The Great Sage's Mercy
27. It's me, you bastard.
Something was terribly wrong with his not-killing doctrine.
He wouldn't kill, but make them live as if dead.
“Repent by eating vegetarian food for the rest of your lives and offering to the Buddha.”
Sun Wukong's face turned icy cold.
It was like the face of a judge, with no emotion visible at all.
In the martial world, emotions should naturally be revealed.
Whether it's the killing intent when facing an enemy,
or the vengeful spirit when killing a sworn enemy,
or the sheer wickedness of a villain who enjoys killing for fun.
In the martial world, or rather, as a human being, one should be like that.
No matter how much training a martial artist undergoes, they couldn't hide it. Even a faint trace would remain.
Yet right now, Sun Wukong's face had transcended common sense.
Without a heart.
It was an intensity as if letters were engraved on his face, making the leaders tremble in fear.
“Hah!”
They threw themselves forward in desperation.
Even if their hands were torn off, muscles shredded, and bones shattered, the condensed inner energy surging from their danjeons didn't run dry. As leaders of the Anhui Black Dao, the explosive power of their condensed qi bursting out at once was considerable.
No matter how strong a master was, even a martial artist of Namgung Clan headmaster rank, the best counter would be to dodge first and then counterattack.
Sun Wukong's choice was the opposite. He dove straight into the attack.
Direct.
The martial artist who had been staring in shock at Sun Wukong's martial prowess recalled his usual thinking.
Not a curving retreat, not a feint reversal, but pure directness.
From the side, the straight line looked swift.
From behind, it was an unwavering center.
What would it look like from the front?
The faces of the Unya Bangju and the other subordinates turned deathly pale.
The growing red eyes with golden pupils.
A straight line rushing right in front of their faces was a disaster.
Sun Wukong's two hands caught the necks of the two Black Dao leaders, slamming them hard to the ground as if they were about to snap.
Kwak-jik!
“That bastard said his main weapon was a staff…!”
The martial artist opened his mouth in shock, having forgotten to fight.
So intense that the surrounding battles all halted for a moment.
The Black Dao leaders' momentum was so fierce that even Sun Wukong shouldn't have been able to exchange blows more than a few times.
Why, when fighting an enemy cornered, open an escape route and tell them to fight?
A cornered rat bites a cat.
Especially the Black Dao, whose poison was so strong that even the righteous people in the martial world stuck out their tongues.
It was the desperation of the leaders of a single Black Dao faction.
The martial artist knew roughly what realm Sun Wukong was at, but he had never dreamed he could be neutralized in a single strike.
Even the martial artist who had been slicing through the subordinates of Unya Bangju and the others was horrified.
“Since the day I killed Sa Hyeol-cheol-gwi, my martial prowess has been proven, but this…!”
Overwhelming. How many people in Anhui Province could push forward with such overwhelming momentum?
“If his martial prowess is like this…!”
The martial artist gained certainty.
Sun Wukong's identity and past were still unclear, but he shouldn't be turned into an enemy.
At the very least, he should be captured as a prisoner and brought over to the Namgung Clan's side.
After all, how many clean people were there in the martial world?
While the martial artist's thoughts continued, Sun Wokong lifted the two slumped Black Dao leaders.
Their faces were shattered, and the impact of hitting the ground even broke their spines.
Only the sound of air leaking from their bodies proved they were still breathing.
“I can kill them, but I won't. This is the Buddha's compassion.”
Sun Wukong declared his own not-killing doctrine. After speaking seriously, he suddenly laughed, his shoulders shaking.
“Ah. Nice. That's why Sanzang hated killing. Not killing makes me feel so refreshed.”
What's this? It feels good. Now I'm a Buddha too. A Buddha.
Suddenly Sun Wukong's laughter filled the area that had been filled with screams, groans, and clashing weapons with silence.
The martial artist thought,
“Capturing him as a prisoner is risky.”
Sun Wukong left two chi behind and approached Hoga Jangju.
