Sun Wukong.
The stone monkey born on Mount Huaguo, not knowing the fear of the world, caused chaos everywhere on Earth and in the Heavenly Realm for ages, until he was trapped on Five Elements Mountain by the Tathagata for a whopping 500 years.
This seal would eventually be lifted by Tripitaka, a disciple of Buddha, but Sun Wukong attempted to leave without him.
However, Tripitaka deceived Sun Wukong, placing the ‘Golden Staff’ on him, and the journey to Heavenly Tract began.
After a long time, he took in two more disciples and finally reached Heavenly Tract, being recognized by the Tathagata and receiving the title of Fighting Victory Buddha…
“Is that the basic story, right?”
[Yeah, yeah.]
[Pretty much, lol.]
[But it’s already twisted, isn’t it?]
[Deception (beat up and put on).]
[Priest Lin, lol.]
[The priest’s might is MAX.]
[Priest (physical).]
[Hahaha!]
I nodded along, gathering countless bits of information through the chat.
The basic story of “Journey to the West,” detailing Sun Wukong’s adventures.
Considering that the talking firefly says this and that this place is the Space of Enlightenment, this fallen Sun Wukong must be the one before leaving Heavenly Tract.
In other words, the Celestial Sun Wukong, who has become the ‘Fighting Victory Buddha,’ also exists out there.
“Hmm…”
Firstly, it shouldn’t be hard for Sun Wukong to become a Buddha.
There’s already a ‘future’ where he becomes one, and if I follow what happened before, he might somehow become a Buddha.
But from what I heard, it took Sun Wukong approximately 14 years to become a Buddha.
I can’t spend 14 years here.
[The kind Buddha harbors strange expectations.]
[The one who has reached the truth is curious about how they will handle sentient beings.]
“Well, let’s maintain the basic framework…”
Follow the overall story but move in my own way.
After a brief contemplation, I opened the Celestial System, sent a few messages, and turned my gaze to the groaning Sun Wukong…
Shall I play with him for a bit?
■
I had a dream.
A story about embarking on an adventure bound by a strange golden frame.
A strange monk who cries all the time and has no battle power, a useless pig that only eats, and a sandy monster that is somewhat useful but pales in comparison to himself.
Going through endless torment and pain, eventually reaching Heavenly Tract and being recognized by the Tathagata; such a dream.
It felt strangely vivid, although it was just a dream.
It seemed to say that the fiery eyes gained from being forged long ago were indeed true.
“Ugh…”
“Are you awake?”
“…Huh?”
But what is this now?
“Hurry up and wake up! We need to go to Heavenly Tract; how can you be so carefree?”
“Hey now. We need to get to Heavenly Tract, so why are you being so carefree?”
“…Who are you?”
“What do you mean, who? I’m Wukong’s master. Aren’t you going to get up?”
Out of nowhere, a bizarre monster shows up claiming to be his master.
It looked human but had a gaze even more chilling than that of a Tathagata, making Wukong clutch his throbbing head.
What the heck is going on—
“?!”
Suddenly, memories of the earlier miracle flashed before him.
After breaking the seal, it demanded an unexpected price and wiped out both him and his clones in an instant…
Boom!
“Damn it!”
Wukong transformed into a small bird and quickly flew up.
The opponent was a monster scarier than that Tathagata!
‘If I get caught, it’s game over! I have to get out of here fast!’
Even after turning into a bird and escaping in a blink, the monster remained still.
“What’s going on? Why isn’t it chasing me…”
Whoosh~♪
Zing!
“Urgh?!”
His head! His head is ringing!
The Golden Staff tightened around his head, and his transformation broke, causing him to tumble down.
He rolled for quite a while down the mountain, but since he was a rock and had his life deleted from the death-and-life records, he wasn’t going to die anytime soon.
After rolling for a good bit, Wukong finally grasped his situation.
‘…Golden Staff, master, Heavenly Tract?’
Isn’t that the scene I saw in my dream?
Thud.
The monster landed right in front of him.
Standing there as if it had always been there.
“It would be troublesome if you run away on your own.”
“……”
“By the way, Golden Staff is more useful than I expected. Just blowing a whistle can control it.”
“No…”
“Huh?”
“My, my master isn’t this strong…”
The one known as the Three-Zhang Priest was a complete nuisance, getting kidnapped nonstop and always picking fights with Wukong and his priest buddies without doing anything useful.
Sure, he couldn’t do anything because of the Golden Staff, but he definitely wasn’t this absurdly powerful.
‘Though he is quite the jerk, that’s for sure.’
As he said that, his self-proclaimed master smiled and stabbed the spear into the ground.
“There are all kinds of masters in the world, you know?”
And isn’t that a good thing?
“You don’t have to protect anyone; you just need to get stronger.”
“…What about the Golden Staff?”
