Behind Su Fu, her Saint’s Manifestation swelled dramatically, but truth be told, she had no desire to face the Bull Demon King so soon.
This bull’s combat power was off the charts; without absolute certainty, she really didn’t want to act rashly.
Unfortunately, Murray’s Divine Artifact had forcibly dragged her right before the Bull Demon King.
But now that they were face to face, she had no choice but to go all out.
So, that bit about Guanyin earlier was merely a ploy to buy time.
Buy time for what?
To call for backup, to summon the Great Sage.
This was the Journey to the West map—Great Sage’s home turf—the easiest place to call upon the Great Sage.
She thought, this was like someone willing to follow you, retracing your fated path, facing the enemies you once faced.
And now that you’ve grown strong and mature, when you see someone following in your footsteps of destiny, wouldn’t you at least take a look?
She was even calling your name, and had three parts your likeness.
You would.
You definitely would.
As expected, she sensed the Great Sage’s response.
The Great Sage not only responded, but bestowed upon her a supreme Divine Skill—S-rank, Saint’s Manifestation of Heaven and Earth.
With this Divine Skill stacked on, her Great Sage Saint’s Manifestation directly materialized, expanding to several hundred meters tall.
In this empowered state, Su Fu’s combat power soared to a whole new level.
Whether it was strength, speed, defense… all her stats skyrocketed.
Right now, she felt as if she had limitless strength, able to leap to the Ninth Heaven, and with a single strike shatter three thousand worlds!
The Bull Demon King was momentarily stunned by the sight, then his eyes reddened even further with bloodlust.
“Good! Very good!” He roared, tearing out a sinister grin, “I wondered why I sensed that damned monkey’s aura—it was your doing!”
He raised his iron staff high, pointing it directly at the Saint’s Manifestation behind Su Fu, arrogantly shouting, “Since you know I’m here, why don’t you show yourself? Afraid to face me? What’s this, sending a little girl out to block for you? When did you become so cowardly?”
The Bull Demon King glared at the Great Sage’s Saint’s Manifestation , his eyes fearless, even excited: “Very well, then. I’ll kill your disciple first and see if you’ll show yourself!”
Before he finished speaking, the Bull Demon King charged.
He unleashed his full strength; the earth quaked and cracked, his iron staff tore through space, emitting a piercing shriek.
A terrifying sense of oppression swept forth, like a towering mountain bearing down.
If that staff landed, she’d be smashed to pieces on the spot.
***
Meanwhile, at the Jianxia Mountains.
Murray had just been transported back.
Before he’d regained his balance, the shocking scene before him took his breath away.
“That’s… a Saint’s Manifestation ?” he muttered in disbelief, staring at the hundred-meter-tall, monkey-shaped manifestation.
It was lifelike, dazzling with golden light, wielding the Golden Cudgel.
Just looking at it filled one with a terrifying sense of oppression.
“When did Su Fu master a Saint’s Manifestation ? And… this scale…”
No matter how he looked at it, she didn’t seem like a novice.
As a freshman, at most she should be able to reach twice or three times her own height, but this was…
At least a hundred meters!
Even with in-dungeon divine power boosts, this kind of leap was unheard of; even among upperclassmen, few could wield such power.
As Murray reeled in shock, he saw the Bull Demon King, furious, charging straight at Su Fu.
The pressure was so fearsome it seemed to tear the world apart.
His heart leapt into his throat, ‘Ruined.’
He felt his head buzzing—he’d actually left Su Fu alone to face the Bull Demon King.
At that moment, a swarm of medical staff rushed over.
“Chief Examiner Murray!”
Everyone scrambled to treat him, activating their Heavenly Techniques, all sorts of colored lights flowing over Murray as they tried to heal his horrific wounds.
“Chief Examiner, your right arm is severely fractured, with multiple internal injuries…”
“The chest wound has pierced the lung…”
“Head trauma may cause concussion…”
“Don’t move, please don’t move!”
But Murray couldn’t listen—he shoved the crowd aside and said, “Forget about me! Contact Tai Xuanzi at once! Hurry!”