His chest was already half-caved in, barely holding on to life.
“You. Who exactly are you? Who the hell are you that you suddenly appeared like this…?”
“Ah, if you ask that way, this Teacher Sun has no choice but to answer.”
Sun Wukong spread both arms wide as if waiting. In the midst of the sudden silence, it was as if sunlight was shining on Sun Wukong.
“The sun hasn't risen, but where is the sunlight coming from…?”
The martial artist, who had been staring blankly, suddenly snapped back to his senses and shouted urgently.
“It's the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, Sun Wukong!”
“…”
The martial artist finally let out a sigh.
That bastard, in this situation, almost said that crazy thing again.
Sun Wukong looked at the martial artist with an unpleasant expression. The martial artist turned his gaze away and ignored him. Sun Wokong sighed and spoke to Hoga Jangju. For some reason, his mood seemed to have calmed, making Hoga Jangju feel uneasy.
“Anyway, listen here, old man.”
“…”
“I have one question. Are you listening to the orders of the monster rampaging inside this fence?”
“…”
“Hmph. No matter who you are, you'll die without being able to lift a finger against a real monster. Just spout your last words here.”
“Hmph. You even have the skill to shake my not-killing doctrine.”
“Wait! Don't kill him! He's a smart guy who can at least talk!”
At some point, Unya Bangju had been killed and the martial artist approached.
When all the Black Dao leaders fell, the remaining subordinates threw down their weapons and surrendered after checking the situation.
The Anhui Black Dao had collapsed.
Hoga Jangju spoke without being intimidated.
Indeed, the poison of a Black Dao leader was visible.
“Hmph. Talking? Don't get cocky. No matter how much of a Namgung Clan martial artist, it won't be easy.”
Sun Wukong glanced at the martial artist.
“You said you could talk.”
“If I beat you more, you'll talk.”
The martial artist said it nonchalantly and slammed the head of the man in the scabbard with his sword.
It was an indiscriminate beating. Hoga Jangju, who had been clenching his teeth and enduring it, finally let out a scream.
“Now, can you talk?”
“Guh… What exactly do you want…?”
“Not yet.”
The martial artist cut off his words and beat him even more.
The martial artist secretly whispered to Sun Wukong.
“This woman is also a member of the Namgung Clan.”
“I know.”
Even the martial artist who had experienced countless battles and faced all sorts of events after returning from the Heavenly Pilgrimage felt a twinge of pity.
If an old man was being beaten one-sidedly, it was only natural.
The martial artist glanced at him and shrugged his shoulders.
“I have to show these tough bastards. Who is weak and who is strong. Until their poison is completely drained.”
Sun Wukong nodded at the martial artist's ruthless words.
“Then I'll go take care of my business. Before the Cheonghyeopbang guys all get hurt.”
Sun Wukong entrusted the remaining subordinates and Hoga Jangju's safety to the martial artist and turned his body.
***
Mosunbo's eyes were closed.
His head was spinning, he felt like vomiting, and his joints ached.
He looked around with half-lidded eyes.
Everywhere were corpses.
Was this hell?
The word death best described the scene inside the hall.
The corpses had one thing in common.
All of them were wearing the Cheonghyeopbang's martial robes.
Mosunbo's head throbbed again.
He gritted his teeth and glared at the front.
A giant with disheveled long hair covering his eyes.
He had been mercilessly sliced by that giant's greatsword. All of the Cheonghyeopbang.
Mosunbo had barely survived with his subordinates' coordinated attack, but he felt the limit keenly.
“What grudge do you have against our Cheonghyeopbang…!”
“No grudge. What I'm looking for is nothing but the fragments of the Seven Star Sword. Whether you die, live, or survive, it doesn't matter. Where are they.”
A cold tone.
Mosunbo let out a hollow laugh.
Fragments of the Seven Star Sword.
It was definitely referring to the Iron Staff.
When entrusted to the staff, it had been called a rusty sword fragment.
