The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

The disciple of the Mount Hua Sect stumbled and collapsed after being struck by lightning, and those who witnessed the chaos fell silent for a moment. Then, they started yelling.

"You cowardly son of a bitch! How dare you use sorcery!"

Eventually, the situation degenerated into what looked like a witch hunt.

"One who walks the path of righteousness cannot overlook the use of sorcery! Take my sword!"

Shing! Shing!

Upon seeing the boys draw their swords in unison, Davey could not help but burst out laughing.

This is how it should be. This is righteousness., Davey thought.

Of course, their actions were understandable, but Davey was not kind enough to let them off just like that.

He picked up the branch he had used earlier, now completely scorched by lightning. A thunderstruck branch… It was not even a jujube tree, nor was it real lightning, so it could not be called a true thunderstruck jujube branch.[1] But it was perfect for punishment. As they closed in, about to jump him, Davey prepared to launch his own attack.

"Stop it!!" Kwak Mi-Young could no longer stand by and finally intervened.

"Pea... Peach Blossom Fairy!"

"Why is the Peach Blossom Fairy intervening?!"

She had earned plenty of fame by accompanying the White Flame Sword Saint, Kwak Do-Young.

Although technically not a member of the Central Alliance, her status was very high, so even disciples of the major sects could not behave recklessly in front of her.

"Put down your swords right now! What are you doing?!"

"This… This man used sorcery to turn our comrade into this state! It’s unforgivable!"

"How dare he do that in this sacred duel!"

"So you all pulled out your swords against one unarmed opponent?"

The boys winced at her cold question.

"Answer me. Depending on your response, I will decide how to report this incident to your sects."

"We…uh…"

She radiated a murderous aura. "Piss off! And consider yourselves lucky!"

The boys eventually fled, and Kwak Mi-Young sighed. "Thankfully... there were no severe injuries."

In response to her murmur, Kwak Joon-Seong asked with curiosity, "Big sister, did you think he would get beaten by those brats?"

"Of course not. That could never happen."

"Then why…"

"I was just trying to save those foolish juniors from him," Kwak Mi-Young said calmly as she looked at Davey. "Right? You… You were planning to finish off those boys, weren’t you?"

"I was going to demolish all of them."

The disciple of Mount Hua who had been struck by the Thunder Calling magic was scorched by the lightning. It would’ve been one thing if it was just simple electric magic, but Davey had used a much more vicious curse. His spell caused long-lasting damage, and the young man would soon find out that his muscles now relaxed in a completely random and uncontrollable manner.

"What on earth... did you do to him?"

"Nothing much. When a person is exposed to electricity, they lose control of their muscles. There are also after-effects."

"Could it be..."

"Well, if he's sensible, he won't pick up a sword again, considering his muscles are now prone to relaxation. Also he will have a difficult time meeting people since he won’t be able to control his anus. He will not dare to show his face especially when he urgently needs to go to the bathroom.”

The perspective of someone being unable to control themselves whenever they had an upset stomach was really hilarious.

Perserque was amused. 'So that's why he did not make that kid go bald. There's a reason for everything.'

In murim, there were quite a few bald warriors. As they trained in martial arts, weak hair follicles often fell off. In such cases, the martial artists generally shaved their heads completely.

"Don't worry. I only unleashed enough power to ensure he could at least live a ‘normal’ life."

"Mount Hua will protest against you. They’ll say that this was excessive for an unofficial duel.”

Davey snapped the “thunderstruck jujube branch” and threw it away before answering, "With what evidence? Do you think he’ll go and complain that he did something stupid and got struck by lightning? He’d only look like a clown."

"...Since the topic came up, what exactly did you do just now? It seemed too pure to be sorcery..."

"Who knows. Maybe the heavens were so outraged by his reckless actions that they decided to drop real lightning."

Kwak Mi-Young sighed, and Kwak Joon-Seong shook his head as if the disciple was pathetic.

