Chapter 425: Outbreak of the Monkey Tide

At the same time.

Central Earth, Huiyue Empire.

After two months, Qi Chi finally healed his injuries; shouldering the Prison Heaven Staff, he returned to the sect with a face full of joy, yet the scene before him soon froze his expression.

At this moment, half of the sect gate had collapsed, and the vast array of buildings behind it, as if battered by war, had turned into ruins.

Countless corpses of Artifact Sect disciples lay on the ground, the bright red blood long since dried.

Even more countless female disciples lay naked, their bodies covered in scars; Qi Chi's eyes nearly burst from their sockets as he collapsed onto the ground, instantly drained of all strength.

"Master! Senior Sister!"

As if suddenly remembering something, he scrambled up and rushed madly into the sect, searching everywhere for figures of his master and senior sister.

While searching, he shouted loudly.

After searching for a long time, Qi Chi finally learned from passing disciples that his master and senior sister had been executed by slow slicing in Huiyue City for colluding with the Alien Race.

In that instant, the world in his heart collapsed; overwhelmed by agony, he drew the Prison Heaven Staff and went mad, destroying everything around him.

His furious roars echoed through the mountains and forests for a long time...

After exhausting his strength, Qi Chi returned to Ten Thousand Monkey Mountain in a daze; in a valley with the most beautiful scenery, he erected two tombstones, and two streams of hot tears flowed uncontrollably once more.

Before the Artifact Sect gate, a youth dressed in thin clothes had already knelt for a long time.

It was winter; heavy snow fell, and the biting cold wind had long since piled snow atop his head and shoulders.

"Why go to such lengths, why go to such lengths? My King, as the ruler of our tribe, why must you kneel to a human?"

"It is merely a trivial Artifact Refining Technique; if we do not learn it, so be it. No matter how strong human Spirit Tools are, how can they compare to the sharp claws of us Spirit Beasts?"

An elder with long hair approached from behind, speaking with anger at his lack of ambition.

"Old Ape, you do not understand; humans are the spirits of all creatures, the race most skilled at borrowing external objects."

"Though the Human Race has weak bodies, their wisdom is extremely high; with their wisdom, they created Spirit Tools, Spirit Pills, Array Formations, Talismans, Puppets, Gu Worms, Zombies, Fierce Ghosts, Beast Taming... and other wondrous things."

"It is precisely by borrowing these external objects that they continuously enhanced their combat power, eventually rising step by step from the weakest tribe to join the ranks of the world's powerful races."

"External objects are also part of one's own strength; you must never underestimate these external things."

"Our monkey Spirit Beasts have bodies similar to humans, making us perfectly suited to use these Spirit Tools; our tribe's inherent strength is already very great, and if we arm ourselves to the teeth with Spirit Tools, it would be no exaggeration to say our overall strength would multiply several times over."

"Moreover, I genuinely love human Spirit Tools; Old Ape, you need not persuade me further, my mind is made up." A look of determination appeared in his eyes.

"Alas! Until now, you are the only Monkey King who has wished to arm our tribe with Spirit Tools; since My King's resolve is firm, Old Ape will persuade no more; I wish My King success in his studies, an early return, and the strengthening of our Ten Thousand Monkey Mountain."

Old Ape finally left, leaving the Monkey King to continue waiting in the bone-chilling snowy weather; his eyes shone brightly, firmly believing that sincerity moves heaven, and that he would surely touch the hearts of human Artifact Refiners with his sincerity.

Before the sect gate, people came and went; everyone who passed looked at him with strange gazes.

He had waited in the snow for a long time; the falling flakes were nearly burying his body, and just as despair began to creep into his heart, thinking no one would be willing to take him as a disciple, an elder leading a young girl by the hand approached.

The elder wore a kindly smile and brushed the snow from his head; the girl, possessing a breathtakingly beautiful smile, handed him a bowl of hot soup.

Gazing at the steaming bowl of hot soup, his throat choked up; feeling a warmth he had never known before, he vowed to protect this girl for the rest of his life.

