Wumu made significant progress while sparring with Nail. Both his fighting techniques and his control over his strength underwent a qualitative leap.
During this period of training, Wumu gained a deeper understanding of the essence of Tai Chi. He began trying to incorporate its principles into his own fighting.
As his training deepened, Wumu discovered that his power level had reached an astonishing twenty-one thousand.
Vegeta's power level when he first appeared in the original story was eighteen thousand. In the early stages, hardly anyone besides Frieza had a power level over a hundred thousand. Once I eat the fruit of the Tree of Might and break through to transformation force, my power level might soar to a million. Then I'll only need to watch out for Frieza.
This increase in strength also deepened his understanding of Tai Chi.
During a late-night meditation session, inspiration flashed through Wumu's mind. He comprehended Tai Chi Force and, using it as his foundation, created an entirely new skill-Primordial Wave.
The name of this skill, Primordial Wave, came from the philosophy of Tai Chi and meant the original, primordial ki of chaos.
Wumu discovered that through inner tranquility and a deep understanding of Tai Chi principles, he could draw upon the vital energy of heaven and earth around him to form a powerful energy wave.
This energy wave possessed Tai Chi's gentle, restrained qualities while also containing tremendous explosive power, allowing it to inflict immense damage on opponents in battle.
In the Dragon Ball world, the only vital energy skill was King Kai's Spirit Bomb. This vital energy was the ki of nature and living beings, yet through his Tai Chi training, Wumu could now draw upon it as well.
Afterward, Wumu focused on deepening his mastery and application of Primordial Wave.
Every morning, he practiced drawing upon the vital energy of heaven and earth to form Primordial Waves among the mountains and rivers of Planet Namek.
Each time he unleashed a Primordial Wave, it caused enormous changes in the air currents within the valleys and sometimes even generated small cyclones.
Wumu discovered that as he continued practicing Primordial Wave, his understanding of Tai Chi also continued to deepen.
He began applying Tai Chi's push-hands techniques more freely, flexibly using the principle of yin-yang transformation in actual combat, allowing him to handle battles with greater ease.
To test his progress, Wumu sought out Nail for another sparring match.
In this match, Wumu did not rush to attack. Instead, he first used Tai Chi footwork and moves to maneuver against Nail, searching for the best opportunity.
When the moment was ripe, Wumu unleashed a Primordial Wave at Nail, who likewise fired his Ki Blast. Since ancient times, the one on the left always lost a beam struggle, and Nail happened to be standing on the left. After the energies clashed for several breaths, Nail was pushed several meters back.
Once Nail steadied himself, he looked at Wumu in astonishment. He had never expected Wumu to create such a powerful skill in so little time.
"Wumu, your progress is truly astonishing," Nail praised sincerely.
Wumu smiled faintly, his heart filled with gratitude and pride.
He also knew that without the Grand Elder's help and Nail sparring with him, he could not have mastered his strength so quickly, much less taken it further.
Now, he was not merely a warrior with outstanding combat power, but also a martial artist with a profound understanding of the martial path.
In the time that followed, Wumu continued training on Planet Namek. Apart from practicing Tai Chi and Primordial Wave every day, he also delved into Tai Chi philosophy, seeking the deeper truths of the martial path.
His power level and understanding of the martial path both continued to rise.
As time passed, Wumu's reputation also began to spread across Planet Namek.
Many warriors on Planet Namek hoped to spar with him, and Wumu gladly accepted their challenges. Every match brought him new gains, and both his fighting techniques and his understanding of Tai Chi continued to improve.
The next day, Wumu planned to leave Planet Namek and headed to the Grand Elder's residence, hoping to use Planet Namek's Dragon Balls.
After arriving at the Grand Elder's residence, Wumu saw that Nail was there too and greeted him. Nail nodded in response, then remained still.
Wumu then bowed respectfully to the Grand Elder.
The Grand Elder looked increasingly aged, but his eyes still shone with sharpness and wisdom.
Wumu explained their purpose to the Grand Elder, hoping to use the Dragon Balls.
The Grand Elder fell silent for a while, then slowly said, "Each of Planet Namek's Dragon Balls is protected by a different village. What do you want to do with the Dragon Balls?"
Wumu replied, "I feel that I've pretty much finished training my current strength, and I want to leave Planet Namek and head into the universe. So I'd like to use the Dragon Balls to obtain a spaceship and the location of someone I know."
After hearing this, the Grand Elder pondered for a moment before finally nodding.
He sent someone to notify the chiefs of the various villages, and before long, the seven Dragon Balls were brought to his residence one after another.
Once all seven Dragon Balls were gathered, the Grand Elder had Nail summon the divine dragon Porunga in the Namekian language.
Come forth! Shenron!
The summoned Porunga exuded an indescribable sense of pressure, and then the sky plunged into darkness.
Porunga's appearance was vastly different from Earth's Shenron. He did not have the form of an Eastern dragon, but instead resembled Aladdin's genie, his immense body even larger than Planet Namek's mountains and rivers.
Porunga's voice rang out like thunder. "Speak your wishes. I can grant you three wishes."
Wumu took a deep breath and first stated his first wish. "I wish to obtain a state-of-the-art spaceship with artificial intelligence to control its flight, and a gravity chamber inside that can reach a maximum of one hundred times normal gravity."
He was not a Saiyan, so a moderate amount of gravity training would suffice.
This world had no shortage of moves either, and there was nothing particularly special about Bajiquan.
The only special thing was that Baji and Tai Chi were both based on the Taoist Canon. As long as he could gain some insight from them, he would surely surpass someone like Son Goku, who was half martial artist and half warrior.
Nail repeated my words to Porunga in the Namekian language.
Porunga's eyes flashed, and he immediately agreed to grant the wish.
"Your wish is very simple!"
An enormous spaceship appeared not far from Wumu.
For his second wish, Wumu wished to obtain Turles's current location and the places he might go afterward.
The final wish, his final wish was to obtain the Yardratians' Instant Transmission.
After granting the three wishes, Porunga bid farewell to Wumu and Nail and swiftly vanished into the air.
After completing his wishes, Wumu turned, looked over, and said with a smile, "Nail, thank you for sparring with me during this time."
Nail returned a gentle smile without speaking.
Then Wumu walked over to the Grand Elder. "Grand Elder, thank you for taking care of me these past few months."
The Grand Elder smiled faintly, an unfathomable look in his eyes. "Wumu, you are a young man with great potential. I believe you will go even farther along the martial path. If disaster befalls Planet Namek in the future, could you protect some Namekians to the best of your ability?"
Wumu nodded solemnly. "When the time comes, I'll come and take part in that incident. In the meantime, I'll grow stronger."
He knew that the Grand Elder must have foreseen Frieza's invasion ten years later, but there was no telling how strong Wumu would be by then.
After saying goodbye to Nail and the Grand Elder, Wumu walked toward the spaceship waiting for him.
He knew this was only the beginning of his growth in strength, and that even broader opportunities awaited him ahead.
Wumu boarded the ship and started its engines. The spaceship slowly rose into the air, the ship slowly ascending as Wumu gazed through the porthole at Planet Namek growing smaller and smaller, silently making a vow:
No matter how difficult the journey ahead becomes, I'll never forget my original aspirations and will continue pursuing the pinnacle of the martial path.
It finally disappeared beyond Planet Namek's horizon.
Wumu's eyes shone with curiosity and longing for the unknown world. He looked forward to exploring the universe after dealing with Turles, to seeing whether he could leave the footprints of his cultivation behind and find the true meaning of the martial path.