The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

Many youngsters had already arrived at the vast arena. Their martial outfits were worn but none bore significant injuries. The number of participants had not decreased as much as Davey had expected.

In the first test, three candidates from the Central Martial Alliance—in other words, from the Righteous Path—had been eliminated. The Evil Path candidates had all passed.

During the subsequent test in which the contestants had to pass through the forest, something happened that resulted in one Evil Path candidate being eliminated. Then, both factions lost one member each in the cave. Taking into account the young man who had died protecting the Evil Path girl that Davey later saved, there were seventeen people left in the Evil Path group, while the Righteous Path had sixteen.

The tests had not ended well for everyone; the Evil Path had one more qualified participant, but one of their members was dead. However, this was within the organizers’ predictions, and this tournament jointly hosted by two nations would not be interrupted or canceled just because someone died.

As Davey walked up slowly, he heard mocking voices directed at him.

"Ha! You actually made it here."

"I knew you were lucky, but I didn’t think you’d make it through so easily..."

"Look over there. Do you see the girl accompanying him? The daughter of the Evil Path Martial Alliance leader, Princess Hyun-Hwa."

"Ah... I see. Clinging to a strong person to get here? So much for a martial artist’s pride."

It was then that Davey first heard the name of the girl he had come with.

On the contrary, the girl seemed incredulous at the comments from the Righteous Path candidates and turned to ask Davey, "What exactly did you do for these fools to say such nonsense?"

"Princess Hyun-Hwa?"

Hearing Davey’s mutter, she flinched and looked away, her face blushing slightly.

"Yes... That's me. I am Hyun-Hwa, the princess of the Evil Path Martial Alliance. I won’t forget your kindness."

Princess Hyun-Hwa, or Ye Hyun-Hwa. She approached one of the boys from the Righteous Path with a frown and looked up at him. As one of the three renowned beauties within the Evil Path, her looks were indeed striking. Even people from the Evil Path would have blushed at her gaze, let alone these youngsters from the Righteous Path.

"Hey."

"W-what is it, Miss?" stuttered the youngster, completely forgetting that she was an enemy.

Without a word, Hyun-Hwa kicked his shin.

"AAARGH!"

As the boy screamed and fell, rolling on the ground, Hyun-Hwa did not stop there. She drew her sword and pointed it at him, shouting, "If you dare spout such nonsense again, I'll kill you."

"You damn whore of the Evil Path!"

"Right, right, I am a whore. You Righteous Path folks are such hypocritical bastards."

She kicked the boy away and scanned the other Righteous Path boys glaring at her before turning back to Davey.

Typically, seeing an ally injured would prompt anger. Yet no one approached the fallen boy or confronted Hyun-Hwa about the incident. Her status was not ordinary, and some even looked at the fallen boy with disdain.

"Silence!!!" echoed a stern shout, as people wearing either black or white clothes filled the arena.

Instantly, the participants turned quiet.

"Sixteen from the Righteous Path. Seventeen from the Evil Path. Despite setting the difficulty high for the tests, this many of you have made it. Congratulations! You have now earned the right to participate in the martial contest!"

Following this announcement, members of the Assassin Unit and the Black Wind Squadron carrying flags started inspecting the swords and scabbards that the participants had brought. Once the inspection was over, they waved their flags to signal that everything was in order.

"The final test has been canceled due to special circumstances! You will all be provided medicinal pills so you can recover and replenish your qi. We will reconvene here for the competition in fifteen minutes!"

“Yay!!!” An astonished cheer filled the air.

Members of the Assassin Unit went to the Righteous Path juniors and offered them the medicinal pills.

"This pill will restore your stamina and qi. It was jointly produced by the Yu and Hwan Nations, so consume it without worry."

Surprised by the significant effect of the pills, incomparable to ordinary drugs like the Golden Potion, the kids displayed amazed expressions.

"Indeed... You came without a single scratch."

Davey saw a familiar figure approaching him. His face was hidden by a mask, but Davey could tell that he was the leader of the Assassin Unit.

"I thought you’d be able to make it without any injuries." As he said this, he offered a pill to Davey.

Without hesitation, dropped the pill into his mouth and chewed. A refreshing sensation filled him as entire body seemed to activate.

"This is good." Davey’s mumbling went unanswered.

Next, the man overseeing the martial contest announced, "Before the martial contest begins, the prince of Hwan, Wol Gye-Woo, and Princess Jadeflower from Yu will make their entrance!"

A pair of youngsters in splendid attire made their way to the central stage. .

Wol Gye-Woo had an inscrutable smile on his face. He was the one rumored to work with the Ak Rim Sect. He waved his hand lightly toward the cheering Evil Path martial artists before ascending to the royal family seats. Princess Jadeflower also took her seat, accompanied by cheers from the Righteous Path.

The atmosphere between them did not seem friendly. Wol Gye-Woo smiled teasingly, while Princess Jadeflower simply ignored him, displaying a cold demeanor.

"Wonderful! Seeing the Righteous and Evil Path candidates who’ve passed these difficult tests, I believe the martial arts future is bright. Though we are adversaries, I hope that this competition will only see honorable matches, as befitting of our two great nations." Having finished his brief address, Wol Gye-Woo waved his hand. He had an air of authority to him that belied his young age.

Doong! Doong!

