Chapter 111: Master

"Dog, only a dog needs a master."

The Bodhi Patriarch's voice was very light, very faint.

Yet it was like the first thunder that split the heavens and earth, striking fiercely and shattering all the cold and Deathly Silence of this divine realm!

Yao's eyes widened suddenly, almost unable to believe her own ears!

What did she hear?

Bodhi Supreme… he actually said that the supreme Pantheon Lord… is…

No!

He wasn't talking about the Pantheon Lord!

He was saying that all Living Beings who choose to submit, who are caged, are dogs!

And he, will not be a dog!

The Pantheon Lord's body, composed of countless logical runes, at this moment experienced an unprecedented violent fluctuation!

【Error!】

【Logical judgment… Error!】

【Variable "Void", your choice will cause your existence to be completely formatted!】

In the cold voice, for the first time, a hint of an emotion called "anger" appeared!

He is the ultimate order!

His granting of the divine position is a supreme blessing!

This tiny variable actually dared… to refuse?!

Still dares to speak insolently!

The Bodhi Patriarch was too lazy even to glance at him again.

He turned, looked at the still somewhat bewildered Sun Wukong, and a gentle Smile appeared on his face.

"Wukong."

He spoke softly.

"Now the Master asks you."

"Back then on Mount Huaguo, you lived in silk and jade, with monkeys and your own monkey grandchildren at your knee, carefree as an immortal—why did you still set out to sea to seek the sages?"

Sun Wukong was startled and instinctively replied, "To… achieve immortality, to leap beyond the Three Realms, and not be governed by that old Yama!"

"Well said."

The Bodhi Patriarch nodded and asked again.

"Then you attained immortality, became a Great Sage, equal to Heaven—why did you still cause a ruckus in the Heavenly Palace, assaulting the Lingxiao Treasure Hall?"

Sun Wukong stuck out his neck, recalling the old grievance, and shouted angrily:

"'That old Jade Emperor is too oppressive! He gave me the title of Assistant of the Horses, just to look down on old Sun Wukong! I won't submit!'"

"Yes, that's exactly this 'Unyielding'!"

The Bodhi Patriarch's Smile grew even brighter.

"Then on your journey west along the Xi Xing Lu, after enduring ninety‑nine trials, subduing demons and monsters, you finally reached Ling Shan, sealed the Warrior Buddha, why did you then smash the Da Lei Yin Si?"

"'That Tathagata bald donkey is utterly hypocritical! He spouts righteousness, yet his belly is full of male thieves and female prostitutes! Old Sun Wukong can't stand him!'"

That Tathagata bald donkey, utterly hypocritical! Mouth full of benevolence and righteousness, belly full of male thieves and female prostitutes! I, Old Monkey, find him displeasing!

The Bodhi Patriarch clapped his hands and laughed heartily, rolling with laughter!

"What a perfect reason to dislike him!"

"Wukong, oh Wukong!"

He walked up to Sun Wukong, patted his disciple's shoulder, and his eyes held unprecedented satisfaction and pride.

"From a stone to today, what have you relied on?"

"It's not some damn divine throne, nor some hypocritical Buddha fruit position!"

"What you rely on is that fire in your bones, the part that no one looks down upon, that no one dares to strike; even the Heavenly King Laozi comes, and you'll yank a few of his beard hairs… Unyielding!"

"This is truly your Dao!"

"This is the true 'Equal Heaven'!"

The Bodhi Patriarch's voice, each word a piercing strike, like evening drums and morning bells, hammered fiercely upon Sun Wukong's Divine Soul!

Indeed!

When will old Sun Wukong ever need someone else to confer honors?

Was the title Equal Heaven Great Sage bestowed by the Jade Emperor?

When have I, Old Monkey, ever needed someone else to bestow a title upon me?

It was forged by old Sun Wukong himself!

Was the Warrior Buddha's fruit position granted by the Tathagata?

Nonsense!

It was earned by old Sun Wukong, one strike after another, subduing demons and monsters!

Whatever I want, I take myself!

Whoever dares block the way, I smash them with a stick!

When will it ever be someone's turn, perched high above, to point fingers at me and claim they 'bestowed' something?

Let him become a god?

When will it ever be that someone else, lofty and high, points fingers at me and says something like "bestowed"?

Make him a god?

To be a "God of War" who obeys orders, being used as a tool by others?

How is that any different from back then when Heaven recruited him and sent him to watch the horses?!

It's just that the stables got a little bigger!

The fodder got a little better!

But in the end, he's still a damn beast, a livestock being led by its master by the nose!

"I… understand!"

The bewilderment in Sun Wukong's eyes, at this moment, completely fades away!

In its place is a golden blaze that is more radiant and hotter than ever before!

His Dao Heart, which wavered due to temptation, under the Master's enlightenment,

not only does it not shatter, but it is forged into an unprecedented purity and resolve!

He thrust his head up sharply, gaping his mouth, revealing a set of stark white fangs,

and let out a wild laugh that shook the entire divine realm, aimed at the lofty Pantheon Lord!

"Hehe… Hahaha!"

"Be a god?"

"Or be a dog that bites for you?"

He points the Golden Cudgel at his own chest, and that unbridled arrogance surges skyward once again!

"Listen up!"

"I am the Handsome Monkey King of Dongsheng Shenzhou, Aolai Kingdom, Mount Huaguo, Water Curtain Cave!"

"Also, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who disturbed Heaven and Earth and wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace!"

"And moreover, the Fighting Victory Buddha who smashed Ling Shan with a single strike and killed the Tathagata!"

"My title is self‑earned!"

"My path is self‑walked!"

Finally, he points the Golden Cudgel far toward the Pantheon Lord, each word squeezing out as if from between his teeth.

"Want me, Old Sun, to be your dog?"

"You!"

"Even worthy?!"