Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!

If Sun Wukong encountered demons while Journeying to the West, wouldn't he be negotiating with the demons about a hundred ways to cook Tang Monk?

Thinking up to here, Chen Nuo couldn't help but start to feel a headache coming on.

Buddhism would collectively come and smash this little shop to pieces!

The scenario was so beautiful that Chen Nuo dared not even imagine it, and since he really hated trouble, he was just about to refuse when the system's voice rang out again beside his ear.

"Ding, Sun Wukong seeks apprenticeship, how can a Kitchen God not have a disciple? Please accept Sun Wukong as your apprentice and teach him culinary arts!"

"Accept, the reward is one Innate Spirit Root, Human Immortal realm cultivation, one basic sword skills book, one basic set of kitchenware, and one set of apprentice clothing. After the apprenticeship concludes, there will also be generous rewards!"

"Reject, Buddhism assault!"

The corner of Chen Nuo's mouth twitched, was there even a need to choose? Obviously, it must be the first option, I mean, being besieged by Buddhism, how could that even work?

Moreover, in the rewards of the first option, apart from that Spirit Root and Human Immortal realm cultivation, the rest are all Sun Wukong's, aren't they?

However, after accepting the monkey, Buddhism would probably explode in fury. Both reward outcomes seem to be the same.

If only he were to attain Quasi-Saint cultivation level right away, he would have the confidence to make a big move, considering that Saints had long been confined by Hongjun.

But with this Human Immortal cultivation level, was the system sure it wasn't setting me up?

"System, what if I accept this monkey and Buddhism besieges us?" Chen Nuo asked with a probing of the soul.

"Ding, as long as the host stays near Chaos Residence, you will be invincible. Moreover, Chaos Residence has a heaven-concealing function, even if Hongjun himself arrived he would not be able to detect anything inside Chaos Residence," said the system with a cold voice.

It had this feature?

Chen Nuo was startled; he had been here for many days and was just now finding out.

Relieved and reassured by this, he thought to himself that since there were no further concerns, he might as well do it.

Sun Wukong had been looking down, waiting for quite some time, yet had heard nothing.

"Is this not possible?"

Sun Wukong thought with a sense of loss. He had traveled thousands of miles in search of the secret to immortality, finally finding two Immortals' cave abodes, one which he hadn't even gotten a glimpse of, and the other wasn't accepting disciples.

"Ah, why is monkey life so difficult!"

"Do I ultimately have no choice but to succumb to the cycle of life and death, not transcending the mortal world?"

Sun Wukong's fists clenched tightly, his body even trembling a little.

"I can take you as my disciple," said Chen Nuo softly at that moment.

As soon as he said this, Sun Wukong instantly looked up, his eyes wide in disbelief as he asked, "Really?"

Seeing Sun Wukong's expression, Chen Nuo said somewhat helplessly, "Really, but I have conditions."

Sun Wukong was overjoyed and quickly said, "Master, please speak freely; your disciple will definitely agree to them all!"

"First, during your apprenticeship, you may not leave Chaos Residence by half a step!" Chen Nuo slowly declared.

Even if he was invincible within Chaos Residence, he didn't want Sun Wukong to expose himself too soon; otherwise, Chaos Residence would be surrounded by bald heads every day, and there would be no need to keep the business running.

"Second, whatever I teach you, you must learn without any complaints!"

In the original story, Sun Wukong was quite choosy, which Chen Nuo genuinely disliked.

"Third, taking you as a disciple costs nothing, but you must give me ten strands of monkey hair every day as your tuition fee!"

Since he had taken on a disciple, it wouldn't be right to ask for food money, so he might as well charge a tuition fee. Besides, the monkey had so much hair; ten strands a day wasn't too much to ask.

"That simple?"

Sun Wukong was taken aback—he had expected something much more difficult.

"The disciple agrees!" Sun Wukong agreed without hesitation, as if afraid Chen Nuo would change his mind.

