Journey to the West: With a supernatural understanding, he entered Fangcun Mountain at the beginning
Chapter 19 - The Celestial Realm’s No.1 Rebel

Chapter 19: The Celestial Realm’s No.1 Rebel

Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li stood tall, wearing a golden crown and a brocade robe, holding his signature treasure pagoda, his expression solemn.

By his side was a young man, stepping on flaming wheels, draped in a celestial red ribbon, and wielding the Universe Ring—none other than Nezha, the Great God of the Three Altars of the Sea and Society from the Celestial Court.

High above, Li Jing gazed solemnly down at Mount Huaguo, his voice deep and resonant:

“Insolent demon monkey! You do not recognize the grace of Heaven, and dare to rebel against the Celestial Court? By the order of the Jade Emperor, I have come to subdue you. If you have any sense, surrender now to preserve the lives of those on Huaguo Mountain. Do not provoke the wrath of Heaven and bring disaster upon the innocent!”

His voice, filled with authority, rumbled like divine thunder, shaking the hearts of all who heard it.

The youth beside him curled his lips in disdain and turned his head, clearly unimpressed.

On the peak of Mount Huaguo stood Qin Chuan and the Monkey King. The mountain teemed with demon monkeys shouting, brandishing blades and swords, a formidable display of force.

The monkey stood proud and unyielding, holding his Golden Cudgel, and pointed it at Li Jing with a fierce roar:

“You pompous deity! Save your breath! That old Jade Emperor is blind as a bat, failing to recognize my true abilities and making me look after horses! What a joke!”

“Go back and tell that old fool to take a look at the title on my banner! If he listens to me, fine. If not, I’ll storm the Hall of Miraculous Mist and shake him off his precious throne!”

With a flourish of his cloak, the monkey declared his challenge with arrogant pride.

The mountain’s demon hordes erupted in cheers, their ferocity momentarily stunning the heavenly soldiers. In all the years they had been subduing demons, they had never encountered one so brazen—threatening to invade the Celestial Palace and challenge the Jade Emperor himself.

Qin Chuan looked at the wild and unrestrained monkey and thought to himself:

“Perhaps this is why later generations remember only the ‘Great Sage Equal to Heaven of Huaguo Mountain’ and not the ‘Fighting Buddha of the West.’”

Newborn calves fear no tiger—bold, fearless, defiant. But the future Fighting Buddha, after learning so much more, would be more cautious, more restrained, more subdued.

Everyone, perhaps, can see a version of themselves in the monkey at different stages of life.

With that thought, Qin Chuan’s resolve hardened: This Celestial Court… I’ll rebel right alongside him!

Li Jing’s face darkened at the monkey’s insolence. He called out sternly, “Who will go and subdue this demon monkey?”

Before his voice faded, a mighty general stepped forward from among the heavenly ranks. Towering and muscular, he carried a heavy Xuanhua Axe and declared:

“Your subordinate, General Giant Spirit, requests permission!”

Li Jing gave a silent nod. Receiving the order, Giant Spirit rode a cloud down to the outside of the Water Curtain Cave.

Qin Chuan opened his Celestial Eye and observed—this Giant Spirit General indeed lived up to his reputation. His cultivation had reached the True Immortal level, much stronger than an average celestial soldier.

“Bimawen! Get out here and surrender!”

Giant Spirit shouted arrogantly from outside the cave. The monkey, upon hearing this, flew into a rage and cursed.

“You dumb brute! Don’t get cocky! Let’s see how many strikes of my Golden Cudgel you can handle!”

Just as he was about to leap into battle, a graceful figure drifted out from within Mount Huaguo—it was the dragon maiden, Ao Xue.

Clad in crystal battle armor, a white cape fluttering in the wind, and wielding a silver Dragon-Gall Spear, she exuded heroic might. She clasped her fists towards Qin Chuan and the monkey:

“My lord, Great Sage, allow me to face this celestial general.”

The monkey blinked in surprise, then turned to Qin Chuan. Seeing Qin Chuan nod slightly, he laughed:

“Haha! Good, good, good! Ao Xue, go give him a good fight. I’ll watch your back!”

