The Monarch Who Declares Himself the Strongest

The headlines exploded across every major outlet at once.

“World’s strongest? Sounds like he’s making some huge announcement.”

“It is a huge announcement. He gathered every reporter he could find just to say he’s the strongest.”

“Classic alpha-male move. Talking nonsense right in front of the press.”

The declaration that he was the world’s strongest.

Surprisingly, Jinho’s bold statement didn’t meet much backlash.

He had single-handedly slain Rene Davis, the strongest player in Europe.

He had cleared S-rank and A-rank gates in rapid succession—gates that the local rankers hadn’t even dared to challenge, only managed from a distance.

The general atmosphere wasn’t one of denial so much as, well, he’s not exactly wrong, is he?

“He really does love drawing attention, doesn’t he?”

Ellen, America’s strongest ranker, simply scoffed. She didn’t deny it.

“Hmph. Just wait. I’ll catch up to you soon enough.”

Sergey, the man known as Russia’s pride, only burned with renewed motivation. He didn’t deny the claim either.

But not every ranker was willing to accept it.

“The strongest? He dares speak of the strongest without mentioning me?”

“I cannot accept this. I must go to Korea and settle this in person.”

“Heh heh. Quite the confident fellow, isn’t he?”

Britain’s Gino.

India’s Ashad.

Hungary’s Death Mask.

Strong players with solid reputations in their respective regions were now fuming and preparing to fly to Korea.

What actually drew more interest, however, was the news of Yeokcheon Guild’s new European branch.

“They don’t even have twenty guild members, and they’re opening a European branch?”

“Didn’t they say Yeokcheon aims to be a small elite force?”

“It feels more like they’re setting up a cooperation hub.”

“This is an opportunity.”

“Look at the stock price climbing.”

“Ugh. If I’d known, I would’ve bought more Gold Moon shares.”

Yeokcheon Guild operated on a small-elite ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠principle.

All external activities had been carried out in cooperation with Gold Moon, so it was only natural that the new European branch would be closely tied to them as well.

His statement didn’t deny the connection between the two guilds.

Since Yeokcheon wasn’t publicly listed, Gold Moon absorbed every last drop of the reflected benefits.

“Mr. Yu. You’ve done something quite entertaining.”

William Rockefeller, master of Gold Moon, stroked his mustache.

Prior discussion?

As if that had ever happened.

The man had gone and dropped a bomb without consulting anyone, yet William didn’t feel any real resentment.

Instead, he burst into loud laughter.

Just thinking about the guy across the Pacific who kept causing incidents without regard for his opinion was enough to make him laugh uncontrollably.

He must have judged that this much was within my capacity before pulling this stunt.

Yeokcheon Guild’s advance into Europe was undoubtedly good news.

Whether it had been part of the plan or not.

Once the wind had begun to blow, there was no point in letting himself be swept away to some random destination.

Mr. Yu. You’ve thrown this at me because you trust in my abilities.

William had always been the one testing others.

It had been a long time since he found himself dancing on a stage someone else had prepared.

Strangely, the realization didn’t feel unpleasant at all.

Because he now clearly understood that the other party had made such a bold move precisely because he believed in William’s capabilities.

Moreover, Jinho had kept his promise to become the world’s strongest player.

Now it was Gold Moon’s turn to become the world’s strongest guild.

The bombshell dropped at the press conference was more than enough to serve as the foundation for Gold Moon to rise as the undisputed top guild on the planet.

Beep—

The moment he pressed the call button, his secretary entered the office.

“Book a ticket to Korea for Marco Hofman.”

“Understood.”

“And look into a suitable building to serve as the guild house.”

When the tide comes in, you have to row with everything you’ve got.

William flexed his fingers restlessly.

“Ahem. The world’s strongest player is me.”

“……”

“Oh my! The world’s strongest player himself! Please give me your autograph!”

Hmm.

Should I kill her? Or not?

I relaxed my left hand, which had been unconsciously clenching with murderous intent.

“Master. That was a truly manly declaration! This Ping Lei has learned well!”

This won’t do.

“Lee Jiyoung. Ping Lei. Sparring time.”

“Please spare me!”

“Why are you lumping me together with that woman! I was being sincere!”

The fact that he was being sincere only made it more annoying.

After thoroughly stomping the two of them into the ground, I finally felt a little better.

“Ugh… No matter what I do, the gap just won’t close.”

Ping Lei muttered in a frustrated tone.

“Still, you’ve improved a lot. Especially with Seon Magic.”

“Really?”

“Your clone stats went up too, right? About five percent.”

“You saw through everything.”

“Your training paid off.”

“Ahem. Compared to Master, I still have a long way to go.”

He was pretending to be humble, but his nose was practically pointing at the ceiling.

He even snuck a glance down at Jiyoung and let out a tiny snort.

“Can’t be helped when there’s such a talent gap. You should work harder.”

“You little—? Talent? Get up to the roof right now!”

“You’re only inviting regret.”

Wow.

