Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Sun Wukong of the Water Curtain Cave in the Flower-Fruit Mountain, located in the Aolai Kingdom of the East Victorious Divine Continent, anointed as the Great Sage Equalling Heaven. Currently, I temporarily serve as a Deputy General for this Heavenly River Navy, and from now on, these thousand soldiers are under my command!"

The Heavenly River Navy has a drill exercise at the beginning of each month. Originally, the command of a Vice-General covers five thousand men, but within the whole army of one hundred thousand, there are twenty Deputy Generals like Sun Wukong. However, Marshal Tianpeng, Zhu Tianpeng, allocated only a thousand soldiers to Sun Wukong, whereas the other Deputy Generals had their full complement.

The vacancies of the entire Heavenly River Navy were all concentrated under Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong was well aware that Zhu Tianpeng was limiting his military power, but he was unconcerned. Whether a thousand or five thousand soldiers, he saw no significant difference. For him, the strength of these naval soldiers was so negligible that he could wipe out a large number of them with one strike. What use was there in having more men?

The reason Sun Wukong had agreed to become a Deputy General of the Heavenly River Navy was precisely because the position was relatively idle. Apart from the monthly drills at the beginning of each month, there were hardly any duties. He could arrange the training of his subordinates himself. Fewer soldiers were actually better to avoid hassle.

The thousand soldiers of the Heavenly River Navy given to Sun Wukong by Zhu Tianpeng were all those kicked out from other legions, either because they were problematic or disobeyed commands, or because they had low cultivation and weak strength—they were indeed considered the lowest within the Heavenly River Navy.

Regarding Sun Wukong's self-introduction, the thousand Heavenly River naval soldiers hardly listened attentively. They gathered in small groups, chatting and laughing, not even maintaining proper formation—a far cry from the elite appearance expected of naval soldiers. Sun Wukong couldn't help but frown upon seeing this.

Indeed, he hadn't planned to invest much effort in these Heavenly River naval soldiers, but these were his subordinates now, after all. He couldn't just let them perform too poorly, could he? That would be a disgrace to him!

"I will count to three, and by then everyone had better be properly lined up! Anyone not in position after I count to three will forever lose the chance to stand!"

His icy voice, amplified by the Chaos Primordial Force, penetrated the ears of the thousand soldiers, making each of them shudder. The killing intent lacing Sun Wukong's words seemed far from a jest.

"Three!"

Some stopped their chatter and began returning to their places.

"Two!"

The stern voice caused everyone to feel a chill down their spines, and more men hurried to their positions.

"One!"

When the third count was called, nearly eighty percent of the thousand men, intimidated by the coldness in Sun Wukong's voice, obediently stood in formation. However, about two hundred remained disobedient, continuing their defiance.

These were the unruly types who had been a constant source of trouble in other legions, relying on their abilities to stir up issues, which eventually led to their reassignment to Sun Wukong.

These two hundred had a similar notion in their minds, thinking that Sun Wukong, a new commander, was just trying to assert his authority, and they were determined not to fuel his fervor, lest they make their own lives harder. Given the shortage of soldiers under Sun Wukong, they believed in safety in numbers—they were too many to be punished for not standing in line as ordered.

"Time's up! It seems there really are some among you who are not afraid to die!"

Suddenly, a fierce killing aura surged from Sun Wukong as he coldly eyed the two hundred soldiers who had disobeyed his command. A sinister smirk crossed his face as his body momentarily moved but instantly returned to its original position, the movement too swift for those of lesser cultivation to perceive.

"What is this Deputy General trying to do?"

"Indeed, what's the use of making such harsh threats?"

"These are hard-core rebels; they likely won't listen to him..."

Those who had obediently lined up started whispering among themselves, their gazes shifting back and forth between Sun Wukong and the two hundred disobedient naval soldiers. Curiously, the usually arrogant faces of these soldiers were now silent and expressionless.
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While everyone was still puzzled, they suddenly heard Sun Wukong quietly utter a single word: "Break!"

Boom!

Boom-boom!

An explosion erupted suddenly as the two hundred disobedient naval soldiers instantly exploded into bursts of blood mist. Within just a few breaths, the two hundred were obliterated, leaving no trace behind. Even the nearby waters of the Heavenly River turned red.

"This, this..."

The remaining Heavenly River naval soldiers were stunned, their eyes wide with horror as they watched the scene unfold. They had not anticipated such an outcome, nor had they seen clearly how Sun Wukong had made his move!

This new Deputy General possessed terrifying strength and ruthless methods!

Not only were the naval soldiers under Sun Wukong's command stunned, but the officers and soldiers from other military groups training at a distance were also dumbfounded. In the blink of an eye, he had slain two hundred Heavenly River Navy soldiers without even blinking an eye, and no one even saw how he struck. Such power, such murderous intent, was far beyond even Marshal Tianpeng Zhu Tianpeng!

