Legend has it that in the distant ancient times, there was a true god of war in the world—Sun Wukong. He was full of righteousness, without greed or desire, defiantly unyielding, and even the gods were wary of him.
It is said that he was transformed from a divine repair stone left in the mortal world by the ancient goddess Nuwa when she was repairing the sky. After tens of thousands of years, he absorbed the essence of the heavens and the earth, gradually breeding a consciousness. His body resided within the divine stone, but his consciousness was able to perceive the universe.
His birth astonished the heavens and Earth, reducing ghosts and gods to tears, made all monsters submit, and caused the entire chaotic world to tremble in fear. His arrival shone with a myriad of golden lights, punching a large hole in the realm of the gods. He took control of the entire demon world in just a hundred years. Legend has it that he wore an ancient sacred armor, and in his hand was an iron staff as heavy as a mountain, which could grow or shrink at will. A single strike could shatter mountains and rivers; another could pierce the Nine Heavens and reach into the clouds.
Although he was naturally mischievous, he had never had any conflicts with the realm of the gods. Yet, for some unknown reason, he became enraged and single-handedly marched upon the heavens, upsetting the entire realm of the gods. Hundreds of thousands of divine soldiers turned into ashes under his iron rod, and none of them could stand against him.
In the end, the Holy Buddha of the Western Heaven came to maintain order. He suppressed the god of war, Wukong, under the Five Elements Mountain, where he remained for tens of thousands of years.
"Did Sun Wukong, the God of War, die?"
A little girl of about ten years old asked naively, lifting her head to look at the old man with white hair in front of her.
The old man, his face covered in wrinkles, laughed lightly. His murky eyes swept over the children gathered around him, who loved to hear stories, and then he lovingly pulled the little girl into her arms and continued, "Of course he did not die. The legend suggests that Sun Wukong, the God of War, had an indestructible body. Even the Holy Buddha couldn't kill him and could only seal him under the Five Elements Mountain."
The old man's answer let the children breathe a sigh of relief. The little girl turned around and asked again, "But why did Sun Wukong, the God of War, cause such a disturbance in the Heavenly Palace, and why did the gods want to kill him? He never did anything wrong."
The old man's wrinkled face showed a hint of embarrassment. He had heard this story from his own grandfather when he was a child and had asked the same question, but no one knew the answer.
"Because the gods are narrow-minded."
Just as the old man didn't know how to answer the little girl, a deep, young voice came from behind.
The old man turned his head, his face full of surprise. He stared at the young man standing in the doorway of the decrepit thatched cottage, saying incredulously, "You...you're awake?"
The teenager, who looked about sixteen or seventeen, was clad in a black robe, which was tufted with holes soaked in blood. His raven-black hair was somewhat messy, but it only added to his handsome features.
"I'm fine now, thank you for your help. I owe you a debt of gratitude," said the young man, nodding his head.
The boy was someone he had rescued in the jungle while gathering wild vegetables a day ago. At that time, the boy was bloody and unconscious, lying on a rock, his bones shattered and barely breathing. Not wanting to see the boy torn apart by the jungle's beasts, he had brought him back, thinking the boy would not survive the night. Yet, incredibly, the boy now stood before him looking invigorated.
"Big brother, do you know about the gods in heaven? Can you talk to us about it?" The little girl got up from the old man's lap, ran to the boy, grasped his hand and looked at him with a pleading face.
The boy frowned slightly, a hint of coldness flashing in his sharp gaze, he snorted coldly, "A bunch of hypocrites, there's nothing good to talk about. I will find them someday."
Feeling a touch of hostility emanating from the boy, the old man looked thoughtful and couldn't help but ask, "I suppose young man, you have heard of the story of the Monkey King causing a great uproar in the Heavenly Palace, haven't you?"
There was still a grudge on the boy's stern face, and he gritted his teeth, "More than just heard about it, I've killed as many gods as there are hair on an ox."
Against the boy's boastful words and the hatred on his face, not only the old man, even the children huddled together felt the boy's intense hatred towards those celestial beings. These kids, who were not even ten years old, unconsciously shrank their necks, overwhelmed by the intimidating demeanor of this handsome older boy.
The old man shook his head thoughtfully. He really couldn't understand how a teenager of sixteen or seventeen years of age could harbor such great hatred toward the gods depicted in legends.
“As for the favor rendered, I will repay it in the future. I must leave now.” The boy dropped these words and strode towards the village exit.
Just as he turned around, a few embarrassing rumbling noise came from his stomach.
"Damn it, this mortal body is already losing strength after just one day and night without food." The boy turned his back to everyone, hiding his embarrassed face, cursing internally.
There he was, awkwardly standing, a boy with excessive pride, who froze on the spot, unable to move. At this time, there's a slight sound of footsteps from behind. The little girl was holding a dark item in her hand, which looks like a piece of toasted coarse bread.
"Big brother, you eat it." The little girl's sparkling eyes were filled with warmth as she smiled sweetly at him.
Though the coarse bread may not be appetizing, the boy couldn't stop swallowing his saliva.
Again, a growl echoed.
Another involuntary growl sounded from the teenager's stomach, unable to withstand his hunger and craving for food, he grabbed the loaf of bread from the little girl's hand and began to devour it.
Gulp!
