As the instigator, the white ape calmed down quickly, his inner heart clearly dominated by his race's grand plan.
He once again displayed an elder brother's smile and gently said, "My king, I'm doing this for your own good!"
No problem!
But I don't like it!
Pouting in frustration, Sun Wukong really couldn't blame him, considering he was a tribal elder, so such actions were somewhat justifiable.
Moreover, if it were something he liked, perhaps today he might have purposely come over to express gratitude.
After all, it's a world that judges by appearances!
So what can be done now, but to forgive him?
"Don't let it happen again, understand!"
That's what I wanted but you didn't have it. He patted the white ape's shoulder and saw he still wore a look of curiosity. Sun Wukong knew there was still misunderstanding, so he felt it necessary to explain further, "Actually, yesterday we practiced the staff technique all night…"
Hiss~
Damn, why does it feel somewhat off?
Forget it, just finish explaining!
Setting aside those inappropriate thoughts, Sun Wukong looked around at the monkeys and noticed they were still quite naive, so he continued, "I was intending to teach all of you today, but since they came over, I just taught them on the spot. Luckily, both of them are gifted and already mastered the moves. They just need to refine their skills from here on."
As long as you practice the staff technique, you won't have the energy to pay attention to me.
I'm such a genius. Sun Wukong observed the monkeys, each one already engrossed in what he'd said, exactly as he intended.
After giving instructions, he let two female monkeys demonstrate several times, then let the others figure it out themselves.
It wasn't that Sun Wukong was shirking his responsibilities and didn't want to teach, but some things, while clear in his own mind, became confusing when he tried to teach, leaving the learners even more perplexed.
Instead, it was easier for them to learn by watching, and once they were familiar with the moves, they would probably understand better. At that point, sharing a few tips with them might just make it click.
Yep... that's what Sun Wukong thought.
The monkey troop was also delighted, eager to finally learn the coveted staff technique. As long as they diligently practiced, they could eventually be as formidable as their king.
"Let's go, let's go practice…"
"I'm going too…"
"Wait for me…"
"Let's see who's the best…"
"You definitely can't beat me!"
"Yeah, right…"
With their spirits exceedingly high for martial arts, the monkey troop clamorously ran out of the cave, finding branches to use somewhere and crowding around the two female monkeys begging to learn the staff technique.
So, they began to demonstrate. Despite only having learned overnight, their execution had form, even if it lacked substance, but that was enough for a foundational lesson for the rest for now.
Simultaneously, Sun Wukong also taught them the horse stance to strengthen their lower body, a true basic.
Having been through many life and death ordeals, the monkeys deeply understood the fragility of life and harbored resentment towards the leaders of the Saber Wolf Sect, eager to master their skills in hopes of one day avenging themselves.
Now that they had a purpose, the monkeys were exceptionally earnest in their learning.
They shed their mischievous nature and calmed down to learn, focusing on the direction given by Sun Wukong, and began to desperately chase after it.
"Hmm... not bad, I should be able to teach the tricks tomorrow."
Sun Wukong watched from the sidelines, contentedly observing the monkeys' serious learning.
It's not easy! After enduring so much hardship, they finally have a chance to breathe. They must seize it well, to strive for improvement before their next ordeal arrives, hoping for a sliver of a chance for survival.
The heads of Saber Wolf Sect, various leaders, Black Hawk, Yin Hu, and another potential enemy—Dragon Jiao. These were all unstable threats to the monkey troop, especially Black Hawk and Yin Hu, with tensions between them possibly erupting at any time.
No, this is too passive. I can't be led by the nose; I need to find a way to break the situation.
But how to break it? Sun Wukong returned to the pit, sat cross-legged, and began to calmly contemplate the methods of breaking the situation.
Due to Saber Wolf Sect's troubles with the multi-headed turtle, they shouldn't cause trouble for the ape tribe in the short term. However, the possibility of them teaming up with the multi-headed turtle cannot be ruled out, especially since the turtle is cautious and strategic. This needs to be guarded against.
Moving the monkey tribe to Western Gaoling by the multi-headed turtle, which offended the Eagle King along the way and indirectly involved the tiger tribe, suggests significant scheming, including possibly even the unseen dragon serpent being part of these calculations.
It is time to sort this out.
I need to start reasoning from the Saber Wolf Sect leader.
First, the Saber Wolf Sect head had a conflict with the multi-headed turtle, which resulted in mutual injuries and even set a fire in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.
This indicates that there must be something in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range that he was after. Given the cautious nature of the multi-headed turtle, he wouldn't have fought to mutual injury with the Saber Wolf Sect head over something that didn't relate to a major interest.
From these points, either they have a deadly feud or they are fighting over some treasure. The former is very unlikely, while the latter is more probable, subtly linked to the inexplicable action of driving the monkey tribe into Western Gaoling.
If the entire situation is linked, could it be thought this way:
The multi-headed turtle and Saber Wolf Sect head were fighting over a treasure in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, which led to their mutual injuries and decreased power.
Therefore, for their own safety, they drove the monkey tribe into Western Gaoling to disrupt the balance among the Eagle, White Tiger, and Dragon Serpent tribes, keeping them too busy to focus on themselves. This not only ensured their own safety but also drained the power of the four tribes, and when they regained strength, they could take advantage of the weakened tribes to dominate and control the orchards and Western Gaoling completely.
There's also a very important piece of information here.
That is, the treasure that the multi-headed turtle and the Saber Wolf Sect head were fighting over is very likely located within this tri-tribal region, or involves all of them.
Hisss~
Is this the truth?
I'm really damn smart.
"However, I can't be completely sure yet. I need to go and carefully verify it," he said.
Touching his chin's monkey hair, Sun Wukong began planning, thinking about the most beneficial way to break the situation for the monkey tribe.
Thus, he thought throughout the morning.
"Hmm... There it is!"
Under the blazing sun, Sun Wukong suddenly clapped his hands, then leapt out of the pit. "Since it's going to be a mess, let's make it a big one. You want stable development, but I won't play into your hands. I want to stir up the waters of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, completely derailing all your plans."
With a direction now set, Sun Wukong felt his mind relax, and a sense of clarity washed over him.
Looking at the spiritual platform, the dark aura swirling around the Black Monkey Rune Seal seemed to have condensed a bit more.
Faintly, Sun Wukong felt he would soon know how to control it.
Just touching it could almost double his strength. If fully unleashed, he might indeed be capable of facing powerful demons like the Saber Wolf or the multi-headed turtle.
Thinking about it, he was quite excited!
Under the blazing sun, Sun Wukong stretched his limbs. Perhaps due to the spiritual charm, he felt no heat at all.
Yet looking at the other monkeys practicing with sticks, all of them were more spirited than ever, and unbelievably, none of them were sweating even after such long practice.
Could there really be something strange here?
Sun Wukong stroked his chin, thinking of when the monkey tribe had taken over the water source. It was just a simple desire to take advantage of the monkey tribe, and even when Yin Hu, the General, divided the regions, he wasn't distressed, which indicated that they were unaware of this phenomenon.
Could it be...
This phenomenon only started occurring after the arrival of the monkey tribe?
Sun Wukong pondered, feeling as if he might have discovered something incredible.
Just when he was about to investigate more thoroughly, the white ape suddenly rushed over from a distance, his face bearing a grim expression - obviously, it was no trivial matter.
Could it be that the Eagle King couldn't refrain from making a move?
Or had the multi-headed turtle started some new mischief?
Or perhaps the Saber Wolf Sect head had barged in directly?