[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 189: The Avenger (4)

A flash of lightning traced the arc of a fist cloaked in thunder.

Kwon Hanul crossed his arms and blocked the blow. A heavy shock reverberated through his body.

Beyond his forearm, his eyes met Raishin’s. Her eyebrows twitched—she hadn’t expected him to block it.

“You blocked that?”

The next moment, Raishin’s body vanished. In her place, only residual lightning energy lingered like an afterimage.

Before his eyes could catch up, she reappeared behind him. Before he could respond, she lashed her leg sideways.

A side kick slammed into Hanul’s back.

With the searing pain of thunder coursing through his body, Hanul was sent flying backward. But he quickly regained his stance and glared at Raishin.

‘Our physical strength and mana are evenly matched.’

It had been only one exchange, but Hanul had already gauged Raishin’s level.

‘But in terms of agility, she’s leagues ahead.’

She ranked in the top 20. She was a disciple of Kwon Biryuk.

She had likely raised her agility stat to SS-rank. Otherwise, her previous movements were inexplicable.

SS-level agility paired with Thunder Step, the fastest martial art in the world—

This meant Hanul was facing an opponent whose speed vastly exceeded his own.

“This is getting interesting.”

Despite the unfavorable odds, Hanul began to smile. The competitive fire he’d long forgotten was beginning to rise again.

“Interesting?”

To Raishin, that reaction was infuriating.

“Let’s see how long you can keep talking nonsense.”

The thunder energy surrounding her intensified.

Then, all at once, lightning burst outward as Raishin vanished again.

‘Behind me.’

Hanul twisted his torso quickly. He blocked Raishin’s punch with his forearm as she reappeared behind him.

‘Left side.’

As he blocked, Raishin appeared to his side. A thunder-infused knife-hand strike aimed to slice him.

‘Front.’

As he deflected the strike, she appeared in front of him this time. Her raised leg came crashing down.

Hanul moved nonstop, blocking her relentless attacks with his arms and legs.

There was no chance to counterattack. Even defending was nearly too much.

‘She’s unbelievably fast.’

Now he understood why they called her “Illusion Beast.”

She moved so quickly, her physical form barely registered to the naked eye. She might as well be a phantom.

Then it happened.

Her attacks suddenly stopped. A bad feeling crept over Hanul as he scanned his surroundings.

A short distance away, he spotted Raishin, gathering thunder energy.

The sheer amount was enough to make his skin crawl. It crackled and bathed her body in a fearsome blue glow.

‘This... could be bad.’

But by the time he realized it, it was too late. Raishin unleashed her power and charged.

Dozens of Raishins appeared around Hanul.

Then, hundreds of strikes came crashing down.

With each strike came thunder. Blinding light exploded. The ground burned beneath them.

In the storm of lightning, Hanul was tossed around like a rag doll. He looked like a scarecrow awaiting death.

Then, suddenly, the lightning stopped. Raishin stood on the scorched earth, panting heavily.

“You…”

Her face twisted in shock.

“You withstood that?”

The ground she had attacked had turned to ash.

And yet—Hanul stood, completely unharmed.

“I nearly got in trouble there.”

Parts of his body were now covered in a black armor-like skin.

Dragon Scale Armor.

It was known as the strongest shield among the powers of the Black Dragon’s Bloodline.

Raishin’s barrage had been impossible to fend off by normal means.

Hanul had no choice but to summon the Dragon Scale Armor.

“...You crazy bastard.”

But Raishin wasn’t someone who could be stopped by armor alone.

Her fists, relentless and fast, packed enough force to crack the Dragon Scale Armor.

What’s more, her attack speed outpaced Hanul’s ability to form the armor in time.

“You’re only forming it where I’m striking?”

Hanul had compensated by forming the armor only on the parts she targeted.

Rather than spreading it wide, he created it only where needed—effectively defending against every blow.

“What are you?”