The little girl sweetly watched the teenage boy wolf down her only food for the day, rubbing her flat belly and swallowing saliva.
The surroundings became quiet, all the children were watching the teenager devouring the food with their eager eyes, their actions of continuously swallowing saliva.
The teenager sensed the strange atmosphere, frowned, his sharp gaze swept over the dirty faces of these children, their ragged clothes, and their desirous eyes staring at the food in his hands.
"You... eat this kind of food every day?" The teenager turned his gaze to the old man, his tone somewhat stirred.
There was a bit of decline on the old man's face, he shook his head and said, "I am ashamed, these children are orphans. I couldn't bear to let them starve to death in this wilderness, so I took them in. To tell you the truth, the loaf of bread in your hands is the only food we have today."
In this continent where the strong are respected, ordinary people can only rely on their own hands to survive. Any person with a bit of cultivation background will hunt monsters deep in the jungle, earning enough money or filling their stomachs are more than enough, only these ordinary people can only gather some edible items on the outskirts of the jungle to sustain their lives.
The teenager put down the loaf of bread, sighed, squatted down, his palm gently sliding over the little girl's face.
"What's your name?"
The little girl, rotating her lively big eyes, smiled sweetly and said, "My name is Xiao Ya. Big brother, what's your name?"
The teenager smiled and said, "I am known as... Sun Wukong."
The teenager originally wanted to tell his name in this life, but he had once caused a ruckus in the celestial palace and led all the monsters of the monster world, why bother to continue using the mundane name of this life? Besides, his spiritual soul has now awakened, although he doesn't have his previous strength, he's still the Great Sage who can shake the whole celestial world with a stamp of his foot.
"Sun Wukong, eh? Your name is the same as the legendary War God Wukong, I admire War God Wukong so much. Grandpa says that War God Wukong is a great hero who stands up to the sky." Xiao Ya's eyes flashed with a glint of fascination as she spoke.
Not only Xiao Ya, but the other children also gathered around, showing the amount of admiration they had for War God Wukong.
The old man shook his head, betting that the boy refused to leave his real name.
"Do you guys want to eat meat?" Wukong suddenly stood up, his gentle eyes sweeping over each child's eye.
"Meat..."
Upon hearing about this food that they have always yearned for but never really seen, the children fell silent instantly.
"Can... can we really... eat meat?" A little girl swallowed saliva, asking timidly.
"If I can get just a small bite of meat, even just a tiny bite, I would rather not eat anything for three days."
Another little boy said eagerly. It was clear to see how much they craved meat.
For a group of children who dare not hope for three meals a day, meat was truly a luxury.
"Well... Wukong, are you going to hunt beasts?" At this point, the old man asked doubtfully.
Wukong nodded, saying, "Old Sun has always been grateful and willing to repay kindness. Having eaten a day's worth of your food, I certainly should return the favor a hundredfold."
Wukong had just awakened. Even though he had memories and experiences spanning thousands of years, his current strength couldn't even match one billionth of his prime. To put it bluntly, he considered himself as nothing but garbage now. Yes, just garbage.
This continent was named God's Remnant Continent, where practitioners train their bodies and open up a mysterious sea within them. Once they set foot in the Inheritance Temple and activate their inner mystery soul, they become true practitioners.
The ranks of practitioners range from low to high, divided into Body Refinement Realm, Soul Building Realm, Phantom Soul Realm, and Domain Soul Realm.
Once the mystery soul is activated, one is considered a practitioner in the Soul Building Realm. The mystery soul grants practitioners two abilities, one is their life skill and the other is their combat skill. Depending on the practitioner's physique, different life skills can be developed, such as the skill of power, speed, and physique. There are also some rare elemental skill sets.
Generally, practitioners only have one skill, though there are some gifted individuals who possess two. As for practitioners with three skills, they are almost non-existent on this continent.
The innate ability, in turn, engenders a battle talent, a unique combat capability exclusive to cultivators. The only way to evolve these two talents is to ceaselessly absorb energy and elevate the realm.
For cultivators in the Illusion Soul realm, their battle talent could advance, entering its second form after advancement, granting the wielders more uncanny and unpredictable abilities.
Cultivators in the Domain Spirit realm, in contrast, witness their battle talent evolving into its third, and final form - the Domain. Once the Domain is invoked, enemies are enveloped within one's territory. When two Domain Spirit realm powerhouses battle, with their domains at full stretch, structures within dozens of kilometers are shattered into fragments.
The elderly man furrowed his brow, persuading, "Old man, I was also a cultivator in the past, but with the vital energy in my dantian exhausted, I am now nothing but a disabled person. Yet, I can still discern that there's no mysterious energy inside you. The monster beast is formidable. It's better not to take such a huge risk."
"These are just some low-grade monster beasts. Old Sun
Wukong
can handle them," Wukong waved his hand dismissively, his speech pervaded with an uncontainable arrogance.
Who is Wukong? The war god who makes the entire deity army tremble. Even though he is devoid of strength now, he does not tolerate doubts about his ability. This is Wukong's nature, the temperament of a defiant, self-important Great Sage Equaling Heaven.
"Young one, go gather firewood with your companions. Wait for Old Sun to bring meat back," Wukong left these words of bravado behind and headed towards the village exit.