Sun Wukong returned to Huaguo Mountain and was immediately discovered.

The first one to run over to greet him was Ao Luan.

"Brother, you only went to the Heavenly Palace for a year, why did you come back so soon?"

Ao Luan asked with a face full of joy.

"Has it already been a year?"

Sun Wukong had expected this, but he still felt incredulous when he heard it; he had only spent a day in the Heavenly Palace!

He dismissed his sentimentality and said, "I came back to bring some specialties to heaven; have the demons bring me the best wines and pastries."

"Okay."

Ao Luan immediately gave the order.

This matter was not particularly urgent, so Sun Wukong stayed in Huaguo Mountain for a week. Due to the foundation laid earlier, the technologies of Huaguo Mountain were still improving methodically, which pleased him.

After the finest wines and pastries were ready, Sun Wukong bid farewell to Ao Luan.

"I will come back once a year from now on."

Sun Wukong said, "Prepare more delicious foods for me."

Ao Luan immediately agreed.

Sun Wukong, carrying a large number of specialties, somersaulted back to the South Heavenly Gate.

"Great Saint."

Pang, Liu, Gou, Bi and other Heavenly Generals immediately opened the gate. As Sun Wukong was about to step through, he suddenly heard a faint snoring sound.

"Who is sleeping?"

Sun Wukong turned his head and looked around, scanning over the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals, and then his gaze fell on Lord Zengzhang.

Lord Zengzhang stood straight at the side of the South Heavenly Gate, majestically overseeing the Mortal World.

That was the appearance, but upon closer inspection, Sun Wukong realized that Lord Zengzhang was snoring with his eyes open.

He was asleep!

"No wonder he didn't greet me."

Sun Wukong thought to himself.

When he visited the Twenty-Eight Constellations and passed by the North Heaven Gate, he intended to visit the Guardian Heavenly King, but he was also taking a nap.

Why do these Heavenly Kings sleep all the time?

Sun Wukong decided to ask about it.

He approached Lord Zengzhang, and just as he did, Lord Zengzhang's body slightly shook in an almost imperceptible manner.

"Great Saint."

Lord Zengzhang, seeing the person approaching, quickly greeted him. Meanwhile, a small insect flew out from his ear, which he hurriedly hid with lightning-fast speed.

"A sleep insect?"

Sun Wukong saw it clearly.

He laughed: "Lord Zengzhang, you use a sleep insect to sleep at the South Heavenly Gate, aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

"Please don't spread the word, Great Saint!"

Lord Zengzhang looked panicked and quickly said, "Great Saint, you don't know, our time here is different from that in the Heavenly Palace, and the work is really dull."

He told Sun Wukong that he had been guarding the South Heavenly Gate for a long time, each time watching over the Mortal World for several years.

This job was both boring and lengthy; not just him, but other Heavenly Kings at the gates also kept some sleep insects and frequently used them.

"We are clearly not like Thousand-mile Eye and Sharp-Hearing Ear."

Lord Zengzhang glanced at Thousand-mile Eye and Sharp-Hearing Ear in the clouds, who no longer had the task of monitoring Sun Wukong, yet still kept their eyes on Huaguo Mountain day and night.

"They observe the affairs of the Mortal World in detail and understand clearly, they have more fun than us."

Lord Zengzhang's voice carried a hint of envy.

Sun Wukong understood.

"Don't worry, I won't expose you."

He said.

Lord Zengzhang immediately felt a bit closer to this Great Saint.

Seizing the opportunity, Sun Wukong got acquainted with the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals at the South Heavenly Gate, then returned to Virtue Palace.

He stayed at Huaguo Mountain for a week, but not much time passed in Virtue Palace.

After returning to the palace, Sun Wukong took a short rest, and when dawn arrived, he left the palace to visit various Immortals.

At noon, he planned to host a banquet at Virtue Palace and personally invited all Immortals to attend.

Sun Wukong hustled about all morning, gathering Heavenly Kings and Generals and all major Star Constellations to join the feast.

The servants at Virtue Palace were frantic, yet secretly amazed at heart.

This Great Saint of theirs was truly formidable; barely two days in heaven, and he had summoned so many Immortal Officials.

At the banquet, the exquisitely crafted pastries and fine wines from Huaguo Mountain won endless praises from the Immortals.

Previously, when mentioning Spiritual Objects of Huaguo Mountain, many Immortals were rather dismissive, but today, seeing these novel and delicious pastries changed their views.

They came in high spirits and left satisfied, appreciating Sun Wukong even more.

In the evening, Gold Star Taibai came to invite Sun Wukong to play chess with the Jade Emperor.

Sun Wukong did not dare to delay; he took some pastries and went to Tongming Hall.

"Are these brought up from Huaguo Mountain?"

The Jade Emperor picked up a piece of thousand-layer pastry, its exquisite appearance making him secretly admire it.

The Jade Emperor then tasted the thousand-layer pastry.

The pastry-making craftsmanship was extremely intricate, with layers of flaky crust, and although the ingredients were far from comparable to any pastries in the Heavenly Palace, the texture and flavor were not inferior.

The Jade Emperor ate several pieces.

He had tasted all sorts of delicacies, but the food from Huaguo Mountain was indeed something novel.

"Not bad, no wonder so many people went to your place for food today."

The Jade Emperor smiled as he spoke, being the Great Venerable, he naturally knew everything about the banquet Sun Wukong hosted.

"Wukong, you've been here for a day, how do you find the Heavenly Palace?"

The Jade Emperor ate another piece of the pastry.

"Everything is fine here, it's just that the Immortals are too lax."

Sun Wukong, holding two Flat Peaches, replied while eating, "And time passes too quickly, it would be better if the time here could be aligned with the Mortal World."

"That wouldn't be possible."

The Jade Emperor shook his head: "If time here were the same as the Mortal World, this place wouldn't be the Heavenly Palace."

"Would being the same as the Mortal World be bad?"

Sun Wukong asked.

"Of course, it would be bad."

The Jade Emperor slightly frowned and said: "The rules of the Heavenly Palace are the embodiment of the Heavenly Dao; changing them would affect the Three Realms."

"But I don't like the time here."

Sun Wukong bit into the Flat Peach fiercely.

"You'll get used to it eventually the longer you stay here."

The Jade Emperor looked at Sun Wukong, his tone gentle.

Sun Wukong had just entered the Heavenly Palace, his rebelliousness at the beginning was normal.

After a few months staying in the Heavenly Palace, once he realizes its benefits and adapts to being Virtue Great Saint, he won't think of the Mortal World anymore.

How could the life in the Mortal World compare to that in the Heavenly Palace?

At that time, Sun Wukong will truly become an Immortal.

"Come, let's play chess."

The Jade Emperor invited Sun Wukong to a game of chess.

Outside Tongming Hall, the sky had completely darkened.

Inside Tongming Hall, bright candlelight shone through the translucent screen, twinkling like stars.

The Jade Emperor and Sun Wukong played chess, content and at ease.

No matter how many games they played, Sun Wukong couldn't win even once.

The Jade Emperor decided right then, he would play chess with Sun Wukong every day.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.