Not long after, Chi-Chi's sudden appearance and clash with Goku drew everyone's attention.
Seizing the opportunity, Lynx called Mark aside.
"Hey! Seriously? There's a female fighter wanting my autograph?" Mark asked, hands on his hips, trailing behind Lynx.
"Yeah, yeah. She's shy though, hiding over by the restrooms."
Lynx suppressed a laugh. Mark's personality was really simple—too easy to fool.
Soon, the two reached the restroom area. Mark looked around, puzzled. "Huh? Nobodies here... Where's this beautiful fighter you said?"
Whoosh!A slicing sound tore through the air. Mark collapsed to the ground, with Lynx standing behind him, his hand mimicking a blade.
Lynx smirked, then bent down and grabbed Mark's shoulder.
"Now, all that's left is unlocking his potential. Dr. Gero's can push his androids potential to over 900 battle power. This guy should break a thousand, easy. Taking down Goku and the others should be no problem."
While thinking this, Lynx activated Instant Transmission, teleporting Mark to a deserted wasteland.
Suddenly unlocking Mark's potential here might alert Goku and the others, so a remote place was necessary.
Once ready, Lynx grabbed the still-unconscious Mark and began applying the Potential Unleashing Technique.
A golden ki burst from Mark's body.
But what surprised Lynx was Mark's hidden potential...
"Damn it! Who the hell is this guy? That's all the potential he's got?!"
After the technique finished, Lynx checked Mark's battle power—and was shocked to find it had only risen to...
50.
The Potential Unleashing Technique, renowned for fully activating one's hidden potential, had only raised Mark's power by a few dozen points? Damn it!
"System, you've got to be kidding me!"
50 battle power—how's he supposed to beat Goku and the others?
Forget it.
At least I have another ace.
Lynx pulled out a Tree of Might Fruit.
Though Lynx had plenty of these rare fruits, they were still incredibly precious throughout the universe. Giving one to a nobody like Mark felt like a waste.
But to complete the mission, it had to be done.
Lynx lifted the still-unconscious Mark and forced the Tree of Might Fruit into his mouth.
What Lynx didn't expect: after a few bites, Mark suddenly woke up.
"AAAH!!! Who are you?!"
Mark jumped up, noticing the fruit's remains on his lips.
"D-damn it! Who sent you? Trying to poison me!"
"Huh?" Lynx was dumbfounded. He fed him a divine fruit—and Mark calls it poison?
But the shock wasn't over.
Mark suddenly bent his head and spat out every bit of the fruit he'd just eaten.
Not stopping there, he stuck his fingers down his throat, forcing himself to vomit every last bit of the Tree of Might Fruit.
Seeing his precious fruit wasted, Lynx's forehead twitched with visible veins of frustration.
This idiot!
"Do you know what you're doing? Eat it back right now! Or else—!"
Lynx formed a glowing ki blast in his hand and threw it at a nearby boulder.
BOOM!A mushroom cloud erupted.
Mark's legs wobbled as he stared at the explosion. Then, his eyes rolled over, and fainted on the spot.
Lynx covered his face with a palm, utterly speechless.
What now? Potential unlocked with only combat power of 50. Fed him the Tree of Might Fruit, and he puked it out. This Mark is hopeless. How's this guy supposed to win the championship?
"System, can I reselect?"
"Ding! Selection already confirmed. Retraction is prohibited. Violation will result in termination."
Shit!
Lynx nearly lost it.
This time, he really screwed himself by picking this guy.
Was there really no other way?
As he stared at the unconscious Mark, Lynx's eyes suddenly lit up.
That's it!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Contestants, thank you for your patience! The preliminaries for the 23rd World Martial Arts tournament are about to begin. Please gather in the center area!"
Hearing the announcer's voice over the loudspeakers, all the contestants began to move toward the center. After a quick rundown of the tournament rules, the drawing of lots began.
Meanwhile, the karate team who had registered with Mark were in a total panic.
"Any sign of Mark yet?"
"No! Do you think he ran off?!"
As the group searched frantically, Mark finally returned.
"Mark! Where the hell have you been?"
"You almost missed the draw! Had you been any later, you would have been disqualified!"
Mark scratched his head, looking dazed. "I... I think I went to hell. Some demon tried to poison me…"
His teammates blinked, then burst out laughing.
Fortunately, the drawing started soon after, saving Mark from further ridicule.
Thanks to Chiaotzu's telekinesis, Goku and his friends were placed in different brackets—and Mark, too, avoided facing them early on. In fact, he ended up taking the spot that originally belonged to Kami himself.
"Hmph! Good thing I've got psychic powers. Otherwise, this plan would've been toast," Lynx muttered from a rooftop.
No one realized that Mark's bracket had been quietly tampered with as well.
The prelims kicked off in full force. After their training in the Lookout, Goku's group all cruised easily into the finals—even Chiaotzu, who normally would've struggled, made it into the top eight.
Then it was Mark's turn.
Though his power was only 50, thanks to Lynx's Potential Unleashing, Mark was far above normal humans.
No one could stand against him.
Even his teammates were stunned. That usually goofy Mark suddenly seemed a lot stronger.
"Hahaha! Looks like it wasn't a dream! I really came back from hell! Feel my power! This is the power of rebirth through fire!"
At that moment, a sharp noise rang out.
It was Nam, dressed like a masked superhero, visibly annoyed.
Mark snorted and charged at Nam, shouting.
"Ahh-yah!"
"This guy's just a regular human..." Nam thought, about to knock Mark out of the ring—when suddenly he realized he couldn't move.
The next second—BAM!
"Hahaha! Feel that? I call this move Hellfire Fist!" Mark yelled.
"You… bastard…"
Nam struggled to move but was powerless.
Suddenly, a tremendous force surged out from Mark and blasted Nam off the stage.
"Wooooah!"
The crowd gasped watching Nam fly out of the arena.
The referee was stunned for a moment before finally announcing, "Winner! Mr. Mark from Satan City!"
Goku and the others were just as surprised.
"Whoa, I didn't think he had that in him!" Goku said, blinking. "Pretty sure that was Nam he beat, too… his ki was strong. (referring to Nam) Heh, guess that Mark guy's tougher than he looks!"
And so the morning matches ended, and the final eight were set:
Goku, Piccolo, Krillin, Yamcha, Chi-Chi, Mark, Tien, and Chiaotzu.
Lynx exhaled in relief.
"Phew! Glad my psychic powers worked. Hopefully, the rest goes smoothly."