OGP CH61

At 10:00 PM on Sunday night, the game progress of most streamers had reached Act Seven: The Peach Banquet.

The consecutive boss gauntlet in this stage was utterly insurmountable for players with subpar mechanics. Even renowned technical streamers across major platforms needed at least two to three hours to battle through the Nine Luminaries, the Four Heavenly Kings, and Muzha back-to-back.

After defeating the first three bosses, Mengtu’s hands were practically numb.

She took a brief breather and said, “Everyone Heaven sent was beaten back by Monkey Bro, so they called in reinforcements again. Erlang Shen Yang Jian must be the final boss in this gauntlet, right? He looks pretty cracked—he is the Jade Emperor’s nephew, after all. Let me drink some water to calm my nerves before taking him on 1v1!”

Sipping her water, she continued watching the animation.

In the animation, the moment Erlang Shen Yang Jian made his entrance, bullet comments flooded the screen:

[Damn, this Erlang Shen is actually really handsome!]

[The Heavenly Kings earlier were ugly one after another; Erlang Shen’s art style is built different.]

[The best-looking boss so far.]

Mengtu looked closely; Erlang Shen Yang Jian’s 3D model was indeed exceptionally handsome. The young man’s facial features were sharp and striking, his eyes clear and spirited. A unique red insignia was etched into his forehead, complemented by a golden crown and a long ponytail cascading naturally to his waist. Wielding a razor-sharp three-pointed double-edged blade, his posture was tall and straight, radiating heroic valor. He didn’t look like a villain at all; rather, he had an air of righteous nobility.

Mengtu quickly snapped a screenshot and remarked, “This handsome guy obviously won’t be easy to deal with.”

Erlang Shen’s character model was clearly crafted with immense care; even individual strands of hair were rendered distinctly, and the embroidery patterns on his garments were exquisite and ornate—worlds apart from ordinary mobs. Anyone who played enough games knew that the more detailed and handsome a boss looked, the harder they were to beat!

In the animated cutscene, Erlang Shen arrived at Huaguo Mountain and called Sun Wukong out for battle. Leaping onto a tree branch, Sun Wukong grinned playfully and asked, “What minor officer are you, daring to come here and challenge Old Sun?”

Erlang Shen barked coldly, “I am the Jade Emperor’s nephew, the Illustrious Lord Erlang, Yang Jian. I am here by imperial decree to capture you, the Bi Mawen who rebelled against the Heavenly Palace!”

Sun Wukong’s eyes rolled slyly as he burst into laughter: “Years ago, the Jade Emperor’s sister longed for the mortal realm, descending to wed a mortal named Yang and bear a son. Rumor has it that because his sister violated heavenly laws, the Jade Emperor imprisoned her beneath Mount Tao. That son took a colossal axe and split Mount Tao open to rescue his mother… Could that be talking about you?”

Yang Jian raised an eyebrow: “And so what if it is?”

Sun Wukong waved his hand dismissively: “Old Sun doesn’t trade blows with juniors. Hurry along back and summon your elders instead!”

Enraged, Yang Jian roared, “Unruly monkey, how dare you be so insolent! Taste my blade!”

No sooner had he spoken than a golden glow descended from the sky as his three-pointed double-edged blade cleaved down with ferocious power!

Mengtu was so immersed in watching the story that before she could even react, she was cut down and killed in one blow.

She scrambled back to her feet and blurted, “Holy shit! That fight started way too abruptly… I was still pondering the lore of Yang Jian cleaving the mountain to save his mother!”

[According to Monkey Bro, his mother broke heavenly laws and got locked up by the Jade Emperor?]

[So Yang Jian literally split open a mountain to rescue his mother, right?]

[That means Yang Jian and the Jade Emperor actually have beef!]

[No wonder he doesn’t live in the Heavenly Realm.]

[Looks like Yang Jian isn’t truly aligned with this uncle of his either.]

