​​Chapter 58: The Clash of Dao Hearts · Fairness vs. Balance​

Aurora‌
Thanos, unable to gain the upper hand despite prolonged assault, found Sun Wukong's层出不穷的变化神通 (céng chū bù qióng de biànhuà shéntōng -层出不穷的变化神通) and万法不侵的防御 (wàn fǎ bù qīn de fángyù -万法不侵的防御) unprecedentedly棘手 (jíshǒu -棘手). The Power Stone's annihilating torrents were分流导引 (fēn liú dǎoyǐn -分流导引) by the Pacificr; the Reality Stone's law distortions were巧妙化解 (qiǎomiào huàjiě -巧妙化解) by the Seventy-Two Transformations and the Samadhi True Wind. He realized that mere suppression through force and law was insufficient; he must attack the heart,摧毁其战斗意志 (cuīhuǐ qí zhàndòu yìzhì -摧毁其战斗意志)!
On the Infinity Gauntlet, the Mind Stone suddenly bloomed with a深邃而妖异的橙黄色光芒 (shēnsuì ér yāoyì de chénghuángsè guāngmáng -深邃而妖异的橙黄色光芒). An无形无质 (wúxíng wúzhì -无形无质)波动 (bōdòng -波动), yet直指灵魂本源 (zhí zhǐ línghún běnyuán -直指灵魂本源), capable of诱发心魔 (yòufā xīnmó -诱发心魔), spread out silently like a supernova's burst, precisely enveloping Sun Wukong! This was not a粗暴的精神冲击 (cūbào de jīngshén chōngjí -粗暴的精神冲击), but aimed to共鸣 (gòngmíng -共鸣),诱发 (yòufā -诱发),放大 (fàngdà -放大) the cracks in belief and latent doubts deep within the opponent's heart—like the most precise poison,瓦解其战意 (wǎjiě qí zhànyì -瓦解其战意) from within, even causing self-doubt and道心崩溃 (dàoxīn bēngkuì -道心崩溃)!
"Resistance is futile!" Thanos's voice was no longer a physical vibration but resonated directly within the deepest reaches of Sun Wukong's Primordial Spirit, carried by the Mind Stone's irresistible渗透力 (shèntòu lì -渗透力). Each syllable was heavy with a "persuasive power"仿佛源自宇宙真理 (fǎngfú yuán zì yǔzhòu zhēnlǐ -仿佛源自宇宙真理). "The universe requires balance! Resources are finite, life expands infinitely—this will inevitably lead to collective, utter annihilation! I erase half to allow the other half to live better, longer! This is greater benevolence! A necessary sacrifice! The supreme Dao of cosmic balance! Your resistance obstructs this great mercy! It is pointless compassion that pushes more life into deeper suffering and despair!"
This interrogation, imbued with the Mind Stone's至高权能 (zhìgāo quánnéng -至高权能), was heavy as a mountain, yet carried a扭曲的、令人窒息的 '逻辑' (niǔqū de, lìng rén zhìxī de 'luójí' -扭曲的、令人窒息的 '逻辑'),疯狂冲击着 (fēngkuáng chōngjí zhe -疯狂冲击着) Sun Wukong's mental defenses.
The motion of Sun Wukong's golden-hooped staff faltered for an extremely brief moment. The万法不侵的金刚不坏身 (wàn fǎ bù qīn de jīngāng bù huài shēn -万法不侵的金刚不坏身) seemed unable to block this soul-searing拷问 (kǎowèn -拷问). Within his Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils, golden light swirled, a flicker of barely perceptible ripples passing through, as if truly contemplating the weight of these words for a billionth of an instant. The power of the Mind Stone had indeed caused a slight disturbance to his Primordial Spirit, tempered through immeasurable calamities, forcing him to分神应对 (fēnshén yìngduì -分神应对) this assault aimed directly at his core.
However, a mere moment later, that ripple was replaced by even more璀璨 (cuǐcàn -璀璨),纯粹 (chúncuì -纯粹),坚定的金光 (jiāndìng de jīnguāng -坚定的金光)! Sun Wukong's Primordial Spirit seemed like true gold refined by fire, becoming even more condensed and radiant! His Dao Heart, having endured the文武火煅烧 (wénwǔ huǒ duànshāo -文武火煅烧) of the Eight Trigrams Furnace for七七四十九天 (qīqī sìshíjiǔ tiān -七七四十九天), and the磨砺 (mólì -磨砺) of the九九八十一难 (jiǔjiǔ bāshíyī nàn -九九八十一难) on the Journey to the West, was already混元如一 (hùnyuán rúyī -混元如一),圆满无漏 (yuánmǎn wú lòu -圆满无漏),万邪不侵 (wàn xié bù qīn -万邪不侵)! How could it be蛊惑动摇 (gǔhuò dòngyáo -蛊惑动摇) by some external宝石 (bǎoshí -宝石)?!
