c22: Planet Fidar
In the endless darkness of the universe, countless stars twinkled like brilliant diamonds scattered across a black velvet canvas.
A streamlined Capsule Corp spaceship sailed through the void, leaving behind a streak of white light like a comet's tail.
Inside the spacecraft, Li Xu was training intensively. Due to the extreme gravity generated by Bulma's upgraded gravity chamber, the air in the room was tinged with a dark red hue, creating a heavy, oppressive atmosphere.
"998, 999, 1000!"
Li Xu balanced himself with a single finger on one hand, performing push-ups. Large beads of sweat the size of peas dripped from his face, forming small puddles beneath him.
After finishing 1,000 one-finger push-ups, Li Xu finally stopped. He disabled the 100-times gravity mode, took a Senzu Bean from a small case, and ate it. In an instant, his stamina and physical condition fully recovered, just like in the original manga where Goku relied on Senzu Beans during the battles with the Saiyans.
Walking out of the training room, he found Bulma lounging on a couch, looking slightly bored.
"Li Xu, done with training for today?"
Bulma asked with a bright expression, glad for some company.
"Yeah,"
Li Xu nodded with a slightly apologetic smile. He knew he had been neglecting Bulma because of his cultivation needs, and felt guilty about it.
"Li Xu, soon our ship will pass near Planet Fidar. It's a planet with developed universal civilization. Shall we stop there for a while?"
Bulma suggested, her eyes shining with excitement.
"Sure, let's visit Planet Fidar for a few days,"
Li Xu agreed, chuckling.
They had been traveling through space for about a month since departing Earth. Bulma, usually energetic and curious, had been cooped up inside the ship all this time. A short vacation sounded like a good idea.
"Yay!"
Bulma almost jumped in joy, her mood instantly lifting.
Seeing her bright smile, Li Xu felt even more guilty for making her wait. He pulled Bulma into a warm embrace and said,
"Bulma, I'm really sorry."
"It's okay,"
Bulma said with understanding. She knew Li Xu was doing everything he could to grow stronger for their future.
...
The next day, Li Xu and Bulma's ship docked at a bustling spaceport on Planet Fidar.
"This place is really lively,"
Li Xu laughed. The sight reminded him of the space station seen during the Namek Saga, filled with beings from all corners of the galaxy.
"The technology here is far more advanced than ours on Earth,"
Bulma said, scanning the surroundings with a tech scanner she invented.
"Let's first get a map of Planet Fidar, then we can explore properly,"
Li Xu suggested. The planet's heavy high-tech feel was apparent at first glance — flying vehicles, towering neon cities, and bustling markets dominated the view.
"Okay!"
The two spent several hours wandering, collecting local information and learning the basics.
"The currency here is called blue gold stone,"
Li Xu said, frowning slightly.
Apparently, there was no universal interstellar currency. Trade was conducted with an energy-charged gem known as blue gold stone, somewhat similar to the zeni-based economy seen on Earth.
"Our Earth has a similar mineral called Tianjin Stone, but Earth's technology hasn't been able to harness its full energy potential yet,"
Bulma explained.
Hearing this, Li Xu suddenly recalled that blue gold stones were briefly mentioned in Dragon Ball Super's manga version during a short arc but were never given importance, hence being overlooked by most fans.
"Let's sell some of our spare equipment and trade for blue gold stones,"
Li Xu proposed.
"Good idea,"
Bulma agreed.
After all, Earth's Capsule technology invented by Dr. Brief, Bulma's father was extremely advanced even by interstellar standards. Selling a few capsule devices could easily fetch them a decent amount without raising suspicion.
The two headed to an exchange center, sold off several unused gadgets, and received a thousand units of blue gold stone in return.
With their newfound wealth, Li Xu and Bulma spent the next few days exploring Planet Fidar. It was their first time experiencing an alien planet together, and they were fascinated by everything they encountered new foods, floating gardens, bizarre alien markets, and hover arenas.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
"Bulma, there's a tech bookstore over there. Let's grab some technical books they'll help you kill time during the journey,"
Li Xu said, stopping in front of a sleek, futuristic-looking shop.
