Before Yamiru could respond, another person entered the Spiritual Realm Earth Island.
Tights.
"Not eating?" She waved and walked over. "Master Roshi, you're here too."
"Oh! Yamiru's girlfriend, Tights!" Master Roshi nodded. "The last time we met was at the World Martial Arts Tournament, right? Three years have passed, and this little girl has gotten even more beautiful!"
Tights giggled and went over to pull Yamiru up from his seated position, dusting off the dirt on his back.
"Where shall we eat?" Yamiru asked, glancing at Tights and Master Roshi.
"Let's eat here," Tights said, taking out a capsule. "Master Roshi can join us too. The food is ready in the kitchen, it should be enough for everyone."
So convenient... Yamiru still marveled at the convenience of capsule technology. The food was prepared in the kitchen of the capsule house, and once the capsule house was retracted into capsule form, they could carry it anywhere.
"That works," Master Roshi said without a care. After a brief moment, his figure disappeared and reappeared. "Chiaotzu can't come in, Tien Shihan said he's eating with Chiaotzu at my house."
Boom, the half-spherical capsule house appeared on the ground in front of the three.
At the dining table, Tights didn't eat much, always adding more food to Yamiru's plate.
Master Roshi ate leisurely, praising Tights's culinary skills.
"To be honest..." Yamiru put down his empty bowl and suddenly spoke. Master Roshi gave a light hum, signaling that he was listening. Yamiru pondered for a moment. "Although I haven't finished my training with Korin, I still want to ask Master Roshi a question," Master Roshi nodded. "Go ahead."
"Is there an end to it?" Yamiru stared into Master Roshi's eyes. "Is there an end to the path of martial arts?"
He knew, of course, that combat power could exceed 200, but that applied to the few chosen ones. But for ordinary people like Yamiru or Master Roshi, did martial arts... have an end?
Or maybe, the end wasn't far away.
Master Roshi's combat power was 139. If it could continue to improve, if it could exceed 200, if Master Roshi's combat power had surpassed his teacher, Mutaito, in his younger years... there was no reason for him to be so afraid when facing King Piccolo. After all, the King Demon Piccolo only had a combat power of 220, and after regaining his youth, it was only around 260.
The only possibility was... even when Master Roshi was at his peak, he had never surpassed 200 in combat power.
The God of Martial Arts, and yet...
"I see..." Master Roshi murmured. "So you've been worrying about this."
"Then, is there a limit?" Yamiru asked. "Is there an ultimate limit to strength that cannot be surpassed?"
Master Roshi put down his chopsticks, staring blankly for a moment. He took off his sunglasses, rubbed his eyes, and sighed lightly.
"The way of martial arts is endless," the God of Martial Arts murmured. "But people have limits. Different people, their limits are probably different."
Yamiru fell silent at his words.
Master Roshi continued, "My teacher, Mutaito, was stronger than I was at my peak, but my master once said, 'There's little room for improvement, it's truly a pity,' 'Taro, Shen, you two might be able to go further than I did'... Heh," the old man chuckled self-deprecatingly. "But sadly, neither Shen nor I have fulfilled our teacher's wish. We've never surpassed our teacher from back then. It's really shameful when I think about it."
A disciple doesn't have to be worse than their master, and a master isn't necessarily better than their disciple. That phrase suddenly came to Yamiru's mind.
Tights said, "But it seems like Goku and his parents' strength can always keep improving..."
Yamiru briefly explained the situation with Goku's resurrected parents to Master Roshi, who then realized, "I see, the terrifying power that suddenly appeared a year ago was Goku's resurrected father... a Saiyan, huh? Just like Jaco said, they really are a terrifyingly strong race!"
The three left the capsule house, and Tights retracted the capsule. "Bye, remember to go home and sleep~" she waved and left the Spiritual Realm.
Yamiru and Master Roshi continued to converse on the Spiritual Realm Earth Island, discussing martial arts.
"So, you think the limit for Earthlings and Saiyans is different because of their bloodline..." Master Roshi paced and pondered. "As for battle power numbers, I'm about 120, and that guy Gohan is around 116. I see." He glanced at Yamiru, estimating, "Then, your battle power data should be... around 150?"
Yamiru nodded, "I think that's about right."
"That's already impressive!" Master Roshi exclaimed.
"Then, how strong was Master Mutaito? Can you estimate, Master Roshi?" Yamiru asked curiously.
"My teacher Mutaito..." Master Roshi reminisced. "To be honest, my teacher's level of martial arts, I don't think it can be summed up in just a number. After all, different martial arts techniques can unleash power far beyond one's own abilities... But if I had to give a number, I'd estimate it was around 240."
240... Yamiru silently thought. That number should be slightly lower than King Piccolo's combat power in his youth, which seems to fit.
