At Taisoji, the greatest priest-training temple in Shangri-La, a group of young monks train toward the rank of Sanzo priest decades before Genjo Sanzo ever takes up the title. Among them is the boy who will grow up to become Koumyou Sanzo, the predecessor whose choices echo through the rest of the Saiyuki story. The manga follows his years at the temple and the bonds he forms there, one more prequel piece in the wider Saiyuki timeline.