White clouds drifted across the horizon, and the azure sky was like the sea, so clear it seemed freshly washed, exceptionally bright and translucent.
Mu Yang's small courtyard sat atop one of the lesser peaks of the Da Qingshan Mountains. Several similar hills stood nearby, where Tianxin Style's other disciples lived. To keep their training from affecting one another, each disciple had a relatively independent environment in which to cultivate on their own.
Yet the places where these disciples lived occupied only a negligible portion of the Da Qingshan Mountains.
That day, Mu Yang dressed neatly in a somewhat roughly made cloth outfit, tied on his shoes, lamented the backwardness of the times, then hurried down the mountain.
Today was the day when his teacher, Aisafu, and several elders taught the disciples martial arts. Such instruction only came once every seven days, and Mu Yang naturally would not miss such a good opportunity.
As he walked, the road gradually widened, and from time to time he encountered disciples converging from other paths. When they saw Mu Yang, they warmly greeted him, and he returned their greetings with a smile.
The closer they got to Tianxin Style's martial arts building, the more people gathered. Some older youths gradually appeared among the crowd, and some even seemed to be adults. In truth, these older people were not genuine Tianxin Style disciples, but practitioners from nearby villages.
As the most famous martial arts school for miles around, Tianxin Style enjoyed tremendous prestige. Countless practitioners came seeking its name, yet Tianxin Style itself had few members.
Including Teacher Aisafu and several elders, there were only sixteen true disciples.
At the foot of the Da Qingshan Mountains lay the villages where people gathered. Though Tianxin Style was a martial arts school, it could not remain aloof from the world and distant from mortal affairs. The daily necessities of so many people had to be purchased from nearby villages, so Tianxin Style also operated a Martial Arts Hall at the foot of the mountain for ordinary people.
Tianxin Style Martial Arts Hall.
Besides purchasing daily supplies for the disciples, this Martial Arts Hall taught villagers some simple martial arts and recruited promising disciples.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As the gong sounded, all the arriving disciples entered the building. The bright hall immediately became bustling with voices, but before long, everyone fell silent and waited for the teachers to appear.
Mu Yang naturally took a seat at the very front of all the disciples. Beside him was the ever-mischievous Meixia, who kept scratching at his arm with her little hand.
"Be quiet," he rebuked in a low voice.
Meixia pursed her lips and shot him an unhappy glare.
Mu Yang was speechless. This girl was always so fidgety. He must have spoiled her too much before, which was why she had developed such habits. Then he saw her staring blankly on her own, her eyes fixed straight on the radiant source of light hanging from the building's ceiling.
It was an Electric Lamp, powered by a type of energy called Electric Energy. It was quite miraculous, supposedly a technology developed in the outside world that had already begun to spread.
The martial arts building only had Electric Lamps thanks to an elder who had brought back a generator and cables from the outside world.
Looking at the bright, dazzling bulb, its gentle light was unlike burning candles, which smoked and gave off heat. The disciples from nearby villages, seeing such an object for the first time, could not help exclaiming in wonder from time to time.
Only Mu Yang sat on the floor, remaining calm.
He had seen plenty of Electric Lamps in his previous life, but seeing one in this world still comforted him. At the very least, it showed that the world he was in was not too backward.
The other disciples, however, did not know the truth. They had never been to a big city, so they naturally found it fascinating. Seeing their senior brother remain so composed, they greatly admired him.
After waiting for a while, Teacher Aisafu and several elders emerged from the rear hall. Mu Yang sat upright, gazing at the elders in front of him with utmost seriousness.
There were not many elders from Tianxin Style's previous generation—only six. The lineage had very few inheritors. Even by Mu Yang's generation, when the number of new disciples had increased somewhat, the entire Tianxin Style had only reached sixteen people.
It was not that they did not want more disciples, but the resources consumed in training them were simply too frightening. This was also what set Tianxin Style apart from other schools. Other schools merely taught martial arts, leaving disciples to temper themselves afterward; how far they advanced depended on their potential.
Tianxin Style was different. Its inheritance was relatively ancient, and its philosophy of cultivation differed greatly from other schools. It did not demand that disciples be fierce and ruthless or cultivate immense power. Instead, it emphasized nourishing the body, fostering vital energy, and sustaining one's blood and qi...
As a result, besides a disciple's potential, the resources invested in the early stages were also enormous. One-on-one instruction in particular meant that their limited teaching staff simply could not support a large number of disciples. Left with no choice, they could only take the elite route.
