Whooo—
The wind howled, thunder roared—this 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 true—
Only the Moon Sea could reflect the moon.
The Golden Dragon could never have imagined—
That in the middle of a life-and-death battle, Kanzaki Rei's mind was drifting to thoughts like these.
The dragon raised both claws, clasping them together high above—
Then brought them crashing down!
"Dragon Hammer!"
Buzz—
In an instant, time froze.
Kanzaki Rei's eyes locked onto the descending fists. He spent two seconds calculating—
Then released the frozen state.
And struck upward with a punch!
[Invincible Flow — Third Form: Army-Breaking Heavy Fist]
A small arm—
Colliding with a fist the size of a continent!
At the moment of impact—
A golden ripple spread outward!
Kanzaki Rei's body was sent crashing toward the ocean below, a surge of pain coursing through him—
But only pain.
BOOM!
He slammed into the sea—
And in the very next instant, his figure shot back into the sky!
"Come!"
In a flash, he struck the dragon's jaw!
[Firmament Flow — Third Form: Phantom Strike]
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!
His fists blurred into afterimages—
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 upward—
Striking its own jaw!
BOOM!
A direct, unrestrained self-inflicted blow!
It knocked its own head back—
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 — Step] had increased dramatically.
"You used magic?"
The dragon's perception fully kept up with Kanzaki Rei's speed.
Seeing him appear above its head in an instant, it demanded an answer!
"Heh… you can't even recognize a martial technique?"
Kanzaki Rei's consciousness carried a cold sneer.
"Or what? The mighty Golden Dragon doesn't allow warriors to use combat techniques?"
The dragon flew into a rage!
"Who said you can't use them? Use whatever you like!"
Kanzaki Rei's leg came crashing down!
At the same time—
The dragon's claw swept horizontally toward him!
Fast.
Incredibly fast.
That counterattack came almost instantly.
Seeing the incoming strike, Kanzaki Rei adjusted mid-move—his downward kick shifting into a sweeping strike!
BOOM!
Fist and leg collided!
Kanzaki Rei was sent flying again—
But in the very next instant, he caught up once more!
The dragon punched again!
BOOM—BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Their fists collided in rapid succession!
The dragon's attacks struck at a point so small it was almost insignificant—
Yet Kanzaki Rei's tiny fists held firm, meeting the storm of blows head-on!
"Is that all? Is that everything you've got?!"
Kanzaki Rei shouted, his voice ringing out:
"With attacks like this, you'll never kill me, Dragon!"
With every punch that came toward him—
He could feel the flow of power.
He could even feel his body-tempering techniques becoming more active!
It wasn't just [God-Tier: Apex Ascension State] enhancing his physical strength.
In truth—
[God-Tier: Physical Limit] was constantly strengthening his body as well.
He had only just reached Level 5—
There was still enormous room for growth.
In the early period after advancement—
Physical development was at its fastest.
Every second brought improvement.
Every moment, a breakthrough.
Moreover—
All of Kanzaki Rei's body-tempering techniques had already been deduced to LV: 501 proficiency.
They were far beyond anything ordinary methods could compare to.
It could be said—
That the Kanzaki Rei of this second was already stronger than the Kanzaki Rei of the previous second.
And in this intense battle—
His blood boiled!
For a warrior—
Combat itself was the ultimate path.
Physical combat was the fastest way to grow.
Normally, breaking one's limits required intense battle to stir the blood and ignite transformation.
But Kanzaki Rei—
Was an anomaly.
He had mastered too many, too powerful body-tempering techniques.
He didn't even need heated combat to keep advancing.
But that didn't mean—
Battle was useless.
On the contrary—
Fierce combat only accelerated his growth.
He could feel it—
His body was becoming stronger.
His fists clashed against the dragon's—
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 course—
At different tiers, the methods of wielding power were fundamentally different.
Kanzaki Rei was blasted backward again and again!
And as he flew back—
The dragon pursued relentlessly!
BOOM!
After knocking him away, the dragon brought both fists down—
Driving him deeper!
Then followed up with thousands of consecutive strikes!
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—
Kanzaki Rei met every blow head-on!
Each collision sent a brief numbness through his arms.
His bones shattered instantly—
Only to regenerate just as quickly.
Thousands of punches exchanged in a single breath—
And in that same breath, his arms broke thousands of times—
And healed thousands of times.
Under the barrage—
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 monsters—
Punching straight through them.
They died instantly.
Finally—
He came to a stop.
Around him, countless monsters surged forward!
The Turbid Sea held even more monsters than the Secret Sea—
And all of them were fiercely aggressive!
But before they could even act—
BOOM!
That massive, impossible figure appeared directly before him!
The surrounding sea monsters—
Merely brushed by its body—
Were instantly reduced to blood mist!
"Human! Your body is truly resilient!"
Kanzaki Rei remained completely unharmed.
The moment the dragon's tail had struck him—
He had been shattered into flesh and bone—
Yet in the very same instant—
He reassembled into a complete human form!
By the time he finished flying backward—
He was already fully restored to peak condition.
"You're not bad yourself."
A trace of excitement crept into Kanzaki Rei's voice.
By now—
The battlefield was far from the continent.
His earlier concerns faded away.
In their place—
Was pure enjoyment of battle.
Even at one-thousandth force—
The dragon could still shatter his body, tear him apart completely!
This—
Was a dragon.
After reforming, Kanzaki Rei's body was stronger than before.
And the battle—
Had finally reached the four-minute mark.
From their first encounter—
To the clash in the Turbid Sea—
To this battle deep beneath the ocean—
Only four minutes had passed.
And every single minute—
Had brought him immense gains.