Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong-Chapter 219: Grand Competition of the Heavenly Court (2nd Update)

(PS: I drank too much yesterday, and my head has been dizzy all day. I’m not in great shape, and there will be one more update later, probably around 11 p.m.)

"Practice diligently, and as long as you stay loyal to Old Sun, the Cultivation Techniques and Secret Arts are not a problem! Old Sun has only one demand, obedience, absolute obedience!"

This was Sun Wukong’s sole demand to his eight hundred naval soldiers under his command. He did not care for any talented masters. Could any genius or master surpass him? What he wanted was obedience, absolute obedience! He wanted these eight hundred Heavenly River Navy soldiers to henceforth obey only his commands; even those from His Majesty the Jade Emperor would not matter aside from his own!

Qin Feng understood immediately—Sun Wukong was demanding their absolute loyalty!

"Great Saint, rest assured, from now on, the lives of us eight hundred brothers are in the Great Saint’s hands. Whatever the Great Saint commands, we will do! Should anyone attempt to harm the Great Saint, we will protect him at all costs, even if it costs us our lives!"

"Loyalty to the Great Saint, never to betray!"

"Loyalty to the Great Saint, never to betray!"

Being selected for the Heavenly Court’s navy meant none were fools; upon hearing Qin Feng say this, the eight hundred Heavenly River Navy soldiers responded without hesitation, pledging loyalty to Sun Wukong. They had chosen to serve in the Heavenly Court as naval soldiers for better prospects and to attain greater heights.

Now that Sun Wukong could provide them with superior Cultivation Techniques and Secret Arts, their aspirations could turn from mere dreams into reality. As the saying goes, a fine bird chooses the tree it perches on; why couldn’t they then switch their allegiance to Sun Wukong?

After all, the Heavenly Court was not lacking their eight hundred naval soldiers!

"Very well!"

Sun Wukong nodded in satisfaction and patted Qin Feng’s shoulder, saying, "Well done! Train them well. Keep some of these elixir pills for yourself, and distribute the rest among those with potential."

With that, he handed a bottle of Immortal Pills to Qin Feng, who was naturally overjoyed and thanked Sun Wukong profusely.

Apart from this inspection, Sun Wukong did not really concern himself with the affairs of the Heavenly Court’s navy and had effectively taken a hands-off approach, delegating the training of the naval soldiers entirely to Qin Feng.

He continued to roam around the Heavenly Court, visiting various immortals and gods, and every now and then, he would go to the Jade Pool to secretly meet with Zi Lan Fairy. Initially, the Queen Mother would appear and scold Sun Wukong a few times, but later on, she just let things slide.

Seeing that even the Queen Mother was indifferent, the guards and maids of the Jade Pool also stopped being surprised.

In the blink of an eye, Sun Wukong had been in the Heavenly Court for over two years.

The Peach of Immortality Festival was to be held in a year and a half, and before that, there was the Heavenly Court’s routine military competition held every thousand years. The competition was among the soldiers guarding the Four Great Heavenly Gates, the Heavenly Court guards, and the Heavenly River Navy.

The winning faction would gain a wealth of resources and be assigned to guard duties for the Peach of Immortality Festival. Additionally, they would receive three opportunities to train at the Ascension Platform.

"The Ascension Platform? What place is that? Is it tough to get the chance to cultivate there?"

Originally, Sun Wukong had no interest in this Heavenly Court competition, but after being repeatedly prompted by Qin Feng, he started to become a bit curious, "What’s this Heavenly Court competition about, and why haven’t I ever heard of it before?"

In his past life, Sun Wukong had been assigned by the Jade Emperor to guard the Peach Orchard and had spent most of his time there, eating Peaches of Immortality and taking long naps in the peach trees.

He had completely ignored the outside world until the Seven Fairy Maidens were ordered to gather peaches and he began to interact with the outside, it’s possible he didn’t know about any events that might have taken place in the Heavenly Court during that time.

"Great Saint, the Ascension Platform is the highest point in the entire Heavenly Court, extending from the Ninth Layer of Heaven all the way beyond the Thirty-Three Layer of Heaven. It is also the place within the entire Heavenly Court where the Immortal Spirit Qi is most concentrated.

Only those who are awarded by His Majesty the Jade Emperor are qualified to ascend the Ascension Platform for cultivation."

Qin Feng, with a hopeful and yearning expression, gleamed in his eyes as he described to Sun Wokong, "Great Saint, you may not know this, but cultivating for one day on the Ascension Platform is equivalent to several months or even a year of cultivation under normal circumstances!"

"That powerful?"

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A gleam of sharpness flashed in Sun Wokong’s eyes. Why did this Ascension Platform sound so much like the Heaven-Piercing Tower of the Flower-Fruit Mountain?

Right, the current Heavenly Court was built on the former site of the Primeval Heavenly Court of the Ancient Demon Clan and expanded thereafter. Just like Flower-Fruit Mountain, it also had the Nine Dragons Gathering Stars Formation and had developed even further.

