Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest

Sun Wukong, the legendary monkey king from Chinese mythology, cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders, his hands firmly gripping his emblematic staff.

"Let's loosen up a bit, Ruyi Jingu Bang."

Despite his soft, mischievous voice, everyone in the mine heard his words and the demonic kobolds turned to gaze at him.

Did he imbue them with Qi? Was it one of his abilities? They didn't know.

Yet, Adam believed the answer lay elsewhere as his face turned bright red and his heart ignited with a child's anticipation. After all, he would witness the real Wukong in action!

'It's his presence! It passively commands attention.'

His breathing hastened, and his muscles tensed as the monkey king made his first move.

Ruyi Jingu Bang spun in its wielder's hands, creating beautiful golden circles of varying sizes around him in a grand show of mastery and control before a smirk crept on Wukong's lips.

"Grow!"

With a single word, he lunged into the middle of the kobold army. Amusement dancing in his eyes, he swung his trusted weapon as it grew from around two meters to three, then four until it reached ten.

The Wind howled on its course as it reaped hundreds of kobolds like wheat, sending their bodies to collapse on another hundred. The noise of shattering bones reverberated, followed by agonising howls as he cleared a sizable chunk of their army in a single strike.

Blasted backwards, Adam's hair danced wildly as his eyes enlarged at Wukong's powerful back. Like a fan seeing his idol live, he raised his fist and did something inconceivable for a lord. Something that shocked his subjects into mutism and made them question him for a second.

"Go, go, Wukong! Go, go, Wukong! Show them why you're called heaven's equal and how you got that staff!"

Everyone knew about the Monkey King's staff and its ability to change size from a needle to a gigantic pillar connecting the Earth to the sky. More than a weapon, it was a symbol inseparable from his image. Yet how many knew how he got it?

But he knew!

'After gaining immortality, he searched for a weapon worthy of his strength and challenged the dragon king of the east! After a fierce battle, he defeated it and claimed the Ruyi Jingu Bang!'

Eyes sparkling, he remembered Wukong's incredible lore as the person in question chuckled at his encouragement.

"It's always nice to have mental support, but are you trying to make me blush? I'm kidding! Open your eyes wide and try to understand my movements. It might inspire you to refine your crude battle style."

With a chuckle, Wukong moved again.

However, despite his out-of-this-world powers and the weak enemies he faced, he lowered his speed, focusing on displaying his mastery. After all, he had stood in the rear since the raid began, and his assessment of the demon's prowess was... awful. Read exclusive adventures at m_v-l'e|m,p-y r

An elegant movement, a flash of gold, a dead kobold. That's what he saw before Wukong's voice echoed through the cave.

"You're all relying on brute strength too much and forgot about the rest. Fluid movements, breathing, stamina conservation. There is so much more you can learn and utilise to guide this strength to do your bidding with minimal effort."

He saw Wukong sidestep, lower his shoulder, and crane his head to the right, the three movements simultaneous and masterfully fluid. In fact, it almost seemed as if he hadn't moved, and the demonic kobold's lethal claws cleaved the air on the wrong course.

Like a painter holding his brush and about to drip it in scarlet blood, Wukong's staff descended next, drawing a beautiful curve to strike the three enemies simultaneously.

BANG

One strike, three shattered skulls and three deaths.

As Adam and the subjects watched, their eyes wide in shock, Wukong continued his lesson.

"Of course, once techniques are mastered, brute strength becomes a determining factor. Think about it. If two fighters are equally skilled, or the difference is too great, won't the strongest or the fastest overwhelm the other?"

To emphasise his words, he raised his clenched fist, bright Qi encasing it in a swirling veil as dozens of kobolds lunged at his body like feral beasts eager to shred their adversary.

Yet, he remained unmoving, not a scratch appearing on him as their claws and teeth struck mercilessly. Instead, he continued.

"That's brute strength alone."

He swung his fist, discharging his Qi in a potent stream of devastating life force that collapsed on the enemies.

BOOM

Without losing speed, it shattered hundreds of them before digging into the cave's wall. Dust rose and rubble fell in a cacophony of breaking rocks that caused Adam's jaws to drop open.

However, Wukong snickered, unsatisfied by the strike's result even if he hadn't put over 1% of his regular Qi in it despite the gaping hole in the wall.

Then, he continued, his fist rising again. Yet the energy encasing it seemed much lower than before.

"Now, that's brut strength and technique. You'll tell me about the difference yourself."

With his swing, dozens of small Chinese dragons condensed from his energy. Roaring with power, they swirled in the air like real living beings before they rocketed towards the demonised kobolds.

Unlike the first strike, the dragons didn't dissipate after culling an enemy and, instead, engaged in a massacre.

Another wave of agonising screams echoed as the kobolds fell one after another under the dragons' relentless assault before a deadly silence engulfed the place.

Then he turned to Adam, his lips curling into a broad smirk contrasting with the river of blood marring the ground.

"The second strike consumed less energy yet killed many more kobolds. Now imagine if I unleash my full strength to summon ten thousand. How many do you think I can kill in an instant and how much more efficient will my consumption be?"

Hearing the question and knowing the lesson had come to an end, Adam lowered his head and placed his hand over his dented armor in genuine respect.

"Thank you for opening our eyes. Energy control and the ability to use it aren't enough. We need to pay attention to consumption and efficiency. Your teachings didn't fall on deaf ears!"

Wukong nodded in satisfaction as smoke engulfed his headband and staff before they vanished, signalling that his daily five minutes were over.

Yet, he shrugged and patted Adam's shoulders.

"I knew you had a good heart but still held some reservations about your character. But now that I saw you display eagerness to learn instead of ego, I'm convinced. No, I'm even impressed. Keep this mindset, and I guarantee you that you'll reach great heights in the future."

After all, how many lords, even humans, would bow their heads to their subjects before his fighters? In his long life, he had seen the best and the worst humanity had to offer. Yet, he could count on his fingers the number of individuals who could appreciate critiques and teachings while forgetting their backgrounds.

Meanwhile, Adam's heart drummed in his ears as he felt the monkey king's warm hand on his armor and enjoyed the compliment.

'If I could take a screenshot and post it on chat, I'm sure every gamer and novel fan would cry in jealousy! I'm the only one who can learn from this legend! Hahaha...'

Yet, his brows creased into a frown a second later as an amusing thought crossed his mind.

'Wait... Am I becoming a fanboy? Well, who cares?'

With an inner chuckle, he turned to his subjects and raised his fist high above his head.

"We suffered in this battle, but we won! Gather the corpses to help Wukong use his Jin Doyun, and let's return to the territory." He winked at them mischievously. "I don't know for you, but I'm dying to eat, clean myself, and jump into bed."