After the martial arts lesson ended.
"Senior Brother, Senior Brother, Senior Brother! Is the outside world really like Uncle Carl said? Does everyone live in a huge village called a 'city'?" Meixia chirped like an oriole, repeatedly asking Mu Yang about the outside world.
"What huge village? It's a city." Mu Yang stopped walking and answered.
"Don't lots of people live together? How is that different from a village?" Meixia tilted her head, unable to understand the difference between a village and a city.
"If you want to think of it as a huge village, that works too."
Mu Yang thought about it and realized he truly did not know how to explain it to Meixia. It was like trying to explain nuclear energy to someone from ancient times—they simply had no concept of it in their minds.
Meixia was still young. Unlike Mu Yang, she did not possess memories from Earth, so it was normal that she could not understand the difference between cities and villages. According to news brought back by Uncle Carl, Aisafu's junior brother, enormous changes were currently sweeping through the outside world. A force called technology was gradually awakening, and many places had already felt its power.
"Oh, right, Senior Brother. Are you still going into the Primeval Mountains to train this afternoon?"
"Mm." Mu Yang nodded. Persisting in daily training without fail was a habit Mu Yang had developed after coming to this world. Though the Primeval Mountains were filled with wild beasts, those in the outer regions were generally not strong, making it an excellent place for training.
Upon getting confirmation, Meixia's eyes immediately curved into crescents. She grinned and said, "I'm coming too."
"If baby wants to come, of course she's welcome."
"Don't call me baby!" Meixia pounced at him with claws bared.
"Then I'll call you Little Baby Xi instead."
Mu Yang shifted a few steps to the side, dodging Meixia's attack as he teasingly laughed.
With his strength having improved greatly, Meixia was no longer capable of defeating him.
"Hmph! I'm upset now." Meixia stamped her foot, then floated into the air in dissatisfaction, rising half a meter off the ground. Turning her head, she said, "Senior Brother, don't forget to wait for me this afternoon. I found a beautiful Crystal Ball yesterday. If you go into the mountains without waiting for me, I won't show it to you."
After saying that, Meixia actually flew straight toward the trees and bushes in the forest, her tiny figure disappearing into the woods.
"This girl... she flew again."
Looking in the direction Meixia had vanished, Mu Yang laughed aloud. He had never expected that, besides martial arts, Meixia also possessed psychic abilities. Thinking back to the first time he had seen her rise into the air and float about, she had truly scared the wits out of him.
Martial arts, psychic abilities, and the budding power of technology—this world seemed quite vibrant and colorful.
That afternoon, the places in the Primeval Mountains untouched by sunlight remained shrouded in a faint layer of mist.
At the entrance to the outer region of the Primeval Mountains, Mu Yang had been waiting for quite some time. When Meixia still did not appear, he began practicing basic movements where he stood. In an instant, the muscles all over his body tightened.
After a while, Meixia finally arrived late, flying over from afar. Her dark green hair fluttered wildly in the wind, while her simple long robe rustled through the air.
"Senior Brother, I'm here! Look, this is the Crystal Ball I found yesterday. Isn't it beautiful?"
Meixia landed on the ground. Seeing that Mu Yang had waited for her as promised, she excitedly handed him an orange-red glass sphere.
The glass sphere was only the size of a fist. It was smooth and seamless, an even, warm orange-red color, with six bright red stars arranged inside, each outlined in gold. It was exceptionally beautiful!
"Huh? Holy shit!" When Mu Yang clearly saw the round Crystal Ball Meixia was holding out to him, he froze as though struck by lightning.
"How did this thing end up in your hands?" Mu Yang hurriedly asked.
"I found it beside the stream yesterday!" Meixia looked proud. Seeing her senior brother so flustered, she immediately answered with animated delight.
Hearing that innocent answer, Mu Yang's eyes bulged, and he felt utterly terrible!
Holy shit, what Meixia had shown him was actually a Dragon Ball!
Taking the glass sphere from Meixia's hand, Mu Yang stared fixedly at the pattern on it, as if sparks were about to fly from his eyes.
One, two, three, four, five, six—there were six stars inside. It was a Six-Star Ball!
Damn it, he had long felt that this world was unusual, but he had never imagined that it was actually the Dragon Ball world!
Does that mean I might just be a pathetic five-power-level weakling?!
At that moment, Mu Yang thought of many things and felt as though the whole world had played a joke on him.
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