World Martial Arts Tournament

As the World Martial Arts Tournament began, contestants and spectators from all over the world gathered on Papaya Island.

Toward evening, Bulma, Ye Bai, and Oolong strolled along the pedestrian street on Papaya Island, watching vendors around them hawk all kinds of souvenirs as they waited for Goku, Yamcha, and the others to arrive.

After aimlessly wandering around the pedestrian street, night had already fallen. Bulma led Ye Bai and Oolong to the World Martial Arts Tournament registration area. Ye Bai went over to fill out his information and register, just as Yamcha arrived at the venue.

Ye Bai spotted Yamcha first, waved at him, and called out, "Yo, Yamcha, Puar."

Hearing the call, Yamcha and Puar turned around, spotted Bulma and Ye Bai, and walked over to them.

"Bulma, Ye Bai, Oolong, long time no see."

"Yamcha, long time no see." Bulma looked a little shy beside them.

Ye Bai nodded, then saw Bulma putting on that lovestruck look again and grimaced in disdain. But there was nothing he could do about it—he still had the face of a cute little boy, after all.

"Ye Bai, how has your training been lately? I've gotten a lot stronger, you know."

"Not bad, I guess. I've been a little slack with my training lately." Ye Bai looked at Yamcha's supremely confident expression.

"What's with that? I remember you used to be obsessed with training. Why did you start taking it easy after coming to the city? Goku went to train under Master Roshi."

Ye Bai knew what Yamcha was trying to say, but he did not take it to heart at all. He had already completed his Gravity Chamber training. At this early stage of Dragon Ball, he was practically invincible. After this tournament, he would begin the next stage of his training. Ye Bai swayed the tail behind him and said, "Training needs a balance between work and rest. Besides, I've already completed the goals for this stage. Once this tournament is over, I'll head out and begin the next stage of my training."

After hearing that, Yamcha said nothing more and merely nodded in understanding. Ye Bai turned to look in another direction, having sensed that Goku had arrived.

Yamcha followed Ye Bai's gaze but saw nothing. He turned back and asked, "What is it?"

Bulma and Oolong also looked at Ye Bai with puzzled expressions. Before long, however, Master Roshi appeared in that direction with Goku and Krillin.

Only then did Yamcha look seriously at Ye Bai, realizing that Ye Bai had not been slacking off in his training as much as he had imagined.

After Goku and the other two arrived at the registration area, they finally saw Ye Bai's group. Following some greetings and introductions, Goku, Krillin, and Yamcha went to register for the tournament. Learning that the matches would not begin until tomorrow, everyone decided to eat first. Afterward, Ye Bai and the other two returned to the hotel room Bulma had booked to rest.

The night passed quietly. The next morning, after finishing breakfast, the three arrived at the tournament hall but did not see Goku and the others. After sensing their ki, Ye Bai found that they had already gone inside, so he had no choice but to enter on his own. Since these were the preliminaries, they were not open to the public. Bulma and Oolong could not enter to watch and could only wander around nearby, where they happened to meet Puar, who was likewise watching through the glass from a high spot outside.

Ye Bai entered the hall, which was packed with people. Because of his height, he could not see Goku and the others, so he could only follow their ki toward them.

After squeezing past a group of burly men, he saw Goku and Krillin warming up. After greeting them, the announcer stepped onto the stage and began explaining the rules. There were 138 contestants divided into four sections, with two from each section advancing to the quarterfinals. The matches were one-on-one. Falling off the ring counted as a loss, as did being unable to stand after ten seconds. Killing and using weapons were forbidden. Once the explanation ended, everyone began drawing lots. Fortunately, none of them drew each other. Krillin and Goku were in the same section, though in different groups.

After the drawing ended, everyone split up and headed to their respective rings. Before long, the matches began. Goku was the first to take the stage, knocking his opponent straight out of the ring with a single finger. After that, they all advanced smoothly into the quarterfinals. There were no other surprises along the way aside from Ye Bai encountering a disgusting contestant named Savage. The moment Savage stepped onto the ring, Ye Bai had to suppress his disgust. As soon as the referee called the start, Ye Bai casually flicked him away with the wind from his palm. In the end, the eight quarterfinalists were Goku, Yamcha, Krillin, Ye Bai, Jackie Chun (Master Roshi), Nam, Ranfan, and Giran.

