Chapter 33: Would You Be Willing to Learn?

Shi Yu had once been troubled by the disparity between his soul and his physical constitution. If he were to be held back by an imbalance between the two at the critical juncture of foundation building, it would have a devastating impact on his martial path. Unexpectedly, this thorny problem found its resolution here at the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. It truly was a blessed land.

Treasures that nourish the soul are incredibly expensive and rare in the Blue Star world. Yet here, they were nothing more than fruit wine brewed by the monkeys. Although the boost provided each time was not massive, its strength lay in its sustainability. Accumulating bit by bit, the progress over a year would be quite considerable!

The sun set and the moon rose. After a comfortable night’s sleep in the Water Curtain Cave, Shi Yu’s injuries had completely healed. Beyond the effects of the fruit wine, this was naturally due to the abundant primordial energy permeating the atmosphere.

As the morning sun spilled in, he stepped out of the Water Curtain Cave, gazing at the vibrant, energetic monkey troop before him. A sudden thought struck him. During the Great Sage's actions yesterday, he alone had been covered in wounds, while the nearby monkeys seemed largely unaffected. Could it be that his own strength was inferior to these common monkeys?

Shi Yu’s soul began to summon the "Measuring Ruler," preparing to gauge the strength of these monkeys. Coincidentally, the little golden monkey that had kept him company the day before hopped over. It would have been better not to measure. Upon testing, Shi Yu gasped: "This child is terrifying!"

[Mountain of Flowers and Fruit Monkey, Little Golden Hair, Two Years Old]
[Soul: Level 21]
[Physique: Level 27]
[Ability: Eating melon, spitting seeds]

The ability to eat melon aside, its soul and physique levels were far beyond Shi Yu’s. And this was just a two-year-old child...

Shi Yu’s brows twitched as he looked around. Throughout the forests, by the streams, and inside the caves, there were monkeys of all kinds—golden monkeys, leaf monkeys, macaques, and gibbons—playing and frolicking everywhere. Countless monkeys inhabited this wondrous sanctuary. He suddenly understood why, when the hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals attacked the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, the Great Sage’s subordinates were able to hold their ground. It was because the demons of this mountain possessed exactly this kind of power!

"I am actually the weakest..." Shi Yu muttered. Hailed as a talent of exceptional caliber, possessing a one-in-a-million soul phenomenon, he was the one in whom countless mentors placed their hopes, and was regarded by his peers in Star City as the strongest high schooler. Yet here, in the Water Curtain Cave, he was at the very bottom! In both strength and aptitude, he was outclassed.

There is always someone better than you! At this moment, the sense of transcendence Shi Yu had felt for being far ahead of his peers in Star City completely settled. His current martial cultivation could only be considered the very beginning of the beginning. He was equivalent to a newborn infant in this world.

Shi Yu clenched his fists. A low starting point did not matter; as long as he kept moving forward, there would always come a day when he stood at the peak! Scanning the area for a target to surpass, his gaze finally returned to the little golden monkey squatting at his feet. This golden-furred powerhouse was holding a slice of watermelon, eating with great delight.

"King Shi, want some?" the little golden monkey asked, entirely unaware that the person beside it had locked onto it as a goal for self-improvement.

Shi Yu sighed deeply. "I no longer have time to eat..."

"What?" the little golden monkey was puzzled. "If you don't even have time to eat melon, what meaning is there to monkey life?"

Shi Yu thought to himself, for you, eating melon is cultivation; for me, eating melon is really just eating melon...

With a clear goal in mind, he immediately found a quiet spot and sat cross-legged. The aspiring youth closed his eyes, formed seals with his hands in front of his dantian, and began to circulate the "Five Peaks Primordial Gathering Technique." As the cultivation method began, the primordial energy of the world seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, turning into fine streams that converged toward Shi Yu’s body. He clearly felt that compared to practicing in the Blue Star world, the energy here gathered faster, held stronger vitality, and was of higher purity. The efficiency was a full two times faster!