He had successfully become a disciple; he heard from others that it was only through the girl's coquetry and persistent nagging that the Great Elder of the Artifact Sect had made an exception to accept him, this stubborn stone, which made him even more grateful to the girl.

Time flowed slowly; unknowingly, he had lived in the Artifact Sect for three years; with dull aptitude, he had ruined countless materials during these three years and still had not become even a First Grade Artifact Refiner, the lowest rank, suffering the mockery of all the sect disciples.

Yet the more he suffered setbacks, the braver he became; even after countless failures, he would never abandon his love for the Artifact Refining Technique.

If talent was insufficient, then effort would make up for it; he did not believe that even if he exerted ten times the effort of ordinary people, he would continue to fail.

On this day, his master called him into the study; standing with his back turned and hands behind his back, he spoke: "Your degree of obsession with weapon refining is something I have never seen in my life; I shall bestow upon you the name Qi Chi."

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing this name," Qi Chi said excitedly, cupping his hands; as a Spirit Beast, how could he have ever had a name? Now that he finally had one, he felt a fresh sense of novelty and liked this name very much.

The old man nodded, turned to face him, and sighed: "Qi Chi! Your aptitude is dull; I originally thought you would never achieve much in the path of weapon refining in your lifetime, and only accepted you due to your senior sister's persistent nagging, but now I was wrong."

Qi Chi was startled, somewhat unable to understand what his master was saying; scratching his head, he spoke somewhat foolishly: "Does Master believe Qi Chi will achieve something in the path of weapon refining? Qi Chi cannot even refine a single First Grade Spirit Artifact to this day."

The old man shook his head, looking at him seriously: "Interest is a person's best teacher; interest can overcome all difficulties; you must never underestimate the power of these two words: 'interest'."

"Your obsession with the path of weapon refining is truly too great; the degree of your obsession is something I have never seen in my life; others refine weapons to make money, treating weapon refining as a means to gain wealth, but only you have truly treated weapon refining as an interest!"

"Under the power of interest, I believe you will go very far on the path of weapon refining, and may even surpass the achievements I have made today."

"All beginnings are difficult; your failures are only temporary."

Hearing his master's words, Qi Chi seemed inspired, as if he truly believed he could become a remarkable master of weapon refining in the future; his face was filled with determination.

Suddenly, the old man's expression turned grave; looking at him seriously, he said: "Qi Chi! I can impart all my life's learning to you without reservation."

"But I have only one requirement: you must never refine weapons for any Spirit Beast in your entire life, nor teach any Spirit Beast weapon refining in your entire life," the old man said, his gaze locking onto him before suddenly speaking harshly.

Upon hearing this, Qi Chi, dull as he was, knew his master had already seen through the fact that he was a Spirit Beast, yet without the slightest hesitation, he shouted loudly:

"I, Qi Chi, hereby swear: I shall never refine weapons for any Spirit Beast in my entire life, nor teach any Spirit Beast weapon refining in my entire life; if I violate this, Qi Chi will surely die to atone for his crime!"

His tone was filled with determination.

Just as the old man had expected, he was extremely obsessed with the path of weapon refining; it was precisely because of this obsession that he chose to join the Artifact Sect; developing his tribe was only a minor reason, merely a phrase he used to deceive the other monkeys.

Therefore, he agreed very readily.

Under the candlelight, the old man revealed a satisfied smile...

Illuminated by the candlelight, Qi Chi's gaze became somewhat blurred, as if traveling through time and space; his vision shifted, and the two tombstones appeared before his eyes once more; he wiped the tear stains from the corners of his eyes.

"I am sorry, Master; Qi Chi is afraid he must break his promise!"

Suddenly, Qi Chi revealed a fierce look; plucking a handful of monkey hair from his head, the hair scattered in the wind, transforming into one monkey after another that landed on the ground.

On the palms of each monkey, a cluster of colorful flames ignited; piece after piece of Metal flew into the colorful flames, instantly smelted into molten iron.

Soon, the valley was filled with monkeys, numbering in the tens of thousands.