[Yang Jian, stop fighting the Great Sage! Just team up with him and rebel against Heaven together!]

[Hahaha, I was thinking the exact same thing!]

Although Yang Jian’s backstory was only mentioned in passing by Sun Wukong, it piqued the curiosity of countless players. Erlang Shen had a gorgeous model and an intricate backstory; clearly, he wasn’t just a one-dimensional villain—cleaving a mountain to save his mother showed sheer courage and resolve! Players actually found themselves quite fond of this boss.

Shaking off her shock, Mengtu refocused and faced Yang Jian in another 1v1 duel.

Yang Jian’s attack power was terrifying. His three-pointed double-edged blade packed immense punch, sweeping across the field in golden arcs of light that produced wide frontal cone attacks that were brutally hard to dodge. Mengtu’s hand speed spiked into overdrive as she scrambled, rolled, and desperately dodged mechanics in utter disarray, only to die again in under thirty seconds.

Getting back up, she said, “Let me run it again!”

On her second run, she was wiped out in less than thirty seconds once more.

The bullet comments rolled across the screen:

[Streamer is so trash, lol!]

[The Great Sage’s reputation is being ruined by you, hahaha!]

[To everyone laughing at her: go play it yourselves, you probably wouldn’t last ten seconds!]

[Say no more, we only play Easy mode~]

Mengtu paused to study the patterns of Yang Jian’s skill rotations before challenging him again. This time, she finally held out for over a minute.

Right at that moment, another transition cutscene triggered in the game.

Yang Jian abruptly expanded dozens of times in size, sporting a blue face, protruding fangs, and fiery red hair. Towering like a colossal mountain, he raised his massive blade and brought it crashing down toward the Sun Wukong beneath his feet!

Thinking on his feet, Sun Wukong likewise enlarged dozens of times over. The golden cudgel in his grasp became a sky-propping pillar planted before him, forcefully blocking Yang Jian’s devastating strike. The ringing clang of clashing divine weaponry reverberated so violently that all of Huaguo Mountain trembled.

Sun Wukong glanced back and saw the little monkeys on the mountain fleeing in panic, with heavenly soldiers and generals starting to attack the troop. Infuriated, Sun Wukong immediately spun around to rescue his monkeys. He transformed into a sparrow and perched upon a branch, attempting to deceive Yang Jian.

Seeing him vanish, Yang Jian hastily reverted to his original form and pursued. The red marking on the young man’s forehead opened, revealing an eye—this was actually Yang Jian’s “Third Eye.”

[Holy crap, a third eye! That’s so sick!]

[I thought that marking was just decorative, turns out it’s a hidden eye?!]

[Is this the legendary opening of the Celestial Eye?]

[Erlang Shen is so badass, why does he have to be enemies with my Monkey Bro?]

With his Celestial Eye open, Yang Jian quickly pinpointed Sun Wukong’s location. Smirking faintly, he morphed into a falcon to snatch the sparrow.

[System: Objective updated — [Evade the pursuit of Erlang Shen Yang Jian]]

[System: Please make strategic use of the [Seventy-Two Transformations] skill]

The background music abruptly turned tense, and the player’s control interface transformed into a flying minigame.

Mengtu snapped back to reality and steered Sun Wukong in sparrow form, darting forward desperately while Yang Jian pursued as a bird of prey right on his tail. Halfway through, she lost her balance and plunged downward—challenge failed.

On the second try, failing to fly fast enough, she was seized by Yang Jian—challenge failed!

Mengtu was speechless: “I thought this was a boss battle, but it turned into a chase sequence?!”

[He flees, he chases, yet wings cannot save him!]

[Hahaha, this game is getting funnier and funnier.]

[Consecutive boss fights get exhausting; after clearing three bosses, this is some great comic relief.]

[Fly faster, Yang Jian is catching up again!]

