The World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament (Part 2)

Papaya Island's blazing sun was fierce, but it paled beside the feverish atmosphere at the tournament grounds, which seemed ready to blow the roof off the sky.

The semifinals unfolded almost exactly according to the original plot.

In the first match, Krillin faced "Jackie Chun." Eight months of hellish training had transformed Krillin completely. Not only could he trade blows evenly, but he even resorted to a shameless borderline tactic involving "girls' underwear," throwing the lecherous Master Roshi off his game. But the God of Martial Arts' foundation was undeniable. Master Roshi quickly steadied himself and sent Krillin flying out of bounds with a clean chop, securing his place in the finals.

The second match: Son Goku VS Nam.

When Luo Chen stepped onto the arena and looked at the dark-skinned monk from a drought-stricken village, hands pressed together and eyes filled with determination to die, he put away his casual, lazy demeanor. A trace of respect entered his gaze.

"Nam," Luo Chen said calmly, "I know why you entered this tournament."

Nam froze, watching Luo Chen warily.

"What you lack isn't the fifty thousand in prize money, but water to save your village." Luo Chen's voice was not loud, yet every word struck Nam straight in the heart. "As a martial artist, bearing the lives and deaths of your entire village on your shoulders is worthy of respect. So I won't look down on you, nor will I toy with you."

"But for certain reasons, I have to defeat you. After the match, go to Capsule Corporation and give them my name. Their artificial rainmaking equipment and large water pumps will be far more useful than the prize money."

Nam's pupils contracted sharply, and his eyes reddened at once. The suffocating mountain crushing his heart had been casually leveled by the young man before him!

"Contestant Son Goku... I will never forget this great kindness for as long as I live!" Nam took a deep breath. The despair around him vanished completely, replaced by blazing martial fervor. He leaped high into the air like a diving hawk!

"Take this! Sky Cross Fang!!!"

Faced with Nam's famed ultimate move, unleashed without reservation, Luo Chen gave him the purest respect possible—meeting it head-on with the most vigorous strength of this ancient Saiyan body!

"Bang—!"

Just as Nam's crossed wrists were about to smash down onto his head, Luo Chen shot out both hands like lightning. His ten fingers clamped down with the precision of indestructible hydraulic iron pincers, locking onto those wrists!

The violent momentum of Nam's dive from dozens of meters in the air was brought to an abrupt halt midair by Luo Chen's bare arms!

"Crack, crack—" The bluestone slabs beneath Luo Chen's feet shattered inch by inch under the crushing pressure, yet his body stood as immovable as an iron tower cast in place.

"My compliments."

Luo Chen smiled faintly. The muscles in his arms suddenly tensed, his waist and stance moving as one as he followed Nam's momentum and executed a powerful shoulder throw on the spot!

Nam felt an irresistible force seize him. His entire body traced a perfect arc through the air before flying out of the arena with a whoosh, landing steadily on the grass outside the ring.

Thunderous applause erupted throughout the stadium!

Nam got to his feet, pressed his hands together, and gave Luo Chen a deep bow before withdrawing.

As the semifinals came to an end, two names finally collided at the peak of the enormous tournament bracket—Son Goku VS Jackie Chun!

At the center of the arena, the announcer raised his microphone and roared at the top of his lungs:

"After three days of fierce competition! The 21st World Martial Arts Tournament has finally reached its final match! On one side, the strongest dark horse, a young man who defeats opponents in a single blow! On the other, an unfathomable mysterious grandmaster! Who will claim the title of the world's greatest? The match—begins now!!!"

"Boom—!!!"

The emotions of the entire audience exploded at that moment, and the terrifying wave of cheers seemed ready to tear Papaya Island's sky apart!

Bulma sat in the front row, her hands clenched tightly before her chest. Her clear eyes were fixed on the red-clad youth walking slowly onto the arena with one hand in his pocket. Casting aside all ladylike restraint, she screamed his name with all her might.

On the arena, Luo Chen shed his usual laziness. Looking at Master Roshi, who faced him as though confronting a great enemy, he curled his lips into a meaningful smile and lowered his voice. "Old Mr. Jackie Chun, I've been looking forward to this final for a long time..."

"Next, I'm going to seriously use ten percent of my strength. I hope you won't make this too boring for me, old man."

Master Roshi's eye twitched violently, nearly blowing the fake beard stuck to his lips away. Hearing the deliberate emphasis on "old man," he sighed inwardly. So this little monster had seen through his disguise long ago; he simply could not be bothered to expose it in public.

As his master, he knew full well what terrifying power lay dormant within this disciple before him. But upon hearing that the boy only intended to use "ten percent" of his strength, the competitive spirit long buried by time within the God of Martial Arts was utterly ignited!

"You arrogant brat! Today, I'll teach you what it means that there is always someone greater!"

Master Roshi bellowed. A powerful aura suddenly erupted from within his once-scrawny body! Invisible gusts swept up clouds of dust, making his martial arts uniform flap violently. He knew perfectly well that probing in his normal state was meaningless. He had to go all out!

