Journey to the West: Sun Wukong's Advice System
Chapter 96 Congratulations General, You Have Acknowledged Another Father

Chapter 96: Chapter 96 Congratulations General, You Have Acknowledged Another Father

Northern Heavenly Gate.

Years ago, when the Martial Great Emperor served as the Guardian Saint, he had commanded the Earthly Fiends Division from the Northern Heavenly Gate for many years, setting up camp nearby.

From a distance, amidst the misty clouds, countless banners fluttered in the wind; squadrons of black-armored heavenly soldiers drilled in formation, their majestic and vast aura chilling to the core.

"Good, very good!" Sun Wukong was overjoyed.

Such an army of heaven, although internally in disarray, overall seemed formidable thanks to the groundwork laid by the Martial Great Emperor.

The Heavenly Court boasted three divisions: the Celestial Troop, the Earthly Fiends Division, and the River Heaven Navy.

Among them, the Celestial Troop was the strongest, with only thirty-six thousand soldiers, yet each one’s strength, weaponry, and magical treasures surpassed those of the other two divisions.

Then came the River Heaven Navy with the greatest numbers, boasting eighty thousand soldiers, though each was relatively weaker in strength and magical treasures.

The Earthly Fiends Division stood in between, with a force of seventy-two thousand, where the soldiers and generals may not match the Celestial Troop, but they were certainly stronger than the River Heaven Navy.

"When will Wukong’s Fruit Mountain ever possess such strength?" Sun Wukong sighed.

After his return from Magic Square Mountain, he taught his monkey horde numerous cultivation techniques and Divine Skills to practice.

Residing within a blessed land of cave heaven, those monkeys’ progress in cultivation was not slow.

But time was too short; unlike the soldiers and generals of the heavenly court who benefited from years of accumulation, frequent drills, and expeditions, the martial prowess of Fruit Mountain was still too far behind.

It’s worth mentioning that many of the cast-off weapons and magical treasures of the heavenly soldiers and generals had been acquired by him, tens of thousands of items sent back to Fruit Mountain.

With these treasures in hand, although Fruit Mountain’s strength still fell short of the heavenly army’s, it could now dominate in the lower realms.

Thinking thus, Sun Wukong and Tai Bai Jin Xing approached the encampment of the Earthly Fiends Division, only to be stopped outside.

The guarding general spoke evenly, "What brings the two of you to this place? Please state your business clearly so we may report and welcome you accordingly."

Tai Bai Jin Xing said with a smile, "This is the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong. He has been decreed by His Majesty to take charge of the Earthly Fiends Division as the new Earthly Fiends Marshal."

The guard seemed startled, giving Sun Wukong a closer look, but he still did not allow them to pass, instead bowing and saying, "Please wait a moment, sirs, while I go and pass the word to the distribution of generals to come and receive you."

Sun Wukong clasped his hands behind his back, putting on airs and asked, "What is your name? Your cultivation is not low; why are you guarding the camp gate?"

The guard saluted, "I am Fei Peng, a general of the Dry Division Nine Battalion, on duty guarding the camp gate today."

Sun Wukong nodded, "Not bad, not bad. Go on and pass the word."

Fei Peng left some troops to continue guarding the gate and led a platoon of heavenly soldiers into the camp to inform the various generals.

Sun Wukong and Tai Bai Jin Xing were left outside, waiting.

Stroking his beard, Tai Bai Jin Xing commended, "The Martial Great Emperor commanded the Earthly Fiends Division for many years and has left behind quite a number of talented individuals."

Trying to maintain his poise, Sun Wukong suppressed the urge to scratch his head and smiled, "I’ve heard that under Martial Great Emperor’s command there were also five hundred spiritual officials. It truly makes one wonder how formidable these officials are."

Tai Bai Jin Xing expressed sentimentally, "Each one was capable of standing on their own, such as the leading official, Wang..."

The two chatted idly as they waited.

Shortly after, several figures were seen approaching from different parts of the Earthly Fiends Division’s camp, riding on clouds, with the previously seen guard Fei Peng following behind.

Upon arrival, they bowed to Sun Wukong, "We greet the Marshal."

With Tai Bai Jin Xing present, they had no doubts about the decree, for everyone knew he was one of the Emperor’s most trusted ministers.

"Heh heh, everyone, please, there’s no need for formalities," Sun Wukong, who could hardly contain himself in such a grand setting, quickly lost his composure and began to scratch his hands repeatedly with a laugh.