Tens of thousands of monkeys could all refine weapons; this was simply horrifying; if anyone were to witness this terrifying scene, their eyes would surely bulge in shock.

Soon, cheers erupted across Ten Thousand Monkey Mountain; troops upon troops of monkeys ran out, excitedly running over the Spirit Tools scattered across the ground.

Some monkeys chose great hammers, some chose long spears, some chose blades and swords, and others chose long bows, playing to their heart's content.

Even many monkeys coveted the same Spirit Tools, leading to fierce scrambling.

An old monkey covered in white fur stepped forward, his expression excited as he said, "Great King, you have truly succeeded!"

"These Spirit Tools were tailor-made for our monkey tribe; they are far superior to human Spirit Tools, and their quality is extraordinary."

"If every monkey dons armor and is fully armed, the Spirit Tigers of Ten Thousand Tiger Mountain will find it difficult to break our defenses."

"If every monkey wields a sharp weapon, the Spirit Tigers' defenses will be easily shattered!"

"With so many Spirit Weapons in hand, that group of tigers from Ten Thousand Tiger Mountain will never again be our match!"

"Old Ape now has the confidence to lead one hundred thousand sons to flatten Ten Thousand Tiger Mountain! Great King, please issue your order immediately!"

The white ape gazed toward Ten Thousand Tiger Mountain, his fighting intent soaring high.

Qi Chi shook his head, turning his gaze toward Huiyue City, and said in a low voice, "No! We will not attack Ten Thousand Tiger Mountain first; I intend to attack Huiyue City."

"Let all our sons rest well; we depart tomorrow."

Qi Chi narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze filled with viciousness and contempt; since he did not know who among them had stained their hands with the blood of Artifact Sect disciples, he would simply slaughter the entire city—better to kill a thousand by mistake than let one escape.

"Does the Great King wish to attack a human city first? Very well; I hear Huiyue City is the Imperial City of the human empire and extremely wealthy, so let us go there to plunder first!"

"Hahaha... Even without Spirit Tools, humans were no match for us; now that every Spirit Monkey is armed to the teeth, the human armies will be even more pushovers."

"I eagerly anticipate what expressions the humans will wear upon seeing us clad entirely in Spirit Tools, hahaha..."

Half-Month Later, on the walls of Huiyue City, the crowd of Human Race Gu Cultivators looked down at the army of one hundred thousand Spirit Monkeys below, trembling with fear.

Had this been an ordinary Beast Tide, they would not have been so afraid; the crucial point was that every monkey in this army of one hundred thousand Spirit Monkeys wore high-quality Spirit Tools, and both the quantity and quality of the Spirit Tools they carried far exceeded those of the defenders on the city walls.

Every monkey was armed to the teeth; they even wore ten Ring-type Spirit Artifacts each, capable of amplifying various powers—how could one possibly fight like this?

Human Gu Cultivators were already at a disadvantage when facing Spirit Beasts one-on-one; now that every Spirit Beast was equipped with a full set of human Spirit Tools, there was absolutely no chance of fighting back.

Each of these monkeys, armed to the teeth, could likely defeat ten of them; if this group of monkeys rushed into the city, the consequences would be disastrous? At this moment, the faces of everyone on the city walls turned pale.

Soon, urgent horn sounds echoed throughout all of Huiyue City; this was a sound reserved only for Level One Alert in Huiyue City, and whenever this sound appeared, it inevitably signaled a situation concerning the life and death of the entire city; such a sound had not been heard in Huiyue City for a thousand years.

As the deafening horn blast sounded, the entire city instantly descended into chaos...

"Attack the city!"

Following Qi Chi's command, the army of one hundred thousand monkeys surged majestically toward Huiyue City to kill.

Qi Chi leaped into the air; his astonishing jumping power allowed him to clear a distance of several hundred meters in a single bound, landing directly above the city walls, where he raised the Prison Heaven Staff high and smashed it heavily down upon the semi-circular Barrier rising over Huiyue City.

Though this staff was not large in volume, at this moment it suddenly possessed the weight of a hundred mountains; the incredibly sturdy City Protection Barrier shattered upon mere contact with this staff.