Raishin’s eyes trembled. The armor formed only at her strike points.

That meant Hanul was predicting her attacks with uncanny precision.

“No matter how much of a Pureblood you are... this is absurd.”

This wasn’t just talent. Not even a genius could pull this off.

To her, Hanul now seemed like a monster wearing a human face.

“The fight’s not over yet. You giving up already?”

Hanul readied his stance again. That snapped Raishin out of it.

“...Yeah, it’s not over.”

She lunged toward him. But right before her fist could connect, a storm surged from Hanul’s body.

A powerful gust blasted her away. Shocked, she stared at Hanul.

“What the hell is this now...?”

* * *

Meanwhile...

Kwon Biryuk, the martial master, watched the fight in stunned silence.

Everything was going the opposite of what he had expected.

From his analysis, Hanul shouldn’t have been able to defeat Raishin.

Raishin had SS-ranked agility and had mastered Thunder Step.

Among her tier, no one could match her speed. Even those in the top ten couldn’t outperform her in speed.

But when the fight began, things turned out differently.

Hanul was withstanding her attacks.

He wasn’t matching her speed—Raishin still held the speed advantage by far.

Yet she couldn’t defeat him.

“…He’s predicting and reacting.”

From his higher level of understanding, Kwon Biryuk could see it clearly.

Hanul wasn’t reacting—he was anticipating every move Raishin made.

That was how he was enduring the onslaught.

“This makes no damn sense…”

Even knowing the truth, Kwon Biryuk couldn’t accept it.

Predicting an opponent’s moves was only viable when a master fought a novice.

But Raishin was higher-ranked than Hanul. And far faster.

Was it really possible to predict movements like that?

“Kwon Myung-woo.”

Unable to contain his confusion, Kwon Biryuk turned to Kwon Myung-woo.

“What is that kid?”

He already knew Hanul was a Pureblood. The Purebloods of Hyukcheon were known for their strength. But this was beyond anything he imagined.

“What kind of monster has Hyukcheon raised?”

Kwon Myung-woo merely smiled at the question.

“Why are you just smiling?!” Kwon Biryuk roared—but didn’t get the chance to continue.

A sudden storm ripped across the battlefield, drawing everyone’s gaze.

* * *

A powerful storm raged around Kwon Hanul.

Watching the scene, Raishin muttered under her breath without realizing it, “...Was this one of the powers of the Hyukcheon?”

Raishin repeated herself, still stunned.

Her master, Kwon Biryuk, had been the longest-standing rival of the Hyukcheon’s Strongest Fist. Because of that, she had no choice but to know the Hyukcheon’s powers in great detail.

But never, in all she had heard, was there anything like this.

“I’m finally getting the hang of it.”

From within the storm, Kwon Hanul spoke with satisfaction.

“From here on out, things will be different.”

The wind, which had previously swirled without direction, now coiled tightly around Kwon Hanul’s body.

In that very instant, a sudden gust blew Raishin’s bangs aside — and Kwon Hanul’s fist appeared right in front of her.

“...!”

Raishin quickly blocked it, but shock crossed her face.

Even if just for a split second, she had lost sight of his movement — and that was unthinkable.

“I knew you were hiding something!” Raishin shouted as she stomped the ground.

With a blinding flash, her fist shot forward and aimed straight for Kwon Hanul’s head.

But just before the blow could land — his hand caught it.

“...!”

He didn’t block it. He didn’t dodge it.

He caught it.

It was the first time that had happened since the fight began.

“I told you. Things are going to be different now.”

Kwon Hanul had been observing the flow of mana through Raishin’s body all along.

Ever since undergoing rebirth his senses had become razor-sharp.

Now, with the heightened powers of his superhuman bloodline, he could clearly perceive how Raishin wielded her mana.

Thanks to that, Kwon Hanul had been able to evolve even further.

Sky-Piercing Flight Path

Stage 3: Flow of the Wind

A technique that merges the body with the wind to dramatically enhance movement.

