Two more years passed, making it a full five years since the last Martial Arts Tournament ended.
It was now 755, the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai, and the preliminary contests across the five major regions were about to begin.
Martial artists from all over the world, eager to showcase their skills at this Tenkaichi Budokai, were all cracking their knuckles and setting off on their journeys.
---
Earth, Muten Island.
Morning sunlight streamed down in golden rays, driving away the chill. From afar came many soft, scattered sounds: wind brushing across the lake, grass swaying, beasts moving through the forest, startled birds taking flight, tides rising and falling on the shore, and waves crashing in the distance...
A phoenix circled gracefully, singing its clear, long cry.
Hathaway walked beneath the phoenix, carrying a pale purple bag on one arm as if ready to go out; her other hand held a tray neatly arranged with seven Dragon Balls, each glowing with flickering golden light, pulsing together like breathing in harmony.
Today, her purple hair was tied into a single ponytail, soft and fluffy, parted 9:1, with slanted bangs falling on both sides and some loose strands fluttering in the breeze, giving a relaxed and comfortable impression.
Her face was free of makeup, adorned with fashionable black sunglasses that covered most of her face; her nose was sharp and proud, lips a delicate rosy thin line—perfect from every angle.
Her skin was pale as snow, so translucent that no pores were visible, like jade, shining with a subtle reddish glow in the golden morning light, giving a crystal-like beauty. Her exposed collarbones were exquisitely delicate.
She wore a white long-sleeved shirt with one button undone at the collar and sleeves rolled up, covered by a sleeveless black vest that made her look crisp, capable, and spirited.
She appeared tall and slender, with graceful curves—not overly voluptuous but elegant—especially her long legs: straight and slender, neither too thin nor thick. Her tight white cropped pants hugged her legs just right, matching her overall noble and elegant temperament.
Reaching the mirror-like lake, Hathaway poured the seven Dragon Balls from the tray onto the grass.
They rolled with a clatter—seven spheres tumbling across the lawn. Hathaway tossed the tray upward, and the phoenix circling above caught it with one claw, letting out a cry before flapping its wings and returning the tray.
"Come forth, Shenron!" Hathaway stepped back a few paces, arms folded, speaking calmly.
Snap!
Boom!
Although it was early morning with the sun just rising, the sky above darkened in an instant. Lightning flickered in the clouds high above. A golden bolt of lightning shot out explosively from the seven glowing Dragon Balls on the grass in front of Hathaway, drawing a jagged flash as it soared skyward and finally condensed into a dark green four-clawed dragon.
"To the one who gathered all seven Dragon Balls, speak your wish…" The dragon bowed its head and spoke in human language, its voice rolling, holy and majestic.
Lightning glimmered off Hathaway's sunglasses as she calmly stated her wish: "I wish for Tienshinhan and Chiaotzu, who are training in the afterlife, to be revived."
"That wish... is very simple indeed…" The dragon's crimson eyes glowed even more intensely.
Hum...
---
The Afterlife, King Kai Planet.
"Tien!" Chiaotzu's eyes gleamed as he was refining his psychic powers. Suddenly, he noticed the halo above Tienshinhan's head vanish and shouted.
Tienshinhan sat cross-legged in midair, eyes open but unfocused. His normally unblinking third eye on his forehead was tightly closed. Upon hearing Chiaotzu, Tien's third eye suddenly snapped open, emitting a piercing light—but quickly calmed down.
He opened his eyes, saw Chiaotzu's halo had disappeared, and smiled. "It's been two years already. Looks like it's time to go back..."
"The Tenkaichi Budokai on Earth is about to start. Hathaway used the seven Dragon Balls to bring you back." King Kai, chatting idly with Taro and Ninn nearby, noticed them and explained.
Tienshinhan exhaled and said to King Kai, "Thank you very much for your care all this time, Lord Kai!"
King Kai waved his hand: "Don't just thank me, those two also helped a lot."
He pointed at Taro and Ninn, who were smiling nearby.
Tienshinhan and Chiaotzu thanked them again.
"Go and take that championship." Taro accepted their bow without hesitation.
Tienshinhan smiled: "I will!"
Yet inside, he sighed softly—too bad Goku probably won't participate in this tournament.
Finally, he and Chiaotzu bid farewell to King Kai, Taro, and Ninn: "Goodbye!"
He slowly floated upward. "Chiaotzu, grab onto my back."
Chiaotzu followed, flying up and wrapping his arms around Tien's neck.
Whoosh!
A swirl of white energy surrounded Tienshinhan's body.
