Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

“Wait, it's not the real Gautama Buddha at all. This is the test of the Real or Fake Leiyin Temple.”

On the city wall, Guo Wei looked at the Spiritual Mountain in the sky through his gla.s.ses and then suddenly thought of something.

In Journey to the West, the Yellow-Brow Monster created a fake Leiyin Temple and fooled all the four travelers to the west. This Gautama Buddha might not be real.

Or rather, he was definitely fake.

The test of the ritual was powered by villains among humans and aliens. There was no way that the Gautama Buddha could be a villain!

However, to quote a line from a movie, when one was scared, one tended to be weakened.

The Monkey King was buried under a mountain by the Gautama Buddha for five hundred years and lost all his disobedience. So, the Gautama Buddha was definitely his horror!

The key was whether or not Sun Wukong could see through the illusion.

“What have I done wrong?”

Sun Wukong suddenly raised his head, and his eyes unleashed dazzling golden brilliance.

Divine Technique: Golden Eyes!

Under the golden light, the Gautama Buddha completely changed.

It had three eyes on its forehead and an eagle's beak. Its eyebrows were golden, and there was a pair of golden wings on its back. It was obviously a Gold-Winged Eagle that had been possessed by an Eagle Man.

Not just the Gautama Buddha, the Bodhisattva and Arhat in the sky turned into elephants, bulls, and dragons with insects, bats, and other aliens on their backs. All of them turned out to be evil monsters!

“It seems to have absorbed the Yellow-Brow Monster's clone. The Gold-Winged Eagle and the Yellow-Brow Monster are essentially fighting Sun Wukong together. Together with the two aliens that possessed them, they're as strong as four monsters.”

Looking at the Gautama Buddha who had greatly changed, Elder Meng noticed something wrong.

“It already has Transcendent Rank-7 strength. It's an expert even among those in the Transcendent Rank-7.”

Ji Ye, on the other hand, recognized the strength of the Eagle Man Gautama Buddha more clearly.

After the consecutive battles, Sun Wukong was definitely not entirely unweakened.

As a matter of fact, everybody could see that he could hardly fight any longer. He seemed to be even dropping the bar.

The reason for the situation was partly due to the astonis.h.i.+ng difficulty of the Quasi Mythological hero and partly because Dragon City's settlement core was only Transcendent Rank-6. The divine stone was a Transcendent Rank-7 offering, and the power of providence that Dragon City provided for Sun Wukong was insufficient.

“What a bold monkey. You dare to resist? Prepare to die!”

However, even though it had greatly changed, the Eagle Man Gautama Buddha remained condescending and condensed a golden claw in the shape of the Five Finger Mountain, smas.h.i.+ng it towards Sun Wukong.

“Die, die, die!”

On the other hand, the aliens in the form of beasts and birds chanted the sutras and emitted a golden light that enhanced the Five Finger Mountain.

As a result, the claw became larger and larger and even covered the entire battlefield. It descended from the high sky like a real mountain.

Boom!

During the fall, when the claw was still a hundred meters from the ground, the seawater underneath Sun Wukong's feet was already removed, and a huge pit in the shape of fingers appeared!

Sun Wukong, who was no longer able to expand himself anymore, looked like a tiny ant in front of the enormous mountain.

“Oh no, what's going on?”

Furthermore, when the Eagle Man Gautama Buddha took action, the eagle peak to the east of Dragon City trembled violently and emitted brilliant light.

Then, the mountain cracked, and the dispersing golden light gathered into a golden Garuda. It grabbed the eagle peak and intended to throw it towards the audience in Dragon City.

“Ah, run!”

“d.a.m.n it, this Eagle Man Buddha is able to invoke the remaining power inside the Eagle Men's settlement despite the blockage of the power of providence.”

The observers on the city wall were in a mess. Some were fleeing in panic, and some were shouting.

It was also an obvious sign that Dragon City's settlement core's power of providence couldn't suppress the offering which was of a higher level.

However, while the settlement core couldn't suppress it, it didn't mean that everybody else couldn't.

“How dare you!”

When the golden Garuda was about to pull the mountain up and smash it on Dragon City as well as the ten thousand residents who were watching from the city wall, an unemotional roar burst out, and the aggressive golden Garuda was grabbed by a golden claw that was even larger.

Bam!

Then, the dragon claw was closed. Exactly like how the “Gautama Buddha” suppressed Sun Wukong on the battlefield, this Garuda was squeezed into an enormous piece of Radiant Gold. Then, the dragon claw pressed it back to the Eagle Peak. With the orange light of Fusion spreading out, the Eagle Peak was restored to its original appearance.

Everything was repaired to the original appearance. That was truly wondrous!

In the sky, Ji Ye's hand transformed back from the dragon claw. He focused his attention on the battlefield solemnly.

“Wow, who's he?”

“He's so awesome. That Gold-Winged Eagle moved a mountain away, but it cannot endure his claw at all!”

“Is he the real Gautama Buddha? He suppressed the Gold-Winged Eagle so easily!”

