Assured of the Great Sage’s victory, the monkey army was withdrawing from the battlefield when Prince Nezha appeared in front of Shuilian Cave. The army was shocked to see such a fierce child on his cloud, the bones of his skull not even fully closed, the hair on his head still soft and not even shoulder-length. His features were delicate and honest, his expression clever and wise beyond his years.
“Youngster, whose house are you from?” Wukong asked. “What are you doing, barging in here like this?”
“Barbaric monkey!” Nezha said. “You don’t recognize me? I am Third Prince Nezha, son of the Pagoda-Bearing King, Lord Li! I’m here on the Jade Emperor’s orders to arrest you!”
Wukong laughed. “Princeling, that’s big talk for a kid hasn’t lost his milk teeth and baby hair. I’ll spare you and not fight you. Take a look at the words on my banner and report back to the Emperor. If he’ll give me a position equal to this rank, he doesn’t even need to send out his armies. I’ll go back on my own. But if he doesn’t agree, I’ll take the fight all the way to Lingxiao Palace.”
Nezha looked up and saw the words Great Sage, Equal to Heaven flapping in the wind. “How powerful can this yao monkey be, to dare give himself such a title? Well then, you have no need to fear my sword!”
“Go ahead,” Wukong said. “I’ll stand here and give you a few free hits.”
Nezha was furious. With a shout of “Change!” he became three-headed and six-armed. Armed with sword, dao, chain, baton, embroidered ball, and flaming wheels, he charged forward in a direct attack.
Wukong was astonished. “This youngster has some skill after all. Well alright then, I won’t hold back. Just watch!” The Great Sage shouted “Change!” and also became three-headed and six-armed. With a wave, the gold-banded staff became three staffs grasped in his six hands.
The six-armed Prince Nezha and the heaven-born Handsome Stone Monkey King each found a real opponent in the other. One storming the Lower Realms, the other determined to fight his way to Heaven. The sword flicked faster than the eye can see, the dao had demons cowering in fear, the chain whipped like a flying python, the baton hit with the force of a sledgehammer, the flaming wheels flashed with bright fire, and the embroidered ball rolled back and forth. The Great Sage schemed as he blocked attacks coming from every side with his staffs. Prince Nezha refused to give up even after a bitter struggle revealed no victor. He worked his magic and his six weapons became hundreds and thousands. With a word he sent them flying toward Wukong’s head. Wukong just laughed, uncowed, and with a spin of his staff he sent his own magic into the air. There appeared one, then thousands, then ten thousands of horned dragons flying through the air.
The ground shook and the mountains shuddered. The yao lords cowered in their caves; the demons of the mountain hid their faces. The magicked weapons rushed through the clouds; the gold-banded iron staff whizzed through the air. On one side, heavenly soldiers shouted in fear, on the other, monkeys shook their banners in worry, for both sides could not tell which combatant was stronger than the other. The Third Prince and Wukong fought thirty rounds at full power. The ten thousand weapons of the Prince met King’s ten thousand gold-banded staffs. Sparks rained down from the air like shooting stars. Neither one had an advantage over the other.
In the midst of this chaos, Wukong seized his chance and pulled out one of his hairs, and with a call of “change!” the hair took on his likeness, an exact copy of the Monkey King, staff in hand, facing Nezha. The real Wukong snuck up behind the preoccupied Nezha and aimed a blow toward his shoulder. Nezha heard the whoosh of the staff by his head and dodged, but he wasn’t quite fast enough. The blow landed. In pain, he recalled his magic and weapons and fled, defeated.
Lord Li, watching the battle from afar, was preparing the troops to come assist in the battle. Before he realized it, the Prince knelt defeated in front of him, shaking in fear. “Lord Father, the Horses’ Fortune is indeed powerful! Even with your son’s magic and skills, I cannot defeat him. He has injured my arm.”
The blood drained from Lord Li’s face. “How can we defeat that kind of power?”
“Outside of his cave, he has a banner that says Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, which is what he calls himself,” the Prince reported. “He says if the Jade Emperor appoints him as Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, all this will be put to rest. Otherwise, he says, he’ll bring the fight to Lingxiao Palace!”
“In that case, let us not continue to fight him,” Lord Li said. “We will report back to Heaven and return quickly with more troops to apprehend this criminal.” The injured Prince could not return to battle as he was, so returned to Heaven with Lord Li.
Back on the mountain, the 72 yao lords and the six sworn brothers all arrived at Shuilian Cave to congratulate Wukong on his victory. In the midst of all of the feasting and drinking, Wukong said to the sworn brothers, “Since I, the youngest of our brotherhood, have named myself Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, it is only right that my brothers all claim the title of Great Sage for themselves.”
“Well said!” the Bull Demon King said. “Our brother is right. From now on, I shall be called Great Sage of Celestial Rank.”
The Dragon Demon King said, “Then I shall be called Great Sage, Master of Oceans.”
The Roc Demon King said, “I will be the Great Sage of Heavenly Chaos.”
The Hunched Lion King said, “I will be the Great Sage of Moving Mountains.”
The Macaque King said, “I will be the Great Sage of Penetrating Wind.”
The Winged Ape King said, “I will be the Great Sage, Driver of Souls.” Thus the seven self-made, self-named Great Sages enjoyed themselves before each going to his own home.
