Chapter 59

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire Lingxiao Palace erupted in chaos.

“Unthinkable!”

“How audacious this demon monkey dares to be!”

“Great Sage Equal to Heaven? Pfft! What is he, to dare claim equality with Heaven?”

“Your Majesty, such a demon must not be spared! We must immediately dispatch troops to exterminate him and uphold Heavenly Authority!”

In the grand hall, emotions ran high, especially among the gods in charge of warfare—each one’s hair stood on end, eager to descend at once and tear apart the insolent monkey.

The Jade Emperor’s expression darkened from his throne.

His long fingers struck the armrest of the imperial chair with force.

“Silence!”

At this reprimand, the Lingxiao Palace fell silent once more.

Yet all present felt a terrifying pressure spreading from the supreme throne above.

It was the wrath of the Sovereign of the Three Realms.

“A Great Sage Equal to Heaven, indeed!”

The Jade Emperor’s voice carried no emotion.

“A mountain-dwelling demon monkey, ignorant of cosmic order, disrespectful of Heavenly Authority—how dare he bargain with me?”

“I shall see just what heavenly abilities he possesses to call himself equal to Heaven!”

The Jade Emperor’s gaze swept over the assembled immortals, his voice rising sharply.

“All immortals!”

“Present!” the immortals chorused in unison.

“Who among you will lead troops to the mortal realm to capture this demon monkey and demonstrate Heavenly Might?”

No sooner had the words left his lips than Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, stepped forward, holding the Seven Treasures Mystic Pagoda aloft.

He bowed deeply before the Jade Emperor, his voice booming like a temple bell.

"Your Majesty! I have long said that only ruthless measures can uphold Heavenly Authority against such demons! This monkey has repeatedly defied the Heavenly Court, and now dares to speak such insolence—his crimes are unforgivable!"

“I, Li Jing, volunteer to lead one hundred thousand Heavenly Troops, with my son Nezha and the Giant Spirit God as Vanguard Commanders, to descend and encircle the demon monkey with a Heavenly Net. I shall capture him alive and bring him to the Execution Platform for public judgment!”

At that moment, Nezha, the Third Prince, leapt forward from behind Li Jing, clad in the Universe Ring and wielding the Fire-Tipped Spear.

“Your Majesty, I believe the Giant Spirit God and the Heavenly King are sufficient—I shall not go.”

Li Jing glared at Nezha but said nothing.

The Jade Emperor looked at the father and son below, understanding their longstanding feud, yet chose not to mention it.

His gaze settled on Li Jing, and he nodded firmly.

“Good! Li Tianwang, I grant your request. But the Great God of Santanhai’s words hold merit—this single demon monkey is not worth mobilizing the entire army.”

“I appoint you as Supreme Commander of Demonic Subjugation. Immediately muster one hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers and Officers, appoint the Giant Spirit God as Vanguard, and march at once to Huaguo Mountain!”

“You will crush Huaguo Mountain to dust and bring me that demon monkey alive!”

“I, your servant, accept the decree!”

Li Jing responded loudly, unmoved.

In his view, capturing a mere upstart demon monkey—Nezha’s absence meant nothing; he had full confidence he could seize him easily.

He received the decree and turned to leave the hall, ready to mobilize his troops.

Yet, at this tense moment, an untimely voice rang out again.

“Your Majesty! This must not be done!”

The urgent cry stunned everyone.

All immortals turned to see the previously furious Tai Bai Jin Xing, arms outstretched, blocking Li Jing’s path.

Li Jing frowned in displeasure. “Jin Xing, what is your meaning?”

“Heavenly King, please calm yourself!” Tai Bai Jin Xing bowed repeatedly in apology.

He had stepped forward for his own sake—if he failed to lure the monkey to Heaven, he would miss this crucial step, and later, when the Great Calamity ended, where would he gain merit?

“Your Majesty! Please temper your wrath and hear your humble servant!”

The Jade Emperor regarded him with displeasure. “Jin Xing, what do you have to say now?”

Tai Bai Jin Xing bowed again. “Your Majesty, I believe sending troops now plays right into the demon monkey’s hands!”

At these words, all immortals wore expressions of doubt.

The Jade Emperor grew curious. “Oh? Elaborate.”

Seeing the Jade Emperor was listening, Tai Bai Jin Xing relaxed slightly and quickly organized his thoughts. “Your Majesty, esteemed immortals, consider this: why is the demon monkey so arrogant? Why does he insist on the title ‘Great Sage Equal to Heaven’?”

“He seeks only fame and glory!”

Tai Bai Jin Xing slapped his thigh, his voice rising.

“He is a mountain demon, newly emerged—what does he lack most? Reputation! He stormed the Dragon Palace, broke into the Underworld—what was his goal? To make the Three Realms know of his existence!”

“Now, he deliberately provokes us to force us into war. Once our army moves, whether we win or lose, the name ‘Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong’ will spread throughout the Three Realms. Then he truly becomes a demon king known across all realms—isn’t that exactly what he wants?”

Tai Bai Jin Xing’s speech sounded logical, but was in truth pure nonsense.

All immortals in the hall understood his motives, yet none dared to expose them.

Only Li Jing countered: “If we follow your logic, must we swallow this insult and let the demon monkey flaunt his power in the mortal realm, tarnishing our Heavenly Court’s honor?”

“Your Majesty misunderstands!” Tai Bai Jin Xing immediately replied. “I do not advocate leniency—I propose a wiser method to deal with him.”

“What method?” asked the Jade Emperor.

Tai Bai Jin Xing smiled faintly, his expression once again one of calm mastery.

“Your Majesty, the demon monkey wants a title? He calls himself ‘Great Sage Equal to Heaven’?”

“Why not grant it to him?”

“What?!”

These words caused even greater shock than the proposal to launch war.

“Jin Xing, have you lost your mind?”

“Indeed! ‘Equal to Heaven’—how can we bestow such a title on a demon monkey? If word spreads, what face will our Heavenly Court have left?”

“Absolutely not! If we set this precedent, soon every cat and dog will claim equality with Heaven!”

The immortals protested en masse—even the usually silent celestial officials deemed this move unacceptable.

Yet Tai Bai Jin Xing remained calm, raising a hand to quiet them.

“Gentlemen, gentlemen, please calm down. Let me finish.”

He bowed to the Jade Emperor. “Your Majesty, I believe a title is merely empty honor. He wants it? Let us give it to him. But we shall grant him only the hollow title of ‘Great Sage Equal to Heaven’—a position with rank but no salary, with fame but no power. In truth, it is merely a prestigious idle post.”

“We summon him to Heaven, grant him a Great Sage Mansion, and let him wander the Heavenly Court, make friends, drink wine. Thus, we satisfy his vanity while keeping him under our watch. If he behaves, we avoid war and uphold the Heavenly Virtue of compassion. If he stirs trouble here, it will not be us attacking an unknown foe—he will be alone, isolated on the Nine Heavens, and we shall punish him at our leisure, effortlessly.”

Tai Bai Jin Xing finished, stroking his long beard with a satisfied smile.

This tactic was called “praise to destruction!”

First, elevate him high—let him grow arrogant and careless—then wait for the moment to crush him into dust.

First lift you high until you become conceited, then find an opportunity to crush you into dust.