Firmament Sword

The Monkey continued, ”In the Ancient Era, Celestial Brilliance used to accept disciples year-round. But in recent times, for the past few hundred thousand years, it has only opened its gates once every three hundred years. And every time it does… geniuses are as numerous as the stars. They’d practically kill each other to get into Celestial Brilliance!”

As the Monkey spoke, he glanced at Master Mao. ”Little kitty, you tell me. Under these circumstances, how could any disciple from Celestial Brilliance not be an incredibly talented and brilliant individual?”

”AHHHH! Master Mao is a Heaven-Swallowing Fox! Not a little kitty!” Master Mao flew into a rage, brandishing his claws and menacing the Monkey.

The Monkey wasn’t about to back down. He bared his fangs, and the two of them immediately started brawling. CLANG! BANG!

Right on the bank of the Forbidden Spirit River, the two powerful creatures exchanged several hundred blows in the blink of an eye.

Then, Master Mao dejectedly withdrew from the fight. ”I’m done! You rotten monkey, you’re too despicable! You only aim for Master Mao’s weak spots!”

”Pah! You have the nerve to say that about me?” The Monkey sneered, glaring at Master Mao. ”Weren’t you just aiming below the belt? Damn it, if I were a female, I’d have fought you to the death for that!”

Pfft!

Xu Luo, watching from the side, nearly burst out laughing. He came to a conclusion: these two had absolutely no shame.

”Fine! Once Master Mao gets a little stronger, I’ll come settle the score with you!” Master Mao said resentfully.

The Monkey rolled his eyes and snorted. ”By the time you get stronger, this king will be even stronger!”

Xiaojin didn’t dare make a sound off to the side, but his heart was filled with envy. ’When will I be able to stand on the same level as these kings and chat so freely?’ he wondered.

After that, the Monkey led Xu Luo, Master Mao, and Xiaojin away from the Forbidden Spirit River and continued onward.

After walking for thousands of miles, they finally saw the first human city. Xu Luo couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. Though he hadn’t been away from the Human World for long, it felt like many years had passed.

Especially since upon entering the Divine Domain, he had gone straight into the Vast Mountains, a place dominated by beasts. He had felt a little out of place the whole time.

Now that he finally saw a human city, he suddenly felt much happier.

”I came to this city once, many years ago. My uncle brought me back then...” The Monkey gazed at the city before them, a reminiscent look in his sparking, electric eyes.

”Don’t you need to transform or something?” Xu Luo asked, looking at the Monkey.

The Monkey glanced at Xu Luo and shook his head. ”No need. There are plenty of other beasts walking around in the human cities of the Divine Domain. It’s not a problem.”

Once they entered the city, the Monkey led Xu Luo forward, navigating the streets with an ease that suggested he knew them by heart.

Xu Luo paid attention to the people on either side of the street, discovering that they were indeed very different from those in his own world.

The most obvious difference was that the people of the Divine Domain clearly had very long lifespans!

Xu Luo saw several elderly men, who looked to be at least a hundred and some decades old, sitting on stone benches by the road and basking in the sun. Yet, there were no energy fluctuations within their bodies, meaning they were clearly ordinary people of the Divine Domain.

Ordinary people of that age were extremely rare in his world, almost impossible to encounter. The occasional one would be hailed as a venerable elder.

But here... in just a short stretch of road, Xu Luo saw more than a dozen.

Another difference was that in this city, Xu Luo encountered a large number of Transformation Realm Martial Artists, and many in the Divine Power Realm as well. But they all looked very ordinary, hurrying along the road just like the common people of the Lower Realm.

They completely lacked the imposing aura that Martial Artists of this level should have in the Lower Realm.

In the Lower Realm, forget the Divine Power Realm—even a Transformation Realm Martial Artist walking among mortals would have an aura as conspicuous as a lamp in the dead of night.

When it came to mortals, even a cultivator with a peaceful disposition wouldn’t pay them much heed.

But here, these Transformation Realm and Divine Power Realm Martial Artists were simply part of the Divine Domain’s secular world.

A sense of superiority... was something they completely lacked!

As for the Saint Realm... there weren’t nearly as many. Along the way, Xu Luo had only encountered one. The aura fluctuating from this person was incredibly powerful, clearly very different from those in the Transformation and Divine Power Realms, and he had a solitary, arrogant expression.

This person probably sensed the aura on Xu Luo as well. He glanced at Xu Luo, then at the Monkey beside him, before brushing past with a blank expression.

”In the Divine Domain, only by reaching the King level—which is the Saint Realm for you humans—can you be considered a true powerhouse. Only by stepping into the Emperor level can you be called an overlord of a region!” the Monkey transmitted his voice to Xu Luo. He then added, ”And only those who reach the realm of an Emperor Venerable can be considered a true ruler!”

’It seems I still have a long road ahead of me,’ Xu Luo thought to himself.

The Monkey arrived at a very ancient-looking inn and walked right in. The inn’s owner was, surprisingly, also a golden monkey. Upon seeing the Monkey, he froze for a moment, then broke into a wide, silent grin.

The Monkey introduced him to Xu Luo. ”This is a member of our Golden Monkey Race who left the clan. He’s been running this inn here for many years.”