"Whoosh—!"

A sharp, piercing whistle exploded through the air. Master Roshi held nothing back; his figure twisted, then vanished directly from the arena!

"Good!"

Battle intent surged wildly in Luo Chen's eyes. The hard bluestone beneath his feet exploded into powder under the terrifying recoil! He too transformed into a streak of light too fast for the naked eye to follow, charging forward without the slightest fear!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—!"

Across the enormous arena, their movement speed instantly broke the sound barrier! To the tens of thousands of ordinary spectators, the broad arena suddenly appeared completely empty!

"Where are they?! How did they both disappear?!" The spectators stood up in terror, frantically rubbing their eyes. Some even thought they were seeing ghosts in broad daylight.

The blond announcer held up his microphone and stared foolishly around the arena, his voice trembling with excitement. "A... a miracle! The two contestants are actually so fast that our naked eyes can't catch them at all!"

Though the audience could not see their figures, visible white clouds of compressed air kept exploding in midair!

"Bang! Bang! Boom—!"

The dull, violent sounds of fists and kicks colliding rang out one after another in the air like dense muffled thunder! Every clash of limbs sent a visible circle of translucent ripples spreading across the space above the arena. In only a few seconds, the two had already exchanged over a hundred straightforward blows in a realm ordinary people could not perceive!

"Ha!"

With a thunderous shout, the two entwined figures suddenly dropped from midair and slammed into the center of the arena with a boom, finally revealing themselves.

The moment they landed, the battle abruptly shifted from high-speed flashes to brutal close-quarters combat, every blow landing flesh against flesh!

Master Roshi knew that Luo Chen possessed immense strength, so rather than using broad, forceful movements, he immediately chose short-range close combat. His footwork was elusive, and his right hand formed into a hooked claw as it tore through the air toward Luo Chen's throat.

Faced with that vicious strike, Luo Chen advanced rather than retreating. His hands alternated in smooth, flowing motions, settling lightly upon Master Roshi's wrist and gently brushing outward along the force of the attack.

The instant Master Roshi left himself wide open, Luo Chen wrapped his left arm around the old man's wrist and yanked inward hard!

Using the pulling force, Luo Chen boldly surged forward, driving his right elbow viciously into Master Roshi's chest!

Feeling the terrifying pressure of the incoming elbow, Master Roshi's expression changed drastically. At the critical moment, he pivoted on one foot and spun at high speed, narrowly sliding past the tip of the elbow. But he was, after all, a martial arts grandmaster. Borrowing the momentum of his spin, his right leg swept low like a concealed steel whip.

A sharp glint flashed through Luo Chen's eyes. Rather than jumping aside, he precisely stomped down with his left foot, forcefully scattering the fierce gust from the kick! Then he dropped his shoulder and elbow, his entire body's strength crashing into his spine as he slammed fiercely into Master Roshi's chest with an overwhelming, domineering stance!

"Boom!!!"

With a dreadful boom like a temple bell being struck, Master Roshi felt both arms go numb. He was knocked clean off his feet and sent flying backward. He barely managed a backflip in midair, and only came to a stop after carving two deep furrows through the bluestone tiles upon landing.

"What terrifying physical strength..."

Seeing himself completely suppressed in a direct exchange of fists and kicks, Master Roshi suddenly swayed. His steps instantly became staggered and erratic, as though he were dead drunk and reeling from side to side.

It was his signature technique—Drunken Fist!

His attacks immediately became extraordinarily bizarre. Every punch defied the normal principles of human force generation, striking at Luo Chen from all sorts of unimaginable blind angles!

Faced with the tricky onslaught, Luo Chen was initially forced back several steps. But his black eyes remained locked onto his opponent's footwork. After merely a dozen exchanges, Luo Chen's body suddenly swayed as well, his steps becoming equally unsteady and chaotic!

He had actually replicated his opponent's Drunken Fist right in the middle of battle!

The two "drunkards" staggered around the arena, fighting drunkenness with drunkenness. Luo Chen not only copied the technique in both form and spirit, but with the support of his terrifying physical foundation, he seized the initiative within a few moves and utterly suppressed Master Roshi!

Unable to gain the upper hand after a prolonged assault, Master Roshi's eyes sharpened. He took a short-range punch from Luo Chen head-on and used the force to retreat explosively.

But the moment he opened the distance, his figure suddenly split into two, then four, then eight!

"Afterimage Technique!"

A full eight Master Roshis surrounded Luo Chen. Indistinguishable real and fake figures unleashed violent fist winds that crashed down from every direction at once!

Luo Chen's gaze was keen as a torch. At a glance, he saw through the principle behind this visual illusion created through high-speed movement. The corner of his lips curled upward, and his own figure abruptly blurred.

"Swish, swish, swish—!"

More than a dozen white afterimages of Luo Chen instantly erupted across the arena! His even more terrifying speed created twice as many afterimages as his opponent!

