Chapter 1: The Contracted Great Sage
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“Is this really the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit in the Eastern Continent?”
Shi Yu struggled through the dense forest for most of the day, finally reaching the mountaintop, panting and breathless.
The sight before him made his eyes widen in astonishment as he murmured to himself.
Beneath the blazing sun, at the summit of the mountain, there stood a massive boulder.
The rock stood about ten meters high, and from a distance, its shape resembled a monkey gazing out to sea.
Bathed in the intense sunlight, it even appeared to possess a semi-transparent quality.
Within, the vague outline of a stone monkey could be seen—as if some living being was sealed inside, quietly awaiting the moment of awakening.
Shi Yu’s gaze flickered.
He distinctly remembered that before arriving in this world, he had been in the school’s training building, participating in the divine soul assessment for all second-year students.
This evaluation would determine whether students would be placed in the elite or the basic class upon entering their final year.
It would directly impact their future college entrance exam results, and thus their prospects after graduation.
The academy’s teachers had once explained the process: during the test, different things would appear in each person’s sea of consciousness, representing their talents and potential.
Some would see a blazing fire, others a tranquil and profound pool, and still others a dazzling beam of light.
The greater the talent, the broader the vision.
The most exceptional students might witness a surging river, a mountain towering a thousand meters high, or even a true dragon soaring through the skies.
But the teachers had never mentioned anything like what Shi Yu was experiencing now.
He shifted his gaze from the mysterious boulder to the endless azure sea stretching into the distance.
On the far side of the ocean, a faint, undulating black line suggested the presence of a distant continent.
Birds soared endlessly through the air, their clear calls ringing out beneath the sky.
Shi Yu stared at the boundless heavens and vast earth—this was a complete world.
Could all this be a manifestation of his divine soul?
He bent down, scooping up a handful of gravel from the ground; the tiny stones slipped through his fingers, their touch so real.
It was nothing like what the academy teachers had described.
He shook his head slightly. Had he transmigrated again?
Once, twice, after so many times, one grows accustomed.
He looked up, thought for a moment, and walked toward the mysterious boulder at the summit.
The moment he laid eyes on the rock, it had awakened in him memories of Journey to the West buried deep in his mind.
There was no other reason—it simply looked too much like it.
He approached, and out of curiosity, placed his hand on the rough surface of the boulder.
In the next instant, a majestic voice rang out in his consciousness.
[Divine Demon Contract System activating!]
[Detectable contractable divine demon: Luminous Stone Monkey (Embryonic Form)]
[Contract?]
Shi Yu was taken aback, then quickly composed himself, a hint of joy flickering in his eyes.
The essential benefit for any transmigrator—the system had finally arrived.
Luminous Stone Monkey?
Wasn’t that the Great Sage Sun Wukong himself?
To hesitate for even a second would be a slight to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
Shi Yu resolutely confirmed in his sea of consciousness.
Boom!
A brilliant point of light, like a meteor streaking through the night, shot into the boulder.
In almost the same instant—
Crack!
A fissure appeared across the face of the giant rock before Shi Yu.
The crack rapidly spread, web-like, across the surface.
Moments later, a thunderous explosion erupted between heaven and earth!
The ground shook, the mountains trembled!
Countless shards of stone flew from the summit into the ocean below, sending up towering waves.
And in that earth-shattering moment,
Though Shi Yu did his utmost to dodge, his soul still suffered an unprecedented shock.
In the haze of his consciousness, he seemed to see a heroic figure soaring skyward.
Two blazing beams of golden light, dazzling in their divine radiance, shot up to the heavens, piercing the nine layers above.
Even the celestial vault trembled.
In his sea of consciousness, the majestic voice sounded again.
[Divine Demon Contract successful!]
[Contracted Divine Demon: Luminous Stone Monkey (Newborn Form)]
[Ability List: Heavenly Meteorite Spirit Body]
[Ability sharing in progress...]
As the system’s voice echoed, Shi Yu’s soul felt like a little boat caught in a raging sea.
Before he lost consciousness entirely, his final thought was: Had he just helped Sun Wukong emerge from the stone, thus initiating Journey to the West?
...
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Blue Star, Great Xia, Star City, capital of Nanhu Province.
Second floor of the Yali High School training building, primary student testing area.
A dozen or so silvery streamlined testing pods glowed softly green, indicating they were in normal use.
