The Sword Master Paid for Me I'm Tempted

Fighting along the way, you found that the Myriad Soul Banner, a mere high-tier spiritual weapon, was no longer handy to use.

So, carrying a storage ring full of crystal reserves, you and Zhenpin came to the Divine Weapon City, wanting to upgrade the Myriad Soul Banner.

Here, you met the so-called Great Vanguard of the Demon Monkeys.

The sixty-third year. You were eighty-one years old.

Above the Divine Weapon City, the Fiery-Eyed Golden Monkey, wielding a golden iron staff and wearing golden chainmail, was engaged in a fierce battle with his former junior brother, the Four-Eyed Spirit Monkey, who was also a heaven-and-earth spirit monkey.

This Four-Eyed Spirit Monkey wore a set of wicked bone armor. He also held a large staff in his hands, though it was purplish-gold in color.

The two fought fiercely, evenly matched. The shockwaves of their battle easily leveled the distant mountain peaks.

You and Zhenpin were inside the Divine Weapon City, but you were unharmed for now, because the city's grand protective array had been activated, blocking all the shockwaves.

"Jie jie! Senior brother, long time no see. You and Master aren't dead yet?"

The current Four-Eyed Spirit Monkey's personality had changed drastically compared to when you first saw him.

The weirdly-shaped little monkey who only dared to hide behind the Fiery-Eyed Golden Monkey was now arrogant and insolent, with demonic aura skyrocketing from his body!

His demonic aura was so dense that anyone could see it with the naked eye.

Even his facial features had changed.

Although he looked strange before, he was at most ugly-cute. Now, he had a ferocious and malevolent visage, fully displaying his demonic nature!

"You vile beast! Willingly becoming a demon, do you still remember the oath you and I once swore to kill all the evil demons in the world and eradicate evil completely?!"

The Fiery-Eyed Golden Monkey scolded angrily. From his expression, one could see complex emotions of anger, regret, hatred, and reluctance.

"Hahaha! We are demons to begin with, so why should we kill demons? We should be killing humans instead!"

"Nonsense! You and I are spirit monkeys nurtured by heaven and earth, with the sky as our father and the earth as our mother. How can we be the same as those man-eating demons!"

"Is that so?

Then why did Master give the divine weapon forged from Heavenly Gold Meteorite Iron to you and not me?

Why did those lowly commoners build temples and burn incense for you, entitling you the Divine Monkey General, but not me? Did I not help them slay demons??

Hehe, let me tell you why...

It's because of my bizarre appearance!

I look neither like a human nor a monkey!

Master! Our fellow disciples! And those stupid mortals! They didn't say it out loud out of respect for Master, but in their hearts, every single one of them considered me a demon!

Even if I cultivated diligently to repay the sect, even if I was cautious and never caused trouble, even if I eliminated evil for the people!

It was all useless!!"

"Just because of this, you betrayed the sect, went to the Great Wilderness to collude with the demon race, and started this war between the two races that has brought devastation to all living beings?"

"That's right!! The human race is not worth protecting! This world rightfully belongs to our demon race!!"

You saw that when the Four-Eyed Spirit Monkey said these words, the demonic aura on his body grew even denser.

His face, distorted by anger to the point of being grotesque, allowed one to clearly feel that the paranoia in his heart had reached an extreme limit.

Zhenpin let out a sigh.

"The prejudice in people's hearts is like a giant mountain. If the people of the Divine Weapon Pavilion and the Divine Weapon Commandery could have been a bit friendlier to the Four-Eyed Spirit Monkey, perhaps this great war would never have broken out..."

Some locals nearby sneered at Zhenpin's words.

"Give me a break! The Divine Weapon Pavilion wasn't good to him? Back when these two monkeys were in the Divine Weapon Pavilion, which senior brother or sister didn't pamper them? Whatever cultivation resources there were, they were prioritized for the two of them."

"Exactly. Maybe the distribution was uneven sometimes, but that was still under the condition that they were treated better than the vast majority of their peers. Take that big golden staff for example, there was only one, and both monkeys liked it. Obviously, one monkey wasn't going to get it! Do you have to throw a tantrum and act like it's the end of the world just because you didn't get it?"

"When we built temples for the spirit monkeys, we built one for the Four-Eyed Spirit Monkey at first too. It was this monkey who complained that his incense offerings weren't as prosperous as his senior brother's, and caused a huge scene in the temple, scaring the commoners. Only then did people stop building temples for him."

Listening to the voices around you.

You felt that the Four-Eyed Spirit Monkey's own problems were actually the bigger issue.

Sometimes, the prejudice in people's hearts, heh, might just be right on the mark.

The two great spirit monkeys fought until the sky turned dark and the earth grew dim, even grinding away the Great Dao (just kidding).

To prevent the Divine Weapon City below from suffering collateral damage, the Fiery-Eyed Golden Monkey feigned defeat and flew far away, leading the Four-Eyed Spirit Monkey away from this area.

Although the Four-Eyed Spirit Monkey left.

But the Divine Weapon City's grand protective array was not deactivated for a long time, so you and Zhenpin had no choice but to stay temporarily in the city.

During this time, you sought out some artifact refiners, hoping to forge an Earth-tier Demon Subduing Banner.

However, their asking prices were all a bit high, so you were still shopping around.

"Little master, I think your business philosophy needs to change. Since you can't guarantee success and require the customer to provide the materials, the artifact refining fee should adopt a profit-sharing model. If it fails, you get a base fee; if it succeeds, you take a commission."

"Why are you trying to refine artifacts if you have no money! Get out, don't interfere with our business!"

You failed to haggle yet again.

But this time, a handsome young man suddenly appeared and handed a storage ring to the master of this artifact refining sect.

"I'll pay for this senior. Count it, the crystals inside should be enough to forge several Earth-tier spiritual weapons."

The other party took the storage ring, opened it, and sure enough, it was piled high with crystals!

Their attitude towards you changed on the spot.

"Honored guest! Serve tea!!"

Is this the feeling of having someone else pay for you?

Oh no, my heart is skipping a beat!

You took a look at this young man. You recognized him.

"Sword Master?"

The Sword Master turned around and said with a smile.

"Long time no see, Nemesis of the Demon Race. I am very glad to see that you are still hale and hearty."

"Ah, this... haha, yes, I..." You hurriedly changed the subject. "With the war between the two races going on right now, shouldn't you be at the frontlines of the Azure Ridge?"

"Battles aren't fought every single day. Both sides need a chance to catch their breath. I took some time off to leave, specifically to come find you."

Zhenpin, who was standing to the side, heard these words and looked at you with a profound and meaningful gaze.

As if saying: This poor monk knew it, your relationship with the Sword Master is not shallow at all.

Zhenpin straightened his patched and tattered kasaya, seemingly wanting to leave a good impression on the Sword Master.

"The Sword Master specifically came to find me? What virtue or ability do I have... You're not here to offer a loan, are you? If so, I don't want this spiritual weapon anymore."

"You're too humorous. Those crystals are my gift to you. If you can have a handy weapon, it will be very helpful for the matter I'm about to entrust to you."

"The Sword Master must be joking. I am merely a petty rogue cultivator at the Soul Tempering Realm. What could you possibly need to entrust to me?"

"Use your special physique, take command of the army, and quell the demon menace!"

Hearing this, you thought of the Four-Eyed Spirit Monkey that had appeared above the Divine Weapon City not long ago.

Deal with a demon of that level?

You might as well just kill me!

"The Sword Master is joking again. I don't have the kind of power you guys do."

Happy New Year~