Lao Tzu is Ji Gong

Over the past ten days or so, under the care of Sun Wukong and the others, the celestial horses have grown plump and strong, full of energy, and are much more spirited than before.

Over the course of these ten days, Sun Wukong circulated his magical power almost every day, pouring it into the bodies of the celestial horses. Under the nourishment of his magical power, how could the celestial horses not grow strong and robust?

Now, whenever he comes to the stable, the celestial horses jostle and urge him to come to his side.

Previously, although the previous stable masters had also cultivated that supernatural power and could use their own magical power to help nourish the heavenly horses, their strength was completely different from that of Sun Wukong.

With so many celestial horses in the hands of those stable masters, it was impossible to completely nourish each and every one of them. It was common for their magical power to be exhausted before they could even infuse it into just a few celestial horses.

Moreover, not many people are willing to do such a thankless task. Having to meditate again to recover their depleted magical power is of no benefit to them.

Only someone at the level of a Great Luo Golden Immortal like Sun Wukong could infuse all those celestial horses with spiritual energy without consuming much of his own spiritual energy.

Moreover, some of those stable boys hadn't even cultivated this supernatural power at all. As soon as they arrived at the Imperial Stables, they were either in a hurry to cultivate it or thinking of finding someone else to transfer them to another place.

After all, the reputation of raising horses doesn't sound very good.

"My lord, you've been at the Imperial Stables for some time now. Since you have some free time today, how about I have my servants throw a banquet to celebrate? Firstly, to celebrate the great improvement in the quality of our horses under your careful care. Secondly, to welcome you back. What do you say, my lord?"

Following behind Sun Wukong, the eunuch in light blue robes spoke.

Over the course of ten days, the supervising official gradually resigned himself to his fate, no longer thinking about getting rid of Sun Wukong and taking on the role of the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses himself. During these ten days, he had witnessed all of Sun Wukong's actions over a long period of time, and his admiration for Sun Wukong grew stronger and stronger.

Chapter 461 Rebellion Against the Heavenly Court

Sun Wukong said, "Want to welcome me back? Very well, I haven't tasted the wine of the Heavenly Palace since I came to Heaven."

In the Imperial Stables, besides the stable masters, supervisors, clerks, strongmen, and officials of all ranks, there were also many fairy maidens.

As Sun Wukong nodded, the fairy maids and palace maids presented various rare treasures and delicacies on the crystal table in the main hall of the Imperial Horse Stable.

The nearby Heavenly Warriors brought out fine wines and delicacies; even before the bottles were opened, a rich aroma of alcohol permeated the air.

Sun Wukong, along with the supervisor, clerk, strongman, and officials of all ranks, were all seated and feasting. Suddenly, Sun Wukong remembered the figure of Marshal Tianpeng of the Milky Way and asked, "Gentlemen, may I ask what my official position as Bi Ma Wen is?"

The eunuch was taken aback and said, "Sir, the official title is it."

Sun Wukong asked, "What is your official rank?"

The supervising official said, "Your Excellency, your position as a stable boy is not up to the proper rank."

Sun Wukong exclaimed happily, "Since it's not classified, it must be extremely large and cannot be ranked. Otherwise, why would it be classified?"

The eunuch laughed and said, "Your Excellency is mistaken. This position of Bi Ma Wen is a minor official, the lowest of the low, and therefore not even in rank."

The eunuch continued, "The so-called lowest rank refers to the position of Bi Ma Wen, which is extremely lowly, only fit to look after horses. For example, after you took office, you worked so diligently day and night, feeding the horses until they were fat, and all you got was a 'good' from above. If there was even the slightest mistake, you would be reprimanded. If those heavenly horses were injured, that would be even more serious, and you would be punished and held accountable."

Sun Wukong's anger flared up, and he jumped up from his chair, exclaiming, "I'm so angry! So angry!"

He gritted his teeth and roared, "That old Jade Emperor is utterly inhuman! How dare he look down on me like this! Back on Flower Fruit Mountain, I was king and ancestor, living a carefree and happy life. How dare he try to trick me into raising his horses? Horse raising is a lowly and menial task for juniors, not for me! I won't do it! I won't do it! I'm leaving!"

The more he talked, the angrier he became, and with a thud, he kicked the crystal table in front of him away.

The fruit on the table rolled all the way to the entrance of the main hall, and various delicacies and vegetables were scattered all over the floor, leaving a mess. The jar of immortal wine shattered into a pile of glass shards, and a faint smell of wine permeated the entire hall.

"This……"

The incident happened so suddenly that the officials, both high and low, were still stunned and hadn't reacted yet.