Mengtu rubbed her hands together, cradling the phone with both hands to maintain balance, steering around airborne obstacles, and hitting speed bursts when appropriate. As her controls smoothed out, her Sun Wukong (Sparrow Edition) flew faster and faster. After flying continuously for three minutes without being caught by Yang Jian’s falcon, the challenge was cleared!

Sun Wukong flew to the riverbank, where the “Seventy-Two Transformations” skill icon flashed. Mengtu tapped the skill, and in the next instant, Sun Wukong morphed into a fish, plunging headfirst into the water.

Arriving at the river, Yang Jian immediately shook his frame and transformed into a fish-hunting water bird! Sun Wukong darted through the currents while Yang Jian pursued him along the water’s surface, pecking and diving at him.

Mengtu yelled as she navigated: “The pressure is immense, stop chasing me! Can you please just stop chasing me?!”

The viewers were dying of laughter.

This chase sequence was actually quite difficult; the route was littered with obstacles, and running while weaving through hazards made it very easy to get caught. Yet in the eyes of the stream viewers, it played out like pure comedy.

Ten minutes later, the fish phase was finally cleared. Sun Wukong then morphed into a small snake, slithering nimbly into nearby undergrowth. Yang Jian followed suit, transforming into a gray crane that pecked through the grass trying to snag the serpent…

Sky, water, brush—three consecutive chase sequences, each featuring distinct gameplay mechanics. As a sparrow, it was about maintaining aerial balance and dodging flying hazards; as a fish, it required bobbing up and down while avoiding larger predatory fish; as a snake, it demanded weaving tight S-curves through terrain, requiring sharp finesse.

By the time she finally passed, Mengtu felt more exhausted than if she had run a ten-kilometer marathon!

Chased all the way down the mountain, Sun Wukong had a sudden spark of inspiration and morphed into a shrine. Unfortunately, his tail was difficult to conceal, ending up as a flagpole sticking straight up behind the building.

[Hahaha, the Great Sage is hilarious, he turned into a building!]

[A shrine suddenly appearing in the middle of nowhere is so obvious!]

[And it’s a building with a tail sticking out behind it…]

[Yang Jian will definitely see right through it!]

[He cheats with his Celestial Eye; the Great Sage’s Seventy-Two Transformations seem useless against him!]

Sure enough, Yang Jian opened his Celestial Eye, saw right through Sun Wukong’s disguise, and circled behind the shrine to strike his tail. Stung with pain, Sun Wukong reverted to his true form on the spot and somersaulted on his cloud straight to Yang Jian’s home temple.

To make things even funnier, he directly took on Yang Jian’s appearance. The temple attendants failed to see through the ruse, kneeling and paying homage to this “fake Yang Jian.” Thoroughly smug, Sun Wukong lounged in the seat Yang Jian usually occupied and ordered the attendants to bring him delicacies.

His disguise of Yang Jian was practically indistinguishable from the real thing. While the subordinates were serving him, a moment later, another Yang Jian walked through the doors.

Everyone stood flabbergasted—why were there two Yang Jians?

Sun Wukong immediately sprang up, pointed at the newcomer, and shouted, “You unruly monkey, how dare you assume my likeness! Men, seize him at once!”

[Hahahaha, the Great Sage is playing the thief calling thief!]

[The Great Sage is actually super clever!]

[I’m dying laughing—he turned into Yang Jian himself and called the real Yang Jian an unruly monkey!]

[Wukong, behave yourself!]

Yang Jian was completely baffled by Sun Wukong’s shameless play. You’re clearly the one impersonating me, yet you order people to seize me?! How utterly unreasonable!

Unfortunately, no matter how Sun Wukong disguised himself, his tail remained hard to hide. Yang Jian decisively circled behind to strike his tail. Knocked out of his disguise, Sun Wukong dropped all pretenses, leaping outside to clash with Yang Jian once more.

The two fought to a complete standstill.

