Chapter 351 - 343: What Are You Afraid Of?

Aside from humans, the undisputed rulers of the Baiyun Mountain area were now the monkeys. This remained true even though the Monkey King was seldom present.

The number of monkeys gathering in the Baiyun Mountain area was constantly increasing; many of them were migrating from hundreds of miles away in the Funiu Mountain Range.

People living in the villages at the edge of the mountains would occasionally hear the noisy chatter of monkeys, whether they were hiking on the slopes or simply lingering at the foot.

Many of these mountains had long been devoid of any larger beasts, let alone monkeys. Some people deliberately went searching, and a lucky few managed to film the migrating monkeys, posting the videos online to a chorus of likes.

Some of the local youth would even buy fruit and other snacks to go feed the monkeys, each becoming a minor internet sensation after uploading their short videos.

It was now difficult to say exactly how many monkeys were in the massive troop, which consisted mainly of macaques with other species mixed in.

But for so many monkeys, they were surprisingly quiet, not making Baiyun Mountain too noisy. The entire troop kept their communications relatively restrained. Any loud noises were confined to the streams, far from the core area.

Near the central area, if an unruly young monkey shrieked loudly, it would immediately be disciplined by a nearby elder.

The peculiar mist on Baiyun Mountain still lingered, and only the monkey troop and a few other exceptionally perceptive wild animals had mastered the ability to navigate through it without getting lost.

...

By the small stream, the Monkey King transitioned from watching the clouds during the day to watching the stars at night, all without moving an inch.

A giant wolf slowly emerged from the dense woods, approaching the clearing by the stream.

A normal wolf is about the size of a large dog, but this one was as big as a horse. Its fur was sleek and its eyes bright, though the bruises on its body marred its otherwise majestic appearance.

The alpha wolf had been seething with anger, but the closer it got, the more suppressed it felt, right up until it saw the Monkey King on the rocky outcrop.

The monkey was much larger than its peers, but still couldn't compare in size to the giant wolf. Yet, just by lying there, it exuded the presence of a colossal beast squinting from a mountaintop—the kind that could crush the wolf with a casual flick of its hand.

For an instant, the alpha wolf felt as if it were looking at a great ape the size of a mountain lying there.

At the edge of the clearing, there were hundreds of monkeys of all sizes, including no small number of menacingly muscular brutes.

The alpha wolf and its pack had previously suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of these "ordinary" monkeys. Even if the alpha leaped into the trees, it would be driven back down by a barrage of countless stones.

Looking up at the nearby trees, it saw a dense, dark mass of monkeys. There were too many to count, and all of them were staring down at it in eerie silence.

"Woooo... woooo..."

The giant wolf lowered its head in the Monkey King's direction, emitting a soft whine. It cautiously approached the bank of the stream, and finally, it rolled over to expose its white belly.

The Monkey King finally deigned to cast a sidelong glance at it.

"Hn."

Upon receiving this acknowledgement, the alpha wolf carefully rose to its feet. Only when it was back in the cover of the forest did it dare to leap away and flee at full speed.

"Heh, our Monkey King certainly has some clout, doesn't he?"

The laughter came from the side, startling the monkey troop. The Monkey King, however, shot up in a pleasant surprise.

"Mentor! You're here?"

Sitting on a nearby boulder was none other than Qin Xiaoxia, who had used a Secret Realm Array to get here.

He hadn't found the Monkey King inside the Secret Realm upon his arrival, so he'd exited it. And just as he'd expected, there was his student.

However, he hadn't just arrived as the Monkey King was basking in the moonlight and starlight; he had actually been observing for several days.

He could tell the monkey had become somewhat fixated and was lost in confusion.

He was too desperate to prove himself, too desperate to make Dawn proud, and too desperate to please him, his Mentor.

The Monkey King could have long since taken that step beyond "Intent," "Martial Arts," and "The Way." He knew that crossing that threshold would result in an earth-shattering transformation.

But he'd gotten scared. He was afraid that even after, he would still be just as stupid, just as dense. He feared that his potential would be exhausted, and so... he hesitated at the very threshold, unable to take that final step.

The Monkey King, of course, had no idea what his Mentor was thinking. His current concern was his anger at the other monkeys, who were actually baring their teeth at his Mentor.

"KHHH—"

Seeing the troop's restless agitation, the Monkey King bared his fangs and let out a guttural hiss. All the monkeys immediately ceased their commotion.

Qin Xiaoxia didn't rush to offer guidance. He waited for the Monkey King to handle his troop before speaking in a teasing tone.

"Is it a crime to come and see my own student?"

"Of course it is! You can come anytime you want!"

Scratching his head, the Monkey King—so majestic in front of his troop and the other animals of the mountains—now looked like a bashful schoolboy in front of his favorite teacher.

"Heh heh. Mentor, you must be here to give me some guidance, right?"

Qin Xiaoxia didn't answer his question. Instead, he gazed in the direction the giant wolf had fled, then surveyed the surrounding Baiyun Mountain.

Nature responded warmly to his Perception and Magic Power, allowing him to faintly sense the state of the surrounding mountain range.

The mist that periodically appeared on this mountain was perhaps a manifestation of the world's aura, which in turn proved that Baiyun Mountain was no ordinary place.

