"Five uncles..." Red Boy’s brow twitched.
"Oh, my mistake—I forgot," Monkey said, tucking the Golden Staff behind his ear and shifting into a barehanded stance. With a mischievous grin, he added, "One of those uncles is already dead—by my own hand. Only four left now."
"Monkey, don’t get cocky!" Red Boy snarled, clenching his Flame Spear. He summoned its blazing power, and the flames surged around him in a furious corona.
Countless demons brandished their weapons, shrieking.
"Take this!" With a clear shout, Red Boy’s fiery silhouette blurred into a streak of crimson, darting across the iron-chain bridge straight at Monkey!
Wherever Red Boy’s feet landed, the earth blackened—like ink swept across rice paper. Scorching heat billowed outward, forcing the surrounding demons to retreat.
In a blink, the red streak was upon Monkey. Tripitaka’s white horse reared in fright; Aiden Ao grabbed the reins. Marshal Silver, Curtain, and Black Bear Spirit readied themselves for battle.
All the demons stared, wide-eyed.
But the dazzling clash they’d expected never came.
Suddenly, with two heavy thuds, the Fire-Cloud Cave plaque above the entrance exploded, sending gravel flying.
Before everyone’s eyes, Red Boy and the shattered plaque crashed down, buried beneath the rubble.
Every demon was left speechless in shock.
The shrieks were cut off, and a deep silence fell over the mountain.
Across the iron-chain bridge, Monkey stood where he’d started, one hand raised.
Everyone stared at him in terrified awe.
Moments later, the Flame Spear, swirling with embers, spun down and landed in Monkey’s hand.
All the flames vanished, as if nothing had happened. The iron-chain bridge, scorched and severed, shrieked as it crumbled, trailing fire before crashing down.
On the scorched ground, only drifting sparks remained.
The demons who’d just been roaring now held their breath. The whole world was silent.
Time ticked by as countless wide eyes darted back and forth.
After a long moment, the mound of rubble burying Red Boy trembled slightly. Then, with a loud crash, half of the shattered plaque was flipped aside, and Red Boy, clutching his abdomen, slowly rose from the debris.
Before he could steady himself, his brows furrowed and a mouthful of fresh blood burst forth—Red Boy dropped to one knee.
The demons stared in stunned silence, then hurried forward to help him. Just then, a streak of red light swept across Red Boy's cheek—so fast he couldn’t even react.
The demons who’d rushed forward to help scattered in terror.
Slowly turning around, Red Boy saw his Flame Spear deeply embedded in the cliff behind him, its shaft still trembling.
Touching his stinging cheek, a wave of panic swept over him.
Red Boy had tried to estimate Monkey’s cultivation.
He himself was a Celestial Sage. If his guess was right, Monkey had lost the Mandate of Heaven and should be a Great Immortal of Primordial Unity—a full two realms above him.
But Red Boy possessed Samadhi True Fire, which he figured could make up one realm. With his numbers and home advantage, he could close the gap. Add the fact that Monkey had to protect the powerless Tripitaka, and as the local lord, Red Boy believed he held the upper hand.
But he’d miscalculated. Battles between top-tier cultivators can’t be reduced to simple arithmetic.
At this moment, his mind was a complete blank.
"You’ve already died twice, and I haven’t even used my staff yet." Monkey glanced up, still holding his arm in a casual toss, grinning as he said, "What do you think? If you all come at me together, could you withstand three of my moves?"
Red Boy’s face twitched at the words.
Around them, the demons forming the outer ring swallowed nervously, their feet edging backward.
...
"What?" King Bullhorn’s teacup crashed to the floor. "You—you’re saying he went to challenge Sun Wukong? When did this happen?"
Seeing King Bullhorn’s terrified expression, the elegant lady before him was momentarily stunned. She stammered, "He—he just said it. Said a monkey was coming to his territory, and he wanted to seize the King of All Demons title to bring you honor. He also said—not to tell you yet, to give you a surprise."
"Surprise?" King Bullhorn’s lips twitched, his eyes wide. "More like a fright!"
Before Princess Ironfan could react, King Bullhorn had already snatched his mixed-iron cudgel from the weapon rack and dashed out of the cave.
"Where are you going?"
King Bullhorn stopped, looked back at Princess Ironfan, and said quietly, "I'm going to save him. Notify Third Brother and the others right away—if they still remember old loyalties, they’d better hurry to Fire-Cloud Cave and plead for our son’s life!"
