So-ah’s bewilderment was beyond words.

What?

Huaguo Mountain?

The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven?

Even if it was an illusion, wasn’t this too much?

‘Right… it wasn’t a believable situation when the 18 Vajra Bronze Men popped out either.’

However, So-ah decided to accept reality.

In the first place, the <Ghost Valley Mountain Manor Map> was designed as a bizarre and strange magical device that could not be explained by common sense or the laws of nature.

Hadn’t Baek In-hwa and Jeon Woo-chi themselves said that the <Ghost Valley Mountain Manor Map> was the greatest artifact in the world, created by a cultivator with unpredictable magical power through all sorts of arrangements?

‘This is the last of the fortuitous encounters. I must overcome it. Then… who knows? Maybe I can knock on the door of another realm?’

In an instant, a fighting spirit flashed in his heart like a spark.

“Hey, whether you’re the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, or Sun Wukong.”

So-ah, having steeled his resolve, said to the illusionary monkey.

“You’re just a monkey brat.”

At that,

「What an arrogant human. I’ll have to cut off your limbs and kill you.」

The monkey, who had identified himself as the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, opened his mouth with a dry expression.

The strange thing was.

The monkey’s voice was not imprinted on his hearing, but was being carved into his soul.

In other words,

‘Whether it’s internal energy or magical power, that monkey brat is a being of a different dimension.’

So-ah instinctively knew that the monkey was not his match.

That he was a formidable enemy he could not win against even if he died and came back to life in his current state.

But that didn’t change anything.

‘I just do what I can do.’

What So-ah could do was…

“You ill-mannered monkey brat. I don’t have time. Hurry up and come here. I’ll beat you until you beg me to spare you.”

Just to have a good fight.

***

‘Keuk…’

It was unbelievable.

He had never imagined that such a colossal force could exist in the world.

A single punch.

With one punch, Sun Wukong had sent So-ah’s body flying nearly 20 feet.

‘Damn it! The bones I just barely set are broken again.’

Of course, it wasn’t that So-ah hadn’t defended himself.

The moment Sun Wukong’s fist, creating a spiral wave, shot towards his chest, he had crossed his arms in a cross shape and raised his protective ki to the maximum to disperse the shock.

Nevertheless, the aftermath of the single punch was so powerful that it not only pierced through his protective ki but also crushed So-ah’s forearms and bones, sending his body flying.

In that moment.

“Hohohot! Wukong. Aren’t you using too much force against a human?”

「Master! Don’t say things you don’t know. That human is no ordinary person. Is he even human?」

What the hell?

The old man who was looking down at So-ah from the reclining Buddha statue with Sun Wukong.

Seeing as Sun Wukong called the old man ‘Master’.

‘What… then is that old geezer Bodhi Patriarch?’

So-ah, even while feeling the burning sensation of his arms being seared by fire, clicked his tongue at the meticulous design of the third trial.

“Hoho! Well, seeing as he’s standing there just fine after taking your punch, he doesn’t seem ordinary. Perhaps he might be the one to set us free.”

「Let’s see if he has what it takes, Master! Kilkilkil…」

At the conversation between the old man and the monkey, So-ah’s anger flared up.

‘Are those phantom bastards crazy?’

Forgetting that he had just been sent flying 20 feet by a single blow.

So-ah exploded the internal energy of his entire body and performed the Lightness Skill.

As the Lightness Skill, enhanced by the power of awakening, was fiercely unleashed, his body was engulfed in a whirlwind.

The whirlwind, carrying a speed that was hard to believe was human, shot towards Sun Wukong.

Watching him, Sun Wukong curled the corners of his lips.

「Master.」

“Hohohot. Yes, Wukong!”

「You might be right, Master.」

“…”

「That brat might have what it takes. Kilkil!」

In that time.

The whirlwind instantly swallowed the ground where Sun Wukong and Bodhi Patriarch were standing.

However, that unstoppable charge became a fatal mistake.

Sun Wukong’s thunderous punch followed once again,

And So-ah felt his body being crushed by the blow.

“Keu-ha-hak!”

A fountain of blood burst from So-ah’s mouth with a scream.

‘This… is ridiculous! How am I supposed to win this!’

It wasn’t painful or despairing, just absurd.