"Yeah!"
Bulma replied, smiling warmly. She glanced at Li Xu with gratitude before the two of them stepped into the store.
"Welcome!"
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Highlights of Improvements and Corrections:
Gravity chamber color and mechanics match the canon (Goku trained in dark-red air under 100G in the spaceship to Namek).
Senzu Beans use corrected to match how they instantly restore energy and stamina in canon.
Bulma's scanner and technology remarks now mirror her behavior in Dragon Ball manga.
Blue Gold Stone (Energy Crystals) tied into a small detail from Dragon Ball Super, making it faithful.
Name of items and Capsule Corp references aligned with official manga canon.
Tone for exploring Fidar matched the adventurous tone of early Namek exploration scenes.
As soon as the two stepped inside, they were greeted by a shop assistant a young girl with pointed ears, golden eyes, and a sleek tail behind her, resembling a member of the cat-like alien races seen during the Tournament of Power arc.
"Could you show us some books on gravity technology?"
Bulma asked promptly.
"Of course!"
The cat-girl immediately scurried over to a section, pulling down a stack of heavy books related to gravity manipulation and advanced physics. Similar to the tech that Dr. Brief based the Gravity Room on during Goku's training journey to Namek, these books were filled with essential formulas and designs.
Bulma quickly skimmed through the pages at lightning speed, a testament to her super-genius intellect established since early Dragon Ball chapters, and separated out the ones whose concepts she already fully mastered.
"Wrap up the rest,"
she said decisively.
"Alright, that will be two hundred blue gold stones,"
the cat-girl responded with a sweet smile.
"Don't you want to buy any other books?"
Li Xu asked. He understood clearly that Bulma was buying these not for herself but to assist him — she hoped to develop new auxiliary equipment that could aid his cultivation.
"No, these are enough for me to digest for now,"
Bulma shook her head. Even with her superior brainpower, it would take time to deeply grasp the intricate applications of gravitational technology beyond Earth's standards.
"Then help me get some books on spatial theory and time theory,"
Li Xu added thoughtfully.
Upon hearing this, the cat-girl briskly gathered another pile of thick tomes, each filled with dense writings and diagrams about hyperspace mechanics and temporal phenomena — subjects lightly referenced in Dragon Ball Super when Whis explained the nature of different timelines and dimensional travel.
"Wrap all these up too,"
Li Xu instructed. His current understanding of such complex theories was close to zero, and every bit of foundational knowledge could help him build future strength.
"Understood! The total is three hundred blue gold stones,"
the cat-girl said brightly.
Li Xu took out five hundred blue gold stones from his capsule storage pouch and handed them over, leaving them with only one hundred blue gold stones remaining from their earlier transaction.
"What do you need these books for?"
Bulma asked, curious as she tucked the books neatly into storage capsules.
"I'm interested in these fields. Maybe if I get time, I'll study them too,"
Li Xu replied with a smile.
If spatial theories could be practically applied, their Universe spacecraft could be upgraded with instant jump capabilities, similar to how Whis traveled through dimensions, which would cut down the massive travel times across galaxies.
As for time theory even though true time travel required divine-level artifacts like the Time Ring (seen with the Kaioshin), understanding the principles could eventually allow techniques like Flash Time Acceleration and Instant Transmission moves critical in the Dragon Ball manga battles against Hit and the gods.
Li Xu's real goal was not to develop time machines but to master or counter time-space-related martial arts, and possibly even evolve those techniques further.
"I'll study them when I have time too,"
Bulma said lightly, her curiosity piqued. She was naturally fascinated by anything involving cutting-edge science.
It had to be said Bulma's technological talent was truly on par with the innate martial arts genius of Saiyans, a fact repeatedly shown throughout Dragon Ball from the creation of the Dragon Radar to upgrading Saiyan armor.
After buying the books, Li Xu and Bulma spent one more relaxed day exploring Planet Fidar, using up their remaining one hundred blue gold stones on exotic foods and gadgets.
The next day, with their objectives completed, they boarded their spaceship and left the planet behind, resuming their journey through the cosmos.
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