Journey to the West Arrives: Start by becoming an apprentice of the Tongtian Sect Leader!

After Sun Wukong left, the four Dragon Kings in the Dragon Palace looked at each other in bewilderment.

The Dragon King of the West Sea spoke first.

"Brother, this monkey definitely looks like it's domesticated."

"But when we offer benefits, it's also to forge a good relationship with the powerful figure behind this monkey."

"But now that the monkey is gone, how can we let the powerful figure behind him know about the goodwill of our dragon race?"

Upon hearing this, the Dragon King of the East Sea smiled slightly, his face showing an expression of complete control.

"Hahahaha... Isn't this simple?"

"All we need to do is go to the Heavenly Court, pretend to complain to His Majesty..."

"The news will spread throughout the entire Heavenly Court that a monkey named Sun Wukong has obtained a magical treasure from our Dragon Palace of the Four Seas!"

"At that time, will that powerful figure not know?"

Upon hearing this, the Dragon King of the West Sea sighed in admiration…

"As expected of the eldest brother! That's a brilliant idea!"

The Dragon King of the North Sea, who was standing nearby, also hurriedly spoke up.

"As expected of the eldest brother, that's a really bold idea!"

The Dragon King of the South Sea was a little anxious because he couldn't think of any words for the moment, so he could only combine the words of the Dragon King of the North Sea and the Dragon King of the West Sea.

"As expected of the eldest brother! His ideas are both brilliant and bold!!!"

The Dragon King of the East Sea laughed heartily.

"Hahahaha... Keep it low-key!"

"This Dragon King isn't that kind of high-profile dragon~"

"Let's go, let's head to Heaven right now!"

And so, the four Dragon Kings prepared to go to the Heavenly Court to pretend to file a complaint.

Meanwhile, Sun Wukong, upon returning to Flower Fruit Mountain, immediately summoned all the monkeys and their followers.

He showed off his armor and the Ruyi Jingu Bang (a magical staff) for quite a while.

Seeing their king so majestic, all the little monkeys started making a ruckus around them...

"Your Majesty, is this stick really weighing over ten thousand jin?"

"Your Majesty, can this staff really be made big or small at will?"

"Your Majesty, how big can this stick grow?"

Sun Wukong was quite pleased with himself, so he said to the group of little monkeys beside him.

"The staff in my hand, Old Sun, is called the Ruyi Jingu Bang (Golden Cudgel)!"

"Whether I need to defecate or urinate, it's all up to me..."

"I, Old Sun, am in a good mood today, so I'll show you!"

As he spoke, Sun Wukong stood the golden cudgel upright on the ground.

"Big big!!!"

As Sun Wukong spoke, the Ruyi Jingu Bang (Golden Cudgel) began to grow rapidly.

The little monkeys watching were completely dumbfounded, but Sun Wukong was not satisfied.

"My children, get out of here! My old Sun's golden cudgel can get even bigger!"

"Bigger! Bigger! Bigger!"

It can only be said that the Golden Cudgel also spoils Sun Wukong; if Sun Wukong wants it to grow bigger, it will grow bigger to the extreme.

Until the Ruyi Jingu Bang (the magic staff) had become so thick and so tall that its other end could no longer be seen above the ground...

All one could see was the golden cudgel standing straight up into the sky!

In the end, the golden cudgel even reached the thirty-third heaven.

The Thousand-Mile Eye and the Wind-Following Ear, who were on duty in the Heavenly Court, suddenly saw a huge stick jump out from their side!

This startled the two of them.

Before the two could figure out what it was, the stick retracted.

For a moment, the all-seeing eye and the all-hearing ear were somewhat surprised and prepared to report the matter to the Jade Emperor…

On Flower Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong enlarged the Golden Cudgel, then shrunk it again until it was finally stuffed into his ear.

This amazed the little monkeys!

Just then, one of the monkeys suddenly made a suggestion.

"Your Majesty, now that you possess supernatural powers and treasures, why not subdue all the demon kings surrounding our Flower Fruit Mountain? Then you will be the greatest!"

Upon hearing this, the group of little monkeys also started to clamor.

Upon hearing that he could become the greatest king, Sun Wukong immediately perked up.

So he hurriedly asked...

"Oh? Does anyone know how many demon kings there are in this area?!"

An old monkey, quite old, spoke in a trembling voice.

"Your Majesty... as far as I know, there are seventy-two caves of lesser demon kings in this territory, and several greater demon kings as well..."