Then the day for the upcoming major battle between the Righteous Path and the Evil Path was approaching. Davey stated that he needed to train as an excuse to return to Tionis. In the process, he was able to receive nearly 20 stacks of metamorphosis. Goddess Freyja did not usually hand out metamorphosis stacks in such large quantities. That meant that it was Neltarid who gave out the stacks. Neltarid stated that the price of metamorphosis stacks was going against fate.

‘What fate was tampered with?’ As he pondered, Davey soon remembered an out-of-place figure in the flow of destiny.

Cheon Ji-Hee. It was clear she should not have been by Ja-Seong's side. But Davey had saved Cheon Ji-Hee and revealed the truth of Ja-Seong’s origin to Ja-Seong himself, twisting fate.

‘Well. The outcome is not bad.’

Afterward, Davey began preparing for the academy's high school entrance ceremony with Illyna and sorted through a list of noble children gathered from various countries, then plunged into a massive project in the underground workshop with Edison, the Technical Advisor, and his granddaughter Tiara.

It was something they had chosen to do themselves, but how many nerds in the world would enjoy such labor? Tiara looked as if she was wishing for death, so Davey granted her a moment of respite. Just one moment, though.

Once that was done, Davey immediately returned to the Heavenly Central Plains with Rinne and Perserque in tow. He had taken a few days of respite, but he could not afford to waste any more time.

The Absolute Gem was essential, but he was also in the process of investigating Isildi. In the process, he was targeted by a bunch of clueless juniors who could not handle the idea that Davey had easily secured himself a place among the representatives of the Righteous Path. On his part, Davey did not refuse their challenges at all.

They were all dealt with so that a part of their body ended up being slightly unusable. Of course, they did not realize it at the time, as everything was done using magic…

"People call you the Lucky Fortune Beggar... it's really a bizarre nickname. Good riddance, I suppose. Those fools seem unaware, but I know full well that you're responsible for those things that seemed like natural calamities," Jegal Hwan told Davey with a tense look on his face. "I hope your power does not turn against the alliance."

"As long as you don't cross the line, I won't bother you."

"I think that line isn’t the line between good and evil, is it?"

"That's right. The line is what I say it is."

"You're a tyrant then," murmured Jegal Hwan.

Davey didn’t bother to deny it.

***

Two more days passed. Although he stayed in Heavenly Central Plains longer than expected, Davey did not mind. During that period, many martial artists from the numerous sects called Davey the Lucky Fortune Beggar, a despicable person, and a bunch of other names, showing their disdain. However, Davey did not care. As for those who crossed the line, they received punishment just like the Mount Hua Sect disciple.

Along with Jegal Hwan, Kwak Mi-Young, and a number of other martial artists of the Righteous Path, Davey arrived at Seocheon, a neutral territory between the Country of Hwan and the Country of Yu.

Both countries were eager to showcase their power at this event with multiple organizers. This was not unexpected, considering the flashiness prevalent in murim in this era.

"The White-Black Martial Arts Tournament has its own traditional prestige. Those promising juniors want to earn fame for themselves and honor for their families, and all the renowned seniors once competed here."

Out of the numerous martial artists and promising juniors, many would kill for the honor of being part of this small group of participants. Kwak Joon-Seong, the second disciple of the Gongdong Faction, was no exception.

"Do you wish to participate, too?"

"At first, I did." Kwak Joon-Seong looked at Davey calmly. "But watching you, I realized how meaningless it was."

There were heavens above the heavens, and his desire now was to become like Davey.

"I don't just want the fame from those competitions. I aspire to breathe the air of those heights you stand on."

According to Kwak Mi-Young, Kwak Joon-Seong had been ardently practicing the training method Davey had shown him in the forest on his way to this major city.

"Beware of Hwan’s Prince Wol Gye-Woo and the eunuchs. Their notoriety has spread even to the Country of Yu."

"I'll take note." Of course, he only took note, nothing more.

With a total of twenty participants from the Righteous Path and a similar number of elite juniors from the Evil Path, it was fair to say that a massive psychological war was underway.

Certainly, as far as the Righteous Path’s juniors were concerned, their opponents did not only include the martial artists from the Evil Path. To people like them, who had shed blood and sweat to hone their skills and improve their cultivation, someone like Davey was intolerable. As he had been granted a spot for seemingly no reason, they had nicknamed him the Lucky Fortune Beggar. And while they did not blatantly show their disdain, neither did they even try to approach Davey.

