saiyans in the Seventh Universe depended on them to continue.

The second match was Goku versus Chi-Chi. Well, it was practically a domestic violence scene.

That blockhead Goku did not recognize that the girl participating was Chi-Chi. Instead, Chi-Chi started by calling him a heartless man, leaving him completely confused.

"Six years ago, you promised me that you would marry me when we grew up!"

Li Ming, who had been standing in the contestants' waiting area, twitched at the corner of his eye again when he heard that forceful voice.

As expected of the Son Family. This kind of boldness was practically unheard of in the mortal world! No, it was probably rare in the entire universe!

Come to think of it, Goku should only have been ten six years ago. Did that count as privately pledging themselves to each other?

"Hey, Krillin, what's a wife?"

"Y-you idiot! A wife is someone who'll live with you in the future!"

Krillin roared through clenched teeth. Everyone else nearly collapsed. Their thought processes were simply nowhere near the same level.

Fortunately, Chi-Chi was Ox-King's daughter. Otherwise, with Goku's way of thinking, he probably would never have gotten married.

"I see, but I still can't remember who you are."

"Hmph!" Chi-Chi, still upset, took up a fighting stance. "I can tell you, but you have to beat me first."

"Is that so? Great."

Hey, hey, hey, you weren't seriously going to fight, were you?

Everyone stared blankly as Goku took up his stance. He looked like he was about to get serious! This was bad.

Whoosh!

Just as everyone thought Goku's brain needed fixing, he threw a punch through the air, and a powerful gust of fist wind howled out!

Chi-Chi had no time to react. She was sent flying straight out of the arena, but having trained somewhat with Ox-King, she was not injured.

Supporting herself against the wall, she stood up, walked to the edge of the arena, and revealed her identity.

Goku usually seemed slow-witted, but he was not actually stupid. And since he had said it before, he had no intention of going back on his word.

The match ended, and Chi-Chi returned with her arm wrapped around Goku's. Honestly, that sudden serving of lovey-dovey affection came completely out of nowhere.

While everyone offered their blessings, Piccolo, standing in a corner, noticed that Goku's move looked very similar to those of the Demon Clan.

"Why does that look so much like a Demon Clan technique?"

Goku had trained in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for a month. His perception of ki and martial arts had improved tremendously. And while he seemed single-minded, his pure heart gave him an unbelievably terrifying talent for martial arts!

Li Ming had naturally noticed that something was off about Goku's technique. Honestly, he was confident that he could crush the current Goku in terms of combat power, but that was based on the superiority of his ki.

If they were roughly equal, even if Li Ming were only somewhat stronger, he still was not confident he could defeat Goku.

In Li Ming's eyes, the talent to learn an opponent's moves after seeing them once was merely troublesome. What was truly terrifying was someone like Goku. Once he focused, his rate of growth would become unbelievably frightening!

The more he fought, the faster he improved!

Like a sponge, he would frantically absorb nourishment from the outside world during battle and strengthen himself.

That was why, despite being a low-class warrior, he could repeatedly surpass Vegeta. In battle, Goku possessed an innate advantage.

By comparison, the Saiyan power boost after surviving near death was more like a narrow shortcut, with enormous risks.

Goku's path might have been rugged and uneven, but it was a broad road. As long as he had enough opponents and time, there was simply no limit to him!

"The third match of the top eight: contestant Li Ming versus contestant Shen!"

Li Ming walked out and deliberately stood on the right side of the ring. Better safe than sorry; for this kind of thing, it was better to believe than not.

He wore a custom black martial arts uniform, but it had no character printed on it. Li Ming was not a traditional martial artist, nor did he want to create his own school, so naturally he had no emblem.

The fact that Goku had changed the Turtle School's Turtle character to the current Goku character also showed that he had completely walked his own path.

Besides, a closer look revealed that Krillin and Yamcha, who considered themselves inheritors of the Turtle School, both wore the Turtle character. Tien Shinhan, on the other hand, had completely discarded his former Crane School uniform and wore no obvious school insignia.

Perhaps Tien Shinhan only wanted to be a pure martial artist, drawing from the strengths of all others without founding a school of his own.

"Lord Kami, there's no need for you to come here, is there?" Li Ming said helplessly.

"Hehe." The middle-aged man possessed by Kami looked rather lecherous, making even his smile seem awkward. Through telepathy, he replied, "I'm still worried. Over the past two years, I've become unable to see through you and Goku. But Piccolo's strength cannot be underestimated. Since he was originally one with me, he has already surpassed me in power."

"If that's the case, be careful."

His gaze sharpened, and he released his ki. Only at that moment did Kami realize that it was not that he could not see through Li Ming—he could not see him at all!

Li Ming, standing before him, seemed like a giant towering into the clouds! The instant his ki burst forth, Kami's sharp perception instead subjected him to immense pressure!

"Impossible!? Th-this guy's strength, how can it be..." Piccolo panicked.

The spectators merely saw Li Ming's expression change. Then, the pebbles and dust throughout the arena rose into the air, breaking free from gravity beneath his overwhelming aura, while everyone felt a wave of suffocating pressure.

Tien Shinhan and the others, who had already begun to grasp ki, were drenched in cold sweat. They did not know exactly what had happened, but they knew one thing: Li Ming was dangerous right now!

"So strong! He's unbelievably strong!" Goku's eyes gleamed, as though he could not wait to rush up and fight Li Ming immediately.

A dazzling glint flashed across Master Roshi's sunglasses. Clearly, he too could sense the change in Li Ming.

"What terrifying ki..."