White clouds stretched across the high sky, and the ivory tower pierced between heaven and earth. As its height gradually increased, the horizon curved into an arc.
The air here had grown thin, and the temperature had begun to drop.
Mu Yang pushed himself upward in one burst, climbing more than ten kilometers before wrapping his arms around a protrusion on Karin Tower's surface to rest. These outward bumps appeared every seven or eight meters, as though they had been made specifically for challengers to rest on. Of course, not every challenger had the ability to make use of them; a certain level of strength was still required.
"I wonder how this Karin Tower was built. I still haven't reached the top."
He looked up, but the seemingly endless Karin Tower vanished into the vast sky. He had already entered the troposphere. By all logic, the oxygen here should have been extremely scarce, but Mu Yang unexpectedly discovered that while the oxygen concentration had indeed dropped, it was still enough to sustain the minimum needs of life.
"Keep going!"
After resting for around ten minutes, Mu Yang gathered his strength and continued climbing higher.
Throughout his challenge of Karin Tower, Mu Yang had never used the Sky Dance Technique, because the purpose of climbing Karin Tower was to train one's physical endurance. Legend had it that there was a miraculous spring called Super Holy Water atop Karin Tower, and that a single sip could greatly increase one's strength. In truth, though, it was nothing more than ordinary spring water. What truly increased one's strength was the entire process of challenging Karin Tower.
Even the Super Divine Water, which truly had the effect of unlocking one's potential, required one to gamble with one's life. The Super Divine Water was highly poisonous, and one careless mistake could result in being poisoned to death and truly meeting King Yama.
Of course, speaking of the Super Divine Water, Mu Yang had some doubts. In the original story, Son Goku's strength had greatly increased after drinking it. Had the Super Divine Water truly worked, or had Son Goku activated his Saiyan bloodline while on the brink of death? There was no way to know.
However, Mu Yang knew that without the support of a bloodline, there were no shortcuts in training. Every step had to be taken steadily.
And so, Mu Yang climbed and rested, spending three days on Karin Tower. The provisions on him were nearly exhausted, yet he still could not see the tower's summit when he looked up. The process was agonizing. Anyone without sufficient mental fortitude would have given up long ago.
"When the story began, Son Goku took a full day and night to climb Karin Tower. I'm weaker than Son Goku was then, so I'll definitely need more time, but I should be close."
Mu Yang gripped a protrusion and thought to himself. Then he used the belt he carried with him to fashion a temporary safety harness. Taking some safety measures when he stopped to rest did not count as cheating. He quickly gnawed down a steamed bun, put away the harness, and continued climbing.
After another night, just as Mu Yang was about to run out of both strength and food—and had nearly fallen from Karin Tower several times—a flattened, spherical shadow finally appeared in his blurred vision.
That was the summit of Karin Tower. After four days, he had finally reached the top.
The morning sun had just risen, bathing the surrounding clouds and Karin Tower in a sacred glow. Mu Yang's spirits immediately lifted. He accelerated upward and slipped through one of the four entrances beneath the summit.
"I finally made it up!" Mu Yang panted heavily. After climbing Karin Tower, he finally collapsed onto the ground.
After resting for a while, the soreness in his thighs gradually faded, and Mu Yang finally had the strength to examine his surroundings. This was a fairly spacious area, with oval skylights around it. Apart from the four entrance passages connected to the tower's body in the center, several water jars were neatly arranged around the room. Beside them were a bathtub and a small bed for sleeping.
This was where Korin usually lived.
"Korin isn't here. Then he should be upstairs." Unable to see Korin anywhere, Mu Yang guessed that he was on the second floor and headed upstairs along the staircase.
The second floor of Karin Tower was noticeably more open than the first. Its hundred-square-meter space contained nothing but a stone platform in the center holding a water jar. The view was wide and unobstructed, with no walls around it. Only twelve carved stone pillars supported the upper and lower floors.
Mu Yang noticed that above the stone platform holding the water jar floated a massive Crystal Ball. It was over eighty centimeters in diameter, perfectly round and transparent, its entire surface sparkling and smooth. Some mysterious force seemed to be holding it aloft in midair.
Mu Yang truly had not known about this Crystal Ball before, nor had he paid attention to whether such a Crystal Ball existed in the original story.
At that moment, the Crystal Ball remained completely still, as though it served to stabilize the entire Karin Tower.
Overall, the summit of Karin Tower was a flattened spherical structure. The lowest floor had the smallest area, only around thirty square meters. The middle floor was the most spacious, with its hundred-square-meter area serving as the place where Korin trained martial artists. Judging from the structure, the training ground was merely the middle section of the summit. There seemed to be further structures above it, but they were hidden away.
"Not bad. You actually climbed all the way here. You're quite impressive, kid."
Korin, a white-furred cat leaning on a cane, stood before Mu Yang. He had silently evaded Mu Yang's senses.
"When did he appear?"
Mu Yang had not sensed when Korin had appeared at all. While inwardly alarmed, he carefully examined him.
As expected of an immortal who had lived for more than eight hundred years. From the surface, it was impossible to tell how strong he was.
"Are you Karin the Immortal?" Mu Yang pretended not to know Korin's identity.
Korin washed his face with a paw. "That's right, young man. It has been many years since anyone climbed up here. Did you come here to drink the Super Holy Water?" Seeing Mu Yang nod, Korin narrowed his eyes. "That won't be easy. You don't get to drink the Super Holy Water for free."
Korin turned his plump body and used his cane to prop up the Super Holy Water on the central stone platform. "If you want to drink it, you'll have to snatch it from my hands."
So it really was training by snatching the water jar. Mu Yang had long been prepared for this and knew it was Korin's method of training martial artists.
He therefore solemnly gave a martial artist's salute, leaving a good impression on Korin before immediately making his move to seize it.
"Karin the Immortal, I'm starting."
"Mm." Korin secretly nodded at Mu Yang's courteous behavior. When Mu Yang lunged at him, Korin made a slight adjustment to his posture and deftly evaded the pounce.
"Young man, brute force alone won't do. You're a disciple of the Tianxin Style. Surely you haven't even forgotten the most basic things of your school?" Korin shook his head. Most of Earth's martial arts had spread from Karin Tower, and Korin himself had lived for more than eight hundred years. In his eyes, every technique was crude beyond measure.
"Karin the Immortal actually knows the Tianxin Style..."
"Hehe, I know quite a lot. The Tianxin Style used to be very formidable, but later... what a pity."
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