In actual combat, experience was the best teacher—at least for the Warrior class.
Unfortunately, at this level, it had already become difficult to find opponents who could truly contend with him in terms of raw physical strength.
Even though his body continued to grow stronger—
He still felt that his training in pure physical combat was lacking.
His body reformed once more!
Kanzaki Rei and the Golden Dragon clashed fist against fist beneath the sea. Their bodies moved with wide, explosive motions, and every collision sent the surrounding waters erupting!
Countless sea monsters were crushed and killed outright!
Just the aftershocks of their battle swept across the ocean!
Kanzaki Rei's physical strength was still at a disadvantage. Every time he met the dragon head-on, he was blasted vast distances away!
And the Golden Dragon pursued relentlessly—
Never giving him a moment to breathe.
It had already realized—
Kanzaki Rei's regeneration was terrifying.
Though he was constantly being pushed back, he had never suffered a truly fatal injury.
Or rather—
What kind of damage would count as fatal to him?
The dragon could feel it—
His body was becoming tougher.
The damage he received was decreasing more and more.
After four minutes of combat—
Kanzaki Rei was only taking one ten-thousandth of the original damage.
What had once been like a warhammer smashing into a wall—
Was now like a mosquito lightly brushing against him.
Shing!
In an instant, the Golden Dragon appeared again in front of the blasted-back Kanzaki Rei!
Its claws pulled back—
Then shot forward like cannon fire!
BANG!
Kanzaki Rei took the blow head-on!
But this time—
He wasn't sent flying far.
Instead, he came to a rapid stop within the water!
His right fist drew back—
Then exploded forward in a counterattack!
BANG!
The dragon's head snapped to the side!
A powerful force slammed into its face.
His strength—
Had increased again!
But still—
Not enough.
This level of attack was far from sufficient!
BOOM—
Once more, claw and fist collided, sending fractured ripples through the seabed!
Kanzaki Rei was blasted upward toward the sky!
And the Golden Dragon's form rose high above—
Its claws raised, transforming into countless afterimages of draconic fists, raining down in an inescapable barrage!
[Dragon Combat Art — Ascending Sky Dragon Strike · Shattering Shadow Dragon Fist]
As he was launched into the sky, Kanzaki Rei saw nothing but golden fists in every direction!
Every single one—
Was real.
If he wanted to dodge—
He could.
Whether it was [Oblivion · Void] or [Chaos · Void], escape was entirely possible.
But—
At that moment, Kanzaki Rei felt his blood surge!
A blazing, uncontrollable exhilaration!
Dodge?
If he dodged—could he still call himself a warrior?
No.
He would face it head-on!
He would take this attack with his body!
A grin spread across his face—
One of pure excitement!
And at the same time—
His own fists multiplied into countless afterimages!
[Firmament Flow — Third Form: Phantom Strike][Phantom Strike · Chaotic Shadow Dragon-Shattering Fist]
His battle intent surged!
In that moment of boiling blood—
A brand-new variation of his technique was unleashed seamlessly!
Every combat art could evolve into countless variations.
Even within the Invincible Flow alone, there were numerous derivatives.
The sky filled with fists—
Kanzaki Rei's punches collided with the dragon's in a relentless storm!
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG—
Blood mist exploded outward!
His fists shattered again and again into clouds of gore—
Yet before the next punch even landed—
They were already fully restored!
To an ordinary observer—
It would be impossible to tell that his fists were being destroyed repeatedly.
Because his regeneration was simply too fast.
Even under tens of thousands of strikes in a single instant—
He regenerated tens of thousands of times just as quickly.
No matter how many regenerative abilities existed in this world—
None could compare to this level of monstrous recovery.
Unless he was erased completely in a single instant—
He was effectively immortal.
BOOM!
Blood mist scattered, fist shadows shattered!
The sky seemed to fracture under the force of their clash—
Yet Kanzaki Rei stood there, completely unharmed!
Blood rained down from above.
"Human! I underestimated you before!"
"You are worthy to fight me!"
"Among all those at your level, your physical strength is the greatest I have ever seen!"
"I, Helberzio, acknowledge you as the strongest!"
At the start of the battle, it hadn't intended to use dragon combat arts against him.
After all—
Kanzaki Rei was only a Level 5 warrior.
If it had gone all-out from the beginning, it would have seemed as though it truly couldn't defeat him otherwise.
What kind of powerhouse would reveal all their trump cards against a weaker opponent right away?
But—
As the battle progressed—
It realized Kanzaki Rei was becoming harder and harder to kill.
Stronger and stronger.
And so—
It had finally resorted to its true draconic combat arts.
Yet even then—
This human had endured it.
Faced it head-on.
Kanzaki Rei clenched his fists.
So strong…
Truly overwhelming physical strength.
Even with damage reduced to one ten-thousandth—
His fists were still shattering under the impact.
Back in the second phase—
Breaking its defense had required sacrificing five hundred million souls, combining it with death magic, and unleashing everything in a single burst during frozen time.
Now, in the third phase—
Pure physical strength alone simply couldn't compare to that level of attack.
Just defending against it was enough to shatter his fists.
As for killing it—
The gap was still immense.
Forget killing it—
Right now, relying solely on physical attacks, he couldn't even break through its defense.
But—
This felt incredible.
Kanzaki Rei slammed his fists together.
This was his first time fighting purely with his body—
Without relying on magic.
Five minutes.
His physical strength surged once more.
In the next instant—
The dragon's tail appeared before him, even though just a moment ago it had been facing him head-on.
[Dragon Combat Art — Tail Dragon Sever]
Kanzaki Rei's body tensed instantly—
Energy surged outward!
His leg lashed out like a whip!
[Firmament Flow — Second Form: Sky-Breaking Kick · Dragon-Slaying Whip]
Leg and tail collided!
Golden ripples spread across the sky!
A slicing shockwave erupted from the point of impact—
Splitting the sea below into a vast trench!
Even the clouds above were cleaved apart, forming a massive rift in the sky!
Kanzaki Rei's leg fractured—
And instantly healed.
This time—
Only a fracture.
Five minutes in—
His physical strength had reached five thousand times its original level.
And the damage he received had been reduced to one hundred-thousandth.
What once could have shattered his body into bone and viscera—
Now only caused minor fractures.
And thanks to this dragon—
He had gained even greater insight into new combat variations.
"Golden Dragon…"
Kanzaki Rei spoke slowly.
"Why does it feel like your strength… is getting weaker?"
..
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