"Go...Go...Goku, this is only the first match, no need...
Go all out from the start."
Krillin said, his lips trembling slightly, as he watched Goku jump off the stage.
He had anticipated Goku would be strong, but he hadn't expected him to be this strong. He hadn't even seen Goku's attack clearly before King Chappa fell.
"Full strength? No, I only used a little bit. If I had gone all out, he would have turned into thin air long ago.
I really want to meet an opponent as strong as you guys, so I can fight without restraint."
Goku replied innocently.
He had originally planned not to use his special moves in the preliminaries, only fighting with his most basic strength.
But the opponent who just came up was too weak; he had only managed to unleash a tiny bit of his basic strength.
"You're...you're right..."
"Everyone...everyone's really looking forward to it."
Yamcha and Krillin's foreheads instantly broke out in a cold sweat.
This was only using a fraction of his strength; how terrifying would his full power be? Was there even a point in continuing?
If it were anyone else, they might have thought he was just bragging, but since Goku said so, it was definitely true.
Master Roshi, disguised as Jackie chun, was already considering whether to withdraw from the competition immediately.
Withdrawing was better than losing, having his identity exposed, and ruining his reputation.
However, the martial artist's spirit ultimately prevailed, and he decided to give it another try.
If Goku's strength was truly so great that even his master couldn't defeat him, it would be a very gratifying thing.
Over 180 contestants advanced one-on-one according to their drawn numbers. Defeating four people was enough to advance to the top eight.
The opponents that followed included world champions and renowned martial artists from various competitions.
However, they were simply not in the same league as Goku and his group.
Spurred on by Goku, Yamcha, Krillin, and Master Roshi all revealed a bit of their strength, each defeating their opponents with a single blow.
By noon, the preliminary rounds were more than halfway through.
The organizers kindly provided lunch, and during lunchtime, Yamcha and Tien Shinhan clashed again, almost coming to blows on the spot.
The preliminary rounds continued in the afternoon.
After lining up to compete, Goku, Krillin, Yamcha, and Master Roshi defeated their remaining opponents, successfully advancing to their respective zones and securing their spots in the main tournament.
However, just as the four were chatting, a referee's anxious shout suddenly came from the westernmost arena of the martial arts hall:
"Doctor! Quick, call a doctor!"
"Nam!"
Goku looked towards the western broadcasting platform, his expression instantly changing, and he flashed to the edge of the arena.
At this moment, a contestant lay severely injured on the ground, completely unconscious.
This contestant was one of Goku's opponents in the last World Martial Arts Tournament, Nam, who had come to participate in the competition for the sake of his village's water supply.
He was proficient in the Sky Cross Fist and had given Goku some trouble.
Later, the two became good friends, and Goku had even helped Nam's village during the first three years of his training.
Now, seeing Nam beaten so badly, he was instantly filled with anger.
During the preliminaries, they had been very careful with their attacks, always holding back their power after knocking their opponents unconscious or knocking them off the stage. So most of them are minor injuries, they just need some rest.
However, Nam's current condition is clearly that he was severely injured; many of his bones are broken, and he probably won't recover for at least half a year.
And Nam's opponent is none other than Tien Shinhan of the Crane School.
"You should thank me for not killing him. Someone like him wants to participate in the World Martial Arts Tournament?
He doesn't even know his own limitations.
I bet he won't dare come again."
Tien Shinhan took the martial arts uniform handed to him by Chiaotzu, looked at the angry Goku, and sneered.
"Damn it, you bastard!"
Goku's restrained ki exploded instantly, the powerful aura shaking the entire arena, causing all the participants to tremble involuntarily.
Even the walls of the martial arts hall seemed to tremble slightly from this terrifying aura.
"This...this is impossible!"
Tien Shinhan's three eyes widened in disbelief.
He had never felt such terrifying ki before; the mere suppression of his aura made his legs involuntarily go weak.
The disciple he considered the weakest in the Turtle School was actually so terrifying.
"I can't kneel!"
Gritting his teeth, his martial arts pride forced him to withstand the pressure.
At that moment, Master Roshi appeared behind Goku, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't be impulsive, Goku. We'll teach him a lesson in the real match!"
Hearing this, Goku suppressed his anger and restrained his ki.
Everyone present felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from their shoulders.
"What just happened? Why did it suddenly feel so scary?"
Ordinary contestants had no idea what had just happened.
Only experts like Master Roshi, Yamcha, and Krillin vaguely understood what had occurred.
"Runner-up, runner-up is not bad, runner-up is good."
Krillin and Yamcha exchanged a glance, the same thought rising in their minds.
"His life isn't in danger, but he'll probably be in the hospital for a long time."
The doctor, who had been on standby at the arena, arrived at this moment.
Goku jumped to Nam's side and waved his hand:
"Rapid recovery!"
White magical light enveloped Nam, and soon, Nam's severely injured body showed significant improvement.
The doctor, who was about to call for someone to carry Nam away, saw this and performed another examination, then froze on the spot.
"This...is this a medical miracle?"
Nam, who was just seriously injured, is now only slightly injured, and will likely recover and be discharged from the hospital in a couple of days.
"Tien Shinhan?"
Seeing Goku and the others turn to leave, Chiaotzu cautiously nudged the dazed Tien Shinhan.
Tien Shinhan finally snapped out of his daze, his expression constantly shifting.
"Impossible, he can't be that strong. This must be some kind of special technique, just for show."
"Don't try to scare me with this kind of technique, I, Tien Shinhan, am the strongest here!"
If Goku's strength were similar to his, or even slightly stronger, he could believe it.
But just now, the feeling that Goku's ki was far stronger than his was completely different; they were on completely different levels.
Therefore, he absolutely refused to believe that it was Goku's true strength, but rather some kind of special technique.
The key to this technique is its exaggerated outward display of power, which intimidates the enemy.
Anyway, he absolutely wouldn't believe it until they actually fought.
"Jiaozi, draw lots later and put me and him in the same group!"
To wash away the humiliation of almost kneeling in fear, he wanted to eliminate Goku in the very first match of the official tournament.