World Martial Arts Tournament (Part 2)

The blazing sun hung high overhead, and the sea breeze billowed the enormous "Martial" banner. Around the open-air bluestone arena, tens of thousands of spectators packed the stands so tightly there was barely room to breathe, their deafening cheers seeming ready to overturn the sky.

Though she was the daughter of the world's richest man, Bulma did not make any special arrangements for herself. Dressed in stylish, refreshing sportswear and wearing a playful baseball cap, she relied on her nimble movements to squeeze into the front row of the stands, where she had the best view and was closest to the arena.

Holding an ice-cold soda, she stared expectantly at the contestants' tunnel. Being crammed into the stands with everyone else in this heated atmosphere made everything feel all the more real.

"Ladies and gentlemen! After intense preliminary rounds, the top eight contestants of this Martial Arts Tournament have emerged!"

On the arena, the blond announcer in sunglasses spoke in an impassioned voice. "Next comes the top-eight elimination round! Let us wait and see who will claim the summit of martial arts!"

Inside the contestants' tunnel.

Luo Chen stood with his hands in his pockets, calmly looking over the match chart on the wall. The matchups were exactly the same as in the original story.

Match One: Krillin VS the Savage Bacterian

Match Two: Yamcha VS Jackie Chun

Match Three: Nam VS Ranfan

Match Four: Son Goku VS Flying Dragon Monster Ginan

"Looks like, without any major changes, the timeline is still unfolding strictly according to the original plot." Luo Chen chuckled inwardly.

Before long, the first match began.

Krillin's opponent, Bacterian, was a hulking brute who had never bathed since the day he was born and reeked horribly from head to toe.

The instant the match began, Krillin was overwhelmed by the stench that seemed almost tangible. He retched repeatedly and nearly passed out on the arena.

"It's over, it's over! I'm going to be suffocated to death!" Krillin clutched his throat, rolled his eyes, and writhed across the ground.

Luo Chen sighed helplessly from below the arena. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted in the tone one used on an idiot:

"Krillin! You idiot, did you forget you don't even have a nose? What the hell are you smelling?"

"Huh?"

Krillin, who had been retching madly on the arena, froze. He instinctively touched the smooth center of his face.

"That's right! I don't have a nose! I can't smell anything at all! It was completely psychological!"

Krillin instantly sprang back to life. With a kip-up, he leaped to his feet. While Bacterian was still picking at his belly button, Krillin delivered a clean, decisive flying kick that sent the biological weapon straight out of the ring!

"Match one goes to contestant Krillin!"

The entire stadium erupted in applause. Krillin excitedly gave Luo Chen a thumbs-up, while Luo Chen merely smiled and shook his head.

The second match that followed was another completely one-sided rout with no suspense.

Facing the unfathomable old man, Yamcha, the "Desert Bandit," did not dare let his guard down. The moment he stepped onto the arena, he unleashed his trump card—Wolf Fang Fist.

For a moment, claw shadows crisscrossed the arena, and the sound of tearing wind resembled a pack of wolves howling. His offensive surged forth with overwhelming momentum.

Yet Master Roshi, disguised as "Jackie Chun," could not even be bothered to pull his hands out from behind his back. His footwork appeared disorderly, but held hidden mysteries. He strolled leisurely amid the razor-sharp barrage of claw winds. No matter how Yamcha panted from exhaustion, he could not even touch a corner of his clothes.

"Too many openings, young man."

The old man offered that calm assessment, then casually swept his wide sleeve.

A powerful gust of palm force rose like a violent gale from level ground, crushing Yamcha's entire offensive and cleanly sending him flying out of the ring.

Under the stunned gazes of the entire audience, "Jackie Chun," standing steadily at the center of the arena, grinned and flashed a comical V-sign at the cameras, utterly lacking the bearing of a master.

However, when he stepped down from the arena and his gaze casually swept over the contestants' tunnel, he found Luo Chen looking at him with an ambiguous smile. Those deep black eyes seemed to have seen through something.

Master Roshi's heart skipped a beat, and a bead of cold sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.

Goku's eyes... Could he have recognized me? Impossible! My fake-mustache technique is practically divine! Master Roshi forced himself to look away, but inwardly, he was a bundle of nerves.

After Nam defeated Ranfan with his eyes closed in the third match, the announcer's shout finally rang out over the broadcast:

"Next is the final match of the top-eight round! Contestant Son Goku versus a contestant from the Demon Realm—Contestant Ginan!"

Amid the thunderous roar of the crowd, Luo Chen calmly walked out of the tunnel.

"Goku! Go get him! Beat him up good! After you win, I'll treat you to a huge feast!"

In the front row of the stands, Bulma cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and shouted toward the arena without a trace of ladylike restraint.

Luo Chen looked up at Bulma's expectant gaze, smiled, and gave her an OK sign.

"Boom!"

At that moment, a gigantic figure descended from the sky and crashed heavily onto the other side of the arena, shattering bluestone slabs and sending fragments flying.

Flying Dragon Monster Ginan stood nearly three meters tall, his entire body covered in hard green scales. Looking down at Luo Chen, he bared a bloodthirsty maw full of fangs.

"Gahahaha! Brat, if you kneel down and kowtow to surrender right now, I'll spare your life. Otherwise, I'll chew every bone in your body to pieces!"

Luo Chen kept his hands in his pockets and did not even take a fighting stance. He merely glanced at Ginan and replied flatly.

"You're too weak. Get down there yourself. Don't waste my time."

"You reckless little brat! I'll smash you into pulp!"

Ginan was completely enraged! With a furious roar, his massive body charged like a heavy truck at full speed. Raising a fist as large as a water vat, he smashed it viciously toward Luo Chen's head!

Faced with that mountain-crushing blow, Luo Chen remained motionless where he stood, without even taking his hands out of his pockets.

"BOOM—!!!"

Accompanied by a dull thud that made everyone's scalp tingle, Ginan's heavy fist—powerful enough to split stone tablets—smashed squarely into Luo Chen's forehead!

A violent shockwave exploded outward in a ring. The bluestone tiles beneath Luo Chen's feet instantly gave way under the immense force, cracking and collapsing as countless shards of stone shot into the air!

The spectators in the stands could not help but let out terrified screams.

However, as the dust slowly cleared—

The savage grin on Ginan's face froze completely, his yellow vertical pupils contracting sharply.

Luo Chen was still standing firmly where he was. Let alone being smashed into pulp, his neck had not even tilted. That iron fist, capable of demolishing a building, had failed to leave even a red mark on his smooth forehead.

"That's it?"

Luo Chen calmly uttered those two words, then pulled his right hand from his pocket.

There was no charging up and no technique. He simply clenched his fist and casually swung upward.

"BAM—!!!"

This seemingly light uppercut sent the several-ton Flying Dragon Monster Ginan flying like a baseball that had been violently hit—a perfect home run!

"Waaaahhh—!"

His enormous body instantly turned into a green afterimage as it shot up from the ground, then flew diagonally out of the arena with a crash!

The entire venue fell into ten seconds of dead silence. To the ordinary spectators, the red-clad youth had merely waved his hand, and that terrifying monster had been swatted away like a fly!

Drip!

In the contestants' passageway, cold sweat dripped heavily from Master Roshi's forehead onto the floor.

He stared at the calm youth on the arena, his shriveled hands trembling slightly. That attack just now—this kid had not even mobilized the "ki" within his body. It had been pure physical strength!

"Th-The fourth match! Contestant Son Goku... wins!!!"

Only when the referee's shrill, cracking roar rang out did the audience erupt into wild cheers!

Amid the thunderous applause, Luo Chen calmly walked down from the arena.

He glanced at Bulma, who was jumping and cheering below the stands, and returned her excitement with a smile.

His participation in this martial arts tournament was not merely to advance the plot. He had come with a purpose.

Looking at the shriveled old man in the passageway, the faint indifference in Luo Chen's eyes quietly receded, replaced by blazing anticipation.

As a diehard Dragon Ball fan, being able to experience the real thrill of exchanging blows with the God of Martial Arts on the World Martial Arts Tournament stage was absolutely the pinnacle of a transmigrator's romance!

What was more, Luo Chen knew this old man's hidden trump cards inside out.

The elusive Afterimage Fist, the unpredictable Drunken Fist, the astonishingly powerful Kamehameha... and even that move which not even Son Goku had learned in the original story—Thunder Shock Surprise!

In the upcoming finals, he would not only thoroughly enjoy this battle, but also carefully control his strength in the arena and force the old man to reveal every one of these ultimate techniques. Then he would analyze them all and make them his own.

That was right. Ask why, and the answer was simple: he had a collector's obsession!