Whoooā
The wind howled, thunder roaredāthis was the Turbid Sea!
The murky waters churned violently. Moonlight spilled across the surface, yet not a single reflection of the moon could be seen.
So the rumor was trueā
Only the Moon Sea could reflect the moon.
The Golden Dragon could never have imaginedā
That in the middle of a life-and-death battle, Kanzaki Reiās mind was drifting to thoughts like these.
The dragon raised both claws, clasping them together high aboveā
Then brought them crashing down!
"Dragon Hammer!"
Buzzā
In an instant, time froze.
Kanzaki Reiās eyes locked onto the descending fists. He spent two seconds calculatingā
Then released the frozen state.
And struck upward with a punch!
[Invincible Flow ā Third Form: Army-Breaking Heavy Fist]
A small armā
Colliding with a fist the size of a continent!
At the moment of impactā
A golden ripple spread outward!
Kanzaki Reiās body was sent crashing toward the ocean below, a surge of pain coursing through himā
But only pain.
BOOM!
He slammed into the seaā
And in the very next instant, his figure shot back into the sky!
"Come!"
In a flash, he struck the dragonās jaw!
[Firmament Flow ā Third Form: Phantom Strike]
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!
His fists blurred into afterimagesā
A thousand punches unleashed in a single instant!
The Golden Dragon felt an immense force crash into its jaw, its head tilting slightly back!
"Good!"
The dragon beat its wings and swung its fist upwardā
Striking its own jaw!
BOOM!
A direct, unrestrained self-inflicted blow!
It knocked its own head backā
And Kanzaki Rei had already appeared above it.
Now a Level 5 Warrior and Level 5 Mage, every technique within the Firmament Flow had been significantly enhanced.
Even the speed of [Eighth Form ā Step] had increased dramatically.
"You used magic?"
The dragonās perception fully kept up with Kanzaki Reiās speed.
Seeing him appear above its head in an instant, it demanded an answer!
"Heh... you canāt even recognize a martial technique?"
Kanzaki Reiās consciousness carried a cold sneer.
"Or what? The mighty Golden Dragon doesnāt allow warriors to use combat techniques?"
The dragon flew into a rage!
"Who said you canāt use them? Use whatever you like!"
Kanzaki Reiās leg came crashing down!
At the same timeā
The dragonās claw swept horizontally toward him!
Fast.
Incredibly fast.
That counterattack came almost instantly.
Seeing the incoming strike, Kanzaki Rei adjusted mid-moveāhis downward kick shifting into a sweeping strike!
BOOM!
Fist and leg collided!
Kanzaki Rei was sent flying againā
But in the very next instant, he caught up once more!
The dragon punched again!
BOOMāBOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Their fists collided in rapid succession!
The dragonās attacks struck at a point so small it was almost insignificantā
Yet Kanzaki Reiās tiny fists held firm, meeting the storm of blows head-on!
"Is that all? Is that everything youāve got?!"
Kanzaki Rei shouted, his voice ringing out:
"With attacks like this, youāll never kill me, Dragon!"
With every punch that came toward himā
He could feel the flow of power.
He could even feel his body-tempering techniques becoming more active!
It wasnāt just [God-Tier: Apex Ascension State] enhancing his physical strength.
In truthā
[God-Tier: Physical Limit] was constantly strengthening his body as well.
He had only just reached Level 5ā
There was still enormous room for growth.
In the early period after advancementā
Physical development was at its fastest.
Every second brought improvement.
Every moment, a breakthrough.
Moreoverā
All of Kanzaki Reiās body-tempering techniques had already been deduced to LV: 501 proficiency.
They were far beyond anything ordinary methods could compare to.
It could be saidā
That the Kanzaki Rei of this second was already stronger than the Kanzaki Rei of the previous second.
And in this intense battleā
His blood boiled!
For a warriorā
Combat itself was the ultimate path.
Physical combat was the fastest way to grow.
Normally, breaking oneās limits required intense battle to stir the blood and ignite transformation.
But Kanzaki Reiā
Was an anomaly.
He had mastered too many, too powerful body-tempering techniques.
He didnāt even need heated combat to keep advancing.
But that didnāt meanā
Battle was useless.
On the contraryā
Fierce combat only accelerated his growth.
He could feel itā
His body was becoming stronger.
His fists clashed against the dragonāsā
Sending wave after wave of golden ripples outward.
So this was how a Level 7 Golden Dragon exerted its strength...
Completely different from anything he had experienced before.
Of courseā
At different tiers, the methods of wielding power were fundamentally different.
Kanzaki Rei was blasted backward again and again!
And as he flew backā
The dragon pursued relentlessly!
BOOM!
After knocking him away, the dragon brought both fists downā
Driving him deeper!
Then followed up with thousands of consecutive strikes!
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thudā
Kanzaki Rei met every blow head-on!
Each collision sent a brief numbness through his arms.
His bones shattered instantlyā
Only to regenerate just as quickly.
Thousands of punches exchanged in a single breathā
And in that same breath, his arms broke thousands of timesā
And healed thousands of times.
Under the barrageā
He was driven deep into the ocean!
And the Golden Dragon plunged in after him!
BOOM!
Its tail swept through the water in a devastating arc!
Kanzaki Rei crossed his arms to block!
BANG!
Even in the depths of the sea, he was blasted hundreds of kilometers away!
As he flew through the ocean, his body tore through countless sea monstersā
Punching straight through them.
They died instantly.
Finallyā
He came to a stop.
Around him, countless monsters surged forward!
The Turbid Sea held even more monsters than the Secret Seaā
And all of them were fiercely aggressive!
But before they could even actā
BOOM!
That massive, impossible figure appeared directly before him!
The surrounding sea monstersā
Merely brushed by its bodyā
Were instantly reduced to blood mist!
"Human! Your body is truly resilient!"
Kanzaki Rei remained completely unharmed.
The moment the dragonās tail had struck himā
He had been shattered into flesh and boneā
Yet in the very same instantā
He reassembled into a complete human form!
By the time he finished flying backwardā
He was already fully restored to peak condition.
"Youāre not bad yourself."
A trace of excitement crept into Kanzaki Reiās voice.
By nowā
The battlefield was far from the continent.
His earlier concerns faded away.
In their placeā
Was pure enjoyment of battle.
Even at one-thousandth forceā
The dragon could still shatter his body, tear him apart completely!
Thisā
Was a dragon.
After reforming, Kanzaki Reiās body was stronger than before.
And the battleā
Had finally reached the four-minute mark.
From their first encounterā
To the clash in the Turbid Seaā
To this battle deep beneath the oceanā
Only four minutes had passed.
And every single minuteā
Had brought him immense gains.