Moreover, this number falls between the "theoretical maximum for Earthling bodies around 300" and the "actual limit for Earthlings around 200". In other words... Master Mutaito's martial arts surpassed the limits of most Earthlings, but he still hadn't fully unlocked the power within.
Perhaps, if King Piccolo hadn't appeared, and Master Mutaito had continued training, he might have been like Krillin, Tien Shihan, or Yamcha, breaking through 300 battle power. Then, the ki within would surge, and he could have directly trained to surpass 1000 or even 10,000.
200.
300.
It really seems like two major milestones in the path of Earthling martial arts.
Of course, this is a summary based on the information from both past and present, compiled by Yamiru. However, he believed that it wasn't entirely without credibility.
After telling the Master Roshi, the Master Roshi fell silent for a moment before gently sighing.
"Perhaps," the God of Martial Arts said with a wistful smile, "I don't know why, but I feel like what you're saying might actually be right. However, I have a different opinion. You mentioned that after surpassing a battle power of 300, the increase in ki can almost break free from the limitations of the body... But I don't think the body is a prison for ki," he said, as Yamiru looked at him with surprise. The Master Roshi muttered, "The body is the foundation of ki. How could it be a cage for it? Rather than the body restricting ki, I'd say it's necessary to protect ki until it becomes strong enough."
Yamiru was surprised, but quickly thought, "From this perspective, the Saiyan body is naturally stronger, so it can 'protect' the ki inside for a longer time. And other powerful cosmic beings— the stronger they are, the longer their body can protect their ki... When you think about it like that, it explains why the monsters in Freeza's army haven't mastered ki. Compared to them, most are still at the stage of '200–300' or even 'below 200', just like Earth martial artists!
"Their ki hasn't broken through their body, so for most naturally strong cosmic warriors, increasing their battle power is actually a rare thing. That's why they're so surprised by the Saiyans who keep growing stronger in battle.
"Now that I think about it... 'Normally, battle power doesn't really increase'— this phenomenon is actually very similar to Earth martial artists 'not being able to break through 200/300 battle power'!"
"Perhaps you're right," Yamiru agreed, "to exaggerate, an ordinary person who has mastered the Kamehameha should still avoid using it carelessly." He recalled his past discussion with Son Gohan on Mount Paozu, analyzing, "Because when ki is too weak, ki-based techniques are actually less effective than basic martial arts. Even the weakest Kamehameha can deplete an ordinary person's ki, and in severe cases, it could even lead to a serious illness."
The Master Roshi nodded. "When the body is too weak, its resistance drops."
"The differences in bloodlines lead to different lengths of the 'body's protection for ki' among different races," Yamiru summarized, while silently adding, "For Saiyans, this length might be ten thousand to twenty thousand, and once they break through, they shoot up to the millions... and the Super Saiyan transformation, or rather, the S-cells, optimize their bloodline again, rewriting the 'protection period' and pushing the body's limit even further."
"Bloodline, bloodline..." The Master Roshi pondered this term before teasing Yamiru, "It seems like you care a lot about this. It looks like Goku's growth and his father's power have thrown you off balance, huh?"
Yamiru was momentarily stunned, but then honestly replied, "I can't deny it, maybe part of it is because of that."
"In that case, you could ask Shenron to grant a wish and transform your body into a Saiyan's," the Master Roshi casually suggested. "That way, you could easily raise your battle power much higher. It would be much easier than the struggle you're facing now."
"That's true," Yamiru admitted without hesitation. "It would be incredibly simple. Gathering the Dragon Balls is no problem, and making a wish to Shenron would be easy too. Changing my bloodline to a Saiyan's is within reach."
"So why don't you do that?" the Master Roshi asked with a smile.
"Because it's too easy," Yamiru clenched his fists and said quietly, "That's why I can't bring myself to do it."
The Master Roshi chuckled lightly.
"My master, Son Gohan, taught me that the most important thing for a martial artist is to not lose to oneself," Yamiru said slowly. "Martial arts aren't about being better than others or bullying the weak; they're about overcoming yourself. If I made a wish to change my body to a Saiyan's and effortlessly gained great strength, then what would all the efforts I've made so far amount to?"
The Master Roshi's sunglasses reflected Yamiru's face, and despite being so young, there was already a sense of mature perseverance in his expression.
"Changing my bloodline to that of a Saiyan, wishing for immortality, or asking Shenron for invincible power... Those are all very good wishes," Yamiru continued. "But if I did that, I would forever look down on the version of myself that made those wishes. Maybe that version of me could have invincible power, but I would never respect him."
The Master Roshi burst out laughing, "That's a bit exaggerated! Immortality and invincibility... those aren't bad options!"
Yamiru gave a wry smile. "Maybe someone like you, a transcendent immortal without any concerns, can say that with such ease." Is this what it means to be unaffected by fame or disgrace? Yamiru thought. Perhaps he would scorn the shortcut-taking version of himself, but the Master Roshi, with his higher level of cultivation, wasn't bound by such things. Yamiru decided not to think too much about it. It would only make him feel inadequate.
