After saying this, John walked to a square next to the temple, sat down cross-legged, and began his meditation training.
This is a training method often used by Piccolo and Tien Shinhan in the manga. After trying it, John fell in love with this training method.
Meditating in this way does not increase the cultivator's Ki, nor does it improve their physical fitness. However, this method of quiet meditation can help balance the Ki within the body.
The reason why Vegeta is always inferior to Goku is that Vegeta's Ki is always wild and raging (as depicted in the Super Moro arc). This wild Ki constantly prevents Vegeta from calming his inner self.
Without a calm inner self, Vegeta's control over his Ki is always weaker than Goku's.
To cultivate Ultra Instinct or the Destruction technique, one's Ki must not be wild and uncontrolled. Instead, it should be in harmony with the mind.
Meditating in this cross-legged position is an excellent way to balance one's Ki and body.
Mr. Popo curiously glanced at John, who was not a god and did not possess godly powers to survey the entire Earth from within the temple.
Therefore, Mr. Popo was unaware of John's strength; he only knew that John had defeated King Piccolo.
However, from John's training method, Mr. Popo could tell that John had a very high level of spiritual cultivation.
On the other hand, the child named Goku, who was standing before him, was relatively simpler. Although the Ki within his body was not evil, it was not devoid of killing intent, and there was not a trace of hidden intention.
John paid no attention to Goku and Mr. Popo's training. He quickly immersed himself in his own training.
It wasn't until Goku called out beside him, "John, Mr. Popo says I've finished my training, and we can meet the god now!"
Hearing Goku's words, John woke up from his meditation. He stretched lazily and said, "Finally done with the training?"
Then, John looked at Goku and said, "Not bad, your strength has increased a lot. It seems you've learned a lot from Mr. Popo these past few days."
Goku happily nodded and smiled, "Hehe, John, if we fight again, I might not be weaker than you!"
John nodded and said, "Don't worry, we still have three years until the next World Martial Arts Tournament. We have plenty of time to train together."
The two of them arrived at the entrance of the temple. Soon after, Mr. Popo came out from the doorway and said, "The god is coming out now!"
However, as he said this, John seemed to notice that the originally expressionless face seemed to smile slightly, with a hint of cunning in the smile.
After a while, a tall figure slowly emerged from the temple, moving from the darkness into the light. The first thing that appeared was his clothing, with a large "God" character written on it, clearly indicating his identity.
When he was finally fully exposed to the sunlight and his face was completely revealed, Goku immediately exclaimed, "You, you, you, you're King Piccolo!" After saying this, Goku immediately jumped back and assumed an attacking stance.
However, John stopped him and said, "Goku, he's not King Piccolo."
The god curiously asked John, "Mr. John, why do you think I'm not King Piccolo? Most people would assume I'm King Piccolo when they see my face."
John replied, "Because of the Ki. King Piccolo's Ki is filled with violence, slaughter, and bloodlust. But the Ki within you is extremely calm, peaceful, and kind. I've only seen this kind of Ki in Master Roshi, so I can conclude that you are the god and not King Piccolo."
Hearing John's explanation, Goku realized that the god's Ki was indeed different from King Piccolo's. However, he had only just mastered the use of Ki, so he couldn't distinguish the difference between the god and King Piccolo immediately.
The god sighed and slowly said, "Actually, Mr. Goku is not wrong. To some extent, I am King Piccolo, and King Piccolo is me. King Piccolo and I are two sides of the same coin."
Goku blinked in confusion, not fully understanding. As for John, he listened to the god's words with a very calm expression.
After waiting for a long time without hearing the expected question of "Why?" from the two of them, the god coughed awkwardly and continued, "Several years ago, before I became a god, I was just an ordinary martial artist. In a short span of ten years, I became the number one martial artist in the world. With no further room for improvement in my martial arts, I heard about the existence of a god."
"So, I resolutely came to the Temple of the Gods, hoping to become the apprentice of the current god and eventually become the new god."
"However, my master only glanced at me and saw the darkness hidden within my heart. He immediately refused me."
"To become a god, I trained hard in the Temple of the Gods and eventually succeeded in expelling the darkness from my heart, becoming the new god."
"But I never expected..."
"But you never expected that the embodiment of that darkness would descend to the mortal world and become King Piccolo, bringing endless darkness and slaughter to the people, right?" John continued.
"So, you feel extremely guilty about this, don't you?"
The god nodded guiltily and said, "Yes, King Piccolo was separated from my body, so I should have been the one to deal with him. But I had selfish thoughts and hesitated. Fortunately, a great martial artist from Earth sacrificed himself to seal King Piccolo."
"I don't think it's just selfishness," John said. "It's because you and King Piccolo share the same life force. If he dies, you die; if he lives, you live. That's why you couldn't take action." John directly pointed out the unique feature of their shared life force.
The god's heart trembled, and he said with a hint of dejection, "So, you already know everything. That means you must also know that King Piccolo is not actually dead, right?"
John nodded and said, "I knew it when I saw you."
Upon hearing this, Goku realized that King Piccolo was still alive and became anxious. "Ah, King Piccolo is still alive! Then, aren't Grandpa Gohan and the others in great danger?"
The god explained, "Don't worry, I will keep an eye on King Piccolo. The current King Piccolo, or King Piccolo Jr., is still very weak and doesn't have the strength to cause chaos. Moreover, as long as you are here, he won't dare to go on a killing spree."
John asked, "Then, God, what is the purpose of calling me and Goku here? Is it to prepare for the threat of King Piccolo's return?"
Hearing John's words, the god nodded solemnly and said, "Yes, King Piccolo Jr. has fully inherited the thoughts and consciousness of the original King Piccolo, and he also has a younger body. So, I can assure you that King Piccolo Jr. will be even more formidable than the original King Piccolo."
"Therefore, I hope that you can train in my Temple of the Gods and defeat the new King Piccolo once again."