The Hero Returns

It wasn't happening only inside the barrier. Even the reasonably vast expanse of the land outside began rumbling ominously.

Shiva took a look around before extending his hand, not too quickly and with a hint of mischievousness, too.

Then, right at that moment…

Grab—!

The Bull Demon King was already next to him to grab the extended hand. "Haven't I warned you already?"

"Oh, you have."

"Is that so?"

Cruuuunch—

Riiiip—!

The arm broke. Almost simultaneously, the Bull Demon King strengthened his grip some more, causing Shiva's arm to be ripped clean off the shoulder.

"In that case, you won't feel aggrieved about this treatment, then."

"…"

Shiva disinterestedly stared at his torn-off arm. Blood dripped while his bones were exposed. However, there was no discernible change to his expression, as if he didn't feel any pain. "This is not what I heard about you. You're surprisingly hot-headed, it seems. Is it because of that woman?"

"I don't see a reason to humor that question."

"Ah, well, it doesn't matter since I already know the answer."

"What is your reason for showing up here? It can't be my wife, so it must have something to do with me."

"I heard that you made a promise with your little brothers."

"A promise?"

"I wouldn't have done anything if you chose to stay out of the upcoming battle, but now…"

Ssu-wuuuk—

Shiva's torn-off arm instantly regenerated. He brought his new arm and hand near his face and inspected it by clenching then unfurling his fist. "Since you're so keen, we don't have a choice but to speak face to face like this."

"And so, you wish to use my wife as my weak point, is that it?"

"Let's call it a polite little threat. I haven't done anything to your little lady, after all."

"Excuse me for a second," Lang Mei, standing next to her husband, suddenly interjected, prompting Shiva to glance at her. "So what you're saying is I'm going to be your hostage?"

"Indeed. What about it?"

"Well, that notion is a little unfamiliar to me."

"Hm?" a puzzled expression floated upon Shiva's face.

An ordinary woman would have gotten shocked or scared after listening to what he said. Yet, Lang Mei just stood there, making the same bold expression as earlier.

But right at that moment…

Drip—

Blood trickled down from Shiva's nose.

His vision became blurry. The ground and the sky seemed to flip and shake around, while the faces of Lang Mei and the Bull Demon King became distorted.

What was going on here?

The moment that thought popped up in Shiva's head, Lang Mei continued, "I've never been forced to act that way before, you see."

Shiva chuckled hollowly in disbelief, "Could it be…?"

Was this the ability to perceive nature itself and then directly interfere with a target's energy flow to make it go backward?

Shiva had no idea that someone capable of such a feat even existed in this day and age. This was not magic but also not some common sorcery, either.

"To think that I'd find a true shamaness in a place like this one."

"Shamaness" referred to a female who mastered both sorcery and Taoist magic. However, only the term remained these days since real shamans and shamanesses had stopped existing a long, long time ago.

Fakes paraded around as the genuine articles in plenty of worlds, but not a single one of them had a real shamaness, who had a natural talent for sorcery and controlling Dao energy, as well as the power to manipulate nature itself.

A handful of humans were chosen by the universe itself and granted extraordinary powers to rule and care for their respective worlds, and one such shamaness just so happened to be the Bull Demon King's wife.

"Do I still look like a hostage to you, sir?"

"In that case, do you even know who I am?"

Shiva's body broke down to puffs of smoke before scattering into the surroundings.

"Of course not. You still haven't told me, after all," Lang Mei shrugged her shoulders. "But I can tell that you're a malevolent person."

"You'll come to know about me soon enough."

The smoke quickly escaped past the Bull Demon King's barrier and then floated higher into the sky.

The Bull Demon King continued to stare at the disappearing Shiva before addressing Lang Mei, "It seems that we shouldn't wander off too far, for the time being, dear."

"Who was that, love?"

"Someone very dangerous. And also an evil being."

"But he didn't look so strong?"

"Indeed," the Bull Demon King muttered quietly, his face displaying signs of genuine concern, which was something he hadn't shown in ages. "Because that 'being' was simply a tiny little portion of the real thing."

<hr />

Su-hyeun and Sun Wukong returned precisely one day later.

Their clones and summons made light work of monster hunting. Even Su-hyeun was surprised by it since he had never hunted monsters over such a vast area before.

Even so…

"This is not the right way to do it," he thought.