[Host realm advancement: Nascent Origin Third Layer progress increased from 14% to 16%]
[Host realm advancement: Nascent Origin Third Layer progress increased from 16% to 18%]

It was too fast! Shi Yu marveled. In the Blue Star world, he had estimated that the third layer of the Nascent Origin realm would take three days of practice. But here, at this rate, it would take only a day and a half. After that, he could move on to challenge the fourth layer without pause. From the fourth layer onward, the difficulty of cultivation would stabilize, and compared to the first three, the time consumption would increase significantly. Shi Yu estimated that each subsequent layer would take fifteen days by Blue Star standards, which was equivalent to seven and a half days in this Journey to the West world. This meant that by the time he left this world in fourteen days, his cultivation would have progressed to the fourth layer, and he wouldn't be far from the fifth.

Shi Yu felt a sense of resolve and immersed himself in his practice. A giant vortex seemed to form within his body, greedily devouring the surrounding primordial energy. These energies flowed through his meridians, finally converging into his dantian’s sea of qi. Driven by this powerful force, his cultivation rose steadily like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

The little golden monkey ran over, curious, holding a piece of watermelon. Because the Stone Monkey had previously ordered that King Shi must not be disturbed while meditating, it circled around before sitting down nearby. The little golden monkey keenly sensed that the area around King Shi was different from elsewhere; the air felt more fragrant and refreshing to breathe. Gradually, more and more monkeys gathered, sitting, standing, or lying down. Although they did not understand cultivation, their spiritual instincts kept them near Shi Yu.

By the afternoon, the Stone Monkey returned from his fighting. He also looked at Shi Yu’s practice with curiosity, then assumed a similar cross-legged posture and tried to mimic his elder brother, taking a deep breath. With this inhalation, the primordial energy of the world surged, swallowed whole into the Stone Monkey’s belly.

Shi Yu, deep in meditation, was stunned. Why did the energy concentration suddenly drop off a cliff? It was worse than in the Blue Star world! He opened his eyes and was startled by the sea of monkeys covering the ground. The Stone Monkey was there too, covering his mouth, his eyes darting around mischievously. Seeing this, Shi Yu knew the Great Sage was behind it.

He sighed and asked, "Little Kong, do you want to learn?"

The Stone Monkey chuckled and scratched his head in embarrassment. "Can Brother teach me?"

Shi Yu pondered for a moment. This "Five Peaks Primordial Gathering Technique" was a cultivation method for the Nascent Origin stage in the Blue Star world. But in this world, let alone the Great Sage, even ordinary monkeys possessed strength far beyond the Nascent Origin realm. This technique was likely useless to them, like a chicken rib. However, looking at the Stone Monkey’s expectant eyes, Shi Yu decided to give it a try.

Thus, he sat on a high platform and began to lecture to the Great Sage and the monkey troop. "What I speak of today is the method of the Five Peaks..."

As he spoke, the monkeys grew drowsy, and snoring began to fill the air... The Great Sage, however, listened with earnest attention. Yet, as Shi Yu had expected, the Great Sage’s practice of this method was not even as effective as simply taking a deep breath on his own.

"Great Sage, your true master is at the Lingtai Mountain in the Cave of the Slanting Moon and Three Stars in the Western Continent," Shi Yu muttered to himself. "How can a rookie in the Nascent Origin realm like me teach you..."

Seeing the Stone Monkey’s slightly disappointed expression, Shi Yu reached out and patted his head. A moment later, a flash of inspiration hit him, and he froze. The Stone Monkey was enjoying the pat, but suddenly noticed his brother’s hand had stopped moving. He looked up, rubbed his head against his brother’s palm, and gazed at him curiously.

Shi Yu slowly lowered his head, studying the Stone Monkey. "I am truly curious now—was coming to this world merely a matter of fate?"

"Six years ago, I enlightened you to be born, leading you to the Water Curtain Cave to become the Handsome Monkey King."

"Today..."

Indescribable thoughts flooded Shi Yu’s mind. A moment later, he smiled freely, as if he had made a decision. He stood up tall, his gaze fixed on the rippling blue waves of the East Sea in the distance. Deep within the East Sea lay the Divine Needle of the Sea, waiting for the day it would emerge from the water to shake the heavens and move the earth!

"I have a set of staff techniques here, called the Heavenly Dipper Universe Staff Technique," Shi Yu said calmly. "Are you willing to learn?"