Chapter 405: A Huge Gap
"I finally escaped!"
Seeing that Zhu Bajie had come out, Sun Wukong immediately knew that Ye Tian must have succeeded. He thought to himself, Ye Tian really is an incredible person. The things I couldn't do, he accomplished effortlessly.
"Bajie, are you okay?"
"I'm totally fine! That demoness was no match for me. She was so scared of me that she let me go!"
Hearing him brag even at a time like this, Sun Wukong felt irritated. He said to Zhu Bajie, "Can you stop boasting? Will you die if you don't? I know why you were released—it was because of Ye Tian, wasn't it? That demoness must have let you go on his account."
Tang Sanzang also added, "Yes, I believe that demoness feared him, which is why she released you."
"Anyway, I'm out now, Master! This is great—I didn't get eaten by that demoness! You know, she wanted to eat you because she heard that you're the reincarnation of the Golden Cicada. But I told her that if she dared to eat you, the Buddha would never forgive her. So, she got scared and gave up!"
Sun Wukong immediately sensed that Zhu Bajie was lying again, making him even more annoyed. He snapped, "Bajie, you told that demoness that Master is the Golden Cicada's reincarnation, didn't you?"
"Uh... How did you know?"
Zhu Bajie accidentally admitted it, then quickly covered his mouth. Sun Wukong, enraged, shouted, "You're asking for a beating! Do you want to taste my staff?!"
Seeing them about to start another fight, Tang Sanzang intervened. "Enough, both of you! Stop arguing. Now that we're safe, our priority is to continue our journey."
"But before we go, we need to wait for him to come up. Ye Tian is still underwater!"
"Right, Bajie, tell me—how exactly did he get that demoness to let you go?"
"They didn't even really fight. No matter how that demoness attacked, she couldn't touch him at all. In the end, she had no choice but to surrender. That Ye Tian is truly incredible! Even you might not be his match!"
"Really? Is he really that powerful?"
"Of course! I can tell you with absolute certainty—even if all of us joined forces, we still wouldn't be able to defeat him. His strength is simply too overwhelming. So, Brother Monkey, you'd better train hard. Maybe someday, you'll catch up to him!"
"Ye Tian is indeed extraordinary… From now on, I will train diligently! Only then will I have a chance to surpass him!"
"But Brother Monkey, you might surpass him one day… but it would take tens of thousands of years! Without at least that much time, I doubt you'd ever catch up."
"Tens of thousands of years?!"
"Yep, that's the minimum. Otherwise, how could you ever surpass someone as powerful as him?"
Sun Wukong suspected that Zhu Bajie was just teasing him, which made him even angrier. He raised his Ruyi Jingu Bang and charged straight at him.
Seeing Sun Wukong rushing toward him, Zhu Bajie cried out, "Master! Save me! Brother Monkey is trying to hit me again!"
Zhu Bajie then added, "Brother Monkey, don't hit me! If you do, even the gods in heaven will disapprove! We're fellow disciples—why are you attacking me instead of demons? Do you think the Buddha will forgive you?"
Tang Sanzang found this argument reasonable and said, "Wukong, I think you should let it go. After all, you're both brothers."
"But everything he says is so annoying! He's just asking for a beating!"
Sun Wukong was utterly frustrated with Zhu Bajie. If he had known Zhu Bajie was this irritating, he wouldn't have bothered saving him in the first place—wouldn't it have been better to just let the demoness eat him?
As they bickered, suddenly, the water stirred, and two figures emerged.
The two were none other than Ye Tian and the demoness. Standing side by side, Ye Tian addressed Tang Sanzang, "It's a pleasure to meet you. Now, we'll be on our way."
Seeing them together, Tang Sanzang was puzzled and couldn't help but ask, "Why are you two together? She's a demoness. Is there something going on between you two?"
"She wants to follow me and cultivate," Ye Tian explained. "So, I'm testing her to see if she's qualified to be my disciple. You can continue on your journey—this no longer concerns you."
"I see. Then we'll be leaving now," Tang Sanzang said, not wanting to waste any more time. They had already spent too long here, and he wanted to make up for the lost time.
However, Sun Wukong felt uneasy and said, "Ye Tian, you actually want to take in a demoness as your disciple? Don't you think that's inappropriate?"
"What's inappropriate about it?" Ye Tian responded indifferently. "Are you trying to lecture me? Let me tell you, Sun Wukong, while you are strong, compared to me, you're still ten thousand miles behind."
Ye Tian's words weren't just arrogance—they were simply the truth. The gap between them was enormous!