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Jeong Gyeoul, who received a peninsula from the Queen Mother of the West, swallowed it whole.

“…It tastes good, but I don’t feel anything.”

Just moments ago, she had been bending over at a 130-degree angle, blaming herself.

As soon as she ate it, doubts about the Queen Mother of the West began to sprout.

‘Did I just get scammed?’

But there was no reason for the Queen Mother of the West to deceive Jeong Gyeoul.

Unless it was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, a divine spirit of her caliber wouldn’t go around pulling such scams.

[It will take time for it to settle in your body. Once you gain spiritual power, come find me.]

The Queen Mother of the West, who even promised after-sales service, rode away on her horse.

Jeong Gyeoul, filled with unease, spent the next week dealing with troublesome immortals while guarding the stable.

Prince Nata and his subordinates returned to the stable, looking exhausted.

“Did you finish your work well?”

Her bright eyes scanned Prince Nata’s group, but there was no one who looked like a monkey.

‘Prince Nata couldn’t find the Great Sage Equal to Heaven either.’

Jeong Gyeoul, sensing that the plan was already falling apart, felt disheartened.

[So, you’re my junior. You came looking for me?]

A handsome man with blazing golden eyes and stunning blonde hair appeared before Jeong Gyeoul.

“…Are you the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?”

[Yes, it is I, the one who shook the entire Realm of Immortals and gave the Jade Emperor a big middle finger. The Great Sage Equal to Heaven.]

He looked weaker than she had imagined.

He looked like someone who could easily be mistaken for a parasitic older brother.

She began to doubt whether she should ask someone like him to help her overturn the Realm of Immortals.

The fact that the power of the peach hadn’t manifested yet also contributed to her dwindling faith in the divine spirits.

Perhaps sensing Jeong Gyeoul’s suspicious gaze, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven plucked a strand of his hair.

[That girl’s eyes are impure. Attack her.]

The strand of hair floating in the air began to emit smoke, and soon a clone identical to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven appeared.

“…Wait a minute!”

As soon as it appeared, the clone rushed towards Jeong Gyeoul.

Its movements were so erratic that it was hard to keep up.

When she tried to block the fist coming at her face, the clone twisted its hand and aimed for her abdomen.

When she raised her knee to defend her stomach, the clone had already moved behind her and pushed her back.

She was pushed by just a finger and almost fell.

For Jeong Gyeoul, who had withstood Jeong Ha-yul’s Demon King Punch without losing her balance, this was quite a blow to her pride.

Staggering, she spun around and threw a punch infused with magic power from her unstable stance.

The impact knocked her down, but she quickly got up and took a stance.

Though it wasn’t as powerful as a full-force Demon King Punch, it was strong enough to send an A-Class Awakened One or a calamity-level monster flying.

Yet, the clone stood there, picking its ear.

It hadn’t blocked or deflected the punch.

She clearly felt her magic-infused fist connect with the clone’s abdomen.

But it seemed like the Great Sage Equal to Heaven’s clone hadn’t taken any damage.

Clap-

The original clapped his hands, and the clone exploded and disappeared, leaving only a golden strand of hair behind.

[You struggled against just a clone, yet you dare look at me with those eyes?]

Though he sounded like he was scolding Jeong Gyeoul, his eyes sparkled with interest.

If this had been during his time as a monkey demon, he might have struggled a bit against her.

It was hard to believe she was just a 15-year-old human, so it wasn’t strange that Son Goku, who was obsessed with fighting, took an interest in her.

“…Sorry, these eyes of mine sometimes lose focus…”

[Enough nonsense. Tell me why you came looking for me.]

She wanted to explain her plan, but she was wary of Prince Nata and his subordinates.

She was about to say she’d come back after work, but…

Prince Nata and his subordinates were nowhere to be seen.

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven had no reason to stick around to watch him torment a little human.

Nor did he have any reason to intervene and save her.

If he did, he might just end up with another clone.

Prince Nata also judged that the Great Sage Equal to Heaven wouldn’t seriously harm his junior, Philmaon.

The mission was over, and reporting back was more important.

[Prince Nata? He went to report to the Heavenly Emperor. I’m curious what kind of sinister plan you have that you’re being so cautious!]

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, smelling the scent of trouble, began jumping around excitedly.

He looked exactly like a monkey.

Acting on instinct, doing whatever he pleased.

He was truly a reckless, self-centered being.

‘Can I really trust this guy…?’

But Jeong Gyeoul had no other divine spirits to turn to for help.

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven was her only option, whether she liked it or not.

“Um… Great Sage Equal to Heaven, sir, I’m a poor human who got caught up in some trouble in the mortal world and had no choice but to come to the Realm of Immortals…”

[Just call me Brother Sun, and get to the point.]

