Turning his head, the Monkey King glanced at Shortbeak standing in the distance and sighed, "Jackal is much smarter than Shortbeak. In this place, without your anti-flight formation to restrain the Skyward Rangers, and without Shortbeak's scouting, if they ran into a Skyward Ranger, they'd be doomed—unless the Ranger was foolish enough to come down and fight them face to face. Everything they've done is just to force you or Shortbeak to go with them."
White Ape suddenly understood and let out an awkward laugh. "This... I hadn't thought of that."
"Aren't you following the Sage's Path?"
"I only stayed in my master's Daoist temple for three years; after that, I taught myself. You see, my techniques often fail. Hehehe." White Ape scratched his head awkwardly.
Except for special cases like the Monkey King, for most people and demons, cultivation methods can be learned in just a few months. After that, even hundreds of years are spent repeating the same techniques over and over.
But advancing in cultivation doesn't necessarily mean one's strength increases.
Take White Ape, for example. He has Sage's Path cultivation at the Spiritual Refinement stage, but he lacks effective spells, skills in alchemy or forging, and methods of divination. In reality, he has little combat ability; in a direct confrontation, even Shortbeak could defeat him.
The only reason he's important is that he happens to know a formation urgently needed right now—one that can counter those Skyward Rangers.
Others, though their cultivation may not be high, as practitioners of the Sage's Path, have profound mastery in those secondary arts and shouldn't be underestimated. Anna Young is one such example.
It's all forged in iron and blood. The weak lie buried in the dust; only the strong endure.
Ultimately, the Sage's Path relies on intellect, not on fighting with one's hands. This is the complete opposite of the Traveler's Path.
Looking at those little demons, White Ape's gaze lingered for a long, long time before he finally spoke, his voice heavy with sorrow: "Even if the evil dragon doesn't take them in, at least I should find a place for them to settle on the outskirts. The Skyward Rangers patrol less there. That's all I can do."
At this, he glanced at White Ape and said coolly, "If I were true to my nature, I'd just kill them now to avoid trouble later."
His words were so calm, it sounded like casual conversation. But the meaning made White Ape's heart tremble.
Though they'd been together for three months, White Ape had barely spoken to the Monkey King alone. Only now did he realize that this powerful yet taciturn Monkey King had such a ruthless side.
With that, the Monkey King, accompanied by Fiona Fox, slowly walked over and sat down, one in front and one behind.
White Ape hesitated for a moment, then followed.
"Well, haha... You've been here a while, and I've never really talked to you properly."
The Monkey King looked up at him but said nothing.
From a distance, he gazed at the ragged cluster of little demons, scattered like refugees, their faces etched with exhaustion and longing.
"Mm." The Monkey King nodded slightly, reaching out to smooth Fiona Fox's hair.
Fiona Fox looked up and gave him an obedient, sweet smile.
Anna Young coming to see him was no secret. He didn't mind the others in the group knowing; even if they did, what could they do?
Every time he avoided the other demons, it was only because Anna Young wasn't used to being around so many demons yet.
After hesitating for a long while, White Ape finally said, "Your relationship with her seems pretty good, right?"
"It's decent."
"Do you think you could ask her to teach me something? Her Daoist arts seem pretty advanced."
"You want to learn?"
"Of course." White Ape chuckled awkwardly. "I didn't spend long in my master's temple, and among demons, few know the Sage's Path arts."
The Monkey King fell silent.
Seeing the Monkey King remain silent, White Ape quickly lowered his voice. "Sorry, my request was too much. Just... pretend I never asked."
After all, for a demon to ask a human for guidance—such a thing was pure fantasy.
White Ape turned to leave, but the Monkey King called out to stop him.
"If you want her to agree... it'll take some convincing. But I can teach you."
"You can too?" White Ape was shocked.
"I only know a bit—I've never used it, just memorized it. After all, I'm only at the Spirit Gathering stage and follow the Traveler's Path. Besides, I don't know as much as she does."
"No problem! I just want to learn a few more Daoist arts before I die!" White Ape grinned, his hand trembling with excitement.
The Monkey King suddenly looked up and asked, "By the way, do you... really want to take them all to Dragon's Pool?"
At this question, White Ape's smile faded and he fell silent.
From afar, he looked at the ragtag group of little demons, scattered like refugees.
A demon can be born from anything that drinks deeply of spiritual energy. Each day, this world gives rise to thousands upon thousands of new demons—yet only a precious few endure.
Newly formed demons are only half-human in shape, unable to speak, and behave much like before their transformation. At that stage, all they have is the instinct to absorb spiritual energy.
These demons are the easiest for the Heavenly Court to track down and destroy. The few who survive have all endured life-and-death trials.
That's why most demons follow the Traveler's Path—they never think too far ahead. This world doesn't offer them a place like Crescent Star Cave to pursue the Sage's Path. In the eyes of the Heavenly Court, which claims to uphold order and justice, the very existence of demons is unjust.
What they desperately need is the ability to survive, learned in the shortest time possible—not to worry about distant tribulations.
As for dispelling resentment, they need only raise a flag on a mountain, and there will be endless Skyward Legionnaires to fight.
Because of the relentless hunts by the Heavenly Court, out of a thousand newly transformed little demons, about seven hundred can reach the Spirit Gathering stage, but at most twenty survive to the Soul Binding stage.
That's why those who survive to the Soul Binding stage—like Big Bull, Jackal, Rhino, or even the weakest Shortbeak—none of them are weak.
Against human cultivators of the same rank—even those on the Traveler's Path—they have an absolute advantage.
It's all forged in iron and blood. The weak are dead, so only the strong survive.
This has made demons cold and ruthless, indifferent to life and death, and rarely sympathetic to the weak.
Looking at those little demons, White Ape thought for a long, long time before finally saying, "Even if the evil dragon doesn't take them in, at least I should find a place on the outskirts for them to settle. The Skyward Rangers patrol less there. That's all I can do."
Even he himself might not believe these words.
The Monkey King smiled faintly and replied simply, "I understand."