Chapter 537: Is That Exaggerated?

San Yue Qi climbs higher and higher, getting more tangled.

She sees Zong Mao Xiao Hou grafted with the arm of a deep‑brown little monkey, the price being a gradual loss of life.

She sees Zi Mao Xiao Hou being Corroded, its spirit on the brink of collapse.

She sees Yin Mao Xiao Hou using its own life to initiate a ritual, saving Zong Mao Xiao Hou.

She sees Jin Mao Xiao Hou disappear among the dissipating golden specks of light.

San Yue Qi hangs on the windowsill of the fortieth floor, suddenly feels her nose a little sour.

(Isn't... this Plot... actually kind of touching?)

(Even though it's Monkeys acting...)

She shakes her head, shakes off those inexplicable sentimental feelings, and continues climbing upward.

She sees Zong Mao Xiao Hou return alone to the dojo, continuing to cultivate.

The morning sun shines on her body; in a daze she seems to see on a distant hillside a Jin Mao Xiao Hou smiling at her.

San Yue Qi: "……"

(Isn't this the ending of that drama she just watched? Why is it playing again?)

(Are these Monkeys on a loop?)

She continues climbing.

Forty‑fourth floor.

This floor's scene has changed to Infinite Banana Realm.

Two Zong Mao Xiao Hou—one the one she saw earlier, the other with darker fur and more world‑worn eyes—are hacking at each other in a vast space.

The surroundings are filled with bananas, dense and thick, like a forest of bananas.

San Yue Qi squints.

(Is this... two identical Monkeys fighting?)

(Mirror match?)

Forty‑fifth floor.

A Jinse Chang Mao Xiao Hou wearing golden armor stands on a high place, laughing wildly.

Behind it countless golden ripples emerge, each ripple sprouting a banana—various bananas, long, short, thick, thin, all different shapes.

The corner of San Yue Qi's mouth twitches.

(This Monkey... could it be the Monkey version of Gold Shiny Shiny?)

She can't help but think of Sha Jin, then of the scene where he was hit like a baseball, and shivers.

Continue climbing.

The higher she goes, the heavier the scene becomes.

She sees Zi Mao Xiao Hou pushing a wheelchair, with a dazed Zong Mao Xiao Hou seated in it.

Cherry blossoms fall, Hong Yi Xiao Hou returns from afar, bringing exotic banana pastries.

Several Monkeys sit under a tree, sharing a rare moment of tranquility.

She sees Zong Mao Xiao Hou sitting alone on the porch of a villa, staring blankly, always feeling the familiar chopping sounds from the kitchen, but turning back there is only an empty room.

The banana trees bear fruit, but no Monkeys come to pick them anymore.

San Yue Qi hangs on the windowsill of the forty‑ninth floor, silent.

(This... this is a tragic ending...)

(These Monkeys... performed quite seriously...)

She inhales, discovers she actually feels like crying a little.

(No, no! Can't be moved by a monkey play! Too embarrassing!)

She jerks her head hard, ready to continue climbing—

Suddenly, she feels something behind her.

San Yue Qi whirls around.

Nothing.

Only a grayish sky and distant reversed signboards.

Yet the feeling of being watched lingers.

San Yue Qi shivers, speeds up her ascent.

Perspective shift.

A hand reaches out from a pile of rubble.

The hand still trembles, a golden weight on its finger coated in ash, still faintly glowing under the hazy light.

"Splash—"

Then the head.

Sha Jin crawls out of the rubble, a whole person with a gray head and dusty face, his splendid robe full of tears, a half‑withered branch stuck in his hat, sunglasses askew, a crack on the lens.

He sits on the ground, panting, his eyes hollow as he looks ahead.

His brain is still processing what just happened.

Being punched by Giant Monkey and sent flying—normal, he reacted.

Being hit by that Black Shadow like a baseball—also normal, he saw it.

But the problem is, between those two combo strikes, he had absolutely no chance to Counterattack.

Not a single chance.

"A bit... exaggerated, huh..."

Sha Jin mutters to themselves, voice hoarse like they just crawled out of a desert.

They lower their head to look at their hand; the golden weight is still there, but its glow has dimmed a lot.

They can feel that their power in this world has been suppressed too heavily—down to less than thirty percent of what it was.

Just a moment ago, they were a bit careless.

After all, when they were in Pinokanni, they were the man who had just faced Huang Quan head‑on.

Although the result was being split apart by a single slash, at least the momentum was there.

And now?

They were beaten into a club by two Monkeys that appeared from nowhere.

Sha Jin takes a deep breath, slowly stands up, moves their neck, and a "ka‑ka" sound rings out.

Their ribs ache faintly, but fortunately they are not broken.

The golden Barrier on their body blocked most of the damage at the crucial moment; otherwise they wouldn't be standing here now but embedded in the wall waiting for someone to chip them out.

Sha Jin sighs.

"Next time I'll be more careful," they mutter.

Then they begin to tidy themselves up.

First they pluck the dead branches off the hat.

They pat the ash off the robe—though the more they pat, the dirtier it gets.

They straighten the sunglasses— the cracked seam lines up perfectly with the right eye, making everything look with a strange fissure.

Finally they pull out the small mirror they always carry and glance at it.

It's acceptable.

Though disheveled, at least they still look like a person.

Sha Jin puts the mirror away, about to find a direction to leave—

they stop.

A person stands before them.

No, not a person—it's a Heroic Spirit.

Jet‑black armor covers the whole body, its edges traced with blood‑red patterns, fierce and eerie.

Platinum‑colored hair peeks out from a slit, a black mask covers the face, hiding the upper half.

They hold a jet‑black sword in their hand, crimson light flowing along the blade.

Black Saber.

Sha Jin does not recognize it.

But they can feel that aura—identical to the Black Shadow that just treated them like a baseball.

Sha Jin's mouth twitches.

Black Saber does not move, just stands there quietly, as if staring at them.

That gaze is so cold it makes the back shiver, like looking at trash about to be dealt with.

Sha Jin draws a deep breath, forces a smile onto their face.

"Miss, is there some misunderstanding between us?"

Black Saber says nothing.

They only raise the sword.

The sword is entirely jet‑black, its edges flowing with blood‑red patterns, dark ominous mist coiling around the blade.

Their sword‑raising motion is slow, as if giving Sha Jin time.

Sha Jin's mouth twitches.

"So, does this mean you want to fight?"

Black Saber still gives no answer.

They simply lift the sword even higher.

The next second—

Sword slash!

Jet‑black sword light sweeps across like a flayed horse, cracking the ground and scattering stones wherever it passes!

Sha Jin's pupils contract, golden light instantly condenses in front of them!

"Ding—!!!"

The sword light slashes the golden Barrier, emitting a harsh metallic clang!

The shockwave spreads outward, flinging all the surrounding stones into the air!

Sha Jin is knocked back three steps, leaving two deep footprints on the ground they stepped on.

(This force… is even stronger than those two just now?!)