WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: heavenlytls

Editor: heavenlytls

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◈ Namgung Clan's Great Sage, Heaven's Equal

Chapter 30: As I Did In The Past

"Your ways are cruel."

Sun Wukong’s head snapped around, revealing a face that was like that of a demon.

His face was drenched in blood, his pupils glowed red, and his lips curled upward, revealing vicious fangs.

His shoulders heaved, and his rough breathing was laced with killing intent.

Tang Sanzang clicked his tongue.

"Look at yourself, Wukong. Look at your face. Is that the face of a disciple seeking enlightenment?"

Sun Wukong scoffed.

"I just killed a demon that tried to devour my master. It wasn’t senseless slaughter. So why does my master rebuke me?"

Sun Wukong, having taken a step closer, glared at Tang Sanzang, who sat upon the White Dragon Horse.

Eyes glaring upward, vicious fangs bared, the scent of blood wafting from his entire body—yet Tang Sanzang remained calm, not the least bit intimidated.

Sun Wukong felt anger boiling within him. Didn’t this man fear other demons, weeping at every turn?

Why then did he not fear the king of great demons, the king among demon kings, the king of all monsters?

That fucking Golden Headband.

This insignificant human dared not fear the Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal, simply because he trusted in the Golden Headband.

Sun Wukong gripped the Ruyi Jingu Bang so tightly that his hands trembled. Were it not for the Golden Headband, he would have shattered his master’s skull in one blow with his staff!

Even Zhu Bajie, who lacked awareness of the dire situation, looked flustered as he tried to mediate.

"Brother Sun, why are you so worked up? This isn't the first time Master has said such things. Just let it go."

Tang Sanzang’s voice rang out like thunder.

"Bajie, stay out of this. Today, I must thoroughly discipline your elder brother."

"Ha. This is absurd."

Irritation surged across Sun Wukong's face.

"There's nothing wrong with defending oneself against an enemy. Those demons were but trials and tribulations blocking our path. You've overcome that hardship. But your methods are wrong."

"My methods? Ha. Is there a right way to kill? I’ve killed far more than you, Master. When it comes to taking lives, I’m in a different league than you."

Tang Sanzang’s face softened with sadness.

Sun Wukong’s body trembled at the sight of Tang Sanzang’s expression. That look of pity, those eyes, that gentle demeanor—Sun Wukong could see it all too clearly.

Sun Wukong shuddered with revulsion at the profound pity.

"Master, this is my way. Whether it’s rage or whatever else, I’ll kill every demon that stands in my path just like this."

"What is the source of your anger, Wukong? Is it because you were scorned in the Heavenly Realm? Because you were given a lowly title? Or perhaps because you were punished by the Buddha and imprisoned beneath the Five Elements Mountain?"

Sun Wukong, who had been glaring at Tang Sanzang, suddenly burst into laughter.

"Master, do you have a family?"

"...Yes, I do."

"I don’t."

"..."

"I’ve always told you, haven’t I? That I was made by the heavens and molded by the earth. That’s how I came into being. A bolt of lightning struck, and I was born from a shattered stone. I have no parents. No family."

Sun Wukong spoke plainly.

Tang Sanzang, riding on the large White Dragon Horse, suddenly saw the giant monkey, Sun Wukong, shrink before his eyes. Despite his massive size, he now seemed incredibly small.

Sun Wukong turned his back roughly.

"But that doesn’t mean I’m a loveless monkey. I don’t have a family, but I did have brothers."

"The monkeys of Mount Huaguo?"

It was a well-known story, how Sun Wukong erased the names of the monkeys of Mount Huaguo from the Book of Life and Death. It was said he cherished them dearly.

To Sun Wukong, born without family, those monkeys were his kin, his brothers.

"When I first sought knowledge from my first master, I didn’t even know what violence or killing was."

Sun Wukong gazed vacantly toward the horizon. Beyond the endless stretch of desert sands, he seemed to see a mirage, as if recalling a distant memory.

"I was nothing more than a talented stone monkey."

"..."

"But simply standing idle didn’t make the world peaceful."

Sun Wukong’s eyes glinted with a dangerous light.

"When I returned to Mount Huaguo after learning from my master, do you know what I found?"

Tang Sanzang fell silent.

Sun Wukong's intense aura even penetrated the protective power of Tang Sanzang's immense spiritual strength.

That alone showed the depth of Sun Wukong's inner turmoil.