The first two conditions were naturally no problem, and the third condition, the monkey hair, wasn't an issue at all. What does a monkey have the most of? Of course, monkey hair!

To say ten strands a day was nothing, even a hundred strands a day, he could do it!

Chen Nuo nodded and said, "Okay, from today onwards, you are my disciple Chen Nuo. I hope you will study hard, never slack off, and understand that the 'sea of culinary skills is boundless, with arduous labor as your boat; if you do not advance, you will retreat'."

"The disciple understands!" Sun Wukong replied, brimming with joy; he had no idea what 'bitter work as a boat' meant, but whatever his master said was right.

Seeing Sun Wukong's enthusiastic attitude, Chen Nuo was also quite pleased. To be able to shift the goal of Sun Wukong, who was single-mindedly obsessed with longevity, was no mean feat.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the discipleship task. The reward has been issued!"

As the system announcement ended, Chen Nuo's aura surged instantly!

He advanced from an ordinary mortal to the realm of a Human Immortal in a moment.

The sudden change in aura startled Sun Wukong, especially since he had yet to be exposed to cultivation.

He only felt that his master's presence had suddenly become incredibly formidable.

The transmission ended, and Chen Nuo clenched his fist, feeling the surge of power within him.

This was exhilarating—not unlike what they call 'Ascend to Immortality in One Step' in the legends, right?

Chen Nuo then glanced at Sun Wukong, who was cowering in a corner, and couldn't help but smile wryly. With a wave of his hand, several items appeared before Sun Wukong.

These were the last three items of the reward.

This ability to conjure objects out of nowhere also gave Sun Wukong quite a fright. Not only was his master's culinary skill magical, but he also had such abilities.

"These are for you: clothing, kitchenware, and sword skills. Take good care of them," Chen Nuo said blandly.

"For me?"

Sun Wukong hastily took the items into his arms, overjoyed.

"Boil some water and take a bath; change out of the clothes you're wearing," Chen Nuo instructed. Since he had taken Sun Wukong as his apprentice, he couldn't neglect the boy's appearance.

Besides, Sun Wukong smelled all sweaty from his travels.

"Understood, Master."

Meanwhile, Patriarch Bodhi was fraught with worry. He had even traced Sun Wukong's path from Mount Fangcun to Huaguo Mountain, searching high and low.

Yet, there was still no sign of him—it was as if the monkey had vanished into thin air.

"Impossible!"

Patriarch Bodhi's eyes were reddening. With the monkey's firm resolve, how could he just leave?

He had timed it perfectly; according to his calculations, Sun Wukong's state of mind should have just reached the height of frustration. And even if he left, how could he, a Quasi-Saint, fail to track him down?!

Bodhi furrowed his brows. Could it be that the calamitous period of Journey to the West had started ahead of time?

Was the first challenge finding the monkey?

But he wasn't the Scripture Seeker!

After another set of predictions which yielded no results, Patriarch Bodhi was at a loss.

He sighed deeply. At this point, there was nothing else to do.

Seated cross-legged, floating on a cloud, Patriarch Bodhi closed his eyes.

In Zixiao Palace, Zhunti, who had been meditating, suddenly opened his eyes, a look of surprise on his face.

"Brother, what has happened?" Jieyin, disturbed, asked.

"The designated messenger of Journey to the West, the disciple favored by Tian Shi Shan Shi, has disappeared!"

"Disappeared?"

Jieyin was stunned, then said, "But he is chosen by the heavens; how could he possibly go missing?"

"He has indeed disappeared," Zhunti shook his head. He didn't believe it himself when he received the news from Shan Shi, but after sensing for himself, he indeed found no trace of the monkey.

It was as if he had vanished into thin air.

Hearing this, Jieyin also began to predict in his mind. After a while, his face turned more bitter, and he sighed, "How could a complication arise so soon before the long-awaited grand opportunity of our West begins?"

"Could it be the work of Nuwa?" Zhunti speculated.