Why is he like an ordinary person?

"Lin Xuan!"

Bulma's voice carried surprise and a slight tremble that even she herself had not noticed.

Almost instinctively, she pushed through the crowd and hurried toward Lin Xuan.

The packed sea of people around her seemed to vanish in an instant. In her world, only that man remained, standing quietly with a smile at the corner of his lips.

Within a few breaths, Bulma had rushed up to Lin Xuan.

She stopped before him, her chest rising and falling slightly from the hurried run. Her sky-blue eyes stared unblinkingly at him, scrutinizing him carefully from head to toe.

Strange.

Too strange.

Bulma's brows furrowed slightly, her eyes full of curiosity and confusion.

The man before her was still the familiar Lin Xuan.

His features had not changed, his height had not changed, and even the plain clothes he wore looked much the same as when they had parted on the deserted island.

Yet the feeling he gave off had changed completely.

If Lin Xuan had once felt mysterious to her, then now that feeling had entirely vanished.

He was clearly standing right before her, his breathing audible and his gaze gentle, yet in Bulma's senses, it felt as though there was nothing there at all.

He seemed to have merged with the surrounding air, the bustling crowd, and the sunlight overhead.

There was not the slightest trace of travel-weariness about him. The sharpness that had once seemed capable of seeing through everything was gone from those black eyes, leaving only pure calm and gentleness.

None of the troubles in the world seemed capable of leaving even the faintest mark upon him.

This ethereal, tranquil aura stirred an indescribable feeling within Bulma even more than the former mystery that had kept others at arm's length.

"Hey, you... what exactly did you go through these past few days? Why do you feel like you've turned into a... ghost?"

Bulma held it in for a long time before finally finding a word she felt was somewhat fitting.

Lin Xuan merely smiled at her words and was about to speak.

"Lin Xuan!!"

A vibrant voice suddenly rang out from nearby.

The next second, an orange figure and a short bald man forcefully squeezed through the crowd.

It was Son Goku and Krillin.

Son Goku's face was filled with the excitement of finding an opponent.

The moment he spotted Lin Xuan standing opposite Bulma, fighting spirit flared in his pure eyes.

"Haha, I finally found you!"

Son Goku burst into laughter, wasting no words as he kicked off the ground.

In an instant, he crossed more than ten meters and charged straight at Lin Xuan.

He intended to use the most direct method possible to test just how much stronger Lin Xuan had become during this time.

"Goku! What are you doing?!"

Bulma cried out in alarm.

Krillin beside her also looked tense. He could feel just how terrifying the gust of wind raised by Goku's charge was.

Yet Lin Xuan remained where he was, not even lifting an eyelid, as though he had not seen the figure rushing toward him.

Just as Son Goku's fist was about to strike Lin Xuan's chest, when the heat wave it carried nearly seemed ready to ignite the air—

Something unexpected happened.

Son Goku's charging body stopped abruptly, without warning, one meter in front of Lin Xuan.

The excitement on his face instantly froze, replaced by unprecedented bewilderment and shock.

"Huh?"

Son Goku made a puzzled sound through his nose. Maintaining his forward-charging posture, he blinked in disbelief.

Something was wrong.

Completely wrong.

In his senses, the unfathomable ki that Lin Xuan had once possessed was gone.

Completely gone, without even a trace remaining.

Just moments ago, he had charged over in eager anticipation, ready to face that familiar, suffocating pressure.

But in the end, he felt nothing.

To his extraordinarily sharp perception of ki, the Lin Xuan before him was nothing but an empty void.

No fighting spirit, no energy, no pressure—there was not even more than the faintest trace of life force that an ordinary person should possess.

He was like an illusion that did not exist.

"What... happened?"

Son Goku slowly lowered his fist, tilted his head, and circled Lin Xuan once. His nose even sniffed at the air, as if searching for some vanished scent.

"Lin Xuan, where's your ki? Why can't I sense even a little of it?"

He scratched his signature spiky hair, his face full of confusion.

"Did you get hurt? Or have you not trained at all lately? You feel... even weaker than Krillin."

"Hey! Goku! What are you talking about?!"

Krillin, who had been innocently caught in the crossfire, immediately jumped up in anger, though he was even more curious.

He tried sensing Lin Xuan's ki as well, but just like Goku, he felt nothing.

It was as if the person standing before them was merely an ordinary passerby with no strength to speak of.

But how could that be possible?

Just as the young men were utterly baffled, an old man in sunglasses and a floral shirt slowly stepped out of the crowd.

It was Master Roshi, before he had put on any disguise.

He ignored Goku and Krillin's noisy fussing. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes remained fixed on Lin Xuan.

His expression was more solemn than ever.

Goku and Krillin could not sense it because they were too young and too reliant on directly sensing ki.

But Master Roshi was different.

With the instincts of a martial artist honed over decades, he sensed something terrifying from Lin Xuan—something that made even his soul tremble.

It was a state of perfect harmony, of returning to simplicity, of becoming one with the Dao.

The young man merely stood there casually, yet it felt as though he had already become part of heaven and earth.

He was the wind, the light, and the earth beneath their feet.

Any attack that landed on him would be like striking the boundless universe, incapable of stirring even the slightest ripple.

Master Roshi knew perfectly well that this was not weakness.

Lin Xuan had stepped into a godlike realm that Master Roshi did not even dare imagine.

Compared to when they had met at Flame Mountain, he had advanced by another great step.

Just who was this young man?

Master Roshi was deeply shocked, but he did not show it. He merely gave Lin Xuan a solemn nod.

It was the highest respect a martial artist could offer to an existence of a higher realm.

Lin Xuan noticed Master Roshi's gaze and returned the gesture with a smile and a nod.

"Alright, alright, stop standing around like idiots. Registration's about to close!"

Watching the men speak in riddles, Bulma urged them impatiently.

Though she did not understand it either, she keenly sensed that Lin Xuan's change had definitely made him stronger.

The inexplicable sense of security in her heart grew even stronger.

"Right, right, let's register first!"

Goku snapped back to his senses. Though he still could not figure it out, his instinct for battle told him that all the answers would be revealed at the martial arts tournament.

The group made their way grandly to the registration desk.

Under the somewhat surprised gazes of the staff, they smoothly completed the registration process and received their respective competitor numbers.

"Great! Now we can fight together again!"

Holding his number tag, Goku danced around excitedly.

"Lin Xuan, during the tournament, I'm definitely going to find out what happened to you!"

"I'll be ready anytime." Lin Xuan smiled calmly.

"Hmph, you battle maniacs!"

Bulma planted her hands on her hips and proudly announced, "Starting today, I'm your dedicated support team captain! Logistics, intelligence analysis, and cheering you on—leave it all to me!"