The celestial onlookers could no longer sit still. Watching from above, the Jade Emperor, Queen Mother, Guanyin, and others saw that Yang Jian couldn’t subdue Sun Wukong immediately, prompting Taishang Laojun to pull out his divine artifact—the Diamond Snare—and hurl it downward.

[Holy crap, a sneak attack!]

[These Heavenly Court folks are truly shameless!]

[Couldn’t win the gauntlet, called in external help and still couldn’t catch him, and now they resort to cheap sneak attacks against my Monkey Bro!]

[Disgraceful!]

Players burned with outrage, wishing they could dive right into the game to back Sun Wukong up. Monkey Bro had single-handedly trounced Nezha, the Nine Luminaries, the Four Heavenly Kings, and Muzha, and held his own evenly against Yang Jian, Heaven’s God of War. And in the end, Heaven pulled off a cheap ambush at the pivotal moment?

Struck on the back of the head, Sun Wukong was momentarily dazed, allowing Heaven’s forces to seize the opportunity and bind him with the Demon-Binding Ropes. The chat was overflowing with fury, and Mengtu couldn’t help venting: “These Heavenly Court folks have zero martial ethics! If you can’t win a gauntlet, you ambush him? That’s way over the line!”

Bound and dragged back to Heaven, the Jade Emperor had Sun Wukong escorted to the Demon-Slaying Terrace. Yet despite throwing everything at him—hacking with blades, spearing, striking with lightning, and scorching with flames—they couldn’t harm the demon monkey in the slightest. Sun Wukong merely laughed uproariously, claiming it tickled and telling the celestial soldiers to scratch him some more.

The Jade Emperor nursed a massive headache: “How should this demon monkey be disposed of?”

Taishang Laojun suggested, “Having devoured the peaches of immortality and gorged on countless immortal elixirs, this demon monkey has forged a diamond, indestructible body. Only the True Samadhi Fire of my Eight Trigrams Furnace can reduce him to ashes.”

And so, they hauled Sun Wukong off to Tusita Palace and cast him into the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

Forty-nine days later…

Taishang Laojun assumed the monkey had long turned to cinders. But when he unsealed the furnace to look—

A blackened monkey suddenly vaulted out, kicking the Eight Trigrams Furnace clean over with a single blow! From enduring the refining flames for so long, Sun Wukong’s eyes had been scorched into radiant, golden fiery pupils. Gleaming with piercing brilliance, he even intentionally winked at Taishang Laojun.

[System: Acquired skill: [Fiery Eyes with Golden Pupils]]

[Description: Activating this skill pierces through all illusions and reveals enemy attributes.]

[Monkey Bro is an absolute legend!]

[Burned for that long without dying, and he even unlocked an extra skill!]

[Heaven has truly run out of options now, haven’t they?]

Surviving the catastrophe, Sun Wukong’s stats received another massive boost, accompanied by the unlock of “Fiery Eyes with Golden Pupils.” Players watching this were beside themselves with excitement. Our Monkey Bro is invincible under the heavens; what else can you possibly do?!

Emerging from the furnace, Sun Wukong brandished the golden cudgel. This time, he discarded all restraint against Heaven. Plucking a handful of hairs and blowing gently upon them, he conjured hundreds upon thousands of Sun Wukongs. Countless Sun Wukongs fought their way straight back to the Hall of Miraculous Mist! Unstoppable, not a single celestial could stand in their path!

Slashing his way inside, Sun Wukong pointed at the Jade Emperor and roared with laughter: “Old Man Jade Emperor, you’ve sat upon that throne in the Hall of Miraculous Mist long enough! Step down and let Old Sun have a turn!”

The Jade Emperor turned pale with fright.

Right at that moment, a voice resonated from beyond the heavens: “The Jade Emperor has cultivated since his youth, enduring 1,750 kalpas across countless millions of years to become the Lord of Heaven. How dare a newly transformed monkey like you utter such reckless words?”

