Chapter 126: Master's Backhand, the Final Assignment

Hongjun Daozu's shock, Sun Wukong ignored it.

All his mind and spirit at this moment were focused on the tiny "snowflake sphere" before him.

Yao also leaned in, her face full of astonishment.

"Wukong, what is this?"

She extended her hand, seeming to want to touch it.

But her fingertip, three inches away from the "world bubble", was gently repelled by an invisible force.

"Strange…"

Yao furrowed her brows and tried again.

She activated her Illusion Dream Law, attempting to permeate it with her own Dao.

However, as soon as that dreamlike power approached, the world bubble's barrier shattered it, leaving no trace.

She examined it carefully.

"The law of this thing is so strange."

"It is completely different from our current world."

"Its rules… are old and stubborn."

"It feels like… like an ancient relic from the previous era, forced into a new world."

She thought for a while and gave an analogy.

"Exactly! Like a software that should have been discarded long ago, yet forced to run on a brand‑new system!"

"Everywhere there are bugs, everywhere there are incompatibilities."

"Its very existence is a miracle."

Sun Wukong said nothing.

He merely, slowly, extended his hand.

His movement was slow, and the Chaos Realm around his fingertip showed no ripple.

His fingertip, unhindered, gently touched that seemingly fragile barrier.

Buzz—!

In an instant.

Countless images, long sealed deep in his memory, surged into his mind like a tide!

Mount Huaguo, Water Curtain Cave, the sweet scent of ripe celestial peaches lingering at his nostrils.

The Eastern Sea Dragon Palace, the cold pressure of the sea water and the heavy feel of the Tiěbàng in his hand.

Above the Nine Heavens, before Nan Tian Men, the boastful roars of Heavenly Soldiers.

The Netherblood Sea, beside the Wheel of Reincarnation, the cold ink marks on the Book of Life and Death.

…

And the Xi Xing Lu, with obstacle after obstacle, demon after demon.

Madam White Bone's scattered mournful bones.

Below Golden Cap Mountain, the bizarre circle that left him helpless.

In Lion‑Camel Ridge, the soaring demonic aura and endless bloodshed.

Ninety‑nine, eighty‑one tribulations, not a single one missing.

Everything, everything was so familiar.

Familiar enough to give him a fleeting daze.

As if he were still that fearless, mischievous monkey.

As if he had never left.

But.

He also knew clearly.

It was different.

Everything had weakened far too much.

In his memory, the Buddha Patriarch's massive palm that once could crush his spine now felt as light as a feather.

In his memory, the golden headband that once bound him tightly now transmitted a law power as fragile as a sheet of tissue paper.

The countless deities that once pressed him to the point of suffocation now seemed as weak as ants in his eyes.

The once boundless mountains and rivers now appeared to him as merely a bonsai within a palm.

Everything had been shrunk, reduced by countless levels.

He understood.

He fully understood.

This is not an illusion.

It is Master…

It is Master, at the final moment his body turned to void, using his last strength to forcibly preserve from the ruins of the old world…

A fragment, a piece of the Three Realms!

Was it to leave a memory for himself?

The thought flashed through Sun Wukong's mind.

Immediately, he shook his head again.

No.

Master never does things half‑heartedly, and never becomes so sentimental.

He did this; he certainly has his deep intention.

Is...

Sun Wukong's gaze pierced the wall of the world bubble, no longer a vague perception.

His gaze precisely fell upon that Ling Shan, its golden light dim.

He saw it.

He saw the Buddha Patriarch sitting cross‑legged on the Liántái, solemn and smiling.

Only the myriad‑zhang Buddha light, in his eyes, dimmed like a candle in the wind.

His gaze then turned to Dongsheng Shenzhou, to Mount Huaguo.

He saw another "himself", enjoying the monkeys' worship, full of vigor.

Only that unruly arrogance, in his view, was mere show, laughably frivolous.

Sun Wukong's mouth corner slowly split, revealing a row of icy white teeth.

So that's how it is.

It was left for him as the final "homework"!

Sun Wukong gazed upon this tiny Three Realms.

The sense of emptiness that had been hard‑pressed down in his heart was, at this moment, completely replaced by a brand‑new emotion.

Finished!

Yes.

New grudge, repaid.

Pantheon Lord, that behind‑the‑scenes black hand, has already paid the price in the most stifling way.

But the old score remains unpaid!

That one, seated high on the Liántái, with a single phrase "true or false", stole his lifelong Buddha Patriarch.

That one, bearing his name, enjoying his glory, occupying the "shadow" of his karma!

They are still in here!

They are still in this, the "homework notebook" specially retained by Master!

Sun Wukong withdrew his hand.

He turned his head to Yao beside him and spoke calmly.

"Yao, wait for me here."

That voice had not a ripple; its calm made Yao shiver for no reason.

"Old Sun, I'll go and come back quickly."

Yao staggered a moment, then nodded heavily.

She knew this was Sun Wukong's personal battle.

Her going would only be superfluous.

Sun Wukong turned back, once again gazing at the world bubble.

This time he did not use his hand to touch it.

Nor did he use brute force to tear it open.

That would be too crude.

Also too disrespectful of the final "gift" left by Master.

He activated the overbearing, unruly Equal Heaven Great Dao within his body.

The black‑gold Dao Rhythm spread like liquid mercury, instantly covering the surface of the world bubble.

That black‑gold Dao Rhythm did not intrude; it merely flowed gently, measuring every inch of this ancient land's boundary.

He was searching.

Searching for a backdoor that Master had specially left for him.

Soon.

A hint of understanding appeared on his face.

Found it.

In the lowest corner of the world bubble, an inconspicuous spot.

His black‑gold Dao Rhythm flowed over like a tide, except there, where there was an absolute Blank.

There was a tiny loophole at odds with the world's laws.

That loophole exhaled a scent he knew all too well.

That was Bodhi Patriarch's Void Dao.

It is the end where all things return to stillness, and also the entrance where all things begin.

Sun Wukong waved at Yao, a gesture of farewell.

Then he stepped forward.

His form did not rend space, nor cause any energy fluctuation.

Thus, lightly and easily, like a drop of water merging into the sea.

Merging into that loophole.

In an instant, he vanished from Yao's sight.