Mount Paozu's Unrivaled Scenery

While Mercenary Tao was slaughtering people in South City, Jiang Nan had already reached the Mount Paozu region on the outskirts of the Phoenix Mountain range.

He had thought Mount Paozu was a single mountain shaped like a steamed bun. Only when he arrived did Jiang Nan realize that it wasn't one mountain, but a whole cluster of them!

Like buns in a steamer, the peaks stood side by side in an unbroken succession.

Abundant groundwater, its prolonged erosion of soluble rock, and collapses caused by gravity had given Mount Paozu its distinctive terrain.

It was morning when Jiang Nan arrived. Mist rose through the forest nestled among the mountains, and the morning sunlight pierced the clouds and fog, creating a Tyndall effect that painted the wooded slopes in picturesque beauty.

Birds chirped among the thick leaves, and now and then, deer strolled leisurely past on their way to drink by the lake. As Jiang Nan walked through the woods, he felt as though he were walking through a painting.

Mount Paozu really was a secluded paradise!

No wonder Son Gohan had chosen to live in seclusion here.

But Jiang Nan's problem now was where to find Son Gohan. Mountains surrounded mountains. Thankfully, it was a clear, sunny day. Without the sun to guide him, Jiang Nan had no doubt he would get lost in this wilderness.

After searching aimlessly all morning, Jiang Nan grew hungry. He sat on a large rock to rest and ate some of the provisions he had brought in his backpack.

"System!"

"What is it?"

The system was becoming more and more human, mimicking his wife Wei Jun's tone as he remembered it with uncanny accuracy.

Jiang Nan asked, "How far does your Battle Power detection function reach?"

"The detection range depends on your Battle Power. For example, Jiang Nan, your current Battle Power is 183, so my maximum detection range is 183 meters!" the system replied.

"One point of Battle Power only gives me one meter of detection range?" Jiang Nan asked.

"Yes."

Jiang Nan was speechless. That range was pathetic! Later on, Goku could sense all the way from Earth to the distant Sacred World of the Kai just by sensing ki. That distance was measured in light-years!

It seemed he needed to improve his control over ki as soon as possible. When it came to understanding ki, Jiang Nan couldn't help thinking of the distant Planet Yardrat, whose people possessed exquisite secret techniques for using it.

In the future, Goku would learn Instant Transmission from the Yardratians. With that ability, he could travel freely throughout the universe, and at one point, Vegeta had been terribly envious of him.

Besides Instant Transmission, a special technique that didn't increase Battle Power, the Yardratians also had two techniques called Fission and Gigantification. Both were abilities that could increase Battle Power. Later on, the numerical value of Battle Power itself would become less important, and understanding ki would take on greater significance.

Jiang Nan made plans in his mind. After visiting Planet Namek, he would make a trip to Planet Yardrat. The Yardratians were hospitable and kind, so he was sure they would be willing to teach him everything they knew.

Although the system's Battle Power detection range was short, it was better than nothing. Jiang Nan activated its maximum detection range anyway. In this densely wooded mountain forest, the system could scan a radius of 183 meters, which was still better than what he could see with his own eyes.

After finishing his food, Jiang Nan set off again.

This place was far from the cities, and its largely untouched ecosystem meant wild beasts roamed frequently. Signs of human habitation were scarce. Jiang Nan walked all afternoon before finding a small village. It was almost completely cut off from the outside world, and the villagers lived a very primitive lifestyle. When Jiang Nan entered to ask about Son Gohan's whereabouts, some villagers even took up knives and pitchforks to fend him off.

Jiang Nan didn't trouble the villagers any further. After failing to learn whether an old man lived in seclusion on Mount Paozu, he left.

From the villagers, he learned that he was still on the outskirts of Mount Paozu. The farther in he went, the more wild beasts there were, so even fewer people ventured there.

The more wild beasts there were, the less likely someone was to disturb him. Old Son Gohan had a tranquil disposition, and with his abilities, he wouldn't worry in the slightest about attacks from wild beasts. Jiang Nan's instincts told him that as long as he kept heading deeper into Mount Paozu, he would find Son Gohan.

It began to grow dark. The occasional howls of wild beasts echoed through the quiet mountain forest, leaving Jiang Nan uneasy. Although his Battle Power was now extraordinary, enough to kill a tiger in the woods with a poke of one finger, he had been an ordinary person not long ago. Mentally, he couldn't help fearing the unknown.

Rustle, rustle-!

A venomous snake slithered past his feet. Unable to bear his fear any longer, Jiang Nan let out a strange cry and broke into a wild sprint.

He ran all the way to the foot of a steep cliff. Seeing that it wasn't too high, Jiang Nan leaped with all his strength and landed atop the hundred-meter-high rock face.

The top of the cliff was bare, without any vegetation. Jiang Nan clenched his fists and hammered at the uneven ground beneath his feet, clearing out a level patch.

Then Jiang Nan took the tent he had bought in the city out of a Hoi-Poi Capsule and set up a simple shelter for himself.

After crawling inside, Jiang Nan zipped the tent tightly shut to keep venomous bugs from slipping through the gaps. Though he knew they could no longer hurt him, they still made his skin crawl.

The quiet surroundings left Jiang Nan terribly bored. He switched on the tent's built-in nightlight, took a notebook from his backpack, and began writing and sketching in it. Just as he had written work plans in his original world, he wrote down what he needed to do next.

The first step, of course, was to find Son Gohan and learn the Kamehameha from him while he was there. At present, Jiang Nan's control over ki amounted to a single unnamed fingertip energy blast. He had wanted to give it a nice-sounding name, but names borrowed from martial arts fiction, such as One Yang Finger, always felt a little strange.

After getting the Dragon Ball from Son Gohan, he would go to North City to find Doris and see whether she could help make a Dragon Radar. Then Jiang Nan added a parenthetical note after that line: don't forget to look for the phone.

The weather in the mountains changed abruptly. Heavy rain suddenly broke the stillness of the night. The dull patter of raindrops against the tent sounded like a rapid drumbeat, a sound wonderfully conducive to sleep. Jiang Nan's eyelids grew heavier and heavier. He put away his notebook, lay down, and fell asleep.

Speaking of the phone that had traveled to this world with Jiang Nan, let us turn our gaze northward, all the way to North City, where snow drifted across the vast landscape.

Construction of the former Red Ribbon Army headquarters was now complete, with rows of grand, imposing buildings. Soldiers patrolling at night marched in orderly ranks, their leather shoes crunching and creaking against the packed snow.

In the courtyard where Jiang Nan had lived for three years, the lights were still on in the three-story building. After a busy day, Doris came down from the third floor to the living room on the first. She sank lazily onto the sofa, still holding a steaming cup of milk.