The instant the City-Protecting Great Array was broken, dozens of Gu Kings within the city soared high into the air and immediately launched a coordinated attack against Qi Chi hovering above.

Qi Chi swung the Prison Heaven Staff in his hand; any Spirit Tool that touched it was ruined, and any Gu Worm that collided with it died instantly; neither tools nor Gu could withstand a single strike from the Prison Heaven Staff.

In a short while, one Gu King had his skull shattered and died miserably under the staff, his corpse plummeting heavily from the high sky to the ground below...

Once the City-Protecting Great Array was broken, the army of one hundred thousand monkeys easily flooded into the city and began slaughtering the people within.

Carrying knives, spears, and staffs, the monkey troop, looking like fierce gods and evil spirits, charged toward various parts of the city, causing entire groups of human Gu Cultivators to die miserably under the Spirit Weapons held in the monkeys' hands.

Empowered by their full sets of Spirit Tools, each monkey seemed to possess the courage to withstand ten thousand men; not a single one could be easily countered by the city's defenders.

Before long, the city's defenders were slaughtered into complete disarray, discarding their helmets and armor as they fled toward the city center.

Center of the Imperial City.

"Disaster strikes! Qi Chi has already led one hundred thousand Spirit Monkeys into the city."

"These monkeys wear sturdy armor and wield sharp weapons; the defenders were crippled the instant they made contact; even the Imperial Guard Army protecting the Imperial Family probably cannot hold out much longer; hurry and escort the important members of the Imperial Family to retreat!"

With this shout, the Imperial City descended into total chaos.

"How is this possible? Are the two hundred thousand City Defense Army troops all pigs? I just received news of the monkey troop attacking the city, and now you tell me the city has already fallen! Even if all two hundred thousand defenders were pigs, they shouldn't have been slaughtered to extinction by now!"

Wang An, his face twisted in ferocity, rushed out from a Palace, flew high into the sky, and gazing upon the incredibly chaotic streets below, his anger immediately shot up to the heavens.

At this moment, corpses littered every street in the city, yet almost all were human corpses; monkey corpses were exceedingly few.

The reason for such a massive casualty ratio was that every monkey wore a full set of Spirit Tools possessed only by humans, and moreover, the quality of these Spirit Tools was higher than those worn by the city's defenders.

Spirit Beasts without Spirit Tools could still contend with humans holding Spirit Tools; once Spirit Beasts acquired Spirit Tools, humans would have no advantage whatsoever against them and could only be ruthlessly crushed; this battle was fundamentally unwinnable!

"Damn it! Qi Chi actually used Artifact Refining Technique to arm his own tribe; this Great Elder of the Artifact Sect is truly a criminal against all humanity; taking Spirit Beasts as disciples has harmed the entire Human Race; his death would not be enough to atone!"

Wang An, his hair standing on end in rage, roared like a madman.

Thinking that the Heavenly Phoenix Empire had lost half its Clan Luck, causing its Imperial City to fall soon, could it be that the Huiyue Empire would also lose half its National Fortune, leading to the fall of its Imperial City?

Was this merely a coincidence, or the influence of halved National Fortune? Could losing half one's National Fortune truly have such a tremendous impact?

Wang An clenched his fists tightly, his face ashen as a glimmer of faint despair flashed in his eyes; this was the arrangement of Fate, and under Fate's arrangement, he truly felt an irresistible sense of powerlessness.

"Wang An, you brat! Prepare to die!"

Just at this moment, an angry shout suddenly rang out from the sky; Qi Chi, holding the Prison Heaven Staff already stained red with blood, descended from above and smashed it heavily toward Wang An's skull.

"You seek death! If we let this Spirit Beast, who has learned human Weapon Refining, return to the mountains and forests, the consequences would be disastrous? In a thousand years, perhaps the entire Human Race would be in peril; today, you cannot be spared! Even if this old man must sacrifice his life, he will eradicate you, this calamity!"

Wang An roared loudly, releasing all his Life-Bound Gu Worms, and charged actively toward Qi Chi.

... (End of Chapter)