"Bullshit! Utter bullshit!" Sun Wukong's voice exploded like the thunder of the Ninth Heaven mixed with the chime of the Chaos Bell, its声波 (shēngbō -声波)蕴含破邪显正的无上伟力 (yùnhán pò xié xiǎn zhèng de wúshàng wěilì -蕴含破邪显正的无上伟力), forcibly震散 (zhèn sàn -震散) and逼退 (bītuì -逼退) the Mind Stone's无形渗透波动 (wúxíng shèntòu bōdòng -无形渗透波动)! "Balance? Sacrifice? Sounds prettier than a song! It's nothing but poison wrapped in sugar! You might fool others, but you can't fool your Grandpa Sun!"
His eyes blazed with fury. The golden-hooped staff in his hand seemed to resonate with its master's rage, emitting a low hum as he pointed it directly at Thanos:
"Your虚伪说辞 (xūwěi shuōcí -虚伪说辞), this old Sun is sick of hearing it! It's just a遮羞布 (zhēxiūbù -遮羞布) for your wanton slaughter and满足一己偏执的暴行 (mǎnzú yī jǐ piānzhí de bàoxíng -满足一己偏执的暴行)! A way to给自己脸上贴金 (gěi zìjǐ liǎn shàng tiē jīn -给自己脸上贴金), to pretend to be noble!"
"The Great Dao of the universe is生生不息 (shēngshēngbùxī -生生不息)! Yin and Yang轮回 (lúnhuí -轮回), strength and weakness交替 (jiāotì -交替), are the natural laws of evolution! How can you arbitrarily decide the生死 (shēngsǐ -生死) of billions upon billions of lives with your flippant talk of 'balance'?! That's not benevolence; it's霸道 (bàdào -霸道)! It's魔道 (módào -魔道)!"
"This old Sun also fights and kills, but this old Sun believes in公平 (gōngpíng -公平)! We fight when it's justified, punish when it's deserved! Right and wrong have their公论 (gōnglùn -公论)!恩怨分明 (ēn yuàn fēnmíng -恩怨分明), never牵连无辜 (qiānlián wúgū -牵连无辜)! And we don't engage in that狗屁道理 (gǒupì dàolǐ -狗屁道理) of drawing lots to kill half and leaving it to fate! That's the greatest disrespect to life!"
"To achieve your goal, you stop at nothing,视众生如草芥 (shì zhòngshēng rú cǎojiè -视众生如草芥)! How are you any different from the demons and monsters this old Sun slaughtered at the foot of Huaguo Mountain—those who occupied the mountains, ate people, and harmed lives?! You're even worse! They were evil openly,贪婪直接 (tānlán zhíjiē -贪婪直接)! But you... you are evil while believing yourself noble, using a set of grand principles to粉饰 (fěnshì -粉饰) your冰冷残忍的心 (bīnglěng cánrěn de xīn -冰冷残忍的心)!"
Sun Wukong's怒吼声震寰宇 (nùhǒu shēng zhèn huányǔ -怒吼声震寰宇). Each word was imbued with his千锤百炼的混元道心 (qiān chuí bǎi liàn de hùnyuán dàoxīn -千锤百炼的混元道心) and his执着信念 (zhízhuó xìnniàn -执着信念) in "fairness." This信念化作了无形的、却更加强大的冲击 (xìnniàn huà zuòle wúxíng de, què gèngjiā qiángdà de chōngjí -信念化作了无形的、却更加强大的冲击),反而反向冲击着 (fǎn'ér fǎn xiàng chōngjí zhe -反而反向冲击着) Thanos's mind,冲击着他那看似坚不可摧的 '平衡' 信条 (chōngjí zhe tā nà kàn sì jiān bù kě cuī de 'pínghéng' xìntiáo -冲击着他那看似坚不可摧的 '平衡' 信条)!
"Strength and weakness are not永恒 (yǒnghéng -永恒)! The weak of today may not be weak tomorrow! How can you decide life and death based on temporary strength? Your reasoning is狭隘 (xiá'ài -狭隘)!不通 (bùtōng -不通)!"
"What this old Sun wants is to give all beings in this cosmos a公平的机会 (gōngpíng de jīhuì -公平的机会)! A chance to strive with their own hands, to be self-reliant, to continuously自强不息 (zìqiángbùxī -自强不息)! A chance to see hope, to grasp their own destiny! Not your高高在上 (gāogāozàishàng -高高在上),自以为是的 '赐予' 死亡 (zìyǐwéishì de 'cìyǔ' sǐwáng -自以为是的 '赐予' 死亡)! That's not mercy; it's傲慢 (àomàn -傲慢)! It's the greatest injustice!"