The voice boomed like a bronze bell, every word echoing with boundless weight. Sun Wukong turned around to see none other than the Tathāgata Buddha. Basked in divine golden radiance, the Buddha sat cross-legged atop a lotus pedestal. In stark contrast to the panic gripping Heaven’s court, the Buddha appeared calm and composed, speaking with a serene, benevolent smile.

Sun Wukong proclaimed, “They say ‘Emperors take turns; next year it comes to my house.’ As long as the Jade Emperor moves out and surrenders the Heavenly Palace to me, Old Sun won’t press the matter further. But if he refuses, Old Sun will turn this Heavenly Court upside down and give none of you peace!”

The Buddha chuckled, “What abilities do you possess that grant you the audacity to claim mastery over the Heavenly Palace?”

Sun Wukong bragged smugly, “Old Sun has plenty of abilities! Seventy-Two Transformations, immortality, a diamond-forged body, and a Somersault Cloud that covers 108,000 li in a single leap!”

The Buddha said, “How about we make a wager: if you can leap out of my right palm with a single somersault, I will have the Jade Emperor yield the Heavenly Palace to you.”

Sun Wukong rolled his eyes and asked with a grin, “Can you make that call?”

The Buddha replied, “Naturally I can.”

The celestials in the hall exchanged glances; the Jade Emperor’s expression shifted upon hearing this, yet he raised no objection. Overjoyed, Sun Wukong leaped into the air, summoned his Somersault Cloud, and soared toward the horizon!

[System: Objective updated — [Use mobility skills to fly]]

Mengtu chuckled, “The Buddha made a bet with our Monkey Bro: as long as he flies out of his palm, he gets to rule Heaven! Isn’t that basically a free win? Though the game’s title is Journey to the West… That’s kind of weird; it doesn’t seem connected to the current storyline at all?”

At this point, many viewers and players genuinely believed Sun Wukong was about to become the Lord of Heaven. After all, across the previous seven stages, Sun Wukong had been an unstoppable force—crushing the Dragon Palace, wreaking havoc in the Netherworld, and sending the armies of Heaven fleeing in disarray. He was the quintessential overpowered power-fantasy protagonist, wasn’t he? Once he took over the Heavenly Palace, Monkey Bro would reign supreme across all Three Realms.

Following the prompts, Mengtu activated the Somersault Cloud and flew forward. It was another flight stage; as long as one dodged airborne obstacles and timed speed bursts well, reaching the finish line was quick.

Mengtu said, “There are five pillars ahead, with a glowing circle at the base—that should be the quest destination.”

Guiding Sun Wukong into the glowing circle, the next story cutscene triggered. In the animation, beholding the five mountains at the edge of the sky, Sun Wukong exclaimed, “This must be the edge of Heaven! Let Old Sun leave a mark.”

Plucking a hair to turn into a brush, he inscribed onto one of the pillars: “The Great Sage Equal to Heaven was here!” Afterwards, he casually took a leak to mark the spot.

[Hahaha, this monkey!]

[Public urination, that’s a 50 yuan fine~]

[Why do I have a bad feeling about this? Five pillars… oh god…]

[Did Monkey Bro win the bet?]

Returning to the hall, Sun Wukong demanded the Buddha hand over the Heavenly Palace.

The Buddha said, “You never left the palm of my hand.”

Sun Wukong refused to believe it: “I clearly flew to the edge of the cosmos and found five colossal stone pillars, even leaving a mark! Dare you accompany me to see for yourself?”

The Buddha smiled, “Step into my palm and look down to see for yourself.”

Sun Wukong hopped into his palm and peered down. The camera zoomed in rapidly for a dramatic close-up—there, on one of the Buddha’s fingers, sat the exact phrase Sun Wukong had etched into the pillar at the edge of the sky:

“The Great Sage Equal to Heaven was here.”

