Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

The flag of the Great Sage Equalling Heaven stood tall atop the main peak of Flower-Fruit Mountain, visible from afar to anyone who wasn't blind. Soon, the news of Sun Wukong declaring himself the Great Sage Equalling Heaven spread throughout the Three Realms.

Some were shocked, some admired him in their hearts, and others, filled with envy, jealousy, and hate, waited eagerly to see him become the laughing stock.

The Heavenly Court was also informed of this news.

"Snap!"

Yet another liuli jade cup shattered into pieces on the floor of the Lingxia Palace, the third one that the Jade Emperor had smashed there, and all three were because of the same individual—the Beautiful Monkey King of Flower-Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong, who had declared himself the Great Sage Equalling Heaven!

"Great Sage Equalling Heaven! What a Great Sage Equalling Heaven! Such an arrogant Demon Monkey!"

The veins on the Jade Emperor's forehead bulged with anger, his patience unable to suppress the rage within him any longer, "A mere lower realm Demon Monkey dares to claim equality with Heaven. Where does he put the Heavenly Court, where does he put me, the Jade Emperor? Does he intend to be considered my equal? What audacity!"

Every Immortal and God in the Lingxia Palace kept their heads down, eyes on their noses, noses on their mouths, mouths on their hearts, not saying a word. At times like this, it was easy to speak out of turn and inadvertently draw the Jade Emperor's ire onto oneself—what a wrongful plight that would be!

Of course, there were those who knew no fear, such as Great White Golden Star:

"Your Majesty, please quell your anger! Your Majesty, please calm down! This may not necessarily be a bad thing!"

"Not a bad thing? Venus, what do you mean by that? Explain yourself clearly to me!"

The Jade Emperor lifted his head, squinting his eyes at Great White Golden Star, making it crystal clear that if Venus didn't provide a convincing reason, he should prepare for the Emperor's thunderous fury.

"Your Majesty, please temper your thunderous anger and listen to this old servant's slow explanation."

Great White Golden Star was not panicked, he coughed lightly and began slowly, "Your Majesty, it's true that the title 'Great Sage Equalling Heaven' is taboo. However, that Demon Monkey, being from the lower realm Demon Clan, does not know his destiny and lacks understanding of propriety. It is normal for him to be a bit arrogant and presumptuous.

Your Majesty is the revered one among all saints and shouldn't be concerned with his insolence!"

"Oh? So you're suggesting I should just ignore it?"

The Jade Emperor frowned, quite obviously unconvinced by Great White Golden Star's words.

"Your Majesty misunderstands; that was not my intention."

Great White Golden Star quickly bowed to apologize, "Your Majesty, Sun Wukong is a Demon Monkey from the lower realm. He is highly skilled and possesses vast divine abilities, naturally leading to a sense of pride. His self-proclamation as the Great Sage Equalling Heaven actually reveals his lack of sophistication; otherwise, how could he not know the consequences of choosing such a title?

After all, what use is a title if no one acknowledges it?"

"Your Majesty originally wanted to enlist him in the Heavenly Court to restrain him. Why not be generous and grant him the title, assigning him a position of moderate importance in the Heavenly Court? This will satisfy the Demon Monkey's vanity and he will no longer harbor thoughts of rebellion. The title of 'Great Sage Equalling Heaven' is just that, a title. Can he truly equate himself to Heaven?"

Venus's words gradually eased the Jade Emperor's furrowed brows. Indeed, the title "Great Sage Equalling Heaven" was just a name, and the beings of the Three Realms would not believe simply on account of the title that Sun Wukong could sit on an equal footing with him, the Jade Emperor.

It was merely an honorary title; he could bestow it upon Sun Wukong and bring him up to Heaven to hold an official position. After all, the so-called Great Sage Equalling Heaven would be but an empty title, loud in name but without real power, posing no threat to the Heavenly Court or to him, the Jade Emperor. Why bother making too much of it?

"Indeed, Venus sees things more clearly! So be it. Let's follow Venus's advice. You shall go to Flower-Fruit Mountain to extend my invitation and proclaim that I am willing to grant Sun Wukong the title of Great Sage Equalling Heaven, inviting him to ascend to Heaven to serve in the Heavenly Court.

As for the other members of the Demon Clan in Flower-Fruit Mountain, there is no need to insist on them joining, as the Heavenly Court does not have so many vacancies to accommodate them."

"Yes, your servant obeys the decree!"

Great White Golden Star responded and, receiving the imperial edict, hurried out of the Southern Heavenly Gate toward Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Flower-Fruit Mountain, in front of the Heaven-Piercing Tower.

"Nezha and Six-Eared have been in seclusion for three years now?"

Sun Wukong's gaze fell upon the third level of the Heaven-Piercing Tower as he asked the Bull Demon King and the others beside him.

"Indeed, it has been three years! After you fell unconscious, big brother, we took you into the Heaven-Piercing Tower for recuperation under Zi Lan Fairy's care, while Nezha and Six-Eared continued their cultivation on the third level."

The Bull Demon King nodded in affirmation.

"Those two fellows are indeed quite hardworking!"

Sun Wukong shook his head and chuckled, then glanced at the Bull Demon King, "Bull second brother, why don't you go cultivate?"

Based on the rankings at the time of their oath of brotherhood, Sun Wukong was the eldest brother and the Bull Demon King the second. However, since the Bull Demon King was Sun Wukong's senior in terms of their martial school, Sun Wukong addressed him as Bull second brother, a term of respect similar to how he addressed the Jiao Demon King and the others.

"I'd love to, dear brother!"