Naturally, Davey didn’t mind. This allowed him the time to organize the intelligence gathered by Rinne at leisure and could continue traveling through the Heavenly Central Plains with Perserque.

The escorts selected for this tournament included Jegal Hwan, Kwak Mi-Young, Yun Hee-Ryeong, and two grandmasters from the Mount Hua Sect and the Blue Castle Sect. Of course, both the Blue Castle Sect and Mount Hua claimed to be part of the Daoist path, but they were martial groups, after all. It was a stretch to expect them to uphold all the Daoist virtues.

Especially the grandmaster from Mount Hua, who did not look at Davey kindly because he had turned the Mount Hua Sect disciple into a punching bag. Naturally, Davey was exempted from the harsh training imposed by the two grandmasters during the journey, which made it even more comfortable for him. The grandmasters from the the Mount Hua Sect and the Blue Castle Sect, who were instructing and accompanying the juniors, seemed somewhat uncomfortable with Davey's presence, but that was the extent of it.

When they arrived in Seocheon, where the two countries would stage their martial arts tournament, the Martial Alliance procession was stopped by a group of strangely dressed men.

"This suffocating aura…are people from Hwan so powerful now?"

As everyone fell silent, the masked men blocked their path, moving with razor-sharp precision, and one of them spoke with an emotionless voice, "The White-Black Martial Arts Tournament is not open to just anyone."

Jegal Hwan’s eyes narrowed. "Hmm… I see. Does the Country of Hwan start off by showing off its power even in an unbiased martial arts tournament between two countries?"

While Jegal Hwan lacked fighting abilities, his sheer boldness justified his title as a military commander. Davey had been observing him for a while, and Jegal Hwan turned out to be astute, meticulous, and daring. He was quite remarkable for someone at this young age.

"Officials from the Country of Yu provided guidance for our representatives. Therefore, we must also do the same for the Righteous Path representatives."

"Fine. The test has already begun. It feels a bit different than in the past, but let’s see.

"Expect good things." With these cold and assertive words, they began guiding everyone forward.

Feeling the suffocating aura of these martial artists, the juniors gulped. From their perspective, these masked individuals from Hwan were creepy.

"Davey, what’s that character written on their masks?" inquired Perserque. She was perched on his shoulder, observing the atmosphere.

"Kill. If they're dressed like that... perhaps they're the Assassin Unit? I never knew that it was in Hwan."

The Assassin Unit, a state secret security force that existed even during the era of Heavenly Destroyer Dokgo Jun. Each member was a formidable martial artist with earth-shaking power. However, the real strength of the Assassin Unit that Davey knew lay not in individual prowess but in their terrifyingly synchronized formation.

"Interesting fellows."

The man from the Assassin Unit paused and turned to look at Davey after hearing his mutter, but Davey made no further comment.

The Evil Path met individuals from Yu. And now the Righteous Path met the opposition force of Hwan's Assassin Unit.

A member of the Assassin Unit soon exited the group and separated the promising juniors who would participate in the tournament from their escorts.

"From now on, every trial is a matter of life and death. The Evil Path is the same, so don't complain."

Ignoring the protests of the Mount Hua grandmaster, he simply left with the youngsters in tow.

On her way out, Kwak Mi-Young looked at Davey with deep concern. "Lord Davey... please... don't make trouble."

“Don't worry. I have no intention of needlessly causing a ruckus and complicating matters here.”

'After all, it’s just scaring some kids and getting the Absolute Gem. Since they’re not even trying to hide it, I can just win it fair and square and be done with it.’

Leaving behind Kwak Mi-Young with her anxieties, Davey ascended the tremendous staircase that was similar to Mount Hua's Heavenly Steps and caught sight of a rock plateau on the mountainside which had numerous swords stuck in it.

"Place all weapons you carry in this box. After the tournament concludes, everything will be returned intact."

"How can we fight without weapons?" asked one of the juniors.

A masked member of the Assassin Unit pointed at the swords.

