Journey to the West: Sun Wukong's Advice System
Chapter 64 I, Sun Wukong, Have Slacked Off

Chapter 64: Chapter 64 I, Sun Wukong, Have Slacked Off

In Tongming Hall.

The Jade Emperor wore a moon-white robe and held a scroll in his hand, carefully perusing it.

Taibai Venus stood by, his eyes on his nose, his nose on his mouth, his mouth on his heart, already wandering off to who knows where.

"The Martial Arts Convention is coming up soon, right?" the Jade Emperor suddenly asked.

"Your Majesty, it’s not far off," Taibai Venus quickly replied. "Lord Li asked last time how this year’s convention should be organized, and I advised him to wait a bit longer."

"Has the position of the convention’s overseer been decided?" the Jade Emperor put down the scroll.

"Ah, about that..." Taibai Venus’s expression changed, and he hastily said, "Your Majesty, I am at fault. In past years, Lord Li always managed the Martial Arts Convention, so I thought..."

"You, Li Changgeng, love to talk; why don’t we have you oversee the Martial Arts Convention this year?" the Jade Emperor sneered.

"Your Majesty, I am not knowledgeable enough, I cannot shoulder such a heavy responsibility," Taibai Venus said in fear.

"Are you suggesting I should do it?" the Jade Emperor scoffed.

"Heaven is full of wise talents, there must be someone who can alleviate Your Majesty’s concerns," Taibai Venus replied.

"So, whom do you think can alleviate my concerns?" the Jade Emperor asked.

"Marshal Canopy?" Taibai Venus cautiously answered.

"He’s good at lobbying, but he lacks responsibility and cannot accomplish great things."

"Righteous Saint Marshal?"

"He’s obedient, but lacks strong opinions, good enough for running errands."

"Lord Wenqu?"

"Just a famous name, too overly straightforward."

"Lord Yutang?"

"Why bother him?"

"Lord Tianxi?"

"Hmm?"

Taibai Venus instantly felt a chill envelop his entire body and fearfully said, "Your Majesty, I am dull-witted!"

The Jade Emperor shifted his gaze away, casually inquiring, "What about the Great Sage Equalling Heaven?"

Taibai Venus promptly smiled and praised, "Your Majesty is wise. The Great Sage Equalling Heaven is not only talented, meticulous, and broad-minded but also good at socializing and, being a Daluo Golden Immortal, is definitely capable of this significant responsibility."

"Summon him here." The Jade Emperor picked up the scroll again and carefully perused it.

Taibai Venus received the order and retreated, walking backwards out of Tongming Hall until he left Miro Palace, where he finally took a deep breath of relief.

"The Emperor’s thoughts are getting harder and harder to guess... No, Li Changgeng, you’ve grown bold, how could you try to guess the Emperor’s thoughts?!"

"This is a lesson; I must not associate much with those Immortal Officers and Divine Generals in the future."

Taibai Venus warned himself this way; after all, he had only chatted a bit more than usual with Li Jing the last time, not expecting the Emperor to find out.

Fortunately, he had understood the Emperor’s thoughts and was prepared.

Since the Divine Enthronement, the Heavenly Martial Arts Convention had always been managed by Marshal Li Jing of Pagoda-stabilizing Heaven, who publicly belonged neither to the Sect of Origins nor to the Sect of Cuts, nor to Buddhism.

But in reality, Li Jing had intricate connections with both the Sect of Origins and Buddhism, and even if he was fair, he inevitably favored these two powers during the convention’s organization.

Now that the Emperor had begun to change, this Martial Arts Convention was about to break the old rules, and the overseer for the convention would necessarily be replaced.

However, he definitely couldn’t suggest the candidate himself; it had to be said by the Emperor personally.

Even though he had an early guess.

That’s why he initially recommended Marshal Canopy, who stayed out of disputes but backed by a faction, followed by the sponsorless Righteous Saint Marshal,

and finally, he recommended several old ministers from the Shang Dynasty, including the perpetually disheartened King Zhou of Tianxi Faction, all inclined towards the Sect of Cuts.

"This matter of replacement has its considerations," said Taibai Venus as he pinched his beard and rode the clouds toward the Great Sage Equalling Heaven’s residence.

A moment later, he was leading Sun Wukong as they flew toward Tongming Hall.

Along the way, no matter how the Great Sage Equalling Heaven questioned him, Taibai Venus would not reveal what the matter was about, only giving a chuckle and saying he’d find out once they arrived.

