In the Lingxiao Palace, the Jade Emperor's and Tathagata Buddha's gilded imperial desks stand three zhang apart. The Memorandum of Cooperation for the Pilgrimage Project lies on the desks, gleaming coldly in the candlelight. Li Chang Geng, the Star of Venus, stands with his hands at his sides, listening to the two supreme beings argue. The Jade Emperor insists that the trials must highlight Heaven's protection, while Tathagata demands that Vulture Peak receive seventy percent of the credit. When the Jade Emperor suddenly asks about the “supervisory team's roster,” cold sweat breaks out across Li Chang Geng's back: the assignments of the Thirty-Nine Officers of the Four Watches, the Dharma-Protecting Jialan, and others have long been pieces on the board in the secret struggle between Heaven and Vulture Peak.
