Volume One, Chapter Twenty: The Arrogance of the Great Thief Who Plunders the Three Realms

Chapter Twenty: The Arrogance of the Great Thieves of the Three Realms

Within the Three Realms, apart from the orthodox gods, there also exist some unrestrained, peerless figures and organizations that roam and dominate all heavens and worlds. Not to mention the three thousand great worlds—even the three thousand small worlds are vast beyond measure. The continents and voids occupied by the gods and the Three Realms are but a tiny fraction of the whole. Beyond them, there are endless, cold, and desolate celestial domains, as well as boundless seas of stars, with billions of planets swirling and floating amidst them.

In these desolate places, certain ascetic masters isolate themselves for cultivation, while others, bandit gangs that survive by plundering, gather and wreak havoc. The gods of the Three Realms have long suffered at their hands, yet remain helpless—because no one can predict when they will strike, or what they plan to steal or seize. Once they've plundered, they vanish into the endless starry expanse, utterly impossible to trace.

Among these marauding groups, the most infamous are the Rakshasa Sea and the Asura Fortress. One is a sea, the other a city—one might think they have fixed headquarters. In truth, their lairs are ever-drifting and shifting, traversing between countless spaces with no fixed location. To find them amidst the infinite realms and the immeasurable starry seas is a task thousands of times harder than finding a needle in a haystack. The leader of the Rakshasa Sea is named Robaro, while the Asura Fortress is ruled by Lady Luo, rumored to be a great beauty.

Aside from these major syndicates, three lone thieves are most renowned: Death God Chozador, Ghost King Shilidi, and the Grand Demon Mani Ashura.

The two leaders, Robaro and Lady Luo, possess powers equal to those of the greatest lords of the Three Realms. Though each of the thirty-three celestial lords has unique abilities, every realm has a symbolic master—for instance, the Desire Realm is ruled by Mara, Lord of Transformative Freedom; the Form Realm by Maheshvara, Lord of Ultimate Form; and the Formless Realm by the Lord of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception—a figure so mysterious, it could be anyone, anything, or even nothing at all.

Take, for example, Mara and Maheshvara—their powers are immense, far beyond the reach of ordinary lords. Yet even they are powerless against the leaders of the two great bandit groups. They cannot defeat them, but neither can the thieves be captured. More daunting, the three lone thieves rival Mara and Maheshvara in power. In direct confrontation, neither side can gain the upper hand; even if they clash, it’s uncertain who would come off worse.

Fortunately, in the three thousand worlds, small realms like the one where Tu Zhe resides number in the tens of billions—innumerable. The chances of these bandits attacking such a minor world are vanishingly slim. If you do encounter them, well, tough luck.

Yet fate has its whims. For centuries, none had glimpsed these thieves. But on the very evening after Tu Zhe's chaotic upheaval at the Heavenly Master’s Treasure Pavilion, the notorious Mani Ashura appeared out of nowhere, shattering in an instant the master artificer's proudest seals and restrictions, sweeping in with unstoppable force and emptying the vault of all its treasures. By the time Lord Indra and the ten celestial princes—the very pinnacle of the Armored Forces of Renlitian—rushed to the scene, all that remained was a colossal shadow and a string of curses echoing in the air:

“Damn, Renlitian really is poor! Next time, make some decent stuff, will you? It’s not easy for me, Mani Ashura, to come all this way! If you’re this stingy again, don’t even bother inviting me—I won’t come! What kind of junk is this—?!”

Arrogant beyond belief!

Lord Indra, are you not convinced? Then try chasing him down!

Master Heavenly Artisan, eyes bloodshot, was ready to risk his life, but couldn't even catch a glimpse of the thief's shadow. All he could do was roar, “Are the things I forge not good enough for you? Damn you, if you’ve got the guts, come back—!”

Come back? Is Mani Ashura going to return just for you? An ant shouting at an elephant—come on, do you really think he’ll stoop to acknowledge you? If the elephant wanted, it could trip you to your death with a single step. Would the elephant ever answer the ant? Master Heavenly Artisan truly lacks the humility expected of one in his position.

Lord Indra, however, took it in stride. Is this disgraceful? To lose to a being no one in the Three Realms can best is hardly a shame. It’s not our incompetence—the enemy is simply too formidable. Who says gods can’t have the spirit of Brother Aguai?

So what if we’ve been robbed? Let’s just take it as being bullied by our grandchildren.

As for the thirty-two lesser kings, princes, princesses, and celestial beings—they gossiped endlessly, letting their imaginations run wild. But what does that have to do with me, Indra? Coincidence, you know? It just happened that way—the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was robbed, then sealed, then the seal was instantly shattered, and everything was stolen. Such coincidence! Who objects? If you have something to say, speak up—no one’s stopping you.

Gossip and speculation—let the wise among you speculate all you want.

Some even dared to suggest it was a conspiracy. Indeed, how could it be so coincidental? Mani Ashura didn’t come sooner or later, but just when the Treasure Pavilion was sealed and about to be audited as evidence for the case—he appeared?

What timing! Could it be... just speculation, mind you, don’t spread it, but could there be... an impostor at work?

Rumor-mongering!

Do you believe such rumors?

Though sometimes rumors edge close to the truth, they remain rumors nonetheless.

Rumors cannot serve as evidence.