Because he had mastered this, Kwon Hanul could now keep up with Raishin’s speed.

“...You think that changes anything?” Raishin’s face twisted with fierce hostility. She bit her lip and roared, “Nothing’s going to change!”

She lunged again.

Each punch she threw was laced with lightning, thunderous force spreading with every blow. In the blink of an eye, dozens of flashes lit up the air.

And yet—

“That won’t work on me anymore.”

Kwon Hanul blocked every single one.

He stomped the ground and closed the distance to Raishin, who was frantically darting about.

When she realized Kwon Hanul was running alongside her, her eyes widened in disbelief.

“Now it’s my turn to attack.”

Dragon Aura— surged through Kwon Hanul’s limbs.

His fists struck at Raishin’s vital points. Black aura exploded with every hit.

“Kh!”

Raishin clenched her teeth and counterattacked. Thunder force clashed against dragon energy in a relentless barrage.

To everyone watching, neither fighter’s form was even visible anymore. Only black energy and flashes of blue lightning collided again and again.

And then—

The movement of the dragon energy shifted.

Instead of dispersing after each explosion, it began to gather in one direction, forming a swirling vortex.

Black Dragon Ascension Art: Upper Form

Aurai Strike: Dragon’s Roar

The whirling Dragon Aura transformed into a thunderous roar that swept away all traces of Raishin’s lightning energy.

“Gah...!”

Raishin froze under the force of the Dragon’s Roar.

Kwon Hanul didn’t waste the opportunity — his fist shot forward.

It drove straight into Raishin’s solar plexus.

Raishin flew back, coughing up blood, rolling across the ground.

“Kh... Khhk...”

Clutching her abdomen, she groaned in agony. Blood streamed from her lips.

“The match is over,” Kwon Hanul retracted his extended fist and said calmly.

But Raishin screamed, “It’s not... over yet!”

“You still plan to fight in that condition? I’m not trying to kill you.”

At his blatantly condescending tone, Raishin ground her teeth.

She pushed herself back to her feet, fists clenched tightly. Kwon Hanul raised an eyebrow in admiration.

“I stirred up your insides pretty badly. And yet you still stand.”

The injury itself wasn’t what impressed him.

When he struck her gut, he had deliberately spread his aura through her body, rattling her organs.

The pain she was experiencing was beyond imagination.

Yet Raishin was still willing to continue the battle.

“...Ruyn Aspadam,” She wiped the blood from her mouth and said, “He wasn’t someone who deserved to die like that.”

Her eyes still burned with hatred.

“He wasn’t someone scum like you had any right to crush!”

Raishin summoned all the mana in her body.

Top 20 in the world. And now, she was drawing upon every last drop of her power.

She raised her arm high. The previously clear sky darkened with clouds.

“This is...”

Kwon Hanul’s face tensed slightly.

“I can’t let this one go.”

The technique Raishin was preparing sent chills down his spine. It was on a completely different level.

“You’re too late.”

Raishin bared her bloodied teeth in a grin, and brought her raised arm crashing down.

Lightning crashed down from the heavens, striking directly atop Raishin’s head.

She absorbed every bolt of lightning.

Her body was now suffused with thunderous force, glowing a fierce electric blue.

What stood before him was no longer human.

It was a monster formed of pure thunder energy.

There was no defeating Raishin through conventional means anymore.

“Hoo...”

Kwon Hanul slowly exhaled and summoned the power of the Black Dragon’s Bloodline.

Activating Authority: Dragon’s Eye

Manifesting Authority: Dragon’s Horn

His forehead split open, revealing a third eye. A black horn jutted out from his head.

It was the first time he had ever used both powers simultaneously.

That was how important the next step would be.

Manifesting Authority: Dragon Pearl– Five Elements

Kwon Hanul opened his palm.

A brilliant orb, glowing in five colors, rose above it.

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]