Lord Lao (Taishang Laojun) wants to restore the Heavenly Dao, forcing it back onto its original course. To do this, he must destroy the already deeply affected Birdie, but he absolutely does not dare to destroy the Monkey.
And what about Subhuti?
Subhuti wants to break the Heavenly Dao. Even now, with the Monkey—Heaven’s anomaly—already born, to utterly shatter the Dao and leave Lord Lao powerless is far from easy.
After all, Lord Lao has ruled Heaven and Earth as the Dao Ancestor for tens of thousands of years.
The Monkey is only an opportunity—a chance to make the impossible possible. But he is by no means a guaranteed trump card.
If the goal of breaking the Dao ever comes into conflict with the Monkey’s very existence, will Subhuti choose his own goal, or the faint bond of master and disciple? Until that moment arrives, no one can say.
And behind it all, there is still an unknown figure lurking.
Compared to Lord Lao, those on the side seeking to break the Dao may be even more dangerous.
She spent the whole night chatting with Anna Yang—about memories, about dreams, about everything and nothing.
But most of the time, it was Anna who spoke and the Monkey who listened. Often, Anna felt that although the Monkey sat beside her and chatted, his mind was elsewhere.
His eyes were always fixed on something, lost in thought—sometimes on the stars above, sometimes on drifting clouds that hid the moon, sometimes on an inconspicuous blade of grass at his feet.
He seemed weighed down by cares.
But then again, to have come this far—only a fool could remain carefree.
In this game laid out by the Sage, he had always been nothing more than a pawn. But what exactly was his way to break free from it?
Anna Yang couldn’t figure it out.
Even someone as strong as Erik Yang faced only the Heavenly Court, only the Jade Emperor, only a single decree. In the end, he couldn’t break the game—he couldn’t even save his own mother, and was forced to bow his head and accept defeat. Compared to that, the Monkey’s situation was far worse than Erik’s ever was.
Whenever Anna thought of this, she couldn’t help but feel a little hopeless. After all his struggles, would the Monkey end up as nothing more than another Erik Yang?
Or perhaps, simply erased—leaving not even a trace behind.
The future was invisible, yet they still had to grit their teeth and pursue it.
At dawn, the Monkey went to wake Louis Quickpaw and gave him instructions: "Start preparing. I know a secluded spot—go and open a school."
"A school?"
"Yes, set up a school and teach them to read. Forget all those grand ideologies for now. From today on, you are Blossom Mountain’s only teacher. Your job is to teach everyone to read and write as quickly as possible."
"Teach... be a teacher?" Louis Quickpaw, still half-asleep, repeated it twice. Suddenly wide awake, he stared in shock and stammered, "My King, have I done something wrong?"
"You’ve done very well."
"Then why would my King make me a teacher? I—I can help you organize, help you manage..."
"It’s because you’re capable that I’m asking you to teach. This is the most important task—only you can do it right. I’m counting on you."
With that, the Monkey patted Louis Quickpaw’s shoulder and turned away.
"The most important?"
Louis stood there, stunned.
He had imagined countless scenarios for the Monkey’s plans, but never expected the first order to be opening a school. He certainly never imagined he’d become a teacher.
Weren’t they here to seize the mountain and become kings? Shouldn’t the first task be drilling the troops? How did it turn into opening a school?
Louis Quickpaw simply couldn’t make sense of it.
After leaving Louis, the Monkey turned toward Shortbeak, who was sleeping in a distant tree.
He walked to the base of the tree and knocked on the trunk.
"I have something for you to do."
Shortbeak said nothing, just stared at the Monkey.
"Organize a scouting party and survey Blossom Mountain and the surrounding area. Be careful—this is my home, but I don’t really know it well. Scout thoroughly; if you encounter any monster factions or immortal caves, avoid alarming them and report to me first."
Shortbeak nodded silently.
The Monkey walked a few steps away, then turned back and said softly, "Thank you."