Simultaneously, with a loud drum sound, eunuchs swiftly entered the arena one after the other, carrying trays with various boxes, swords, and other items covered in silk. They placed these items on a display table in front of the participants.

"Though we couldn’t prepare much, we hope you find the gifts prepared by Princess Jadeflower and myself to your liking."

Seeing this, Davey pulled out a fragment of the Absolute Gem, trying to see which one of these items was the Absolute Gem

"What are you doing?" asked Ye Hyun-Hwa, the Evil Path Princess.

"You should return to your camp. Don’t draw unnecessary attention."

"You’re really rude and rough. You’d fit in perfectly with the Evil Path."

"What does it matter whether I’m with the Evil or Righteous Path?"

"Once the martial contest ends, won’t you consider joining the Evil Path?"

"I decline."

"Hmph."

She turned away, but it was clear from her tone that she did actually want Davey to join the Evil Path.

‘Davey. It’s the leftmost one,’ said Perserque.

Davey noticed a small box placed on the far left among the prize items, which included famous treasures like the Absolute Sword and rare spiritual pills and herbs.

"The winner will have the right to choose anything! But I don’t think it’s right to award only the first place. Thus, this time, everyone who makes it to the semifinals will have the right to pick one of the prizes." Saying this, Wol Gye-Woo flashed a smile. "May the duels be fair and honorable."

The fifteen minutes passed quickly, and finally, the contest began.

***

Davey was set for the first match. Seeing him as the first match, Kwak Mi-Young looked at him anxiously, but he simply yawned and calmly waited for his opponent.

"First match! From the Righteous Path, a genius who completed the first test in the shortest time! A disciple of the Heavenrend Sect! Davey!!"

While the Evil Path jeered, which was only natural seeing as he was a Righteous Path disciple, the Righteous Path people should have drowned it out with cheers. However, not many of them viewed Davey favorably due to the rumored nepotism, so the cheers were sparse.

"From the Evil Path, a disciple of the Seven Kill Faction’s, Blazing Heaven Sect!! Even though she's new to murim, she's already received the moniker ‘Blood Phantom Prodigy’! Yu Myeong!"

The Evil Path's cheers drowned out the Righteous Path's jeers this time. As Davey waited there with his swords still in their scabbards at his waist, he could see a girl with a cold demeanor coming toward the arena. She emanated a demonic aura.

"Our sect uses the Blazing Sword Art, but I won’t need it to deal with you."

Faced with her brashness, Davey just smiled lightly and responded, "Do as you wish."

He cared little for pride or vanity.

Her expression soured at his calm reply.

"Show a fight that befits your factions! You can use killing techniques!"

Killing techniques were allowed? This was rather extreme even for a martial contest.

"However, do not worry. The Assassin Unit and the Black Wind Squadron will intervene in case of fatal blows."

In other words, they were encouraged to fight as if it were a real battle to the death, which seemed quite excessive for a competition.

"Before we start, there's something we must acknowledge!" Wol Gye-Woo’s voice sounded out.

"In the past, we faced a greatly feared devil, the leader of the Heavenly Destroyer Sect, Heavenly Destroyer Dokgo Jun, and triumphed against his tyranny!"

This statement silenced the crowd.

"There's no guarantee that another one like him won't appear, which is why I hosted this competition and raised its difficulty. I hope you gain a wealth of experience and grow strong enough to prevent the rise of a second Heavenly Destroyer."

In response to that statement, Davey looked down at his steel sword, a melancholic feeling brewing within him.

‘Do you see? This land, despite your efforts to save everyone, still regards you as a devil.’

"Your qi seems lacking. Whatever tricks or black magic you used, I won’t fall for them! I’ll give you the first move!"

In response to Yu Myeong’s declaration, Davey put aside his feelings and gripped his steel sword firmly. "First move… Alright then."

Davey calmly approached and suddenly lunged at her.

"Hmph!"

Noticing that Davey's attack left plenty of openings, Yu Myeong prepared to defend herself. At that moment, Davey tripped, appearing to stumble over a stone.

Yu Myeong was perplexed. "Huh?"

Contrary to her expectation, Davey did not fall to the ground, but rather propelled himself in her direction.

A representative of a faction tumbling over a rock seemed ludicrous. Her expression twisted as she attempted to dodge him, but…

Slash!

A sharp blade ripped through her clothes, narrowly missing her chest.

As he fell, Davey had been flailing his arms, and just so coincidentally happened to hit her. Even those who were aware of Davey’s reputation as a lucky man were at a loss for words seeing this instance of dumb luck. Then, they broke out in a cold sweat as they realized that had she been just a little bit closer, she could’ve been killed in one slash.

Crash!

A moment later, Davey fell on her, and as they tumbled to the ground, he pinned the bewildered girl under him and pointed his other sword at her throat.

"Ugh...!"

"I win."

Davey’s calm utterance left Yu Myeong flushed with humiliation.

"Don't be ridiculous! What kind of victory is this!?"

"Match over! The victor is Davey, from the Heavenrend Sect of the Righteous Path!"

"What are you saying?!"

Yu Myeong's protest to the announcement was met with a cold rebuttal from the judge. "By luck or by skill, his sword is at your throat. If this was a real fight, you'd be dead."

A stunned silence followed the announcement.