The Master Roshi shook his head, turning his back on Yamiru and speaking slowly, "Actually, when it comes to drastically changing the body... back in the day, both I and Shane tried it."
Yamiru was stunned. What?
Clink. The Master Roshi took off his flowered shirt and casually tossed it aside, revealing his lean, bony upper body.
"The limits you're talking about... Shen and I reached them back then," the Master Roshi said solemnly, clenching his fists and channeling ki within his body. "We really felt it—our martial arts couldn't improve much more. Back then, our skills... were even less than what Master Mutaito's were. This made both of us very discouraged, and we felt like we couldn't face our master. Later, we each made our own attempts..."
Hah! The Master Roshi growled, and his originally small body suddenly expanded dramatically before Yamiru's eyes.
Unlike Son Goku or Trunks' simple muscle growth, the Master Roshi's transformation wasn't just about muscle mass—it also involved a significant increase in height and length!
This proved that his bone length had changed. And to support the increased body size and heavy muscles... perhaps the bone strength had been enhanced as well.
On the other hand, Yamiru could also clearly feel... in this muscle-bound version of the Master Roshi, his power had skyrocketed!
"In this state..." The muscle-bound Master Roshi's voice seemed to deepen. "If I had to describe it in terms of battle power, it would probably be around 200! But..." Suddenly, his body shrank again, returning to his original small form, breathing heavily as he shook his head. "But in the end, I took the wrong path! Sigh, this transformation... while it boosted my strength, it severely limited my mobility, and my flexibility is practically nonexistent. Also..."
After a pause, Master Roshi smiled wryly and said, "Just like the attempts with Shen, this transformation of mine has caused significant damage to my body."
"Modification..." Yamiru muttered, remembering that Master Roshi had just used that term.
"That's right, modification." Master Roshi put his clothes back on. "At that time, neither Shen nor I considered the essence of what we were trying to do. But now that I think about it, our transformations were probably an attempt to modify our own bloodlines... or perhaps, recklessly and randomly modifying them, ultimately leading to no real results."
"Can Shen also transform into... this form of yours?"
"You mean the form with giant muscles all over my body?" Master Roshi chuckled. "No, no, his approach was almost the complete opposite of mine." He adjusted his sunglasses and recalled Shen's appearance. "If my approach was focused on power itself, then Shen probably tried to work with techniques. He transformed his body into something like a human crane... From a technique standpoint, when he adopted that form, it was nearly impossible to land a hit on him. I certainly couldn't touch him. But I haven't seen him use it in years, so it should be like my transformation—painful every time he uses it!"
"Because it's a modification of the body, it's a huge burden..." Yamiru muttered.
"Rather than a burden, it's better described as agony!" Master Roshi said nonchalantly. "You can see it, right? The muscles and bones becoming so exaggerated—how could it not be uncomfortable? That's why I say Shen and I... we both went down the wrong path."
Yamiru fell silent. After a while, he briefly explained the Super Saiyan transformation and the S-cells to Master Roshi and said, "According to Goku, his father Bardock completed a 400x Earth gravity training recently, and his base power was already more than enough to meet the requirements for transforming into a Super Saiyan. He's currently missing, probably searching for a suitable place to focus on increasing his S-cell count."
"Super Saiyan... S-cells..." Master Roshi murmured, smiling bitterly. "Maybe that's the real, reasonable 'modification' after all! Saiyans, Saiyans... they really are something extraordinary!"
Yamiru said, "If you and Shen had succeeded back then, perhaps your cells would have evolved into different types."
Master Roshi joked, "R-cells? Haha. It's basically impossible. Modifying the body like that... it's just too outlandish to think about!"
Perhaps this was the reason why the Dragon God once said through Shenron that "Saiyans are blessed by the light of the Omni-King". Because the Saiyan ancestors were fortunate enough to receive the Gods' blessings, they were more likely to evolve optimized "S-cells" compared to other races... And according to Shenron, this evolution didn't just happen once!
Before the appearance of Yamoshi's S-cells, the Saiyan race already had another version of optimized cells, which is now only found in their tails as "Special cells". According to Shenron, in ancient times, before Yamoshi appeared, Saiyans had Special cells but not S-cells, and their transformation corresponding to the Super Saiyan was known as the "S-Warrior".
And Earthlings, who haven't received the blessing of the Gods, have it tough... Even extraordinary beings like Master Roshi and Shen couldn't find their own path.
While Yamoshi and his people could easily cultivate S-cells with just a thought, Earth's Martial Arts God, no matter how much he racked his brains, couldn't produce anything better than a devilishly muscular version...
"I wonder what Shen's crane-like form looks like..." Yamiru thought. "A transformation focused on techniques... It's impossible to attack no matter what... It's strange, this idea feels so familiar..."