To earn the admiration of the entire martial world. On behalf of all warriors under heaven, Zuohua congratulates you, my lord, on reaching the pinnacle!"
Lu Yinghua's skill at reading people was truly at its peak. Seeing Seiya's raised eyebrow, he immediately composed himself, reining in his sharpness, determined not to steal the spotlight again.
As his Hime-Miko, Ena Seishuin asked the crucial question, "Then, did you slay the Heretic Great Sage Equaling Heaven, and what of the Martial King from the Western Continent?"
"The former saw things were going badly and fled. I fear he's gone to recover his strength and… call for reinforcements. As for the latter, she used her Divine Foot Movement to escape at the last moment."
Seiya looked at the ravaged battlefield before him, a slight ache in his head.
"When Erica arrives, I'll leave the cleanup to her. As for this Young Master Lu and that Hime-Miko of yours whose body is so frequently possessed by gods, I'll leave them for you to handle."
Then, the Saint who had consecutively defeated several Heretic Gods took a step forward. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from sight.
In a flash of lightning, the day's solar eclipse appeared like a sacrificial rite in Luo Hao's mind, revealing a corner of the future. Cosmos flared, meteors streaked across the sky, annihilating the battlefield before her…
The hidden Child of Steel, the prelude to the final battle… Once again, Luo Hao had glimpsed a fragment of the near and distant future.
Though her compatriot named Seiya was indeed as powerful as the rumors claimed, this had instead forced her Godslayer constitution to an unprecedented peak, fully unleashing her Steel Authority!
"One force to subdue ten masters, one power to suppress ten techniques! One leg with the might of a thousand jun, one foot to decide the fate of heaven and earth!"
Majestic words of power burst forth from the Cult Master's lips! A searing aura rose from her shoulders, coalescing into the form Seiya had witnessed not long ago: the Dharma Body of a Benevolent King, shining with the golden light of a Buddha!
The Vajra Warrior—and this time, there were two of them!
Authority—Divine Skill of the Mighty Vajra! This was the supreme power Luo Hao had usurped after defeating the twin Buddhist guardians, the Vajra of Manifested Traces and the Adamantine King of Narayana!
The Benevolent Kings were originally two bodies of a single entity, forming a complete godhead. At the Great South Gate of Tōdai-ji, it is these two who stand guard on the left and right.
This Authority granted her the brute strength to shake heaven and earth. Even Luo Hao's own thousand-times-tempered body could not fully bear this power; thus, she needed to manifest avatars to bring this "absolute strongest" brute force to its zenith!
This was, at present, the world's strongest and most versatile Steel Authority! Externally, it could unleash a torrent of golden particles imbued with vajra power; internally, it could enhance her own strength and resilience; it could even manifest as golden armor or as an independent avatar!
"Hmph!"
"Ha!"
A sacred Buddhist rhythm shook the earth and resonated through the air!
The twin Benevolent Kings that manifested on either side of Luo Hao were like two towering golden mountains. They strode forward with steps that shattered the void!
The muscles on their bare golden torsos bulged, their bones creaking! Their eyes were wide with fury, their faces contorted into masks of Prajñā, and they formed the Buddhist mudra of fearlessness against the approaching torrent of destruction.
But in the next instant, the strongest brute force suffered a complete rout.
This absolute defense, which should have been able to withstand the meteors, had now met its nemesis. The golden meteors transformed into a blinding golden light, and the destructive concept of the Boar was simultaneously attached to them.
The Vajra Dharma forms shattered inch by inch, the phantoms of the Benevolent Kings disintegrating with a sorrowful wail! And the remaining golden meteors, carrying the overwhelming momentum to crush everything, hurtled towards Luo Hao's own body!
A dazzling light swallowed everything, and countless tiny silver serpents danced wildly in the sky! The shockwave caused the entire palace complex to sink, and the scattered light still rushed out in all directions.
"Such a stubborn woman."
Seiya's pale face showed undisguised mockery towards Luo Hao.
"You can clearly glimpse your own future, yet you still stubbornly try to shatter that predetermined possibility with your own two hands?"
But Seiya was in no position to talk. After all, if one wasn't a stubborn fool, one couldn't become a Godslayer.
But among the seven stubborn fools, Luo Hao was the least flexible. Even that monkey, who courted disaster, had turned into a wisp of green smoke and vanished without a trace when he saw things going south, using Luo Hao as a shield to cover his escape.