For a moment, afterimages intertwined and collided wildly across the arena. Every clash was accompanied by violent tremors in the air, leaving the spectators in the stands dizzy and dazzled.

Following one fierce collision, the afterimages filling the sky vanished at once.

Using the recoil, Master Roshi leaped high into the air. His expression solemn, he brought his hands together at his waist as a dazzling deep-blue glow erupted from his palms!

The next second, he thrust both arms forward!

"Ka—me—ha—me—ha!"

Almost at the same instant, an identical deep-blue radiance rapidly formed in Luo Chen's palms, even more brilliant than Master Roshi's! Before the horrified eyes of the entire audience, he abruptly raised his head and thrust both hands forward!

"Kamehameha!"

"Rumble—!!!"

Two thick blue pillars of light collided directly above the arena! Violent energy ripples became a Category 12 hurricane, tearing apart the heavy stone walls around them inch by inch!

The azure light remained locked in stalemate for less than two seconds. Then, the energy erupting from Luo Chen's palms surged forth like a flood bursting through a broken dam, forcing Master Roshi's energy wave straight back along its original path!

Master Roshi's face went pale in shock as he threw himself sideways with all his strength, tumbling away.

"Boom—!"

The out-of-control energy beam grazed his afterimage and blasted into the sky, forcibly tearing a massive crack thousands of meters long through the thick cloud cover above Papaya Island. Blinding sunlight poured down through the rift!

Master Roshi knelt on one knee at the edge of the arena, panting heavily. His black martial arts uniform had long since been soaked through with sweat.

He raised his head, and at last, a profound sense of helplessness and shock flickered in his eyes.

Strength, speed, adaptability in combat, and even perfect replication... the monster before him was simply a bottomless abyss whose depths could not be fathomed!

"Looks like you truly weren't being arrogant. But..."

Master Roshi slowly rose to his feet, his expression more grave than ever before. He drew a deep breath, then abruptly raised his shriveled hands before his chest, his ten fingers spreading and curling strangely like eagle claws.

"Crackle—crackle—!"

Amid a piercing sound that made teeth ache, strands of bright yellow arcs began to leap and gather frantically between Master Roshi's palms. The air around the entire arena was instantly filled with a thick, pungent smell of burning.

"This was the final trump card I originally intended to take to my grave."

Master Roshi's eyes widened, his beard and hair standing on end as he roared, "Take this, kid! Thunder Shock Surprise!"

"Boom!"

A hundred thousand volts of high-voltage current instantly transformed into an impenetrable net of lightning. Crossing more than ten meters at the speed of light, it tightly ensnared Luo Chen's entire body!

"Crack crack crack—!"

Violent lightning savagely tore at Luo Chen's body, while the terrifying heat instantly scorched the bluestone tiles beneath his feet black. Any martial artist struck by it would have their nervous system utterly destroyed by the high-voltage current and fall into shock on the spot.

Bulma and Krillin screamed in terror at the same time from the stands.

Yet Luo Chen, standing at the very center of the lightning storm, neither dodged nor resisted. Instead, he quietly closed his eyes.

There was no pain, no struggle.

Under his rapid analysis, he clearly grasped the essence of the violent current—it was not lightning from nature, but an elemental attack created by forcefully converting the "ki" within the body through extremely high-frequency vibrations!

"So that's how it was... Using high-frequency muscle resonance and the friction of blood and qi at specific frequencies to forcibly alter the nature of qi..."

At last, a satisfied curve lifted the corner of Luo Chen's mouth.

"Crackle!"

The next second, Luo Chen abruptly opened his eyes. He made no unnecessary movements; the vast, despair-inducing pure true qi within his body merely trembled slightly!

"Bang—!"

The hundred-thousand-volt lightning wrapped around him shattered inch by inch like fragile glass fibers, turning into countless tiny bright-yellow sparks that completely dissipated into the air.

Luo Chen slowly raised his right hand.

In Master Roshi's suddenly constricted pupils, a strand of almost tangible azure lightning obediently danced at Luo Chen's fingertips, emitting a faint crackling sound. It moved as naturally as an arm or finger, as though the God of Thunder had descended!

Not only had he withstood it head-on in an instant, but within those few seconds of being attacked, he had perfectly reverse-engineered the lightning-element conversion of "qi"!

"A monster... What an utterly unreasonable monster..."

Master Roshi stared fixedly at that strand of lightning. His taut body completely slackened like a deflated balloon. With a bitter smile, he shook his head, then simply dropped onto the charred arena floor and helplessly raised his right hand.

"Referee, this old man concedes!"

The referee excitedly raised his flag and roared in a voice cracking from strain:

"Contestant Jackie Chun concedes! The champion of this World Martial Arts Tournament is—Son Goku!!!"

"Boom—!!!"

Confetti erupted into the sky, and all of Papaya Island plunged into an unprecedented frenzy of celebration!

Amid the deafening roar of the crowd, a graceful blue figure recklessly vaulted over the barrier and, like a nimble bird, plunged headfirst into Luo Chen's embrace.