“So horrifying! Is it really the power that players could control? If the players are all so strong, won't Earth be dominated by them? I got it. The so-called Great Darkness is the age when they reign over Earth and ordinary people like us become hopeless slaves…”

Some were shocked, some were panicked, and some were spreading conspiracy theories.

“He's so handsome. I think I've seen him before. Ah, he's the CrossG.o.d!”

The natives of Yang City, who had watched Ji Ye hunting the Black Serpent, became excited when their memories were woken up.

“Don't mess with those from Dragon City or approach their base!”

As for the people who were jealous of Dragon City and even thought of breaking into the new Dragon City Base in Yang City, they all sweated after they saw the thing and became horrified.

In comparison, Sun Wukong had never given up on the battlefield. There was not the slightest fear in his eyes.

Even though he was exhausted from the previous battles, he still held the bar tightly and smashed it towards the Five Finger Mountain in the sky brutally.

Boom!

The golden claw that was as huge as a mountain seemed to be cracking like gla.s.s under the strike.

However, because it was too huge, it wasn't completely destroyed by the attack. It simply fell without being slowed at all and consumed Sun Wukong's insignificant figure, leaving only the top of the mountain exposed to the air!

“Monkey King!”

Everybody in Dragon City and on Earth who saw the scene felt that their heart was palpitating.

“No, Monkey King, stand up!”

“Monkey King, you'll be fine!”

Many people were roaring.

After all, whether or not Sun Wukong could succeed would not just influence Dragon City's future.

However, the battlefield was quiet.

The aliens and monsters in the sky were swaggering, and the sharp top of the Five Finger Mountain seemed to be piercing everybody's heart.

Was the test for the Quasi Mythological hero so hard that even Sun Wukong couldn't pa.s.s it?

No, the Monkey King hadn't failed yet, or the battlefield would've dispersed.

Schwing!

When everybody was watching, something happened on the battlefield again.

The golden Five Finger Mountain trembled heavily.

“What?”

The aliens and monsters in the sky all changed their expressions.

Dum, dum…

Then, one collision burst out after another.

The cracks on the Five Finger Mountain caused by the Monkey King's Bar became wider and wider.

Boom!

In the end, the entire mountain fell apart into pieces of golden light and revealed Sun Wukong who was half on his knees. He didn't have the strength to hold the Monkey King's Bar anymore, but he was still able to smash the Five Finger Mountain with his iron fists and his unparalleled determination.

“He's still alive! Purge him!”

Seeing that Sun Wukong had broken free, the monsters exclaimed in fear and launched all sorts of attacks towards Sun Wukong who was still on his knees.

Creepy cries, storms of blood, smelly storms, evil spells… All kinds of attacks swallowed Sun Wukong again.

“Monkey King, watch out!”

“Monkey King, hang in there!”

At this moment, almost everybody in Chidragon on Earth lost their cool.

Even the cynics who caviled at the players stopped feeling jealous and angry and prayed for him with their widened eyes filled with tears.

Eventually, the evil monsters in the sky came to a halt after they finally ran out of their power of providence.

On the ground, Sun Wukong's armor had been completely ragged, but he supported his body with his arms so that he wouldn't fall on his knees. He held his head high too.

He had weathered through it!

The aliens in the sky cursed regretfully, but they could only turn into a great amount of bright yellow power of providence and surged into Dragons of Providence's settlement core, making the Dragons of Providence grow even stronger to the peak of Transcendent Rank-6.

“We won! We won!”

“So many challenges and hundreds of Transcendent and Legendary aliens. This test is so horrifying!”

“But the Monkey King has pa.s.sed it! He's so awesome!”

“Five hundred years have pa.s.sed. Welcome back, Monkey King!”

Tens of thousands of residents on the wall of Dragon City and more than a billion viewers who were watching the live stream, were thrilled.

Cheers were echoing throughout the country as if it were a festival. The gloom caused by the news of the Great Darkness was completely gone.

“Wait… Something isn't right!”

Sun Wukong, however, wasn't relaxed on the battlefield. He suddenly raised his head and looked up at the sky!

The divine music was playing again.

The Gautama Buddha and the Spiritual Mountain that had just dispersed showed up again, surrounded by a retinue that was ten times greater than before.

Furthermore, not just the Buddha and the Bodhisattva, the Heavenly Court appeared in the sky too. The Jade Emperor sat on the throne. On his two sides were all sorts of deities.

Golden light and colorful clouds were spreading out!

“Seriously? The test isn't over?”

“Also, the Buddhists and the Daoists are here too.”

“It's absolutely impossible to pa.s.s this test. Even the Monkey King has been exhausted!”

Seeing the scene, the players on the city wall already seemed desperate.

The natives who weren't familiar with Sun Wukong's background became anxious too.

Who could possibly pa.s.s a never-ending test?

“We're screwed. To summon Mythological heroes is a trap and a test that the Land of Inheritance has set.”

“Same as the case with Transcendent heroes, only if the settlement core's level is high enough and provides enough help for the hero can the Mythological heroes defeat enemies of their level.”

