The enigmatic Mr. Popo

"Lin Chen, if you want to improve your strength, I might have a way to help you."

Just as Lin Chen was at a loss, a voice suddenly rang out beside him.

Lin Chen turned to look and found that Kami had spoken.

"Kami? You can help me?"

"Strictly speaking, not me, but Mr. Popo," Kami said with a smile.

"Mr. Popo?"

Lin Chen turned toward Mr. Popo, whose expression was almost unreadable.

He could help me?

Mr. Popo's coin-like eyes remained utterly calm as he looked at Lin Chen with an innocent expression. "Since Kami has said so, I'll give you some guidance."

"How do you plan to guide me? Mr. Popo, I should mention that I don't have much time."

Lin Chen did not refuse outright. On the surface, he really had no idea what Mr. Popo, with a battle power of only a few hundred, could possibly teach him. But he knew Mr. Popo was far more than he appeared to be. Perhaps he really did have something to teach him.

"I have a rough idea of your strength. Ordinary methods won't help you much, so I intend to teach you something else. As for time, how about I take you somewhere? Kami, is that all right?"

Mr. Popo turned back to ask Kami.

Kami nodded. "You're going there, Mr. Popo? All right, take Mr. Lin Chen with you."

"Very well."

Meanwhile, Broly apologized to Lin Chen. "I'm sorry, Big Brother Linx. I can't help you this time."

"It's all right, Broly. You're a good boy. Fighting really isn't for you."

Lin Chen did not know whether turning a fighting prodigy into someone like this was a blessing or a curse. But at least for Broly, this was the life he wanted most.

Then Lin Chen followed Mr. Popo deeper into Kami's Lookout.

He followed behind Mr. Popo, passing through several corridors as they gradually made their way down toward the bottom of the Lookout.

By then, Lin Chen already knew where Mr. Popo intended to take him.

"Are you taking me to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Mr. Popo?"

"You know about the Hyperbolic Time Chamber?" Mr. Popo asked, turning back, though his face remained as placid as ever.

"Yes. In fact, I have one myself. It's on Planet Vegeta right now."

Lin Chen's Hyperbolic Time Chamber was currently on Planet Vegeta, where it served as a training ground for promising young Saiyans.

The gravity inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber was nothing special compared with Planet Vegeta's, but its vast, empty space was a severe test of mental fortitude. It was ideal for tempering the young Saiyans' wills.

Upon hearing that Lin Chen actually had a Hyperbolic Time Chamber of his own, Mr. Popo finally showed a trace of surprise. But he merely opened his mouth, said nothing more, and continued leading the way.

Finally, after taking a long, winding route, they reached a golden door at the very bottom of the Lookout.

"We're here." Mr. Popo pushed the door open. "Since you know about the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, I won't explain much. One year inside is one day outside. Training here shouldn't interfere with your schedule, should it?"

"Not at all." Lin Chen smiled and walked inside.

Soon, an immense white expanse appeared before them, sweltering hot, with low air pressure and ten times normal gravity.

Without wasting any time, Lin Chen began training under Mr. Popo's guidance.

Only then did he understand what Kami had meant.

What Mr. Popo intended to teach Lin Chen was Ki Control.

"Mr. Lin Chen, although you possess tremendous power, you're very poor at using it. If you unleash your full strength now, you can easily destroy a planet, can't you?" Mr. Popo asked.

"That's right." Lin Chen nodded.

That was also why, whenever he wanted to spar with Hanasia now, he would only do so on Planet Vegeta. He had already used Shenron to reinforce that planet.

If Lin Chen and Hana fought without holding back on any other planet, they could accidentally blow it apart.

"That's because you still can't control your power freely. A true master can possess enough power to destroy heaven and earth without letting it endanger others," Mr. Popo said.

Lin Chen nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing.

He remembered that in the story of Dragon Ball Super, the God of Destruction Beerus had fought on Earth.

Beerus was a supreme powerhouse who could destroy a planet with a snap of his fingers. Yet even after fighting on Earth for quite some time, he had not damaged the planet in the slightest.

In fact, some people believed that the Dragon Ball world's power system had fallen apart in the later stages of the story. What they failed to realize was that those top-tier fighters had essentially all reached the point where they could control their power freely.

Those masters could now avoid the sort of destruction so common early in the story, when attacks tore apart the earth or pierced straight through planets.

Mr. Popo continued, "Broly told me that your training has always focused on power and your physical body. That is indeed useful for improving your strength in the short term, but if you want to become truly stronger, power and physique alone are far from enough."

"So, from now on, I'll teach you Ki Control. Listen carefully."

"Mm-hmm." Lin Chen nodded.

Only after hearing those words did he understand why he had felt as though he had hit a bottleneck.

It turned out that his Ki Control could no longer keep up with his body and power.

It was as though Lin Chen held a powerful weapon, but his body could not keep up with it, leaving him unable to wield it freely.

If he had not heard Mr. Popo's explanation today, he probably still would not have known where his problem lay.

Those words alone had already made this trip into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber with Mr. Popo worthwhile.

But that was not the only thing that surprised Lin Chen. Next, Mr. Popo actually had him transform into a Super Saiyan and spar with him in that state.

"Mr. Popo, are you sure? One punch from me could kill you..." Lin Chen could not help asking.

"You can try. I'm actually quite strong," Mr. Popo said.

Hearing that, Lin Chen recalled that Mr. Popo seemed to have sparred with Super Saiyans in the original Dragon Ball story. Though they had been two children, they were still Super Saiyans.

At that thought, Lin Chen smiled slightly. "All right, Mr. Popo. Here I come!"

Whoosh!

The next instant, Lin Chen appeared directly in front of Mr. Popo and drove his right fist toward his face.

Out of caution, Lin Chen used only half his strength in that punch, but he had already pushed his speed to its limit.

Yet, strangely, Mr. Popo merely tilted his head and easily dodged what had seemed to be an unavoidable punch.

"What?" Lin Chen was utterly stunned.