Monkey King dodged and struck at Six-Eared Macaque with his staff. Six-Eared Macaque blocked with a punch, but the Golden Cudgel shattered his fist.
"You became a saint through the incense offerings of this world's beings. Without incense, without this world, do you still possess saintly power?"
Six-Eared Macaque screamed in pain and retreated, his halo of sainthood behind his head flaring brightly. A surge of power filled him, instantly strengthening his aura.
The Golden Cudgel swung towards Six-Eared Macaque. He roared, his fangs bared terrifyingly, and actually caught the Golden Cudgel with one hand.
But Monkey King was the true Great Sage Equal to Heaven; his attacks were not so easily resisted.
With a sharp cry, Monkey King vanished. The Golden Cudgel disappeared with him. When it reappeared, it was behind Six-Eared Macaque.
One blow swept across the back of Six-Eared Macaque's head.
Six-Eared Macaque spat blood again and staggered backward. His head was bloody, his Purple-Gold Seven-Star Crown shattered. He looked utterly defeated.
"Great Sage, why must you press me so hard? I have served you for countless eons. I only wished to become a saint. What wrong have I done?"
"I do not oppose your desire for sainthood, but you must walk the righteous path. I would even petition the Immortal Venerable on your behalf to grant you a staircase to sainthood and channel primordial power to you. Yet, look at what you are doing!"
Monkey King's momentum did not cease. He sent Six-Eared Macaque flying with another swing of his staff. This time, Wan Lei clearly saw a large section of Six-Eared Macaque's chest cave in.
Facing the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Six-Eared Macaque was utterly powerless.
"For mere mortals, less than ants, you would kill me?! You would kill this subordinate who has been loyal and served you for countless eons?"
"A so-called saint should have compassion for all beings, possess mercy, and have the fearless heart to sacrifice themselves for the protection of all life. They should be worthy of the title 'Saint.' But you...
Slaughtering beings to lay the foundation for your saintly path. What kind of saint are you?"
The greater Monkey King's anger and compassion, the fiercer his killing intent.
His lifelong reputation was being ruined by this monkey!
Even more infuriating was that, in the past, to defend the immortal realm and protect living beings, he had fought against six main gods, refusing to retreat even when facing death.
Six-Eared Macaque had not learned a single bit of that compassionate, fearless heart. Instead, he was using the lives of an entire universe to establish his saintly position!
Enraged, Monkey King struck Six-Eared Macaque with his staff again. Six-Eared Macaque's body crashed heavily to the ground, the entire continent shattering.
Monkey King walked up to Six-Eared Macaque, his eyes still burning with anger and killing intent.
Six-Eared Macaque wiped blood from his chin fur and looked up at Monkey King with a bitter expression.
"Great King, what is a saint?"
"To establish life for the common people, to guard eternal peace, that is a saint.
'Saint' is a title bestowed by all beings upon their protectors. It is not a title you can claim by acting contrary to this, simply by possessing power."
Monkey King replied.
"But..."
A fierce, unyielding glint flashed in Six-Eared Macaque's eyes.
"In my view, a saint is power. In this world, power is everything. Authority is everything.
Take you, for example. If you were not a saint, would any monkey willingly respect you as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?
Is it not because you became a saint, that you possess the power to protect them, that they are willing to call you Monkey King?
What about all beings? What about the common people? I am just a monkey. My sight only extends as far as Flower Fruit Mountain.
What do the lives and deaths of beings elsewhere have to do with me!"
Six-Eared Macaque roared hoarsely, tearing off his tattered armor. His body suddenly grew, becoming over ten Zhang tall. His six ears turned bright red.
At this moment, Six-Eared Macaque was no longer calm, composed, or elegant. He transformed into a powerfully built gorilla, his muscles bulging!
This was his true form.
"Great King, you do not know, but from the day you became a saint, I worshipped you like I was possessed. I dreamed of becoming a hero like you, protecting Penglai Immortal Island and Flower Fruit Mountain together, protecting those monkeys.
The Heavenly Emperor Di Jun accused you of selfishness, of neglecting the demon race and only caring about monkeys. But we knew, you cared about nothing else, you only cared about us!
But that was enough. You were born a monkey on Flower Fruit Mountain. What wrong is there in protecting your home? Why should you fight for outsiders?
For this, we willingly call you Great King.
However, during the third war between immortals and gods, you changed.
Why did you bother with those humans? Let them fight the gods! Why did you participate? Why did you lead us monkeys to our deaths? Why did you sacrifice yourself to protect those humans?
You are the Monkey King of our Flower Fruit Mountain!
Not the Great Sage Equal to Heaven of the human race!
After you died, I led the surviving monkeys back to Flower Fruit Mountain. We lost our Monkey King, our guardian god. When Di Jun bullied us again, we could only be slaughtered.
From then on, I resented you. Why did you have to die? Your valiant, fearless fighting spirit should have been used to protect our Flower Fruit Mountain, not to die for humans!
And then I thought, since the monkey race lost you, then...
This Monkey King,
This Great Sage Equal to Heaven,
I shall be!"
The saintly halo behind Six-Eared Macaque's head exploded. The self-detonating halo transformed into powerful, pure energy that surged into his body.
His eyes were blood red, and his body writhed as if containing power he could not contain.
His mountain-like physique raised a fist and punched towards the Monkey King before him.
Monkey King remained silent. His ordinary monkey-sized body did not seem to exert much effort. With a mere lift of his hand and a punch, he sent the Six-Eared Macaque, whose saintly halo had just exploded, flying.
Monkey King walked forward step by step through the air. As he moved, his Purple-Gold Seven-Star Crown appeared on his head, his Lotus Root Silk Cloud-Treading Boots appeared on his feet, and his Golden Chain Mail covered his body.
The Great Sage Equal to Heaven donned his armor, shining under the sun.
"You think that by possessing saintly power, by putting on the Purple-Gold Seven-Star Crown like a monkey in a cap, donning the Golden Chain Mail, and wielding a fake Golden Cudgel,
You disguise yourself as me, and you become the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?
No.
To have a fearless heart, the conviction to protect all beings, the spirit of facing death bravely, the will to fight without retreat,
That is the true Great Sage Equal to Heaven!!!"
At this moment, in Wan Lei's eyes, it was as if he saw Monkey King's tragic figure from fifty thousand years ago, fighting to the last moment and turning into a stone statue.