Sun Wukong was cautious about the Jade Emperor, but not to the point where he dared not meet him face to face, since that would make him lose initiative.

Upon their arrival at Tongming Hall, he greeted the Jade Emperor with a cupped hands salute, a form of courtesy, and asked, "Your Majesty, for what matter have you summoned Wukong here?"

The Jade Emperor smiled and said, "You have been in the Armory Department for some time now, have you found any clues about the murderer in the Deng Hua assassination case?"

Sun Wukong stated bluntly, "Your Majesty, the murderer is Tu Xingsun."

The Jade Emperor was surprised, "Oh, is there any evidence?"

"What need is there for evidence." Wukong said, "Your Majesty is a supreme sovereign, reigning over the three realms, simply issue a divine decree to arrest him, and see who dares not to comply or resist?

If anyone dares not to comply, they must be his accomplices, just arrest them all to save trouble."

The Jade Emperor frowned slightly. If it were so simple to just arrest people, what would he need Sun Wukong for?

He certainly caught the barb in Wukong’s words but couldn’t fathom the source of this monkey’s discontent.

"Great Saint, you speak amiss," Taibai Venus, standing by, quickly interjected to smooth things over, "There are regulations and orders in Heaven to manifest order and authority,

If we arrest and condemn without evidence, it would disrupt the order and undermine the majesty of Heaven. Over time, it may lead to chaos throughout the three realms."

"Now we talk about rules and order." Sun Wukong could hardly mask his displeasure.

According to the senior known as the Omniscient of Primordial Times, it was the Jade Emperor who had traded him to Buddha Tathagata before his rebellion in the Heavenly Palace. Where were the rules then?

The Jade Emperor and Taibai Venus exchanged glances, increasingly puzzled about who had offended this monkey. Hadn’t he been easy to talk to before?

"Sun Wukong, what are you dissatisfied with?" asked the Jade Emperor in a deep voice.

"With Your Majesty’s vast majestic power, how dare Wukong be dissatisfied?" Sun Wukong saluted, "Heaven is splendid indeed; I just hope Wukong doesn’t end up with the fate of a cooked rabbit or dog."

The Jade Emperor’s expression darkened.

Taibai Venus was startled and hastily stepped forward, "Great Saint, why would you say such a thing? His Majesty has always been benevolent and righteous, and would never do such a thing!"

Sun Wukong knew when to stop, and immediately laughed it off, "Venerable Star Lord, you are wronging me. I never said it was His Majesty."

"Humph!" The Jade Emperor snorted, "Sun Wukong, you idle around all day, calling friends for fun, but Heaven is not a place for you to frolic at will.

The Martial Arts Tournament is approaching, and now I charge you with its organization. If there are any lapses, severe punishment will follow!"

Sun Wukong then realized the true purpose of this summons.

But because his earlier words were suggestive, the Jade Emperor was displeased and turned what should have been encouraging words into a threat of severe punishment.

"Great Saint, will you not promptly accept the decree and express gratitude?" Taibai Venus reminded from the side.

"Express gratitude?" Sun Wukong stood tall, feigning grievance, "Since ascending to Heaven, Wukong has done much, yet has not received a day’s stipend; instead, he was penalized with ten thousand years’ worth of stipends. And now you mention severe punishment; whoever likes this job can have it!"

"Hmm?" The Jade Emperor’s gaze pierced through him, his imperial authority enveloping the entirety of Tongming Hall.

"Heh heh, Your Majesty, calm your anger, it’s just a small complaint," Sun Wukong chuckled as he scratched his head, "This Martial Arts Tournament, Wukong will surely organize it perfectly, maintaining the dignity of Heaven."

"You may leave," the Jade Emperor shifted his gaze away.

Sun Wukong, having vented his frustrations, felt much more relieved and left joyfully.

After the Monkey King departed, the Jade Emperor pondered, "Is he being cautious around me?"

Taibai Venus chuckled, "The Great Sage Equalling Heaven is simple and honest; perhaps he is just dissatisfied with seeing no benefits from his efforts."

"Ungrateful monkey!" the Jade Emperor snorted, "I charge him with these tasks to accumulate his merits."

The rules of Heaven indeed needed to be followed, and even he, as the Heavenly Emperor, could not promote people casually.

Just as he had promoted Zhenwu from Supreme Divine Champion to Martial Emperor, even though Zhenwu had achieved the rank of Quasi-Saint, he still had to descend to the lower realm to subdue demons after his promotion.

Because only by achieving notable merits can he silence those who oppose.

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