Leveling with the Gods

1300 years ago.

After Lee Rangjin's defeat, Ne Zha led the Celestial Army to the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, who had established himself in the Five Elements Mountain.

"Are you the Monkey?"

"Yawn... I was sleeping so well..."

Son OhGong, who had been taking a nap, opened his eyes.

Setting aside his thin and long Ru Yi Bang, he raised the upper part of his body to look at the tan-skinned, bulky man.

"Is it trendy to call me Monkey these days? Why does everyone call me Monkey?"

Son OhGong's eyes sparkled with more interest than annoyance as he looked at Ne Zha.

"That's what they say in the Heavens. There's a Monkey causing trouble in the Heavens these days."

"Ah, was it because of that rumor? No wonder."

Druk-.

Scraping his staff against the ground, Son OhGong stood up.

"By the way, are you also a General? You seem a bit strong."

"I heard that the Grand General was defeated by you."

"Grand General? You mean the big guy?"

Boom, boom-.

Swinging the staff in his hand, Son OhGong approached Ne Zha.

"It's nice to have so many interesting people around, but aren't you being a bit too obsessed? I only ate a little fruit."

"It's not just any fruit, it's the Immortal Peach. You don't even know the value of the treasure you've eaten, and you speak so lightly."

OhGong became an enemy of the Celestial Realm because he stole and ate their entire treasure, the Garden of Immortal Peaches.

Of course, OhGong had always considered the Celestial Realm his enemies even before that.

It was only after the Garden was destroyed that the Celestial Realm truly remembered the name Son OhGong.

"Well, it must have been a treasure for you guys."

Boom, boom-.

"But I have my own treasure."

OhGong, who had been playing with his staff in his hand, pointed the tip of the staff at Ne Zha.

"Grow."

And that was the signal...

"Ru Yi."

BOOM!

The beginning of the First Celestial War.

Ne Zha looked down at the battlefield.

Familiar faces fighting against the Celestial Soldiers.

OhGong's alter egos were wreaking havoc on this battlefield.

"...They're like flies."

In the thousand years since OhGong had been sealed in the Five Elements Mountain, Ne Zha had already destroyed several of his alter egos.

But none of them satisfied him. An alter ego is just an alter ego, and it cannot compare to the real thing.

Until one stood out.

Swoosh.

YuWon's and Ne Zha's eyes met.

And in the moment their eyes met.

"...The Monkey's eyes."

Jek-.

Unexpectedly, the corners of his eyes strangely ached.

A long scar ran from his right eye down to the bottom of his chin.

The scar seemed to tremble.

"Who is that guy?"

"He seems to be a player named Kim YuWon."

"Kim YuWon?"

"Don't pay too much attention to him. He's a promising player, but he doesn't deserve your attention yet."

"No."

Noticing YuWon, Ne Zha began to walk.

"He is the center of this battlefield."

Jek-.

His aide turned to look at YuWon once again.

'He is the center?'

Although not comparable to the Great Celestial War of 1300 years ago, this battle was one that would remain in the history of the Celestial Realm.

The Bull Demon King's retreat and the collaboration of Son OhGong's alter egos, and the resulting battlefield of great battles and sacrifices.

Though small in scale, this battle could be called another Great Celestial War.

But the center of such a battlefield was a small Player.

'How can the God of War (鬪神) make such a judgment...'

Koooow!

Ne Zha jumped and landed on the ground.

The battlefield trembled as he landed. Li Jing shook his head and looked at YuWon, who had been watching him all along.

"It seems it's already too late."

As he looked at his son, there was no trace of affection in his eyes.

"My hand has already been dealt. I must withdraw from this battlefield."

Li Jing was no longer interested in this fight.

There was only one reason.

"That guy is going to annihilate you anyway."

Ne Zha's presence appeared in front of YuWon.

With his appearance, it was judged that this fight no longer had any meaning.

Keh~

And YuWon felt the same.

'The boss of this battlefield has arrived.'

Ne Zha's appearance.

He was the worst enemy they could have imagined in this fight.

From now on, the challenge was different.

Survive this monster.

The other Son OhGongs, realizing this, gathered around him.

"Good to see you again, Monkey."

Ne Zha looked at the Son OhGong alter egos that had gathered around him.

His eyes were dull.

Apparently, he wasn't interested in them.

"You don't even greet when you have your father in front of you?"

Li Jing's reproach made Ne Zha turn his head towards him.

With a perplexed expression, he looked back and forth between Li Jing and YuWon.

"Haven't you withdrawn?"

"The Emperor God (上帝) himself gave the order. I cannot refuse."

"Then you must yield this battlefield to me."

"Do you even need my permission?"

"No, I am the God of War now."

It meant that there was no need.

And indeed, that was the case.

Although Li Jing was said to be the God of War of the previous generation, the current God of War was none other than Ne Zha.

A sword that cuts down the enemies of the Heavens, and a being whose authority on the battlefield rivals that of a Grand General.

Under the command of such a man, even Li Jing, the former God of War, would have to yield.

Moreover, as a father, he wouldn't make things difficult for his son.

"Hey, Ne Zha."

