Journey to the West: Why Pass the Exam to Enter Spirit Mountain When You Can Storm It Instead

The Journey to the West tribulation begins, and all three realms await the Pilgrim, a man too weak to harm a chicken, to set out on his journey west. When Tang Xuan opens his eyes, General Yin already has him propped beside a stone pot. The monsters sharpen their knives while the gods and Buddhas watch the tribulation unfold. The [Eighty-One Tribulations Master-Disciple Chart] is now active. As long as Tang Xuan defeats the heart of a tribulation head-on and gets them to willingly become his disciple, he can gain their talents, divine abilities, and sect fortune. He can even shore up his disciples' foundations and break through the limits of their bloodlines. And so, the journey west changes completely. General Yin awakens the bloodline of the Western White Tiger and takes command of the sect's battles and punishments. Sun Wukong completes the essence of the Lingming Stone Monkey and swings his staff at the Heavenly Palace once more. Little White Dragon reforges his Ancestral Dragon bones and leads ten thousand dragons soaring through the sky. Black Bear Spirit attains sainthood through his physical body. Yellow Wind Monster blows away a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers with a single gust, while Red Boy's Samadhi True Fire burns through the Thirty-Three Heavens. Watching the pilgrimage party grow larger and larger, Guanyin falls completely silent. Seeing the densely packed demon kings outside Spirit Mountain, Tathagata rises from his lotus throne for the first time. Tang Xuan dons his kasaya and takes up the Nine-Ringed Monk's Staff. Behind him, all eighty-one disciples step forward together. Tang Xuan looks back. “Disciples, I've told you from the start: storming Spirit Mountain is much easier than passing the exams to get in.” Then Tang Xuan turns to the Buddhas filling the sky. “This humble monk will, of course, retrieve the scriptures.” “But I also want Spirit Mountain. I hope you'll kindly make way...” “If you refuse to leave with dignity, my disciples will help you find some.”