These words were like洪钟大吕 (hóngzhōng dà lǚ -洪钟大吕),又如同开天辟地的第一道惊雷 (yòu rútóng kāitiānpìdì de dì yī dào jīngléi -又如同开天辟地的第一道惊雷),狠狠地敲击在灭霸的心头 (hěn hěn de qiāojī zài mièbà de xīntóu -狠狠地敲击在灭霸的心头). Even his seemingly unshakable "balance"信念产生了一丝极其细微却真实存在的动摇 (xìnniàn chǎnshēngle yīsī jíqí xìwēi què zhēnshí cúnzài de dòngyáo -信念产生了一丝极其细微却真实存在的动摇)! He found that his冰冷逻辑 (bīnglěng luójí -冰冷逻辑), seemingly flawless and implemented across countless galaxies, appeared for the first time somewhat...苍白 (cāngbái -苍白),片面 (piànmiàn -片面), even...残忍 (cánrěn -残忍) in the face of this炽热而朴素的道理 (chìrè ér pǔsù de dàolǐ -炽热而朴素的道理) based on "生命的尊严 (shēngmìng de zūnyán -生命的尊严)", "个体的可能性 (gètǐ de kěnéngxìng -个体的可能性)", and "实质公平 (shízhì gōngpíng -实质公平)"?
"Sophistry!" Thanos强行压下心头那丝不该有的动摇 (qiángxíng yā xià xīntóu nà sī bù gāi yǒu de dòngyáo -强行压下心头那丝不该有的动摇),怒吼道 (nùhǒu dào -怒吼道), as if trying to巩固自己的信念 (gǒnggù zìjǐ de xìnniàn -巩固自己的信念) by raising his voice. "Hesitation and womanly仁慈 (réncí -仁慈) only bring greater chaos and destruction! My method is the most efficient, most thorough mercy! A necessary阵痛 (zhèntòng -阵痛)!"
"Mercy my ass!" Sun Wukong sneered嗤之以鼻 (chīzhīyǐbí -嗤之以鼻), his eyes filled with不屑 (bùxiè -不屑). "In the end, you're just a懦夫 (nuòfū -懦夫) who dares not face complex problems, has no patience to wait for life to grow and choose for itself, and only wants to一刀切解决问题 (yīdāoqiē jiějué wèntí -一刀切解决问题) with the simplest, crudest means! And you戴上一顶 '救世主' 的高帽子 (dài shàng yī dǐng 'jiùshìzhǔ' de gāo màozi -戴上一顶 '救世主' 的高帽子) for yourself! Pah!"
Dao Heart clashed against Dao Heart! Ideology交锋 (jiāofēng -交锋)! Thanos's "balance" was a冰冷的数学概率 (bīnglěng de shùxué gàilǜ -冰冷的数学概率) and强制性的、忽略个体价值的 '最优解' (qiángzhì xìng de, hūlüè gètǐ jiàzhí de 'zuì yōu jiě' -强制性的、忽略个体价值的 '最优解'). Sun Wukong's "fairness" was an order full of生机 (shēngjī -生机), respecting individual struggle and the可能性 of life, emphasizing过程正义 (guòchéng zhèngyì -过程正义), more humane and充满人情味 (chōngmǎn rénqíng wèi -充满人情味).
This意志的较量 (yìzhì de jiàoliàng -意志的较量), seemingly无形 (wúxíng -无形), was far more perilous than the previous energy clashes! Thanos relied on the external power of the Stones; Wukong relied purely on his own千锤百炼、通透澄澈的混元道心 (qiān chuí bǎi liàn, tōngtòu chéngchè de hùnyuán dàoxīn -千锤百炼、通透澄澈的混元道心)!
Ultimately, it was Sun Wukong's历经磨难、本心不染尘埃的赤子道心 (lìjīng mónàn, běnxīn bù rǎn chén'āi de chìzǐ dàoxīn -历经磨难、本心不染尘埃的赤子道心) that prevailed! The Mind Stone's妖异光芒 (yāoyì guāngmáng -妖异光芒) was彻底压制 (chèdǐ yāzhì -彻底压制) and逼退 (bītuì -逼退) by his Primordial Spirit's golden light!
Thanos's心神骤然受扰 (xīnshén zhòurán shòu rǎo -心神骤然受扰). That slight动摇 (dòngyáo -动摇) in his信念, though细微 (xìwēi -细微), was enough to cause a momentary凝滞和不谐 (níngzhì hé bù xié -凝滞和不谐) in his全力以赴的战斗 (quánlìyǐfù de zhàndòu -全力以赴的战斗)! His offensive faltered for an instant!
"Now!" Sun Wukong's Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils blazed with intense light, his combat instincts seizing this fleeting, perfect opening created by the victory of his Dao Heart!