"The Mount Five Elements, huh..."
Korin scratched his face and then his beard, as if pondering something.
After a moment, he said, "All I know is that the one who resides there is probably the oldest god on Earth—Supreme Elderly Lord Annin. According to legend, she sacrificed herself tens of thousands of years ago to save this world, becoming the god who guards the portals between the two realms of Earth's yin and yang."
Sacrificed herself? Yamiru was confused. How could someone who became a god and entered the system be called a sacrifice?
Did that mean Annin paid some other kind of price?
Yamiru murmured, "Tens of thousands of years ago, during the age of chaos with demons and monsters... I think I've heard similar stories in many places. The origin of the animal-people and monster-people, as well as the savior-like figures mentioned in fairy tales... Annin actually came from such a distant time and has continued to this day as a god?"
"I'm not sure of the specifics," Korin shook his head.
"I'm not sure of the specifics either," he repeated. "But Supreme Elderly Lord Annin is indeed a very unique god..."
Unique? Yamiru thought to himself, wondering if he was special like the character in the animation who loved to cook hot pot with his Eight Trigrams Furnace.
Korin scratched his beard again and said, "You've been to the temple, so you've at least met Mr. Popo, right?"
Yamiru nodded.
Korin said, "It might be a little disrespectful to Kami, but... you should know that originally, there were no kami on Earth. It was only after Supreme Elderly Lord Annin became who she is that Mr. Popo, as the messenger of the underworld, came to the human world..."
Before Korin could finish, Yamiru exclaimed, "Mr. Popo came from the underworld?!"
"Don't you know that Mr. Popo served several generations of kamis? How could a normal person live that long?" Korin waved his staff in displeasure. "Let me finish!"
"Go ahead," Yamiru shrugged.
Korin coughed twice, scratching his face. "Where was I?"
"Mr. Popo came to Earth as the messenger of the underworld..."
"Oh, right. After that, with Mr. Popo's acknowledgment, Earth finally had its first god."
Korin lightly tapped his staff on the stone floor of the Korin Tower. "This Korin Tower, and the temple even higher up, were all built by the original gods."
The first-generation Kami of Earth were that powerful? Yamiru was slightly amazed.
Not to mention other things, just the Hyperbolic time chamber in the temple was already mysterious and unfathomable.
It took the power of a Super Saiyan 3 or Majin Buu to break into that space.
The first-generation Earth Kami were able to create such an independent space?
Not only the temple but also the Korin Tower, the Senzu Beans, the Flying Nimbus... all of these were created by him! This guy was truly a powerhouse.
Yamiru looked at the night sky, feeling a sense of awe. It seemed that there had been some extraordinary figures active on Earth in the past. To put it in a more fantastical way, they were the kind of people whose brilliance shook the ancient world and were talents beyond compare.
"Since the Mount Five Elements was the result of the fortune-telling from the old fortune-teller, you should go check it out," said Korin.
Yamiru nodded. "That's exactly what I plan to do."
The next day, Goku bounced up, full of energy, continuing to fight with Korin over the water jug, only to have his head knocked again and again by the old cat's wooden staff.
Yajirobe, who was watching the show, laughed heartily. Then Korin made a fake move in front of the fat guy, causing Goku, who was flying in, to crash into Yajirobe. The fat guy felt like a truck had run over him, almost turning all his fat into oil.
Yamiru sat on the railing, quietly observing. Korin, sensing his intent to leave, stopped his actions and asked, "Are you leaving?"
"Yeah, it seems like Goku will pass his training in the next few days, so I can't slack off!" Yamiru stood up from the railing, enjoying the breeze, and smiled calmly. "How about you give me a Flying Nimbus to carry me for the journey?"
Korin paused, and Goku had to stop as well. "Does he have a Flying Nimbus too?"
"Idiot, your Flying Nimbus is the one I gave to Master Roshi!" Korin scolded the little monkey, then looked at Yamiru and shouted to the sky, "Come here, Flying Nimbus!"
Yajirobe rubbed his aching waist and muttered, "Flying Nimbus? Can this guy even sit on it?"
Having been here for so long, the fat guy had, of course, heard about the magical cloud. Unfortunately, when he carefully tried it once, it was no use; he couldn't get on it. It had to be the cloud's fault.
On the Korin Tower's body, a seemingly tiny figure was still struggling to climb.
Tien Shinhan panted heavily, nearly exhausted. His muscles ached all over, and his ten fingers were almost completely scraped raw.
At that moment, the three-eyed man noticed a large shadow suddenly forming in the sky above. Upon closer inspection, it was a gigantic golden cloud—was that the Flying Nimbus?!
How could a Flying Nimbus be so huge?
"Such a big Flying Nimbus!" Goku, leaning on the railing, looked down in shock.
Yamiru didn't look.
He stood on the railing, with his back to the sky, slowly spreading his arms. His face was calm as he leaned back.
The wind blew past his ears.
It was the same cold wind.
Just like that time.
Yamiru fell in a large shape, not using any flying techniques. His body was completely relaxed.
In his mind, he didn't deliberately focus on the Flying Nimbus.
Did he think he could definitely sit on the Flying Nimbus? No.
Did he doubt that he could sit on the Flying Nimbus? No.
Just as Korin said, he had cut off the "unnecessary movements" in his mind—what people call distractions...
Whoosh~~
Bam~~
Suddenly, Yamiru fell into a soft, fluffy substance, even bouncing up twice from it.
"Yamiru really sat on it!"
Goku shouted joyfully from behind the railing. His excitement was so great that he immediately climbed over the railing and jumped down.
"Is he an idiot?" Yajirobe said, speechless.
Whoosh~
Bam, bam~~
Goku, falling down, finally bounced up on the enormous Flying Nimbus.
"Hello, super big Flying Nimbus~" Goku clapped the golden super-sized trampoline, happily greeting it and then said to Yamiru, "You've become a good kid, Yamiru."
"A good kid?" Yamiru smiled. Though the standard was not entirely accurate, it was simple, direct, and easy to understand. He muttered to himself, "Was my mindset back then, when I was on the brink of death, the same as it is now? It's so peaceful... peaceful as if there's a subtle joy... hmm?"
As he was reflecting on this, he suddenly noticed that the sky above had visible lightning and thunder gathering.
Crack!
Thunder roared, and the lightning, like a wriggling snake, fell straight toward the giant Flying Nimbus below!