At forty-two, Sun Wukong single-handedly battled the Seven Sages of Meishan.

At this moment, Sun Wukong had already fought three hundred rounds against the Erlang God and the six brothers of Meishan. Though he stood alone against seven, the more he fought, the fiercer he became; while the seven from Meishan grew increasingly alarmed, their weapons felt heavier in their hands, and they feared they would not last much longer before defeat overtook them. Their hearts were filled with shock and dread—how had this monkey’s powers grown so many times stronger than before?

They thought back to five hundred years ago when Erlang Shen, Yang Jian, had fought Sun Wukong single-handedly, holding him at bay, even gaining the upper hand at times. Who could have foreseen that, five centuries later, Erlang Shen would be unable to match him, even with the help of his six brothers? Now, their arms were numb, their movements sluggish, no longer as smooth and effortless as at the start.

“Erlang Shen, my dear grandson-in-law! After a few years apart, you’ve grown weak!” Sun Wukong spun his golden-banded staff with wild abandon, its sound like the wind, its force like thunder, each strike aimed at their vital points, tormenting them bitterly.

“Sun Wukong, what’s come over you? Why are you making trouble for me for no reason?” Erlang Shen gritted his teeth, struggling to hold out, but called out anxiously.

“Enough chatter! If I don’t beat the stuffing out of you today, I’ll take your surname!” Seeing that Erlang Shen and his brothers were gasping for breath, Sun Wukong knew they could no longer withstand him. He silently invoked a secret spell, and from his left palm summoned the Invincible Brick, hurling it at Erlang Shen with a low shout: “Take this!”

“What?!” Erlang Shen’s sharp eyes saw a green light flashing toward him and quickly ducked, but the brick struck Guo Shen, who was behind him, squarely on the forehead. With a scream, Guo Shen tumbled from the clouds.

“Fifth Brother!” Kang Anyu cried out, brandishing his crescent-moon spade and charging at Sun Wukong in a rage.

“My boy, you can go down too!” Sun Wukong didn’t even look at Kang Anyu. With a sweep of his staff, he struck him in the chest and sent him plunging from the clouds.

“Big Brother!” Zhang Boshi, Yao Gonglin, Zhi Jian, and Li Huanzhang all shouted in alarm. Seeing their eldest and fifth brothers wounded, they grew desperate, grabbed their weapons, and rushed at Sun Wukong, only to be knocked down one after another by his “Dog-Beating Sweep.”

“Sun Wukong! I have no quarrel with you, yet you harm my brothers one after another!” Erlang Shen, gripping his three-pointed double-edged blade, pointed at Sun Wukong and shouted, “This is intolerable! Today, you’ll pay with your life!”

“Heh! My dear grandson-in-law! I’ve only wounded a few of your brothers, and already you want my life?” Sun Wukong met Erlang Shen’s murderous glare without flinching and sneered. “Yet you slaughtered forty-seven thousand of my monkey kin from Flower-Fruit Mountain—how you must have enjoyed the killing and the burning!”

“What?!” Erlang Shen had just been about to attack Sun Wukong with all his might when these words stopped him short. Shocked, he asked, “Sun Wukong, is this why you’ve come?”

“An eye for an eye, a life for a life! What you suffered was just interest; next, I’ll smash your temple and destroy your primordial spirit!”

“Sun Wukong! The Flower-Fruit Mountain affair was an imperial decree from Heaven. Why do you lay all the blame at my feet? And besides, your monkeys are just common earthly creatures—how can they compare to us celestial gods?” Erlang Shen shouted in anger.

“Yang Jian, curse your mother!” Since the day Sun Wukong had regained his true self at the grave of Bai Jingjing on Flower-Fruit Mountain, he had cast off his former submissive, obedient self, no longer the well-behaved Monkey King on the pilgrimage. Pointing at Erlang Shen, he cursed, “So your brothers’ lives matter, but the lives of my monkey kin do not? Did you learn such twisted logic in bed with your aunt?”

“Monkey King! Watch your tongue!” Erlang Shen flushed red with fury at Sun Wukong’s insult to the Queen Mother and shouted, raising his three-pointed blade to strike.

“What, you want to play this game?” Sun Wukong dodged aside, summoned the Invincible Brick with his left hand, and struck back. The green light flashed, and in his rage, Erlang Shen failed to evade in time—his third eye was struck directly by the divine brick.

“Aaah!” With his celestial eye injured, Erlang Shen could bear it no longer and plummeted headfirst toward the ground.

“Die!” Sun Wukong, knowing full well to strike while the iron was hot, saw his chance to finish Erlang Shen and would not let it slip away. Gathering the dark clouds, he reversed his grip on the golden staff and chased after Erlang Shen, ready to deliver the final blow.

