As he spoke, Sun Wukong swept his peripheral vision over the monkeys, sorrow hidden deep in his eyes.
These monkeys were all from the batch whose names he had crossed out of the Book of Life and Death back then, and they had lived many extra years.
This fine meal was actually a farewell meal to send these monkeys on their final journey.
He knew he would bring trouble upon the Earth God, which was why he had given Qian Renxue the peach and wine as an apology of sorts.
According to the Heavenly Venerable's script, he reckoned he would be unable to return to Flower-Fruit Mountain for several hundred years, and he was still counting on Qian Renxue to watch over the mountain.
But if Qian Renxue proved too greedy, he would not mind helping the Great Heavenly Venerable get rid of one more Earth God.
Under Sun Wukong's gaze, Qian Renxue reluctantly set down the peach and wine in her hands.
"Great Sage, this humble deity is a Heavenly Court Official Deity. I must not accept bribes or stolen goods."
"This humble deity hopes you will turn back soon, Great Sage."
Qian Renxue ultimately chose the Heavenly Court. On Douluo Continent, she was an angel representing holiness; in the Primordial World, she was a Heavenly Court Official Deity. She would never wallow in the same mire as criminals.
"Hehehe, you're an interesting little Earth God. Interesting."
Sun Wukong froze for a moment, then laughed and slapped his thigh. Suddenly, he raised a hand to his ear. Golden light flashed, and a staff fell into his hand.
"Since you refuse to see sense, don't blame me for clubbing you to death!"
A savage gleam crossed Sun Wukong's face as the Golden Cudgel whistled through the air and smashed down toward Qian Renxue.
"Damn monkey!"
Qian Renxue truly had no words. Although she had mentally prepared herself, she had not expected this monkey to attack without the slightest hesitation. He really was as fickle as the weather!
Now it was truly over.
Douluo Continent.
"Xiao Xue!"
In Spirit Hall, Qian Daoliu cried out, then closed his eyes, unable to bear watching, old tears streaming down his face.
"Xiao Xue, you did the right thing. Since you chose the Heavenly Court, you cannot waver, even if it costs you your life!"
"Foolish!"
Bibi Dong rebuked her furiously. "Only while you're alive are other possibilities open to you!"
At this moment, none of Spirit Hall's earlier jubilation remained. Had they known it would come to this, Qian Renxue should have chosen the Ninth-Rank Earth God. At least her life would not have been in danger.
Star Dou Great Forest.
At the sight, the Ferocious Beasts all perked up.
"Roar! I, Old Xiong, want to join the Great Sage Equal to Heaven too!"
Xiong Jun could not suppress his excitement, making the Silver Dragon King's face darken on the spot.
But the Silver Dragon King had to admit that this Handsome Monkey King truly possessed unrivaled might.
Di Tian remained relatively calm.
"My lord, this Handsome Monkey King may be facing disaster. The Heavenly Court is not to be trifled with."
The Far North.
"The Handsome Monkey King, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven... if we Soul Beasts had someone so mighty among us, Soul Masters wouldn't dare hunt us so wantonly, would they?"
The Ice Empress immediately leaned closer from beside her.
"Sister Xue'er, you're very mighty too."
The Snow Empress looked at the Ice Empress without speaking. The Ice Empress held up two fingers and pinched them together.
"Compared to this Handsome Monkey King, you're only a teeny bit behind..."
The Snow Empress rolled her lovely eyes. Was it really only a teeny bit?
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
"Wonderful!"
Ning Fengzhi slapped the table, thoroughly satisfied.
"Now Qian Renxue is going to die. Spirit Hall will lose its young master."
Cheers also rose from the Clear Sky Sect.
At Shrek Academy, Tang Hao stared unblinkingly at the screen.
He wanted to watch Qian Renxue get beaten to death with a single blow.
The Primordial World, Flower-Fruit Mountain.
Clang!
Qian Renxue, who had closed her eyes and waited for death, discovered that the Golden Cudgel had not landed on her.
Only when she opened her eyes did she discover that the Golden Cudgel in Sun Wukong's hand had somehow grown much longer, striking a huge thundercloud on the horizon and sending out the metallic clash of weapons.