Off to one side of the testing hall, there was a spacious waiting area.
Some twenty or thirty students sat there, watching the pods, whispering among themselves.
They would be the next group to use the pods.
Based on the school’s previous experience, a student’s first time in the divine soul testing pod usually lasted between five and twenty minutes.
No matter how poor their aptitude, no normal person would finish in less than five minutes.
Yet, just one minute after this batch entered, a sudden commotion occurred.
The pod at the center of the hall lit up red and let out a sharp alarm.
Then, with a bang, its door popped open.
A mechanical female voice echoed through the hall: “Unit 12 test ended. User, please exit.”
This unexpected event sent a wave of excitement through the waiting students.
“What’s going on? That fast?”
“I feel like I just sat down!”
“How much time was that?”
A round-faced boy in glasses checked the time, his eyes growing wider than his face.
“One minute!”
“Everyone, it was only a minute!”
“My god, who could it be? That’s incredible!”
Someone laughed so hard tears nearly came: “Which genius in our class got out in just a minute?”
“That must be a new school record for lowest ever!”
A few students sighed in relief. “Well, at least there’s someone at the bottom. Now I can relax.”
After the commotion, students in the front row finally caught a glimpse of the person inside the pod.
“No way, it’s Shi Yu?!”
“That’s impossible,” someone shook his head. “You must be mistaken!”
“It’s really him. I remember he went into Unit 12.”
“This...”
The students of Class 1, Grade 2, began exchanging bewildered looks.
None of them had expected the new record-holder to be Shi Yu, top of the class in martial arts and among the top three academically.
Everyone had thought Shi Yu was a shoo-in for the elite class, but fate seemed to be playing a cruel joke.
He was not only a top student but friendly, tall, and handsome—quite popular in the class.
Just moments ago, the group had been joking about who it might be.
But upon discovering it was Shi Yu, everyone felt a sense of regret for him. After all, this was school; there weren’t so many people eager to mock others.
They were all classmates; things weren’t so complicated.
A pure-looking girl with a ponytail furrowed her brows. “Teacher, can Shi Yu try again with a different machine?”
“Yes, please!” Many nodded in agreement. “Teacher, let Shi Yu try again.”
The supervising teacher frowned and cleared his throat.
“Quiet!”
“What were the rules stated before?”
The thick-browed, large-eyed teacher slowly scanned the room, his gaze exerting immense pressure on the students.
“This divine soul assessment gives you only one chance!”
“You only get one shot at the college entrance exam as well!”
“And on the battlefield, your enemy won’t give you a second chance!”
He paused, then turned to look at Shi Yu, who was still in the pod. His voice rose, as if speaking directly to him:
“Even if your divine soul assessment is disappointing, even if you land in the basic class, it doesn’t mean you have no chance!”
“True strength is forged through adversity, again and again!”
“Shi Yu, come out.”
Inside the pod, Shi Yu’s awareness was gradually returning.
Within his soul, a golden scroll floated up and down.
[Divine Demon Contract System]
[Level: 1]
[Host: Shi Yu]
[Contracted Divine Demon: Luminous Stone Monkey (Newborn Form)]
[Ability List: Heavenly Meteorite Spirit Body]
[Host Divine Soul: Level 12]
[Host Constitution: Level 15]
[Host Evolution Value: 3/100]
These were the words appearing on the sacred scroll.
Shi Yu was astonished by the information the system revealed.
Setting aside the Heavenly Meteorite Spirit Body for now, just the numbers for divine soul and constitution alone were stunning.
He knew well that the average high school graduate’s scores were a “double six”—divine soul level 6, constitution level 6.
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For students graduating from martial arts universities, both their divine soul and constitution would typically be at level 10—the so-called “double ten baseline” in society.
And now his own stats had far surpassed both baselines.
Was this the power gained from the Heavenly Meteorite Spirit Body?
Shi Yu thought quietly to himself; if so, then the three top academies of Great Xia were surely beckoning him.
He might even win several scholarships, which would relieve much of the financial burden from his aunt.
As for that last “evolution value” entry—once it reached 100, the entire Divine Demon Contract System would level up!
With each upgrade, more contract slots would be unlocked!
As the numbers for soul and constitution increased, a powerful energy surged within his body.
The sensation of strength filling him was like soaking in a hot bath during a frigid winter—utterly comforting.