Lord Li, Prince Nezha, and their troops reported back to Lingxiao Palace: “On your Majesty’s imperial orders, we went to the Lower Realms to capture and arrest the yao immortal, Sun Wukong. However, we did not realize the extent of his power, and we could not achieve victory over him. We beg your Majesty to increase the number of troops so that we may capture him.”
“How powerful can one measly yao monkey be, that we need to increase our troops?” the Jade Emperor asked.
Prince Nezha stepped forward. “Though we are deserving of death, may your Majesty pardon our failure! The monkey wields an iron staff and first defeated the Colossal Spirit, then injured this servant’s arm. Outside his cave he has erected a banner that says “Great Sage, Equal to Heaven.” He says if he is appointed this position, he will retreat and return to heaven. If not, he says he will bring the fight to Lingxiao Palace!”
The Jade Emperor was astonished. “Such an arrogant monkey! Have the generals put him to death at once.”
The Gold Star Taibai stepped out of the crowd and said, “The yao monkey speaks without understanding what he’s asking for. If we send more troops, it could take quite some time to capture him, causing great inconvenience to our honorable generals. Rather, your Majesty, in your great kindness and mercy, could issued a decree of pardon and just gave him and empty title of Great Sage, Equal to Heaven.”
“What do you mean?” the Jade Emperor asked.
The Gold Star said, “He can have the title Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, but we need not give him any responsibilities nor salary. By keeping him up here in Heaven, we can contain his evildoing and pacify him so that there can be peace on heaven and earth and calm in the oceans.”
The Jade Emperor agreed, and the edict was written and given to the Gold Star to carry out.
The Gold Star went straight to Huaguo Mountain and saw that things had changed around Shuilian Cave. The cave entrance bristled with all manner of yao armed with swords and spears, dao and staffs, roaring with pride and murderous intent. At the sight of the Gold Star, they all surged forward to attack.
The Gold Star spoke to them: “Whoever is in charge here, can I trouble you to please inform the Great Sage that a messenger of the Jade Emperor has come with an imperial invitation for him.”
A whole host of yao ran into the cave with the message. “There’s an old man outside who said he’s a messenger from Heaven with an imperial invitation for you!”
“Good, good!” Wukong said. “It must be that Gold Star Taibai from before. Last time when he invited me to Heaven, even though the position was worthless, I at least got to visit the Upper Realms and see what it’s all about. If he’s here again, he must have good news.” He ordered the monkeys to bring out the drums and the flags, and give the Gold Star a proper welcome. The Great Sage put on his helm and armor, and his yellow robe over it all. He put his cloud treading shoes on his feet, and led the horde of monkeys out of the cave. He bowed in respect to the Gold Star, and called out loudly, “Old star, welcome! Please come in. Forgive me for not coming to receive you personally.”
The Gold Star hurried into the cave to deliver his message. “I have come to inform Great Sage that, when the Great Sage was offended by the rank of his position and left the Imperial Stable, officials from the Imperial Stable reported this to the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor said: ‘All officials are promoted to high ranks from low, why does he take offense from the rank of the position?’ Thus Lord Li and Nezha were sent to the Lower realms in battle. However, they were unaware of the extent of the Great Sage’s power, and were both defeated. They reported that ‘the Great Sage has erected a banner and wants the title of Great Sage Equal to Heaven. The generals did not agree to such terms, but I spoke up on Great Sage’s behalf. I entreated the Emperor to withhold the troops and instead invite the King back to Heaven. The Emperor consented, and so I have come again to invite Great Sage.”
Wukong laughed. “For all of your hard work before, and for your kindness now, thank you, thank you. But I must ask, is there such a position in Heaven called Great Sage, Equal to Heaven?”
“It is by imperial decree that you are to be given this title that I have come,” the Gold Star said. “If it is not to Great Sage’s liking, let the blame fall on this humble servant.”
Wukong was extremely pleased, and since the Gold Star would not stay to feast, he allowed the Gold Star to accompany him to the Southern Heavenly Gate. This time, the heavenly generals and guards bowed them through the gate in welcome. When they had reached Lingxiao Palace, the Gold Star presented himself to the Emperor. “By imperial decree, the summoned Horses’ Fortune, Sun Wukong, has arrived.”
“Come forward, Sun Wukong.” the Jade Emperor said. “Today I will bestow on you the title of Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, the highest rank, but you must cease your troublemaking.”
Wukong uttered a loud salute and a word of thanks. The Jade Emperor ordered two officials, officials Zhang and Lu, to build a residence for the Great Sage Equal to Heaven to the right of the Immortal Peach Orchard and to establish two offices inside the residence: the office of Peace and Quiet, and the office of the Serene Spirit. Various immortals were assigned to each office. The Five Polestar Generals were assigned to show Wukong to the residence and make introductions. On top of all this, two bottles of immortal wine and ten branches of golden flowers were bestowed on Wukong, such that he might be pacified and cease his troublemaking.
The Monkey King went happily with the Polestar Generals to the new residence, opened the wine, and celebrated with all of the officials there. Once he had seen the Star Generals out, Wukong was fully satisfied, determined to enjoy the pleasures of Heaven without a care or worry.
Etymology Adventures 