The Iron Staff was indeed precious, and there were many people who rushed after it as fiercely as the staff.
But a master of this level attacking a righteous faction like the Cheonghyeopbang of this scale…
“Either an enormous background or tremendous confidence in his own ability.”
Mosunbo instinctively felt both.
He had already felt the skill intensely. And judging by the look of it, the guy definitely had a background.
No matter how skilled, he couldn't control all the Anhui Black Dao like puppets.
The Black Dao were the kind of people who wouldn't drain their poison even if they died.
Those who submit to such people are either truly strong above the heavens or have an enormous background that can grant even greater sins.
“None. There is none!”
Many witnessed and testified. The masters received it, confirmed it, and it disappeared. Isn't it something you stole?
No fluctuation in his voice. A chill ran through his bones. A cold tone as if he had killed countless martial artists without losing his breath or composure.
Only the Iron Staff was the objective, and Mosunbo bit his lips at the blind appearance.
In the end, he had no choice but to fight until death.
Although he lacked the righteousness of a righteous faction, Mosunbo was also a martial artist.
He was a man who possessed the frankness and momentum befitting a martial artist.
He couldn't beg for his life from the man who had sliced his subordinates like straw dummies.
Mosunbo clenched his strength. His body shot like lightning toward the giant.
The giant swung his greatsword heavily.
Clang!
Mosunbo's sword was repelled. He couldn't catch it with his weakened hand.
The giant said in a low voice.
“If you don't bring it, I'll burn everything and find it in the ashes.”
The greatsword fell on Mosunbo's forehead.
Kagang!
At that moment, something blocked the greatsword. The giant's wrist tingled for a moment. The greatsword was about to fly away, but he gritted his teeth and caught it. The intense shock was as if his wrist was about to break.
What had blocked it?
Half of the greatsword was embedded in the wall, broken.
The giant turned his head and growled like a beast.
“Who are you?”
Golden light flickered in the heat of the martial artist's fiery energy.
The raised corners of his mouth were like a child's smile. It shouldn't have suited an adult, yet it was endlessly natural.
Sun Wukong nodded.
“It's me, you bastard.”
“…”
The sudden appearance of Sun Wukong silenced the giant. The one who was surprised was Mosunbo.
Golden hair. A man who had beaten his own head.
He had never dreamed he would appear here. He hadn't known he would save him at the moment of death, so surprise filled his eyes.
Sun Wukong glanced at him.
“Uncle. If you don't like it, you… you, if you don't want to die.”
Mosunbo bit his lip and crawled out.
Sun Wukong swept the surrounding devastation once. A sigh escaped him.
The death of humans is all fate. It's written in the Book of Life and Death.
These people died as written in the Book of Life and Death.
Still, Sun Wukong didn't like the giant.
“Did you have to kill them all like this to feel refreshed?”
“Who are you?”
“Who else, you bastard. The one holding the Seven Star Sword fragments you're looking for.”
“…!”
His expression twitched slightly. Sun Wukong leaned against the wall.
“I have one question. Are you a subordinate of Sa Hyeol-cheol-gwi or his master?”
“…You. The one who killed Sa Hyeol-cheol-gwi.”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Since you couldn't touch me at Namgung Clan and came out, that's good.”
“You look more like a master than a snake. One more question. How many more are above you?”
“Die, and hand over the Seven Star Sword fragments.”
“Ah, this is how it is.”
Sun Wukong shrugged his shoulders.
“I can't return it. Originally, I'm very close with the owner.”
“Crazy talk.”
The giant said as if it was ridiculous.
Sun Wukong's eyes sparkled.
“You seem to know who the original owner is?”
“…”
Sun Wukong smiled brightly.
The original owner of the Seven Star Sword was none other than Taeshang Laojun from the Heavenly Court.
“Ha, that's strange. It must be a human. It is a human.”
Sun Wukong grinned.
“You were a demon in your previous life?”
Across the Fiery Golden Eyes, the world.
Threads of red karma like blood emitted ominous energy.