Sun Wukong Reborn: First Eat Three Monkeys, Then Smash Spirit Mountain

When the crisp crack of a spirit stone shattering split the dawn over Flower-Fruit Mountain, the gray-and-gold-furred stone monkey opened his eyes, already carrying the weight of two lifetimes in them.

He was Sun Wukong, but no longer the carefree, spirited stone monkey. The primordial origin of the Chaos Demon Ape awakened in his blood, etching the secret of "devouring the three monkeys to reforge a demon god" into his soul. The Red-Buttocked Horse Monkey's mastery of water, the Long-Armed Ape Monkey's earth-splitting strength, and the Six-Eared Macaque's ability to know what came before and after were all steps toward breaking free of the Heavenly Dao's shackles.

His miraculous birth stirred the Buddha's light to watch him, yet he only scratched his head and pointed at the clouds. "Can you eat cotton candy?" Faced with the kneeling monkeys, he waved them off and told them to pick more peaches for the little ones. Before the Black Wind Mountain demons had even bared their fangs, he was already using the cliffside winds to master the Chaos origin, drawing it forth and reining it in at will.

His words at the Water Curtain Cave council carried a sharp edge, and the tip of his gray-and-gold tail swept across the rubble with a smile. In this life, he wanted no headband of the Victorious Fighting Buddha. He would only be the Chaos Monkey King who toppled Spirit Mountain. While the Buddhas were still plotting out the script for "the unruly monkey's conversion," the figure that had leaped from the spirit stone had already clenched his fist in the rosy glow:

"The Heavenly Dao wants me as a pawn? Then I'll chew up the board first."