"Hey, Ne Zha."

"Hey, Ne Zha..."

The OhGongs surrounding Ne Zha pointed their staffs at him in unison.

"Grow."

"Grow."

"Grow..."

The staffs were aimed at him from all directions.

As he looked around, Ne Zha took a bead from his arm and held it in his hand.

And at that moment...

"Ru Yi-."

Boom!

As if nothing, Son OhGong's staffs extended simultaneously, focused on Ne Zha.

Clang!

Zhiyiying-.

A harsh metallic sound resonated in the air. Not a single one of the dozen staffs reached Ne Zha.

Ung-.

Small beads floated around Ning.

Each and every one of them hovered in the air, blocking the staffs.

'It's Hortensia (绣球).'

One of the six weapons wielded by the God of War, Ne Zha.

Dozens of beads floated around him, becoming his weapon and shield.

Crack.

Cracks appeared on the dozens of staffs.

The cracks spread like waves.

Ne Zha's Hortensia not only blocked them but also penetrated and shattered them from within.

Crash!

The staffs shattered into pieces.

Though they had empty hands, Son OhGong's alter egos didn't hesitate.

Boom!

Ne Zha's head turned toward the unarmed OhGong.

"You're still nothing more than monkeys..."

He seemed disappointed.

Kii-ing-.

The beads returned to their positions, spinning rapidly.

"You're like flies."

Pfft, pfft, pfft-.

Puhhhhhh!

Holes were pierced in the heads of Son OhGong's alter egos. Some recognized the beads and dodged them, but nearly half fell to the ground as if shot in the head.

Thud, thud, thud.

Ssshhh-.

The most heavily injured alter egos disappeared.

YuWon clicked his tongue as he examined the scene.

'It's like... Asura.'

Ne Zha.

He had a similar aura to the Asura that YuWon knew.

He had the same vibe as the Asura that YuWon had encountered—mad for combat, unguarded, and merciless with his hands.

With a single blow, half of the alter egos were destroyed.

Ne Zha looked at YuWon once again, as if no longer interested in the alter egos standing in his way.

"Are you different?"

Perhaps he had heard rumors about him, but Ne Zha was unusually interested, rather than in any of the OhGong alter egos.

Perhaps he thought that he was hiding something more.

But in response to the question, YuWon shook his head.

"Not much, compared to you."

That was correct.

At the very least, YuWon was better than any of the OhGong alter egos present here. He would probably be able to dodge the Hortensias if he faced them.

But that was all.

To someone like Ne Zha, YuWon was just an ant, even if he was stronger than the alter egos, he was just a slightly bigger ant.

He could fight a little more, but there was not the slightest chance of defeating Ne Zha.

And he knew it too.

But...

"Then why aren't you afraid of me?"

Ne Zha questioned the fact that YuWon wasn't afraid of him.

The reaction of a person facing death was one of two things.

Fear or resignation.

He had lived a long time and had never seen anything other than those two.

And the YuWon standing before him was neither of those two things.

"You haven't given up yet, have you?"

It was strange if that was the case.

Obviously, YuWon knew he was no match for him.

Seeing the alter egos die in an instant, there was no way they would have the will to fight.

"It's not like I'm going to fight you anyway."

"Are you going to run away?"

Unwilling to let that happen, Ne Zha extended his hand and spread out the Hortensias.

To trap him wherever he ran.

For a moment, he had the entire battlefield under his control.

"I won't run."

YuWon turned his head to look at the top of the Five Elements Mountain.

"Instead, I will send someone to fight you."

"Someone to fight me, who..."

The corner of YuWon's mouth curled up.

He was laughing.

It wasn't the type of expression one would put on in a situation like this, even if they were begging for their life.

There was something else.

Seeing YuWon's changing expression, Ne Zha's gaze moved along with YuWon's.

And at that moment...

Goo-goo, goo-goo-.

The Five Elements Mountain, which had been sleeping peacefully until now, gradually began to shake.

"That was... close. I'm glad that guy made it."

YuWon breathed a sigh of relief.

This time, something truly happened.

The Celestial Army had arrived in less time than he expected, and they brought Ne Zha with them, the worst calamity possible.

Moreover, the resurrection of Son OhGong was just slightly later than expected.

"At least that's good."

The Five Elements Mountain trembled.

The giant being that had been lurking there began to stir.

"Because it's not too late."

Ne Zha's pupils trembled as he stared at the trembling Five Elements Mountain.

Dump, dump, dump~

The scar beneath his eye throbbed with increasing pain.

At first, he thought the pain was caused by YuWon, who had the same eyes as OhGong.

But it wasn't.

Dump~

"Son..."

The reason why the scar beneath his eye now caused him pain...

"OhGong...."

It was because of the existence that gave him that scar.

A High Rank buried in that giant mountain, a High Rank that even the Celestial Realm couldn't kill, only seal.

The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal.

A being who dared to claim to be on the same level as the heavens, and was recognized for it.

Hwareuk~

[The 'Golden Cinder Eyes' resonate]

['The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal' is watching you]

Now, after its long imprisonment, it had awakened.