Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"Uh..."

The laughter in the main hall ceased abruptly, everyone's eyes widened in shock like ducks whose necks had been squeezed, and no one spoke for a long while.

"Why has everyone gone silent? Oh, is it because I, Old Sun, haven't introduced myself yet? I am Sun Wukong, the Beautiful Monkey King from the Water Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain, the Great Sage Equalling Heaven. I have accepted the Jade Emperor's offer to ascend to heaven and serve as an official, appointed as the Naval Deputy General of the Heavenly River Navy.

Today, I have come to report for duty."

Sun Wukong cleared his throat and looked around at everyone with a smile, his gaze finally resting on Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng who was seated in the command position. This fat man was Bajie's previous incarnation indeed. He looked quite decent, except for being a bit too chubby, but that's not much of a problem.
Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

Seeing the generals of the Heavenly River Navy in the great hall, and recalling the scene of how the Heavenly River Navy had resisted Blood Dragon Ao Tian's disturbance in the Heavenly Palace, it was clear that the Heavenly River Navy was quite different from the other incompetent soldiers and generals of the Heavenly Court.

No wonder Bajie always boasted about his past life with such nostalgia and longing; it seems he was indeed not without merit.

"How did you get in here?"

A general of the Heavenly River Navy asked after swallowing hard.

"Well, I walked in, of course!"

Sun Wukong replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world, yet he secretly snickered in his heart. He knew what Zhu Tianpeng and the other naval generals meant; Sun Wukong had discovered all the traps and mechanisms they had set up on his way into the Marshal's Mansion. And he had to say, they were laid out quite crudely, not cunning at all.

Under the gaze of his Void-Breaking Divine Eye, they were undone cleanly in less than the time it takes half an incense stick to burn.

"Walked, walked in?"

"Yes, walked in!"

"..."

Everyone was speechless. Wukong had made it seem so effortless. All those traps and formations, and he just walked right through them? Could it be that there was a problem with the traps and they hadn't worked?

Someone hurriedly ran out, and it wasn't long before they rushed back, their face filled with shock and doubt, their gaze shifting back and forth on Sun Wukong's face. They whispered the situation to Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng's ear.

All the mechanisms and traps set up from the entrance of the Marshal's Mansion to the main hall had been sabotaged, not having any effect, and apparently, they had been demolished almost simultaneously!

"Are you the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong?"

"Indeed, it's I, Old Sun!"

"Sun Wukong, you've got some nerve! If you're here to report for duty, why didn't you kneel before your superior?"

Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng roared, releasing a surge of momentum, pressing down on Sun Wukong in an attempt to subdue him. Sun Wukong had now concealed his aura; nobody could tell he had the cultivation of a Daluo Golden Immortal.

The news of the hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Generals' disastrous defeat at Flower-Fruit Mountain had already spread throughout the Heavenly Court. However, no one knew the true course of the battle. The immortals and soldiers that had taken part in the battle were eager to forget the nightmare; none of them would voluntarily bring it up.

Therefore, the generals of the Heavenly River Navy, including Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng, had no idea how powerful Sun Wukong was; they thought he was just an ordinary demon immortal summoned by the Jade Emperor to the Heavenly Court. Moreover, no one took the title "Great Sage Equalling Heaven" seriously – it was nothing but an empty title without substance.

"Kneel? Hmph!"

With a smirk, Sun Wukong's eyes narrowed, "Old Sun only kneels to heaven, earth, and his teachers. Even when meeting the Jade Emperor, I merely pay my respects. What are you worth, to think that I would kneel before you? Do you fancy yourself more noble than the Jade Emperor, daring to demand Old Sun's obeisance?"

This fat pig was putting on quite the air, trying to intimidate me! Too bad he picked the wrong person!

"How audacious! You arrogant demon monkey, let me teach you what manners are today!"

As Sun Wukong spoke, Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng's face changed slightly. Before he could say anything, a general who was standing nearest to Sun Wukong shouted, drew his longsword, and slashed at Sun Wukong's head with fierce momentum, as if intending to cleave him in two right there.

Click!

In the crisp sound, Sun Wukong extended two fingers and firmly clamped the treasured sword. The naval general's face turned red with exertion, but the sword would not budge and seemed to be fused between Sun Wukong's fingers, impossible to pull free.

"Weren't you going to teach Old Sun some manners? Go on, I'm all ears, waiting to be enlightened!"

Curling his lips into a cold smile, a flash of cold light gleamed in Sun Wukong's eyes. His fingers suddenly applied force, and with a crisp snap, the naval general's treasured sword was broken clean in two!

Caught off guard, the naval general stumbled and fell face-forward, eating mud. His predicament couldn't have been more embarrassing.

"Aiyah, so this is what manners look like, prostrating oneself in such grand fashion. Why the need for such extravagance?"

Smacking his lips, Sun Wukong said, "Well, I'm afraid Old Sun can't learn such 'manners'! Never have in the past, can't now, and won't in the future either. I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you all!"