Princess Ironfan stood dazed, asking, "Our... our son—what will happen to him?"
"If we’re late, we won’t even find his soul..."
With that, King Bullhorn dashed out of the cave, leaving Princess Ironfan standing there in shock.
To a human who hadn’t lived through the war six centuries ago, there was no way to grasp the weight of the title 'King of All Demons.' But seeing King Bullhorn’s unprecedented panic, even she—no matter how little she understood the Three Realms—knew disaster had struck. This was far beyond anything her mighty husband could handle.
...
Before Fire-Cloud Cave, the standoff remained razor-sharp.
Monkey took a slow step forward.
Instantly, Red Boy and the demons all retreated two steps.
"Weren’t you set on killing me?" Monkey tapped his own head, grinning. "The King of All Demons’ head is right here—take it, and you’ll be king. Why not come claim it?"
Red Boy turned his face, looking to the demons on his left.
The demons all stared back at him.
"Go..."
The demons all shook their heads and waved their hands.
Red Boy turned to the demons on his right.
"Go!"
Those demons also shook their heads and backed away.
"Get your asses in there—all of you! Anyone who retreats, I’ll kill myself!"
With a flick of his wrist, the Flame Spear, still embedded deep in the cliff, was yanked free and landed in Red Boy’s hand.
Gripping the Flame Spear, Red Boy spun it in a dazzling flourish—his movements smooth as flowing water, sharp as a blade.
Yet Monkey merely folded his arms, smiling playfully, never once reaching for the Golden Staff.
"They’re few, we’re many—four fists can’t beat a hundred! If we charge them together, victory is ours!" Red Boy swept his gaze over his underlings and roared, "Anyone who backs down goes into the deep fryer for tonight’s snack!"
The demons who’d been inching backward froze, gripping their weapons tighter. Their eyes darted between Monkey and Red Boy, but none dared advance.
Monkey kept his brows furrowed, watching Red Boy with a bemused look.
"Attack!" With a sharp cry, a red arc whipped from the tip of the Flame Spear, slicing a hesitant demon clean in half.
Instantly, the rest of the demons erupted in frenzied roars.
A few bolder demons brandished their weapons and charged at Monkey, with countless others surging behind them.
Just as Marshal Silver, Curtain, and Black Bear Spirit crouched to brace for battle, the six demons at the front suddenly levitated, dropping their weapons and flailing helplessly in midair.
It was as if invisible hands were choking them, lifting them off the ground by sheer force.
The demons rushing up from behind all stopped, stunned.
Monkey never moved, arms folded, smiling at Red Boy’s growing panic.
He said leisurely, "If you wanted to kneel and beg forgiveness, it’s already too late."
"Kneel?" Red Boy’s face flushed, and he shouted, "Third Uncle! Fourth Uncle! Sixth Uncle! Come help your nephew! Together, we can destroy this monkey!"
"Oh? You’ve got backup?" Monkey’s brows arched, his grin widening.
...
Meanwhile, five li away atop a mountain, three figures watched the scene unfold from afar.
King Roc reached for a jade tablet at his waist, its surface flickering softly.
King Liontusk asked quietly, "Who is it?"
"It’s that old bull," King Roc replied, pocketing the jade tablet.
Soon, King Liontusk and King Gloomape also pulled out flickering jade tablets, exchanged glances, and pocketed them just as King Roc had, ignoring the summons.
Eyes half-closed, King Roc gazed into the distance and said softly, "He must know what’s happened here and wants us to save his son."
King Liontusk snorted, "If Red Boy survives, Big Brother will soon figure out we encouraged him to challenge Sun Wukong. That’ll be trouble."
King Gloomape frowned, glancing toward Fire-Cloud Cave, lost in thought.
"Let it go," King Roc said, eyeing King Gloomape. "Even if he knows, so what? The three of us together—he’s no threat. At this point, calling him Big Brother is a courtesy."
King Gloomape hesitated. "He’s still our nephew. Isn’t this wrong? We watched him grow up."
"What’s wrong with it? We’ve chosen the Buddhist camp—cut the past loose. Brotherhood means nothing now." King Roc patted King Gloomape’s shoulder. "Let’s go. We’ve confirmed Monkey’s cultivation, and Red Boy was just the stone to test the road. Now that the road’s clear, what happens to the stone is none of our concern."
With that, King Roc soared westward.
King Liontusk quickly followed. King Gloomape hesitated, glanced back at Fire-Cloud Cave, then finally followed as well.