A Stagnant Heart Leads to Unsmooth Qi, Enlightening Yamcha

The desert night cooled rapidly.

Cold moonlight spilled over the dunes like mercury.

Bulma and Oolong were sleeping soundly in their respective rooms.

The energetic Son Goku was also lying on a nearby sofa, breathing evenly.

A dark figure slipped ghostlike from the shadows at the edge of the oasis.

It was Yamcha.

He had changed into black nightwear, leaving only his eyes exposed, gleaming with complicated emotions in the darkness.

Like an experienced desert wolf, he made every movement with extreme care.

His feet stepped onto the soft sand without making a sound.

He hid behind a palm tree, staring fixedly at the house.

That blue-haired girl from the daytime should be inside that house.

Yamcha's cheeks heated up. He quickly shook his head, forcing that face that made his heart race out of his mind.

No.

He couldn't think about it.

He was here to do serious business this time.

He took a breath and forced himself to calm down.

His objective was clear: infiltrate the camp, knock out the two men, and steal the Hoi-Poi Capsules.

As long as he didn't see that girl, his "condition" wouldn't flare up.

The plan was perfect.

Yamcha encouraged himself, lowering his body even further. Like a hunting cheetah, he used the cover of the trees to creep bit by bit toward the center of the camp.

Fifty meters.

Thirty meters.

Twenty meters.

Ten meters.

Victory seemed to be right before his eyes.

He had Puar turn into a key, preparing to launch a surprise attack.

But the instant he opened the door and prepared to make his move, his body suddenly went rigid.

It felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen in that instant.

The man he had assumed was sleeping was now sitting cross-legged on the sofa, watching him at his leisure.

In front of the man sat a freshly brewed cup of tea, still steaming.

He simply sat there quietly, a faint smile on his face. His deep gaze seemed to have long since pierced through the night, seeing through all of Yamcha's disguises.

"Here at last?"

Lin Xuan lifted the teacup, gently blew on it, and spoke lightly.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time. Want a cup of hot tea to warm yourself up?"

Boom.

Yamcha's mind went blank.

He knew I was coming?

He had been waiting here for me all along?

How was that possible?

He had been confident that even the finest scouts in the military wouldn't have detected him during his approach.

Yet this man had not only noticed him, but had even leisurely brewed tea while waiting.

Cold sweat instantly soaked Yamcha's back.

The man before him clearly looked harmless; Yamcha couldn't even sense the slightest fluctuation of "ki" from him.

Yet those calm eyes were like an ancient well with no visible bottom, sending waves of dread through Yamcha's heart.

"W-Who are you? How did you know I was coming here?"

Yamcha demanded fiercely despite his inner weakness, tightening his grip on the stone in his hand and taking up a defensive stance.

Lin Xuan did not answer his question. He merely took a sip of tea before shifting his gaze toward the tent not far away.

"You didn't come for me, did you?"

There was a trace of amusement in Lin Xuan's voice.

"You wanted to avoid me and take what you needed. At the same time, you wanted to run away from something you didn't want to face."

Those words were like a red-hot branding iron, searing fiercely into Yamcha's heart.

His face instantly flushed crimson. The shame of having everything seen through overwhelmed his fear in an instant, transforming into towering rage.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Yamcha roared in humiliation and anger.

"Quit pretending to be some mysterious sage. I came here to rob you today. If you know what's good for you, hand over all your Hoi-Poi Capsules."

Unable to remain calm any longer, he let out a shout, gathered all his strength into his arms, and lunged at Lin Xuan.

He wanted to use his fists to smash the composure off this man's face.

But the instant he leaped forward, Lin Xuan finally spoke, uttering words Yamcha would never forget for the rest of his life.

"When the heart is burdened, the flow of energy is disrupted. Then one can never attain mastery in martial arts."

It was an ordinary sentence, devoid of any emotion.

Yet it exploded in Yamcha's mind like a thunderclap from the heavens.

His charging body abruptly froze, and the furious expression on his face instantly stiffened.

When the heart is burdened.

The flow of energy is disrupted.

Then one can never attain mastery in martial arts.

Those twelve words struck deep into his soul like heavy hammers.

He recalled the days of training from his childhood.

His master had praised him more than once for his extraordinary talent, calling him a born martial artist.

Yet as he grew older, his strength began to stagnate.

No matter how arduously he trained, he could not break through that invisible bottleneck.

He could feel that his strength was clearly formidable, yet in battle, he would often inexplicably lose momentum.

Especially when facing women.

The terror that surged from the depths of his heart would instantly drain all strength from his body, causing his energy to completely collapse.

He had always thought it was merely a flaw in his personality.

But today, this mysterious man had exposed the truth with a single sentence.

So the bottleneck that had plagued him for years did not stem from his strength, but from his "heart."

"N-No way... You're just talking nonsense."

Yamcha still futilely denied it aloud, but his eyes had already become completely chaotic, and his body trembled slightly from the violent turmoil in his mind.

Lin Xuan set down his teacup and slowly rose to his feet.

He still did not assume any fighting stance. He merely looked at Yamcha calmly.

"Your Wolf Fang Fist is swift, precise, and ruthless—a first-rate martial technique. When you attack, your momentum is like a rainbow, like a starving wolf pouncing on its prey. You have indeed developed it to some extent."

Lin Xuan first offered him affirmation, then abruptly changed his tone.

"Unfortunately, you're nothing more than a paper tiger."

"You..."

Yamcha felt humiliated once again.

"A true powerhouse possesses a heart as steadfast as rock and energy as vast as rivers and seas. No matter what situation they face, their heart and will remain united, their energy moves with their heart, and it flows without end."

Lin Xuan's voice grew stern.