Ao Xue nodded and, with a flicker of motion, appeared outside the cave. With the ancient dragon clan’s legacy and True Immortal cultivation, she was confident she could take on Giant Spirit.

Seeing a dragon maiden appear, Giant Spirit frowned and barked:

“Which river or sea are you from? Why are you consorting with this demon monkey?”

Ao Xue pointed her spear at him and shouted:

“From your grandma’s house! Enough nonsense. Let’s settle this with our weapons!”

Infuriated, Giant Spirit raised his mighty axe and charged.

Divine general versus dragon maiden—a fierce battle ensued!

Ao Xue’s spearplay was elegant and fierce, like a dragon soaring through the skies, echoing her ancient lineage. Giant Spirit swung his axe with overwhelming power, crashing forward like a tiger descending a mountain.

Her silver spear met his black axe, force against force, creating gales with each clash.

The dragon spear bent but did not break, using flexibility to counter brute strength. Each strike from the axe was like a mountain collapsing.

Above, 100,000 heavenly troops pounded their drums to boost morale. On the mountain, the demon army stirred, flags flying everywhere.

“Take this!” Ao Xue cried. Her spear gleamed like a comet streaking across the sky.

Giant Spirit countered with a mighty axe swing, but the long spear struck true, making his arms go numb. Inwardly, he cursed:

“This dragon girl has terrifying strength!”

Though famous for his own brute force, Giant Spirit found himself overwhelmed. While he was off balance, Ao Xue darted in and, with a twist of her spear, knocked his axe flying.

Seeing the silver spear coming straight at him, he panicked and fled skyward in disgrace.

The monkey burst into laughter:

“Ha! Look at that coward!”

Back among the heavenly army, Giant Spirit knelt before Li Jing:

“Reporting to the Heavenly King, that dragon maiden’s origin is unknown, but her skills are extraordinary. I am no match for her…”

Li Jing’s face darkened in fury:

“You shamed our army and still dare to return? Men! Drag him out for execution!”

Two heavenly generals stepped forward to grab the dejected Giant Spirit. Just as they were about to drag him away—

“Hold it!”

Nezha stepped forward expressionlessly, clasped his hands, and said:

“Father, Giant Spirit has fought in many campaigns. If not meritorious, he’s at least hardworking. Allow me to test this dragon maiden myself and assess her abilities.”

Li Jing nodded and waved his hand, sparing Giant Spirit for the moment. Nezha, riding his Wind-Fire Wheels, leapt from the clouds.

He could truly be described as:

A heroic youth, radiating brilliance,

Born of a lotus, peerless and unbound.

His Wind-Fire Wheels tear through the skies,

The Cosmic Ribbon dances with boundless ambition.

The Universe Ring shields vast divine powers,

While his Fire-Tipped Spear blazes like a rainbow.

Bestowed with the Sea Assembly title, Lord of Three Altars,

He is Heaven’s Number One Rebel.

Nezha flew to the front of the Water Curtain Cave, curiously observing Ao Xue, as if recalling something from the past. He said softly, “Little Dragon, you are not my match. Hurry and call out that monkey.”

Ao Xue’s expression darkened at the sight of Nezha. She had heard of his infamous name and was just about to strike when Qin Chuan’s voice echoed in her ears:

“Stand down!”

She glared at Nezha, reluctant to retreat, and said, “Just you wait!”

Without looking back, she turned and returned to Mount Huaguo. Nezha shrugged nonchalantly—it was nothing new to be unwelcome among the dragon race.

At that moment, the Monkey King stepped onto a cloud and flew out of the mountain. He looked Nezha up and down and sneered, “Is Heaven so lacking in warriors that they send a brat like you to his death?”

Nezha flared with rage:

“Insolent demon monkey! Cease your arrogance. Watch this prince take you down!”

With that, the two clashed in a furious battle.

Above, Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing held his exquisite treasure pagoda, surrounded by the thunderous sound of drums and shouts of encouragement. Yet, for some reason, as he watched the fierce battle below between the monkey and his son, a flicker of doubt appeared on his face…