The rays of sunlight spilled across the courtyard, greeting the flowers that were just beginning to wake.
Dew shimmered on every petal and the entire Imperial Palace garden glowed with an ethereal, almost immortal radiance.
Gentle breezes stirred the leaves, carrying the faint fragrance of spirit blossoms that only bloomed in places touched by Imperial Qi.
Kaiser paused at the entrance, letting the scene wash over him.
But the truth was simple.
It was not the beauty of the garden that invigorated him.
It was Kain.
It was the constant feedback flowing into his body from his Avatar.
Right now there was a difference of two minor realms between them, yet the pressure and resonance he felt in his flesh was astounding.
His bones tingled.
His blood churned.
His meridians hummed with a faint draconic rhythm.
Even without trying, Kaiser could sense it.
His body was already inching toward the Fourth Layer of Body Refinement.
Kain’s advancement had accelerated everything.
The moment Kain stepped into Rank Five, something had shifted.
The Avatar had already secured a position in the Imperial Court of that world.
And in that world there existed only a single Imperial Power, the Dragon Court.
Kain was now a Rank Five Mutant Warrior, and within the confines of the Dragon Court, there were very few who could stand against him.
The Small World he lived in simply did not have the depth to suppress someone of his level.
If he wanted to, he could shake the Empire’s foundations.
But there was no reason to do so.
Not yet.
His goals had never been political.
Kain sought growth, tempering, and the strength needed to feed his connection to Kaiser.
The Empire was stable, the resources were sufficient, and for now, the land of Gersa was a convenient stepping stone.
So he chose the simplest path. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
He joined the ranks of the Beast Hunter Army, the organization responsible for killing the Mutant Beast across this land.
Thanks to his strength, he was immediately appointed as the Vice Beast Commander of a full battalion.
His duties were straightforward.
At regular intervals, he would lead his squad into the vast forests beyond the Empire’s borders, track down wild Beasts, subdue or slay them, and escort the carcasses back to the capital.
Whether the Beasts were used for meat, refining materials, or strengthening serums was not his concern.
All he needed to do was hunt.
The job was simple.
For a Rank Five Mutant Warrior, the Beasts lurking in the peripheral zones of the forest were nothing more than warm up material.
Few creatures in the outskirts could even make him take a proper stance, much less threaten him.
But there was a problem.
His progress on both the Body Path and the Immortal Path was excruciatingly slow in this Small World.
The spiritual density was thin, the laws were shallow, and the ceiling of cultivation here was painfully low.
It felt like walking through mud, every step a struggle.
The only path that did not slow was what Kain called the Beast Path.
Yet even so, every enlightenment he gained on the Body Path was genuine.
And it flowed through the Avatar link to Kaiser.
Kaiser felt strength building inside him like a rising tide.
Which led to the question he now found himself asking with a mix of nervousness and excitement.
“Are you sure that I can kill a Fifth Layer Cultivator, Han?”
His voice trembled slightly.
Not from fear, but from the weight of possibility.
The Fourth Layer was already calling to him, and with Kain pushing from below, he saw the ceiling of Fourth Layer increasingly thin.
“There is no doubt about it.
Other than a few unpredictable geniuses whose combat power cannot be measured with common sense, with Your Majesty’s full strength unleashed, any Cultivator at the Fifth Layer would crumble like paper.
Han’s voice halted as if someone had pressed an invisible hand against his throat.
Kaiser frowned.
The silence felt wrong, as if the world itself was holding its breath.”What is it, Han?”
A ripple of starlight spread in the air.
Han slowly materialized, his presence warping the space around him.
No matter how many times Kaiser witnessed this manifestation, it left him quietly impressed.
It was not the power itself, but the ease with which Han treated reality like flowing water.
Han’s expression was darker than usual.
Uneasy.
Almost reverent.”Your Majesty… the Ancestors are calling you.”
Kaiser blinked.
His heart missed a beat.”The Ancestors?
Calling me?
What in the world could they possibly…
No.
Forget it.”
He exhaled slowly, eyes drifting toward the quiet garden.
A moment ago, he had been enjoying the sunlight.
Now that calm shattered like a fragile ornament.
The Ancestors.
Those old monsters who had not stirred in decades.
If even one of them moved, the entire Empire would tremble.
Kaiser rose to his feet.”Let us see what they want.”