At this ti, they were frolicking in the mountain forests, either climbing trees to pick so wild fruits or picking a wildflower to stick in their hair, having a wonderful ti.
However, the arrival of one person disrupted this harmony. A person in a white robe slowly walked into the forest. His appearance was handso, his deanor proud, and moisture seed to linger around him, spotless.
The monkeys saw a stranger entering and imdiately beca alert. A young monkey hopped out, blocking the newcor’s path, and said, "Who are you, and what are you doing at our Huaguo Mountain?"
The man in the white robe smiled and said, "My na is Ao Lie, and I’m here looking for my eldest martial brother."
"Eldest martial brother, we don’t have any eldest martial brother here. Are you sure you aren’t in the wrong place?" The little monkey said, puzzled, as he didn’t rember anyone at Huaguo Mountain being called the eldest martial brother.
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, an older monkey harshly knocked on his head, causing the young monkey to run around in pain, holding his head.
"Ignorant fool, ’eldest martial brother’ isn’t soone’s na, you idiot," the older monkey said with a look of frustration.
"Who is your eldest martial brother?"
"My eldest martial brother is the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong," said the man in the white robe with a smile.
The old monkey looked at the man in surprise and said, "Our great king indeed has a few martial brothers, but I have t them all, and none of them are like you."
To be honest, this man was much better-looking than any of the king’s martial brothers he had seen before.
"You are talking about my second and third martial brothers, I am their younger martial brother, Little Bailong."
"Oh! I’ve heard the great king ntion you, saying that you are the Third Prince of the Western Sea Dragon King. Since that’s the case, I’ll take you to et our great king," he said.
Having said that, the old monkey led Ao Lie toward Shuilian Cave.
At that mont, Sun Wukong was ditating. Hearing the shouting, he slowly opened his eyes and said, "What calls Old Sun thus?"
"Great King, there is soone outside claiming to be Little Bailong who seeks an audience with you."
"Little Bailong?" Sun Wukong muttered to himself.
He quickly left his place of ditation and imdiately noticed the dashing Little Bailong, a brilliant smile spreading across his face as he said, "Little Bailong, what brings you here?"
"Could it be that you’ve been bullied at Mount Ling? Tell Old Sun, and I’ll go sort them out for you."
When they had parted ways previously, he had specifically instructed Little Bailong that if he was ever bullied at Mount Ling, he could co to look for him at Huaguo Mountain, and he would take up his cause.
After all, when they, as master and disciples, had achieved enlightennt, they essentially occupied the positions of the Buddhist Sect, causing many cultivators on Mount Ling to view them with hostility, thinking that they had stolen their positions.
The predicant of Little Bailong, who practiced cultivation at Mount Ling, was therefore imaginable.
So, when Sun Wukong first saw Little Bailong, his instinct told him that his martial brother must have been bullied.
Who was Sun Wukong? His temper wouldn’t allow others to mistreat his people, so he was ready to seek justice for his martial brother.
Little Bailong quickly held onto his senior brother and said, "Senior brother, do not misunderstand—Mount Ling has just been pacified; no one is making things difficult for now."
Only then did Sun Wukong rember this matter. During the recent turmoil caused by Marx, as a mber of the Buddhist Sect known as the Victorious Fighting Buddha, he too had participated. However, due to the distance from Huaguo Mountain and his infrequent involvent in Buddhist affairs, by the ti he arrived at Mount Ling, the final battle had already taken place.
Marx seed to know of his reputation and was always reluctant to confront him directly. In the end, he had only made a slight effort in the battle to seal Marx. Afterward, he returned to Huaguo Mountain, considering that his relationship with the natives of Mount Ling was not very harmonious.
With Little Bailong’s reminder, he naturally thought of these things and said with an embarrassed smile, "You remind now—I had forgotten. This ti, Mount Ling has suffered heavy losses and indeed no one has the energy to bully you."
Seeing this, Little Bailong smiled and said, "This ti I have been ordered to go to the Western Sea and I wanted to stop by here to hear your opinion, big senior brother."
He then explained the mission he was on.
"I have been residing in Mount Ling and know little about the outside world. Could big senior brother discern Buddha’s true intentions?"
Sun Wukong, however, fell into contemplation. Little Bailong had indeed co to the right person, for through his relationship with Ao Guang, he was well aware of recent events involving the Dragon Clan and could vaguely guess at Maitreya’s true intentions.
Thus, after pondering for a mont, he smiled and said, "It’s not necessarily a bad thing. He probably wants to win over your father."
"You also know about the disastrous defeat of the allied armies of the four seas, right?"
Little Bailong nodded. Such a major event was naturally known to him, and he could not help but harbor so resentnt towards the old Dragon Kings, for after this battle, the Dragon Clan had almost beco a laughingstock of the Three Realms.
"This defeat involves much intrigue. In fact, the decision to deploy troops was not even the intention of the Dragon Kings. It was the result of so warmongers in the Dragon Clan pushing the waves, and due to the lack of unified command, internal strife even occurred. This allowed the Demon Clan to seize the opportunity and led to such a failure." The monkey slowly revealed what he knew.
Only then did Little Bailong realize that there was so much more to the Dragon Clan’s failure, and his heart quietly relaxed.
As for the radicals within the Dragon Clan, they had always been present, as, in ancient tis, the Dragon Clan was one of the top powers in the Three Realms. Many in the Dragon Clan longed to restore their forr glory.
These individuals advocated for a strong external stance, hoping to change the impression of the Dragon Clan held by all living beings in the Three Realms.
But the well-inford Little Bailong also knew that while such things were easy to propose, they were difficult to execute.
The weakening of the Dragon Clan was a result of the passage of ti and the prevailing forces of Heaven and Earth—it was not just a problem for one or two people. Seeking to change this situation was naturally as difficult as reaching the heavens.
Moreover, for such a top power within the Three Realms, the current state of the Dragon Clan is preferred, because if the Dragon Clan were ever to consider restoring their ancient glory, it is likely that the Heavenly Court and the Buddhist Sect would join forces to suppress them.
This issue is a clash of ideologies, and such debates have continued within the Dragon Clan for many years; however, until now, it has always been managed by a few Dragon Kings who, tending towards conservatism, naturally suppressed the actions of the radicals.
However, this incident indicated that the radicals within the Dragon Clan were finally ready to take action. They began to struggle for power, vying for control over the entire Dragon Clan.
This was also a consequence of natural tendencies, as ever since the Buddha of the Three Pure Ones transcended, the stable situation maintained in the Three Realms for many years began to change, causing undercurrents among the various powers.
The Dragon Clan was just a small reflection of this greater trend.
Now aware of the ins and outs of the situation, Little Bailong felt more confident about his journey.
Thus, he smiled at Sun Wukong and said, "Thank you, big senior brother. I hadn’t realized there were so many nuances involved."
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