At that moment, two figures sped over from the distance. The first to arrive was surprisingly that disciple of the Martial Saint—Lu Yinghua!
He collapsed as if a golden mountain had toppled or a jade pillar had fallen, kneeling on the ground with a "thud." His face showed no shame; on the contrary, he was full of spirits as he proclaimed in a loud voice:
"Witnessing Your Majesty's battle with my master was like watching the sun and moon contend in splendor, a display of infinite mysteries! Your Majesty's ability to overcome such a powerful foe has truly broadened my horizons! I offer my congratulations; your power has truly reached the sublime!"
"With words like that, aren't you afraid your master will return and skin you alive?"
Seiya finally showed a hint of a smile, genuinely curious how Luo Hao had raised such a disciple, one who could deliver flattery with such righteous force.
"My master's divine might has always been something I have looked up to. That Your Majesty could fight and defeat her leaves me even more stunned and utterly convinced. Such divine skill, a single somersault covering one hundred and eight thousand li—if that were all, the Somersault Cloud technique could hardly be called the foremost art of flight between heaven and earth. The key is—how many somersaults can one turn in a single breath? Even if Sun Wukong can now circle the planet dozens of times in an instant, he can no longer, as in his prime, soar to the Ninth Heaven with a single somersault and implore the Jade Emperor, the Star Lords of the Heavens, the Four Duty Gods, and the Five Directional Guardians to descend to the mortal realm and vanquish demons. Oh, it's not that he can't, but at the very least… he must wait until his divine powers are fully restored before he can leap out of this world and reach the fabled divine realm of the Heavenly Court."
Sun Wukong wandered through the mountain forest like a carefree monkey. The damp, fragrant scent of the grass rose up, and Sun Wukong found this scent very familiar, as if it reminded him of something. But that feeling was like the scent itself; you felt it was there, yet it was nowhere to be found.
Sun Wukong walked through the woods, his feet on a soft carpet of fallen leaves and vines. He thought for a moment, then kicked off his boots, his bare feet stepping onto the damp, mixed soil.
A cool sensation traveled up from the soles of his feet, as if the earth beneath him were alive. The small blades of grass gently tickled the arches of his feet.
A smile appeared on Sun Wukong's face. He suddenly did a somersault, his hands touching the ground, feeling the warmth of the soil.
The tender grass was like the soft fur of a small beast.
Sun Wukong did another somersault, this time throwing himself onto his back. But the earth held him so carefully.
The grounds of the Western Heaven Palace were all cold, hard tiles, while the road to the west was all mud. Why had he spent so much time in those places?
Sun Wukong lay on the ground, the scent of green grass rushing into his seven orifices. He began to feel an itch all over his body.
He leaped up, tore off his clothes, and began to jump and shout with abandon, naked in the jungle.
Until he grew tired and lay on the ground, feeling his body merging with the grassy earth.
A ray of golden light shot towards the Dipper Mansion. Sun Wukong's Fiery Golden Eyes were restored, but even so, his sight could only reach the planet's outer space and the Astral World. Although he startled many spirits and demons, he found no one familiar.
"This old monkey seems to smell the aura of that Li family brat… and the scent of Yang Jian from the mouth of the Guan River…"
Sun Wukong suddenly remembered something.
"Hmph, distant water can't quench a nearby thirst! In the end, I'll still have to rely on my old comrades!"
But before that, he wasn't in a great hurry. In any case, there was no Tang Monk waiting for him to save, so he could very well first have a good, long sleep.
As for those minions he had transformed with his divine power, that could also wait until after he woke up.
In October, Lake Chūzenji was gently embraced by red mountains, their forests ablaze with color. Restaurants and souvenir shops lined the lake, interspersed with hotels and inns; this was the famous Chūzenji Onsen village. Legend had it that in the dead of winter, monkeys from the mountains would even come down to bathe with the people.
However, at this moment, this land was undergoing a bizarre transformation. Monkeys appeared, and not just one or two.
Eee!
Thieving monkeys were being beaten by gangs of other monkeys wielding clubs… The place had completely become a kingdom of monkeys.
What was more unsettling was that the size and strength of these monkeys were rapidly increasing over time! Many could already perform demonic arts similar to the sorcery of the Western Continent! To subdue them would require the Onmyo Agency to dispatch a large number of elite Onmyoji.
But with the arrival of one person, these minions who originally belonged to the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong, quickly began to turn traitor. They even split into different factions, turning to suppress the very brothers who were once their compatriots.