Sun Wukong gasped, “Did you use divination to foresee what I would write? I don’t believe it, let me go check again!”

Just as he moved to take flight, the Buddha’s palm abruptly flipped over. A torrential avalanche of rocks rained down from the heavens! Accompanied by a piercing cry, Sun Wukong was pinned beneath a colossal mountain.

[???]

[What the hell just happened?!]

[Instead of becoming the supreme ruler of Heaven, my Monkey Bro got crushed under a mountain?!]

[The Buddha must have cast an illusion; how else could he know what Monkey Bro would write?]

[It’s totally rigged! These Heavenly folks are way too scheming!]

[Wait, what? My Monkey Bro lost the wager?!]

Mengtu stared blankly in disbelief. Only after several seconds did she stammer, “My Monkey Bro got pinned under the Five Elements Mountain? Huh? What?! How could this be the outcome?! Where’s the rest? Don’t tell me Chapter One ends right here?! I just said I was going to sleep after clearing Chapter One—how am I supposed to sleep now?! How can I possibly fall asleep?!!”

Just as she said this, the game began rolling the ending credits.

[Chapter One: End]

[To learn what unfolds next, listen to the tale told in the next chapter.]

The viewers: “…………”

Producer, get out here right now, I’m going to murder you!

Innumerable viewers watched the ending theme in stunned silence. Truth be told, Yangfan Studio had spared no expense, commissioning a dedicated original theme song titled “The Path to the West,” hiring professional studios for the composition and lyrics.

As the song played, a dense roll of credits scrolled:

Game Production: Yangfan Studio

Chief Producer: LittleSailboat

Alongside comprehensive rosters for programming, level design, art, and the rest of the development team.

Special Thanks: Animation Production [Color Pictures]

Special Thanks: Voice Recording [Auditory Sound Studio]

Voice Cast:

Sun Wukong — Fang Hezhi

Jade Emperor — Zou Peng

…

The dense list of voice actors stretched across several pages, evidencing the meticulous effort poured into the title. Finally, a concluding message appeared: [Thank you to all players for supporting Journey to the West ^^]

Streamers and players alike were stuck in collective disbelief. Wait, you’re ending it right here?!

Cliffhanger culprits deserve no mercy!

Mengtu had an absolute meltdown: “My Monkey Bro is pinned under a mountain, I can’t accept this! You sadistic producer bastard, you really cut Chapter One off right here?! Does your conscience not ache?! Damn it, sleep? How the hell am I supposed to sleep tonight?!”

At the same moment, Liu-ge was cursing up a storm in his stream: “Fuck! LittleSailboat has no soul! How could he leave the story hanging here? What happens next? My Monkey Bro is just trapped under a mountain?!”

Streamer Xingyue: “My Great Sage was tricked! Right now, all I want to do is tear down all Three Realms!”

Streamer Uncle Flying Bear: “I’m at a complete loss for words. Stopping right here… neither up nor down, clawing at my heart and scratching my soul—even when serialized shows go on hiatus, it’s never been this agonizing!”

Across streaming platforms, countless creators and viewers cursed in unison.

Meanwhile, children playing on Easy or Normal mode had also reached Act Seven by Sunday night, concluding Chapter One.

Seven-year-old Tang Tian cried uncontrollably, her eyes red: “Daddy, the Great Sage is trapped under a mountain! Someone save him, wuu wuu wuu, the Buddha is a liar!”

The boy next door was throwing a tantrum too: “How could the Great Sage Equal to Heaven fail to fly out of his palm? I don’t believe it! The Great Sage was definitely tricked, everyone in Heaven is evil!”

In children’s Moments feeds, kids took turns slamming Heaven. In adult gamers’ feeds, everyone unanimously roasted the game producer.

“The damn producer is a sadistic monster!”

“I rarely get time to unwind with a game on the weekend, and just when I get completely hooked, you give me this ending?!”