“I just thought I’d attach it since it was given to me. Want me to take it off?”
His self-proclaimed master spoke as if it were a grand gesture.
If this were a dream, he would’ve asked to take it off right away, but for some reason, he hesitated.
“……”
Somehow, he felt that if the Golden Staff was removed, it would impose even greater restraints, and that sent a chill down his spine.
“…No.”
“If that’s the case.”
Without a shred of regret, his self-proclaimed master turned away.
As she swung the spear, the mountain ridge split in two, creating a comfortable rock chair to sit on.
The hill of Lja Mountain split in two, creating a comfortable rock chair.
Watching it all, I couldn’t help but feel baffled, yet I just stood there blankly.
Thud.
“As I mentioned earlier, I’m Lily Elbrite. Help me get to Heavenly Tract, Sun Wukong.”
“Why should I?”
“I freed you, so I expect something in return. You weren’t planning to mooch off me, were you?”
Creak…
The spear in Lily’s hand moved menacingly.
One wrong word and I felt like my body might split in half just like that hill, so I quickly shook my head.
“Uh, no.”
“Right?”
“…Yes.”
“Great. Then let me tell you about today’s schedule.”
For some reason, my new master Lily continued her explanation.
The day starts with entering the ‘Training Cave’ to practice the staff techniques she taught, and by lunchtime, we go outside to deal with evil monsters that come our way to Heavenly Tract.
After that, when evening comes, we return to the ‘Training Cave’ to train until morning.
And then back outside for lunch…
“When do we take breaks?”
“Breaks?”
My master tilted her head in confusion.
I quickly realized her intentions and shook my head.
‘Crazy woman.’
This insane master had no intention of letting me take a break at all.
I needed to escape right away.
“Try to escape. It might be more fun that way.”
“…Can you read thoughts?”
“It’s written all over your face.”
My master chuckled.
This obnoxious person was way worse than the actual hell.
“…Ha. Life.”
And so began my hellish days.
■
“Khahaha! The priest who’s good for your health is coming this way! Such luck—”
“Just die!”
Crack!
The more destructive magical staff hit the three-headed duck monster.
The monster couldn’t even resist as two of its heads were smashed and flew over that rocky mountain.
It probably died…
“If you kill it, it can’t become Buddha.”
“Didn’t you say not to show mercy?”
“That means to have at least a little compassion for the weak. Of course, kill those who deserve it.”
It had been a month since I received teachings from that damned ‘master.’
As usual, my master approached and picked a fight, so I sighed and sat down.
During this torturous training, I was relentlessly pushed and, as a result, I had gotten stronger.
The problem was that I didn’t think I’d actually survive this.
“Can I please rest? Isn’t it allowed?”
“Nope.”
“How long is this going to last? Just let’s go to Heavenly Tract! Master, you learned magic, so we can go right now!”
This damned master was riding on a ‘Flying Nimbus.’
The Master is riding the ‘Magical Staff.’
On the first day of training, I asked to learn magic techniques, and in less than an hour, I was able to handle both the clone technique and the magical staff.
Truly, an unbelievable talent that leaves one speechless.
“There’s no point in doing it like that. You already know everything.”
“…Damn.”
“Anyway, if you keep it up, you might slowly learn ‘it’ too, so give it a try.”
“…Is that even possible?”
“Of course.”
The storm-like ‘technique’ that wiped out both myself and my clone.
I tried to replicate it from the first day of training, but it was so complex and demanding that I couldn’t even grasp the principle behind it.
“Since Wukong uses a staff, it’s actually easier for him. Think about it. What if all those clones cast ‘Roar’?”
“…Then?”
Pfft.
“Facing the Tathagata isn’t your dream, right?”
“……”
Facing that Tathagata.
“It feels like just yesterday I couldn’t do anything on a palm.”
… I thought that way until recently, but things have changed a bit.
“My Master is stronger than the Tathagata.”
After a month of hellish training, I also learned the extent of my Master’s power.
That Tathagata I saw back then would never beat my Master.
Wukong retrieved the magical staff with mixed feelings of disgust and excitement.
“Ah… More training, right? Let’s go. We’re off.”
“Nope. No evening training today.”
“? Huh?”
This crazy training freak has no training?
Is the sun rising from the west?
“Apparently, there’s a monster over the mountain at a tavern that’s been ordering food for weeks. It’s not just ordering; it’s also stealing food from people, so it might eat someone soon…”
“Oh.”
Is that about Zhu Bajie?
I was wondering when we’d catch him, and I guess it’s now.
“Go and either calm it down or subdue it and bring it back.”
“Understood.”
Crack!
“Well, this works out nicely.”
I’d been taking hits all the time, and my stress was through the roof, so having a punching bag shows up is actually a welcome change.
Wukong joyfully headed towards the tavern.
Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop.
“Uwooh.”
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