But if you fools didn’t whisper and spread rumors, how could the entire host of Renlitian be so stirred up?

Without such a stir, how could the lesser kings, princes, princesses, and celestial beings be so alarmed?

And if not alarmed, how could you all feel even more dread?

When the false is made real, even the truth becomes false. But conversely, when the false is made real, does the false not become real as well?

Have you mistaken rumor for truth?

Exactly. Choose your side—choose wrong, and one day, the false may become your reality.

Why, you ask? You clever lot, you can fabricate rumors that approach the truth, yet you can’t figure out what it means to knock on the mountain to scare the tiger? Are rumors truly that terrifying?

When will you finally understand that in this Renlitian, I, Shakya Tiheng Indra, am the true master?

Do you comprehend what being the master means?

You don’t? Haven’t figured it out? Still worship Hammurabi’s Code as sacred? Do you even know what Hammurabi’s Code stands for? No? Then you must never have committed certain crimes.

So you can rest easy and wait for death.

In the span of a single night, all of Mount Sumeru was abuzz with speculation. The Jin brothers, as the uncles of those involved, naturally understood the depths of the intrigue.

Jin Mu gave a wry smile. “See? This is all for our benefit. Wasn’t there supposed to be a trial? Sorry, the evidence has been stolen.”

Jin Si, too frustrated for words, paced and cursed, “Utterly thuggish tactics, wholly shameless, completely—”

The dog looked on with contempt, “Poor uncle, you’re just completely out of ideas. That’s how real rogues act. Look at the Rogue Brother and you’ll see—sometimes being a rogue is actually praise, hee hee…”

Shudra was practicing his breathing nearby, while Qin Lei sat, occasionally glancing at Tu Zhe, his thoughts unreadable.

Tu Zhe sat cross-legged on a mat woven of fragrant grass, eyes half-closed, a faint, ambiguous smile on his lips.

He recalled similar incidents from his previous life. Someone died in jail? How? Suicide, drank water, peed, died in their sleep—there’s no evidence of murder. Evidence? Sorry, the camera malfunctioned at just that time; the footage is blank.

Ha! When a man is shameless, he is invincible in the world; when a god is shameless, he is peerless in all three realms.

What are you trying to tell me?

What are you trying to show all the heavens?

Such blatant signaling—is it intimidation or a threat?

But, damn it, intimidation and threats are not battle!

I simply lack any sense of belonging to this celestial regime.

Hammurabi’s Code may not be much, but it’s still your so-called constitution. I don’t believe you’d dare blatantly violate it during a public trial.

The dog, ever watchful of Tu Zhe’s expression, suddenly reached out with a small paw to tug apart his lips. “Rogue Brother, why do you look so wickedly amused?”

The next morning, a celestial messenger came bearing the decree of Lord Indra:

By the mandate of heaven, Lord Indra decrees: To the sons Tu Zhe and Qin Lei, born of Jin Mu, Minor King of Lixian’an, you are to proceed at the appointed hour to the Fragrant Heaven’s Nurturing Garden to receive three hundred bowls each of Heavenly Sudha Delicacies and Heavenly Sudha Wine, that your bodies may grow strong. All other rites of celestial birth—bathing, anointing, donning robes, ornamentation, bestowal of treasures—are postponed until the resolution of the Treasure Pavilion dispute. Thus decreed.

After receiving the decree, the messenger departed. The Jin brothers were left bewildered—what does this mean? The food is granted first, so the coming-of-age can proceed, but the rest is delayed?

In his past life, Tu Zhe was well-versed in the classics, all too familiar with such political maneuvers.

He laughed heartily, “Little Lei, Shudra, can you guess what Lord Indra is trying to say?”

Shudra growled, “Whatever it is, it’s nothing good. I’m a straightforward man—so what are you up to, dog?”

The dog waggled its paw, eyeing Shudra slyly. “Have you reached Rogue Brother’s level yet? Daring to act like a rogue?”

Tu Zhe sneered, “Hmph, this is his way of telling me: cooperate, let the trial proceed as he wishes, and not only will I have food, but clothes and treasures too—rewards will be plentiful. But if I don’t, if things are delayed—see how he words it, the skill! That’s why he’s the lord. ‘Delayed’ could mean a day, a year, or never at all. Tsk, I spit… Admirable, really…”

The dog put on a fierce face, squeaking, “If he dares delay forever, I’ll capture all his wives and let Rogue Brother have his way with them, make him so angry he bursts his prostate…”

Tu Zhe’s face darkened. “Dog, perhaps you should maintain your ladylike image?”

And so, another raucous commotion broke out, too chaotic to describe in detail.

After a while, Tu Zhe had Shudra take Qin Lei to collect the Heavenly Sudha delicacies and wine, while he remained seated on his mat, brow furrowed in thought.

The dog, seeing Tu Zhe deep in contemplation, gazed at him with stars in its eyes. Truly, men who are attractive know how to feign depth—depth is the nemesis of beautiful women and beautiful dogs alike. This is true in all the heavens.

But Tu Zhe was not pretending—he was truly reflecting.

He unraveled the strand of ancestral information planted in his mind by Chi You, and began to study the art of the Imperishable Demon Body.

Having spent only two days on Mount Sumeru, he already felt a burning desire to grow strong—so powerful that none would dare insult him.

To fall behind is to invite humiliation. This is an eternal truth!