“Right. I need your help to get expelled from the Realm of Immortals.”

She had asked some of the kinder-looking divine spirits and immortals who occasionally visited the stable about the Dimensional Stone, but none of them had ever seen such a thing.

‘Damn these immortals…’

If she wanted to return to the mortal world, she could just ride a horse from the stable to the edge of the Realm of Immortals.

This place was an overpowered, super-munchkin world where power inflation ran rampant, and there was no need for something like a Dimensional Stone.

[Hahaha! It’s been a while since someone this interesting came up! You’re more fun than Lü Dongbin and Zhang Sanfeng!]

Son Goku, who had been rolling on the floor laughing, suddenly turned serious.

A split personality, or perhaps multiple personalities.

He definitely didn’t seem normal.

‘…If I trust this monkey, I’m going to end up dead.’

Her trust in him was rapidly declining.

[Explain why I should help you. If I don’t like your reason, I’ll drag you before the Heavenly Emperor.]

….

Jeong Gyeoul racked her brain, but she was at a loss.

Why should the Great Sage Equal to Heaven help her?

She had only thought he’d join in because it looked fun, never expecting him to ask for a reason.

At this point, she was sure the plan had failed.

The fear that she might be captured by the Heavenly Emperor and spend the rest of her life trapped as Philmaon began to creep in.

‘How am I supposed to know why I got possessed…’

She looked at Son Goku with pitiful eyes, like a cat wearing boots, but he didn’t seem to care.

‘That fox act might work on humans, but it won’t work on a monkey…’

This was a hopeless situation.

Since she was going to be dragged away soon anyway, there was no reason to bow her head to Son Goku.

“I thought you’d just join in because it looked fun. Why are you asking so many questions, you monkey?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it—a lot.

Having lived too long as the strongest bully, Jeong Gyeoul, without caring about others’ opinions, her survival skills from the frontlines seemed to have vanished.

Two deep eyes stared intently at Jeong Gyeoul.

She couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

Looking into those bottomless eyes, forgotten fears began to resurface.

She had almost been taken down by a single clone.

If the real one got serious, she might be turned to dust.

But she couldn’t take back the words she had already spoken.

She kept a close eye on Son Goku’s expression.

The moment she saw any sign of an attack, she planned to flee to the Great Heaven.

At least she wouldn’t be able to act like a delinquent in front of the Heavenly Emperor.

Even if she couldn’t reach Daidai, she figured she could at least make it that far if she ran at full speed.

[I’ll help you.]

“Right, I’d be pissed too… Wait, you’ll help me?”

[As you said, it sounds fun. I wonder who’ll come to catch me this time.]

‘This foolish junior doubted Brother Sun.’

Still, she was less grateful than she had been to the Queen Mother of the West, so she only bowed to 120 degrees.

“Thank you for helping me! Can you help me come up with a plan?”

The monkey, who specialized in causing trouble and overturning the Realm of Immortals, was surely a master of scheming and trickery.

She thought he could come up with an amazing plan to get her expelled from the Realm of Immortals…

[There’s no need for that. Let’s just destroy the stable first.]

“…What?”

[Just destroying it isn’t fun. Let’s burn it. Spectacularly. Boom boom.]

This guy…

Was just crazy.

Exactly 30 seconds later.

Jeong Gyeoul’s workplace, the stable, was gone.

Even for Jeong Gyeoul, who had seen many explosions, fires, and destruction, this was a shocking display.

The stable, shattered into thousands of pieces, was engulfed in white flames and scattered across the Realm of Immortals.

No matter what it hit, the fire didn’t go out, continuing to spread.

And just like that, her workplace was gone.

Her home was gone too.

It was like watching white phosphorus burn.

It was only natural that Cha Seo-rin and Shin Hyeon-joo came running out.

***

“Ahhh! Jeong Gyeoul, hero! Save me!”

“Ugh! Motion sickness! Motion sickness! Great Sage Equal to Heaven! Please let us down!”

Cha Seo-rin and Shin Hyeon-joo were barely holding onto the edge of a cloud, dying.

The speed of the cloud was not something even an Awakened One could withstand.

Even Jeong Gyeoul had to focus hard just to stand on two feet.

[You weak humans. You can’t even handle this, yet you thought about overturning the Realm of Immortals?]

“We never thought about that!”

“That’s right! We were living just fine!”

I’m sorry, guys.

I didn’t know this guy was such a serious psychopath.

Instead of getting expelled from the Realm of Immortals…

It looks like I’m going to be captured and executed.

The steam rising from the cloud dripped down my face.

I’m definitely not crying.

It’s just the cloud.

 

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