"Minister, I believe my mission as an imperial tool has ended. May I ask why you have sought me out again?"
A man in his forties, with long hair and a light beard, his eyes sharper than an eagle's, frowned as he looked at the current emperor's favorite, Minister Honest, who was tearing into a piece of meat.
"Oh, come now, Gozuki. You are the empire's strongest assassin. Talents like you are always cherished by the empire. Please don't belittle yourself."
Chewing on the meat, the minister continued, unfazed by the man's indifference.
"Don't worry, this isn't a particularly difficult task. In fact, it should be quite easy for you."
"How about training a new generation of assassins for the empire? Such a task would be perfect for a retired veteran like you."
Hearing this, the man known as Gozuki's frown eased slightly, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Indeed, such a task was quite simple for him, and passing on his assassination skills didn't seem like a bad idea.
"Alright, but let me make this clear: many will die during my training."
Seeing no issues, the man nodded, a bloodthirsty smile forming on his lips, the kind only someone long immersed in darkness would have.
"No problem! I've already prepared the people for you—over a hundred excellent seeds gathered from across the empire."
"Moreover, I've specially requested a perfect location from His Majesty for your training, to cultivate the strongest assassins!"
A strange glint flashed in the minister's eyes as his voice echoed through the air.
…
Full of resentment, Sora left the territory of the dangerous creature and began planning his next steps.
Initially, Sora had planned to leave this place and find human society as soon as possible, but now he had abandoned that idea. This world was not a peaceful, civilized society. The country was corrupt, and monsters in human skin roamed freely. Without strength or status, venturing out would be extremely dangerous.
Moreover, since he wanted to cultivate, the lawless wilderness was more suitable. Although these dangerous creatures were brutal, they were also excellent opponents for self-improvement.
From his understanding of the original story, the people of this world didn't have any advanced cultivation methods. Apart from some common combat techniques, they mainly focused on strengthening their physical bodies.
In essence, without the powerful Teigu, the combat power of humans in this world wasn't particularly high. There was no magic, no battle aura, and even some ancient secret techniques had long been lost.
The human body has its limits. How much stronger can you get by merely enhancing your physical body?
This realization gave Sora hope for a swift rise. Although his powers were sealed by this world's laws, his cultivation methods were not! As long as he could refine his internal energy and continuously temper his body through combat, he would inevitably grow stronger.
Moreover, internal energy was a higher-level force than physical strength. Using internal energy to activate Teigu would undoubtedly make them even more powerful.
Sora wasn't one to hesitate. Once he had an idea, he acted on it. He built a small shelter in a relatively safe part of the forest and began his life as a hermit.
At night, he refined his internal energy; during the day, he trained his body. When hungry, he ate fruits and hunted wild game. Occasionally, he would challenge nearby dangerous creatures. Life was quite fulfilling.
However, this fulfillment was bitter for Sora, who was used to a comfortable life. Sometimes, he wondered if he was being foolish. Back home, he had so many beautiful wives waiting on him. Why did he have to come here and suffer?!
But whenever such thoughts arose, Sora would remember the S-ranked queen and the many girls who had been killed off by a certain cold-blooded, unscrupulous author in the third dimension. To save them and teach them a lesson, Sora felt that his suffering was worth it.
Yes, he must grow stronger as quickly as possible. Although he couldn't regain his powers as a ruler, becoming the strongest in this world was a must. Then, by any means necessary, he would gather those girls into his harem and teach them a lesson, making them pay for all the suffering he had endured.
Yes, it must be done!
Thus, as our Sora worked hard, continuously cultivating and growing stronger, two years passed in the blink of an eye…
…
"Roar!!!"
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
In the center of the forest, a giant ape over twenty meters tall continuously beat its chest. Each time its massive fists struck its iron-like chest, a deafening sound echoed. Its eyes burned with endless fury and fighting spirit as it glared at its tiny opponent.
Yes, compared to its size, its opponent was indeed tiny—a human male who appeared to be in his early twenties.
"Stupid monkey, let's settle this once and for all!"
Well, this was the 100th time Sora had made such a declaration in the past two years.
This giant ape was the strongest dangerous creature in the forest and had been Sora's sparring partner for the past two years. However, the previous 99 encounters had all ended in Sora's crushing defeat. If it weren't for summoning the "Demon Armor" at critical moments to protect himself, he would have been killed countless times!
To say that Sora hated this giant ape would be an understatement. He had been stomped into the ground by its massive feet, punched until he vomited blood, and even kicked flying by its stinky feet!
He was once a ruler of a world, yet he had been bullied by this stupid monkey for two whole years! (Well, to be fair, he was the one who kept provoking it…) Such accumulated hatred made Sora dream of defeating this beast every night.
This hatred was truly a matter of life and death!
As for the giant ape, it was equally furious. This human was too damn annoying!
Clearly weak, yet he kept coming back to pick fights!
That would have been fine—just punch him to death and be done with it. But the problem was that he had a ridiculously overpowered set of armor, tougher than the ape's own iron-like skin! It couldn't be crushed or torn apart. Once, in a fit of rage, the ape had tried to chew him up, only to break one of its own teeth!
As the saying goes, when enemies meet, their eyes blaze with fury. Both the giant ape and Sora were determined to defeat the other, their fighting spirits erupting as a great battle loomed.
Sora's talent was undeniable, and with his vast experience, after two years of relentless training, he had become over a hundred times stronger than when he first entered this world.
The giant ape, as the ruler of the forest, was no ordinary creature either. Its defenses were incredibly strong, and its power was immense. Its thick, iron-like skin was tougher than steel, and its massive fists could pulverize a mountain!
Even if the empire sent three to five thousand soldiers, they might not be able to take it down!
Of course, because while training his physical body, he was also cultivating his inner energy. Compared to other humans in this world, Sora was already incredibly strong. If he were to don the "Demon Armor", defeating the giant ape would be a simple task. However, over the past two years, Sora had grown increasingly frustrated and was determined to defeat this damn monkey using his own strength.
Today was the day Sora would settle this grudge; otherwise, he would have left more than half a year ago.
Defeating this giant ape would be the first step in his quest to dominate this world!