"Your Majesty, there are four monks outside claiming to be from the Great Tang in the Eastern Land on their way to the Western Heaven to obtain scriptures. They wish to exchange travel documents and are now waiting at the Wufeng Tower," reported the servant.

Upon hearing this, the King furrowed his brows and said, "Are these monks looking for death, coming here to seek it? And what about the patrol officers? Why haven't they arrested them?"

The servant, with a cry in his voice, responded, "Your Majesty, those monks possess some divine skills and mana. We've no idea how many of our people and horses they've killed on their way here. It's not that I didn't try to capture them, but that they cannot be captured!"

"What?!" The King slammed his hands on the table and stood up!

Seeing this, the Grand Preceptor quickly advised, "The Great Tang of the Eastern Land is known as a major country in the Southern Continent, called Central Huaxia. The journey here is thousands of miles, fraught with demons and monsters. Those monks must have some magical powers to dare to come this far west. In my opinion, it's probably the fault of those below who, seeing them as monks, gave them a hard time until they were forced to retaliate. If they were truly rude, they wouldn't have sent their travel documents up. Please, Your Majesty, consider the long journey of these monks from Central Huaxia and summon them to check the documents and allow them to pass, as a sign of good will."

The King angrily said, "And what of my soldiers they killed? Are we to just let that go?"

The Grand Preceptor replied, "Your Majesty, everything has its cause and effect. In this matter, I think it wouldn't hurt to let them in and inquire about the reasons before making a decision."

After pondering for a while, the King nodded and said, "Very well, let them come in."

Tang Sanzang walked into the hall with his disciples. He didn't care for the King sitting on the throne but searched the crowd with his eyes, and whispered to Sun Wukong, "Disciple, do you see any delicacies around?"

Sun Wukong coughed and whispered back, "Master, if you can't use telepathy, let's not talk about this now. We will discuss it after we leave... but as far as I can see, they're not here."

Tang Sanzang replied with an "Oh," his face full of disappointment.

The court officials all had dark expressions; this bald-headed monk had walked in, asked about food without paying respect to the King, and was indeed disrespectful!

The King snorted coldly, "Why do the people here not greet their King with proper respect?"

This time, without waiting for Sun Wukong to respond, Tang Sanzang answered directly, "You don't deserve it."

"How dare you!" The King erupted in anger. "I am the King of the Chechi Kingdom, and you, a monk, say I don't deserve your respect?"

Tang Sanzang looked at him earnestly, "You really don't deserve it."

The King was furious, "Very well, then! Initially, in consideration of your coming from the Great Tang of the Eastern Land, I intended to spare your life. Since you monks are so eager to die, then this journey to the Western Heaven will be your last. Guards, seize them and execute them!"

Before Tang Sanzang could react, the Grand Preceptor hastily interjected, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. They are high-status clerics from the Great Tang, and perhaps their customs differ from ours here. It might all be a misunderstanding."

The King was about to speak when the attendant entered again, "Your Majesty, the three State Preceptors have arrived!"

Upon hearing this, the King quickly moderated his temper and stepped down from the throne to welcome them.

As Tang Sanzang and the others looked back, they saw three great immortals swaying in, followed by six palace maids and youths. All the officials bent over to greet them and did not dare to look up.

When they arrived at the Jinluan Hall, they did not pay respect to the King either, but the King did not take offense. Instead, he greeted them with a smile, "State Preceptors, I did not summon you. How come you have the time to grace us with your presence today?"

The lead Taoist took a glance at Tang Sanzang and the others and said, "I have come for them!"

The King was startled, "For them? They are monks from the Great Tang in the East, sent to the Western Heavens to fetch scriptures, and they're here to exchange travel documents. Do they know the State Preceptor?"

The three Taoists sneered, "To say we know them would be a stretch, but there is certainly some enmity!"

The King said, "They're indeed not good people, I originally wanted to seize them and deliver them to the State Preceptor as slaves, but the Grand Preceptor advised against it, citing the importance of not destroying good karma with China. Hence, I summoned them to the palace.

Little did I expect they would offend your honor, they truly deserve death! But I'm unaware of how they've provoked the three State Preceptors."

The lead Taoist stroked his beard and said, "Your Majesty is unaware, these monks are truly arrogant. They entered our Cart Slow Kingdom, smashed the city gates, and killed soldiers, which I could bear, but they also killed my disciples who guarded the gate, this hatred is irreconcilable!"

Sun Wukong snorted coldly, "It was clearly your disciples who initiated the violence, but they were no match and got killed by me, that's all."

Zhu Ganglie, who usually was a coward, looked over at his bald companion, rolled up his sleeves, and stepped forward, "Exactly! It's your own lack of skill, your disciples were inferior, and your character even worse, that brought about this disaster! As for that guy who looks like a goat, don't roll your eyes at me. My master is right here. If you dare, let's have a match, disciple against disciple, and master against master. I'm not bragging, but I could squish your disciples with one hand. As for you... heh, my master could punch the crap out of you!"

Sha Wujing immediately chimed in, "Brother, it's not just crap, I'm afraid even the milk he drank as a baby would be smacked out of him!"

The three immortals all turned pale upon hearing this.

Especially the Goat Power Immortal, who laughed furiously, "Very well, very well, quite the sharp-tongued monks from the East. I won't quibble with you. Since your master is so mighty, then tell me, do you dare to step out and have a go?"

After speaking, the Goat Power Immortal stared straight at Tang Sanzang and demanded, "Do you dare?"

Zhu Ganglie immediately leaned toward Tang Sanzang and said, "Master, he's provoking you. If I were you, I wouldn't be able to endure it, I'd definitely give him a solid punch!"

Tang Sanzang simply gave him a disdainful look and said, "Wufan, don't talk nonsense. I'm just an ordinary monk who's practiced some boxing for a few years, how could I ever fight against this Taoist who looks rather delectable?"

The Goat Power Immortal, upon hearing the former part, lifted his head in pride, but then his face darkened when he heard the latter part about being a delectable-looking Taoist.

Zhu Ganglie, seeing that Tang Sanzang did not want to fight, was pondering over how to provoke him further and send the Goat Power Immortal to heaven.

The honest and straightforward Sha Wujing telepathically voiced, "Master, winter has arrived; it's time to replenish ourselves with some mutton. In my opinion, that's a fine sheep, its meat quality assuredly better than any monster we've encountered on our journey. A top-notch ingredient indeed, not to be missed."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang's eyes suddenly gleamed, and he pointed at the Goat Power Immortal, "It's you then, you're not convinced, are you? Come out and have a fight!"

Seeing Tang Sanzang's arrogance, the Goat Power Immortal hesitated and looked towards his two older brothers.

The Deer Power Immortal telepathically said, "Don't worry, younger brother. I had already heard news about this Tang Sanzang going to the West to fetch scriptures, and I inquired about him. Although he's the reincarnation of the Golden Cicada from Mount Spirit, in this life he's just an ordinary monk. Even if, as he claims, he has practiced some boxing for years, how could he be a match for you?"

The Goat Power Immortal said, "I know, but I worry about that monkey's trickery. What if he transformed into Tang Sanzang to challenge me? That would be troublesome."

The Tiger Power Immortal said, "That is indeed a problem... If that Tang Sanzang is truly just an ordinary person, he surely wouldn't dare to challenge us. There must be some trickery afoot. Do not agree to his challenge yet, watch me handle it!"