Qian Renxue was taken aback, then heard Sun Wukong chuckle.
"I, Old Sun, wouldn't stoop to bullying a mere little Earth God like you."
As he spoke, Sun Wukong stuffed the Peach of Immortality and wine flask into Qian Renxue's arms.
"And there's no taking back something I, Old Sun, have given away. Run for your life."
With that, Sun Wukong leaped up and stood atop his throne. His crimson cape billowed in the wind as he twirled the Golden Cudgel in his hand, rested it on his shoulder, and raised his head toward the thundercloud that had abruptly appeared on the horizon.
The sky, clear for miles just moments before, had turned gloomy at some unknown point. Thunder rumbled, as though something terrifying lurked among the clouds, filling hearts with unease.
Between the darkened heavens and earth, Sun Wukong alone stood out as a streak of golden light. Even Qian Renxue stared blankly for a moment.
"If you want to capture me, Old Sun, you'll have to show some real skill. These ghostly tricks won't be enough!"
Sun Wukong shouted at the sky, drowning out the restless, muffled thunder.
At that moment, the thundercloud descended, revealing the sight hidden above it.
One glance left Qian Renxue dumbstruck.
Banners fluttered above the thundercloud, and war drums beat fiercely. Giants dozens of zhang tall glared down in fury. Beneath their feet stood orderly military formations, Heavenly Soldiers and Generals clad in silver armor and gripping weapons, their boiling killing intent making one's scalp prickle. There were too many to count, filling the entire sky.
Three figures stood at the front. The one in the middle stroked his beard with one hand and held a golden pagoda in the other, standing upon the thundercloud as unmoving as a mountain.
On the left stood a handsome, imposing god in silver armor and a black cape. He held a trident in one hand and a dog by its leash in the other. A golden eagle perched on his shoulder with its head held high and chest puffed out. The third eye between his brows shone brightly, and divine might surged around him.
On the right stood a little youth barely over three feet tall, his hair tied in a topknot pointing skyward. Beneath his feet were two flaming wheels, a golden ring hung around his neck, and red silk wound around his arms. His sharply defined black-and-white eyes brimmed with ferocity.
Merely meeting his gaze required tremendous courage.
Behind the three stood Heavenly Court divine generals of all manner of unusual appearances.
A burly man holding a great hammer and a golden spike stepped forward. Thunder instantly boomed, and Qian Renxue watched countless shattered souls between heaven and earth dissolve into smoke beneath its roar.
The young heavenly god on the right rode his Wind-Fire Wheels to the front of the cloud, flames rising from the spear in his hand.
"Insolent demon monkey! You disrupted the Peach of Immortality Banquet, and now you dare bully an Official Deity of our Heavenly Court! You will not be spared today!"
This is an army from the Heavenly Court, here to capture Sun Wukong, Qian Renxue realized.
The next instant, she felt something tighten around her waist. Looking down, she saw that a red ribbon had somehow wound itself around her.
Her vision blurred. When it cleared, Qian Renxue discovered that she had arrived atop the thundercloud. It was the short heavenly god brimming with murderous aura who had pulled her up.
Only then did she truly feel the ferocity of this army from the Heavenly Court. Even the divine might spilling from them made her tremble uncontrollably.
The three beside her were even greater heavyweights. Knowing that Sun Wukong was a powerful Super-Grade Immortal Official, she dared not imagine just how formidable the force sent by the Heavenly Court to capture him must be.
Standing there, she felt like a husky that had wandered into a wolf pack, not daring to utter a word.
Meanwhile, Douluo Continent utterly erupted at the sight before them.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
The teacup in Ning Fengzhi's hand clattered to the floor, but he seemed not to hear it.
"This is the Heavenly Court's true strength? It surpasses that City God by far more than a mere notch!"
Even through the screen, Ning Fengzhi could feel how terrifying this army was.
"These are true Heavenly Soldiers and Generals!"
Ning Fengzhi clenched his fists, their imposing presence sending his blood surging.
It was simply too astonishing. Even as a spectator, his blood stirred.
"As expected of the Heavenly Court."
Remembering that thunder as he gazed at the scene before him, Ning Fengzhi found that every time he thought he had seen the limit, he had still underestimated them.
