“Great King! The Heavenly Court’s armies are attacking! Marshal Ma and General Bengba are already fighting!” The monkey scout exclaimed in relief as Sun Wukong finally stirred.

  Sun Wukong’s groggy mind snapped awake. He tried to dispel the lingering wine haze with his magic, but—

  “Why is my power diminished?! And my Primordial Qi…” His Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils blazed as he scanned the empty Water Curtain Cave. The truth struck him like thunder.

  “So this is how my ‘brothers’ repay me!” The Monkey King’s laughter turned maniacal, tears streaking his golden fur. “Not only did they abandon me in my hour of need—they schemed to drain my strength! How can I protect my subjects now?!”

  His roar shook the mountain, severing the waterfall’s flow. “Bull Demon King… Serpent Demon King… From this day forth, we are mortal enemies!”

  Clad in his Golden Chainmail Armor and wielding the Ruyi Golden-Hooped Rod, Sun Wukong erupted from the cave.

  Yang Jian’s third eye narrowed. “You finally show yourself. But your aura… weakened?”

  Celestial soldiers recoiled as the Monkey King emerged. His surviving subjects huddled around him, trembling.

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  “You there—third eye, Erlang Shen himself?” Sun Wukong sneered, rod leveled at Yang Jian. “The bastard son who split Mount Peach with an axe after the Jade Emperor murdered your father? How filial, serving the uncle who keeps your father’s skull as a chamber pot!”

  Yang Jian’s face darkened.

  Damn it! Xu Fang cursed inwardly from the clouds. He touched Yang Jian’s deepest wounds.

  The air crackled as Yang Jian’s Three Pointed Double-Edged Blade erupted with icy light. “DIE, DEMON!”

  CLANG—!

  The Golden-Hooped Rod met the blade in a shower of sparks. Sun Wukong staggered back, teeth bared. “Curse those thieving ‘brothers’! Without my stolen Primordial Qi…”

  “Petty tricks!” Yang Jian roared, activating Emulating Heaven and Earth. His form swelled to colossal heights, matching Sun Wukong’s Great Sage manifestation.

  Mountains trembled as titans clashed—sky-rending strikes, earth-shattering blows. Yet amidst the chaos, Li Jing’s voice boomed: “Capture the monkey tribes! Flush out the demon!”

  “YANG JIAN, YOU COWARD!” Sun Wukong bellowed, seeing celestial soldiers herd his subjects. He broke from the duel, rod sweeping toward the troops—

  Only to freeze mid-swing as Li Jing thundered: “Yield, or watch your monkeys perish!”

  The Golden-Hooped Rod trembled in Sun Wukong’s grip. Laughter, bitter and broken, echoed across Flower-Fruit Mountain. “Well played, Heavenly Court…”

  Though his subjects’ names were erased from the Book of Life and Death, steel could still end them. The Great Sage Equal to Heaven lowered his weapon.

  “Spare them,” Sun Wukong growled, fiery gaze locking onto Li Jing. “Harm one hair, and I’ll tear down your Hall of Divine Mists stone by stone!”

  Li Jing nodded grimly. “You have my word.”