Goku VS Tien Shinhan

The bells of Papaya Island rang out beneath the clear sky as the twenty-third World Martial Arts Tournament entered its most thrilling stage.

The stands had long since filled to capacity, and the air was thick with excitement and anticipation. Martial arts enthusiasts from all over the world whispered among themselves, discussing the eight powerful fighters who had emerged from yesterday's preliminaries.

"I heard that three-eyed Tien Shinhan defeated one of the previous tournament's top eight with a single move!"

"That kid named Goku is even scarier. He didn't even move during the preliminaries, and his opponent flew out of the ring by himself!"

"The most mysterious one is still that 'Immortal' wrapped head to toe in a gray robe. He keeps winning in the most baffling ways. I don't think he's as simple as he looks..."

In the competitors' waiting area, the fighters were eagerly preparing themselves.

The first match was between Tien Shinhan and Nam.

The match quickly began...

At this time, Lin Yuan had not gone to the tournament venue. He was at home keeping Launch company because she was feeling a little dizzy.

Lin Yuan had originally wanted to take her to the hospital for a checkup, but Launch said she was only a little dizzy and wanted to lie down for a while. So Lin Yuan stayed by her bedside, bringing her tea and chatting with her.

Only after Launch had fallen soundly asleep did Lin Yuan head to the venue.

The two figures on the ring were locked in fierce combat, leaving the audience below utterly stunned.

The tournament had now reached the first semifinal, with Goku facing Tien Shinhan for a place in the final.

Lin Yuan had not expected the two of them to meet so early. It seemed this was fate's arrangement.

The two vanished from where they stood at the same time, then collided in the center of the ring.

Bang!

The explosive clash of fists and feet was like thunder, their movements nearly impossible to follow with the naked eye. Ordinary spectators could only see blurry afterimages and shockwaves suddenly appearing all over the ring.

That was why they were all dumbfounded.

The two vanished again and collided once more.

In Lin Yuan's eyes, Goku and Tien Shinhan had already exchanged several moves in the instant they collided.

Tien Shinhan swept a high roundhouse kick toward Goku's head. Goku ducked under it and drove his right fist straight at Tien Shinhan's abdomen. Tien Shinhan pressed down with his left hand to block it, while his right hand formed a blade and chopped toward Goku's neck. Goku leaned back to evade, then used the momentum to flip backward and widen the distance.

Goku's expression remained calm and his breathing steady, while Tien Shinhan's chest rose and fell slightly.

"I thought that with my current strength, I should've been able to defeat you easily. I never expected you to have grown this much stronger." Tien Shinhan breathed lightly, all three eyes fixed on his opponent.

Goku grinned. "Haha, you've gotten a lot stronger too, Tien Shinhan. But the warm-up is over! You should show me some real skill now!"

With that, Goku removed the weighted gear he wore. His whole body instantly felt lighter, and with a gentle leap, he soared dozens of meters into the air.

"Hahaha, how interesting. I never thought you trained while carrying such heavy weights too. Looks like today's fight won't end so easily!" Tien Shinhan said in surprise.

As soon as Goku landed, Tien Shinhan also took off the vest he was wearing and tossed it outside the arena.

Bang! The vest struck the ground and smashed a small crater into it.

Goku was equally surprised. It looked like Tien Shinhan's weights were even heavier than his!

"You're right, Tien Shinhan, but I definitely won't lose!"

The two assumed their opening stances, watching each other's breathing rhythms as they waited for an opening to appear!

A breeze swept past, and Goku's figure suddenly blurred. In the next instant, he was behind Tien Shinhan. An elbow shot straight for his back, but Tien Shinhan seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, twisting aside and returning the attack with a spinning kick.

Bang!

Goku crossed his arms and took the kick head-on. The tremendous impact sent him sliding back several meters, his soles scraping two white marks across the stone platform.

Tien Shinhan flashed forward and threw a heavy punch straight at Goku.

A spark of excitement flashed through Goku's eyes. "Nice!" He raised his knee to block, stopping the blow.

