In less than half a day, Wukong had already reached the outer edge of a vast jungle. Even though he did not see any beast in sight, he could still hear the sounds of roars resonating from afar.

Wukong clenched his fist, his wickedly charming mouth lifting into a frigid smirk. He said grimly, "Jade Emperor, Buddha, you sealed this old monkey under the Five Elements Mountain for over fifty thousand years. Did you ever think the old sun wouldn't fall to ashes but wait for its great and crazy revenge?"

In a great battle years ago, Wukong made a mess of the Heavenly Palace, causing heaven and earth to turn upside down. He killed more than hundreds of thousands of heavenly soldiers but it didn't lessen his deep-rooted hatred. If it were not for Buddha, Wukong would have certainly forced the Jade Emperor to give him justice.

Suddenly, Wukong squinted his eyes, seeing the slight rustling of a clump of bushes to the left front. Moreover, Wukong could detect a ferocious breath within, likely a demon beast.

Roar!

Abruptly, a huge black shadow leaped out from the bushes, opened its gaping mouth full of sharp fangs coated in a green liquid and lunged at Wukong's neck.

In the heat of the moment, Wukong instinctively reached into his ear, hoping to pull out his special weapon. However, his palm was empty. He cursed silently, recalling how he had thrown away his golden cudgel in five separate sections twenty thousand years ago. If he hadn't infused his cultivation into the golden cudgel and used it to shatter his seal, the detestable Heaven-Defying Demon Chain would've surely tortured him to soul obliteration.

Whoosh!

Without a moment to spare, the beast ferocious as a black panther was upon him. Unable to dodge, Wukong quickly balled his hands into fists, using all his strength, he forcefully smashed them down onto the beast's head.

Boom!

A shattering sound echoed, followed by a stench of blood and brain matter strewn across the ground. The beast's body heavily fell onto a ground covered with dried leaves, its head completely obliterated by Wukong as if he was smashing tofu.

"Seems like after the awakening of my soul, it didn't leave any divine power behind, but it did strengthen this mortal body of mine slightly." Wukong mumbled with a grin. He then picked up a hind leg of the beast and flung it over his shoulders, ready to depart victoriously.

Just as Wukong was preparing to return, he noticed an object the size of a fist and green in color amidst the beast's brain matter.

"A demon core." Wukong voiced in surprise. It turned out that these beasts had demon cores too. Now his divine power is depleted, a low-level demon core may well be a drop in the ocean, but it was certainly a gain he could use.

With this, he picked up the demon core and stowed it away.

At that moment, hurried footsteps echoed in the air. Wukong raised his head and saw two enchanting figures appear before him.

"Friend, how about giving me the demon core of the Wind Pursuit Leopard? I can exchange it with something of equal value." The lead girl in green clothes wore a veil. She carried an ethereal quality, as if she was as light as the wind and as soft as a cloud. Her voice was as pleasant as the song of a lark.

She was dressed in a long green dress, cinched at the waist by a slim belt, giving her an indescribable grace.

Upon seing the ethereal eyes of the girl in the green dress, Wukong's heart trembled, and he stammered, "Ah Li... you... you are Ah Li..."

Even though he couldn't quite believe it, her eyes truly shared a striking resemblance with Ah Li's. Just the thought of Ah Li's name brought forth a profound, lingering resentment in his heart. He would never forget the painful, desperate, and longing look in Ah Li's eyes as she perished from the Nine Heavens God Thunder.

"Wukong brother, live well for Ah Li. Ah Li has no regrets. If there is a next life, Ah Li wants to be not your sister, but your wife..."

Wukong slowly stood, his voice carrying an indescribable gentleness, as he locked eyes with the girl in the green dress and said, "Lift your veil."

Hearing this, her slender shoulders shivered slightly and a flicker of rage passed through her ethereal eyes.

"You… you are presumptuous! By what right do you demand to see our young lady's face?" The girl in blue standing behind the green-dressed girl gave a frosty retort, pointing at Wukong indignantly.

Wukong retained his calm demeanour and continued, "You resemble an old friend of mine. I just want to confirm it. Don’t force me to use power.”

While his words were calm, his tone carried a sense of undeniable vigor.

"You... daring!" The face of the blue-dressed girl changed, as she summoned a slim sword to her hand, clearly preparing for battle.

Wukong's eyes hardened slightly. This young girl was barely at the one-star Soul Refining Realm, and he doubted she could endure for long against the Wind Pursuit Leopard. The green dress girl behind her, however, was at the peak of the Soul Refining Realm, a pinnacle realm for their age on this continent.

“Xiao Lian, stop.” The green-dressed girl reprimanded Xiao Lian with a gentle voice.

She gracefully moved to stand five meters away from Wukong, her ethereal eyes filled with complexity as she focused on him. Despite her veil, the contour of her face suggested that she was an extraordinary beauty.

After a while, her voice slightly abnormal, she said, "You are Yin Yu Ye."

Wukong paused in surprise, puzzled. This young girl actually knew him.

Seeing Wukong's silence, the girl in the green dress spoke softly, "Since Master Yin wants to see Yu Yao, why not let Yu Yao show him?"

As she spoke, Feng Yu Yao had already lifted her green veil, revealing a breathtaking face that stirred men's hearts and made women jealous.

She was Feng Yu Yao, the young miss of the Feng family in the city of Yu Tian. At the tender age of sixteen, she had already earned the title of the most beautiful woman in Yu Tian city. Moreover, her talent was incredible. At such a young age, she had cultivated to the peak of the Power Conditioning Realm, just a step away from the Illusion Power Realm.

