Preliminaries

The day before registration for the World Martial Arts Tournament.

On a small island in the vast ocean.

Goku, Krillin, and Master Roshi had finished their lessons for the morning. They were preparing to take their afternoon nap in hammocks within a forest.

This was their habit. Every day after morning training ended, they would nap here.

Master Roshi slowly climbed into his hammock, nearly falling off in the process.

Looking at his sluggish movements, no one would ever associate this old man, who struggled even to climb into bed, with the God of Martial Arts—Master Roshi.

After lying down, Master Roshi first found the most comfortable position, then said to Goku and Krillin with a contented expression, "All right, from now until one o'clock is our nap time. Make the most of it and get some rest."

Goku quickly answered, "I know! Because the Turtle School's motto is to train well, rest well, and study well. You've said it so many times already!"

Master Roshi chuckled. Looking at his two outstanding disciples, his eyes were full of pride.

Perhaps it won't be long before they surpass me, Master Roshi thought.

Goku wore an innocent smile, his eyes brimming with undisguised excitement and anticipation.

"What kind of strong fighters will there be at the World Martial Arts Tournament? I can't wait... Those strong fighters must be training desperately right now too!"

As he thought about it, Goku slowly drifted off to sleep...

At the same time, in distant West City.

Inside Lin Yuan's training room.

Lin Yuan and Yamcha were sprawled out on the floor, sleeping soundly.

What Goku did not know was that, at this time, most of the strong fighters participating in the World Martial Arts Tournament were taking their afternoon naps.

Soon, afternoon arrived, and the sounds of intense training once again echoed through the training room.

"Wolf Fang... Wind Wind Fist!"

"Ha! A-da! Urgh!"

Then, a figure was sent flying backward. It was Yamcha.

Yamcha got back to his feet and said helplessly, "You're too strong. We're not even on the same level anymore. With your strength, I'm afraid only those few can compete with you!"

"Perhaps."

Lin Yuan smiled faintly. Of course, he would not tell Yamcha that there were indeed people stronger than him in this world, though they were not the ones Yamcha had in mind.

Judging by the current timeline, only the two on Kami's Lookout and the not-yet-born King Piccolo could put pressure on him.

After sparring with Lin Yuan for a while longer, Yamcha left Lin Yuan's home. He also needed to get things in order and prepare for tomorrow's World Martial Arts Tournament.

In the days since Lin Yuan returned, aside from training in the Gravity Chamber, he had sparred with Yamcha almost every day. Both of them had improved somewhat.

Though the improvements were not great, Lin Yuan firmly believed that with steady accumulation over time, they would eventually yield remarkable results.

The better one's foundation, the greater and easier the increase in combat power would be later on.

After Goku died for the first time and returned from training with King Kai, his base combat power had directly reached 8,000.

Aside from the superior environment and King Kai's unique training methods, it was also inseparable from Goku's solid foundation.

That evening, Lin Yuan did not do any more training. Instead, he had dinner with Launch and went to bed early.

Before long, it was the evening of the next day.

After meeting up with Bulma, Yamcha, Puar, and the others, the group headed together to the city hosting the World Martial Arts Tournament.

At the same time, Master Roshi set out from the island with Goku and Krillin.

The World Martial Arts Tournament would officially begin with the drawing of lots and grouping the next morning, but all contestants had to arrive today to complete registration.

After Lin Yuan's group arrived at the tournament grounds, they registered first.

Lin Yuan and Yamcha were the ones competing.

As for Bulma, Launch, and Puar, they would be spectators and cheerleaders.

After registering, Lin Yuan began searching for Goku's group.

Before long, amid the sea of people, he spotted Master Roshi's conspicuous bald head.

Today, Master Roshi wore a black suit and black sunglasses.

Goku and Krillin had changed into orange Turtle School martial arts uniforms. (Since Launch had been taken away by the protagonist, there was no one to make clothes for them.)

Lin Yuan went over to greet them. Perhaps because it was Goku's first time seeing so many people, he seemed extremely excited and kept asking questions.

For example.

"So many people and cars in the big city!"

"And there are huge birds flying in the sky."

"Tomorrow, I'm definitely going to have a proper match with Lin Yuan and Yamcha."

Things like that.

Krillin wore a look of utter disdain, feeling embarrassed by how clueless Goku seemed.

As for Master Roshi...

"Ahem!"

Lin Yuan coughed pointedly.

Master Roshi obediently and slowly shifted his gaze away from Launch and Bulma.

That filthy old pervert!!

After catching up for a while.

They agreed to meet here again tomorrow to draw lots, then returned to their dorms to rest.

With the arrival of the next day, the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament officially began!

"Wow, I never expected there to be so many people!"

Lin Yuan exclaimed. Looking around, the crowd was packed shoulder to shoulder.

Goku, Krillin, and the others felt the same way.

Master Roshi, meanwhile, remained perfectly calm.

"Come on, let's go draw lots in the preliminary arena. Don't get separated!"

With that, Lin Yuan was the first to enter the Martial Arts Hall.

The Martial Arts Hall—the place for this tournament's drawing of lots and preliminary rounds—was accessible only to contestants.

Companions and spectators could only wait outside.

At the entrance to the hall, the staff first explained the rules to Lin Yuan and the others. After confirming their identities, they let them through.

More than a hundred people were participating in this tournament's preliminaries.

These hundred-plus contestants would be divided by lot into eight groups. The final winner of each group would advance to the quarterfinals.

Once they reached the quarterfinals, the final matches would take place on the large outdoor arena.

The rules were simple: no eye-gouging, no attacks on private parts, and no killing.

Leaving the ring, surrendering, or being knocked down and unable to rise for ten seconds all counted as a loss.

Inside the Martial Arts Hall.

The many contestants stretched and warmed up around the rings, eager to fight.

Once the lots had been drawn, matches began on the rings.

Fortunately, Lin Yuan, Goku, Krillin, and Yamcha had not been assigned to the same ring.

In other words, barring any surprises, all four of them would definitely advance to the quarterfinals as the top competitors in their respective groups.

The first of the four to take the stage was Goku. His opponent was enormous, the complete opposite of Goku in size. Almost no one thought the tiny Goku had a chance.

The result, however, left everyone stunned.

Goku knocked the tall man unconscious with a single punch.

The contestants below the stage cried out in alarm.

Lin Yuan was the calmest among them, followed by Krillin and Yamcha.

Before long, everyone took the stage one after another. There was almost no suspense—every match ended in a single blow.

It couldn't be helped. After taking a rough look around, Lin Yuan found that the four of them basically had the highest power levels in this tournament.

All of them were above fifty, while the highest power level among everyone else was only forty-five.

And Lin Yuan remembered that guy with a power level of forty-five.

His name should have been Nam.