He finally understood what Nathan Young meant by those words just now. If Monkey were allowed to learn and master the countermeasures against each artifact one by one, then by the time they fought again, Nathan—whose cultivation had fallen behind—would surely be at a disadvantage. But if Nathan revealed all his weapons in one go...
Thinking back to the Flame Spear, World Ring, and Celestial Sash just now, Monkey couldn’t help but feel a lingering fear.
Nathan Young isn’t playing fair. This was supposed to be a duel between two Traveler’s Path cultivators, yet he’s brought out more artifacts than a Sage’s Path adept. Is he just here to show off his wealth?
Monkey glanced down at his patched-up Cloudwalker Staff, suddenly feeling more impoverished than ever before.
“Well? Will you fight, or admit defeat?” Nathan Young slowly raised his head, pointing the Flame Spear at Monkey.
His gaze was tinged with mockery, while flames and howling winds raged around him.
The waves of heat crashed over him. Monkey sized Nathan up and narrowed his eyes, asking, “You wouldn’t happen to have more hidden on you, would you?”
Nathan Young arched his brow and sneered, “To deal with you, these are enough.”
“Looks like that’s all. Good.”
Monkey took a deep breath, gripping the Cloudwalker Staff horizontally. He channeled his spiritual power, clenched his teeth, and let out a low, guttural growl.
His muscles writhed all over his body, and the lightning dancing on his fur grew even fiercer.
A bolt of lightning was drawn down from the clouds, illuminating his ferocious face with a crash of thunder. He roared like a wild beast.
Everyone stared wide-eyed, watching him intently.
Under the weight of so many gazes, his hands and face trembled violently. In the next instant, his body spun, swift as a whirlwind.
Lightning from the clouds was drawn down onto him, gathering into a massive ball of electricity. Through the blinding light, his head was thrown back and his arms slowly stretched outward.
When the lightning faded, he too had manifested Three Heads, Six Arms!
The clouds overhead were pulled together by surging spiritual power, forming a swirling vortex.
“So this is the Traveler’s Path at full strength—Celestial Sage peak?” Nathan Young’s eyes widened slightly.
Truly, not to be underestimated.
Nathan Young hadn’t participated in the battle at Guanjiang Port with Erik Yang, nor had he ever seen a Traveler’s Path cultivator unleash the full power of a Celestial Sage at peak. Now, feeling this spiritual force, he couldn’t help but be stunned.
Unlike the battle strength built up by relying on artifacts, this was pure power.
On the ground, both the demons and Anna Yang were stunned, speechless.
Everyone knew Monkey’s strength had kept rising over the years. Eventually, no matter how strong the demon that appeared, he could easily defeat them. People only knew he was strong—very strong—but had no idea just how strong.
Even when he sparred with Erik Yang that day, neither side went all out. Never mind that Erik Yang’s cultivation was higher than Monkey’s—even if two beings like Monkey fought without restraint in the underground city, a single misstep could collapse the whole place.
“Well? You’re not the only one with a grand finale.” Monkey looked at Nathan Young, grinning teasingly.
After a brief shock, Nathan Young’s face quickly twisted into a sneer. “No artifacts, no weapons—what’s the use of just Three Heads, Six Arms?”
Monkey just grinned.
The next moment, right before Nathan’s eyes, Monkey’s four empty hands slowly unfurled, and two glowing staffs materialized in them.
Three Heads, Six Arms—one real, two illusory, three Cloudwalker Staffs!
All six eyes glared straight at Nathan Young.
The demons on the ground erupted in cheers.
Nathan Young narrowed his eyes, opened his mouth, and after a long pause, muttered to himself, “Spiritual power mimicking weapons? Are you on the Sage’s Path?”
Breathing deeply, Monkey grinned fiercely. “Imitations made with Traveler’s Path spiritual power are naturally inferior, but you’re not Erik Yang. For dealing with you, they’re enough!”
Right now, his muscles were twice their usual size, fur bristling, and veins winding across him like plant roots.
Each pulse sent a jolt through the crowd.
After a while, Nathan Young burst out laughing. “How arrogant! You think battle is all about cultivation? Whether it’s enough, we’ll see after we fight!”
With that, the flames on his body burned even fiercer. He slowly took an attacking stance, clenched his teeth, and prepared to strike with all his might.
“Both of you, stop!” Anna Yang suddenly shouted from the ground. “Are you trying to burn down Blossom Mountain?”
Her voice broke into violent coughing at the end, so hard she could barely breathe, her body swaying unsteadily.
Yisu rushed over to steady her.
It was true—Nathan Young’s destructive power was immense. In just that short time, the entire summit of Blossom Mountain had been scorched black, even Anna Yang’s little hut was crackling with sparks.
As for the demons present, if they hadn’t all been at least at the Spirit-Refinement stage, there might have been casualties.
Sensing Anna Yang’s anger, the two in the air had no choice but to rein themselves in. They glared coldly at each other as they dispelled their spells and descended to Anna’s side.
“Sister Anna, are you alright?”
Seeing Anna Yang struggle to stop coughing, Nathan Young reached out to tug her sleeve, only to be shaken off.
“You’re always causing trouble,” Anna Yang finally caught her breath, frowned, and tapped Nathan Young lightly on the forehead.
Nathan Young pouted, clutching his forehead in protest. “He tortured King Broadgaze—how could I just walk away and do nothing?”
“What’s the harm in torture? As long as his soul’s intact, it’s fine.” Monkey chimed in lazily, “Didn’t you lose your own flesh and bones and come back as a lotus-root man with just a wisp of soul?”
“You still want to fight?” Nathan Young thrust his Flame Spear at Monkey.
“Afraid of you? Not a chance!” Monkey immediately took a fighting stance, glaring fiercely.
