Rebirth in Journey to the West: Sun Wukong

"Hmph!"

Sun Wukong felt a great weight upon him, as if a massive mountain had been ruthlessly pressed down upon him, and a surge of annoyance welled up within his heart. So what if you are an Ancient Divine Dragon, I, Old Sun, am not someone you can simply manipulate!

"Boom!"

A defiant aura suddenly erupted from Sun Wukong's body, as a powerful pillar of Qi-blood light burst forth, soaring towards the heavens. The blood qi was like a dragon, intimidating the sky, and behind him a gigantic golden ape of thousands of feet in height faintly appeared, refusing to show any weakness as it glared back at Ying Long.

"Ying Long, do you want to have another round with Old Sun?"

Sun Wukong's eyes turned dark gold, as he activated his Void-Breaking Divine Eye, and suddenly stood up with authority. Though he did not display the Divine Power Dharma Aspect Heaven and Earth, he naturally exuded an aura imposing enough to fend off the dragon might released by Ying Long.

"Brat, do you really think this dragon won't kill you?"

Cold light flared in Ying Long's eyes. Ancient Divine Dragons were not known for their patience, and conflict could arise at the slightest disagreement.

"Then give it a try, if Old Sun frowns then I am not the Great Sage Equalling Heaven!"

Sun Wukong was also annoyed. He wasn't one to hold his temper either. Respect me a foot, and I'll respect you a yard, but trying to aggressively dominate me is a fool's dream!

"Hey, hey, hey, don't be angry! This isn't a big deal, right? We can talk it out, there's no need for life and death fights!"

Seeing that the situation was going south, Heaven-Defying Demon Emperor Mu Chenxuan hurriedly tried to mediate, "Ying Long, you're an Ancient Divine Dragon, a Quasi-Saint expert, there's no need to be so aggressive. Let's talk it out! Brother Wukong, cool down as well. Just explain it and it'll be fine."

The previous fight had been intense. While it was true that Ying Long's cultivation strength was indeed stronger than Sun Wukong's, if it really came to a fight to the death with the freakish combat power displayed by Sun Wukong, Ying Long wouldn't benefit either. And obviously, Mu Chenxuan would stand by Sun Wukong's side.

With Mu Chenxuan's urging, Ying Long's anger subsided somewhat, and after some thought, he nodded and retracted his dragon might.

"Fine, I will listen to your explanation! But boy, if you took this Dragon Ball by force, don't blame this dragon for being impolite!"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"As if Old Sun is afraid of you!"

Sun Wukong retorted without showing any sign of weakness, but he also gathered his aura, causing the thousand-foot golden ape shadow to disappear as he sat back down and extended his hand towards Ying Long, "This was given to Old Sun by my brother, here you go!"

"Your brother? How did you meet him, and where is he now?"

Ying Long pressed on.

Sun Wukong frowned, irritated by Ying Long's interrogating tone. Were it not for his awareness of this individual's formidable strength, he would have already pulled out his Ruyi Silver-Hooped Rod and started fighting instead of wasting words with him.

Mu Chenxuan was giving Sun Wukong desperate looks from the side. He knew Sun Wukong's temperament — he was amenable to a soft approach but resistant to coercion. Ying Long's interrogative tone was sure to provoke Sun Wukong's ire, and it would be disastrous if they started fighting again!

"Alright, since he's a member of your Heavenly Dragon Clan, there's no harm in telling you."

Having caught Mu Chenxuan's signals, Sun Wukong understood his concerns. After taking a deep breath to suppress the resentment in his heart, he briefly relayed how he had encountered Blood Dragon Ao Tian.

"Previously in the Beast Spirit Mountain Range, we were surrounded by those zombie monsters and couldn't escape. Ao Tian had to use the Roar of the Azure Dragon, exhausting himself greatly, so he went into the Qiankun Bag to recuperate. This Dragon Ball was left by him for Old Sun to open the Dragon Nest Underground Palace. Have I made myself clear enough? Anything else you want to ask?"

After finishing his account with a grimace, Sun Wukong huffed with dissatisfaction. He had resolved that if Ying Long continued to be relentless after hearing the full story, he would risk an unstable foundation to immediately gather the Three Flowers atop his head and the Five Qi in his chest to face off with him in a decisive life-or-death struggle!

"Ao Er-ge, he's still alive!"

To Sun Wukong's surprise, Ying Long did not persist after hearing his recount. Instead, the ferocity on his face gave way to a mixture of astonishment and sorrow. Seizing Sun Wukong's shoulders urgently, he exclaimed, "Quick, let Ao Er-ge out, I will help him recover!"

"Ao Er-ge?"

Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow in surprise. Could it be that Ying Long knows Ao Tian?

That's right, Ao Tian has always been saying that he's the second strongest in the Ancient Dragon Clan, and Ying Long is also one of the three great Divine Dragons of the Heavenly Dragon Clan, so it's not odd that they know each other.

Nodding, Sun Wukong's mind stirred, and Divine Sense reached into the replica Qiankun Bag, pulling out Ao Tian's Golden Dragon Body. After using Roar of the Azure Dragon, the once miles-long Golden Dragon Body had been greatly weakened and had shrunk to the thickness of an arm.

After some time recovering in the replica Qiankun Bag, Ao Tian had only recovered to the thickness of a bucket and a few dozen feet in length. If left to heal slowly by himself, it would likely take a considerable amount of time for a full recovery.

"It is indeed the aura of Second Brother Ao!"