"Aside from these monkeys and that giant wolf from earlier, do you have any other remarkable animals under your command?"

The Monkey King answered without a moment's hesitation.

"Baiyun Mountain has gathered the very essence of the Funiu Mountain Range from hundreds of miles around. Besides that alpha wolf, there are two other monkeys and a fox. There are plenty of other strong animals, but none of them are 'evolved'."

"Oh, right. The larger military outpost on the outskirts also let in two tigers and two mountain leopards, but they're all captive-bred and total weaklings. If they weren't always being escorted by soldiers, I could send a few of my monkeys to thrash them without breaking a sweat."

That certainly was a considerable number.

And for the proud and arrogant Monkey King to call an animal "strong," it had to be incredibly powerful, even if it wasn't "evolved."

"Honestly, your Baiyun Mountain is quite the surprise. Govern those animals well. After all, the world can't rely on humans to be its only main force."

Demons had surely appeared in other large forests and mountain regions, and some likely remained. But any that appeared on Baiyun Mountain were usually killed by the beasts that lived there.

This animosity toward Demons seemed to be a shared trait among all of Earth's living creatures. The purer and more spiritual the being, the stronger this feeling was.

The Monkey King himself had first gotten into trouble and been captured by humans precisely because he'd killed a strange, zombie-like creature and been afflicted by it.

The situation was similar in the oceans, but even simpler. Few of the recent Demons were fully aquatic, so if they were bitten and dragged underwater by a ferocious fish, they could easily be killed.

The stronger ones would actively move toward human settlements, partly because the temptation of their Soul Nature was hard to resist, and partly because they were bewildered by the Power of the World.

If one were to hypothesize that the world possessed a consciousness, it would be easy to conclude that the world itself understood that, for now, only humans could eliminate the more powerful Otherworldly Demons. This was one reason why human settlements encountered Demons, both large and small, with greater frequency.

"Of course! I might not be able to build a network as extensive as the Silent Knight Order or the Celestial Travel Association, but I can definitely raise a legion of Demons that can't take human form!"

KNOCK... KNOCK...

Qin Xiaoxia rapped his knuckles on the air, sending out ripples as if he had knocked against a solid wall.

"This right here is the crux of your problem."

"You are far too desperate to prove yourself. Even when you achieve things that others in the Association could only dream of, you're still not satisfied. And that's because I set a very high bar for you."

A series of once-laughable memories flashed through the Monkey King's mind, making him feel a mix of embarrassment and nostalgia. 'Back then, I really was just an ignorant monkey,' he thought. 'I'd get worked up for hours with Doudou just from watching a TV show.'

He couldn't refute his Mentor's words. It was, after all, the truth.

"What pleases me is that in the beginning, you didn't need me to remind you. You came to your senses on your own, reined in your unrealistic ambitions, and have now finally awakened your Magic Power."

In Qin Xiaoxia's perception, the Monkey King's Magic Power churned faintly within his body. A force that permeated both soul and flesh, it possessed a tangible, metallic quality that other forms of Magic Power lacked.

The Monkey King showed a faint hint of pride, but only a little.

Qin Xiaoxia noted this as well. 'He's clearly under too much pressure,' he thought.

He continued patiently, his voice soft and low.

"But now, the thing holding you back isn't your arrogance or ambition. It's your restraint."

His Mentor's words left the Monkey King stunned, as if he couldn't quite process what he'd heard.

His Mentor continued before he could ask a question.

"I don't use Martial Arts much myself, but what do you think of the Mad Demon Staff Technique compared to other staff methods?"

"It's excellent!"

The answer was instinctual.

"Yes, it is excellent—excellent by the standards of ordinary humans, that is. But it's not enough, is it? In fact, you've probably had the idea and the drive to evolve your Martial Arts for a long time, haven't you?"

The words struck a chord deep within the Monkey King, but the pressure he felt was difficult to put into words.

But he didn't need to say it. Qin Xiaoxia naturally understood what his student was thinking. Sometimes, you don't need to resolve every little anxiety one by one. A single, blunt strike is often surprisingly effective.

"I gave you that name, and you've surely learned the stories behind it. So tell me, when a figure like the Great Sage Equal to Heaven is faced with this kind of life-altering dilemma, what does he do?"

"What does he do?"

Qin Xiaoxia deliberately paused, leaving him in suspense. Only after the Monkey King asked the question did he allow himself a small smile before his expression turned serious.

The Monkey King had only seen this expression a few times, and every single time was etched into his memory for life.

"His power dominates mountains and rivers, his arrogance blots out the sky! He possesses an indomitable will and the courage to fear nothing! He can storm the nine heavens above and is capable of Overturning Rivers and Seas below..."

At this, the Master Sage—the Mentor the Monkey King respected most—fixed his gaze upon him. His eyes, like twin points of starlight, were brimming with boiling Magic Power.

It was as if thunder was brewing in the depths of his throat.

The next second, a colossal roar, like the sound of mountains crumbling and the earth splitting asunder, erupted from his Mentor's mouth!

"SUN! WU! KONG!!! WHAT IS THERE FOR YOU TO FEAR???"

P.S. Second chapter for Sunday.