Now he began to waver. Could their united branches really stand against the Heavenly Court?
He feared the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could not withstand even a single bolt of heavenly lightning.
"Dad!"
Just then, Ning Rongrong tugged at Ning Fengzhi's sleeve and spoke excitedly.
"Dad, look! The pagoda in that heavenly king's hand has seven stories too. Could it be related to our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda?"
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"
Ning Fengzhi instinctively shook his head. According to legend, their Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda could evolve into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. It was not limited to seven stories.
But soon he gave a bitter smile. Forget nine stories-even if the Glazed Tile Pagoda had eighteen, it probably could not compare to the precious pagoda in this heavenly king's hand.
This had to be a Numinous Treasure.
Spirit Hall.
Everyone rose and stood gazing respectfully at the Light Screen.
"Xiao Xue is all right. Wonderful."
Qian Daoliu could not tear his eyes away from those Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, though his words were celebrating Qian Renxue's safety.
Bibi Dong even wore a smile at the corners of her lips.
"These are true gods. I want to become a god. Only the Heavenly Court is worthy of me."
At this moment, she solidified her conviction to become a god and would never waver again.
The other consecration elders were all so excited that they wished they could dive into the Light Screen and capture the demon monkey alongside the Heavenly Soldiers.
It truly made their blood boil.
The Clear Sky Sect was utterly silent.
The elders who usually fought among themselves and the disciples who spent all day proclaiming the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul the world's greatest had collectively fallen mute.
Facing such an army through the screen, they could not utter a single word.
Shrek Academy.
Yu Xiaogang held his hands behind his back, his nails digging into his flesh.
Terrifying. That was his assessment of this scene.
Cold sweat kept beading on his forehead as he desperately recalled what inappropriate things he had said earlier, trying to find some way to make amends.
"I must fool a Princess of the Heavenly Court. I'll use my theories to stand above these Heavenly Soldiers."
Dai Mubai's eyes shone.
"This is the kind of god I want to become. I've made up my mind. I don't want to be some Earth God. I want to become a Heavenly Soldier."
Just imagining it thrilled Dai Mubai.
"I'm afraid I couldn't even become a Heavenly Soldier. This Heavenly Court is truly terrifying."
Oscar lacked confidence, but suddenly pointed at the Light Screen. "Look at that one leading them. Can a child become a god too? He looks so imposing."
Tang San's eyes were bloodshot, his teeth clenched tightly.
Seeing the Heavenly Court's power, his first thought was not fear, but anger.
"Since you're so powerful, why won't you save Xiao Wu? Xiao Wu is still suffering!"
"Damn Heavenly Court! You have power but do nothing useful. You've already paved your own road to death!"
Tang Hao's perpetually sleepy eyes had widened until they were almost round.
He gripped the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand, yet felt so powerless.
Zhao Wuji, however, laughed heartily. He had known the Heavenly Court must be immensely powerful. After all, their ability to reap souls alone had made him turn back from his misguided path and want to surrender himself. Now that he had seen their strength, he was even more thoroughly convinced.
Star Dou Great Forest, the Far North.
The Ferocious Beasts all fell silent at this moment.
The Silver Dragon King and Di Tian, in particular, were nearly prostrate on the ground.
"My lord, are those True Dragons pulling the carriage? They're actually using True Dragons to pull a carriage!"
Di Tian's voice trembled.
"That's not all."
The Silver Dragon King's voice was low. "Compared to the dragons pulling that carriage, my bloodline is like that of a crawling insect."
The bloodline she had always taken such pride in was worth nothing at this moment?
In the Primordial World, Qian Renxue came back to her senses and saw the youth who had just saved her turn toward the heavenly king in the middle... toward the pagoda in his hand.
Under Qian Renxue's puzzled and astonished gaze, Nezha saluted the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda and declared clearly:
"Royal Father, your son requests permission to capture the demon monkey!"
Then Qian Renxue saw the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, who was serving as the "pagoda stand," give a slight nod.
"Granted."
Before she could figure out this strange relationship, Qian Renxue saw Nezha charge out on his Wind-Fire Wheels.
Before you continue