It was very likely that the Ascension Platform, like the Heaven-Piercing Tower at Flower-Fruit Mountain, was a holy place of cultivation formed by channeling the Stellar Spiritual Qi of the Nine Dragons Gathering Stars Formation. That’s why Qin Feng said that one day of cultivation there was equivalent to several months or even a year outside!

Yes, that must be it!

"So, one must win in the Heavenly Court competition to qualify for ascending to that platform?"

"Yes, apart from an additional reward from His Majesty the Jade Emperor, the Heavenly Court competition is the only way to ascend the Ascension Platform! Only by winning in the Heavenly Court competition can one qualify to ascend the platform and experience those miraculous cultivation effects and the massive nature’s spiritual energy!"

So, one has to win the Heavenly Court competition to ascend the Ascension Platform?

Sun Wokong’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he clenched his fist firmly, "Good, then Old Sun will participate in this darn Heavenly Court competition and go see that Ascension Platform for myself!"

With Sun Wukong’s abilities, sneaking into the Ascension Platform without anyone noticing wouldn’t have been difficult, but since he could ascend openly, why bother with stealth?

It was just the grand competition of the Heavenly Court after all. He didn’t believe that there was anyone among the divine generals of the Heavenly Court who could beat him one-on-one now.

He hadn’t fought anyone for several years, so taking this opportunity to stretch his muscles seemed like a pretty good idea, didn’t it?

"Great Saint, have you decided to participate in the great competition? That’s great! I’ll go and register you right away!" Explore stories at novelbuddy

Qin Feng was overjoyed. Sun Wukong had finally agreed to participate in the grand competition of the Heavenly Court!

The Heavenly Court had three major military divisions: the Heavenly River Navy, the Four Heavenly Gate Guards, and the Heavenly Court Guard. Each division received three places for their soldiers to compete against the other divine generals and immortals in the grand competition.

For Sun Wukong to participate in the grand competition, he first needed to secure one of the three places from the Heavenly River Navy. However, Qin Feng was not worried about that at all. There was truly no one in the entire Navy stronger than Sun Wukong. Not to mention three spots, even if there were only one, it would undoubtedly belong to Sun Wukong!

Once Sun Wukong won in the grand competition, only he could ascend the Ascension Platform to cultivate, but his loyal subordinates would receive a large amount of cultivation resources!

With great enthusiasm, Qin Feng went to register Sun Wukong. When the news that Sun Wukong was also participating in the grand competition of the Heavenly Court reached Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng, his face turned as bitter as a gourd, and the faces of his two deputies nearly dripped with sorrow.

"Why did that monkey think of competing? Someone must have told him about the Ascension Platform!"

Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng chuckled bitterly, "Now one spot is definitely going to be occupied by that freakish monkey!"

The three spots in the Heavenly River Navy had originally been reserved for Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng and his two deputies. Almost no one among the navy’s leaders dared to contend with them; even if they did, they could not surpass their cultivation strength.

But now, with Sun Wukong participating, the situation was different!

Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng and his two deputies had already witnessed Sun Wukong’s skills, and they were certain that what they had seen was just the tip of the iceberg. His true strength was far beyond that; such a freak, not to mention the two deputies, even Zhu Tianpeng knew he was no match without even fighting!

Now the problem arose. With only three spots, Sun Wukong taking one and Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng undoubtedly taking another, only one remained!

Between the two deputies, who would go, who would not?

The two deputies looked at each other, each hoping to convince the other to give up their slot, but neither could persuade the other.

"Wait, why are we arguing about this here? The spots are determined by internal competition. If that monkey doesn’t show up on time for the competition, it’s the same as him forfeiting, right?"

A sly glint flashed through Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng’s eyes as he suddenly spoke up.

The arguing deputies paused, both turned to look at Zhu Tianpeng, then at each other, and one slapped his thigh, "Right! If he doesn’t show up, wouldn’t that solve the problem?"

"But how can we make that demon monkey miss his competition time?"

After a brief moment of joy, the three were troubled once again. Making Sun Wukong miss the competition sounded easy, but executing the plan was not so simple, especially since Sun Wukong was not an ordinary naval deputy general.

Forcing Sun Wukong to withdraw from the competition using the prestige of the Marshal was out of the question; apart from provoking a beating, there were no other outcomes. Sending Sun Wukong on a mission? That didn’t seem very feasible. Not to mention whether Sun Wukong would agree, with his strength, what mission could he not complete quickly?

If it was an exceedingly difficult task, Sun Wukong would definitely refuse. No one is a fool, after all!

"Marshal, I recall you have a bottle of precious Immortal Wine, called Thousand Days Drunk?"

Suddenly, one of the deputies brightened and looked towards Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng.

"Thousand Days Drunk? You want me to invite that monkey to drink Thousand Days Drunk? No, no, no, that won’t do! That Thousand Days Drunk is a rare wine I acquired with great effort, and I’ve even been reluctant to drink it myself; how can I let that demon monkey benefit from it?"