Chapter 8: Krillin Takes the Lead  

 After interviewing John, the host turned the microphone to Goku and Krillin and asked, "We just interviewed Mr. John, who said you three are all top disciples of Master Roshi and have made it to the semifinals together."

 "I found that your achievements are not limited to that; you are also the two youngest contestants in this martial arts tournament. So, I would like to ask you both, how old are you?"

 Goku answered first, "I am 12 years old!" Upon hearing Goku's age, the crowd around couldn't help but exclaim loudly.

 Krillin then curiously asked, "Didn't you say you were 14 before? How did it change to 12?"

 Goku replied, "I didn't know before, but after learning math from the old man, I realized that after 11 years old comes 12 years old, not 14."

 Krillin, feeling a bit gloomy, said, "I'm 13, so I'm still one year older than you!"

 Goku patted Krillin's bald head and laughed, "Hehe, but you're still shorter than me!"

 That hit hard for Krillin, making him even more depressed!

 After discussing their ages, the host's attention shifted to Goku's tail. He curiously asked, "Mr. Goku, is your tail really grown out of your body?"

 Goku nodded and said, "Of course." He then took off his pants to show everyone his tail. Seeing this action, John and Krillin immediately moved a bit away from Goku and pretended not to see what he just did; it was too embarrassing.

 Probably feeling that this action was inappropriate, after confirming that Goku's tail was real, the host quickly urged Goku to pull his pants back up.

 At that moment, the stage was repaired by the staff, and the first match of the semifinals between Master Roshi and Krillin was about to begin.

 Master Roshi took the stage first. He was very dissatisfied that the host had only interviewed his three disciples without interviewing him. Before the match officially started, he snatched the microphone from the host and began performing wildly on stage.

 Due to the previous interview leaving him wanting more, Goku jumped onto the stage and started dancing along with Master Roshi.

 However, Krillin looked very nervous at this moment. Seeing Krillin like this, John pulled him aside and said, "Krillin, you must stabilize your mindset now. The contestant Jackie Chun is indeed very strong but not invincible."

 "If you go on stage with this nervous emotion, you will have no chance of winning. You can only see your opponent's movements clearly if you maintain a calm mindset; then you will have a chance."

 Well, actually Krillin had no chance at all; John's words were just meant to comfort him. But what Krillin needed right now was encouragement from someone.

 Knowing that John was the strongest among their trio of brothers, he trusted John's judgment greatly. After learning that he still had a slight chance of winning, his previously tense heart gradually calmed down.

 At this time, Master Roshi completed his performance and stood on stage waiting for Krillin to join him.

 Looking at Krillin's calm demeanor, Master Roshi was somewhat surprised. He did not expect that Krillin could completely calm down after being so nervous earlier; he thought to himself that his worst disciple might not be as bad as he imagined.

 With a sound of a gong, the first match of the semifinals officially began.

 Krillin didn't know how long he could hold on now but understood that overcoming fear meant defeating it; thus he initiated an attack first.

 Facing Krillin's attack, Master Roshi initially had no intention of fighting back but instead dodged continuously to avoid Krillin's strikes.

 Krillin couldn't hit Master Roshi at all; as long as Master Roshi wanted to, he could easily defeat Krillin just like he did with Yamcha.

 However, since Krillin was his disciple, Master Roshi didn't want to completely crush his confidence in martial arts. After dodging one of Krillin's attacks, Master Roshi finally made a move to block one of Krillin's punches.

 Delighted in his heart and recalling John's words about needing to force Jackie Chun into action to win against him if he wanted any chance at all,

 When Jackie Chun finally made a move, Krillin felt excited and his attacks became smoother.

 Master Roshi didn't expect that his action would give such confidence to his disciple; while he felt pleased about it, he also decided to let this disciple feel the gap between himself and a master.

 Thus Master Roshi raised his hand into an attacking posture for the first time in this match.

 Feeling very nervous and carefully watching Master Roshi's next move reminded him of John's second piece of advice: To defeat Jackie Chun when he underestimates oneself is to provoke him by showing unexpected strength.

 The most effective way to provoke is by making him think that someone seemingly weak can retaliate powerfully.

 Master Roshi quickly advanced towards Krillin with a bird beak stance aimed at striking his forehead.

 As soon as Krillin saw an opening in Master Roshi's attack at that moment before being struck himself—he ducked down and delivered a punch directly into Master Roshi's abdomen.

 Caught completely off guard by this unexpected strike from his weakest disciple due to underestimating him—Master Roshi felt intense pain in his abdomen as if it were turning upside down.

 After several seconds passed by before he could recover from it—though pleased that his disciple wasn't overwhelmed by victory and acted rashly—he also felt angered for being hit by his weakest disciple due to carelessness.

 So Master Roshi angrily declared: "Hmph! This farce should come to an end." After saying this he assumed an attacking posture and charged towards Krillin at greater speed.

 At this moment a girl's cute item was thrown onto the stage by Krillin; immediately awakening Master Roshi's lecherous nature as he abandoned his attack and lunged towards that cute item.

 Internally celebrating his good fortune—Krillin executed a flying kick sending Master Roshi flying offstage while still in mid-air.

 Simultaneously it seemed like John's last piece of advice echoed in his ear: Jackie Chun shares a major weakness with Master Roshi—his lecherous nature; as long as you can throw something enticing close during an attack moment—he will be left vulnerable for you to take advantage of.

 "I won! I won!" Seeing himself kick Jackie Chun offstage made Krillin shout happily aloud.