Chapter One: Am I a Long-Armed Ape?

“Little Monkey, Little Monkey!” A clear and joyful voice rang out beside Yuan Wuji’s ear.

“Hm?” Yuan Wuji slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a little girl, perhaps seven or eight years old. But when his gaze shifted to his surroundings, he was utterly stunned: before him stretched a palace larger and grander than any he’d seen in his more than twenty years of life.

Shock mingled with confusion. Just moments ago, he had been fighting in an underground match, about to end his opponent’s six-win streak. Victory would have meant a sizable reward, and nearly all bets were on the six-win favorite. If he’d won, the boss might even have thrown in a generous bonus. Yet, at the very moment he was about to claim victory, someone shot him in the back—a move that needed no explanation. Clearly, someone with heavy money on the match refused to lose it, choosing instead to kill him and void the bout. The most he could expect afterward was some backroom compensation, but none of the big bettors would stand up for Yuan Wuji.

A bitter smile crept onto Yuan Wuji’s lips.

“Where am I?” Yuan Wuji steadied himself and asked the little girl.

“You can speak? No wonder Her Grace brought you up here!” the girl exclaimed in surprise.

Whose child is this, speaking so oddly? Why shouldn’t I be able to talk? And who is this ‘Her Grace’ she keeps mentioning? Of course, these questions could only be pondered silently. He still had no idea where he was.

“Oh! I almost forgot, Her Grace said I should come notify her when you were born. You mustn’t wander off!” With that, the little girl spun around and dashed out.

With her gone, the enormous palace was left to Yuan Wuji alone. He hurriedly checked his body for any anomalies.

“No wonder she called me ‘Little Monkey’,” Yuan Wuji muttered, smiling wryly. His body was now about the size of a four- or five-year-old child, covered in soft monkey fur, with the exception of a pair of notably strong arms.

Looking around, he realized that few in the modern world could ever afford such luxury. Even the pillars nearby appeared to be cast from gold, each one carved with lifelike animals that seemed ready to leap out at any moment. No two pillars were alike.

He examined his position—a stone platform, with himself at its center, surrounded by a dazzling array of gemstones.

At the heart of the platform, he sensed a special energy. With every breath, he felt his strength quietly increasing.

It was a profoundly pleasant sensation, one he’d never experienced in all his years.

“Haha, I feel like I could take on ten men!”

Lost in the euphoria of newfound strength, Yuan Wuji failed to notice two more people enter the hall.

“Her Grace, it’s him!” the little girl pointed to Yuan Wuji at the center of the stone platform.

Her cry startled Yuan Wuji out of his meditative state.

“No wonder he’s one of the Four Mischievous Monkeys—the Arm-Extending Ape. Born already able to speak and cultivate,” Her Grace remarked, gazing at Yuan Wuji who had been meditating in the platform’s center.

What—the Arm-Extending Ape? Yuan Wuji was inwardly astonished. Anyone familiar with Journey to the West would recognize the title: one of the Four Mischievous Monkeys. As a child of the 1990s, he could hardly forget them: the first, the Clever Stone Monkey—master of transformation, aware of the seasons, able to move stars and shift constellations; the second, the Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey—versed in yin and yang, adept at human affairs, skilled in evasion and survival; the third, the Arm-Extending Ape—capable of grasping the sun and moon, shrinking mountains, divining fortune and misfortune, and manipulating heaven and earth; the fourth, the Six-Eared Macaque—keen of hearing, able to discern truth, understanding past and future, comprehending all things. These four belonged to no known category, nor were they bound by ordinary titles.

And now he was, impossibly, the very Arm-Extending Ape known for grasping the sun and moon, shrinking mountains, and manipulating the cosmos.

Had he actually transmigrated? But to where?

“Who are you, and where is this place?” Since they’d brought him here, they must have a purpose for him, so there was little risk in asking.

“Little Monkey, one mustn’t address Her Grace so abruptly,” the girl scolded, demonstrating, “You should press your hands together and bow, like this.”

“No need for such formality, Xiaoyu,” Her Grace said with a wave, beckoning the girl to her side. “This is Doumu Palace of Kan Court.”

Doumu Palace of Kan Court? Then this must be Doumu herself—Golden Spirit Lady of the Investiture of the Gods.

From what he recalled, Golden Spirit Lady was a character from The Investiture of the Gods, one of the eight chief disciples of the Grandmaster of the Interception Sect, second only to Senior Disciple Duobao, and the foremost among female immortals. Her power was formidable, surpassing even the Twelve Golden Immortals of the rival Chan Sect. In the battle of the Ten Thousand Immortals Array, she slew both Princess Longji, daughter of the Queen Mother of the West, and the traitor Hong Jin, then fought the three great Bodhisattvas—Manjusri, Samantabhadra, and Guanyin—who each rode a magical beast into battle. Though their mounts matched the Bodhisattvas in cultivation, Golden Spirit Lady stood her ground, wielding her Jade Ruyi with unflinching valor. At the climax, she was ambushed by Randeng Daoren’s Sea-Stabilizing Pearl and perished on the spot, later enshrined as Doumu of Kan Court, chief of all stars.

If this was indeed Doumu of Kan Court, then the Investiture of the Gods had concluded, though it was unclear if the Journey to the West had yet begun.

“Little Monkey pays respects to the Great Immortal.” Knowing the figure before him was Golden Spirit Lady, Yuan Wuji dared not leave a bad impression, especially since, as Xiaoyu mentioned, he had been brought here by her. Now, as the Arm-Extending Ape, one of the Four Mischievous Monkeys, it was clear she had some purpose for him.

“Why am I here?”

“I was traveling in the lower realm when I came upon a desolate mountain—no living thing upon it, and yet a powerful spiritual energy emanating from within. Such a strange phenomenon must have a source. Opening my Heavenly Eye, I saw a placenta hidden in the mountain. I broke through the mountain, retrieved the placenta, and brought it here to Doumu Palace in Kan Court. Today, you were born from it, one of the Four Mischievous Monkeys, the Arm-Extending Ape,” Golden Spirit Lady explained.

Yuan Wuji could see her delight at his birth etched plainly on her face.

“Who are the other Mischievous Monkeys? Are they, like me, still inside their mountains?” Yuan Wuji asked, feigning ignorance. He wanted to learn about Sun Wukong and whether the Journey to the West had commenced.

“There is another stone fetus, a remnant of the Five-Colored Stone used by Nuwa to mend the heavens, imbued with great merit. In three hundred years, it will produce a Stone Monkey like you, one of the Four Mischievous Monkeys, though he will be the Clever Stone Monkey,” Golden Spirit Lady replied.

“Then why doesn’t the Great Immortal bring him here as well?”

“Hmph! For Buddhism to rise in this era, they require that monkey. If anyone tries to interfere, they threaten Buddhism’s very foundation. From the moment that monkey is born, he is marked as their own.” The more Golden Spirit Lady gazed at Yuan Wuji, the more she liked him, answering his every question.

“Great Immortal, would you accept me as your disciple? I will surely bring great honor to your sect.” Anyone could see how much she favored him. Yuan Wuji had no intention of letting this opportunity slip by; striking while the iron was hot, he asked to become Golden Spirit Lady’s disciple. With his innate talent, he was certain he could become a great power. Her two disciples had distinguished themselves in the Investiture of the Gods, and as one of the Four Mischievous Monkeys, Yuan Wuji believed his own gifts were second to none.