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Chapter 269: 269

Act 3

Wenchang Jun and the other soldiers of the Heavenly World all forgot to breathe .

The Great Sage Heaven’s Equal descended from the sky to make his grand entrance . The sense of presence this one creature exuded was more than enough to instantly overwhelm the Heavenly World’s army that gathered in this place .

Only one being remained unaffected by the pressure—the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly God, Li Jing . He was the father of someone who had fought against Sun Wukong for a long time, Prince Nezha .

“I’ve heard many stories about you . You must be the younger brother of the Bull Demon King, Great Sage Heaven’s Equal . ”

“And who might you be, old man?”

This was Sun Wukong’s first time meeting the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King . The latter belonged to the generation of gods that came well before the former decided to wage war against the Heavenly World .

“I’m called the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King . Indeed, this occasion is our first meeting . How is the Great Sage who Pacifies Heaven these days?”

“Eh? Are you acquainted with my big brother?”

“We are, indeed . ”

“I thought as much, what with you being so old and all . Which means you’re now at the age where your back is giving you trouble and even your bones are withering away, too . Old man, you should just run back home now . If you twist your hip or something at your age, it’s gonna be really hard to mend that . ”

Sun Wukong deliberately tried to provoke the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King .

He almost never bothered to use his head during normal times, but at least when it came to battles, his brain spun so fast that one could even label him a demonic genius .

He already figured out that this Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King was unlike most other opponents and shouldn’t be rushed at without a plan . So, he chose to use cheap provocations to disrupt the other’s mental state .

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King chuckled . “I’ve already lived a lengthy and fulfilling life, so dying today would mean it’s an honorable end for me . What is there to fear when I’m about to dedicate my last breaths for the glory of the Heavenly World? Besides…” The light burning in the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s eyes, plus the tone of his voice, transformed in an instant . “I always wanted to fight you at least once, too . ”

“Oh, is that so?”

Pahk—

Spiiiin—

Sun Wukong yanked out the Ruyi Jingu Bang stabbed into the ground and, while grinning brightly, began spinning the pole in his hand . “You know, I also want to have a go at you, old man . Looks like you and I are alike in at least one aspect . ”

Crack, crackle—

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King slowly cracked his knuckles . Unlike his snow-white beard and hair, plus countless wrinkles dominating his face, his entire figure didn’t seem all that different from his prime .

“I heard that you were fighting Lord Erlang Shen . ”

Before the battle commenced…

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King recalled the news he heard just now about Sun Wukong fighting Erlang Shen somewhere else and had to ask that question .

“Oh, that punk?”

Pahk—

Sun Wukong gripped the spinning Ruyi Jingu Bang in one hand and replied, “That guy must be really pissed off by now . ”

* * *

Stab—

Erlang Shen’s guandao stabbed deeply into the heart of the Great Sage Heaven’s Equal .

It was a truly satisfying attack, one that was more than enough to divide oceans and cleave mountains in half . No one alive would believe that they can evade or block this attack .

“What?”

However, the guandao-wielding Erlang Shen didn’t feel that way .

For a while now, he found this situation too strange . Even if this attack was difficult to dodge, similar attacks had been exchanged countless times with the Great Sage Heaven’s Equal during their numerous battles against up until now .

If it was anyone else, it was fine, but Sun Wukong, proclaimed as heaven’s equal, not blocking this attack was too strange to behold .

“Could it be…?” he thought .

The moment that thought popped up in Erlang Shen’s mind…

“Got you . ”

Sun Wukong, who was suffering from that “grievous wound,” suddenly smirked and poked his tongue out .

Poof—!

His body with the guandao stabbed deeply in his chest went “poof!” and turned into a puff of smoke . Erlang Shen slowly lowered his pole weapon at this development .

“Ha…”

He covered his face with one hand . Although he wasn’t the type to smile often, he couldn’t hold back his laughter this time .

Ha, hahaha!

But then, his laughter came to an abrupt end as if it was all a lie . Only a blink of time was needed for his dismayed laughter to morph into pure rage .

“You…Damn dirty ape dare to…”

Grit—

That was a clone .

He had been wondering why this Great Sage Heaven’s Equal felt different from the one he was familiar with . Something about it seemed to be lacking and not quite good enough—and here was the reason .

Its combat capability had been enhanced sharply by keeping its overall number of clones low, but in the end, a clone was still a clone .