“We’re already trying,” a monitor quickly replied, “but your injuries are the priority—we must treat you immediately!”
Murray knew his own condition, but pressed on urgently, “So has she arrived? Where is she?”
The crowd fell silent, glancing at one another.
A sinking feeling struck Murray.
He demanded the communicator, and saw the result: [The number you have dialed is not in the service area, please try again later.]
They had sent countless messages, but clearly, not one had reached Tai Xuanzi.
Murray’s vision went black; he nearly fainted.
‘It’s over… Tai Xuanzi must have gone for another suppression. In a suppression zone, all communication was cut off—once you went in, you vanished, and no one knew when you’d return.’
He looked at Su Fu’s Saint’s Manifestation on the screen.
No matter how strong she was, could she overcome an S-rank anomaly?
Especially one who commanded the very concept of “strength.”
“Shen Yan!” Murray suddenly remembered, “What about the Guardian? Has the Guardian arrived?”
A sliver of hope ignited in his heart.
If the Guardian arrived, there might be a chance.
Shen Yan’s mechanical voice sounded: [“The Guardian is en route, estimated to arrive in three minutes, Chief Examiner.”]
“Three minutes?!” At that, Murray collapsed, passing out on the spot.
Seeing this, the medics rushed over again, healing light flashing as they forcibly pulled his consciousness back.
Murray: “……”
He opened his eyes with effort, his head buzzing, heart filled with despair.
“Doomed, doomed…”
‘You’d be better off letting me pass out.’
If Tai Xuanzi found out he’d sent her disciple to be pummeled by the Bull Demon King for three minutes, she’d probably beat him for thirty.
No, not just thirty minutes, maybe three hours…
Could it even be three days?
He’d be beaten to death—no one, not even his father, could save him.
He muttered in a daze, “Oh heavens, I really need to change my fate…”
Just then, Shen Yan’s voice sounded again: [“Chief Examiner Murray, High Priest Fujiwara Chiyo of the Amaterasu Pantheon requests entry to the Jianxia Mountains to observe the freshmen joint exam.”]
[“Requesting permission—please confirm.”]
Murray froze, “What the heck? Fujiwara Chiyo wants to come too?”
‘Oh, that’s right—she’d also been beaten up by the Bull Demon King before.’ A thought flashed through Murray’s mind, ‘Was Fujiwara Chiyo here to settle the score with the Bull Demon King?’
If so, his eyes lit up and he shouted, “Agreed, agreed! Let her in, now! Maybe she can stall the Bull Demon King for three minutes!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a pillar of silvery light descended from the sky, landing directly in the square.
In an instant, a woman in white priestly robes and an ebony crown appeared, looking around thirty, with indifferent eyes and a calm demeanor.
She didn’t look like she was here for revenge at all.
Fujiwara Chiyo scanned the crowd, then fixed her gaze on Murray, raising her brow she asked, “What’s on your mind?”
Her voice was tranquil, “I’m just here to see who can subdue that stubborn bull.”
She glanced up and down at Murray, a glint of schadenfreude in her eyes as she said, “Tsk tsk, how are you worse off than me?”
Murray: “……”
After her taunt, Fujiwara Chiyo turned to the central holographic display, then her expression shifted sharply and she shrieked, “Wait… you sent a candidate to face the Bull Demon King?! Murray, are you out of your mind?!”
Murray covered his face, utterly defeated.
“Ahem,” Lina chimed in from the side, “This candidate is Dean Tai Xuanzi’s disciple. We’re guessing, maybe since Tai Xuanzi isn’t here, the Tianji Treasure Box grabbed her disciple instead… That way, when Tai Xuanzi returns, she’ll immediately go over…”
Fujiwara Chiyo was briefly stunned, then her brows eased slightly.
Well, it did make sense.
The Tianji Treasure Box only considered probability, not process—so this explanation fit.
She looked at Su Fu’s figure on the screen, a trace of sympathy on her face, “That candidate is sure to be beaten half to death, probably haunted by it forever.”
