The Lord of the Breaking Army must be acting on someone else's orders; otherwise, he would never so boldly target Sun Wukong!

  Thinking back to how this fellow had come to his residence yesterday to congratulate Sun Wukong on being conferred the title of Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Xu Fang suddenly understood an important truth.

  Even deities engage in intrigue!

  Even deities can be two-faced!

  At this moment, Xu Fang recalled the eight words Master Bodhi had left him when he departed: "Heaven's will is like a knife, and human hearts are hard to fathom."

  While he could not yet grasp the first part, the second part rang true—human hearts are indeed hard to fathom!

  “Enough, Xu, this matter I will handle. The Lord of the Breaking Army is correct; it is indeed inappropriate for Sun Wukong to serve in your Divine Strategy Camp,” the Jade Emperor spoke from his elevated throne, his voice calm yet commanding.

  “With the Queen Mother’s Peach Banquet approaching, my Peach Garden remains unguarded. Let us assign Sun Wukong to watch over the Peach Garden.”

  Xu Fang's heart sank at this pronouncement, a sense of foreboding creeping upon him.

  “Your Majesty, Wukong’s nature is mischievous; he may find it hard to fulfill such an important role. Moreover, as a monkey, he would surely be unable to resist the temptation of the peaches in the garden…”

  Before Xu Fang could finish, the Jade Emperor waved his hand dismissively. “Now that he has ascended to immortality, he will not act like a wild monkey. Assigning him to guard the Peach Garden will also serve as a test to see if he can withstand temptation!”

  These words struck Xu Fang like a ton of bricks.

  He suddenly understood his position beside the Jade Emperor.

  While it seemed that the Jade Emperor relied on him as an aide and even regarded him as a trusted confidant, once it came to his plans, Xu Fang would become insignificant—a mere pawn!

  At this moment, Xu Fang's gaze towards the Jade Emperor was filled with disappointment, and he began to doubt whether Master Bodhi's decision to send him to the heavenly realm had been wise.

  Before personally interacting with the Jade Emperor, Xu Fang had held a lingering belief that he was a wise ruler of the three realms, striving to control the heavens and benefit the people, despite being in a puppet position.

  However, that sentiment had completely vanished!

  The Jade Emperor was ultimately taking a path directly opposite to Xu Fang’s!

  When Xu Fang had descended to the mortal realm, he had been under the impression that the Jade Emperor had secretly tasked him with training the Divine Strategy Camp, even leading him to feel that the Jade Emperor was clearing the three realms of threats.

  But now, the Heavenly Court seemed far from ideal. Was the Jade Emperor truly a wise ruler?

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  ……

  Within the Hall of Divine Mists, the Jade Emperor exercised his authority, directly assigning Sun Wukong to guard the Peach Garden.

  After the assembly dispersed, Xu Fang stood at the entrance of the Hall, letting out a deep sigh.

  He sensed that his departure from the Heavenly Court was approaching.

  Now at the late stage of the Supreme Golden Immortal realm, he possessed the strength to rival Great Luo Golden Immortals, yet in the grand scheme of the three realms, he still felt weak.

  No one would change their plans because of him!

  ……

  “Elder Brother, the Jade Emperor assigned me a task today…”

  As Xu Fang returned to the Divine General’s residence, he found Sun Wukong eagerly waiting at the entrance.

  It was clear that the monkey sincerely valued Xu Fang, rushing over to share his good news right after receiving his appointment.

  As he spoke, Sun Wukong looked around, then lowered his voice, “I heard the peaches in the Peach Garden are delicious! After I’m on duty, I’ll sneak a few back for us to taste…”

  Hearing this, Xu Fang could only shake his head in resignation.

  This monkey had clearly made up his mind to steal from his post, playing right into the Jade Emperor's hands!

  However, even though Xu Fang understood he could not change anything, he felt extremely displeased and was determined to thwart the Jade Emperor's plans at all costs!

  “Wukong, let’s not rush into the peach matter. I have something to discuss with you; come with me…”

  Saying this, Xu Fang pulled the monkey into the Divine General’s residence.

  “Elder Brother, what’s so secretive that it can’t be said outside?”

  Sun Wukong scratched his ear, perplexed.

  Xu Fang quickly set up a magical formation before smiling and saying, “Wukong, I thought of something fun. Do you want to give it a try?”

  “What do you mean, Elder Brother?”

  Sun Wukong looked confused, and Xu Fang immediately explained, “Now that you are the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and I am the Demon-Slaying General, you’ll be overseeing the Peach Garden while I command the thousands of soldiers in the Divine Strategy Camp. Wukong, would you like to experience the might of the Demon-Slaying General?”

  “Oh come on, Elder Brother, I have tens of thousands of monkeys at Flower-Fruit Mountain and can command many demons across the seventy-two caves. Your heavenly soldiers are far too few…”

  Sun Wukong waved his hands dismissively, but Xu Fang’s expression hardened. “Are you going or not?”

  “I…”

  Sun Wukong sensed Xu Fang's tone had shifted and hesitated.

  Seeing this, Xu Fang’s expression softened a bit. “Actually, my main goal is to have you help me train the soldiers under my command. They’ve had some training over the years, but overall they’re still lacking. As sworn brothers, we know each other’s methods well, and I can’t be too harsh with them myself. So I’d like to ask for your assistance.”

  After a pause, Xu Fang continued, “It won’t take long—just a month. This will also give me some time to relax in the Peach Garden.”

  “Oh, so that’s what you meant! Sounds good!”

  Sun Wukong laughed, “Leave your soldiers to me, Elder Brother!”

  ……

  Through a bit of persuasion, Sun Wukong finally agreed to swap identities with Xu Fang.

  Now the Divine Strategy Camp was essentially Xu Fang’s backyard, allowing for a little chaos from Sun Wukong without concern.

  Xu Fang decided to take on Sun Wukong's form and head to the Peach Garden!

  Once a month had passed and the Queen Mother's Peach Banquet concluded, the Jade Emperor’s plan to use the Peach Garden to keep Sun Wukong in line would naturally fall through!

  ……

  Shortly afterward, Xu Fang transformed into Sun Wukong’s likeness, bearing the imperial edict entrusted to him by the Jade Emperor, and swaggered toward the Peach Garden.

  Along the way, he mimicked Sun Wukong’s expressions, tone, and gait as best as he could.

  Meanwhile, Sun Wukong transformed into Xu Fang's appearance and headed towards the Divine Strategy Camp.

  Now that he had agreed to help Xu Fang train the soldiers, he wouldn’t hold back!

  ……

  The next day, in the Hall of Divine Mists.

  Today was a smaller assembly in the Heavenly Court. As the celestial attendants called the meeting to order, the Jade Emperor sat firmly on his golden throne.

  “Greetings, Your Majesty—”

  Many deities lined the sides, bowing respectfully. The Jade Emperor nodded, his gaze flashing with a hint of coldness. “Why do I not see the Demon-Slaying General in attendance today?”

  Given Xu Fang’s rank and strength, he naturally held a prominent position in the Hall of Divine Mists, one that was particularly conspicuous.