In the silent night, only the central room among the three small rooms in Lingyan remained lit, aside from the kitchen.
After dinner, Belle sat early at her desk, studying the lessons Master Sage Subhuti had assigned for the day. The Path of Enlightenment differs from the Path of Action—meditation and absorbing spiritual energy rarely take long; more time is spent poring over scriptures and scrolls.
After a long while, Belle finally grew tired. She put down the bamboo scroll, rubbed her eyes, stretched lazily, and stood up to move and loosen her limbs.
She walked to the window and looked outside.
At night, the mountain air was a bit chilly. Dew was already forming on the leaves at the door, and a few frogs croaked in the grass.
A gentle breeze swept in. Belle cupped her hands and breathed a faint mist into them, gazing blankly at the branches and leaves swirling in the wind outside for a long while. Blinking her amber-like eyes, she murmured, "Did Simon Stone see my letter?"
She remained silent for a long time, then muttered to herself, "If he saw the letter... will he write me back? I've written so many, how many replies will I get?"
Thinking about it, the young girl furrowed her brow and pouted unhappily, sighing, "If I'd known, I should have reminded him in the letter that he must reply."
After pondering for a while, she paced back to the desk and picked up the bamboo scroll, taking a deep breath.
Yet for some reason, she just couldn't calm down tonight. Her heart kept pounding, as if something was about to happen.
Turning her face, she gazed out the window again, just in time to see the full moon.
"Is the Monkey King working as hard now as he did here? If so, he must be meditating under the moonlight..."
Within the full moon, that familiar, fur-covered face slowly appeared—just as stubborn as when he knelt before Crescent Star Cave.
Her eyes gradually grew moist.
......
Under the moonlight, a drop of fresh blood splashed across Simon Stone's cheek. His fierce gaze swept around, his figure rolling rapidly, and the Cloud Vault Staff smashed heavily into a celestial soldier's waist.
The breastplate twisted and cracked instantly. In a flash, the figure vanished from its spot, crashing onto the deck and scraping out a long bloody trail, sending two unsuspecting celestial soldiers flying, blood gushing from their mouths.
This scene made General Zhuo's eyes twitch.
"Where did this one come from? Does Dragon's Pool have such a figure?"
Countless celestial soldiers, armed with sabers and round shields, flapped their wings and swarmed like pigeons fighting for food. In the next instant, they burst apart like fireworks, blood splattering everywhere.
At this moment, the Cloudwalker Staff in his hand truly danced like flowing clouds and water—impenetrable, and with astonishing force.
With such a fierce spirit, how could General Zhuo dare let him board the warship?
Including himself, three Spirit-Transformation stage Path of Enlightenment Heavenly Generals exerted their full strength, casting the Flowguard Formation in layers to keep the Monkey King far from the warship.
Unable to fight at close range, the celestial soldiers drew their bows to the fullest, unleashing volleys of arrows along the Monkey King's path. In the chaos, some arrows struck their own allies by mistake.
For a moment, screams echoed continuously.
Yet none of that mattered—General Zhuo now only wanted to drive away this fierce spirit and evacuate from this dangerous place as quickly as possible.
Scattering the celestial soldiers, Simon Stone rode the Cloud Vault, dodging arrows while circling the warship a dozen times, yet still found no chance to board.
Suddenly, a seven-foot spinning wheel slashed past his side, tearing through his shoulder guard and leaving a bloody wound.
Looking around, over thirty Spirit-Refinement stage Heavenly Generals had arrived from other warships, their magical weapons raining down upon the Monkey King.
This was nothing like the chaos on the ground; with the entire army attacking one person, even Spirit Channeling stage celestial soldiers had plenty of time to infuse spiritual power into their arrows.
"Demon-Binding Net!"
"Attack—what are you waiting for? Slay that Demon Monkey!" General Zhuo's roar from the distant flagship jolted the celestial soldiers back to action.
He put down the Thousand-Mile Mirror, took a deep breath, and glanced coldly at the warship surrounded by celestial soldiers. "There are still a few Blaze Bombs left in the cabin from last time. Set them off. Burn them all!"
"Blaze Bombs... how could they..." A celestial soldier staggered back, his bloodied saber clattering to the ground.