"Lord Beerus, Lord Champa… could you please restrain your dimensional pressure a little?"
After circling the tower once, Gran returned to find Korin still pinned helplessly against the floor.
He couldn't help sighing—these two really had no awareness at all.
The angels, of course, emitted no pressure. They had long since reached a state of complete naturalness, returning to the essence of existence.
The Elder Kai trio were always disciplined; this entire trip, none of them had released even a flicker of dimensional force.
Only Beerus and Champa—these two idiots—paid absolutely no mind to other people's lives.
"Tch. Can't even withstand a little pressure. This fat cat really is useless."
Beerus shot Korin a bored glance, then cast another at Champa.
In the end, he retracted his dimensional aura.
Fat cat?
A vein bulged visibly on Champa's forehead.
This bastard was clearly using him as the target of that insult!
Gran stifled his laughter. Seeing Champa about to explode, he quickly turned to Korin and said:
"You're the guardian cat of this tower, right? Let me ask—who built it? It's definitely not you."
The moment these words fell
Champa also withdrew his aura.
Suddenly, every gaze turned toward Korin.
With the suffocating pressure gone, Korin finally managed to stand.
But facing these mysterious, unbelievably powerful beings, his entire body still trembled.
He didn't answer Gran immediately. Instead, mustering his courage, he asked:
"I—I do not know who you all are…"
Before he could finish
"We are the highest gods of this universe. Under normal circumstances, we don't harm Earth. You don't need to worry. Just answer our questions."
Hearing this, Korin let out a shaky breath.
So his guess had been right—these were beings far above Earth's Guardian God.
However…
He noticed what Gran had emphasized: under normal circumstances.
So what if it wasn't normal?
Reading Korin's expression, Gran instantly knew what the cat was thinking, but he didn't bother explaining.
As a future candidate for God of Destruction, some mystique was necessary.
"Tell us everything you know."
"Yes, sir!"
Korin no longer dared to question anything. He began explaining:
"This tower is called Korin Tower, and I am its current guardian. Earth's martial artists call me Korin."
"Although they call me Korin the Hermit, I am not the creator of the tower—merely the present guardian."
"As for who built it, or when it was built… I truly don't know. But I suspect this tower has existed since the beginning of Earth itself."
The gods exchanged looks.
So their earlier suspicions had been correct—this fat cat did not build the tower.
Then who did?
"What is the purpose of this tower?" Gran narrowed his eyes.
Whis and Vados perked their ears immediately.
"Korin Tower is a sacred ground for Earth's martial artists. Anyone who climbs the tower through their own effort receives my guidance…"
Korin paused briefly, then added:
"So I believe the tower exists to pass down the martial arts of Earth."
"Martial arts?"
Whis and the others turned their gaze toward the fat cat.
And surprisingly, despite his weak power, Korin's understanding and devotion to martial arts were formidable—he had even formed a Martial Heart.
Not only that, his bodily instincts had reached Second Stage, meaning he qualified as a mortal martial arts grandmaster.
Gran had sensed this as well.
No wonder Son Goku always ended up surpassing Vegeta.
With such a lineup of martial masters guiding him across his life, how could Vegeta possibly keep up?
Even if he closed the gap occasionally, it never lasted—Son Goku's martial conviction was simply overwhelming.
"Since you said anyone who climbs the tower can receive your guidance… then tell me, what areas do I need improvement in?"
Little Gran spun twice on the spot, showing off shamelessly.
Korin: "..."
Everyone: "..."
Isn't this bullying? Can this kid be any more shameless??
"T–This esteemed deity… from my perspective, your martial arts have already far surpassed mine—surpassed the limits of mortals entirely. I—I cannot guide you!"
"What a pity."
Little Gran chuckled, then continued asking:
"Those senzu beans, the three jars that can show past, present, and future, and that jug of Sacred Water with lethal toxicity—where did you get them?"
Gran already had a theory, but he wanted confirmation.
Upon hearing this, Vados and Whis both grew more solemn.
Those items were not ordinary.
"I do not know. When I became the guardian, all of those items were already here."
Korin pointed upward.
"Perhaps it has something to do with the Heavenly Realm. After all, everything here is meant to cultivate Earth's martial artists."
"And according to the will of the Heavenly Realm, any martial artist who passes my trials receives a ticket to ascend there."
Heavenly Realm?
Everyone looked upward.
Including Gran.
The fat cat's explanation matched his own suspicions perfectly.
This must be connected to Mr. Popo.
"Since it's related to this so-called Heavenly Realm above, why don't we go take a look?"
Back on the ground, Beerus had already noticed something hovering above the tower—a floating landmass.
That must be the Heavenly Realm Korin spoke of.
"Whis, Vados—what do you think? Should we go up?"
"We've come all this way. Naturally, we must." Whis nodded. He could tell Korin wasn't lying.
Vados said nothing, but she nodded as well.
"All right, let's go."
With everyone in agreement, Gran flew out from the tower first, the others following close behind.
FWOOOSH!
In a blink, they vanished from sight.
A moment later
"Jeez… what sort of gods were those? They nearly scared me to death!"
Korin clutched his chest, finally allowing himself to breathe freely again.
Suddenly
"Ah! The senzu beans!"
He rushed to his storage room.
Thankfully, the senzu beans were still there.
He exhaled in relief.
About a year ago, someone had broken in and stolen almost all of them.
Thankfully, the thief left behind a hundred seeds for replanting—at least they had a sliver of conscience.
Looks like he needed to improve his security from now on.
END OF CHAPTER
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