Yuan Hong, Deng Jiugong, and others had witnessed Sun Wukong’s impressive feats in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall on many occasions. Still, suddenly hearing that the Great Sage Equalling Heaven had become the new Earthly Fiends Marshal was somewhat jarring for them.

The gods exchanged glances before inviting the newly appointed marshal to enter the Earthly Fiends camp.

"There’s no hurry, no hurry," Sun Wukong said with a smile. "Isn’t there one more god who hasn’t arrived yet?"

Yuan Hong, Deng Jiugong, and others remained silent.

Su Hu, the god of the Gen division, chuckled, "Marshal, General Ji had something come up and has taken leave, currently not in the camp."

Flying Peng, the heavenly general, also hastily stood up and said, "Reporting to the Marshal, Gen division god Ji Shuming really isn’t in the camp, I have already sent heavenly soldiers to his residence to deliver the message."

"Oh?" The gleam in Sun Wukong’s eyes flickered, noting that out of eight gods, only one was absent, which clearly indicated an issue.

Moreover, there had been a reminder from a wise netizen who warned to pay special attention to Ji Shuming, as this person had a strong backer in the Heavenly Court, being a brother to both the Four Imperial Purple Weave Great Emperors and Hook Chen Great Emperor.

Indeed, having a backer in the Heavenly Court was very important.

At that moment, Zhang Kui, the god of the Xun division, sneered, "Before the Marshal and Taibai Venus arrived, wasn’t Ji Shuming still here? Could it be he’s deliberately avoiding meeting the Marshal?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong was not annoyed, but actually quite pleased, though his expression remained calm, betraying no hint of what he was thinking.

He looked again towards Su Hu, the god of the Gen division, curious as to how this brainless one would continue making excuses for Ji Shuming.

Su Hu did indeed speak up, saying with a smile, "Marshal, there is no need for concern. Ji Shuming had to leave in a hurry because of an imperial edict from the Ziwei Great Emperor."

"Heh, no need for concern?" Sun Wukong suddenly scoffed, "Is Ji Shuming your father, that you have to speak for him at every turn?"

After saying this, he walked past the camp gate with Taibai Venus, entering the Earthly Fiends camp.

Yuan Hong, Deng Jiugong, Hong Jin, and Jiang Huanchu hurriedly followed.

Zhang Kui and Zhang Guifang paused for a moment, then said to Su Hu with a smile, "Congratulations, General Su, you’ve recognized another father."

"Hmph!" Su Hu’s face turned extremely ugly, but he did not dare to leave just yet and followed at the rear.

The Earthly Fiends division had eight branches, each with nine battalions.

Sun Wukong entered the camp and made his way to the Commander’s Main Hall.

Besides the seven present gods, the seventy-two battalion heavenly generals were also summoned and gathered there.

Then, Taibai Venus publicly read the Jade Emperor’s decree, officially appointing the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong, as the marshal of the Earthly Fiends division.

Only then did Sun Wukong take his seat at the Commander’s throne.

"Greetings to the Marshal!" The gods from each division and the heavenly generals from each battalion saluted in unison.

This felt far more prestigious than being a Demon King at Fruit Mountain.

"Ha ha, good, be at ease, everyone be at ease," Sun Wukong held onto some composure and calm, refraining from cheering and leaping for joy on the spot.

Taibai Venus stood beside him, chuckling and stroking his beard. With his understanding of the Great Saint, he probably was finding it quite difficult to restrain himself at that moment.

After reading the decree, he didn’t intend to leave immediately but wanted to see how Sun Wukong would deal with these proud and fierce soldiers.

That way, he could return and report on the situation.

While he was thinking this, up stepped Yuan Hong in shining silver armor, his presence imposing, as he respectfully saluted with a fist, "I have long heard of the Marshal’s formidable strength, having once suppressed Demon Kings such as the Ox Demon King and the Jiao Demon King among six others in the lower realm.

We are curious, and would like to witness the Marshal’s prowess!"

With these words, neither the gods nor the heavenly generals present in the hall were surprised.

Since the departure of the Martial Emperor, the god of the Qian division, the once-discarded Four Wasted Star Lord Yuan Hong, had become the top expert of the Earthly Fiends division.

This sudden arrival of a new marshal was something he obviously could not accept.