During the Archon War, the Geo Archon waged war against demons and monsters. To end the chaos, he gathered spiritual stones from the earth to forge a peerless divine weapon. Upon its completion, he discovered a single seven-colored spiritual stone remained...
The Geo Archon placed this remaining seven-colored spiritual stone atop the highest peak of Mt. Aocang, allowing it to absorb the essence of the sun and moon. Unexpectedly, a life beyond imagination was born within the stone...
It was a stone monkey of exceptional talent. It studied under the Dragon King Azhdaha, mastering all manner of skills. Influenced by Azhdaha's malice, it vowed to defeat Morax and seize the position of Geo Archon...
Morax, remembering it was Azhdaha's disciple, couldn't bring himself to eliminate it. Instead, he suppressed it beneath Mt. Tianheng for five hundred years...
Five hundred years later, the stone monkey remained unyielding. The Geo Archon, in conjunction with the gods, devised a plan to send it north to Snezhnaya, hoping the extreme cold would help it cool its head...
The stone monkey endured countless hardships, unexpectedly discovering that the world was far more complex than it appeared, concealing even more terrifying crises, and that the Seven Archons themselves were but pawns...
The editors and authors were greatly enamored with the story of "Journey to the West." Building upon this foundation, they incorporated local myths and legends to create a new work.
Whether it was the story's background or plot, extensive deliberation led to its increasingly rational refinement.
To rival "True Spirit Investigation Notes," and for other considerations, Yae Miko also added unique incantations to the novel, some truthful, some not, adding to the buzz surrounding its circulation among readers...
"With Mr. Albedo on board for the illustrations, we certainly won't lose out to 'True Spirit Investigation Notes.' Furthermore, for the recommendation on the book band, we can ask the currently popular Miss Shina to write it. Everyone has worked hard during this creation period. Once the novel sells well, I'll share the profits with you all!"
Yae Miko waved her hand grandly, full of confidence. With Albedo and Miss Shina's support, what was there to fear?
The editors and authors happily savored the vision painted by their chief editor, then pondered deeply on the novel's plot development.
"Hmm... the foreshadowing goes like this, then like this... this part can connect with the first chapter, and the twist is set. As for the theme..."
The editors and authors worked through the night, managing to complete the first part of the manuscript by the next morning.
Feng Yi and Yae Miko took this portion of the manuscript directly to the Yae Publishing House's manuscript submission event.
"Chief Editor Yae, and Mr. Feng Yi, are these the works you wish to submit? 'The Stone Monkey's Wonderful Adventure,' author's pseudonym is 'Senju-an.' We will expedite printing and conduct pilot sales across Inazuma. In three days, we will announce the light novel's sales figures..."
The supervisor in charge of the manuscript event had already been notified and, upon confirming the title and pseudonym, immediately sent it for expedited printing.
Everything would depend on the results revealed in three days.
The night before the results were to be announced, the streets of Inazuma City were bustling and lively, with countless food stalls lining the way, and smiles gracing everyone's faces.
The Nagaharu Fireworks Festival had begun, the summer event most anticipated by the people of Inazuma.
Fireworks are fleeting, but human connections endure.
While admiring the fireworks, the people of Inazuma remembered the departed or looked forward to the future. To them, these fireworks were more than just a spectacular display.
"Gen, look! Klee found a goldfish scooping stall! These goldfish are so cute!"
Klee and Gen, like nimble fish, weaved through the crowded streets, causing considerable distress to Albedo, who was following behind to look after them.
"Klee, put away your bombs. You can't blow up fish in crowded places!"
Albedo said with a helpless expression. How could he get Klee to break her habit of pulling out bombs whenever she saw fish?
"Hehe, Klee knows, of course! These aren't bombs, they're 'Goldfish Fireworks' that Sister Yoimiya gave Klee. They can swim on the water, emit colorful light, and blow bubbles! They're so magical!"
Klee shook the goldfish-shaped fireworks in her hand. This was a meeting gift from Sister Yoimiya, a creative combination of goldfish and fireworks, which Klee loved very much.
She had held back for a full two days, just to ignite the goldfish fireworks at this grand festival today.
Albedo inspected them and found no inherent danger, finally feeling at ease.
"Gen, let's go light the goldfish fireworks! Klee is so excited~"
"Okay, okay! Gen asked Sister Yoimiya to make a spinning, glowing pinwheel firework for me. It's so fun, let's go light them together!"
Like Klee, Gen had also resisted lighting his pinwheel fireworks for several days in anticipation of today.
Seeing Klee and Gen dart off in the blink of an eye, Albedo hurried to follow. It was dangerous at night.
Of course, he wasn't worried about Klee and Gen encountering danger, but rather about Klee's fireworks causing trouble for others.
"Guoba, let's go, let's go! Let's go light fireworks together!"
As they passed by a food stall, Gen bumped into Sister Xiangling and Guoba, who were feasting there. Lighting fireworks was such fun, he decided to bring Guoba along.
"Mmm... Mmm?!"
Guoba held over twenty skewers in each hand, his mouth stuffed full. Upon seeing Gen greet him, he tried to respond, but the food in his mouth prevented it. Guoba spun in place in his haste.
"Who told you to eat so quickly? Look at your predicament! Hurry and go light fireworks with Gen and the others..."
Xiangling chuckled, patted Guoba's large head, then subtly pilfered the skewers from Guoba's hands, nudging Guoba towards Gen and signaling for him to play to his heart's content today.
Xiangling: Your skewers are in my care. Don't worry about them; they will live happily in my stomach!
Guoba: Why did you take my skewers? Without you, skewers, how can I go on?
Hmm? Gen has milk tea in his hand?! Never mind, goodbye skewers, let's not keep in touch. I'm worried the milk tea might misunderstand...
The moment before, Guoba was filled with sorrow, but the next moment, he happily ran towards Gen. Skewers were merely an accident; milk tea was his true love!
"Ashou, Akihito, Genta, and Ushio, just a little longer! Let's move these last few fireworks up the mountain, and we'll get paid! Then we can feast at the summer festival!"
At the foot of Mt. Yougou, Arataki Itto loudly encouraged his tired subordinates, the bright future just ahead.
Just this afternoon, the Arataki Gang suddenly received an urgent order to transport some fireworks from the Nagaharu Firework Shop to the backyard of the Grand Narukami Shrine.
Arataki Itto didn't want to work overtime, but the offer was just too good to refuse...