"Take one of those. That will be the sword you'll use in the tournament, and it will serve as proof that you passed the test. Don’t worry about the quality of the sword. They’re made of high-quality steel that has been treated with a special honing agent to make them even harder and lighter than ordinary blades. As for the quality assurance, the swords have been forged under strict supervision on orders from the Emperor of Hwan himself."

The Righteous and Evil Paths bore no love for each other. But that did not mean that a victory secured by mischief in such a neutral tournament would be beneficial. After all, this White-Black Martial Arts Tournament was essentially just an event like any other…unless the Ak Rim Sect had other plans.

Upon hearing this, the nineteen participants scrambled to find swords suitable for their hands, trying out one and then another until they finally grasped the one they wanted. However…

"Argh?!"

The swords would not budge.

"The test has begun. Drawing the sword is the first test, and those who fail this test will not be allowed to proceed."

"What on earth did you do to the swords?!"

"Nothing. There is a layer of magnetite underground, and we are using a formation to gather and amplify its magnetism. That’s what is holding the swords in place. This is a test of strength. If you can pull out a sword, you are permitted to move forward."

The youngsters tried to pull out the swords as instructed, and soon started sweating profusely. Just as they were exerting all their strength, a crisp sound echoed.

Clang!

All eyes turned to Davey.

Holding two unadorned broadswords, Davey looked at them and said, "Ah, there's no rule that says drawing two swords is prohibited, right?"

Silence fell over the onlookers as they gazed at Davey. "How... How did you draw them..."

All the juniors thought that the Lucky Fortune Beggar had somehow managed to draw the swords out of sheer luck, even though he was so weak.

"How'd you even do that?" The Assassin Unit seemed perplexed by Davey's quick action.

"I just pulled, and they came out."

"...You passed. Proceed."

The juniors' faces turned pale with shock. That meant they thought Davey had just been lucky enough to find swords held weakly by the magnetite and successfully pulled it out. They all bore expressions of disbelief as Davey casually passed them by and began his ascent. But there was no reason to concern himself with the jealousy of such individuals, so he just slid the swords into their scabbards and climbed forward, amused.

***

"Senior, were those swords actually not affected by the formation?"

"That’s impossible."

Had he used some kind of sorcery?

Among the promising juniors from the Righteous Path, three had failed the test, while the rest had passed and moved on. The Evil Path saw total success, while the Righteous Path suffered three dropouts. The balance began to teeter from the very start. But to the commander of the Assassin Unit, this was inconsequential. His role was merely to oversee the tests.

"So that young man knew from the get-go how to wrap the sword in qi and create a repelling force to draw the sword?"

The commander stayed silent.

The idea sounded simple enough, but actually implementing it was extremely difficult. It was only possible for these talented youngsters. For ordinary people, it was a fantasy, particularly at such a young age. As for these juniors, some of them would bloom later than others, but they were nevertheless all geniuses.

The Assassin Unit commander thought the future of the martial world was bright given the extraordinary talent of these youths—even if they did not belong to the Country of Hwan. However, Davey, the youth who left first, was clearly unusual. Even if he realized what happened, drawing two swords so quickly and then leaving was abnormal. The promising juniors of the Righteous Path dismissed him as a lucky fool or a dirty fellow, but…

"Their talents are extraordinary, but they are basically blind,” commented the commander coldly. “Stupid.”

The commander looked at the spot where the sword had been drawn by Davey. There seemed to be no difference in appearance at first glance. However, by spreading his qi and touching the ground with his hand, he could tell. While all the other children were panicking and struggling to draw the sword, Davey had already checked the state of the sword. And then, without any hesitation and without even making a sound, he had drawn the sword.

The commander shivered.

1. In Daoist magic, jujube wood and peach wood are thought to ward off evil spirits and are therefore used for magical weapons and instruments. In addition, lightning is considered a pure form of yang energy, which is the fundamental opposite of the yin energy of ghosts and spirits. Therefore, lightning-struck jujube wood is the most powerful weapon against evil spirits, and objects made from it (bracelets, amulets etc.) have been used for thousands of years to ward off evil. ☜