It was time to advance to the third rank.
Inside the training space, everything was as usual… a vast arena, cold air, a towering mountain overlooking the void.
But the opponent had changed.
Before me stood a monkey nearly two meters tall.
Its body wasn't real flesh… but a dense mass of black shadow.
The only exception was a pair of glowing crimson eyes, long arms, and even longer legs—like shadows that had taken on a sharpened form.
I stepped toward it steadily.
My pulse was calm.
My breathing steady.
No fear in its eyes… nor in mine.
If it possessed something that could harm me, then I possessed something that could harm it.
It moved suddenly.
Its shadowed feet dug into the ground as it launched itself toward me with heavy speed—like a massive boulder hurled in a straight line. It wasn't the size of a natural catastrophe beast, but it carried the same decisive force.
It closed the distance in an instant.
Its eyes flashed.
Its fist rose.