"My brothers were in pools of blood. Some had their limbs torn off and were being tossed into cauldrons, some were roasting on spits, and others had been turned into slaves, serving dishes made from their own kind!"

Sun Wukong jabbed the ground violently with his Ruyi Jingu Bang. The ground trembled as though struck by an earthquake, causing the White Dragon Horse that Tang Sanzang rode to rear up and neigh loudly. Sanzang’s face contorted with pain under the crushing force, yet he chose not to chant the spell that would tighten the Golden Headband. Instead, he looked directly into Sun Wukong’s eyes.

"The Peng Demon King, that fucking bastard, was the one who caused all of that. So what do you think I did? I tore him into tiny pieces."

"…"

"I used the Body-Replication Technique I learned from Puti Zushi to rip him apart, piece by piece. That was the first time I unleashed the anger inside me. Turns out, I had a lot built up inside all along."

Sun Wukong let out a bitter laugh.

"The disciples of Puti Zushi all looked down on me. They said I was just a monkey pretending to be human. I didn’t understand back then. I thought I was human too."

"…"

He acted like a human, spoke like a human, showed respect to his master like a human, and ate like a human.

At the time, Sun Wukong genuinely believed he wasn’t much different from humans.

He couldn’t understand the condescending gazes and scornful remarks from his fellow disciples.

When he tore apart the Peng Demon King, splitting his skull with his broadsword, he came to a realization.

"I was just a monkey demon, Tang Sanzang."

A monkey who had pretended to be human.

Ah, how laughable it was.

The King of Demons, living among humans, pretending to be one of them.

Sun Wukong chuckled quietly.

Tang Sanzang spoke calmly.

"Just like back then."

"…"

"Is that when you became so ruthless, living with such anger?"

Sun Wukong did not answer. He didn’t even look at Tang Sanzang. He expected more preachy, tiresome words.

"Well, you did well."

"…?"

Sun Wukong's head snapped up at the unexpected words.

Tang Sanzang spoke with a gentle voice.

"If I were in your place, I wouldn’t have been able to hold back my anger either. To see your family treated that way—how could you let it be? In fact, killing the Peng Demon King was an act of compassion, saving other creatures from future suffering at his hands."

Tang Sanzang looked at Sun Wukong and smiled.

"You did well. Don’t regret it. I see now, I was your family too."

"…What are you talking about, Master?"

"The demons you just killed—didn’t they try to eat me, like the Peng Demon King did with your fellow monkeys? That’s why you were so ruthless. To you, I was family."

For a moment, Sun Wukong found himself at a loss for words. After hesitating, he responded with a sneer.

"Ha, I never thought I’d hear that from you, Master. Didn’t you always say that even the most wicked beings should be shown mercy?"

"We are not Buddhas, so why should we act like them?"

"…"

"This is all part of the path to becoming one."

Sun Wukong had never expected such words from the usually rigid Tang Sanzang. For a moment, he saw the man in a new light.

But it passed quickly.

"Even so, you must still strive to become a Buddha. If you resort to such ruthless killing again, I will punish you."

"Punish me?"

Tang Sanzang let out a quiet laugh and began to recite the Golden Headband Spell.

The Golden Headband tightened around Sun Wukong’s head, as if it would split his skull open. Clutching his head, Sun Wukong rolled on the ground, crying out.

"Ah! Stop! Please, Master! I’m sorry!"

Sun Wukong rubbed his aching forehead.

Even without the Golden Headband, he sometimes felt that same familiar pain—a phantom pain, perhaps.

‘That damned Sanzang.’

Ah, damn it.

Just thinking about it made his head throb.

Memories of the past came flooding back because of the Peng Demon King, who was now bound in chains inside the dungeon.

"They said that you had something to say to me?"

The Peng Demon King’s eyes glinted beneath his wild beard.

"How do you know about the Seven Sages Sword?"

"It belongs to someone I know."

Not only was it a nuisance that Taishang Laojun had lost the sword, but now there was a demon trying to wield it?

The Peng Demon King regarded Sun Wukong with an odd expression before he spoke.

"…I sense a certain scent from you."

"Scent?"

Sun Wukong’s eyes flashed.

It was a term he had heard from Mu Hwa. The Dark Soul Saber had mentioned sensing a familiar "scent."

"An overwhelming scent of despair—raw and primal."

"…"

Sun Wukong stared at him intently.

‘This is strange.’

He understood what the Peng Demon King was talking about.

‘It’s the feeling demons have when they meet a higher-ranked demon.’