Then he introduced Xu Luo to the Golden Monkey Race innkeeper. ”This is my brother!”

”Greetings. I am Hou San... I am honored to meet you, Young Master!” The innkeeper from the Golden Monkey Race had initially just given Xu Luo a polite smile, but after hearing that Xu Luo was the Monkey’s brother, his attitude immediately became much warmer, and he bowed in salute.

Xu Luo clasped his fist in return and said, ”Your Golden Monkey Race... you leave the Endless Mountains to do business?”

Hou San gave a bitter smile, glanced at the Monkey, and said, ”This humble one angered a powerful figure in the clan and was forced to leave my home. I am merely eking out a living here.”

The Monkey waved his hand. ”Why bring this up in front of a guest? Hou San, go get some good food and wine. My brother and I need to have a good drink. We’re travel-worn from the road—my feet are about to get blisters!”

”Right away! Please wait, it’ll be out in a moment!” Hou San immediately gave orders to prepare food and wine for the honored guests.

Once in the back courtyard, Xu Luo looked at the Monkey, who seemed to have something on his mind, and asked, ”Brother Hui, about this Hou San?”

The Monkey sighed and said, ”The Golden Monkey Race used to be very united. I wouldn’t say everyone was of one mind, but we didn’t have as much internal strife as other races. That changed over eight hundred years ago.”

”At that time, two new members were born into the Golden Monkey Race. One was my uncle, and the other was a ’grand-uncle’ from another branch. We were related by blood, but not that closely.”

The Monkey recalled, ”Coincidentally, both my uncle and that grand-uncle were geniuses of incredible talent. Their innate gifts were unbelievably good. My uncle, especially, was the most brilliant of all! In the entire history of the Golden Monkey Race, he was truly unprecedented!”

”The clansmen placed high hopes on both my uncle and my grand-uncle. But inevitably, everyone compared the two of them from a young age. And of course, my uncle always had a slight edge...”

When the Monkey mentioned his uncle, his eyes shone with immense pride. ”Hou San’s ancestors were followers of my uncle. In their daily lives, it was inevitable that they showed some disrespect to my distant grand-uncle’s branch. Sigh... when you get down to it, you can’t really say who was right or wrong in these matters.”

Xu Luo said, ”So after something happened to your uncle... they were driven out?”

The Monkey glanced at Xu Luo. ”You humans are so cunning. You figure these things out in a second...”

”That’s called being smart, okay?” Xu Luo retorted. ’You could find tons of stories just like this in the thousands of years of mortal history, all with recorded names and dates... What’s so strange about it?’ he thought.

”So I’ve always felt guilty about Hou San and his family. It’s just that my own ability is limited, and I’m no match for my grand-uncle. Otherwise, I would’ve definitely fought my way back and gotten justice for them!” the Monkey said.

Just then, the innkeeper Hou San’s voice came from outside, tinged with a sob. ”For the young master to even have such thoughts, my family and I are already endlessly grateful. My grandfather’s greatest wish before he died was that one day, he could be buried back in the ancestral lands of the Golden Monkey Race.”

The Monkey said in a low voice, ”I will definitely help you fulfill that request! There was no real right or wrong in what happened back then. If my uncle were still around, who would have dared to do such a thing?”

Hearing this, Hou San knelt on the ground with a grateful expression, thanking the Monkey for his righteousness.

”Sigh, it’s what I should do.” The Monkey helped Hou San up, then said apologetically to Xu Luo, ”Sorry to make a fool of myself in front of you and make the mood so heavy.”

Hou San also apologized profusely to Xu Luo.

Xu Luo waved his hand. ”Every family has its own troubles. I wouldn’t laugh.”

Afterward, Hou San had someone bring out a large spread of exquisite food and wine. The Monkey pulled him down to sit and eat and drink with them.

Hou San had been here for many years and had a deep understanding of many matters. He also knew a great deal about the various rumors circulating in the Divine Domain.

”Young Master, a couple of years ago, I heard a rumor about his eminence.”

”What? News about my uncle? Then hurry up and tell me!” The thing the Monkey cared about most was news of his uncle. Upon hearing this, he couldn’t sit still, his face a mask of impatience.

”It seems Celestial Brilliance has found a way to open those ancient ruins. They sent a large number of experts deep into the Divine Domain. I vaguely heard that among the first to set foot in those ruins was a powerful monkey of unfathomable strength. You could almost say he was the single greatest contributor to opening the path into the ruins!” Hou San said.

BANG!

The Monkey slammed his fist onto an empty stone bench beside him, instantly shattering it to pieces.

”Damn it! Those despicable humans! My uncle... a hero of his generation... they actually used him like some kind of vanguard monster to clear the way! They deserve to die!” The Monkey’s expression was sorrowful, his voice furious and heavy.

Hou San, afraid that Xu Luo would be offended by the Monkey’s remark lumping all humans together, quickly explained, ”The young master was extremely close with his uncle back then. His eminence single-handedly raised him...”

”Hou San, you don’t need to explain anything. This brother of mine isn’t like other humans!” the Monkey said from the side.

Xu Luo gave a wry smile. ’You damn monkey,’ he thought, ’is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?’