“If his clone was here, then…”

Erlang Shen’s glare shifted behind him .

The long crater left behind by Sun Wukong’s Ruyi Jingu Bang continued into the Heavenly World’s capital city, stretching to a far-off distance .

“By using a clone and its Ruyi Jingu Bang, they infiltrated the city’s interior right away and then used that very clone to lure me here . ” Erlang Shen promptly analyzed the situation . “It can’t be a plan cooked up by Great Sage Heaven’s Equal, in other words . ”

There was no doubting Sun Wukong’s combat prowess . He was so strong that despite declaring war against the Heavenly World alone, he still managed to fight for 15 days straight .

But when it came to thinking up strategies, he was worse than some random foot soldier . No, never mind “worse,” it would be more correct to say he was too slow-witted to come up with one .

That’s why Erlang Shen began thinking this way while observing the current situation . “It must be that human, isn’t it?”

The human who killed Prince Nezha—it could very well be that he was far more dangerous than the Great Sage Heaven’s Equal .

* * *

Ka-boooom—!

Kwa-dudududu—

The gigantic Ruyi Jingu Bang cleaved the center of the Heavenly World . The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, Li Jing, dodged the attack, and while wielding a sword in each hand, he quickly closed in on Sun Wukong’s location .

Piiit, pii-iiit—

CLANG—!

Sun Wukong’s fist and Li Jing’s twin swords collided .

Even though it was only Sun Wukong’s bare fist, the resulting noise sounded as if the collision was made by weapons made of hardened steel . Of course, that didn’t mean Sun Wukong’s hand was unaffected by the impact .

Buzz—

The impact force transmitted through his hand was rather considerable .

Bang—!

Sun Wukong smacked away the twin swords with his fist . The old man’s speed was amazing, and his movements were also unpredictable . On top of this, his skill with the blades was second only to someone Sun Wukong knew pretty well .

“Hey, old man…How are you related to that fool, Nezha?”

Squeeze—

Sun Wukong clenched his fist tightly and hid how he felt the impact in his hand . That attack just now gave him the impression that he had come across something similar many times before .

“We were father and son . ”

“I’m guessing you taught him how to swing a sword, too?”

“Indeed, that is so . Before my son became the God of War, I was the previous one . ”

“I knew it! Makes total sense . ”

Strictly speaking, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King’s way with the sword was a lot different from Prince Nezha’s . That’s because the latter simply used his father’s swordsmanship technique as a foundation to create and master his own unique style .

Nevertheless, that vague trace of old habits or the basics would remain in the end .

“By the way, looks like you’re running out of breath, old man . You know that too, don’t you?”

Grip—

Sun Wukong spoke as he gripped the Ruyi Jingu Bang after it reverted to its normal size . “Even if you ate the Peach and extended your life, you still can’t hide your age unless you’ve become a true immortal like me or a real Taoist god . ”

“…”

The skillset of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly God was indeed worthy of praise . As befitting the previous generation’s God of War, he was able to fight on even terms against the one and only Great Sage Heaven’s Equal .

However, that was about it .

Sun Wukong enjoyed a near-infinite amount of energy and a body that could not be killed . If they fought during Li Jing’s prime, then the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly God might have won somehow, but for the current him, achieving victory would be very difficult .

Not only that…

“Sorry about this, old man . But you see, I don’t have time to leisurely fight against you . ”

“Sorry about this, old man . But you see…”

“Sorry about this…”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

His voice echoed from all directions .

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King immediately scanned his surroundings, an expression of astonishment etched on his face . Dozens upon dozens of “Sun Wukongs” surrounded him . They were all clones, with the real body hidden among them .

“So, this is…That rumored cloning technique . ”

Li Jing had heard a lot about this technique that allowed the Great Sage Heaven’s Equal to wage war against the entirety of the Heavenly World all by himself .

For sure, now that Sun Wukong resorted to using his cloning technique, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing wouldn’t be able to fight him alone .

“Everything you said is indeed correct, but hear me out, oh Great Sage . You have overlooked one thing . ”

“What did I overlook, then?”

The clones spoke up all at the same time, causing Li Jing’s ears to ring loudly . He chuckled in amusement at this bizarre spectacle . “We’re standing on the Heavenly World . And I am a proud warrior of the Heavenly World, so my duty is to defeat you, Great Sage Heaven’s Equal . ”

“What can you do with small fries, though?”

