"Huh?"
The Bull Demon King froze for a moment before turning to look around.
In his eyes, everyone else really was fighting hard.
Yang Jian taking on the hundred and eight stars of the Dou Department alone was understandable. That was Erlang Shen, after all.
But Pigsy fighting the entire Wen Department by himself?
That made no sense.
The Bull Demon King clearly remembered that while the Wen Department didn't have many true gods, every single one of them was terrifyingly powerful.
Had that damn pig secretly taken something?
Then he looked back at himself.
Although the Twenty-Eight Constellations surrounded him, none of the remaining stars seemed interested in actually attacking after one of them got beaten down.
Even while he was chatting with Kui Mulang, the others had conveniently stopped fighting and began dramatically charging their so called ultimate techniques.
The next second, a streak of fire shot toward his head.
The attack moved so slowly that the Bull Demon King merely tilted his head slightly and dodged it with ease.
Then he swung his iron staff directly toward Kui Mulang.
Kui Mulang raised his saber to block before grinning and nodding.
"That's more like it, Brother Niu!"
"Look around carefully."
"The ones truly risking their lives aren't us."
"We're just here to put on a performance."
"When we get knocked flying by you later, the Fire Refining Heavenly Soldiers and the Heavenly River Navy that arrive afterward will be the real forces you'll have to deal with."
"And don't forget people like Wang Lingguan, along with the curtain generals guarding the Fragrance Hall, the Lingxiao Palace, and the Jade Pool."
"Those are your real enemies."
"You need to understand who's actually trying to kill you and who's just here to collect a paycheck."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kui Mulang resumed fighting the Bull Demon King.
Around them, the other constellations shouted dramatically while barely putting any effort into the battle.
The newly appointed Mao Ri Xing Guan wanted to join the fight seriously, but before he could move, another constellation immediately dragged him aside.
"Are you insane?!"
The older Star Lord spoke with complete sincerity.
"Don't try too hard. Just make it look convincing."
"We're Star Lords, not cannon fodder Heavenly Soldiers."
"You need to understand your status, rookie."
To prove his point, the constellation loudly roared and charged toward the Bull Demon King.
After one exaggerated clash, he immediately screamed and flew backward through the thunderclouds before crashing beside Mao Ri Xing Guan.
Then he secretly winked.
"Learn from the professionals."
The battlefield instantly descended into even greater chaos.
Yang Jian, the Bull Demon King, and the others successfully held back every reinforcement charging into the area.
As for Axel...
For some reason, nobody dared approach him.
The Heavenly Court never had secrets.
The moment news spread, every immortal in Heaven would know about it.
While pretending to fight, countless gods quietly gathered in groups and whispered among themselves.
"That guy wearing the Great Sage's armor is the Human Great Sage who humiliated Maitreya from Spirit Mountain!"
"I heard he even stole Maitreya's treasure. His Majesty laughed for half a day after hearing about it and personally granted him the title Lord of Blessed Earth and Heavenly Abode."
"He's already a Zhenjun, so why's he rebelling too?"
"What kind of stupid question is that?"
"If I had that level of power, I'd test my luck too."
"If there's even a chance to sit on the Jade Emperor's throne, who wouldn't try?"
"Exactly. Every major position in Heaven comes after a fight anyway."
"If someone with real power wants authority, they have to prove themselves."
"If they win, they rewrite the rules."
"If they lose, they're still powerful enough to remain a Zhenjun."
"There's no downside."
"Besides, Heaven's already in conflict with Spirit Mountain."
"If someone this strong joins the Buddhists instead, wouldn't that make all our previous sacrifices meaningless?"
"That's true."
"We finally managed to kill a Bodhisattva. If Spirit Mountain gains another monster like this, we'll just suffer later."
While talking, the immortals silently moved farther and farther away from Axel.
The scene left Axel completely speechless.
Holding the Exquisite Pagoda, he rolled his eyes before coughing loudly.
"Ahem."
"What the hell is this?"
"Can somebody at least pretend to respect me a little?"
"You're all surrounding those three while completely ignoring me."
"Even street vendors get more attention than this."
"What, am I not evil enough for you people?"
"If you keep acting like this, don't blame me when I start throwing punches at random!"
"Surely at least a few of you want to test your luck?"