He overturned the table, shouted loudly, and raised his Ruyi Jingu Bang (Golden Cudgel). He swung it around, making it as thick as a bowl, and then slammed it into a pillar in the main hall, smashing it to pieces.

Then he leaped up and transformed into a streak of light, flying towards the South Heavenly Gate, leaving the officials in the hall still in a daze.

In an instant, he arrived at the South Heavenly Gate. Just as he was about to fly over, a voice suddenly rang out like thunder.

"You demon monkey, where are you going? How can you be so rude? In the Heavenly Court, how can you just fly around on clouds? Stop right now, or don't blame us for attacking you."

"You're courting death!" Sun Wukong didn't even look at the speaker, and his Ruyi Jingu Bang, accompanied by a streak of light, struck down.

The speaker was none other than Dhritarashtra, one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Previously, the Four Heavenly Kings had a conflict with Sun Wukong. For the past ten days or so, Sun Wukong had been staying in the Imperial Stables to feed the celestial horses. Although the Four Heavenly Kings wanted to take advantage of this situation to cause trouble for Sun Wukong, they couldn't find any grounds for attack.

Furthermore, since Sun Wukong was in the Imperial Stables tending the horses, even if something went wrong while feeding the celestial horses, it wouldn't be their responsibility. Even if they discovered something wrong, it wouldn't necessarily mean they could do anything to Sun Wukong.

Therefore, upon seeing Sun Wukong flying in on a cloud, the Heavenly King Dhritarashtra was overjoyed and stepped forward to try and stop him. These four brothers were the Four Heavenly Kings guarding the Southern Heavenly Gate, holding positions far higher than Sun Wukong's lowly position of弼马温 (Bima Wen, a minor official in charge of horses). Even if they abused their power, Sun Wukong could do nothing about it.

Moreover, it was part of their job, so no one could say anything about it.

Enraged, Sun Wukong swung his golden cudgel, and the Heavenly King Dhritarashtra quickly plucked the strings of his pipa. A series of sharp, ringing sounds rang out, like the clanging of swords and spears, piercingly deafening.

At the same time, four colors—yellow, red, cyan, and blue—flew out from the pipa in his hand.

The pipa in his hand has four strings, representing earth, fire, wind, and fire respectively. Once activated, it emits endless light that attacks the enemy. Combined with the sonic attacks from the pipa strings, the two are incredibly powerful.

As the sound of the pipa began, Sun Wukong's movements suddenly froze, and his entire mind throbbed with pain, as if someone were hammering his head.

The sound of the pipa was like a dagger, trying to shatter his entire sea of ​​consciousness into pieces.

At that moment, the four attacks of earth, fire, wind, and water unleashed by Dhritarashtra, plucked from the strings of his pipa, had already reached him.

Sun Wukong shook his head, enduring the pain in his brain, and with a single blow, he dispersed the four attacks with his Ruyi Jingu Bang. Then, he struck again, aiming at the Heavenly King Dhritarashtra.

Dhritarashtra had no time to dodge and could only raise his pipa to try and block Sun Wukong's attack. With a bang, Sun Wukong's golden cudgel knocked the pipa out of Dhritarashtra's hand, and the pipa was covered with many cracks after the blow.

The pipa was knocked away, and Dhritarashtra couldn't help but groan, his whole body staggering backward.

"You insolent monkey, stop your rudeness! Look at the magic treasure!"

As soon as Dhritarashtra retreated, Virupaksha, Virudhaka, and Vaishravana appeared from the side.

The three unleashed their respective weapons, attacking Sun Wukong. They were a four-foot-long, incredibly sharp sword; an umbrella the size of a pot lid, inlaid with countless jewels; and a spotted fox-like weasel.

Chapter 462 The Great Sage Equal to Heaven

Seeing the three attacking, Sun Wukong remained calm and swung his golden cudgel to strike them back.

In an instant, the golden cudgel in his hand grew to be about ten feet thick and twenty feet long, its entire body gleaming with a brilliant golden light, with countless rays of divine light surging forth. With a single strike, it carried an immense and unparalleled power.

The swords and parasols of the Heavenly Kings Virudhaka and Vaishravana were also knocked away by Sun Wukong's blow. Sensing the powerful aura emanating from Sun Wukong, the weasel shrank back and did not attack him.

Having defeated the Heavenly Kings of Growth, Abundant Hearing, and Wide Vision, Sun Wukong did not linger any longer and flew out of the Southern Heavenly Gate on his somersault cloud.

"Where do you think you're going, you demon monkey? Stay here right now!"