It was something Sun Wukong had never experienced himself.

Many demons had said such things to him.

Even if they had been demons in their past lives, they were human now. So why would they feel such things?

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Sun Wukong’s mind.

"You’ve seen one, haven’t you?"

Someone like me.

That means…

"Is your leader a demon?"

Sun Wukong’s eyes glowed a deep red, his golden pupils piercing through the Peng Demon King. The demon shivered. It was an instinctive reaction, a reflex. He had faced such a being before.

"Who the hell are you people?"

"Aren’t you one of us?"

"…"

Ah, that’s a bit irritating.

"You lowly demon, how dare you compare yourself to the Victorious Fighting Buddha? That’s a bit presumptuous."

"Why not join us?"

"You’re trying to recruit this Master Sun?"

Sun Wukong tilted his chin, inviting the demon to speak further.

"The world he seeks to create—your power would be of great help in bringing it about. After all, you are like us. Why remain with these measly humans?"

Sun Wukong’s face twisted in disbelief.

"You sound like some cult leader."

What are these bastards after?

"You want me to join you? Why me?"

"Because you are like us."

"You keep saying that. In what way am I like you?"

"Humans who are no longer truly human. Those with limitless potential, capable of wielding powers beyond humanity. We call ourselves Latent Humans."

"…"

Sun Wukong paused to think.

Limitless potential, powers beyond human—Latent Humans.

‘Even if they don’t realize their past lives as demons, they seem to sense it to some extent.’

But how?

His thoughts inevitably turned to their leader.

A being capable of subtly awakening such awareness of past demonic lives.

Could this leader possess the power of Divine Insight into Fate? The ability to see past lives, like his own Fiery Golden Eyes?

"I suppose I’ll have to meet your leader. Only then will I know if their cause will sway me or not."

Sun Wukong tested the waters with his words. The Peng Demon King remained silent for a moment. After what felt like an eternity, he finally spoke.

"He is a busy man. A revered figure you cannot meet even if you wish to. But if you bring him the Seven Sages Sword fragment and demonstrate your intent…"

The Peng Demon King continued.

"If you wish, I can introduce you to someone."

"Someone?"

"A person who has met him several times."

"…"

Sun Wukong steadied his turbulent thoughts and listened closely to the Peng Demon King’s words.

Where this person could be found, how to meet them, and what they looked like.

It matched exactly with what Myo Du-Eung had described: a man with a distinctive mole beside his nose.

After absorbing all the information, Sun Wukong fixed a sharp gaze on the Peng Demon King.

The demon spoke as if he genuinely believed that Sun Wukong could be persuaded, revealing everything he knew. It was strange how cooperative he was being.

‘Does he really think I could be swayed?’

If so, then it means that, deep down, he senses that I am of a different kind than humans, just as he claims.

‘Even if he doesn’t know about his past life as a demon, or his current state as a demon, at the very least, he realizes that he’s fundamentally different from humans.’

Sun Wukong dismissed his thoughts. He had gotten everything he needed. His cold eyes locked onto the Peng Demon King.

"So, you’re suggesting all this because you want me to spare your life?"

The Peng Demon King glanced around. They were inside the dungeon of the Namgung Clan. Even if Sun Wukong was considered a guest of the clan, it was clear that letting him go wouldn’t be easy.

He shook his head.

"What fear is there in sacrificing oneself for the great cause? If someone as powerful as you were to find a place with such a noble being…"

"Sacrifice for a great cause, my ass."

"…What?"

"There's no such thing as sacrifice. It’s just a meaningless death."

"…!"

The Peng Demon King’s eyes widened in shock. Sun Wukong sneered.

"You—today, you’re dying for nothing."

Thud!

He couldn’t finish his question. A blast of wind shot from Sun Wukong's fingertips, piercing the Peng Demon King’s forehead.

The Peng Demon King’s eyes were still wide with disbelief as he fell backward.

"What a pathetic little bastard."

Sun Wukong's vision pierced beyond the physical realm, locking onto the demon's soul.

As he sensed the sinister energy gathering behind him, he bared his fangs.

"Back off. This one’s mine—I’ll make sure to personally destroy his soul."

Just as he had done with the Blood-Iron Ghost, this time was no different.

The Peng Demon King’s writhing soul found itself caught in Sun Wukong’s grasp.

A violent light flared in Sun Wukong’s eyes.

Just as he had done in the past.

"I’ll rip apart your soul, piece by piece."

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