"Oh, Great Sage, don't be impatient. I'm coming!"
The instant Axel finished speaking, the Water Virtue Star Lord waved his sleeve.
A massive torrent from the Heavenly River surged directly toward Axel.
Facing the overwhelming flood, Axel simply raised one hand.
The rushing Heavenly River froze instantly in midair.
Not a single drop moved.
The surrounding immortals abruptly stopped fighting.
Every god nearby stared at Axel in stunned silence.
"What kind of divine ability is that?"
"Who the hell is this monster?"
"Damn it, I'm leaving."
"Can Nezha hurry up already? Why are we still fighting here?"
"Seriously, staying in one place too long makes the acting look fake."
"Lord Axel is mighty!"
"Lord Axel is invincible!"
"Great Sage, take my spear!"
Dozens of Star Lords from the Dou Department immediately rushed toward Axel.
At the same time, members of both the Wen Department and the Dou Department flooded in to surround him.
The Twenty-Four Thunder Lords also arrived alongside the Lightning Goddess and the Wind God.
Leading them was the Lightning Goddess, Jin Guang Sheng Mu.
While slashing her sword toward Axel, she grinned mischievously.
"I honestly don't know where the Great Sage came from, but you really are impressive."
"Watching you beat up Yang Jian earlier helped all of us vent some frustration."
"The Three Xiao Sisters asked me to pass along a message."
"In a little while, head northwest from the Fire Virtue Star Lord's Palace."
"Go through the Wen Department and the Dou Department, then attack the Lingxiao Palace directly."
"Also, save your strength."
"Once the battle gets serious, His Majesty will definitely summon Guanyin and the Tathagata."
"You'll need enough strength left to embarrass both of them properly."
"That old man has been waiting a long time to watch Spirit Mountain lose face."
"Honestly, we're also waiting to see His Majesty embarrass himself too."
"So work hard, Great Sage."
"And whatever you do, don't get suppressed by the Tathagata."
The moment she finished speaking, Jin Guang Sheng Mu smiled sweetly and kicked toward Axel.
Axel immediately returned the kick.
Their legs collided midair.
Then Jin Guang Sheng Mu suddenly cried out dramatically before flying backward into the arms of the Wind God, Han Zhixian.
The second she landed safely, she started screaming.
"This villain is terrifying! Everyone be careful!"
"Ah! I got hit! His palm force is poisonous!"
"Ah! My bones are shattered from that kick!"
"I can't hold on any longer! Somebody please feed my cat for me!"
"Hurry and call Wang Lingguan! We can't suppress this monster at all!"
Accompanied by the exaggerated screams of the Thunder Department gods, more than eighty immortals suddenly flew backward and collapsed onto the ground.
Meanwhile, Axel had only thrown a single kick.
Looking at the scene, Axel glanced down at his own foot before chuckling to himself.
No wonder Sun Wukong once believed he was second only to Heaven before being trapped beneath Five Elements Mountain.
The Heavenly Court was practically overflowing with overworked employees and undercover rebels.
These immortals were restricted by their divine offices, but that didn't mean they were truly loyal.
Especially whenever demons attacked Heaven.
Most of the gods only pretended to fight seriously while secretly holding back so hard that it looked like they were trying to drain the Heavenly River dry.
Every major Heavenly Palace rebellion was usually handled by only a handful of people actually doing real work.
Thinking about it, Axel couldn't help laughing.
Stepping onto a cloud, he casually walked toward Nezha.
As he moved forward, the surrounding Heavenly Lords and Star Lords hurriedly screamed while throwing themselves backward onto the ground.
"This villain is too fierce!"
"Quickly call for reinforcements!"
In the middle of the chaos, Axel squatted beside Nezha and watched with amusement.
Even with Axel standing nearby, Nezha continued smashing Li Jing's head apart with the golden brick before burning the remains clean with Samadhi Fire.
When Li Jing finally turned completely to ash, countless Heavenly Gods secretly sighed in relief.
Nezha slowly turned toward Axel.
His gaze lingered on the Exquisite Pagoda in Axel's hand.
Seeing that look, Axel casually tossed the pagoda toward him.
Nezha caught it instinctively.
Holding the pagoda tightly, he froze for a brief moment before looking directly at Axel and nodding heavily.
"Big Brother, from today onward, my life is yours."