Power has to be manageable to some extent.

Reflexes, kinetic vision, sensory response and insight, killing power, and the trajectory of his fists and palms.

Sun Wukong displayed a perfect ultimate technique beyond which one could not imagine.

If a God of War existed in the world, would it be in that form…

「Let’s start with you dying once, you brat. Ke-ke-kek!」

With a playful laugh, Sun Wukong’s merciless kicks followed So-ah’s falling body.

A monkey’s leg just touched a human’s head.

But how could a deafening roar that shook heaven and earth resound?

“Keuk!”

So-ah, who let out a single groan.

…collapsed on the floor and closed his eyes.

「Kilkilkil. He’s dead.」

It was the moment So-ah’s life was cut short.

***

“What?!”

So-ah was so dumbfounded that he just stared with wide eyes and looked around.

What had just happened.

And what was happening now.

It was just absurd.

‘I… definitely died.’

That’s right.

A moment ago, So-ah had suffered the tragedy of having his head smashed by Sun Wukong’s tremendous kicking technique.

The common phenomenon that everyone experiences at the moment of death.

That is, he had even experienced the phenomenon of his past life flashing before his eyes like a revolving lantern and had even felt a sense of sorrow as he thought of the people around him…

‘It’s the same?’

But it was the same.

The scene unfolding before So-ah’s eyes now.

It was the same scenery as when he first entered the dream.

The gray sky that hinted that this place was not the real world, but a dream…

The reclining Buddha statue of a size that was breathtaking along with a dreamlike feeling.

And…

「Kilkilkil! Welcome to your reincarnation!!」

…even the monkey brat and the old man standing on top of the reclining Buddha statue, looking down at him with arrogant gazes.

“Welcome… to my reincarnation?”

「If you can’t defeat me, you can never escape from this place.」

It was a terrible thing to hear.

Only then did So-ah realize that this place now.

…was a dream within the dream he had just had.

‘I’ve definitely had this happen before… I thought it was a dream and woke up, but it was a dream again.’

His mind was in chaos.

‘If I can’t beat the monkey, I can never escape? Then what happens to my real body?’

Probably, he would be treated like a mental patient, drooling like a madman.

And he, trapped in the dream of the third trial, will be beaten by the monkey forever?

‘How did the great Jin So-ah end up like this…’

It was a truly hopeless situation.

A series of difficulties, getting worse and worse, an impregnable fortress.

But what could he do?

‘I made the choice… and I must overcome the trial.’

So-ah clenched his fists.

Fortunately, his body was fine.

No!

Perhaps because he had experienced death once, he felt the cells in his body wriggling like lively fish.

‘Ah! I don’t know.’

Thinking so, So-ah shouted loudly towards the top of the reclining Buddha statue.

“Come on down here, you monkey brat!”

***

‘Ah…’

His heart had stopped and the blood flow to his brain had been cut off.

That’s right.

In other words, it meant that So-ah had met his death again.

If there was a silver lining, it was that he had exchanged a few more blows with Sun Wukong than the first time he died.

This couldn’t even be called a fight in the first place.

Sun Wukong’s fists, palms, and kicks were flawless.

They contained a perfect timing, speed, trajectory, and a sharpness that pierced through openings, with no flaws to be found even if one searched with wide eyes.

Besides, shouldn’t he be able to see something to block it, or to counterattack?

Unfortunately, Sun Wukong’s attacks could not be seen even with So-ah’s naked eye and the technique of the heart’s lamp.

“Keu-heok!”

Just as he was hit, he was hit.

As he was struck, he was struck.

“Keu-a-a-a-a-ak!”

So-ah just died, died, and died again.

As he faced the sight of the reclining Buddha statue that unfolded again each time he died and the gaze of Sun Wukong who was still looking down on him from the top, his blood boiled.

‘So this is how the people I beat up felt? Ha… damn it!’

Only then did So-ah come to understand, even a little, the feelings of the countless people he had beaten up until now.

‘Still, I have to go. I have no choice but to go!’

But there was no giving up for So-ah.

No!

The man named So-ah was a straight-forward type of person who didn’t know what it meant to give up in the first place.

