The Road to Godhood in Honor of Kings

"Ahem, I love playing with monkeys because, you know, monkeys are violent, fun, and fit my Monkey King personality perfectly, awesome!" Sun Wukong said.

"However, I'll still test your Chinese language skills on behalf of that middle-aged woman who's your Chinese teacher." Sun Wukong said with a serious expression.

"You think you can test us?" the fat man said with a look of disdain.

“Of course,” Sun Wukong said. “Have you heard Petőfi’s poem? Showing off is valuable, but being cute is even more so. If it’s for the sake of showing off, both can be abandoned.”

"Cough cough cough cough, Monkey, what did you change Petőfi's poem to?" Han Cheng asked helplessly.

"That's not what Petőfi said?" Sun Wukong looked bewildered. "Right, the original version seems to be 'Life is precious, love is more precious. But for the sake of showing off, both can be abandoned.'" Sun Wukong looked satisfied.

"That's impressive. It seems Sun Wukong prioritizes showing off above all else, even more than love or life itself," Sima Yi quipped.

"Of course! What's the point of showing off? Isn't it all for our pitiful self-esteem? As Xiang Yu said, 'To live, be a hero; to die, be a ghost of valor.' This expresses his ambition to value dignity more than life itself." Sun Wukong said with a serious expression.

"What? 'To live, be a hero; to die, be a ghost among heroes,' said Xiang Yu? I'm speechless, monkey, how bad is your Chinese?" Han Cheng was speechless again.

"Isn't that right? Aren't the last two lines 'Even now I think of Xiang Yu, who refused to cross the Yangtze River?' Isn't that what Xiang Yu said?" Sun Wukong looked completely bewildered.

"Ahem, you would write your own name in your poems?" Han Cheng asked helplessly.

"As a terrible student, I'm completely baffled and have no idea what you're saying," Gu Haifeng said.

"Then don't listen anymore, play games with your sister," Xu Xiaomeng said.

"Uh..." Han Cheng glanced at Xu Xiaomeng, worried that Gu Haifeng, this little cutie, would be ruined, but Gu Haifeng might not be innocent anymore...

After a few minutes.

"Little Gu, you're pretty good!" Sun Wukong said. "That ultimate move you used on Bodhidharma just now was really accurate!"

"Ahem, let me correct you. The reworked Bodhidharma doesn't rely on kicks; his ultimate move is delivered with his fists," Han Cheng said.

"Really? A person's fist can have that much power? That doesn't conform to ergonomics or physics!" Sun Wukong said.

Gu Haifeng exclaimed with admiration, "Invincible God, you are so knowledgeable!"

"Ahem, he was just talking nonsense," the fat man couldn't help but say.

Sun Wukong remained calm and said, "Don't listen to that fat man's nonsense. He's just jealous of my talent. It's his good fortune to meet someone as talented as me at such a young age."

"I think I've had the worst luck in eight lifetimes," the fat man said.

Outside the training room.

"Brother Ma, I think this Gu guy's positioning and skills are pretty sharp, he seems alright," Han Cheng said.

"Yes, it was indeed a bit unexpected. I thought he was a weakling," Sima Yi said.

"I thought so too before. The first time he soloed with me, he used Han Xin's second skill backwards several times," Han Cheng said.

"But he seems to be doing alright now," Sima Yi said in a deep voice. "However, have we overlooked a problem?"

"what is the problem?"

"Is this kid only good at playing Bodhidharma? Otherwise, why would his Han Xin be so bad..." Sima Yi looked horrified.

"Maybe he just doesn't know how to play Han Xin..." Han Cheng thought his die-hard fan couldn't possibly be that bad.

"I hope so!" Sima Yi said.

In the training room.

"I feel like the club is missing a top player?" Gu Haifeng muttered.

“Oh, you mean Ye Bing, the one with the name 'tol: illusion,' you must be referring to him,” Xu Xiaomeng said.

"Night Ice? So even the name of the Great God of Illusion is so aloof. His Mulan is amazing. But why didn't he come today?" Gu Haifeng asked again.

"I guess something's come up at home, and he's on the phone with Brother Ma, so he'll be a little late," Xu Xiaomeng added.

"Who is Brother Ma?" Gu Haifeng asked, puzzled.

“Our manager is Sima Yi, commonly known as Brother Ma…” Sun Wukong finally interjected.

-

At noon, Ye Bing finally arrived.

"Is Ye Da here?" Sun Wukong and Fatty asked.

"The Great God of Illusion has arrived!" Gu Haifeng exclaimed.

"Who are you?" Ye Bing looked at Gu Haifeng with some surprise. She had never seen this person before.

"My name is Gu Haifeng. I'm new to our TOL club, and I'll be able to fight alongside you guys from now on!" Gu Haifeng said excitedly.

"Oh, I see. Welcome, welcome," Ye Bing said. "But it's too early to fight alongside us. The KPL Winter League still has some time before it starts, and I guess we'll be back in school by then, so we won't be there for the opening ceremony."

"When do you start school?" Gu Haifeng asked again.

"Don't even mention it, it's all tears. We only had a few days off this time, and it's almost all gone now," said Sun Wukong.

"Oh, I see," Gu Haifeng said.

"What year is Xiao Gu in the first month of the lunar calendar?" Sun Wukong asked again.

"I'm a senior in high school, and I should graduate in another six months," Gu Haifeng said calmly.

"Are you a senior in high school? Are you 17 or 18 this year?" The fat guy was also astonished.

“I’m 18,” Gu Haifeng replied.

Everyone looked on in astonishment. He was older than them, especially Xu Xiaomeng, who kept referring to herself as "older sister" to Gu Haifeng...

A moment later, Sima Yi entered the training room.

"Ahem, well, the King of Glory Strongest Team Championship Pingshan Station has already ended, and the KPL Winter League will be held in mid-February on a weekend," Sima Yi said. "It's only been a few days since the Spring Festival, so don't worry, you'll probably all be back in school by then..."

"So does that mean we don't need to train for the next few days?" Sun Wukong asked, his face beaming with excitement.

“That’s right. Although you have signed contracts with the club, you haven’t had any matches to play yet, and you haven’t been paid. Take a few days off first,” Sima Yi said.

"That's great, I can finally get a good night's sleep," Han Cheng said.

Sima Yi glanced helplessly at Han Cheng, "But before that, we have to play a training match. That team, the Violent Wind team, is looking for a club to train with, so I took them on. They probably want revenge too, and they're quite happy to know they have to play a training match with us."

"You want to be tortured that much?" Xu Xiaomeng crossed her arms.

"Dogs still need to be abused," the fat man said.

Sun Wukong quickly nudged the fat man with his elbow, "Fatty, Xiao Gu just arrived, be civilized, don't set a bad example for him!"

"Ahem, monkey, are you very civilized?" The fat man said with a look of disdain. "You start showing off in front of people as soon as they arrive. Aren't you setting a bad example for them?"

Sun Wukong: "..."