Chapter 3 Breaking All Ties of Gratitude and Severing All Ties of Righteousness

"Mr. Monkey,"

The Holy Infant Great King called out.

Zhenyuan stroked his beard, smiling as he said, "Congratulations on your return, younger brother."

Sun Wukong nodded, his face breaking into a smile as he spoke, "There are still some matters to attend to, so I won't catch up with you all just yet. Once I've dealt with the issues here, we'll have a long talk over candles at night."

"Nephew awaits Mr. Monkey."

The Holy Infant Great King, Red Boy, said with a grin.

His eyes swept over the Six-Eared Macaque, a hint of disdain flashing deep within his eyes.

A fake is a fake, daring to impersonate the Great Sage Equalling Heaven is simply laughable.

Even Bodhisattva Guanyin did not acknowledge him, otherwise, she would have not sent the Holy Infant Great King, but would have come in her true form.

"What exactly do you want?"

The Victorious Fighting Buddha asked.

Amidst the overwhelming demonic aura, although his Buddha's Light was suppressed, it still protected him within a perimeter of about three meters.

Sun Wukong gave a faint smile and said, "No need to be so tense, I didn't come to kill you. I just want to tell everyone, you are you and I am me, we are not the same person."

"Everyone knows now, you can leave,"

The Victorious Fighting Buddha said coldly.

After today, everyone in the world would know he was the Six-Eared Macaque, a counterfeit.

"There are still some issues to resolve, but they no longer concern you,"

Sun Wukong shook his head, his gaze falling on the Sandalwood Merit Buddha.

The Sandalwood Merit Buddha's body trembled slightly as he raised his head, his eyes meeting Wukong's.

Then, in shame, he lowered his head again.

Sun Wukong's voice rang out, "Old monk, I have a question for you, did you know I was replaced back then?"

The entire venue fell silent.

After the Journey to the West, the relationships between the master and disciples were celebrated throughout the Three Realms.

But with the truth revealed, this so-called master-disciple affection seemed more like a joke.

The Sandalwood Merit Buddha remained silent for a long time.

He did not answer for a long while,

but everyone already had their answer.

Everyone looked at him with contempt in their eyes.

Before the true and fake Monkey King's identities were revealed, Wukong had protected him for most of their journey.

How could the old monk be so hard-hearted to pretend not to know, even showing deep affection for the Six-Eared Macaque as if they were true master and disciple?

Sun Wukong was not angry; he teased, "This old monk is still the same as before, never straightforward. Tianpeng, you tell old Sun."

The Altar Cleanser turned pale, his ears fluttering slightly, and everyone could see his nervousness.

But he ultimately was not the cowardly, old monk.

The Altar Cleanser stepped forward.

"Monkey, the matter of your being replaced was known to us all, but we didn't dare reveal it, as this was part of Tathagata Buddha's plan; we could only accept it.

"Yes, Monkey King, we had no power to resist,"

The Golden-Arhat said.

The White Dragon Horse, unmatched in beauty and bearing a distinguished air, also couldn't help explaining, "Great Brother, our fates are controlled by Tathagata; we had to follow his intentions."

Sun Wukong laughed.

But the faces of Sandalwood Merit Buddha and the others turned pale, and they stepped back several paces.

They were worried that Wukong might suddenly burst forth and injure someone.

Even though many of them were present, they still weren't confident they could withstand an enraged Great Sage Equalling Heaven.

The Holy Infant Great King was eager to try.

If Sun Wukong were to flip the table, he would definitely step in to assist his Mr. Monkey,

even if they had once been foes, but he greatly admired Sun Wukong.

Zhenyuan smiled faintly, his presence exuding a formidable pressure.

The Ancestor of Earth Immortals actually had plans to make a move.

Even the Victorious Fighting Buddha grew tense.

Facing Sun Wukong alone, they had some chances of winning.

If the Holy Infant Great King and Zhenyuan joined hands, all of them together couldn't withstand the opposition.

Sun Wukong didn't make a move.

He was very calm, so calm it was almost terrifying.

"From today onwards, you can either call me the Great Sage Equalling Heaven or Grandpa Sun", he said.

With those words, all favors were severed.

"Amitabha Buddha."

Sandalwood Merit Buddha trembled. He brought his hands together and chanted a sacred name.

But Sun Wukong didn't even glance at him. Instead, he looked towards Zhenyuan and said, "Big brother, it's been a long time. Let's sit for a while at your Wuzhuang Temple. We two brothers can catch up and have a little drink."

"Excellent."

Zhenyuan smiled faintly.

Holy Infant Great King quickly said, "Uncle, take me with you. I want to go too."

"Alright."

Sun Wukong agreed readily.

The three left together.

Nezha, who was hidden in the clouds, was somewhat dumbfounded.

He had come to enjoy a good show, but why had this monkey's personality changed so much?

According to his usual style, he would definitely have turned this place upside down, beaten the Six-Eared Macaque flat, and then left.

"Brother, shall we go down and fight him?"

Nezha pointed at the Victorious Fighting Buddha, speaking to a heroic-looking man beside him.

The man was handsome, dressed in white battle armor, with a vertical eye on his brow, extremely imposing.

Upon hearing Nezha's words, he gave a faint smile and said, "What's the point in fighting a mere Six-Eared Macaque, needing both you and I to join forces? That monkey was tormented by the Five Elements Mountain for five hundred years, his strength reduced to a tenth. The Six-Eared Macaque couldn't defeat him, and it even required Tathagata's effort to capture Sun Wukong. I certainly don't want to fight a weakling."

Nezha, too, showed disdain upon hearing this.

He retracted his will to fight, finding it indeed dull to battle such a fellow.

"It's a pity that the monkey did not want to join forces with us; otherwise, the three of us could completely dominate the Three Realms and establish a new order," Nezha said regretfully.

Master Erlang Yang Jian frowned slightly, looking in the direction where Sun Wukong had left, his lips curving slightly upwards.

"I actually think this monkey is getting more interesting. I can't see through his thoughts at all now. It seems the thousands of years of imprisonment have greatly changed him," he remarked.

Nezha shuddered and couldn't help but say, "I think the monkey is very strong. If it were me confined for thousands of years, I likely would have gone mad."

Yang Jian deeply related.

Not everyone could endure thousands of years of imprisonment.

The most terrifying thing was not the imprisonment itself, but the solitude.

Below them, the farce had come to an end.

At least two-thirds of the demons and deities had left,

but one-third had stayed behind.

Among them were several second and third-string experts, which was somewhat of an achievement.

Sandalwood Merit Buddha and a few others stayed behind.

After today, they could only tie their fates to the Six-Eared Macaque, for better or worse.

In a dark hall, the Six-Eared Macaque's countenance was ferocious, not in the least resembling the Victorious Fighting Buddha.

"Sun Wukong, I was able to defeat you before, and I can surely defeat you again in the future. Today, consider yourself lucky. If Zhenyuan weren't here, I would have made your life worse than death," he declared.

At that moment, a chilling voice resounded.

"You're lucky you didn't make a move today; otherwise, you would have turned into a dead monkey, and no one would be able to save you."

The Six-Eared Macaque was shocked and quickly knelt on the ground.

"Greetings, Master,"

he prostrated himself on the ground, his body trembling fiercely.