No doubt, she was the unrivaled numero uno amongst young people in the city of Yu Tian. Yet it was this beautiful young lady with an extraordinary strength who had been betrothed to Yin Yu Ye, the young master of the Yin family in Yu Tian city.

Everyone knew that Yin Yu Ye had been declared incapable of cultivation at the age of ten. He was born without the Xuan Sea

a special power source

. Six years of ridicule had turned Yin Yu Ye into a self-abasing, weak, and desolate man who even spoke hesitantly to others.

Nevertheless, the so-called waste who was widely talked about, was now collecting the carcass of a low-level monster beast. The look in his eyes was not of inferiority, but surprisingly of superiority.

That left Feng Yu Yao, who had grown used to the rumors about Yin Yu Ye, puzzled. Was he... really her weak, good-for-nothing fiancé?

The moment Feng Yu Yao took off her veil, Wukong was momentarily enchanted by her beauty. Soon after, he shook his head in disappointment. Although their eyes were somewhat similar, she was not Ah Li, the tender, clingy girl who was always happy to be by his side.

When the girl in the green dress heard that Wukong was Yin Yu Ye, she covered her mouth in shock, her face full of disbelief. After a while, she pointed at Wukong in astonishment, saying, "You... you... you are Yin Yu Ye. You killed the Wind Chaser Leopard."

"So what, is it your pet?" Wukong sneered, ignoring the two young girls. He picked up the giant corpse of the Wind Chaser Leopard and prepared to leave.

Before Xiao Lian could say anything, Feng Yu Yao opened her mouth and said, "Master Yin, I've been chasing this Wind Chaser Leopard for several days. Could you please give me its demon core? Yu Yao still stands by her words, she will exchange with something of equal value."

"No, old Sun also has its use." Wukong was decisive and didn't bother to be polite.

Although he knew he had a fiancée, the previously self-abasing him didn't dare to think about what kind of person this incredible beauty might be. The name 'Yu Yao' sounded familiar, but Wukong didn't make any connections.

"You... you... you actually refused, you..." Xiao Lian's face was full of disbelief. She had never imagined that her lady's request could be refused.

You should know, as long as Feng Yu Yao speaks out, let alone a lower ranking beast's nucleus, even hundreds of middle-ranked ones, there would be people scrambling to hand them over– yet, this guy...

Feng Yu Yao pulled aside the emotionally stirred Xiao Lian, shook her head at her with a complex gaze, and then looked at Wukong, speaking in a calm tone: "If young master Yin needs it, then it seems I have been presumptuous. I shall take my leave."

"Wait a moment."

Feng Yu Yao had just turned around with Xiao Lian, but they heard Wukong's voice behind them.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Lian strutted up confidently, extending her hand and said triumphantly: "Now you know you regret, give it here."

Feng Yu Yao's eyebrows slightly knitted, she quickly pulled Xiao Lian behind her because she heard a veiled threat in Wukong's tone.

"Miss..." Xiao Lian looked doubtful, not understanding, she let out a surprised scream from behind Feng Yu Yao.

"Leave your money behind," Wukong said to Feng Yu Yao, his tone was plain, yet there was a distinct threatening vibe.

Even though this young girl was at the peak of Foundation Building Stage, she should not be his match. He was about to repay his debts, if he could get some silver from them, it would help to secure their livelihood for a while.

"Wait, what?!" Xiao Lian could hardly believe her ears. Somebody was actually trying to rob her lady and moreover... rob her fiancee.

"Are you mad or something?" Xiao Lian could not stand Wukong's repeated rudeness and thereby yelled.

Upon hearing this, a sharp light flickered in Wukong's eyes which sent a tremble through Xiao Lian's body. She saw a chillingly malicious aura in his eyes. How could such gaze come from a weakling?

Feng Yu Yao's face remained tranquil, but inside, she was filled with shock and fear. It was acceptable to her if Yin Yu Ye didn't recognize her, but she never thought he would resort to robbery. What's more, she was being robbed for the first time by her own fiancee.

"I don't want to use force on you two little girls. Hand it over yourselves," Wukong spoke calmly, but his piercing gaze flickered with a chilling maliciousness.

Pap~!

With a flick of Feng Yu Yao's fingers, a delicate money pouch flew out from her spatial ring, soaring towards Wukong.

Wukong caught it with an outstretched hand, his pleased expression lighting up his face as he tossed it casually. The pouch had a considerable weight, and it gave off a faint feminine scent from the green material.

"Thanks," Wukong threw out a single word, hoisting the corpse of the Wind-chasing Demon Leopard over his shoulder and disappearing in the direction of the jungle's edge.

"Miss, how can you bear this? Who would rob their own fiancée?" Xiao Lian moved closer to Feng Yu Yao, her face carrying an expression of irritation.

Feng Yu Yao's face showed no emotion, but her eyes reflected a newfound curiosity towards Wukong. Just what kind of person was he?

"Miss, in ten days you are due to wed. Even if he doesn’t recognize you now, we’ll see if he feels awkward when you meet face to face" Xiao Lian mentioned grumpily, her lips pursed in dissatisfaction.

Right from the start, she had harbored ill opinions towards her lady's future husband. He was not only a cowardly good-for-nothing, but his character was questionable too. Xiao Lian found it absurd that her Mistress tolerantly contemplated on not rejecting this proposed marriage.

"Xiao Lian, you return first," Feng Yu Yao turned to Xiao Lian and spoke, then she herself followed the direction in which Wukong had left.

"Miss, where are you going?"

…