But just then, there was a thunderous boom; a sword of azure light, a Primal Pearl Umbrella, and two golden whips appeared, blocking Sun Wukong’s staff. It was the Four Heavenly Kings: Mo Liqing, Mo Lishou, and Mo Lihai, with the remaining King, Mo Lihong, standing aside, plucking his pipa to disrupt Sun Wukong’s mind. “Great Sage, you must not act rashly!”

“So, the Four Heavenly Kings! Do you dare stand in the way of my vengeance?” Sun Wukong sneered. With another wave, the Invincible Brick split into four streams of green light, swiftly knocking all four Heavenly Kings aside.

“Erlang Shen, today I will have your life! Not even the Buddha can save you now!” Sun Wukong’s eyes blazed, black mist billowing from his body; his cloud, once radiant, was now shrouded in gloom as he pursued Erlang Shen relentlessly.

“Great Sage, stop!” The five Meishan brothers, seeing Sun Wukong almost upon them, threw themselves before Erlang Shen, shouting in unison.

“Out of my way!” Sun Wukong’s staff grew thicker and longer, and he brought it crashing down on all six of the Meishan brothers, Erlang Shen included.

“Impudent monkey, cease this instant!” From the sky came a voice, warm and gentle, and a flash of golden light. In an instant, Sun Wukong’s staff vanished from his grasp.

“Who dares stop me?!” Sun Wukong, bereft of his staff, roared to the heavens, his killing intent scattering the clouds for ten thousand miles.

“Bind!” Suddenly, a golden rope dropped from the sky, swift as lightning, coiling around Sun Wukong and binding him tightly, leaving him powerless.

“Seal!” Next, a crimson-gold gourd appeared, its pointed mouth aimed at Sun Wukong. A mighty suction drew him into its belly.

“Thank you, Elder Lord!” The Four Heavenly Kings and the five Meishan brothers, recognizing the intervention of the Supreme Elder, quickly rose and bowed deeply toward the sky.

“I have two Nine-Turn Golden Pills that can restore the dead to life. Quickly, administer them to True Lord Manifested Glory and General Guo Shen!”

Kang Anyu caught the pills and quickly fed them to the unconscious Erlang Shen and the fallen Guo Shen. In moments, radiant light shone forth, and the two men groaned and slowly regained consciousness.

“Elder Lord, please allow us to take the Monkey King to the Hall of Supreme Harmony for the Jade Emperor’s judgment!” The Four Heavenly Kings, seeing the Elder Lord about to depart, hurried after him, blocking his path.

“Go and report to His Majesty. I’ll take this troublemaking monkey away myself!” The Elder Lord revealed his form amid the clouds, spoke lightly, and, pocketing the crimson-gold gourd, soared beyond the thirty-three heavens.

“Is this…acceptable?” Mo Lihong looked uncertainly at his three brothers.

“Whether it is or not, it must be.” Mo Liqing waved his hand, saying, “The Patriarch has spoken; it’s not our place to interfere. Let’s return to the Hall of Supreme Harmony and report to the Jade Emperor at once.”

“So be it!” Mo Lihong nodded, and with the other Heavenly Kings, rode the clouds toward the Southern Heavenly Gate.

“What’s gotten into that monkey today? He even dared nearly kill True Lord Erlang!” On the way, Mo Lihai, who had been silent, finally exclaimed.

“Isn’t that why he’s called the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?” Mo Lishou shook his head and sighed. “Still, it’s a pity about my Fire-Repelling Shield—it’s lost for good now.”

“Is this really the time to worry about your shield?” Mo Lihong rebuked him. “The Jade Emperor’s mightiest warrior was nearly slain by the Monkey King. I doubt the Emperor will let this go lightly!”

“And what of it? The Patriarch himself has captured the monkey. Would the Jade Emperor dare to seize him from the Patriarch’s hands?” Mo Liqing was skeptical.

“That’s not certain…” Mo Lihong shook his head and lowered his voice. “In the past, Taoism held supremacy in Heaven, and the Jade Emperor wouldn’t have said a word…but now, with the Western Paradise using the previous suppression of the Monkey King as a pretext to settle into Heaven, do you really think they didn’t have the Jade Emperor’s approval?”

“Indeed… I found it odd, back when the Monkey King caused havoc in Heaven—so many gods, yet the Jade Emperor looked far and wide, summoning the Buddha from the West to subdue him…”

Mo Lishou trailed off as the Southern Heavenly Gate came into view. He dared not say more. Together with the other Heavenly Kings, he entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony, where they recounted all that had transpired at Guankou River to the Jade Emperor…