Chapter 92: Su Chen Seizes the Initiative of Public Opinion, the Heavenly Court

“According to Your Second King’s view, what should we do?” asked a leopard-headed demon king.

Su Chen smiled slightly and said, “If we can’t beat them with force, we’ll use soft tactics. They have heavenly soldiers and generals—we have the voices of the entire world!”

“Think about it: in this Three Realms, besides those lofty heavenly deities, how many like us are scattered immortals or demon cultivators who toil in obscurity?”

“And among them, how many have suffered the heavenly court’s abuse, looked down upon and suppressed by those so-called righteous deities?”

Su Chen’s words resonated deeply with all the demon kings present; they all nodded in agreement.

“The Second King speaks truly. Those heavenly gods have their eyes planted on the tops of their heads—they look down on us!”

“So!” Su Chen’s voice suddenly rose, “what we must do now is spread the story of how the Great Sage was deceived and oppressed by the heavenly court—expose the heavenly court’s hypocrisy and wickedness to all!”

“We must make every scattered cultivator and demon clan in the world know how the heavenly court treated the Great Sage! If they can treat Brother Monkey like this today, they’ll treat any mortal cultivator the same tomorrow!”

“We must publicize the tale of how the Great Sage dared to defy the heavenly court’s injustice, resigned his post, and stood shoulder to shoulder with the countless mortal cultivators and demon clans—let the entire Three Realms know!”

Su Chen’s words rang with weight and thundered like a clarion call.

The demon kings present listened, blood boiling, eyes gleaming with fervor.

“Excellent! The Second King speaks perfectly!”

Sun Wukong slapped his thigh in excitement and cried, “Brother, tell us—exactly how do we do this?”

Su Chen smiled and told him to calm down, then began his detailed deployment.

He ordered the seventy-two cave demon kings to each select their most clever, most eloquent subordinates, and have them craft various stories about Sun Wukong’s ordeal in the heavenly court.

Then, dispatch these demon clans to every corner of the Four Continents.

Whether in mortal taverns and teahouses, or in mountain sect markets, or in demon strongholds—spread this story until everyone knows it.

The focus of the propaganda must center on the core theme: “The heavenly court is unjust, suppressing mortal cultivators.”

Thus began a massive public opinion storm, orchestrated by Su Chen, targeting the heavenly court.

Soon, throughout the Four Continents, a tale spread about “the Great Sage resisting the heavenly court’s injustice.”

In the story, Sun Wukong was no longer merely a mortal demon monkey—he became the symbol of all mortal cultivators wronged by the heavenly court.

Countless scattered cultivators and demon clans, upon hearing the tale, felt as if it were their own story.

The title “Great Sage Equaling Heaven” suddenly became wildly famous.

Yaochi, the Peach Banquet.

At this moment, Yaochi echoed with celestial music, radiant auroras blazed everywhere, and scenes of peace and revelry filled the air.

All the prominent immortals, gods, and Buddhas of the Three Realms gathered as one.

The Jade Emperor and Queen Mother sat upon the main dais, accepting homage from the immortals, their faces wearing restrained, solemn smiles.

Yet behind this harmony, the Jade Emperor felt a lingering unease.

He kept glancing toward the palace gates, as if awaiting some news.

According to his and Taibai Jinxing’s script, by now the enraged monkey should have already rampaged through the Peach Garden—or even disrupted the entire banquet.

But why was everything so calm? Not a single stir?

“What’s going on?” the Jade Emperor muttered to himself.

At that moment, an immortal official, pale and frantic, stepped to his side and whispered urgently.

The Jade Emperor’s face instantly changed.

“What? Left?” The Jade Emperor’s voice dripped with suppressed fury, “What do you mean, ‘left’?”

“Your Majesty,” the official stammered, “the fairy sent to pick peaches just returned—she says Sun Wukong, upon learning he wasn’t invited to the Peach Banquet, didn’t cause a disturbance. Instead, he and his brother Su Chen left the Peach Garden together and vanished.”

“Su Chen?” The Jade Emperor frowned. “Wasn’t he in seclusion?”

“It seems he just emerged.”

The Jade Emperor’s heart sank sharply.

He had a terrible premonition.

That Su Chen was cunning, meticulous, and far from the simple-minded fool Sun Wukong was.

With him nearby, things would surely go awry.

“Invest further!” the Jade Emperor hissed. “Go to the Great Sage’s residence! Find out exactly where they’ve gone!”

The imperial messenger bowed and departed.

Not long after, another piece of news struck the Jade Emperor like a thunderclap.

The Great Sage’s residence stood empty.

Only a resignation letter remained, along with the Great Sage’s seal, hung high on display.

“The heavenly court is unjust—I, Old Sun, quit!”

When the messenger presented the resignation letter to the Jade Emperor, he stared at those words and flew into a rage.

“Rebellion! Utter rebellion!”

He slammed his fist onto the imperial desk—the millennium-old warm jade desk instantly cracked across its surface.

The celestial music in the hall ceased abruptly.

All the immortals and gods turned their gazes toward the Jade Emperor’s ashen face, bewildered.

“Unthinkable!” The Jade Emperor hurled the resignation letter to the ground. “That brute monkey actually resigned and abandoned his seal!”

At these words, the entire hall erupted in uproar.

The immortals and gods exchanged glances, shock clear in every eye.

Taibai Jinxing, standing among the courtiers, also looked stunned.

He had planned every detail—but never anticipated Su Chen emerging from seclusion at this exact moment.

This wild variable had shattered all his schemes.

While the heavenly court reeled in shock,

an even worse message was already en route to the heavens.

Two days later, the heavenly inspectors from the mortal realms sent urgent reports.

“Your Majesty! Across the Four Continents, rumors against the heavenly court now spread everywhere!”

“They claim the heavenly court is jealous of talent and deliberately suppresses mortal cultivators who ascend—saying the Great Sage was driven away by Your Majesty!”

“Now, scattered cultivators and demon clans are restless, while the Great Sage’s reputation among mortals soars!”

Each report struck the Jade Emperor like a ringing slap across the face.

He had planned a grand drama: “Subduing the Demon Monkey, Asserting Heavenly Authority.” Now, he himself had become the villain despised by all.

“Sun Wukong! Su Chen!”

The Jade Emperor gritted his teeth, spitting out those two names.

He leapt to his feet, pointing at the assembled gods, roaring: “Carry out my decree! Command General Li Jing to muster one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals, along with the Four Heavenly Kings, the Nine Luminaries, the Twenty-Eight Mansions—all commanders—to march at once. Level Huaguo Mountain, capture those two rebels, and bring them before me for judgment!”

Yet at that moment, the silent Laotzu slowly opened his eyes.

“Your Majesty, do not.”

Laotzu’s voice was ethereal and calm, yet carried an undeniable authority.

The Jade Emperor, still seething with rage, retorted: “Old Jun, why not? These two rebels have slandered the heavenly court—do we just let it go?”

“Sending troops now only confirms the rumors—exactly what those two want,” Laotzu said coolly. “For the sake of future matters, this must be handled with caution.”

Hearing this, the Jade Emperor, though furious, dared not defy Laotzu’s words.

He reluctantly abandoned the plan to attack Huaguo Mountain.