Shi Yu devoted all his attention to the Divine Demon Contract System, barely noticing the outside world.
The thick-browed teacher frowned slightly; to him, Shi Yu was not someone easily defeated by setbacks.
On the contrary, coming from an ordinary background and climbing to the top of the class in martial arts, Shi Yu’s effort and perseverance far exceeded the norm.
The teacher could clearly sense his inner resolve.
He was about to head to the training area when he heard someone calling from the control room.
“Mr. Lin, please come to the control room immediately. There’s been an abnormality with one of the pods.”
Mr. Lin arched an eyebrow, glanced at Shi Yu who was still sitting motionless in the pod, and strode quickly toward the control room.
“Are you saying the pod really malfunctioned?” After a brief exchange, his normally calm demeanor was overtaken by surprise.
“Didn’t we check everything yesterday? There were no issues.”
The teacher in charge of the testing pods, Ms. Shen, sighed and explained, “Yes, everything was fine yesterday, and again before today’s tests.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“The issue lies with your student.”
Mr. Lin’s brow furrowed deeply. “Shi Yu? What about him?”
Ms. Shen paused for two seconds. “If my guess is correct, the fluctuations in Shi Yu’s divine soul were so intense that they overloaded the pod, causing a malfunction and triggering the door to open early.”
“What?!” Mr. Lin’s voice shot up.
His voice was so loud it carried through the glass, causing students in the waiting area to turn and wonder what was happening.
“You have to understand, these machines on the second floor are the most basic models. Their soul detection maxes out at level 9. If the data overflows, problems are bound to occur.”
Ms. Shen patiently explained.
Mr. Lin was momentarily stunned, then his gaze turned to one of rapture.
“So you mean, Shi Yu is actually...”
Ms. Shen adjusted her glasses, a smile on her lips. “Shi Yu’s divine soul far exceeds his peers.”
“In the future, he might even have a shot at the Great Xia’s Heaven and Earth Rankings during the college entrance exams!”
Mr. Lin’s sturdy frame actually trembled with excitement.
“Calm down, calm down!” He took a deep breath.
“It’s only a hypothesis for now; we have to give Shi Yu another divine soul assessment!”
He had completely forgotten his earlier lecture about life granting only one chance.
He pressed himself against the control room glass, eyes blazing, watching Shi Yu in the training area.
At this moment, in his heart, Shi Yu was as precious as a national treasure panda.
...
“Student Shi Yu, the test is complete. Please exit the pod.” The broadcast system sounded.
Shi Yu was still meticulously studying the Heavenly Meteorite Spirit Body, seeing what other benefits it might provide.
It was only when the broadcast repeated several times that he finally took notice.
“I remember climbing for half a day on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit; surely I’ve far exceeded the allotted time,” he thought, still unaware of the actual situation, as he slowly opened his eyes and prepared to leave the pod.
But just then, something utterly unexpected occurred.
Two dazzling golden beams suddenly shot from his eyes, like twin golden swords slicing through darkness, illuminating the entire second floor of the Divine Soul Testing Tower’s training area.
The space was instantly bathed in golden light, bright as daylight, resplendent and magnificent.
Shi Yu’s figure, half-hidden in the glow, merged with the soaring columns of light, resembling a true deity, striking awe into everyone present.
At that moment, Mr. Lin with his thick brows, the cute girl with the ponytail, the bespectacled boy, all the observing students, even the teachers in the control room—every one of them stared wide-eyed, mouths agape, their faces filled with disbelief.
“What... what just happened?” someone whispered, voice trembling.
“Was I seeing things?”
“Where did those golden beams come from?”
“Could that... could that be the legendary Divine Soul Phenomenon?!”
In the ensuing chaos, everyone’s voices quivered with excitement.
Mr. Lin’s thick eyebrows twitched, his heart surging like a stormy sea.
He stood dazed, mumbling, “Divine soul overflowing, spilling forth... How is this possible?”
In his entire life, he’d only witnessed this once before.
That time, it was An Shuangwen, a martial artist who had transcended the Mortal Realm and entered the ranks of Grandmasters—a prodigy hailed as a once-in-a-century genius in Great Xia, and the most likely in twenty years to enter the Immortal Realm.
And today, he saw with his own eyes a young man display the same astounding talent and potential!