But one person's arrival instantly turned the tables. Those monkey minions who were originally loyal to the Great Sage Equaling Heaven began to defect on a massive scale! They split into different factions, viciously suppressing their former "compatriots."
"This is the charm of my person. All things will eventually bow before my skirt."
The only one who could speak with such a tone was the love goddess, Stella. Her Majesty was the very monkey-removal expert Erica had specially invited.
If fighting a Godslayer of the same rank or a Heretic God, Stella might be at the bottom of the list. But when it came to crushing those below her, the terrifying支配力 of her Authority of Love was on full display! She had once used it to easily control more than half of Japan. If not for her fear of that monkey and Susanoo, the entire island nation would have long been in her grasp.
"Although these monkeys are foolish, they are barely qualified to serve the great Stella as slaves."
Stella looked at the warring monkey factions, and seeing the demonic arts they displayed, she was slightly tempted. But Erica ruthlessly shattered her fantasy.
"Lady Love God, these monkeys were all once human. If possible, they need to be returned to their original forms."
If it were just the first part, Stella would have paid it no mind. But with the mention of the Saint, she suddenly grew bitter.
She looked somewhat displeased at this lowly woman before her, who was outwardly reverent but held not a shred of respect in her heart.
"Wait until you've climbed into Seiya's bed before you try to use his name to pressure me, little witch."
"As you say. If the opportunity arises, I would be more than willing,"
Erica replied, not hiding her ambition, then let out a soft snort.
"It's just that annoying Hime-Miko is very much in the way. Despite having a perfect knight like me to serve him, Lord Seiya still provokes that thieving Miko. Truly… a king with too much love to give."
The Onmyoji from the distant Onmyo Agency could neither hear nor know of Stella and Erica's squabble.
Watching the mountain full of monkey demons being subdued by the love goddess, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. For this incident, the government's official story to the public was that a sewage leak had caused environmental pollution. Later, as the situation escalated, they changed it to a water source issue and temporarily suspended all tourist visits.
But they were also curious at this moment: where exactly was that Saint? Had he gone to pursue the fleeing Heretic God, or the Martial King of the Western Continent?
In reality, Seiya was right at Lake Chūzenji, and even at the very core of the monkey horde's base—in a hot spring pool.
The aura emanating from Seiya's body was such that even the lawless monkey lords dared not approach this area, which had become a vacuum. At this moment, his entire body was submerged in the hot spring.
He didn't know if it was due to Athena, but he felt much of his pain had been alleviated.
Deep within his chest, the curse of the Hades clung to him like a maggot to bone. While it wasn't so severe as to leave him in a vegetative state like in the Underworld arc, the soul-rending pain never ceased, and he could only endure it with sheer willpower.
Fortunately, the Covenant of Decay and Revival was operating, steadily and slowly converting this curse from a first-class god into divine power that Seiya could absorb. Only now could his tightly knitted brow finally relax slightly.
It seemed that combat could also accelerate the conversion process, but fighting was fundamentally irrelevant. Based on his injury and recovery rate, Seiya calculated that he would need less than a week to fully return to his peak condition.
The water was comfortable, but his eyelids were heavy. A moment later, he closed his eyes.
Seiya walked on a white marble floor. A dense fog permeated the space between heaven and earth. Girls wearing laurel wreaths and carrying daisies and olive branches brushed past him.
And standing at the forefront was a woman with a face similar to his, but softer.
This was Athena's Sanctuary. Seiya understood in an instant. The girls from before were the handmaidens who served Athena.
He looked at the fog-shrouded marble temple, and at the front of the temple, Saori, holding a golden scepter, also turned her gaze towards him.
Dreamlike, melodious music drifted from the distance. The girls who had just brushed past him now gathered around him. They groomed him and dressed him, and the woman with the familiar face gently placed a garland of flowers on his head and an olive branch on his chest.
Then, with a sudden push from behind, he seemed to lose all gravity, crossing the distance in an instant and floating before the courtyard.
The mist was like gauze, flowing around the hem of her floor-length dress, faintly revealing slender and beautiful calves. Seiya gazed into her eyes, which seemed to hold many words she wished to say to him.
Seiya carefully extended his hand. Saori smiled and placed her white silk-gloved hand in his palm. But at that very moment, an incredibly foreign, yet for Seiya, extremely familiar bell chime rang out from the temple behind them.
It was another Sasha, or rather, another Athena, appearing before him.
______
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