Once the top eight had been decided, they drew lots. The matchups were:

Krillin VS Ye Bai

Yamcha VS Jackie Chun

Nam VS Ranfan

Goku VS Giran

When the results were announced, Ye Bai gave Krillin a faint smile and said, "Krillin, what bad luck. We're facing each other in the first match."

Krillin looked equally surprised.

"What bad luck indeed, Ye Bai. When I was training under Master Roshi, I often heard Goku say how strong you were. I've really been looking forward to fighting you."

Ye Bai only smiled without replying. As time passed, the intermission ended, and everyone moved to the resting area behind the open-air ring outside.

The announcer began explaining the rules on the ring. After delivering his opening remarks, he announced, "Please welcome contestants Krillin and Ye Bai to the ring!"

Hearing the cheers outside, Ye Bai suddenly felt a little nervous. In his previous life, he had only been an ordinary shut-in. When had he ever seen such a grand scene?

As the exit drew nearer, Ye Bai's palms began to sweat. Goku leaned over the wall and cheered them on, though no one knew which of the two he was cheering for.

Ye Bai and Krillin stood on the ring. After the announcer finished introducing them, the two stood at opposite sides.

Bulma shouted from the spectator wall nearby, "Little Bai, go!"

Ye Bai glanced at her and nodded before turning his attention to Krillin.

Krillin launched the first attack, rushing at Ye Bai at high speed. Ye Bai caught his straight punch in his palm, then grabbed Krillin's arm and violently hurled him backward.

With a bang, the tiles on the ring cracked as Krillin lay on the ground. Ye Bai quickly released his hand and looked at Krillin. Krillin seemed to have fainted. Only then did Ye Bai realize that, in his nervousness, he might have used too much force.

Ye Bai silently apologized to Krillin in his heart, then turned and told the referee to start counting. The referee only then snapped out of it and began the count.

When the count reached nine, Krillin shakily got back to his feet. Ye Bai looked over in surprise. He had thought that even though it was only a casual throw, Krillin would not be able to stand again. Still, Krillin appeared to have suffered serious injuries.

Krillin finally straightened up, staring at Ye Bai with a solemn expression as he said, "Ye Bai, that move just now was really amazing."

"Sorry, Krillin. I was a little nervous just now and used a bit too much strength." Ye Bai said awkwardly.

He had originally planned to go easy on him and control his strength so that Krillin would not lose too badly.

"Krillin, stop testing the waters. Use your full strength. Let me see what you've achieved through your training."

Krillin nodded. After catching his breath for a moment, he resumed his attacking stance and charged at Ye Bai again. This time, Ye Bai deliberately went easy on him, doing nothing but dismantling Krillin's incoming punches and kicks. It looked as though they were evenly matched, trading blows back and forth. Only when the fight had gone on long enough did Ye Bai send Krillin flying out of the ring with a light, irresistible palm strike. The host then stepped out to announce Ye Bai's victory.

As the two returned to the resting area, Krillin finally spoke.

"Ye Bai, you're terrifyingly strong. You must have held back a lot just now, right? Thank you, Ye Bai."

"You're welcome. Are your injuries okay? Maybe you should get treated?" Ye Bai replied, standing beside him with a trace of apology on his face.

"I'm fine. They're just minor injuries. After training with Master Roshi these past few months, my body's recovery has improved a lot too. I'll be fine after resting for a few days." Krillin sat on the ground, grimacing as he rubbed his body.

Only then did Ye Bai breathe a sigh of relief. Good thing I didn't use too much force, or he'd probably have been turned into a puddle. He raised his head and saw that the remaining contestants were all watching him with grave expressions—except for Goku.

Goku walked over with an excited look on his face and said, "Xiaobai, you're amazing! I saw it just now—you caught Krillin's fist in an instant. You were so fast I almost couldn't see it clearly. I can't wait to fight you!"