Zhen Yuanzi asked, "Great Sage, do you mean within the Three Realms?"
Sun Wukong was rather baffled by this. Could there be somewhere beyond the Three Realms?
He had certainly never been there, so he nodded. "That's right, within the Three Realms."
Zhen Yuanzi nodded slightly and was about to speak when Zhu Bajie walked in.
He waited until Zhu Bajie had taken a seat before saying, "I truly do not know who is strongest within the Three Realms. After all, not everyone has fought one another. Moreover, everyone has their own Dao. Some happen to counter certain opponents, yet are weaker than those opponents' defeated foes. Such cases are everywhere, so it is difficult to judge. As for Tathagata being the greatest expert, that is not the case either."
Hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately said scornfully, "You're far too full of yourself, Daoist. Don't tell me you can defeat Buddha Tathagata?"
After saying this, the contempt on Sun Wukong's face deepened. He believed Zhen Yuanzi was boasting.
Ever since entering the Five Villages Temple, seeing Zhen Yuanzi's couplet, and hearing him call the Three Pure Ones his friends, Sun Wukong had taken everything he said for bragging.
This was a bull-nosed Daoist who loved to boast.
Meanwhile, Zhen Yuanzi pondered Sun Wukong's question.
"Hmm, it would indeed be difficult for me to defeat Tathagata!"
The strength of Tathagata's magic power had astonished Zhen Yuanzi. During the Investiture of the Gods, he had taken a direct hit from the Heaven-Overturning Seal without relying on a magical treasure, and merely staggered.
He had also founded Buddhism and defeated Kong Xuan. With strength like that, though he was junior to Zhen Yuanzi, how could Zhen Yuanzi dare claim he could defeat Tathagata?
Zhen Yuanzi had never fought Tathagata. Both were peak Quasi-Saints,