It was because of that absurd tenacity and insight that Moyong Cheon had taught So-ah the Ten-Second Invincible Arts…

In the end,

“A monkey’s butt is re-e-ed! Red is an apple! Apples are delicious! But your butt is too dirty to eat! Kyak-tooey~”

100 times?

Or 200 times?

Or 300 times?

Going through the dream reincarnation that he couldn’t even remember how many times it had been, So-ah, as if he had decided to enjoy this hellish situation, hummed a strange song and provoked Sun Wukong.

“Kehkehkeh! Wukong!! That mortal is truly strange. By now, it would be human nature to tremble in fear and kneel before you… How come your punches seem so ineffective?”

The illusionary Bodhi Patriarch burst into a hearty laugh as he looked at So-ah.

Although he was laughing mischievously, his tone was clearly mocking Sun Wukong.

「Ugh… Master! Is that even human?」

At this point, even Sun Wukong couldn’t help but tremble with rage.

How many times had he beaten that damn human to death?

But each time he was reborn, that brat was even more imposing.

And now, wasn’t he even humming a song and mocking him?

「Hey, you crazy bastard. Aren’t you scared?」

“Of a monkey brat like you? Me?”

「You madman…」

“You crazy bastard.”

「You ba-a-a-astard!」

“Wha-a-a-at!”

「Die!!!」

The enraged Sun Wukong flew towards So-ah like an arrow.

At the same time, he stretched out his menacing right hand in the form of a claw to grab So-ah’s neck…

「?!」

In an instant, Sun Wukong’s eyes flashed with a look of astonishment.

He had thought that So-ah’s neck would be pierced by his claw…

So-ah had quickly snatched Sun Wukong’s right hand, wrapped it under his armpit, held it firmly, and even performed the feat of twisting his neck.

A sinister smile was a bonus.

「You… you… you…」

Sun Wukong trembled involuntarily.

“I can see all your moves now, you bastard.”

***

Afterwards, So-ah fought a life-or-death battle with Sun Wukong for about 50 exchanges before he was killed by a blow to the head from the Ruyi Jingu Bang that he had taken out.

Although he couldn’t win, just making him take out the Ruyi Jingu Bang was a great achievement.

“The Jin So-ah who came last year! He didn’t die, and he’s back again!!”

「Die, you crazy bastard!!!」

By the time he had died 500 times like that.

So-ah was able to fight evenly with Sun Wukong for over 100 exchanges.

“Hello! I’m the world’s number one monkey catcher. The monkey hunter. The one who loves monkey brain cuisine the most, Jin So-ah. Hey! You look delicious!”

「Th-th-this… crazy bastard!」

Dying again and again.

So-ah, who now had the leisure to chuckle even at the moment of death.

“Is that all you’ve got? You monkey brat! You bastard! Ah! You beast!”

After going through 700 reincarnations, So-ah was pushing Sun Wukong back.

And…

「Hoo…」

Watching So-ah, who still hadn’t lost his smile and was walking with a dignified gait even after dying and coming back to life repeatedly, Sun Wukong felt fear for the first time.

“Let’s end this now. Wukong. Your big brother is a bit busy, you brat!”

It was a huge explosion.

So-ah’s Lightness Skill, which was an indescribable term for movement techniques like the Bow God’s Arrow and the Snow-Stepping Without a Trace.

…like a single stroke of light that split the world in a straight line, it shot towards Sun Wukong who was standing at the top of the reclining Buddha statue.

With that, the Heaven-Shattering Consecutive Cannon, wrapped in Gangqi in the form of a Thunder Dragon instead of lightning, was unfolded 108 times in a row in an instant.

The reclining Buddha statue.

The mountain collapsed.

At the same time,

「Kilkilkil! Congratulations! You king of crazy bastards!」

“Hohoho! You finally did it!!”

The illusions that had been in the form of Sun Wukong and Bodhi Patriarch until now instantly changed their forms and slowly disappeared like mist.

‘Th-that’s!’

So-ah saw it clearly and distinctly.

The figure of Sun Wukong, which had vaporized into a hazy mist and scattered into the air, was his own childhood self.

And the form of Bodhi Patriarch was that of his grandfather, the Living Buddha, the God of War, Moyong Cheon.

[Master of the Ghost Valley Mountain Manor… you have overcome the third trial.]

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep