The Strongest Mythical Emperor
Chapter 739: What is Wukong

Chapter 739: Chapter 739: What is Wukong

"I’ve realized."

The Iron-faced Demon King replied, his voice hoarse to the extreme, devoid of life.

He was none other than the Supreme Heaven Great Sage of the Great Qin Heavenly Court, Sun Wukong, but he was now devoid of his former peerless arrogance.

"Oh? Realized what?" Tathāgata asked.

The grand hall of the Leiyin Buddha Temple lay silent, with no sound of wind, only the faint breathing of Sun Wukong.

After a moment of silence, Sun Wukong answered, "It’s that I’m too weak."

Tathāgata frowned slightly and rebuked, "To be fixated on power is to ultimately lose one’s purpose. Do you have nothing else in your heart but power?"

Sun Wukong remained silent, the iron mask covering his face, making it impossible to see his expression.

"Impudent monkey, I took interest in you because I wanted to pull you out of the sea of suffering. You’ve committed heavy slaughters, and if not cleansed, you will surely not escape eternal damnation. There are many in the Great Qin Heavenly Court, yet there is only one Spirit Monkey, why do you think I chose you?" Tathāgata continued, his tone filled with frustration as if lamenting his unyielding resolve.

Sun Wukong was impassive; he could not free himself of the iron mask, nor could he escape. What was the use of saying more?

"Your name is Wukong, but why can’t you understand?" Tathāgata sighed.

Sun Wukong’s body trembled, involuntarily recalling the memories of his past life.

...

Inside the Slanting Moon and Three Stars Cave at Mount Inch.

Patriarch Bodhi said with a smile, "Given your looks are that of a macaque, I’ll derive your surname from the character ’macaque’. Removing the beast radical from ’macaque’ leaves ’ancient month’: ’ancient’ signifies old and ’month’ symbolizes yin. The old yin cannot nurture, so giving you the surname ’Macaque’ might be better. Removing the beast radical from ’Macaque’ leaves ’Son’, which refers to a male child, and fits the essence of a baby. Hence, I shall name you ’Sun’."

As he spoke, Patriarch Bodhi’s gaze towards Sun Wukong deepened with meaning, thinking to himself, "I hope not only does your surname come from the essence of a baby, but also that you always keep your initial innocence."

Excited beyond measure, Sun Wukong kowtowed and exclaimed, "Good, good, good! Only today have I understood the significance of a surname! I implore the compassion of my master, now that I have a surname, may you bestow upon me a given name, to better address me."

Patriarch Bodhi replied, "In our school, there are twelve characters used to assign names, broken down by generations. You are a disciple of the tenth generation."

Sun Wukong scratched his head and asked, "What are those twelve characters?"

"They are ’Boundless Wisdom True Suchness Nature Sea Talented Realization Complete Enlightenment.’ Arriving at you, it’s the character ’Realization.’ How about a dharma name of ’Sun Wukong’? Is that good?" Patriarch Bodhi asked gently, his face beaming with kindness as he smiled.

Overwhelmed with excitement, Sun Wukong laughed and shouted, jumping up and down, "Good, good, good! From now on, I shall be called Sun Wukong!"

An elder and a monkey, the scene enveloped in sandalwood fragrance, forever etched into eternity.

Consciousness slowly pulled back from memories to reality.

Sun Wukong spoke, "My name is Wukong, but not to realize your Buddhist teachings!"

Upon hearing this, Tathāgata’s brow creased tightly, plunging the atmosphere of the entire grand hall into a freezing point.

"Do you think, now, there is anyone who can save you?" Tathāgata regained his composure and asked indifferently.

With his might, even after being severely wounded by Randeng earlier, he was not afraid to face even the Great Qin Heavenly Court. However, his true form couldn’t leave the Western Regions; outsiders thought Tathāgata feared the Western Regions might encounter danger in his absence, but there were other reasons, reasons known to no one else.

"You once suppressed me, but someone saved me. Now, he will come again."

Sun Wukong’s hoarse voice revealed a hint of anticipation and determination.

Once? Tathāgata frowned, as he had never had any entanglements with Sun Wukong before.

Little did he know, Sun Wukong was referring to his past life.

"No matter who you are talking about, in the face of my boundless prowess, no one can save you. The only one who can is yourself, if you truly turn to the Buddha," Tathāgata said coldly.

Sun Wukong didn’t answer him again, responding only with silence.

...

As Tathāgata exerted his pressure on Sun Wukong, Qin Jun and the others finally returned to the Southern Domain of the Heavenly World, making a beeline for the Holy City.

"Eh? The Nine Dragons Chariot approaches—His Majesty the Holy Emperor has returned!"

Someone quickly recognized Qin Jun and his entourage, and instantly, the entire city was abuzz.

During Qin Jun’s absence, one major incident after another from the Central Wasteland had reached them, and the names of the Holy Emperor of Qin and Hou Yi were discussed daily.

Once Qin Jun and the rest landed on Saint Emperor Peak, Daji, You Fenghuang, Zhu Yanqing, Liu Ruolai, and Wang Xue swiftly surrounded them, while Liu Bowen, Li Yuanba, Yuan Hong, and the Nine Spirits Yuan Saint and others flew up from the lower sections of Saint Emperor Peak to welcome Qin Jun.

Saint Emperor Peak was now divided into three levels: the upper segment was reserved for Qin Jun’s harem, the middle for conducting court affairs, and the lower for some high-ranking civil and military officials to reside in. Even so, the entire Saint Emperor Peak still seemed spacious.

"We respectfully welcome the Emperor’s return!"

All bowed before the golden palanquin and called out softly, their voices merging and echoing across the skies of the Holy City.

The monks and commoners of the Holy City also bowed in the direction of Saint Emperor Peak, shouting, "We respectfully welcome the Emperor’s return!"

"Long live the Emperor, long live, long, long live!"

The voices of millions gathered to create a spectacular scene, followed by successive waves of cheers from the floating islands around the Holy City.

Xiang Yu’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this. Such a display was something he had never experienced even when he was the Overlord of Western Chu, illustrating the high esteem in which Qin Jun was held in the Great Qin Celestial Heavens.

Liu Bowen and other senior civil and military officials were also exceedingly excited, but they exchanged glances quietly, their expressions somewhat uneasy, as if burdened with some unspeakable concerns.

Qin Jun stepped out from the palanquin, with the Double-pupil Bird perched on his shoulder, and walked over to Daji and the ladies with a dragon-like stride, saying with a smile, "I have returned!"

Daji, You Fenghuang, Zhu Yanqing, Wang Xue, and You Fenghuang hurriedly got to their feet and gathered around.

"Your Majesty, you have finally returned."

"Your Majesty, how have you been during this time?"

"We heard you killed the lord of the Nether King Palace, is it true?"

The five ladies chattered incessantly, causing Qin Jun to shake his head and chuckle, saying, "We’ll talk about this tonight. I must first hold court!"

Having said that, he turned to Liu Bowen and ordered, "Summon the officials of the fifth rank and above. Meet me in the Junzheng Hall in half an hour!"

As his voice faded, he walked straight toward the Junzheng Hall.

Liu Bowen hurriedly rose to issue the imperial decree.

Zhuge Liang, Jiang Ziya, Evening Star, and Shen Gongbao looked at each other, all wearing wry smiles.

"How should we explain the matter of the Great Sage to His Majesty?" Shen Gongbao said apprehensively.

The Supreme Heaven Great Sage’s reputation in the Great Qin Celestial Heavens was extremely high, which is why they had deliberately suppressed the news from spreading. They had wanted to send a message to Qin Jun, but he had already set off and had not received their letter.

Even Jiang Ziya was somewhat troubled—while Qin Jun had led his troops on a campaign, they had failed to adequately guard the Great Qin Celestial Heavens, allowing Sun Wukong to be captured, a severe dereliction of duty.

"Your Majesty, you must save Sun Wukong!"

Just then, Tang Sanzang suddenly flew in, quickly kneeling before Qin Jun, accompanied by Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing.

Qin Jun paused, frowning as he asked, "What has happened to Sun Wukong?"

An uneasy feeling suddenly surged in his heart.

Hou Yi, escorting Xuan Qing, headed to the sky prison, while the Imperial Guard soldiers walked away with the Nine Dragons, and the Double-pupil Bird probably went to look for the young Torch Dragon. Only Bai Ze and Xiang Yu remained beside Qin Jun.

Bai Ze began his divination through finger calculations, while Xiang Yu looked on curiously, wondering—who was Sun Wukong?