Boundless Merit: Beating Demons and Preaching in Journey to the West

Chen Sanzang, a towering Tang Dynasty monk with bulging muscles, is a level-ten stand-up comedian and a master of “physical exorcism.” When his soul transmigrates into the world of Journey to the West, he arrives just as the Three Realms have collectively given up: the gods in Heaven slack off on the job, the underworld officers drag their feet, the Dragon Palace is riven by infighting, and demons take advantage of the chaos to bully people in the human world. Just after taking office, he gets kidnapped by a little monster that Heaven failed to keep an eye on. Then he unexpectedly activates the Three Realms Merit System and sets off on the pilgrimage with an eccentric crew.

“Good sir, stealing a child’s candied hawthorn skewers is wrong. Is your boss slacking off in Heaven and ignoring you?” Chen Sanzang charges at the head of the pack, swinging his nine-ringed monk’s staff.

The hot-tempered monkey demon Shi Pokong roars as he swings his cudgel: “I’m sick of this! Those old fogeys in Heaven have more demons on their payroll than there are peaches at the Peach Banquet!”

The stingy pig demon Zhu Wujin flees with his head in his hands: “Let’s call it quits! The buns we just stole got snatched by an escaped convict from the underworld!”

The deadpan, secretly sultry monk Sha Bujing quietly lands another blow: “Master said beating up Heaven’s cronies doubles your merit points. Senior brother’s right.”

And then there’s their dragon mount: “Woof… My cousin at the Dragon Palace is showing off his pure-blood scales on social media again!”

Before fighting any demon, this crew checks their “connections.” If they have ties to Heaven, they beat them to a pulp; if they’re escapees from the underworld, they send them back to claim the reward. They also hand out the stolen money to ordinary people to earn merit. They’re not just seeking the true scriptures: they’re going to overturn the Three Realms’ entire “slacking-off industry chain” and teach gods and demons alike a lesson with their fists. “You can slack off all you like, but if you harm the human world, this monk’s fists won’t stand for it!”