"Why?" Sun Wukong scratched his head. "Many years ago, I thought about the same question as you. When the Flower-Fruit Mountain was razed, I asked why. When they told me to surrender, I wanted to ask why. Even when they made me go on the pilgrimage for scriptures... I wondered why." He involuntarily touched the golden fillet on his head.
"Because that is the way of Heaven," Sun Wukong said, also sitting down cross-legged. "'All living beings are equal' is just something said to mortals. How could gods, immortals, demons, and monsters ever be equal to mortals?"
He seemed to recall some past events.
Fang Zhiyi took a deep breath. "I understand. One cannot become an immortal while harboring compassion."
Sun Wukong was taken aback by his blunt words, then laughed. "You are truly amusing!"
"I've thought before that all who become immortals are ruthless individuals. And once they become lofty beings high above, seeing mortal humans as ants, who would bother to exert effort for ants?"
Sun Wukong neither nodded nor shook his head, just stared at Fang Zhiyi as if trying to see through his soul.
Fang Zhiyi looked back at him. "But I am different. If I still want to save her, what should I do?"
Sun Wukong asked curiously, "Are you really not afraid of death? Hmm, I mean, complete and utter death."
Fang Zhiyi spread his hands. "Great Sage, I have lived long enough, truly."
Sun Wukong slowly stood up. "First, let me test your mettle."
Fang Zhiyi also rose to his feet. "It would be an honor. If I survive, I could boast about this for a lifetime."
Sun Wukong was amused.
But suddenly, a black wind swept in, carrying a figure.
"Hunter Fang Zhiyi! I've found you! Hahaha..." A demon clad in golden armor stepped out from the demonic wind, emanating an overwhelming aura. "Heaven rewards the diligent! You..."
He suddenly widened his eyes, looking suspiciously at the monkey opposite Fang Zhiyi.
"Your friend?" Sun Wukong asked.
Fang Zhiyi shook his head. "Don't know him."
"You are..." The demon felt uneasy. This monkey seemed somewhat famous... what was he called?
But there was no time for him to think. A massive staff came smashing towards his face. He immediately mustered his energy to block, but failed. One hit, two hits, three hits. The demon's bones and sinews shattered piece by piece. He couldn't understand; this time he had made ample preparations, intending to completely overpower Fang Zhiyi with force. So why was this happening now?
A small, dark shadow detached from the demon and shot towards the sky. Sun Wukong snorted coldly, merely blowing a puff of air. The thing froze, unable to move. Then, with another swing of his staff, that 'system' was turned into mush.
Little Hei watched, terrified, and shrank behind Fang Zhiyi.
"The nuisance is gone. Now it's your turn and mine." Sun Wukong put away his golden staff. "I won't take advantage of you."
Fang Zhiyi clasped his hands in thanks.
Fang Zhiyi took a deep breath, circulating all his magical power. Instantly, the aura around him surged dramatically. The form of a black bear flickered around him, and a giant phantom of a black bear seemed to materialize behind him. With a loud shout, he charged at Sun Wukong, his fists like thunder, whistling through the air as they pounded towards the Monkey King.
Sun Wukong remained unhurried, his body moving with agile ease, effortlessly dodging Fang Zhiyi's attacks. Each time Fang Zhiyi's fist grazed past, it stirred a gust of fierce wind. Seeing this, Fang Zhiyi changed his stance, his hands forming claws that shot towards Sun Wukong with incredible speed. Sun Wukong slightly sidestepped, extended two fingers, and precisely pinched Fang Zhiyi's wrist. With a forceful flick, he sent Fang Zhiyi flying.
Fang Zhiyi flipped in mid-air and landed steadily. Gritting his teeth, he charged again. This time, he chanted incantations under his breath. Thick vines suddenly sprouted from the ground, twisting towards Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong leaped into the air, his golden staff appearing in his hand out of nowhere. With a single sweep, the vines were severed. Despite being many times stronger than before, Fang Zhiyi was still no match for an unarmed Sun Wukong.
As the vines dissipated, the tip of the golden staff came to rest against his throat.
A wry smile appeared on Fang Zhiyi's face.
Unexpectedly, Sun Wukong suddenly cried out in annoyance, "I lost! I said I wouldn't use my weapon. Force of habit. Blame this hand of mine." He slapped his own hand.
Fang Zhiyi's eyes widened in disbelief.
Sun Wukong looked at him, his expression half-smiling. "Still not going to scram?"
"Thank you, Great Sage!"
Little Hei, who had been tense because of the monkey before them, grabbed Fang Zhiyi. "This is the last time, you hear me? If you do it again, your soul will be completely finished."
Fang Zhiyi smiled. "This time, it will work."
"Remember, although doing this will enhance your power... this is the final time. If you do it again, you will dissipate completely." Little Hei's expression was serious.
Fang Zhiyi's face was already contorted. The pain his soul was enduring now was many times greater than the previous two occasions, as if a fire of a thousand degrees was burning inside him.
"Damn it, now I finally know what it feels like to have one's soul refined by those evil cultivators!"
Little Hei joked, "Oh, come on. Compared to this, those evil cultivators are like well-behaved little babies."
Fang Zhiyi clenched his jaw. If a person's pain exceeds a certain limit, they faint. But he couldn't faint at all; he could only endure it head-on.
Fortunately, when he opened his eyes again, the wolf demon was kneeling before him.
"Great King, what's wrong?" The wolf demon looked at the Great King's gloomy expression; he seemed particularly angry, his fangs bared.
"I know now. Da Huang, you may leave first." Fang Zhiyi supported his head with his hand.
The wolf demon was stunned for a moment. "Da Huang?" But within seconds, he became elated. The Great King had given him a name!
The wolf demon walked out, chest puffed out with pride.
Not long after, Fang Zhiyi also walked out. He stood on the steps, looking at these little demons. They were different from the demons arranged into the eighty-one tribulations for the Tang Monk and his disciples. They hadn't eaten humans, nor had they done any evil deeds. Some were even quite timid.
Fang Zhiyi hesitated for a moment.
"All of you, come here."
At his command, the little demons of the Sunny Cave gathered around. It was rare for them to see their Great King with such an expression.
"I'm going to give each of you a name."
Upon hearing this, the demons erupted in excitement.
Here, a boar that became a demon was called Wild Boar, a bat that became a demon was called Bat. There weren't many conventions. The original owner of this body was also simple-minded and had never thought of such things.
"You are Xiao Bai," Fang Zhiyi pointed at a dog demon. The dog demon wagged its tail excitedly from side to side.
"You are A'Qi."
"You are Da Hei."
"You are Xiao Huang."
No demon disliked their name as unappealing. Each one was overjoyed.
Da Huang was somewhat puzzled. "Great King, how do you suddenly know so much?"
Fang Zhiyi was taken aback. So much?
Before his eyes appeared the image of a playful little girl. That time, she had also pointed at them one by one, giving them names, her face wearing a happy smile.
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
