The radiant sunshine warmed the earth, just like Belle’s mood at this moment.
Stepping on fallen leaves that covered the ancient path, sunlight filtered through the branches and scattered across her body. Belle walked on, wiping away tears as she went, yet she was smiling all the way.
The Daoist disciples along the road stared at her, puzzled. Their curious gazes made her feel a little shy—her cheeks flushed, and she quickened her pace, but her smile grew even brighter.
At this moment, the gloom in her heart had already been swept away. There was nothing left to worry about.
The Monkey King and the uncles would no longer be quarreling, and her taking the Expansion Elixir was now behind her.
The world suddenly seemed beautiful again.
Her heart was filled with sweet contentment.
She pushed open the Monkey King’s door and gazed sweetly at him. Her expression made the Monkey King wonder if she’d found some treasure on her walk. Looking closer, he noticed the tear stains on her face.
"Did Eugene come looking for you this morning?" the Monkey King asked.
"Mm." Belle nodded vigorously. "Master Sage Subhuti asked me to come over."
"The old man..." The Monkey King narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Did he scold you?"
Belle shook her head. "Hehehe, no, Master Sage Subhuti didn’t scold me."
"Then why are you crying? Oh, wait, I should ask—why are you smiling?" The Monkey King slid up in front of Belle, staring closely into her eyes for a long time. "Why are you crying and laughing at the same time?"
Belle reached out to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes, pursing her lips and shaking her head. "It’s really nothing."
"Nothing? That’s odd." The Monkey King frowned, pinched the young girl’s cheek, then turned to the table to continue reading.
Cultivation is necessary, but you can’t just focus on cultivation alone.
After all he’d been through, the Monkey King felt the importance of learning more keenly than ever.
Every Sage’s Path cultivator was a master of scheming. No matter how strong you were, a single plot could end you without warning.
That’s why he was now reading books about the Sage’s Path.
"I’ll go cook for you~"
"Just cutting fruit, really. Why call it cooking?"
"I want to call it cooking! I just do! Hehehe." Belle hummed a little tune and turned to leave.
Setting down the bamboo scroll, the Monkey King watched Belle skip away, his eyes darting with suspicion. "Really nothing wrong? How could you be this happy for no reason?"
In the afternoon, Master Sage Subhuti sent someone to ask the Monkey King to come over.
That was a rare event—the Monkey King couldn’t remember the last time he’d entered the Hall of Silent Meditation. It must have been months.
The old man taught his disciples like herding cattle, letting them fend for themselves.
Jokes aside, a master is still a master. In the Crescent Star Cave, he’s the one in charge. Even Danny Crimson and Elder Sky, after a scolding, seemed to change their ways.
The Monkey King obediently arrived at the entrance of the Hall of Silent Meditation and bowed. "Disciple Sun Wukong requests an audience."
"Come in."
The grand doors were wide open. Master Sage Subhuti sat alone deep within the hall, still carving that piece of black wood with delicate care.
The Monkey King stepped inside. Seeing that Master Sage Subhuti gave no further instructions, he simply found a meditation cushion and sat down.
Whether Master Sage Subhuti had forgotten or was doing it on purpose, he didn’t say a word—just kept carefully carving the block of wood in his hands, letting the Monkey King sit as he pleased.
If there’s nothing going on, then why call me here? the Monkey King wondered.
He was long used to Master Sage Subhuti’s odd ways—if you don’t bring it up, neither will I.
So, the Monkey King simply meditated on the cushion.
The two of them stayed in the silent hall like this for more than an hour before Master Sage Subhuti finally spoke: "Wukong, come here."
"Huh?" The Monkey King opened his eyes.
"Come, come." Master Sage Subhuti smiled, raised his head, and beckoned the Monkey King over.
"Okay." The Monkey King walked over and sat down in front of Master Sage Subhuti, only to see him still beckoning.
"What’s this about?" The Monkey King simply sat down across the low table, craning his neck.
"Just like that. Don’t move."
"Ow—!" The Monkey King clutched his cheek, clearly reluctant.
"You can endure being beaten like that, but you cry out when your master just plucks a hair?" Holding the tuft of monkey hair, Master Sage Subhuti muttered an incantation, rubbed it in his hand, and with a squeeze, strands of glowing light radiated out.
"What is this..." The Monkey King’s jaw dropped in astonishment.
Master Sage Subhuti smiled at the Monkey King and smeared the glowing light onto the black wood, now carved with a Cloud Soaring Insignia.
In the blink of an eye, the glow condensed into three characters on the dark wood—"Sun Wukong"!