Anna Yang’s eye twitched. She grabbed both of their collars and shouted, “Will you two ever stop?”
After another round of chaos, under Anna Yang’s stern demand—and the nervous vigilance of the demons outside—the two finally ended their duel and began negotiations.
Nathan Young made his position clear: he was helping Anna Yang out of old friendship, but had no reason to help Blossom Mountain or Monkey. To make his stance plain, he declared that from now on he would no longer provide Anna with any information about the Heavenly Army.
[Irrelevant system message: This chapter isn’t finished yet~ Please click next page to continue reading!]
However, since one of the hundred Flat Peaches was Anna Yang’s, he could turn a blind eye and let it pass smoothly. There was one condition, though: no more torturing King Broadgaze. Otherwise, with General Lee absent from the army, Nathan Young was now the highest authority in the South Heaven Gate expeditionary force and could immediately return with the troops to launch an attack.
Monkey’s stance was just as clear—he wanted the Flat Peaches, and if South Heaven Gate wanted to fight, he’d oblige... As for King Broadgaze, he promised that when the peaches arrived, Broadgaze’s three souls and seven spirits would be intact.
Under Anna Yang’s pressure, the two exchanged roundabout threats, only proving that neither would yield to force.
Naturally, no agreement was reached.
In the blink of an eye, dawn was breaking.
As he was leaving, Nathan Young secretly invited Monkey to a midnight duel at sea the next night. Unfortunately, Anna Yang overheard, gave them each a hard knock on the head, and Nathan slunk away in embarrassment.
Watching that ball of flame shoot off toward the northeast, Monkey asked in confusion, “Why does he act normal around me, but turn into a child around you?”
“Maybe it’s just habit,” Anna Yang sighed. “Back then, after the Third Prince of the Eastern Sea incident, he broke with General Lee, cut flesh for his mother and bone for his father. Master Taiyi Zhenren revived him as a lotus-root man and gave him so many artifacts. During the War of Investiture, he was fierce, but still young and naive, with a fiery temper that set him apart from the other generals. So he got close to us—the two siblings who were also outsiders.”
Thinking of the past, Anna Yang smiled. “I remember him always following me around, saying when he grew up he wanted a wife like me. Then he found out he was a lotus-root man and couldn’t marry, and cried his eyes out...”
After a long silence, Anna Yang sighed softly. “Maybe it’s for the best—now that he won’t provide Heavenly Army intelligence, I won’t feel guilty. He’s a Heavenly Court war general at heart; our troubles shouldn’t drag him in. Also, go easy on King Broadgaze, will you? We still owe Nathan Young a favor.”
Turning around, she saw Monkey staring blankly at his Cloudwalker Staff.
“What are you thinking about?”
“I was thinking, if I’d had the Golden Staff just now, he wouldn’t have gotten off so easily.” Monkey mimed swinging a staff. “Double the force, and his Flame Spear wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Golden Staff?”
“That’s the Ocean Pillar Rod.” Monkey shrugged, turned away, sat down, and poured himself a cup of tea.
“You’ve got your eye on that?” With Yisu supporting her, Anna Yang made her way back to her bed, took off her shoes and sat down. “I remember it’s supposed to be really heavy.”
“Yeah, it’s definitely heavy.” Monkey downed his tea in one gulp. “Perfect weapon for a staff fighter.”
“How so?”
“Staff technique divides into ‘life gates’ and ‘death gates.’ If you can change the length and thickness at will, there are no ‘life gates’—only ‘death gates.’ It’s impossible to defend against.”
“Huh?” Anna Yang’s eyes widened.
Monkey only understood this after studying the staff techniques Master Subhuti gave him.
There are countless fine weapons in this world. In terms of weight, the Golden Staff can’t compare to the 25,200-jin Double-Edged Three-Pronged Sword. For sheer destructive power, it’s no match for the Flame Spear’s wild bursts of fire.
But for dueling, paired with expert staff technique, the Golden Staff is absolutely top-tier. That’s one reason Monkey keeps circling back to it, unable to let it go.
“So, you’re planning to ask the East Sea Dragon King for the Ocean Pillar Rod?”
Monkey took a deep breath, looked up, and saw the hole burned in the roof. After thinking for a long time, he said slowly, “I’m just wondering how to ask for it in a reasonable way. If I could just steal it, I would. But Blossom Mountain is dirt poor—if the old Dragon King were willing to sell, I couldn’t afford it.”
Anna Yang covered her mouth and laughed. “First time I’ve seen you worried about money.”
Monkey’s brows furrowed. “Exactly. I really don’t want to recognize Heaven’s Gold Essence as real currency. Why should I have to accept whatever junk Heaven issues? But whenever I need to trade for something, I never have anything worthwhile.”
Yisu murmured quietly, “Actually, we do have Gold Essence.”
“Gold Essence? Where did we get Gold Essence?”
“Last time, after the battle with King Broadgaze, we brought some back. There’s... tens of thousands, all piled up in the warehouse.”
“Tens of thousands!” Monkey’s eyes lit up instantly.
Anna Yang burst out laughing. “You’re dreaming. For a weapon of that caliber, you’d need several million Gold Essence. Even if the old Dragon King doesn’t care much about the Ocean Pillar Rod, he won’t let you take it for just a few tens of thousands. The Eastern Sea Dragon Palace is the richest in the world—he doesn’t lack for a little Gold Essence.”
Monkey immediately deflated like a punctured balloon. After thinking for a long time, he muttered to himself, “Well, I can’t wait any longer. I have to go to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace and play it by ear. If all else fails... maybe I’ll just write an IOU? Hey, do you think the old Dragon King would take an IOU? He probably wouldn’t mind, right?”
The other two immediately looked at him with disdain.