Chapter 13: The Sacred Land of Korin

With the sky high and clouds sparse, a gentle breeze caressed their faces. The cerulean blue sky was flawless, like a mirror, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting speckled patterns throughout the forest. The dark green jungle rustled as slender animals, startled, scampered deeper into the woods.

About ten kilometers from where Xavier and Celine landed, beyond several snow-capped mountains, there lay a small human settlement.

Though the town was only a short distance from the forest, it was separated by a range of towering snow mountains. Aside from the hunters who ventured into the mountains year-round, few crossed these snowy barriers, and the townspeople lived peaceful, tranquil lives.

As the warm sunshine began to slowly melt the ice and snow, on the other side of the mountains, two straight beams of light shot across the sky—Xavier and Celine had entered the small human settlement.

As they touched down, they were greeted by the sight of tractors clattering through fields and farmers busily wielding hoes, a scene that oddly reminded Xavier of his past life, stirring a mix of emotions.

"Even though the world has changed, humans still rise with the sun and rest at its setting. However, such a life is becoming ever more distant from me," Xavier remarked with a faint smile, shaking his head. "This isn't the life I seek."

Having experienced both the monotony of ordinary life and the helplessness of being weak, Xavier was more determined in his convictions. He was intent on mastering his destiny, not to sink into mundanity. The path of the strong was tough, but he was resolved to persevere.

Looking towards the vast starry sky, Xavier's resolve hardened. The endless grandeur of the cosmos was where he truly aimed to find his place.

"It's surprising that the humans on this planet look so much like us. If it weren't for the absence of tails, they could almost be mistaken for Saiyans," Celine remarked in surprise. The vastness of the universe never ceased to amaze, and here, in a remote corner of the galaxy, existed a race so similar to the Saiyans.

She quickly took out her energy detector and aimed it at the humans in the distance. The data displayed shockingly low numbers—only single digits. After a second measurement, the highest battle power recorded was still no more than 7.

Turning off the detector, Celine spoke disdainfully, "I can't believe their battle power is so low. They're just a pretense, really a worthless race. Brother Xavier, I'm starting to doubt whether this planet has what we're looking for."

"Ha, don't judge these humans by their low battle power. Humans are an extremely intelligent species, and some of their martial artists possess many incredible techniques, which are exactly what we need. Let's go get changed first," Xavier replied, glancing at their slightly worn battle suits.

Although their battle suits, made using high-tech from Planet Yardrat, were flexible and could expand with their physique, they were clearly no longer suitable.

Talking, they walked into the town.

Although the small town was located far from the major cities, the shops lining the streets were filled with a dazzling array of goods, offering a wide variety of items. Celine, who had never seen such merchandise, was dazzled by the novelty of it all. She wandered from east to west like a child entering a mall for the first time, finding everything fascinating and wanting to grab whatever caught her eye.

As Celine was about to resort to using force to take what she wanted, Xavier intervened to stop her.

"Why are you stopping me?" Celine looked visibly annoyed.

Xavier grabbed her arm and explained, "If you want something, you should buy it with money, not think about stealing it."

"But I don't have this 'money' thing!" she protested.

"No worries, leave it to me. But you also need to learn how to behave in a civilized society," Xavier glanced at her and said.

As Saiyans, being a warrior race where the strong dominate the weak and brutality is a trait, some aspects are hard to change. However, Xavier didn't want Celine to engage in the sort of atrocities characteristic of Frieza, such as needless slaughter or forceful looting. These actions didn't align with his principles or his views on survival in the universe.

Since Celine was with him, he felt a responsibility to teach her well.

Next, Xavier used Instant Transmission to hunt some rare beasts in a primeval forest. He traded their hides for Earth's currency and used the money to purchase the everyday items they needed.

In this era, before the proliferation of the Capsule Corporation's technology, they couldn't just pack everything into neat little capsules, so they didn't buy much—just enough to change their outfits and tidy up their hair.

Surprisingly, after their makeover, they looked like children just starting school—if not for the brown tails behind them.

Xavier wore a white short-sleeve shirt with a black jacket and casual pants. Celine dressed in a gender-neutral T-shirt with a gray jacket, complemented by small-sized jeans. Her black hair was tied into a ponytail, adding a touch of soft femininity to her appearance.

"It's so annoying. We could have just taken these things by force, but we have to go through all this hassle," Celine pouted, clearly impatient.

Tugging at her sleeves, she complained, "Why do we have to dress like this? These clothes aren't durable at all; they'll tear during a fight!"

Xavier smiled broadly. Despite Celine's apparent dissatisfaction, he knew she was actually enjoying herself—she just wouldn't admit it.

Xavier glanced at the sky to gauge the time and direction, then declared, “Enough complaints. The next destination is the birthplace of Earth's martial arts in the Northern Hemisphere—Korin's Sacred Land. There lies the Korin Tower, and that’s where we are headed.”

“Okay!” Celine nodded.

They both levitated and transformed into two bright beams of light, zooming towards Korin's Sacred Land.

Xavier’s visit to Korin's Sacred Land was twofold: to learn the techniques of manipulating Ki from Korin himself, the wise cat hermit, and to acquire Earth’s healing miracle—Senzu Beans.

In the early episodes of Dragon Ball, Senzu Beans were not shown to be particularly valuable, merely preventing hunger. However, later on, they became life-saving treasures, capable of quickly restoring one’s energy and healing any injuries instantly.

Regrettably, in the later stages of Dragon Ball, the production of Senzu Beans was extremely low, and their availability scarce. Goku and his friends would often wish they could split a single bean to share between two.

But at this time, before their scarcity due to the blight caused by Yajirobe, there should be a plentiful supply of Senzu Beans.

...

Sacred Land, Korin.

Korin's Sacred Land was located on a vast plain on the opposite side of the Earth, traditionally guarded by Native tribes.

In ancient times, it was the cradle of Earth’s martial arts. For centuries, warriors flocked to Korin's Sacred Land to challenge the Korin Tower. Although the development of Earth’s martial arts had stagnated over the last few centuries, with a significant catastrophe occurring three hundred years ago, the determination of Earth's martial artists never waned. Every few years, someone would come to challenge the Korin Tower.

Today, the Korin Tower was about to welcome two more "guests."

After a swift journey of shimmering lights, the smooth horizon came into view.

As Xavier and Celine flew above Korin's Sacred Land, they gazed at the slim tower that rose from the ground, stretching skyward and disappearing into the clouds.

“Is that Korin Tower? It’s so tall?” Celine exclaimed in shock.

Xavier, equally astonished, admired the tower. Legend had it that reaching the top of Korin Tower was impossible without climbing by hand—a notion he was skeptical of. However, seeing the tower stretch endlessly into the sky, he couldn’t help but respect the ancient Earth architects.

It was an achievement that seemed only possible for a "god" to accomplish.