Shortbeak blinked and thought for a long moment, then replied, "It’s what I should do."
After assigning a few more core demons to handle small matters, the Monkey finally returned to Anna Yang. "Help me sort through things and pick the cultivation method best suited for them, would you? They already carry demonic qi, so switching methods partway won’t be easy. But with the entire Scripture Tower of Crescent Star Cave at your disposal, it should be possible."
Anna hugged her knees, glanced up at him calmly, and nodded slightly.
"The first thing you do is open a school, and the last is choose their cultivation method. Aren’t you going to gather them all and hear their opinions, or let them know what you’re thinking?"
"Convincing them would be very hard. Since that’s the case, I’d rather not try."
"It’s hard to persuade them, yet you seem so confident."
"Would you believe me if I said I wasn’t confident?"
"Hm?" Anna stared at the Monkey, unblinking.
"Before there are results, even I can’t be sure. But if we want to live upright and dignified lives, this is the only way I can see."
Anna lowered her head and said nothing more.
If it were up to her, she’d instinctively start with cultivation methods, then move straight to military training. As for a school, she’d never even consider it.
Given their current predicament, force should be the top priority. A bunch of demons crowding into a classroom to practice reading and writing—how utterly bizarre.
Yet Anna did not object.
Strictly speaking, even the ragged gods under Erik Yang’s command were demons of a sort. She’d already tried this approach at Guang River Estuary. The results are plain to see—losers have no right to claim their way was correct.
"Let him try. Maybe it’s a good idea after all," Anna murmured, pressing her lips together with a sigh.
With all tasks assigned, the Monkey went to find Elder Stillwater.
By prior agreement, Stillwater was to leave this morning. What the Monkey didn’t expect was that Miles Moon wanted to leave with him.
(Irrelevant passage skipped.)
But it made sense—Miles had been away for several months. If he didn’t return soon, it really would be a problem. At first, he hadn’t wanted his master to know, but now, after visiting Stillwater Valley and meeting Elder Sky and Danny Crimson, everything was likely exposed. When he went back, he’d probably face a severe scolding.
He’d really put himself in a tough spot. The favor he owed was no small thing—who knows when he’ll ever be able to repay it.
Just before leaving, Miles handed the Monkey a bundle of Belle’s letters, which he’d kept tucked in his sleeve. Staring at the stack, the Monkey didn’t know what to say.
The letters were written in simplified Chinese characters.
When Belle first taught the Monkey various scripts, he recorded everything in simplified characters. Belle had never seen such writing before, so she learned it too.
So, in this world, only the Monkey and Belle could read these characters—they were a private language between them, full of intimacy.
The letters were full of daily trivia, sometimes hinting at when the Monkey might return, every line saturated with longing.
The Monkey was calm while reading, but when Miles asked him to reply, he just stared at the pen, unsure what to write for a long time.
In the end, he could only write one sentence: "I’m fine; you must cultivate well." That was it. He considered adding polite inquiries, but what he truly wanted to say couldn’t be written—and he was never good at such things, so he left it at that.
"That’s it? Only nine characters," Miles said, frowning as he watched the Monkey finish and hand him the reply.
"I just don’t know what to write."
Miles tucked the letter away and said quietly, "It’s fine. She’ll recognize your handwriting anyway, at least she won’t think I fobbed her off. Uncle Sun, will you ever return to Crescent Star Cave?"
"Maybe," the Monkey sighed. "But you know my situation—even if I did, I wouldn’t see her."
A soul outside the Heavenly Way is a disturbance, no matter what it does. Not seeing her is a kind of protection.
"I understand."
After a brief farewell, Elder Stillwater and Miles both left Blossom Mountain.
Only after they were gone did the Monkey sit in a corner, picking up the letters and reading them over and over, grinning foolishly.
"Are those letters from your little friend?" Anna asked, suddenly appearing behind him. "What script is that? It looks a bit like the one you carved on the tombstone."