No matter how quickly they dealt with everything, there was still a limit they couldn't overcome.

The Path to Reincarnation was much larger than what Su-hyeun had expected. He used Earth Shrink Technique for several hours to learn more about the terrain and its size, but he still failed to reach the "end" of this realm.

It felt like he was walking in the vastness of outer space. The "world" where you couldn't even see its end and where such a thing didn't even exist in the first place—that was the Path to Reincarnation.

"Could it be really as vast as the universe itself?"

If that was the case, then they had to revise their plan.

There didn't seem to be a way to stop the collapse of the Path to Reincarnation at this point. This matter was not something Su-hyeun could resolve with his powers.

But then, his thoughts abruptly ended at the "system."

"Not just one individual, but the growth and evolution of everyone."

The Five Godly Sages, including Master Subhuti, worked together to create the system for this very purpose. Without a doubt, people became stronger through the system. Su-hyeun's homeworld was a good example.

What if these people in the Path to Reincarnation could also receive the influence of the system? What if they became stronger and gained enough power to protect themselves?

"Maybe that's the answer."

Instead of trying to deal with every single dungeon that appeared in the vast expanse of the Path all by himself, this method should be far more realistic.

Su-hyeun's thought reached that far, and he began muttering softly, "In the end, it's all about Brahma, isn't it?"

"Eh? What about Brahma?" Sun Wukong, walking alongside him, asked in a puzzled voice.

Su-hyeun spoke of what he thought about just now to his Third Brother. Sun Wukong nodded sagely as if they agreed with the idea. He also felt that the two of them couldn't take care of every dungeon appearing in this place.

"Makes sense. Even uncle had to create this thing called the system for exactly that reason. Or so he told me."

"For the sake of the system's restoration, it seems that we must find Brahma no matter what."

"But is there nobody else besides that dude?"

"Sorry?" Su-hyeun asked back in surprise at Sun Wukong's question.

That wasn't because he didn't understand the question, however. It was because he had not looked at this problem that way.

Someone else besides Brahma?

Maybe, just maybe, such a thing was doable. That was what he began to realize just then.

"But how can we even make it happen?"

Brahma was a Primordial God with the power of creation, so rebooting the system should be a cinch for him.

After all, he was an existence that created everything that currently existed in reality, including the ground, the skies, and beyond that, even the universe itself.

Even if he had created the system, Master Subhuti couldn't be called a "creator," so to speak. No, he was simply a hermit who founded a cultivation method called the Sage Arts.

To put it another way, if someone like that could come up with the system, then another hermit who had attained a similar level of enlightenment should also be able to construct another system.

"Sure, the other Five Godly Sages did help out in that task, but as long as there's someone else capable of taking over Master Subhuti's old role, then it should not be difficult to receive their help again."

It was relatively easy to come up with a perfect candidate for the job.

"Hey, little bro. You were thinking of our First Brother, weren't you?"

He sure understood his brother well.

Sun Wukong stared at Su-hyeun's expression as they walked in sync, then threw that question out.

Su-hyeun was indeed thinking of the Bull Demon King, so he could only nod while making a slightly guilty face, "Yes. He seems like a perfect fit, after all."

"Yeah, me too. I also think that. But, uh, I don't think he will do it, though."

"Yes, agreed."

The Bull Demon King said he would help out only once.

But the system's restoration wasn't a problem that would end with just "one help." Not only was it a complex task, but someone also had to maintain it continuously.

Not to forget, Master Subhuti ended up as Osiris's target simply because he was maintaining the system's existence. The Bull Demon King wished to live quietly with Lang Mei, so he would not want to humor such a request from his perspective.

"How about you do it, little bro?"

"What, me?"

"I mean, why not you? It's not like the current you are any worse than uncle, anyway."

"But in terms of my attainment in the Sage Arts, I'm so much worse than him. All I'm better at is fighting; that's all."

"Being better at the Sage Arts can't be the most important thing, right? Don't you already possess knowledge and experience in other types of cultivation methods to supplement what you think is lacking?"

"Oh, wow."

"What is it now?"

"Third Brother, you sounded very wise just now. That's not like you."

"What was that?!" Sun Wukong's expression crumpled quickly.

Su-hyeun hurriedly waved his hands while saying that it was a joke.

