"The key to advancing in martial arts lies in sensing and using ki.
The power within you is already tremendous, but to bring out that power more fully, you must master the techniques of ki."
Mr. Popo wasted no words.
Seeing that Tien Shinhan and the other two were all willing to train, he began their training immediately.
"Ki techniques? What are those?"
Goku and Chiaotzu were both a little puzzled.
They had already mastered the Kamehameha and Dodon Ray respectively. Didn't that count as mastering ki techniques?
So both of them voiced their confusion.
Mr. Popo shook his head at their questions.
"Simply knowing how to use a ki blast means you have only mastered how to gather and release ki.
Although that does involve ki techniques, it barely scratches the surface.
Once ki techniques are truly mastered, two martial artists with the same amount of ki will perform completely differently in battle.
You might find it hard to understand through words alone, so why don't I arrange a fight for you?
After the fight, you should understand what more advanced ki techniques are."
Mr. Popo explained this to Tien Shinhan and the others.
Of course, Tien Shinhan already understood the principles involved, so it was mainly Goku and Chiaotzu who needed to figure this out.
Seeing the lingering confusion in their eyes, Mr. Popo decided to let Tien Shinhan and the others experience it directly through combat.
"Great, a fight! I love learning through fighting!"
Kid Goku immediately cheered and jumped for joy.
Nothing excited Kid Goku more than testing his strength against friends or enemies.
Goku might not have paid much attention to a simple explanation of ki techniques, but the moment fighting was mentioned, he lit up with delight.
"To prepare for the fight, I need one strand of hair from each of you."
Mr. Popo told them plainly.
He would use a strand of hair from each of them to create their respective clones with a special ability.
The clones would possess the same battle power as each of the three, but the difference was that the clones had a basic grasp of ki sensing and usage techniques.
Perhaps Goku and Chiaotzu still could not understand what more advanced ki techniques meant.
But this battle against their own clones would make their bodies remember those techniques.
Yet when Mr. Popo said this, aside from Goku readily agreeing, Tien Shinhan and Mr. Popo were left speechless.
"Mr. Popo, do I look like someone with hair to you?"
Tien Shinhan asked directly.
Beside him, Chiaotzu also removed his hat and pointed at the lone strand on top of his head.
"That's right. Even though I still have one strand of hair, I couldn't bear to trade it for something."
Mr. Popo plucked a strand of hair from Goku's head, then looked at Tien Shinhan's and Chiaotzu's heads with some concern.
"Could we use an eyebrow hair instead? Or another part of the body?"
Fortunately, Tien Shinhan immediately thought of another method.
After all, Mr. Popo's ability to create clones probably only required some part of their bodies.
Without hair on their heads, an eyebrow hair or a fine body hair should work as a substitute.
Although they were a little shorter, it worked in the end.
A short while later, a clone of each of the three stood before them.
Tien Shinhan's current battle power was considerably higher than Goku's, so an opponent with the same battle power as him was hard to come by.
Without hesitation, Tien Shinhan immediately attacked the clone before him.
Fierce punches and kicks blasted out, but the clone easily blocked every one.
Solar Flare!
Yet when Tien Shinhan suddenly used Solar Flare to disrupt his vision before attacking, the clone still sensed it and dodged.
"So this is ki sensing? It's like growing an extra pair of eyes with an all-around field of vision, unaffected by light or darkness."
Although he had long known how amazing ki sensing was, actually fighting such an opponent gave him a much deeper, firsthand understanding.
Just as on Tien Shinhan's side, Goku and Chiaotzu gained little advantage from their first fierce assaults against their respective clones.
After evading their opening onslaughts, the three clones counterattacked at exactly the same moment, as though they had arranged it beforehand.
Bang, bang, bang!
Heavy punches and kicks came flying. Having yet to master Ki Sensing, Tien Shinhan could only rely on his eyes to respond to the clone's attacks.
Exactly the same speed as his own, exactly the same force, and a ki-sensing ability that completely outclassed his.
The clone's sudden onslaught put considerable pressure on Tien Shinhan.
The force and speed coming from his opponent allowed him to fully experience through their exchanges just how powerful his current battle power of 300 was.
But this still wasn't enough!
Far from enough!
Under the pressure of this training, Tien Shinhan's Limit Breakthrough trait was fully activated.
As fists and feet collided and he dodged and maneuvered, Tien Shinhan's battle power rose rapidly without him realizing it.
Unlike Goku and Chiaotzu, who struggled to hold on in fights where they were evenly matched or even at a disadvantage.
Tien Shinhan displayed the tremendous adaptability and growth speed granted by his trait in his battle against the clone.
His growth was not limited to ki techniques. With every passing second, Tien Shinhan truly left his previous self behind in battle power.
Only half an hour later, the clone that had initially suppressed Tien Shinhan through its ki techniques had its body smashed apart by just a few of his punches and kicks.
It couldn't be helped!
Tien Shinhan's battle power had soared during that half hour.
This high-intensity sparring under pressure provided greater stimulation than his previous tower-climbing training and attempts to snatch the Ultra Divine Water jug.
By now, Tien Shinhan's battle power had reached 330, and he had also made some progress in mastering Ki Sensing.
A clone with only the strength he had possessed half an hour ago was no longer a match for him.
"You defeated your own clone so quickly?"
Seeing what had happened on Tien Shinhan's side, Mr. Popo, still wearing his wise expression, actually let out a slightly astonished exclamation of praise.
"Mr. Popo, the clone you made is amazing, but its body is a little fragile. It can't take much of a beating.
Sorry to trouble you again, but please make me another clone. I've only just reached the threshold of Ki Sensing, and I need to keep training!"
Having smashed one clone apart, Tien Shinhan still wanted more.
He truly had not fully mastered Ki Sensing, and beyond that, the sense of fulfillment from his soaring strength was becoming somewhat addictive.
"You want another one? All right. Your battle power should already be higher than mine now, but I'll give it a try."
Mr. Popo was a little surprised by Tien Shinhan's request, but he did not refuse.
His duty was to help Tien Shinhan and the others gain a basic grasp of ki-related techniques.
Sensing, gathering, and concealing were all included.
Now that Tien Shinhan had given his incomplete mastery of ki techniques as a sound reason, Mr. Popo naturally continued to help as much as he could.