The curse Odin left on Mjölnir never vanished. Without Odin's approval, you cannot lift the hammer, unless you are greater than Odin, the Heavenly Father.
Conqueror Kang tried thousands of times, including using violent methods to control Loki, condensing the time around her and confiscating all potential weapons on her, but all were in vain.
Loki is determined to trouble him.
After being struck by thousands of lightning bolts, Conqueror Kang decided to give up.
Even if going back in time allows his body to withstand multiple lightning strikes, his emotional state, on the verge of collapse, could not bear it any longer.
Being struck by lightning really hurts. This was the lesson Conqueror Kang learned after thousands of lightning strikes. If he had read Eastern mythologies, he would know that even the most evil spiritual cultivator wouldn't be hit by thousands of heavenly tribulations within two seconds.
Conqueror Kang gave up reversing the past and began to think of other methods. He could directly interfere with his past actions, allowing Loki to escape when he first captured her.
However, in Conqueror Kang's perspective, he was so close to success, why abandon the entire plan? Greed urged him not to give up the results he had almost obtained. Thus, he started to focus on the future.
Conqueror Kang's ability to traverse time is not only limited to returning to the past, but also moving forward to the future.
However, if Conqueror Kang did nothing, the future would be uncertain. That means he must first make a reaction, then move forward to the future that results from that reaction.
Hence, after being struck by the first lightning, Conqueror Kang decided to confront Thor using the power of the lightning strike.
Conqueror Kang did not actually need to fight Thor. After making this decision, he could jump to the future to see the results. If the outcome was unfavorable, he could choose not to fight.
Simply put, when he made a choice, he could directly jump to the future to see whether making this choice would yield the results he wanted.
If the outcome was unsatisfactory, he would return to the time point when the decision was made and make another choice. By repeating this process, he could use the Exhaustion Method to find the most beneficial choice.
A flash of light flickered, and Conqueror Kang's figure disappeared. The next second, he was in the midst of an infinite cosmos.
As time was still in a standstill, Conqueror Kang had ample time to observe his surroundings. He found himself in a strange universe, which must be Loki's universe.
He did not feel the raging thunder, and he did not see any signs of a battle. Everything was eerily silent.
Conqueror Kang could sense his location in this future timeline, so he began to search in the universe for where he could be in the future. Even if he was turned to ashes by lightning, there should be some traces left, right?
He searched and searched, but he found no trace of himself. However, at the place where his last breath disappeared, he found a lonely star.
In front of the enormous star, Conqueror Kang appeared as a tiny shadow.
Suddenly, within the heat wave emitted by the star, he saw a familiar weapon slowly floating in front of him.
Conqueror Kang looked down at the gun on his waist, then looked up at the drifted gun. He thought, wasn't that his own gun?
But at this point, the drifting gun had become wreckage. The barrel was completely broken and the trigger was gone. Conqueror Kang had a bad premonition.
Just then, he heard a deep roar echoing through the universe.
"So annoying! I shouldn't have eaten that guy. The more I eat, the hungrier I get!"
"I'm so hungry! So hungry! They won't let me bite indiscriminately. I'm so hungry that I can only gnaw on the sun here... So annoying!!"
Instantly, Conqueror Kang froze. As he looked up, he saw a pair of giant monster eyes floating above the star, and a mouthful of terrifying fangs.
A gargantuan monster, bristling with spikes and perched upon a star, stared down at Conqueror Kang with frosty eyes. Before Kang could utter a single word, a deep voice echoed from the creature's throat.
"At first, Loki claimed she would use Thor as bait, to lure the oaf over. I didn't think it would work. And yet, it seems more than one has fallen into our trap...How fortunate, I haven't had my fill yet - another helping wouldn't hurt."
"Roar!!!!"
The last image seared into Conqueror Kang's mind was that of a terrifying abyss-like maw, swallowing him whole.
With a swish, Conqueror Kang found himself back in front of the dreary prison cell door, drenched in cold sweat.
"What was that?! " he murmured to himself.
Conqueror Kang stood rooted to the spot, taking deep breaths and swallowing hard to regain his composure. He whispered, "A trap! It's a trap! I can't go looking for Thor directly; otherwise, that monster will devour me!"
Then, he took out a device, pressed a few buttons, and jabbed the red key hard. After a loud 'bang,' a cloud of smoke emerged from the device. This implied that the previous timeline had just been destroyed.
Conqueror Kang pondered on the spot, his eyes darting around as a new idea emerged in his mind. He murmured to himself again: "I can sneak into the universe, catch Thor off guard, pause time, and then defeat him... Yes, that's the plan."
So, a plotting Conqueror Kang set off once again.
This time, he didn't respond to Thor's attack. Instead, he fled the scene, locked onto Thor's scent, and surreptitiously infiltrated the universe Thor resided in, from a blind spot beyond Thor's reach.
Subsequently, he travelled the timeline again, heading towards a possible future, seeking his future self to ascertain if he had won.
However, as he traced his own scent, Conqueror Kang realized he hadn't appeared in Asgard or the cosmos. Instead, the scent led him to a cerulean globe – Earth.
Immediately, Conqueror Kang recognized this planet as his home - he hadn't forgotten that his surname was Richards, related to that accursed Reed Richards.
If he is to stealthily infiltrate, starting from Earth was indeed a good idea. After all, people here haven't mastered any space-time technologies and couldn't possibly capture him.
So, Conqueror Kang descended onto Earth, and following his peculiar scent, ended up in New York, right on Wall Street.
Conqueror Kang felt utterly lost; he couldn't understand why he would show up on Wall Street.
The next second, he noticed a familiar figure. His future self from that timeline emerged fled a building in a whirlwind, looking resplendent in a suit, briefcase in tow. He was speaking into a phone as he walked:
"Tell the Demon Gods of the Shattered Dimension that 1.6 is my final offer! It's about time they stopped pushing their luck... What? Not signing a contract, then they can piss off!"
"I have top-notch customer resources at my disposal! Do you know how many timelines are there in this universe? Or how many Demon Gods exist within every timeline, every universe?"
"Eternity from the future timeline of Universe 1036 next door is my client!... And that universe dominated by Ancient Egypt. What's the Pharaoh called again? Oh right, Apocalypse, is a longtime client of mine! He even invited me to visit his future pyramid tomb today."
"You should be familiar with the Rune King of Asgard, right?... No, I'm not talking about Thor from this universe. Don't you get it?"
"Just the other day, I got his number to discuss our resurrection services... What? Out of resurrection slots already? What does it matter? There's more to come in the future, right? What's a couple of days to an Asgardian?"
"Let me tell you this; the untouched Asgard from the Multiverse is a goldmine! Keep your eyes peeled for it. Once we seal this deal, I will definitely be the top salesman of the year!"
"Then, that so-called Golden Manager of The Sanctum, Steven, and that damned hundred-year champion partner, Loki, can eat their hearts out!"
"Also, in a couple of days, the shameless 'past me' will likely appear."
"If he rings, casually brush him off or offer minor benefits to get rid of him. I don't have the time to deal with such low quality, unprofitable clients!"