Upon hearing that there were as many as seventy-two demon kings in the caves, Sun Wukong was immediately filled with fighting spirit.

"Very well! In that case, I, Old Sun, will first subdue these lesser demon kings, and then go and meet those greater demon kings!"

Although there were seventy-two demon kings around Flower Fruit Mountain, these demon kings were all insignificant figures, and Sun Wukong subdued them all without much effort.

Many lesser demons even came to join him after hearing of Sun Wukong's power.

With Sun Wukong as a powerful combatant, the Water Curtain Cave of Flower Fruit Mountain instantly became one of the top monster caves in the Eastern Continent.

He is quite famous in the demon realm!

Sun Wukong didn't exert much effort to subdue the seventy-two demon kings, which made him somewhat unhappy. So he prepared to meet those so-called great demon kings.

Meanwhile, in the Heavenly Court...

The Jade Emperor was resting in the Hall of Universal Brightness, while Venus was reporting on some trivial matters of the Heavenly Court.

Many of them are about Li Jing and Li Xuancang.

The Jade Emperor was delighted upon hearing Taibai Jinxing's report.

"Hahaha... It seems my choice back then was indeed correct."

"My nephew is indeed capable. He's only just taken office, and Li Jing, that traitor, has almost been sidelined!"

"Okay! Okay!"

Venus was also smiling and nodding beside him.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the unity of the disciples of the Jie Sect is renowned throughout the primordial world."

"Marshal Li is a direct disciple of the Sage Tongtian, and he wields the Qingping Sword. Naturally, the disciples of the Jie Sect in our Heavenly Court respect Marshal Li..."

"Li Jing is a two-faced man. He is nominally a minister of our Heavenly Court, but in reality, he is a lackey of the Western Buddhist sect. He reveres the Buddha far more than Your Majesty!"

"They really need to be given a good talking-to!"

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor nodded.

"Taibai, your words resonate deeply with me."

"Previously, the Heavenly Court had no one else to rely on, and it seems that Li Jing was somewhat unable to distinguish who the Great Heavenly Venerable of the Three Realms was."

"Now, a disciple of my Xuanmen sect will serve as the deputy marshal of the Heavenly Court's army..."

"Moreover, my senior brother Tongtian had already communicated with me. Back then, regarding the Investiture of the Gods, my senior brother Tongtian was indeed unwilling to accept it, and now he has made arrangements for this Journey to the West calamity as well."

"Back then, Senior Brother Tongtian tried to defy the heavens, but unfortunately, he failed..."

"But now, the Heavenly Way has established a great flourishing in the West!"

"This is not only a slap in the face of my Heavenly Court, but also a slap in the face of my Xuanmen Sect, and a slap in the face of the Dao Ancestor!!!"

"I, Haotian, as the Great Celestial Venerable, as a disciple of the Xuanmen, and as the Dao Ancestor's attendant, truly refuse to believe that just because the Heavenly Dao says that the West will prosper, the West will necessarily prosper?!"

"Hmph! I, Haotian, will also do this defying the heavens!!!"

Upon hearing these words, Venus took a deep breath.

His Majesty actually wants to emulate the Tongtian Sect Leader of yesteryear and defy the heavens?!

As expected of His Majesty!

Amazed, Venus quickly spoke up.

"Your Majesty! This old minister will follow you to the death!!!"

The Jade Emperor smiled as he looked at Venus before him.

"Hahahaha... Taibai, what are you saying about dying? It's unlucky. You're not allowed to say things like that again~"

For a time, the emperor and his ministers were in harmony, exchanging smiles.

The Jade Emperor also knew that there were changes in the Three Realms and in the Great Tribulation, and it was impossible to determine whether such things were good or bad.

But how could the Jade Emperor, as the Daoist patriarch's attendant and the Great Heavenly Venerable of the Three Realms, allow the Western Buddhist sect to ride roughshod over the Xuanmen sect?

Not to mention that Western Buddhism was founded by those two traitors of Taoism, Jieyin and Zhunti…

So the Jade Emperor naturally wanted to take a gamble!

Just then, the Thousand-Mile Eye and the Wind-Following Ear suddenly arrived in the Tongming Hall.

"Your Majesty! Just as we were on duty, we suddenly discovered a colossal pillar piercing through the Heavenly Court, only to retract moments later."

"We truly have no idea where this giant pillar came from, and can only report this to Your Majesty!"