Moreover, his energy was undergoing an incredible transformation—not only steadily increasing but in a peculiar state between bursting and about to burst, seeming very mysterious.
Snap! Tienshinhan flew away. In the blink of an eye, the white trail from his flight streaked toward the Snake Way, disappearing at the horizon.
Taro smiled: "His talent really is impressive..."
King Kai chuckled: "After all, he's someone your father valued..."
Ninn just sneered, not really caring, a bit annoyed instead: "It's just like that, huh? Why are there so many people everywhere who love training martial arts?" After saying that, she got away to play cards. For Ninn, entertainment and leisure were the real deal in life. As for training or getting stronger? That was her grandfather's business.
---
West City, outside the Martial Arts Tournament arena.
The tournament was about to start, and the place was already packed with people. Competitors, spectators; elderly folks feeling nostalgic, kids running and playing, and energetic young people. Various vendors hustled about, shouting to attract customers. Many were taking photos and, with a swipe of a finger, uploading them to various social media platforms...
"How much is your combat power now?" Some like-minded martial artists exchanged questions.
The one being asked raised an eyebrow and smiled: "76!"
Half a year ago, Virtual Earth Network Company released a new product... Well, calling it new wasn't quite right — it was more like an update to an existing product. They added a module to Babata (a universal virtual earth network login device) that could detect a martial artist's approximate combat power — of course, the combat power displayed was the one revealed externally.
Moreover, this special Babata device update was only available to members of the Martial Arts Association.
In reality, this thing wasn't very useful to advanced martial artists, since they could sense power through their own ki perception, both their own and others'. But for beginners, this function was a good way to monitor their daily training progress.
"Whoa," people around gasped. "76 — that's already a high number for most!" Then someone else asked:
"How many levels and layers are you on in the Muten Tower?"
The man answered: "Second level... but how many layers? That I can't say!"
"Tch!"
"Hiding something!"
Others pretended to scoff but secretly cried inside: just reaching the second level was already impressive! If you passed the first layer... that meant starting at 2.1 times the baseline! The Martial Arts Tournament really got harder every year!
Competition grew fiercer with each tournament.
Indeed, with over a hundred years of martial arts development on Earth, those who qualified in the first few tournaments might not even pass the early rounds of today's preliminaries!
"Looks like I have to study the 'Muten Notes' more! Without a master's guidance, I have to rely on my own understanding. Even the 'Muten Notes' I grasped by myself... I have to train harder! Hmm, after this tournament, I'll extend my daily training from five to six hours!" A nearby onlooker thought, surprised and feeling inferior, then made a silent vow.
Out of respect for the Muten Roshi, more and more called the The Martial Artist's Notes the Muten Notes.
This nickname spread quickly, to the point that some only knew the "Muten Notes" and had never heard of the The Martial Artist's Notes — a funny phenomenon indeed.
"Old sir! Old sir!"
In the crowd, a tall, sexy purple-haired woman waved her arm and called out brightly — it was Bulma, whom no one had seen in two years. She was now 22, at the prime of youth.
She was calling out to an elderly man wearing an animal-face mask.
Gohan came over, smiling warmly: "Kid, you're here too."
"Of course! Two years gone, I don't even know how Goku and the others are doing!" Bulma said cheerfully, full of spirit.
Gohan led Bulma to a less crowded spot. He took off his mask, stroked his graying beard, and smiled: "Goku probably won't join this Martial Arts Tournament this time…"
"I know, but there's another competition this year..." Bulma said, "Old sir, don't you know? There's going to be a big event this year inside the Virtual Earth Network! I'm sure Goku won't miss it!"
"Oh, I didn't know that. Haven't been paying attention for a long time," Gohan said. "What kind of competition is it?"
Bulma thought a moment: "I think... it's a contest only for experts of the Muten! And I heard it's even more fierce and brutal than the Martial Arts Tournament because injuries or death don't matter inside the Virtual Earth Network!"
Gohan nodded: "I understand."
Bulma smiled mischievously: "If you joined, you'd definitely win first place!" Then, like magic, she pulled a single-lens glasses-like device from her bag and hung it on her left ear.
"What's that?" Gohan asked curiously.
"It's a device that detects energy reactions... The Martial Arts Association can add this function to the login device, but it's not available to the public, maybe due to privacy concerns... My version is custom-made from stolen data!" Bulma said proudly.
"Heh, that's interesting."
"Let me check your power, old sir..." Bulma fiddled with the device on her ear, pressing a few buttons. Suddenly, the dark single-lens glasses displayed a selection box targeting Gohan in front of her. Data streamed by, and one second later,
Beep!
"Wow, no way... only 5?"