“However, Dragon City is so ambitious that it started summoning before the Legendary advancement test. You see what has happened. Not only has its power of providence been wasted for nothing, but the power of providence of humankind has suffered a loss. The only offering for the Monkey King is gone too. Dragon City is guilty!”

Some so-called experts were still making shameless comments to attract everyone's attention.

However, what happened next shut them up.

“You have pa.s.sed all the challenges and reached the end. You will be nominated as the Winning Buddha.”

On the Spiritual Mountain, the golden Gautama Buddha sat solemnly on the lotus platform and looked down at Sun Wukong who was heavily wounded. He spoke loudly, and the Bodhisattva around him all looked benevolent and awe-inspiring.

“Monkey King, for your unparalleled strength, the Jade Emperor has named you Great Sage Equaling Heaven. You shall be enshrined in all the Three Realms. He asked me to invite you to meet with him!”

On the other hand, the Jade Emperor sat on the high throne next to all the deities. The palace looked splendid and sacred too.

A smiling deity stood on a cloud and shouted at Sun Wukong.

“The Winning Buddha, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven…”

Looking at the sky that was full of deities and Buddhas and hearing their promises, Sun Wukong was soothed. He frowned and rolled his eyes, as if he were thinking about something.

“What's happening here?”

“Is it possible that the Quasi Mythological heroes must be accoladed by the Heavenly Court or the Spiritual Mountain?”

“Is this the final reward for pa.s.sing the test?”

Because they had never welcomed a Quasi Mythological hero before, most people were curious about the situation.

“Monkey King, something isn't right!”

“You've only pa.s.sed eighty challenges. This is the 81st one!”

All of a sudden, Guo Wei shouted out.

He had been counting carefully. There had only been eighty challenges.

It was just like the last challenge in Journey to the West where it took place after they fetched the sutras. This hidden challenge was the enemy's ultimate trick and also the last challenge!

“Monkey King, don't be fooled by those aliens and monsters! The deities and Buddhas are all aliens and monsters in disguise!”

Very soon, some other players also realized what was going on and shouted loudly.

On Earth, many people who noticed that the number didn't add up were also shouting and trying to warn Sun Wukong on the battlefield.

However, the Battlefield of Providence was independent and no outside voices could be heard. Sun Wukong closed his eyes, as if he was hesitating and struggling.

“Sun Wukong's arrival is different from that of all the other heroes.”

“Maybe it's because our settlement core is only Transcendent Rank-6 and cannot summon his complete form. Sun Wukong probably only had the memories before he started the journey at the beginning. For every opponent he defeats, his relevant memories will be awakened!”

“That's why he's been fighting more and more crazily. His heart is in a mess too!”

“He saw the Six-Eared Monkey pretending to be himself and a fake Leiyin Temple. Now that a 'real' Gautama Buddha has come, normally speaking, he might not be able to see through the last challenge!”

Shang Yan, who was a shrink, clenched her hands tightly and spoke nervously.

On the battlefield, the Monkey King's Bar gradually became transparent and was about to disappear.

That weapon was obviously indicative of Sun Wukong's determination to fight.

If he abandoned the Monkey King's Bar, would it mean that he would rather become a Buddha than to enter Dragon City and get involved in the battle between different species?

From Dragon City to Chidragon, there was absolute silence for several minutes.

Hum!

Faced with the promise of becoming a deity and a sage that equaled heaven…

When the Monkey King's Bar was about to disperse, it was suddenly condensed and became concrete again. Sun Wukong abruptly opened his eyes, and two golden pillars of light unleashed from his eyes.

The golden light swept out and destroyed everything.

The deities and the Buddhas all became bubbles and illusions.

The Great Sage Equaling Heaven was the Walker on Earth!

Abandoning the opportunity of becoming a deity to be a walker on Earth was Sun Wukong's choice.

A million residents of Dragon City and a billion earthlings gazed at the Monkey King whose armor was already ragged but whose back was still straight.

[Sun Wukong]

[Level: Transcendent Rank-7]

[Rarity: Quasi Mythological]

[Description: A Quasi Mythological hero from Chidragon on Earth, known as the Monkey King, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, and the Winning Buddha. He is strong and capable of many different divine techniques, such as the 72 Transformations, Unlimited Resizing, Golden Eyes, Flying Cloud, etc.]

The battlefield fell apart into spots of light and enshrouded Sun Wukong, making all his wounds disappear.

He turned back into the same person who wore a purple crown, a piece of golden armor, and a pair of long boots, and the first Quasi Mythological hero of Dragon City!

“So, the last challenge is not from the aliens but from the Land of Inheritance itself. For the fictional heroes, only if they meet certain requirements can they really be qualified as Quasi Mythological.”

“The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, the Walker on Earth… The former is a G.o.d and a deity, and the latter is a human and a qualified hero!”

Through the unprecedented ritual, Ji Ye understood something too.

“Roar!”

At the same time, Dragon City's Dragons of Providence began to expand, and the golden light on the surface of their bodies was even more concrete. They made a breakthrough to Transcendent Rank-7 easily.

Everyone was now prepared for the Legendary advancement test.