"But your heart is a sandcastle. It may appear solid, yet the slightest disturbance will make it collapse in an instant. Once your heart falls into disorder, your energy becomes water without a source, a tree without roots. It may look overwhelming, but it will crumble at the first touch."

"In the battle during the day, you had a chance to defeat that child. But the appearance of a woman threw your mind into disarray, scattered your energy, and left you humiliated in the end."

"This is the fundamental reason you have been unable to improve."

Every word Lin Xuan spoke was like a sharp scalpel, precisely cutting through Yamcha's disguise and exposing the weakness he was least willing to acknowledge, bloody and bare beneath the moonlight.

"Shut up! Shut up!"

Yamcha completely broke down.

He let out a beastlike roar, turning all his shame, anger, and unwillingness into fuel for his attack.

"Wolf Fang Fist!"

With all his strength, he turned his fists into a sky full of claw-like shadows and frantically raked them toward Lin Xuan.

He wanted to tear this man apart.

To rip apart that hateful mouth of his.

However, at that moment, Goku, who had been awakened by the commotion, rushed over and blocked him.

Then, relying on his powerful perception, Lin Xuan easily guided Goku to defeat him.

Yamcha held his punching stance, his eyes wide as bells, his face filled with utter shock and disbelief.

How could this be?

His all-out strike had been caught so effortlessly by the other party?

And with such casual ease, at that.

Little Goku had not expected to subdue an opponent who had seemed so powerful during the day so easily either.

Yamcha tried to pull back his fist, only to find that his wrist was locked in an iron grip. No matter how he struggled, he could not break free in the slightest.

Yet the force coming from those two fingers was like an immovable mountain.

"See? Your heart is in turmoil again."

Lin Xuan's voice sounded beside his ear, as though he were merely stating a fact.

Thud.

Yamcha's legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees.

All his pride, all his pretense, shattered completely at that moment.

He had lost.

Lost utterly and completely.

"Who exactly are you?"

Yamcha muttered dazedly, unable to summon even the slightest thought of resistance.

Lin Xuan had Goku release him, then returned to sit beside the fire, his tone becoming calm once more.

"In martial cultivation, tempering the body is the surface, refining qi is the middle, and cultivating the heart is the foundation. Your foundation has already fallen into disorder. If you cannot see through your inner demon, you will find it difficult to make any further progress in this life."

Seeing that everything was fine, and that they were talking about profound principles he could not understand again, Goku went back to continue resting.

"My inner demon... my inner demon..."

Yamcha clutched his head in agony.

Lin Xuan looked at him and continued, "Fear comes from the unknown. You fear contact with women not because women themselves are frightening, but because you fear the version of yourself that becomes uncontrollable, cowardly, and vulnerable when you are around them."

"What you are running from is not anyone else, but your own weakness."

Those final words were like a bolt of lightning, splitting apart all the fog in Yamcha's heart.

That was right.

What he feared was that ugly version of himself, was it not?

All this time, he had used the fierce exterior of a "desert bandit" to conceal the cowardice in his heart.

But the more he concealed it, the deeper that cowardice took root, until it became the greatest inner demon on his path of martial arts.

"What should I do?"

Yamcha raised his head, his eyes full of confusion and pleading.

At that moment, he had completely regarded the man before him as an enlightened master capable of showing him the way.

"Face it, accept it, then overcome it."

Lin Xuan pointed toward the room not far away.

"Your opportunity lies there. Only when you stop running away and can stand before her calmly and speak a complete sentence will your path of martial arts be able to begin anew."

After saying that, Lin Xuan ignored him, closing his eyes again as though entering meditation.

Yamcha remained kneeling there, staring blankly at Lin Xuan's back, then at the room, his expression shifting uncertainly.

After a long while, he slowly stood up and gave Lin Xuan's back a deep bow.

Then, without a word, he turned and walked into the deep night.

After he left, a panel quietly appeared in Lin Xuan's mind, and the Scripture of Supreme Perception shone with brilliant light.

A clear line of text slowly formed.

[With a single word, you enlightened a lost traveler; seeing through his inner demon, he returned to the righteous path. Merit +2.0]

His merit value leaped from 2.8 to 4.8.

A satisfied smile curved across Lin Xuan's lips.

This haul was huge.

The next morning, sunlight once again flooded the desert.

Bulma stretched as she walked out of the room and asked in confusion, "Strange, why do I feel like I heard something last night?"

"You slept like a pig. What could you possibly have heard?"

Oolong quipped from the side.

Son Goku had already gotten up early and caught several large fish in the oasis, which he was roasting over the fire.

Lin Xuan packed up the Hoi-Poi Capsules as though nothing had happened.

After breakfast, the group set off once more.

The car left the oasis and headed deeper into the desert.

Bulma was driving when she casually glanced at the rearview mirror.

She suddenly froze.

On the distant horizon, a tiny figure stood atop a sand dune.

It was too far away to make out any features, but Bulma could feel that the figure was standing there for a long time, facing in their direction.

The car continued onward, and the light on the Dragon Ball radar grew brighter and brighter.

"Found it. It's right ahead."

Bulma shouted excitedly.

After crossing the last stretch of sand, a massive peak abruptly appeared at the edge of their vision.

More accurately, it was not a mountain.

It was a castle engulfed in raging flames.

The towering blaze had dyed the sky red, and the terrifying heat could be felt clearly even from several kilometers away.

Bulma stared at the sight in disbelief, nearly dropping the Dragon Ball radar in her hand.

"You've got to be kidding me, right? The next Dragon Ball is in a place like that?"

Lin Xuan looked at the castle amid the flames, his gaze narrowing slightly.

Flame Mountain—the Ox-King's castle.

It seemed the plot had officially entered the fast lane.