You two really are overflowing with stamina.

I’d been worried that forcing you to train every spare moment might be too much, but if you still have this much energy, I can push you even harder.

“Are you not going to watch the spar?”

“Just go watch your goddess. Make sure she doesn’t cause any trouble.”

“Hehe. Understood.”

I pretended not to notice the two growling at each other and returned to my room.

“Now, where was it…”

I reached into the Pocket of Desire and rummaged around for a while.

A worn-out book slid into my hand.

It’s been a while.

The Seon Magic training manual I received from the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong.

While I was busy stomping Ping Lei into the dirt, I had been too occupied lately to properly train in Seon Magic.

I had benefited greatly from powerful techniques like Earth Dragon Out of Water and Lightning Net.

It would be nice if I could pick up another useful Seon Magic this time.

The pure white pages contained not a single letter.

Then, pitch-black characters began to appear.

“Are you disappointed?”

He’s being way too honest about his personal preferences.

“Just hand over the Seon Magic already.”

“Isn’t it a bit rich for you to be talking about manners?”

On Earth, his journey escorting the monk Tripitaka to the Western Paradise was more famous.

But in the lofty Heavenly Realm, people remembered far more clearly the time he had rampaged like a complete maniac during his days as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

The monstrous monkey who fought the heavenly armies head-on and reduced even the Jade Emperor’s palace to dust!

“Don’t forget our contract.”

Sun Wukong could observe me even from outside the Tower.

The price was guidance in Seon Magic.

If he failed to fulfill his duty?

The contract would simply be terminated.

“If you don’t like it, cancel the contract right now. I’ll even give mutual consent.”

I could feel the urgency in the Great Sage’s text.

Once something caught his interest, he would never let it go.

There probably wasn’t a single player in the entire Tower as entertaining as me.

So behave yourself.

Otherwise I might just evict you from this room.

“There’s nothing more reliable than the Great Sage Equal to Heaven’s eye for talent.”

So far, I had learned four Seon Magic techniques.

Lightning Type ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠– Thunder God / Lightning Net

Thanks to Zeus’s Essence, control ability has greatly increased.

Earth Type – Nether Surge / Earth Dragon Out of Water

Thanks to Gaia’s Essence, destructive power has been amplified.

All of them had been recommended by Sun Wukong.

The lightning techniques had started as a prank to mess with him, but they had proven incredibly useful.

Earth Dragon Out of Water was also a powerful technique for ground battles.

Seon Magic didn’t overlap with internal energy or mana manipulation, making it perfect for irregular, unpredictable applications.

It was an art worthy of being Ping Lei’s main specialty.

But I already had more than enough main specialties of my own.

Not to mention that Mind Sword was already difficult to handle for the same reason.

So I had been using Seon Magic mainly for checks and surprise attacks rather than as core techniques.

The Great Sage must already know that about me.

Which meant he would probably recommend a Seon Magic that suited my tendencies.

My goal?

I didn’t have an immediate answer to Sun Wukong’s question.

Before my regression, I never had the luxury to think about such things.

For several years after awakening, I was rejected by everyone because my ability only turned gold into trash.

After I finally mastered how to properly use Devour, I was too busy learning and internalizing countless abilities.

The moment I became a ranker and obtained wealth and honor, the third erosion broke out.

This world lost the competition against other dimensions and was absorbed by the Tower.

I had been completely focused on growing stronger to fight against the Old Gods.

I never had time to deeply contemplate the question of what I was truly aiming for.

“It is an honor to receive such praise from the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.”

“Yes, yes.”

Image, huh.

It was something I had already felt while using Mind Sword.

“You already know it’s thanks to the bonus from my unique ability.”

Hmm.

It’s a shame I can’t tell him about my regression perk.

The Great Sage kept circling around the main point.

After saying this much, he should just get to the conclusion.

“Just the conclusion, please.”

The book fell silent for a moment—no characters appeared at all.

I placed my hand on the cover to close it, and jagged handwriting finally floated up.

It was an unfamiliar name.

“Because Seon Magic itself seeks harmony with nature?”

“I decline.”

Wind Flower Snow Moon.

He had presented a technique I hadn’t expected at all.

If I hadn’t created Mind Sword through Fusion Qigong, I would have asked for a different mental technique.

In my previous life, after stepping into the realm of transcendence, I had tied together or distributed the various Essences to maintain balance within my body.

Thanks to that, I had been able to wield ultimate—or near-ultimate—abilities across multiple fields.

I already had more than enough techniques to serve as my main arsenal.

Was it really necessary to dig another path just to bring out the full power of Mind Sword?

A thread of doubt crossed my mind.

No.

I need it.

If I want to crush the ambitions of the Old Gods, I cannot be satisfied with the same level I had in my previous life.

There must be a clear reason why Sun Wukong recommended this particular technique.

“I will learn this technique.”

If only he hadn’t added that last part, I might have actually believed him.

Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, the Great Sage floated the incantation for Wind Flower Snow Moon onto the page.