Bull Demon King forced a bitter smile and cast an oblique glance full of silent accusation at Luo Bai next to him. "It's all this youngster Luo Bai's fault, dragging me to spar day in and day out. Otherwise, I would have gone into seclusion long ago!"

"Well, hehe, sparring with each other is how we improve faster and better, right?"

Seeing Sun Wukong turn his gaze toward him, Luo Bai chuckled awkwardly.

"Don't I know you? 'Faster improvement,' you're just itching for a fight!"

Wukong rolled his eyes at Luo Bai, spat disdainfully, turned to face Bull Demon King, and said, "Brother Niu, just go into seclusion in peace. I, Old Sun, guarantee this lad won't bother you anymore!"

"Really?"

Bull Demon King's eyes lit up—he truly had been driven to exasperation by Luo Bai.

"Really!"

Sun Wukong nodded affirmatively, Bull Demon King said no more, and directly entered the Heaven-Piercing Tower.

"Boss, let's also enter seclusion. Let's strive to break through to Daluo Golden Immortal as soon as possible!"

Seeing Bull Demon King so dedicated, Jiao Demon King and the others could no longer sit still. They all turned to Sun Wukong, asking for permission to enter the Heaven-Piercing Tower together. With more and more masters emerging in Flower-Fruit Mountain, they needed to keep up with the pace of improvement to maintain their status. Jiao Demon King and his comrades were very clear about this.

Basically, all the high-ranking members of Flower-Fruit Mountain had entered the Heaven-Piercing Tower to cultivate in seclusion. Besides Sun Wukong, only Leng Xuan and Luo Bai remained outside. That's because the little fox spirit, Sun Xiaoqing, disliked quiet cultivation, and both men had been courting her these days, fearing to give each other an opportunity.

As for this, Sun Wukong chose to turn a blind eye. After all, whether Sun Xiaoqing ended up with anyone, he would be happy for her. As to who would win her heart, it was up to their own luck.

Sun Wukong wasn't cultivating because he was keeping company with Zi Lan Fairy. Moved by the beauty's deep affection—she had left the Heavenly Court secretly to come and persuade the Donghua Emperor to avert a disaster for Flower-Fruit Mountain, and for the past three years, had tirelessly tended to him inside the Heaven-Piercing Tower.

Though Wukong was a stone monkey born of heaven, he was not heartless. How could he not be moved? Besides, there had always been an unspoken affection between him and Zi Lan Fairy, which had never been brought to light. Now, it seemed everything had fallen into place, and there was no need for formalities.

"Great King, that white-bearded old man Venus is here again!"

Sun Wukong was cooling off with Zi Lan Fairy in the garden of Water Curtain Cave Heaven when a demon soldier came to report. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

"White-bearded old man Venus? Great White Golden Star? What's he here for?"

Sun Wukong was puzzled. Could it be that Great White Golden Star was here to be a mediator and wanted to recruit him into the Heavenly Court to serve as an official?

It seems that old man had not much of any other skills, but he was first-rate at talking. In his previous life, he had been swayed by a chat with him, happily following him up to the Heavenly Court, thinking he would be able to enjoy a high-ranking official position at ease.

However, he ended up being dispatched to tend horses, and carried the notorious name of the stable boy, "Bìmǎwēn," for a lifetime. Just thinking about it made him angry.

"Wukong, when you were unconscious before, Great White Golden Star came several times, saying that the Jade Emperor invited you to the Heavenly Court to serve as an official. It was Leng Xuan and the others who declined, saying you were in seclusion and not considering it for the time being.

This time, it's probably because of your Great Sage Equalling Heaven title stirring up the Heavenly Court again that he has descended once more, isn't it?"

Zi Lan Fairy guessed.

"I heard from Leng Xuan that the old fellow is indeed persistent! Fine, I, Old Sun, will meet him and see how he plans to persuade me! Zi Lan, you come with Old Sun!"

"Ah? This, is this really okay?"

"What's not okay? I, Old Sun, want to let everyone in the Heavenly Court know that you are my woman, and whoever dares to bully you in the future, they are crossing Old Sun!"

Sun Wukong nearly forcefully grabbed Zi Lan Fairy's delicate hand and pulled her toward the main hall of Water Curtain Cave Heaven. Zi Lan Fairy struggled a bit, then let him lead her to the hall, her lips unconsciously curling into a sweet smile.

"Great Saint! Greetings to the Great Saint!"

As Sun Wukong approached the hall, Great White Golden Star, recognizing him from a distance, came forward with a smile and bowed deeply in greeting, showing great courtesy.

"Who have we here? If it isn't Great White Golden Star! Look at you, all haggard and tired—how come nobody offered you a cup of tea? That's just rude! Old Sun will certainly have to teach them a lesson later!"

Sun Wukong smiled and patted Great White Golden Star's shoulder, the forceful pat making the old man grimace with pain while still maintaining a smile, continuously saying he dared not.

"Come, come, don't stand there, sit down and we'll talk!"

With an inviting gesture to Great White Golden Star, Sun Wukong, with one arm around Zi Lan Fairy's slender waist, levitated and ascended onto the high platform's throne. The two sat down together, and only then did Great White Golden Star notice Zi Lan Fairy beside Sun Wukong. A flash of astonishment streaked through his eyes. Wasn't this Zi Lan Fairy, the most favored one beside the Queen Mother?

What was she doing here, and looking so intimate with Sun Wukong at that?

A few days ago, the Queen Mother had stirred up a commotion over Zi Lan Fairy's disappearance, conducting a thorough search throughout the Heavenly Court. Both Thousand-Mile Eyes and Listening Ears searched far and wide but to no avail. And now, here she was in Flower-Fruit Mountain!