“I was planning to go to bed after finishing Chapter One, but now… I’m even more awake than before!”

“Sleep my ass! What happens to my Great Sage afterwards?!”

“LittleSailboat, drop the next chapter right this second!”

“I’ve experienced shows going on hiatus, but experiencing a hiatus mid-game is a first. I’m speechless…”

“Having to binge-watch serialized animation through a video game? As expected of Yangfan Studio—always pioneering industry frontiers!”

Sunday night at 10:00 PM was peak gaming hours. Over the span of two days, most hardcore players on Challenge mode had cleared Stage 7, while the main body of Normal mode players had also finished the narrative.

From a gameplay perspective, the mechanics across the seven stages were undeniably rich and inventive: climbing to find the Water Curtain Cave; navigating mazes to unlock mechanisms; dueling the Bull Demon King; looting the Dragon Palace; braving Netherworld bosses to alter the Book of Life and Death; devouring peaches in the orchard; enduring consecutive boss gauntlets; and engaging in dynamic shape-shifting pursuits with Yang Jian. Not a single level repeated mechanics, and not a single boss shared identical designs. The development team had poured genuine devotion into the craft.

Yet narratively speaking—leaving a cliffhanger right here was downright cruel!

Under Yangfan Studio’s official Weibo, hordes of players flocked to vent:

“Damn producer, give me back my Great Sage!”

“LittleSailboat, hand over the next chapter… don’t make me beg you~”

“I have a friend who’s terminally ill with cancer and just wants to know Sun Wukong’s ending.”

“Where is Yangfan Studio’s address? I want to mail you a package of razor blades!”

Under the collective outcry of millions of players, the hashtag #DamnProducerGiveMeBackMyGreatSage# actually trended on the hot search list!

Xie Yunfan logged onto Weibo to take a look. The moniker players used for him had evolved from the affectionate “LittleSailboat” into “Damn Producer,” with the comments flooded with bloody knife emojis. They had even driven #DamnProducerGiveMeBackMyGreatSage# onto the trending rankings.

Seeing countless players demanding justice for the Great Sage, Xie Yunfan felt deeply moved. The Great Sage’s charm truly transcended eras and worlds! No matter where, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, was an incomparable figure.

He recalled the first time he watched Journey to the West as a child; seeing this turn of events, he too had been furious that the Great Sage was pinned under a mountain, losing an entire night’s sleep over it. Only after finishing the entire tale did he understand that this was merely a grand arrangement orchestrated by the Tathāgata Buddha—everyone was a piece on the board, all to pave the way for Tripitaka, the reincarnation of Golden Cicada, to retrieve the True Scriptures from the Western Heaven.

Naturally, at this stage in the story, the audience could not yet fathom the philosophical core of Journey to the West. Yet one thing was certain: the game was already half-way to total victory!

The free-to-play Chapter One hadn’t just retained players; it had stirred their emotions to a fever pitch—adoration for the Great Sage, revulsion toward Heaven, and burning anticipation for what lay ahead.

Serializing animation inside a game? And leaving them hanging on a cliffhanger?! Such a stunt was genuinely unprecedented!

Yangfan Studio’s audaciously slick tactics made players both love and hate them in equal measure. They loved the inventive gameplay design and stunning animations; they hated that it wasn’t all released at once! With hearts aching and minds racing, how much longer would they have to wait?

In the span of just two days following the shadow drop, the discourse had reached astronomical heights. With waves of organic advocates repeatedly pushing the Great Sage onto the trending charts, it seemed Journey to the West was destined to become another massive blockbuster!

__

Author’s Note:

Note 1: The animation dialogue is adapted from the original Journey to the West novel, simplified into modern vernacular (the classical Chinese would be tough for alternate world gamers to follow~).

Note 2: Yang Jian cleaving the mountain to rescue his mother is indeed an authentic myth, specifically Mount Tao. Those interested in the mythology can look up the legend of Erlang Shen!