In the Heavenly Court, there had been rumors that a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals had besieged Flower-Fruit Mountain, and less than twenty percent returned, the rest perished at Flower-Fruit Mountain, in the hands of the Demon Monkey Sun Wukong.

This was only a rumor with no one to confirm it, but after witnessing this scene, no one doubted the authenticity of the rumor anymore – if two hundred could be annihilated in an instant, eighty thousand would merely be a matter of more effort.

"Now, does anyone else wish to discuss military discipline with me?"

Sun Wukong did not care how these Heavenly River Navy soldiers viewed him, nor did he care about their opinions. The position of vice-general was only accepted to better facilitate his movement within the Heavenly Court. Sun Wukong's action was entirely for a deterrent effect; he certainly did not want constant backstabbing and undermining!

Since he had accepted the position of Naval Deputy General, no matter what, on this patch of land he governed, all soldiers had to unconditionally obey his commands. Those daring not to listen would meet the same fate as those more than two hundred!

"Reply, General, no!"

"We strictly follow the General's orders!"

"We strictly follow the General's orders!"

It was unclear who led the charge, but the remaining seven hundred or so subordinate naval soldiers all roared in unison. This Great Sage Equalling Heaven was no benevolent master – angering him truly meant there would be nowhere for their bodies to be laid to rest!

"Very good!"

Sun Wukong nodded satisfactorily, his gaze shifted to the first person who led the response. He beckoned him to step out from the ranks and approached.

He sized him up, this soldier's cultivation was in the Heavenly Immortal Realm, quite commendable among the many Heavenly River Navy soldiers, and his aptitude was not bad either, ranking relatively high among the group, and crucially, knew the times!

"What is your name?"

"Replying to the General, my name is Qin Feng!"

"Qin Feng?"

Sun Wukong nodded slightly, "Good, from now on, you are my deputy. When I'm not here, you'll oversee their training!"

Saying so, he extended a finger and touched Qin Feng's forehead. Qin Feng instinctively wanted to dodge but restrained himself, standing stiff as Sun Wukong's fingertip touched his forehead. His body shook, and moments later, his eyes revealed an ecstatic expression as he knelt and kowtowed to Sun Wukong.

That touch from Sun Wukong was not meant to harm him, but to impart a Cultivation Technique, the True Water Command Decree recorded in the ancient scrolls of Heaven-Piercing Tower in Water Curtain Cave Heaven.

Although it was not as powerful as the Eight-Nine Profound Skill, it was still an exceedingly rare cultivation method, especially suitable for the Heavenly River Navy soldiers, far stronger than Qin Feng's original cultivation technique. How could Qin Feng not be wildly thrilled?

"General, your great kindness, I would have to lay down my life and still could not repay a fraction of it!"

After calmly receiving Qin Feng's three kowtows, Sun Wukong flicked his hand, sending a burst of Qi Force to help Qin Feng up. He had not taken Qin Feng as a disciple, but by imparting the cultivation technique, he had bestowed the grace of teaching, "Alright, the cultivation technique I taught you, you may select parts of it to teach them, but you must not impart all of it! Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand!"

Qin Feng replied respectfully. He had joined the Heavenly River Navy entirely to gain more resources for cultivation. With his original cultivation technique, reaching the Heavenly Immortal Realm was a fortunate stroke of serendipity. To advance further to the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm appeared almost impossible.

But now, with the True Water Command Decree imparted by Sun Wukong, he just needed to diligently cultivate for a couple of years, and he would definitely break through the shackles and enter the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm.

Sun Wukong's act was like giving him a new life, just managing these Heavenly River Navy soldiers and selectively imparting the technique, such small tasks, if he could not even manage those, how could he face to stay in the Heavenly River Navy?

"These are elixir pills that can help enhance your cultivation. Take one pill each day, and strive to elevate your cultivation to Taiyi Golden Immortal as soon as possible. I will have much use for you in the future, and insufficient cultivation just won't do!"

With a flip of his palm, a bottle of Immortal Pills appeared in Sun Wukong's hand, which he passed to Qin Feng. These were Elixir Pills that Sun Wukong himself had refined; the Demon Clan of Flower-Fruit Mountain had been consuming them before the establishment of the Heaven-Piercing Tower, effective only for those below Taiyi Golden Immortal, perfectly suitable for Qin Feng.

"Many thanks, General!"

"Alright, enough with 'General' every time – it feels strange to me! My title is Great Sage Equalling Heaven, just call me Great Sage!"

"Yes, Great Sage!"

Not just Qin Feng, the mass of naval soldiers all responded in unison.

Sun Wukong nodded contentedly and asked Qin Feng to take the over seven hundred soldiers to train while he leisurely mounted clouds towards the Jade Pool. He wondered how Zi Lan had been these past few days and whether the Queen Mother had made things difficult for her. He needed to check on her and see if there were other brewing Spirit Fruits or Spirit Grass in the Jade Pool.