“No, not the small fries, but…”

Slice—

Poof—!

One of Sun Wukong’s clones was sliced in half and exploded into a puff of smoke .

“Well, a much better general than this old man has shown up, as you can see . ”

“Sun—Wu—kooooong—!”

Jiii-iiiing—

A loud roar reverberated along with that strike .

The voice itself was familiar, but Sun Wukong had never heard it roar that loudly before . He smiled awkwardly and raised his head toward the source of the voice . “Oh, hey man . You came sooner than I thought . ”

Sun Wukong formed a troubled expression next . He scratched his cheek with an awkward grin, but then, his eyes narrowed to sharp slits and quickly wielded the Ruyi Jingu Bang .

Whoosh—

Swiiish, claaaaang—!

With the spot Sun Wukong was standing on as the center, a massive amount of energy flooded out to the surroundings .

Soon afterward, two people’s auras collided, causing the ground below to crack apart and crumble from the ripples of these two incredible powers .

“I finally caught you . ”

“Peek-a-boo! So am I ‘it’ now?”

Pah-ahck—

“Extend, Ruyi . ”

Sun Wukong deflected Erlang Shen’s guandao and extended the Ruyi Jingu Bang toward the sky . The latter glared at the former, his whole body emanating a dense fighting spirit .

Sun Wukong thought inwardly, “Wow, he’s really ticked off, isn’t he?”

But then again, that made perfect sense .

Erlang Shen rushed to the gates to defeat Sun Wukong, only for his quarry to turn out to be a clone . On top of this, Sun Wukong did provoke him just now to piss him off even further .

“Erlang Shen and this old man I haven’t heard of before,” he mused .

Sun Wukong’s gaze shifted over to the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King . This warrior claimed to be the former God of War and Prince Nezha’s father .

Even though he had to step away from the limelight due to his advanced age, there’s no doubting his outstanding skills .

As proof, even Sun Wukong himself needed some time to subdue the old man .

“Even if it’s me, fighting both Erlang Shen and this old man at the same time is too much,” he thought .

To top it all off, most of the Heavenly World’s generals should get here sooner or later . Sun Wukong could conceivably fight them all off using his cloning technique, but this whole thing would only end up a carbon copy of the events from 500 years ago .

“Well, at this point, you probably won’t fight me one on one even if I ask nicely, so…” Sun Wukong contemplated his options for a bit and began scratching his head in dissatisfaction . “I guess there’s no helping it, then . ”

“Sun Wukong—!”

Erlang Shen wielded his guandao and rushed straight at Sun Wukong .

Fwhooosh—

Boooom—

Craaaack—!

His polearm scythed through the air and split apart the Heavenly World’s ground . Sun Wukong dodged that attack by tilting his body at a bizarre angle, but then, the twin swords belonging to the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King flew in next .

Swish, whoosh—

Clang, clang—!

Sun Wukong’s clone swung its Ruyi Jingu Bang to deflect the twin swords . Dozens of clones surrounded Li Jing next, but he proceeded to cut them down one by one .

In the meantime, Erlang Shen gave chase to the fleeing Sun Wukong who had promptly seized this opening .

“Are you running away again?!”

“What do you mean, again? If the others hear you, they’ll think I run away all the time, man!”

Veins bulged on Sun Wukong’s forehead . However, there was not much he could do even if he felt wronged here . It was indeed him trying to avoid a frontal confrontation while using his clones and luring Erlang Shen away, after all .

“Hey, what are you going to do about this?” Sun Wukong asked in a seemingly angry tone .

That question was directed at neither Erlang Shen nor the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King .

“It can’t be…”

Erlang Shen felt a deathly chill run down his spine .

This feeling was almost at the level of primal instincts . Right at that moment, Erlang Shen yanked out a shortsword mounted on his left hip .

Whoosh—

Ka-claaaang—!

His shortsword flew to collide against a longsword . Erlang Shen felt the considerable weight behind the strike and frowned deeply, which was unlike him . He glared at the human opponent who suddenly appeared .

“What do you mean, what?”

Creaaak, creak—

Su-hyeun glanced at Sun Wukong and then at the rest of the Heavenly World’s generals before raising his voice . “We should see this thing to the end . ”