When the Four Heavenly Kings saw Sun Wukong about to leave, they rushed up to try and stop him, but Sun Wukong's somersault cloud was so fast that the four of them could not stop him.

Seeing Sun Wukong fly down to the mortal realm, the Four Heavenly Kings were furious, but dared not go down to pursue him.

The four Heavenly Kings were ordered to guard the South Heavenly Gate. If they left rashly, the Jade Emperor would blame them, and they would be unable to bear the consequences.

It's not worth the four brothers taking this risk for such a trivial matter.

Sun Wukong somersaulted down to Flower Fruit Mountain, where he saw the monkeys playing and frolicking. Suddenly, a little monkey spotted Sun Wukong and cried out.

"The king is back!"

"The king is back!"

"..."

Hearing the shouts, the remaining monkeys and their offspring quickly looked in the direction where Sun Wukong was. Upon seeing that it really was Sun Wukong, the monkeys were overjoyed and immediately surrounded him, chattering incessantly.

In the Water Curtain Cave.

Sun Wukong sat on the stone chair in the very center, wearing golden armor, a red cloak, and a phoenix-shaped golden crown, looking extremely majestic.

Below, the monkeys and their offspring were bustling about, preparing all sorts of rare and exotic fruits and fine wines to celebrate Sun Wukong's return from the Heavenly Palace.

A monkey covered in black fur came up to Sun Wukong and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations! Your Majesty has been in the Heavenly Palace for more than ten years. You must have been granted a very high official rank."

Sun Wukong asked in surprise, "I've only been in Heaven for a little over half a month, how could it have been more than ten years?"

An old monkey jumped out and explained, “Your Majesty, you are unaware of time in heaven. One day in heaven is actually equivalent to one year on earth. So you have only been in heaven for a dozen days, but more than ten years have passed on earth. May I ask Your Majesty, what position do you hold in the Heavenly Palace?”

Sun Wukong shook his head repeatedly, saying, "It's hard to say! It's hard to say! It's utterly shameful! That old Jade Emperor doesn't know how to use people. Seeing my appearance, he appointed me as some kind of '弼马温' (Bima Wen), which means I'm in charge of raising horses, something that doesn't even belong to the ranks. When I first took office, I didn't know that and just played around in the Imperial Horse Stable. Only today, when I asked my colleagues, did I realize how lowly I was. At that time, I was so angry that I overturned the banquet, refused the official title, and that's why I came back from the mortal realm."

The monkeys said, "Well said! Well said! Your Majesty, you are the king of our Flower Fruit Mountain, living a carefree and joyful life. How could you possibly want to be his groom?"

As they talked, Sun Wukong and his monkey followers began drinking and making merry.

Just then, a little macaque ran in and reported, "Your Majesty, there are two one-horned demon kings outside the door who wish to see you."

"The One-Horned Demon King?" Sun Wukong said, "Let him in."

The two demon kings straightened their clothes and entered the Water Curtain Cave, bowing to Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong asked, "What do you two want from me?"

The two one-horned demon kings said, “We have heard that Your Majesty is recruiting talented people, but we have had no chance to meet you. Now that Your Majesty has been granted the Heavenly Decree and is returning home in triumph, we present you with an ochre-yellow robe to celebrate with you. If you would not despise us and accept us, we would be willing to serve you like dogs and horses.”

Sun Wukong was overjoyed. He put on the ochre-yellow robe and looked majestic. He was very satisfied and immediately appointed the two ghost kings as vanguard commanders.

After the two one-horned demon kings finished expressing their gratitude, they asked, "We have heard that Your Majesty has been in heaven for a long time. May we ask what position you have been given?"

Sun Wukong shook his head and said, "The Jade Emperor belittles the talented and appointed me as some kind of '弼马温' (Bima Wen, a lowly official in charge of horses)! It's truly shameful to admit."

Upon hearing this, the two one-horned demon kings said, "Your Majesty is so powerful, how can we raise horses for you? Why not become the 'Great Sage Equal to Heaven' instead?"

"The Monkey King?"

Sun Wukong muttered a few words, feeling very powerful, and was immediately overjoyed, repeatedly saying "Good! Good! Good!"

He immediately ordered the monkeys in the Water Curtain Cave to set up a banner with the four characters "Great Sage Equal to Heaven" written on it, and hung it on the highest peak of Flower Fruit Mountain, making it very conspicuous.

He turned to his monkey followers and said, "From now on, you may only call me the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and you are no longer allowed to call me King. Do you understand?"

"understood!"

The monkeys and their offspring chorused.