Cultivation Ends

At the center of Kami's Lookout plaza, sweat dripped from Lin Yuan's chin onto the pristine white jade floor.

Two identical "mirror images" stood before him—training opponents Mr. Popo had created with the Water of Life, perfectly replicating all of his combat techniques and power.

"Again!"

Lin Yuan shouted lowly, his legs explosively tensing. Spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread across the white jade floor. His figure shot toward the two mirror images, accompanied by a piercing sonic boom.

The two mirror images reacted at the same time. The one on the left raised both arms to block, taking Lin Yuan's heavy punch head-on and sliding several meters backward; meanwhile, the one on the right suddenly vanished and reappeared behind Lin Yuan, chopping toward the back of his neck.

"Watch out!" Goku, watching from the side, shouted anxiously. "Lin Yuan, behind you!"

This past year had been the year Goku grew the fastest. A year ago, he had only reached Lin Yuan's waist; now, he was less than half a head shorter than Lin Yuan.

The corners of Lin Yuan's lips lifted slightly. At the critical moment, he leaned forward and drove his right elbow backward. With a dull bang, the mirror image behind him was knocked back several steps, but the one on the left had already adjusted its stance and fired a Ki blast howling toward him.

"Haah!"

Lin Yuan raised a hand and fired a light blast of his own. The two blasts collided and exploded instantly.

Taking advantage of the smoke from the explosion, Lin Yuan charged in and sent both mirror images flying with a punch and a kick.

The mirror images adjusted themselves in midair, landed steadily, and immediately assumed fighting stances. Two light blasts shot toward Lin Yuan at once.

Lin Yuan's figure flickered, and the two blasts passed straight through "Lin Yuan."

Then came a dull impact as both mirror images were struck hard in the abdomen by Lin Yuan, turning back into hardened clay.

"That was amazing!" Goku said, his eyes shining. Lin Yuan could handle two "versions of himself" so easily, while Goku had found it extremely difficult to deal with just two of them.

Looks like I need to train even harder! Goku thought.

Lin Yuan picked up a towel, wiped away his sweat, and gulped down several mouthfuls of water.

"Whew, Goku, it's about time we headed down. The 23rd Martial Arts Tournament is about to begin."

Goku nodded. He also missed Krillin, Tien Shinhan, and the others in the lower world. Lin Yuan had told him that everyone had been training hard lately, which filled Goku with anticipation for this tournament.

At that moment, Kami and Mr. Popo emerged. Kami smiled and said, "Are you getting ready to leave? Have dinner before you go!"

Mr. Popo nodded as well, indicating that he hoped they would eat before leaving.

Lin Yuan and Goku were both hungry anyway, so after Mr. Popo finished cooking, the two wolfed down every bit of food.

Of course, Goku ate most of it. Lin Yuan's appetite was much larger than an ordinary person's now, but it still couldn't compare to Goku's.

After putting down their bowls and chopsticks, the two solemnly bid farewell to Kami and Mr. Popo, then flew away from the Lookout.

Lin Yuan had grown somewhat stronger, but he still couldn't defeat Mr. Popo. He couldn't even suppress him anymore, since Mr. Popo had developed a certain degree of caution against Instant Transmission. In an ordinary spar, Lin Yuan could only ever fight Mr. Popo to a four-six split.

Lin Yuan couldn't understand it. How was he supposed to fight? Tell him, how was he supposed to fight? Why, baby, why?

Lin Yuan suspected that the old bastard was hiding his true strength. But even the system couldn't detect anything, so there was no use thinking about it.

After arriving in West City together, the two went their separate ways. Goku headed to the Ultra Instinct Dojo, while Lin Yuan returned home.

Lin Yuan only needed to roughly sense the situation at the dojo to get a general idea of what was going on. Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, and Nam were all at the Ultra Instinct Dojo now.

Among them, Tien Shinhan was the strongest. In terms of sheer strength, he was even slightly stronger than Goku. Next came Chiaotzu, Nam, Sate, and the remaining two captains.

When Goku saw Tien Shinhan and the others, they excitedly greeted one another.

"Tien Shinhan! Chiaotzu!" Goku waved excitedly. "You've gotten stronger! I can feel it!"

"Y-You're Goku? We almost didn't recognize you." Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu, and Nam looked utterly astonished.

Goku himself hadn't noticed any changes in himself. He only felt that everyone else seemed to have gotten shorter, making the group burst into laughter.

The moment Lin Yuan returned home, he smelled a familiar fragrance—the fresh scent of gardenias. His nerves immediately relaxed.

He quietly crept into the house. A slender figure stood with her back to him, arranging the dining table and preparing dinner.

Hearing a sound behind her, the figure clearly stiffened for a moment before slowly turning around.

Lin Yuan's breath caught.

Launch stood before him, as gentle and beautiful as ever, but her hairstyle had changed greatly.

Her once-iconic long blue hair had been cut into a shoulder-length style, the ends curling slightly inward to frame her delicate jawline. It added a touch of playful cuteness to her gentle elegance.

"Welcome home, honey."

Launch's voice was even softer and more pleasant than he remembered.

Lin Yuan stepped forward and gently pulled Launch into his arms.

"I'm back. Your new hairstyle looks beautiful," Lin Yuan whispered into Launch's ear.

Hearing his praise, Launch's lips curved upward, her face full of satisfaction.

"If you like it, I'll keep my hair short from now on! You must be tired. Do you want to eat first, or take a bath first~?"

"Ah!"

Launch cried out in surprise.

Because Lin Yuan directly hoisted her over his shoulder.

"I'll eat you first!"

Over the next few days, Lin Yuan spent most of his time with Launch.

Occasionally, he found time to visit the Ultra Instinct Dojo. There were more people at the dojo now than before. Some had left, while fresh blood had joined, so the overall number had still increased.

The Ultra Instinct Dojo was now renowned throughout West City, to say nothing of its strength. Almost all of the older disciples had combat power above 80, and those were the ones with poor talent who did not train very hard.

The vast majority of disciples could score 200 on the strength tester. This was thanks to Lin Yuan's training methods, as well as the organizational abilities of Nam, Sate, and the others.

For this Martial Arts Tournament, Lin Yuan also planned to use the same selection method as last time, choosing four disciples to participate in the World Martial Arts Tournament.

However, this time, Lin Yuan handed full responsibility to Nam. He believed Nam could do an excellent job.

Nam's abilities were undoubtedly outstanding, which was why Lin Yuan could be a hands-off boss.