"What is this... Master, why are you making a spirit tablet for me?" the Monkey King blurted out.
Master Sage Subhuti frowned, picked up a nearby fly-whisk and smacked the Monkey King on the head. "You silly monkey, always talking nonsense. This isn’t a spirit tablet—it’s a life token. In one of the books you 'borrowed' from the Scripture Tower on your sixth visit, it’s mentioned that a life token is carved from Qi-Yin wood, using your hair as a medium. From now on, unless you reach the Divine Transformation Realm and sever the connection yourself, I’ll always be able to find you, wherever you are. And if you die unexpectedly, this token will bring your soul back. Your nine senior brothers each have one—this one’s yours."
The Monkey King rubbed his head, frowning. "I read that book, but I didn’t understand it. The formations inside were like celestial script—I just memorized them. Maybe if I had more time, I could figure it out."
"Oh?" Master Sage Subhuti looked at the Monkey King in surprise. "A little more time and you could understand it?"
The Monkey King nodded, took his life token, and placed it on the table. He leaned over and stared at it for a long while, pointing at one of the patterns. "This one is 'Advance Node,' next to it is 'Obstruct Node,' and above is 'Support.' When you carve these three patterns together, they form a separate 'Cycle.' Having a 'Cycle' means this grand formation contains..."
The Monkey King explained bit by bit, while Master Sage Subhuti listened attentively.
Gradually, Master Sage Subhuti stopped looking at where he pointed or listening to what he said, instead gazing intently at the Monkey King himself.
He watched the Monkey King explain with dedication, watched him scrutinize the patterns on the life token, watched him scratch his head in confusion, watched him stretch out his leg to hold the token under the sunset’s glow for a better look, watched him bite his finger in frustration as he pondered.
In those aged eyes, a trace of comfort gradually appeared.
The Monkey King now was no longer the reckless youth who knelt at the mountain gate two years ago and refused to leave.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and he smiled faintly.
No one knew how long it took, but the Monkey King finally finished sharing all he knew. He pushed the life token back to Master Sage Subhuti and said helplessly, "That’s all I can understand right now—the rest is beyond me. This stuff is harder than advanced math. Uh? Master? Are you alright?"
Letting out a long breath, Master Sage Subhuti smiled with satisfaction and sighed, "You haven’t let me down. Are you cultivating the Traveler’s Path, or the Sage’s Path?"
"Dual cultivation, is that allowed?"
Master Sage Subhuti pursed his lips and slowly shook his head. "No. The Traveler’s Path’s spiritual power is violent—even if you understand the ways of the Sage, you cannot truly practice them."
The Monkey King stretched lazily. "Then I’ll cultivate the Traveler’s Path, but also study the Sage’s Path. The Sage’s Path is full of cunning—if you don’t understand it, someday you’ll suffer for it. Master, aren’t you skilled at reading minds? Go ahead, read me, say what needs to be said, teach what needs to be taught. It’s getting late and I still need to go home for dinner."
Master Sage Subhuti couldn’t help but laugh, pointing at the Monkey King. "You’re becoming more and more of a monkey."
"Your disciple is a monkey, after all."
"Are you, or aren’t you?"
"Even if I’m not, I am."
With that, the two exchanged glances and burst into knowing laughter.
Since the Monkey King entered the sect, he’d never seen Master Sage Subhuti laugh so heartily. The laughter stirred a faint doubt in the Monkey King’s heart.
When the laughter faded, Master Sage Subhuti shook his head helplessly. "You’re so deeply attached—even when you first arrived at the temple with no cultivation, I could only read a little of your mind. Now that you’ve reached the Spirit-Absorption Realm, I can read even less. I called you here today to tell you: tomorrow, you’ll accompany your eighth senior brother, Skylar Loft, to Kunlun Mountain. Prepare well tonight."
"Huh?" The Monkey King’s mouth fell open.
"Is there a problem?"
The Monkey King quickly knelt and bowed. "Master, I just want to stay at the temple and master my immortal arts as soon as possible."
Master Sage Subhuti smiled faintly. "No matter how gifted you are, how great your insight, Daoist arts have existed for millions of years. Even if you spent two or three centuries just comprehending the books in my library, you wouldn’t master them. Kunlun Mountain is a sacred Daoist site—I’m sending you there so you can see for yourself what true cultivation is. As for your training..."
Master Sage Subhuti paused, and the Monkey King perked up his ears.
"When you return, whatever immortal art you wish to learn, I’ll personally teach it to you."
"I want to learn the Seventy-Two Transformations and the Cloud Somersault!" the Monkey King blurted out.