However, Sun Wukong had a point there.

Su-hyeun lacked understanding or proficiency over the Sage Arts compared to Master Subhuti.

The same thing could be said about almost everyone out there. Maybe only the Bull Demon King was the exception to that rule since he practiced the Sage Arts alongside Sun Wukong for a very long time, which ultimately led him to become a god.

Master Subhuti was the creator of the Sage Arts, so that made sense.

Even so…

"Something else to fill the lacking parts, hmm?" Su-hyeun pondered.

He was indeed overflowing with such things. Thanks to the Six Paths of Reincarnation, he possessed the memories and experiences of his past lives—from magic to sorcery, and even various martial techniques and so on.

There were so many topics that he couldn't even count them all. Not only that, but no other creatures besides the Primordial Gods could rival him currently when it came to the vastness of his energy reserve or his combat ability.

"If I get the help of the rest of the Five Godly Sages, then…"

It seemed pretty doable.

His head finished calculating everything.

Su-hyeun also wanted to avoid asking the Bull Demon King for his help. To start things off, he should give it a shot first, but if it didn't work out for some reason, he still had the option of searching for Brahma later.

"I guess I'll try my best first."

"Yup, that sounds more like it," Sun Wukong wrapped his arm around Su-hyeun's shoulder and quickened his pace. "Let's quickly go back and have supper with First Brother. Ah, but without the tea that tastes like a boiled straw shoe."

"Sister-in-law will get angry if she hears you."

"Don't worry. I'll be careful."

Su-hyeun was being dragged forward by Sun Wukong at this point. They went past the barrier and soon reached the vicinity of the Bull Demon King's residence. But then…

"Looks like something happened here." Su-hyeun scanned the surroundings and discovered the cracked ground everywhere.

Since this area had the barrier cast over it, impacts from the outside couldn't have caused this scene. Meaning something must've happened inside the barrier.

Was it because they had wandered off too far while trying to figure out how vast the Path to Reincarnation was?

Su-hyeun and Sun Wukong had no idea just what transpired in this place.

"Looks like I need to be more alert."

Su-hyeun inwardly told himself to think of a way. Then after undoing Sun Wukong's arm around his shoulders, he hurriedly entered the house.

But when they came in after pushing open the slightly ajar door, the first thing to hit them was the delicious aroma of food.

"You two are back!" Lang Mei welcomed them back with a bright voice.

But something must have happened here.

Su-hyeun paused from this unexpected atmosphere at the doorway and quickly replied to her, "A—ah, yes, we're back, sister-in-law."

Sun Wukong scanned the interior of the house, "Where's First Brother?"

The Bull Demon King was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, Lang Mei seemed to have prepared a stew-like soup in a large pot and placed smoked meat on the dining table.

They didn't have to eat while inside the Path to Reincarnation, but the Bull Demon King and Lang Mei always enjoyed having meals like this regardless.

"He's gone outside for the time being. He wanted to repair and strengthen the barrier some more, you see."

"Is he going to take long?"

"No, he should be back soon. I'm sure he also noticed that you two have returned."

Seeing that he was trying to mend the barrier, something did happen here.

Lang Mei finished her reply and continued to busy herself with the dinner preparation. Su-hyeun quickly walked up to her, "Let me help you."

"No, it's fine. I only need to set the dishes, after all."

"But I feel bad watching you do all the work."

"Well, in that case…"

Lang Mei instructed Su-hyeun with what to do next. He poured the soup into the bowls and then carried the dishes to the table.

"Sister-in-law, did something happen today?" he cautiously asked.

"Mm, yes. Someone named Shiva stopped by."

"I'm sorry! What?" At first, Su-hyeun failed to understand what she said because she was so calm about it. One beat later, he almost jumped up in shock, "Shiva came here?!"

Shiva was a Primordial God like Brahma and one of the Three Destroyers.

He was also the source of all the dungeons being generated. If Brahma was responsible for the beginning of universes, then Shiva's job led them to their eventual destruction.

But then, someone like that suddenly showed up in front of Lang Mei?

"Yes. But husband said what showed up was just a tiny little portion of the real thing."

"But why did that guy even show up here?"

"I still don't know. But one thing's for certain."

Clack…

Lang Mei pondered something for a little bit, then put the dish down before finally saying, "He's currently somewhere in this world.."