A Rising Sun

"Are you Chenxiang?"

"You know me!?"

"I once saw a portrait... of your mother."

"A portrait?"

Chenxiang scratched his head. He had assumed Lu Bian knew his name because he had met his mother, but it turned out to be just a portrait.

"An old man once commissioned me to carve a divine statue of your mother, asking me to base it on a painting. That painting was done by your father," Lu Bian said.

"Uncle, do you know my father? Mother told me he passed away before I was born," Chenxiang said.

"I don't know your father either," Lu Bian replied.

"Poor child."

Lu Bian and Chenxiang sat side by side on the stone curb by the road. The two, one large and one small, chatted away, though it was mostly Lu Bian listening to Chenxiang pour out his experiences.

It turned out that after the Third Holy Mother became pregnant with Chenxiang, she drew the attention of Erlang Shen. Liu Yanchang died in the Holy Mother Temple on Mount Hua, and the pregnant Third Holy Mother fled, secretly giving birth to and raising Chenxiang in the human world. When Chenxiang was seven, Erlang Shen finally found them. Erlang Shen captured Chenxiang first to force the Third Holy Mother to submit. Out of deep love for her son, the Third Holy Mother allowed herself to be imprisoned beneath Mount Hua by Erlang Shen. She was willing to accept her punishment, but she made Erlang Shen promise to let Chenxiang be raised to adulthood...

Lu Bian understood now. This was the animated version of Chenxiang; the general experiences matched, but the details differed significantly.

Thinking of the ending of the animated film, Lu Bian couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Chenxiang forcing True Lord Erlang to use the Heaven-Waving Cloak.

What was that Heaven-Waving Cloak? It was merely one piece of True Lord Erlang's equipment.

The Golden Bow and Silver Pellets, the Mountain-Splitting Axe, the Mountain-Driving Whip, the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear, the Demon-Binding Rope, the Demon-Slaying Sword, the Demon-Revealing Mirror... True Lord Erlang had many more treasures he hadn't used. He had practically drained an entire Heavenly River's worth of water to go easy on Chenxiang.

"Tell me, does True Lord Erlang live in the Heavenly Palace now?"

"Yes, I just came down from the Heavenly Palace," Chenxiang replied.

"That's strange. Why would True Lord Erlang live in the Heavenly Palace?" Lu Bian pondered.

Chenxiang had stolen his mother's Lotus Lantern and, protected by its power, returned to the human world.

While wandering the human world, Chenxiang heard storytellers recount the tale of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven causing Havoc in Heaven. Son Goku was incredibly powerful, possessing skills so vast that even True Lord Erlang's heaven-reaching abilities were only a match for him. Chenxiang made Son Goku his idol, swearing to become his disciple and learn his skills to defeat his uncle.

When Lu Bian first met Chenxiang, the boy was being dragged away to be offered to a demon in a lake. He had been fearless, relying on the protection of his mother's Lotus Lantern.

The power of the Lotus Lantern was something even True Lord Erlang feared. A mere water-monkey demon would have been reduced to ashes by a single flash of the lantern.

"Uncle Thunderbolt Immortal, when will you go to Mount Hua to save my mother?" Chenxiang tilted his head to look at Lu Bian.

"..."

He had dug a hole for himself and jumped right in.

Facing Chenxiang's innocent gaze, Lu Bian could not bring himself to lie to the child.

Words spoken are like spilled water; he couldn't just say whatever he wanted anymore.

As an adult, one had to be responsible for their words, and one shouldn't set a bad example for a child. This was a principle Lu Bian had learned in his own childhood from the Ultra Brothers, who were deeply loved by children.

"Chenxiang, listen to me."

"Yes." Chenxiang looked into Lu Bian's eyes.

"As I am now, I cannot defeat Erlang Shen, nor can I rescue your mother."

"But you can!"

Lu Bian placed his hands on Chenxiang's shoulders.

"Look!"

Lu Bian stood up and pointed toward the sun on the horizon.

"If I am the setting sun on the horizon, then you are the morning sun that will rise tomorrow!"

"Chenxiang, you must use your own strength to defeat Erlang Shen and rescue your mother from beneath Mount Hua."

"I will train you and teach you all my skills. You will create infinite possibilities!"

"Master Thunderbolt..."

Tears welled up in Chenxiang's eyes as he hugged Lu Bian's leg.

"Don't call me Master; I haven't taken you as a disciple," Lu Bian said, crouching down to speak to him again.

"We are not in a master-disciple relationship, do you understand?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to study under Son Goku? Once you have mastered my skills, you will be able to cross mountains and rivers to find the master you truly desire," Lu Bian said.

"..., Yes!!" Chenxiang nodded heavily.

Lu Bian: [Brothers, look,]

Lu Bian: [Chenxiang.JPG]

Kakashi Hatake: [You've taken on a student too?]

[Lu Bian uploaded the animated film Lotus Lantern]

Kakashi Hatake: [Do you mean this child is the Chenxiang from this cartoon?]

Lu Bian: "That's right, it's Chenxiang."

Lu Bian: "I displayed my divine might to slay demons in the lake, and the kid gave me the nickname 'Thunderbolt Immortal' after seeing my lightning flashes."

Kakashi Hatake: "Thunderbolt Immortal? Not bad."

Lu Bian: "A bit of a misunderstanding occurred, so now I'm hanging out with Chenxiang."

Shi Tianwu: "What do you plan to teach Chenxiang? Ultimate Boundless?"

Lu Bian: "Aside from the Dog Beating Technique I created myself, the only thing I can teach Chenxiang is Ultimate Boundless. I'll pass on the Book of Supreme World Ordering."

Shi Tianwu: "Do you want to learn something new? I have a Mahayana Buddhist scripture."

Lu Bian: "What Mahayana Buddhist scripture?"

[Shi Tianwu uploaded the Dharma Sutra]

Shi Tianwu: "This is the Dharma Sutra by Bodhidharma. The world calls Bodhidharma the Patriarch Bodhidharma; he is the founder of the Zen school of Mahayana Buddhism."

Lu Bian: "So I've obtained Mahayana Buddhist teachings too?"

[Lu Bian downloaded the Dharma Sutra]

Lu Bian: "This... I can't understand any of it!"

Shi Tianwu: "New learning has appeared; how can you remain stagnant?"

Lu Bian: "Bro, do you just like watching the movies playing in my memory whenever you're bored?"

Shi Tianwu: "The things you've watched are quite entertaining. They fill me with hope for the world."

"Uncle Thunderbolt, where are we going?"

Chenxiang asked Lu Bian, the Thunderbolt Immortal, while riding on the back of a donkey.

"To Dali City. I've heard the scenery of Cang Mountain and Erhai Lake there is breathtaking. If we can settle down there, it would be a fine place to teach you martial arts."

"Oh."

"Why martial arts instead of immortal arts?" Chenxiang asked again.

"I never said I knew immortal arts. I am merely a mortal; what you saw was all just kung fu."

"Can kung fu make a person crackle with lightning?"

"When I was in the Heavenly Palace, I only saw a few Kami who could summon thunder and lightning."

"The human body is truly wondrous," Lu Bian said to Chenxiang.

"You are half-human, half-god; your talent is surely greater than mine, a mere mortal. Perhaps you will surpass me soon."

"Really?" Chenxiang felt that Lu Bian was truly kind to him—the kindest person he had met besides his mother.

Everyone else he met who encountered demons wanted to eat him.

Everyone else he met either lied to him or wanted to harm him.

Uncle Lu Bian was truly special; he never spoke from a position of superiority and would always crouch down to talk to him.