Chapter 477 - 477 (1/2)
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”And so, in the end, it has happened this way.”
Master Subhuti raised his teacup.
He quietly closed his eyes and savored the tea's taste. Below him, and all around him, was a sea of pure-white clouds acting as comfortable cushions.
However, he wasn't the only god sitting on the clouds at the moment. He was accompanied by none other than his teacher, and they had been observing the events of the mundane world below for some time now.
”Which direction will the universe flow now that the Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven has ascended?”
It was Buddha.
Subhuti put the teacup down and opened his eyes. The Buddha before his eyes looked quite unlike the version that Sun Wukong encountered so, so many years ago, with a much smaller and frailer figure.
Not even Subhuti knew which one was the real Buddha's body, however. No matter how proficient he was with Insight, he was still unable to find out the truth.
No one among the Five Godly Sages managed to figure it out, either.
Subhuti spoke up first, ”Whether the eldest will be absent from the upcoming war or become an even more invaluable strength for us after his ascension, the choice he makes from this moment on will be crucial.”
”Even before he ascended, he was an invaluable war potential.”
”Even so, master, now that he has ascended, is he not the perfect candidate to take over my role? He is far better suited for the role than my aged and sick self at any measure.”
Subhuti was diseased and had significantly weakened. If he wished to stop the process of getting old over time, he could've done so at any time he wished, but Subhuti chose not to.
He wanted his existence to disappear along with the flow of time eventually. As such, he didn't prevent his given lifespan from running out and patiently waited for his clock to reach its end.
And when that day comes, a spot within the Five Godly Sages, the one occupied by Master Subhuti, would become vacant.
”The eldest will surely do an excellent job, master. If it's him, he certainly is more than good enough to be called one of the Five Godly Sages, after all.”
”That is indeed true...”
Buddha used his frail, thin hand to lift his teacup.
The tea's surface reflected the figure of the Bull Demon King leaning his shoulder against a certain woman.
How long did it take them to meet again like this?
Their love began at the birth of the universe, and as the end of the universe loomed, they met each other once more.
Not only were the Bull Demon King's patience and suffering worthy of respect, but even the woman's perseverance in waiting for this long demanded great respect from the others as well.
”There would never be another love as deep as theirs in this universe. I am not keen on disrupting their time together,” said Buddha.
”But for the sake of their love, we need the eldest's aid, master.”
”Meaning, we must not be lost in the small picture but focus on the big picture instead?”
”It's only this disciple's wish, master.”
”Hmm...” Buddha then finished the tea in one go.
His incredibly parched throat felt clogged and tight. There was the event of the impending death of his disciple with whom he had spent a truly immeasurable length of time. Still, he was deeply concerned about the turbulent times ahead for the universe after Subhuti's death.
Only the Bull Demon King seemed to be the suitable candidate to fill the void. But that didn't mean they could request or even demand him to take over Subhuti's role.
Right now, he looked to be the happiest man in the universe.
”What will we do from now on?”
Since they probably couldn't request the Bull Demon King directly for a while, they needed to proceed while assuming that the Yogoe would not be playing any further part.
Subhuti pondered on something for a little while at Buddha's question before he replied, ”Lord Zeus is currently searching for Lord Brahma.”
”That's not going to be an easy task.”
”As for my target... it will have to be Osiris.”
Osiris was one of the Three Destroyers, an existence referred to as the king of Predators.
If Shiva were left out of the equation, he would be the strongest and most significant Predator alive. If they could hunt down and kill someone like that, then the war could very well unfold more advantageously for them.
Buddha asked again, ”Are you planning to fight him?”
”No, master. It will be impossible for my current abilities. No, wait—even back in my heyday, I still wouldn't be able to do anything to Osiris.”
”Indeed. He's not alone, after all.”
Osiris possessed an army. Not just any army either, but one boasting a scale several times greater than the one found in the Dark Realm.
Subhuti alone was simply not strong enough to do anything to someone like that.
”That's why I'm thinking of powering him up, master,” Subhuti replied, then shifted his gaze over to the surface of his tea. The clear liquid was currently reflecting the scene of Su-hyeun sparring with Sun Wukong. ”So that he becomes strong enough to battle Osiris.”
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Even after the Bull Demon King ascended, the daily lives of Sun Wukong and the Roc Demon King didn't change much.
Sun Wukong would be munching on grass for the whole day, while the Roc Demon King had chosen to return to the village. As for Su-hyeun, he decided to act as the Monkey King's sparring partner by wielding a copy of Ruyi Jingu Bang that a clone used.
During the sparring sessions, Sun Wukong looked excited. He didn't seem to be under some duress or anything like that while going about his daily activities, either.
”What a relief,” Su-hyeun thought.
Su-hyeun put the copy of Ruyi Jingu Bang down and plopped down on the ground.
The sparring proved to be rather challenging. The most apparent reason for that was the polearm's weight. It was surprisingly heavy.
”I still can't get used to it.”
”What, you mean Ruyi Jingu Bang?”
”Yes. It's not so heavy that I can't pick it up and swing it around, but to swing around something this heavy without much problem is a bit—”
”Even so, you seemed pretty good with it, you know?”
”Precisely controlling it is still difficult, Third Brother. And imitating you to spin this staff around with one hand or changing its trajectory mid-swing is completely out of the question for me.”
”That can't be the issue with your physical strength, though. Hmm... I'm sure it's because of the difference in weight from your normal weapon. I mean, honestly, you and I don't have much difference in physical strength.”
Sun Wukong was stupidly strong. He freely wielded Ruyi Jingu Bang even back when he first met Su-hyeun, after all.
However, the current Su-hyeun was not weaker than Sun Wukong in terms of pure physical strength. No, wait—he was slightly stronger in reality.
Even so, he still found controlling Ruyi Jingu Bang incredibly difficult because he was pretty unfamiliar with deploying his powers efficiently for a weapon that heavy.
”Even back in the past as Cheon Mu-jin, I never wielded a weapon this heavy.”
This fact remained true even after combing through Su-hyeun's previous life as Kim Sung-in.
In the case of Cheon Mu-jin, his level in martial arts was so incredibly advanced that he could perform heavenly techniques like ”Blooming Flower Substitution” or the ”Art of Redirecting Force.”
However, the difference in the weapon's weight, in this case, was on another much more ridiculous level altogether. If it was simply the matter of using weaker force to manipulate or deflect the greater force, then sure, that seemed doable. But to deal with Ruyi Jingu Bang's massive weight, an item initially meant to measure the depth of the ocean floors, one required a great deal of effort to master the necessary skillset.
”So how about it? You think you can handle it?”