# 1003
Chapter 1004: Robe Shattered
The urgent violin music echoed through the courtyard like a sudden rainstorm and thunder.
Bragi, wearing a sleeping cap and pajamas, drooping eyelids, looked like a soulless music-playing machine. His fingers rapidly plucked the strings, and the battle in the courtyard grew increasingly fierce.
The violent auras collided and swept through the courtyard. The two figures moved at speeds invisible to the naked eye, roaming through the arena—first engaging in close-quarters combat with fists meeting flesh, then gradually evolving into a fierce exchange between staff and sword.
Clang—!
With a thunderous roar, a surge of divine power erupted between the two, but it was blocked by the massive magic array surrounding the courtyard, with not a single trace escaping.
The caregivers seemed completely unconcerned about their personal safety. While serving breakfast, they paused at the courtyard's edge to watch the spectacle. Li Yifei had even opened a betting book, wagering on today's outcome between the two.
"I think Monkey Brother will win again today."
"That's hard to say, right? Monkey Brother has already won two days in a row. I think today's the King of Jin's turn."
"From the perspective of binomial distribution in probability theory, if we assume 'Monkey Brother wins today' as event A, then..."
"I'm betting on the King of Jin! Two cilantro stalks!"
"Cilantro? Even dogs won't eat that."
"..."
Just as the caregivers were placing their bets, the battle in the courtyard had reached a white-hot climax.
Boom—!!
In that instant, sword and staff collided in mid-air hundreds of times. The sonic boom rumbled. The earth beneath their feet suddenly sank.
The blazing golden eyes of Sun Wukong erupted with blinding light. He raised his Ruyi Jingu Bang high and smashed it down toward Gilgamesh's head with a howl.
Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes, choosing not to clash head-on with Sun Wukong. Purple energy surged around him vigorously—partly to block the Ruyi Jingu Bang, while simultaneously thrusting his sword precisely toward Sun Wukong's throat.
At that moment, Sun Wukong's body shuddered. The burning golden light in his pupils suddenly stalled for a brief moment.
His Ruyi Jingu Bang froze in mid-air.
That extremely brief pause allowed Gilgamesh's sword to seize the initiative. The blade pointed directly at Sun Wukong's throat, stopping just as it was about to pierce his skin.
Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang was less than two finger-widths from Gilgamesh's head, but Gilgamesh's sword was already pressed against Sun Wukong's throat.
The two figures froze in mid-air. The air fell into dead silence.
This battle, Gilgamesh had won.
Outside the courtyard, the caregivers who had bet on Gilgamesh cheered with joy.
The urgent, intense battle music came to an abrupt halt. The just half-awake Bragi let out a curious "hmm" and, clutching his harp in his arms, looked at the two figures in the courtyard, his brows slightly furrowing.
Inside the courtyard.
Gilgamesh pressed his sword against Sun Wukong's throat, stunned for a moment, before his eyes erupted with unprecedented fury!
"What do you mean by this?" Gilgamesh spoke in a low voice. "Do you truly believe that I can only win if you let me?!"
"You're insulting the King?!"
An explosive sovereign aura burst from Gilgamesh. His surging divine power showed no restraint whatsoever, pouring out like rushing rivers, causing the magic array's light enveloping the courtyard to shake violently.
The caregivers who had been cheering just moments ago felt their hearts shudder at the terrifying aura emanating from Gilgamesh and simultaneously fell silent.
Gilgamesh was genuinely enraged.
"Cough, cough, cough... Look, let's talk this through!"
Seeing the situation turn不妙, Bragi hesitated for a moment in place, then gritting his teeth, he put down his harp and rushed into the courtyard, positioning himself between Gilgamesh and Sun Wukong.
He reached out, carefully pushing aside Gilgamesh's sword aimed at Sun Wukong's throat before finally letting out a slight sigh of relief.
"I think the Monkey wasn't doing it on purpose, right?"
Bragi turned to look at Sun Wukong, winking at him.
Gilgamesh ignored Bragi blocking his path. Those furious eyes still stared fixedly at Sun Wukong, as if the moment he said anything even slightly provocative, he would tear him to pieces.
Sun Wukong微微低下头, glanced at the cracked cassock covering his body, and narrowed those eyes...
"There's something wrong with my body." He spoke hoarsely. "All of you, step back. Give me some time."
Hearing this inexplicable reply, Gilgamesh frowned, seeming about to say something more when Bragi grabbed him and pulled him toward the courtyard's edge.
In the courtyard, Sun Wukong stood alone on the devastated earth. He stared down at the cassock on his body, his fists clenching tightly, veins bulging prominently across his skin.
He took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.
He stood there motionless, like a stone sculpture.
Among everyone present, only Gilgamesh and Bragi could sense an incomparably violent divine power rapidly compressing within his body.
After an unknown amount of time, Sun Wukong's eyes suddenly snapped open!
Rip—!
A crisp sound rang out. The cracked cassock on his body suddenly tore at one corner.
A crimson red corner of the cassock drifted down from Sun Wukong's body, like a flickering flame, dissolving into nothingness in the air.
In that instant, an astonishing divine light burst forth from Sun Wukong's eyes, as if some shackle had been broken. The tattered cassock fluttered around him, and a powerful, domineering divine force swept out in all directions.
"Hmm?"
Seeing this scene, Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow in surprise. "His aura... has gotten stronger again?"
"Monsters, truly." Bragi couldn't help but exclaim. "You two, both of you, are monsters."
If Lin Qiye were here, he would see that above Sun Wukong's head, the healing progress bar had suddenly moved forward one increment.
"Sun Wukong Healing Progress: 51%
Reward extraction conditions met. Beginning random extraction of Sun Wukong's divine abilities..."
...
Shangjing City, Wild Mountain.
Clang—!
A pencil whistled through the void. Its tip struck the side of Ame-no-Murakumo, producing a humming sound.
The Chen Han that Lin Qiye had transformed into rapidly twisted his wrist. Using the blade to slice across the pencil's tip, the impossibly hard body of the pencil crumbled like tofu before Ame-no-Murakumo, instantly shaved off a thin sliver of wood.
A mournful howl emerged from the void surrounding the pencil. Miraculously, streaks of blood actually flowed from the pencil's body.
Before Lin Qiye could react, the pencil violently trembled, then in the next instant, it had already flickered hundreds of meters away.
Lin Qiye gripped Ame-no-Murakumo, stepping back half a pace. His right hand holding the sword hilt was somewhat numb, and the webbing between his thumb and index finger had already cracked open with bloodstains.
By leveraging Ame-no-Murakumo's special properties, he could indeed wound the Pencil Fairy, but that was the extent of it.