"Hiss~!"

The officers within the great hall all drew in a breath of cold air, the naval officer who had been thrown to the ground with such force possessed cultivation at the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, comparable to Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng. Yet Sun Wukong had blocked his treasured sword with just two fingers and even broke it!

Is this demon monkey's strength not too overbearing? No wonder he dares call himself the Great Sage Equalling Heaven!

"Impressive skills! No wonder you're so arrogant!"

A cold light flashed in Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng's eyes. "Sun Wukong, are you here to wreak havoc in my Naval Marshal's Mansion?"

"Wreak havoc? Did I? Well, that's up to you to decide. If you think I did, then I guess I did indeed!"

Sun Wukong looked completely indifferent. "Decide however you wish, I'll take it! But before that, hand over my token so I can complete the check-in process."

Every officer of the Heavenly River Navy had a waist token on their belt, inscribed with their own name, rank, and the number of the naval units they commanded. Sun Wukong had taken notice of this upon entering. It was vastly different from those hundred thousand hastily gathered Heavenly Soldiers and Generals.

Since Sun Wukong was given the title of Vice-general, he naturally had a Vice-general's token as well.

"Fine! What a Great Sage Equalling Heaven, so full of yourself! Here's your token, take it!"

Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng's gaze turned icy as he glared at Sun Wukong, then, after a moment, he sneered and tossed a waist token to Sun Wukong, who caught it deftly in his hand.

"Where's my room?"

Since he was now a Naval Deputy General, he certainly deserved a place to stay, but the room assignment wasn't marked on the token; it should be distributed by Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng.

"It's the third room on the left side of the Marshal's Mansion. Two people to a room, you can go find it yourself later."

"Sharing a room? That's not quite appropriate, is it?"

Sun Wukong furrowed his brow. After all, he was a Vice-general and his rank was not low. How could he not have a private room? This damn fat pig was clearly trying to make things hard for him!

A surge of malevolence sprouted from the bottom of Sun Wukong's heart, his eyes flashing coldly, feeling the urge to lay flat all these bastard naval officers in front of him.

"The accommodations are tight, Vice-general Sun will just have to make do!"

Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng smirked maliciously. "I have important matters to attend to, so I won't keep you any longer. You are dismissed! In three days, there will be a routine exercise above the Heavenly River; don't be late, or you will be dealt with by military law!"

Heh, this is practically throwing me out!

Sun Wukong sneered inwardly, took a couple of deep breaths to suppress his anger for the time being. After all, he had just arrived in the Heavenly Court, and the Peach of Immortality banquet had not yet begun. It wasn't time to make a scene. He would just have to endure it for now!

Turning around, Sun Wukong strode out of the main hall without even bothering to say goodbye to Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng, deciding to see for himself what the living quarters were like first.

The housing in the Marshal's Mansion was divided into three areas: one was the residential area for Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng, including this meeting hall within the main hall; another was to the west, where standalone houses were spaced widely apart, reserved for high-ranking officers of the Heavenly River Navy; and the last area was to the east side of the Marshal's Mansion, with rows of wooden huts for low-ranking officers such as captains, while the soldiers' accommodations were outside of the Marshal's Mansion, by the banks of the Heavenly River.

"That dead fat pig is definitely trying to give me a hard time! This place is meant for captains and squad leaders; a Vice-general's room should be on the western side!"

After taking a loop around the east side of the Naval Marshal's Mansion, Sun Wukong's expression grew colder and colder. He has never been one to have a good temper, and he won't allow others to disrespect him!

With a cold harrumph, Sun Wukong turned and walked towards the western side of the Marshal's Mansion; he wanted to see for himself whether there really no vacant homes.

In the standalone house area to the west of the Marshal's Mansion, a few naval officers were casually chatting in the garden in front of the houses.

"That demon monkey Sun Wukong was just too arrogant earlier! If it weren't for the fear of dirtying the Marshal's grand hall, I would have struck him down then and there!"

"Oh come on, that demon monkey is no pushover! Didn't you see how he broke Zhou Tong's treasured sword with just two fingers? With that little strength of yours, you'd be lucky not to be the one struck down in the hall!"

"Hmph, what does it matter how strong he is? This is our Heavenly River Navy's turf; a dragon must coil and a tiger must lie down here! If he angers the Marshal, he'll have plenty of hard times ahead! Look, he's already been sent by the Marshal to squeeze into those tiny cabins on the east side, hasn't he?"

"Having a small cabin to live in is already very good for him! He's just a lower-realm demon immortal. Normally, he probably lives in some broken-down cave. To be able to stay in one of our Heavenly Court's small cabins is luck he's cultivated over several lifetimes!"

"Indeed, indeed, ha ha!"

The water officers burst into laughter, only to hear a cold snort suddenly resound from behind them, "Is staying in a small cabin considered good fortune? In that case, I'll gladly exchange this fortune with you, what do you say?"