Ying Long sensed it for a moment, a flash of excitement crossed his eyes, and the next moment he opened his mouth, a Dragon Ball flew out, hovering over the Ao Tian's head. It suddenly enlarged, casting down a beam of light, enshrouding Ao Tian's entire body within it. From within the Dragon Ball, specks of light began to emerge continuously, merging into the Golden Dragon Body.

As these specks of light integrated, Ao Tian's aura rapidly became calm and powerful, and his body started to expand, circle by circle. Enjoy new adventures from empire

Half an incense stick later, Ao Tian's entire Golden Dragon Body had reverted to its miles-long size, Ying Long's Dragon Ball ceased its healing, shrank and then returned to Ying Long's mouth.

A fleeting pallor passed over Ying Long's face before quickly returning to normal; after all, being of Quasi-Saint Cultivation, though the consumption was significant, it did not damage his foundation.

"Have I, recovered?"

A low groan sounded, and Ao Tian opened his eyes, looking at his Golden Dragon Body in surprise. He had felt a very familiar, kindred force continuously pouring into his body. His Dragon Soul, which had been severely depleted after using Roar of the Azure Dragon, swiftly recovered under this force's nourishment and even became a bit stronger than before.

"Second Brother Ao, you are well I hope?"

A voice both unfamiliar and familiar drew Ao Tian's attention. Turning his head, his dragon eyes suddenly widened. In the next moment, his form shimmered rapidly reducing in size until he took human form. Just like Sun Wukong had seen within the Dantian, he landed in front of Ying Long, and they excitedly embraced each other's arms.

"Ying Tian, it is really you! This isn't a dream, is it?"

"Second Brother Ao, it's me! This is no dream!"

After a round of greetings, Sun Wukong and Mu Chenxuan finally understood the relationship between Ao Tian and Ying Long. It turned out Ao Tian was indeed the second strongest in the Ancient Dragon Clan, one of the top three Divine Dragons – the Candle Dragon!

The Heavenly Dragon Clan from the times of Ancient Primeval was a race born after Chaos opened up, naturally powerful and unmatched. The strongest among them, the three Divine Dragons, were Ancestral Dragon Hun Tian, Candle Dragon Ao Tian, and Ying Long Ying Tian. The three dragons also referred to each other as brothers, and Heavenly Dragon Valley was opened up by the three of them together.

Long before the great war between the Witch and Demon Clans, the Dragon Clan, Phoenix Clan, and Qilin Race had broken out into war over the dominion of the Primeval world, but due to the emergence of Heavenly Emperor Di Jun and Eastern Emperor Taiyi, the Ancient Demon Clan was unified, and the Demon Clan's Heavenly Court was established.

The Dragon Clan, Phoenix Clan, and Qilin Race then submitted to the Demon Clan's Heavenly Court, which finally halted their mutual conflict.

The reproductive capability of the Dragon Clan was the lowest among the three races; from Ancient Primeval to their peak, their population hardly exceeded a few thousand individuals. Almost the entire clan participated in the Witch-Demon war, with the majority perishing, and those few who survived with severe injuries managed to leave descendants before perishing shortly after.

Of the three great Divine Dragons, Ancestral Dragon Hun Tian was surrounded and killed in battle by the Twelve Ancestral Witches, while Ying Long Ying Tian managed to escape back to Heavenly Dragon Valley with the protection of Ancestral Dragon Hun Tian, though so grievously injured that his Cultivation fell from a Half-Step Saint back to the Quasi-Saint Realm.

Over the years, he has been in slumber in the Heavenly Dragon Valley, only recovering to the peak of the Quasi-Saint Realm.

Ying Long Ying Tian always thought that Candle Dragon Ao Tian had perished in that great war just like their eldest brother, Ancestral Dragon Hun Tian. Unexpectedly, Ao Tian's dragon corpse fell into the Boundless Blood Sea of the Netherworld, and after countless ages, new Divine Consciousness was nurtured.

Though the current Ao Tian, who was nurtured anew, can be considered a completely new life form compared to the previous life's Candle Dragon, he entirely inherited the Candle Dragon's memories. In Ying Long Ying Tian's eyes, there was no difference from his second brother, the Candle Dragon.

"Second Brother Ao, this Golden Dragon Body is really not suitable for you; you're too hard on yourself staying like this!"

Ying Long could tell that Ao Tian was only temporarily fused with the Golden Dragon Body, intending only to find a temporary vessel to nourish his own Dragon Soul. However, the Golden Dragon Body had limited potential, and having been refined into a puppet, it had no possibility of further advancement, which was ultimately not a long-term solution.

"Of course, I know that I can't stay in this Golden Dragon Body for long, but there aren't many options right now. I can only make do for the moment, and if in the future I can find a suitable dragon body or have an opportunity to reshape a dragon body, then that's what I'll do," Ao Tian sighed.

As for the strength of a dragon body, his original Candle Dragon Body was most suitable, especially since it was nurtured for many years by the aura of the Boundless Blood Sea, nearly catching up with his eldest brother Ancestral Dragon Hun Tian's body.

It was a pity that he, in a moment of hot-headedness, caused a ruckus in the Heavenly Court and was forced by the Primordial Heavenly Venerable to self-destruct his dragon body, thus ending up in such an awkward situation today.

"Second Brother Ao, there might be a chance for you to reshape your dragon body in the Dragon Nest Underground Palace!"

Ying Long Ying Tian seemed to recall something, his eyes suddenly lit up as he raised his head.

"What opportunity?"

Ao Tian's eyes also lit up, as reshaping his physical body would allow him to break free from the current constraints, no longer needing to dwell within this Golden Dragon Body.