Tien Shinhan seized the opening and swept Goku's legs out from under him, immediately following with a punch.

Just as the attack was about to hit him, Goku rapidly twisted his body, braced himself with one hand on the ground, and whipped a fierce kick at Tien Shinhan's face.

Thud!

A muffled impact rang out as both were struck at the same time. Goku slammed hard onto the ring, while Tien Shinhan was sent flying into the air.

Goku sprang up the instant he hit the ground, while Tien Shinhan spun through the air and landed steadily. Their figures vanished at the same time.

Lin Yuan nodded to himself beneath the ring as he analyzed the battle. Tien Shinhan's overall strength and ki were both somewhat greater than Goku's. That was thanks to the effort he had put into gravity training. But Goku's control over ki was more refined. If the two of them unleashed attacks with the same force, Goku would expend less stamina and ki than Tien Shinhan.

If Tien Shinhan did not have some unexpected ultimate move, or if he could not end this quickly, then after they remained deadlocked for a while longer, he would likely fall into a disadvantage.

The two exchanged another evenly matched series of brutal, fist-to-flesh blows. Tien Shinhan seemed to realize that he could not drag this out any longer. Goku's breathing had not even faltered, while he himself had already begun to pant heavily.

Their fists collided, and the two figures separated.

"Hmph! I was planning to save this for the final, but it looks like I really can't defeat you without using this move."

Tien Shinhan said.

The corners of Goku's mouth curled upward. "Use whatever secret technique you've got. If you wait any longer, you won't get the chance."

Tien Shinhan remained still, standing in place as he slowly began swaying from side to side like a strand of seaweed.

Suddenly, a sharp gleam flashed in Tien Shinhan's three eyes, and he shouted.

"Four Witches Technique!"

Tien Shinhan suddenly split into four, each with a faint smile on his face.

"Afterimages? No, they're real! Every one of them has ki!" Goku quickly assessed the situation before him.

Tien Shinhan gave Goku no time to think further. All four copies charged at him at once.

"It's over, Goku. No matter how strong you are, there's no way you can handle four of me at the same time!"

Goku hurriedly defended himself, but two fists could not beat four hands. In an instant, he had already taken several hits.

"As expected of you, Tien Shinhan. You actually mastered a technique like this. It's really impressive!" Goku said, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Confidence shone on all four Tien Shinhans' faces. He had this match in the bag!

"Come again. I think I've already figured out your weakness!"

"Is that so? Hmph, stop talking big. Take this!"

Hearing Goku claim that he had found the weakness in his technique, Tien Shinhan refused to believe it. With a cold snort, the four copies ran to four different corners of the arena and simultaneously fired shockwaves at Goku!

A tremendous boom erupted from the ground, while Goku leaped into the air and dodged the attack.

Seeing Goku jump into the air, Tien Shinhan looked certain of victory. All four figures looked up, firing beams of light from their third eyes at Goku.

"Hahaha! Let's see how you dodge this!"

Goku remained calm. Watching the beams rush toward him, he fired a Kamehameha diagonally upward, instantly accelerating himself toward the arena.

The moment he landed, Goku rushed at the Tien Shinhan in one corner. In just a few moves, he knocked him out of the ring, then immediately charged toward the second copy.

The other two copies tried to come to his aid, but they were already too late. Goku had dealt with two copies, and the remaining two were no match for him either. He knocked them out of the ring one after another.

"Tien Shinhan, your biggest mistake was splitting into four people. That left each of you with only a quarter of your ki. Once I picked them off one at a time, you had no chance of winning!"

Having won the match, Goku spoke to Tien Shinhan below the stage.

Tien Shinhan scratched his head. Of course, he knew the weakness of this technique himself; he just had not expected Goku to discover it so quickly.

The moment Tien Shinhan used the Four Witches Technique, Lin Yuan knew he was bound to lose. Goku's control over ki was incredibly refined, so he would definitely discover its weakness in a very short time.

As long as Tien Shinhan failed to defeat Goku before that weakness was discovered, defeat was inevitable for him~