“But,” Fujiwara Chiyo turned to Murray, frowning in confusion, “how did you even provoke the Bull Demon King? Wasn’t he just staying quietly in that Moyun Cave with the Fox Spirit?”
By now, Murray had been patched up by several healers and, supported, made his way to a seat, pale as a ghost.
At Fujiwara Chiyo’s question, he scowled darkly, gritting his teeth, “Blame that prophet Merlin! Truly living up to his title—he’s a troublemaker of the highest order!”
‘Merlin?’ Fujiwara Chiyo looked at the screen.
Merlin was demonstrating a prophetic vision to his teammates—
In the vision, Su Fu and the Bull Demon King faced each other from afar, with a colossal golden Saint’s Manifestation behind Su Fu.
The manifestation was armored in gold, crowned, wielding the Ruyi Jingu Bang, majestic and mighty.
A prophetic scene, completely matching reality!
The hall was dead silent—the Great Prophet…
Merlin smiled at his teammates and said, “And so, the prophecy comes true. The Bull Demon King has clashed with Su Fu—and one of them must die.”
At that, the audience turned pale.
“Her Saint’s Manifestation … she’s already cultivated it to this extent?” someone gasped.
A hundred meters, dazzling gold, and solidly formed.
Who claimed she was just B+ and hadn’t cultivated her Saint’s Manifestation ?
Utter nonsense.
But Saffiros just sneered coldly, “So what if she has a Saint’s Manifestation? A Saint’s Manifestation only amplifies original power. How much can it really add? The Bull Demon King’s true terror is his complete mastery over the concept of ‘strength.’ Against such an existence… only a concept can suppress a concept.”
They’d all personally experienced how terrifying the Bull Demon King was—mere Saint’s Manifestation was not enough.
No matter how much strength was amplified, it couldn’t break a conceptual existence.
That was the Bull Demon King’s unbeatable edge.
“So, Su Fu’s doomed. She can’t possibly beat the Bull Demon King.” Freya gave her verdict, regretful she couldn’t take her revenge personally.
The others nodded, both shocked and wary of Merlin.
So this was the power of the Great Prophet?
Su Fu thought she was escaping, but in fact every step brought her closer to the prophesied ending.
What is cause, and what is effect?
Such a power was far scarier than brute force—the invisible web of fate silently ensnared everything, inescapable, unavoidable.
To him, the future was as good as the past.
At that moment, the golden barrier of the grand hall shuddered and a flash of golden light scattered—Yellow Browed Monster emerged!
The Yellow Browed Monster scanned the battlefield.
The Bull Demon King had vanished, leaving only a crowd of defeated and battered soldiers.
He burst out laughing, his voice hoarse and piercing: “Hahaha! Looks like I’ve arrived at the perfect moment. That stubborn bull actually did me a favor—now, seeing you all like this saves me the trouble. Today, you’ll know what it means to cross me, Yellow Brow King!”
Arrogant beyond measure, Yellow Browed Monster led a horde of demons, instantly surrounding everyone.
The monsters were fierce, while their enemies were miserable and exhausted—who was stronger or weaker was obvious at a glance.
But Achilles looked unfazed, utterly calm, he said in a low voice, “Freya.”
Freya’s main god was the Goddess of Fertility, symbolizing birth and new life.
This authority, transformed into a Heavenly Technique, was an unparalleled healing ability.
In other words, she was the ultimate healer of the team.
Not only could she heal wounds and restore divine power, but she could also boost everyone’s constitution and vitality—the heart of the rear guard.
But Freya didn’t rush to heal everyone instead, she sweetly warned, “My powers have leveled up a bit, so there might be a teensy side effect. You all sure you want to use it?”
Saffiros, pale-faced, snapped coldly, “Cut the nonsense, Freya!”
In their situation, did they have any choice?
Freya grinned and readily agreed, “Alright then!”
[Mother Goddess’ Cradle]!
Instantly, lush green light swept over every teammate like a spring breeze.
Within that glow was boundless life force—where it passed, all things revived.
In a flash, everyone felt shattered bones mended, torn muscles reconnect, divine power surging back, even their mental fatigue washed away.