First Taste of Defeat

After leaving Korin Tower.

Lin Yuan first made a trip to the small island where Master Roshi and the others trained, greeting Master Roshi, Goku, and the rest.

Last time, Goku and bald-headed Krillin had gone off to train, so he had not seen them.

Nearly half a year had passed.

After this period of training, Goku's eyes held not only their usual innocence and purity, but also a faint trace of resilience.

His fighting power had improved enormously as well.

Though he was still nowhere near Lin Yuan's current level, this was only the beginning.

Later on, if Lin Yuan let up even slightly, he might fail to keep pace with Goku and the others and become a speck of dust in some great explosion.

So he could not stop moving forward. Especially during this period before obtaining a bloodline, he needed to improve his strength as much as possible.

Increases in fighting power were secondary. The most important things were building a solid martial arts foundation and constantly training his "qi."

That had always been Lin Yuan's path forward.

Now that he had visited Korin Tower, once he had fully absorbed everything Korin had taught him—

Lin Yuan's next target would be Kami's Lookout—Mr. Popo.

He felt that Mr. Popo's combat philosophy was the strongest on Earth, so he definitely could not miss it.

But all of that could wait until after the martial arts tournament.

After chatting with Goku and the others for a while, Lin Yuan set off again.

His destination: West City!

He kind of missed Launch...

Thinking of Launch's adorable face, Lin Yuan unconsciously increased his flying speed by another thirty percent.

His return journey was nearly three or four times faster than before. He did not rest along the way, and in less than an hour, he could already see the cluster of buildings in West City.

He soon arrived at his front door. Lin Yuan pushed it open and called inside.

"Launch, I'm back!"

Only after a while did someone respond.

"You're back, so what? Why are you shouting? You're disturbing my nap!"

That voice... well, it was blonde Launch...

Lin Yuan entered the living room. Launch sat up from the sofa, still bleary-eyed, while snacks were piled all over the coffee table.

"Seriously, I've been gone so long, and you don't even know to welcome me back."

Lin Yuan spoke in mock anger, then sat beside Launch and began tidying up the trash on the coffee table.

"W-Why should I welcome you? W-Wait until she comes out, then let her welcome you! Hmph!"

After saying that, Launch turned on the television and watched it by herself.

Uh... Lin Yuan felt that blonde Launch seemed... a little strange today.

Almost a little? Shy?

Normally, blonde Launch definitely would not speak like that.

Could it be...

She could sense that her other self had already done that with me?

Lin Yuan speculated inwardly.

If that was the case~~~ hehehe.

Whether intentionally or not, Lin Yuan slowly shifted little by little toward where Launch was sitting.

Launch, who had been watching television with great interest, suddenly felt a large hand rest on her thigh, gently kneading it.

Blonde Launch's eyelashes trembled, her face burning as she threatened him.

"What are you doing?! I'm telling you, don't try anything funny."

After saying that, she used her fair little hand to push at Lin Yuan.

Naturally, Lin Yuan did not move his hand away.

Instead, his hand grew even more improper as it slowly traveled upward, eventually wrapping around her soft, boneless waist.

"What do you think I'm doing? You're already mine. I can do whatever I want!"

After saying that, Lin Yuan gave a hard tug, pulling Launch's whole body into his arms.

Feeling the delicate body in his arms tremble, Lin Yuan found it amusing.

Thinking of how overbearing blonde Launch usually was, yet how she now resembled a startled little kitten—

Lin Yuan made up his mind to tease her properly from now on~

Who would have thought that blonde Launch suddenly flipped over and sat directly on Lin Yuan's lap.

This left Lin Yuan a little dazed. Feeling the warmth of her body seep through their thin clothes, his heartbeat quickened involuntarily.

There was no trace of Launch's earlier shyness on her face. In its place was a haughty, tsundere expression.

She domineeringly cupped Lin Yuan's face in her hands and said, "Hmph, I knew you were up to no good. If you dare refuse to take responsibility for me from now on... hmph hmph."

Before Lin Yuan could say anything, he felt two soft lips press against his.

A long while later, their lips parted.

Under Lin Yuan's stunned gaze, Launch licked her lips with lingering satisfaction, then got up and headed upstairs...

The same person, yet two completely different styles.

One was gentle and delicate.

The other was passionate—and kept sticking out her tongue like crazy!

Still, that feeling... was actually pretty nice!

No, no!

Lin Yuan shook his head. He had meant to tease her, so how had he ended up on the passive side instead...

Lin Yuan looked thoroughly dejected.

For the first time, he had lost...

Lost to a woman.

A moment later, Lin Yuan roughly counted his Senzu Beans. There were around 350 of them.

Korin actually still had quite a few, but no matter what Lin Yuan said, he refused to give him any more. Lin Yuan had no choice either—he couldn't exactly rob him by force.

Fortunately, Yajirobe had not appeared yet, so the Senzu Beans were safe for the time being.

Before leaving, Lin Yuan had specifically instructed Korin to increase the cultivation of Senzu Beans.

He said that in the future, he had seen a fat man named Yajirobe eat all the Senzu Beans, after which many monsters capable of easily destroying the world appeared on Earth.

And because all the Senzu Beans had been eaten, the world was destroyed, or something along those lines.

Korin nodded, half-believing and half-doubting him.

As for whether he would plant more, Lin Yuan had no idea.

In any case, Lin Yuan would be going back after the martial arts tournament. If Korin still refused, he would just take them by force next time. He refused to believe Korin would not hand them over then. After all, Korin was no longer his match. Heh heh heh~

Afterward, Lin Yuan went to the backyard, intending to try out his earlier skill again.

In truth, Lin Yuan had come up with the idea for Comet Big Bang long ago. He simply had not been able to use it perfectly.

During his battle with Mercenary Tao, perhaps driven by many different factors, he had finally perfected the move.

After restraining his power, Lin Yuan tried it several more times. Once he had fully mastered it, he put on a 150-pound gravity suit.

His battle power was instantly suppressed from 208 to 180.

Lin Yuan did not intend to train today. He had only just returned, so he decided to give himself half a day off and start training again tomorrow.

Lin Yuan's next goals were simple: challenge a high-multiplier gravity chamber, use his qi with greater precision, and strengthen the foundation of his martial arts.

There was no end to improving one's battle power, just as there was no end to the path of martial arts.

Although his current battle power was more than enough to secure the martial arts tournament championship, Lin Yuan's goal was not some minor title.

His goal was to surpass Frieza, Cell, Majin Buu, and the rest in the future...

After taking a hot bath, Lin Yuan changed into a fresh set of clothes and went out with Launch.

He planned to spend the afternoon on a date with her.

And while he was at it...

Ahem, all right, the truth was that Lin Yuan happened to need to buy two sets of clothes...