The rift between Master Roshi and Master Shen

The fire crackled, and fish oil occasionally dripped into it with a sizzle.

Son Gohan added a few more pieces of dry wood and continued recounting the past.

"Even though decades have passed, I can still clearly remember the grave look on my master's face when he mentioned that monster. Young man, you seem well educated. Have you ever read anything about him in your history textbooks?"

Jiang Nan quickly replied, "You mean King Piccolo, sir!"

"That's right! That monster's name was King Piccolo! I thought young people these days no longer cared about history. I never expected you to know about him, too. Good, good. Never forget danger even in times of peace. If only there were more young people like you in this world." Son Gohan stroked his beard, looking pleased.

At that moment, Kid Goku chimed in dismissively, "What bullshit monster? Once I grow up, I'll crush him with one finger!"

Son Gohan rapped Kid Goku on the head and scolded him, "Children shouldn't boast!"

Kid Goku rubbed his aching head, feeling wronged. But it's true! What monster could beat a Saiyan, a member of the greatest warrior race in the universe? Just you wait, you old geezer. Give me a few years, and I'll teach you a lesson.

Son Gohan continued, "No one knew where King Piccolo came from. He was like a demon that had emerged from hell, the embodiment of evil. In just half a month after his appearance, he brought the world to the brink of destruction."

"With just one attack-one attack-he destroyed all of West City," Son Gohan said. "The West City you see today was rebuilt afterward."

Jiang Nan was shaken. My battle power is already 183. If I remember correctly, King Piccolo only had a measly 260. Could someone with 260 battle power destroy an entire city in one strike? Then when mine reaches tens or hundreds of millions in the future, will I blow up the Earth with a wave of my hand?

"King Piccolo's strength exceeded everyone's imagination. The Federation's military couldn't destroy him. Even nuclear bombs couldn't kill him!" Son Gohan said.

Although Jiang Nan already knew this part of the story, he still played his role as a listener, putting on an astonished expression as he asked, "Not even nuclear bombs could kill him? Then how was he destroyed?"

"He wasn't," Son Gohan said.

"He wasn't? Then what happened?" Jiang Nan asked.

"Even the Earth Federation was helpless against that monster. Just as the world fell into despair, Grandmaster Mutaito gathered some of the finest martial artists of the time. They decided to defeat the monster with martial might beyond ordinary human limits. So they sought out King Piccolo, who was amusing himself by slaughtering innocent people."

"Despite all his preparations, Grandmaster Mutaito still underestimated King Piccolo's strength. Many masters died horribly at King Piccolo's hands in that battle, along with several of my master's junior fellow disciples. In the end, King Piccolo deliberately let the surviving martial artists escape so he could have more fun with them later."

"As he watched the world slowly head toward destruction, Grandmaster Mutaito devoted himself to research and created a special technique-the Evil Containment Wave!"

Son Gohan's voice grew heavy as he continued, "Mutaito kept it from his disciples. After leaving behind a final letter, he went alone to challenge King Piccolo again. This time, he unleashed the Evil Containment Wave with all his strength and successfully sealed King Piccolo inside a rice cooker he had prepared beforehand."

"Why a rice cooker? Was he going to cook the Demon King?" Kid Goku interrupted.

Son Gohan explained, "The Evil Containment Wave can seal someone with that kind of evil energy inside a closed container. Once a sealing talisman is attached, the person trapped inside can't escape. It doesn't have to be a rice cooker. Any sturdy, airtight container will do. Perhaps a rice cooker was the most suitable thing Grandmaster had on hand at the time. I don't know the exact reason, either."

"In any case, by the time my master and his junior fellow disciple read the letter and rushed out to find Grandmaster Mutaito, he had already died from exhaustion. Honoring Grandmaster's last wishes, my master sank the rice cooker containing King Piccolo into the depths of the ocean."

"Grandmaster Mutaito truly was an incredible martial artist, sacrificing himself to save the world," Jiang Nan said admiringly. "So after he died, did his disciples scatter without him to hold them together, and that was why Master Roshi and Master Shen parted ways?"

"Yes, but that wasn't the whole reason," Son Gohan replied.

"Was there something else behind it?" Jiang Nan asked.

"As I mentioned earlier, my martial uncle was a martial arts genius," Son Gohan said. "When he discovered that the skills he had learned couldn't defeat King Piccolo, his faith in his martial path began to waver. That was when differences gradually arose between him and my master."

"What sort of differences?" Jiang Nan asked again.

"My master, Master Roshi, steadfastly followed Grandmaster Mutaito's training philosophy, which emphasized building a foundation and incorporating training into everyday life. True mastery needs no fancy tricks. As long as you keep improving your physical abilities and steadily building yourself up, your strength will naturally rise."

"But my martial uncle thought that approach was too slow. He began abandoning the training methods Grandmaster Mutaito had taught them and devoted himself to developing techniques that could win through surprise. He really was an exceptional talent. He soon learned how to control and use ki. You know what ki is, don't you? It's a special energy inside our bodies. We call it ki."

Jiang Nan extended two fingers and condensed a ball of energy at their tips. "You mean this?"

Son Gohan was startled at first, but soon accepted it. Although Jiang Nan's ki was somewhat erratic, he felt even stronger than his master, Master Roshi. It stood to reason that he could give his ki physical form.

"That's right. That's ki," Son Gohan confirmed. "In just a few months, my martial uncle created several powerful techniques of his own. My master told me that by controlling his ki, my martial uncle learned to fly through the air. What was it called again? The, the... Flight Technique!"

"My master felt that wasn't the proper path. Although those techniques could indeed improve someone's fighting ability in the short term, over time, it would become difficult to raise the limits of their martial arts any further. My martial uncle's temperament changed as well. He would no longer listen to my master's advice, and my master was furious at his contempt for Grandmaster Mutaito's training methods. After a huge argument, they went their separate ways," Son Gohan said.

Jiang Nan understood now. The difference between the Turtle School and the Crane School was much like the divide between the Sword and Qi factions in martial arts novels. From Master Roshi's and Master Shen's perspectives at the time, it was hard to say who was right and who was wrong.

"Actually, after my martial uncle left, my master continued training according to Grandmaster Mutaito's methods, but he also tried to sense and control ki," Son Gohan said. "And he created a technique he was very proud of-the Kamehameha!"