The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

The unruly girl definitely had talent. It seemed that she had reached the Peak realm. She had impressive talent, but she sorely lacked experience.

"Th-this can't be..."

Realizing her defeat, the girl from the Evil Path started shuddering, then teared up, her face flushed with shame. She had not expected such a defeat. Not only had she lost in the first round, but she had lost to an opponent who tripped and flailed his sword randomly! For a martial artist, this was a lifelong stigma.

To martial artists, fame was power, life itself. The despair and shame she felt over her tarnished reputation were indescribable, and they were only compounded by the crowd’s jeers.

"Luck is also a skill! There are no do-overs in victory and defeat!" shouted the judge.

Unable to bear the shame, she ran off of the stage with tears streaming down her face.

Davey silently watched her leave, his expression hardening as he exhaled shortly. "Huff..."

The sound of clinking suggested his grip on the sword was shaking. The counteraction had strained his arm muscles.

"What a pity... How nervous he must have been, tsk tsk... his expression was that of a dead man."

"What in the world... to see such a stupid match in this event held between the Evil and the Righteous Paths."

"Hey, it's not Evil and Righteous, but Righteous and Evil!"

Those observing Davey seemed to have completely misunderstood the situation.

'Davey, are you alright?' Perserque asked.

'Yeah...' Silently sheathing his sword, he turned around without any ceremony.

The words of the crown prince of Hwan, Wol Gye-Woo, kept bothering him.

‘What should I do?’

He needed to find the best possible solution for this, but his thoughts were in chaos. His state was not exactly compatible with good decision-making.

As he left the stage and headed to the waiting room, someone called him from behind.

"Excuse me."

It was Ye Hyun-Hwa. Davey did not know much about her, but he knew that she was the princess of the Evil Path, and she represented the Evil Path just as he represented the Righteous one.

"What... What exactly are you doing?" she asked with a frown.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you... Do you realize how cruel what you just did was?"

She knew how powerful he was, so the match right now felt incredibly dissonant. A martial artist who could wrestle a giant gorilla tripped over his own feet and accidentally defeated his opponent? Even a clown would laugh at such a show.

"You did that on purpose, did not you? You did it to humiliate her. Who taught you these evil tactics?"

"A being you could not even imagine."

She tilted her head in confusion, but Davey just shrugged it off.

"Don't worry about it."

"How can I not worry?! Because of what you did, that girl will live her life carrying this shame!" She saw the situation as a strong man crushing a budding sapling underfoot. "Every time she holds a sword, she might remember today and fail to swing it properly."

"Is that what you came to talk about?"

"I thought that was unnecessary given your skills."

She reminded him of when his face paled and his hand trembled after the match.

"..."

"Say something..."

"It’s better than dying."

Indeed. The words of Wol Gye-Woo were the absolute truth in this world. History was written by the victors, and the victors made sure that Dokgo Jun’s supposed “atrocities” were known to everyone. Although it was the Central Martial Alliance that had exterminated the Dokgo family and tried to cover it up by killing Dokgo Jun, even going to the extent of joining hands with the Illusion Demon Sect, revealing these facts would not change the past.

Regardless of what exactly had happened, Dokgo Jun had still killed countless dedicated martial artists. To solve this fundamentally twisted history, the entire martial world needed to be overturned. That meant destroying the root of this world.

"Better than dying, you say..." she murmured to herself, not sure how to interpret his words.

"She should be happy she’s alive."

Earlier, Davey had been wrestling with his own thoughts because of Wol Gye-Woo’s words. As a result, even though he hadn’t planned to use a lethal technique, his body had moved instinctively and almost ended up cutting the opponent down on the spot.

He had to force his own body under control to avoid killing her, and while he was at it, he had decided to use a humiliating technique instead. Of course there were no rocks on the fighting arena; Davey had released his power into the ground he stepped on, cracking it under his foot, and made it look as if he had tripped.

The Drunken Sword was perfect for humiliating one’s opponent, which meant it was all the more effective if the opponent lived. Davey’s act of forcefully stopping his momentum had saved the girl’s life and at the same time allowed him to execute the perfect Drunken Sword technique.

"Wol Gye-Woo, was it? Quite the character."

Just one sentence from the prince managed to trouble him this much. Even if it wasn’t Wol Gye-Woo’s intention, it was certainly effective.

‘Should this world just be purged?’

He had, in fact, taken that into consideration. However, he rejected that idea. There was no need for innocents to die.

[Why no sin? Not trying to know is also a sin. Ignoring the truth is a sin. They all sinned. The Evil and Righteous Paths concealed the truth, hiding their own faults. Others ignored that truth.]

It was as if something was whispering to him, trying to persuade him, but his answer was calm.

'Not knowing isn't a sin, not trying to find out is. So how about you eat shit.'

Once such flawed logic began, it was endless.

***

Of course, the girl whom Davey had dueled could not escape the criticism of the crowd.

"What a pity. Now her life as a martial artist might be over."

"Over? Her life as a martial artist? Was she wielding the sword to look good to others?" Davey shrugged.

"It's not that simple! To lose to someone from the Righteous Path, and in such a ridiculous manner to boot?! You're also a part of the problem! Do you know what they're calling you outside now?!"

Even if the people of the Righteous Path had no business with Ye Hyun-Hwa, she came looking for him whenever there was an opportunity. Although he had brushed it off each time, he was not blind to it.

"Princess Ye Hyun-Hwa, enough."

"Peach Blossom Fairy, do you have the right to order me around?"

"Do you not realize the impact your presence has on him?" asked Kwak Mi-Young.

Ye Hyun-Hwa laughed coldly in response.

"As expected... You knew. You brought an old monster to a tournament meant for juniors..."

"He's a disciple of the Heavenrend Sect and new to murim, so he is very much part of the junior generation."

Ye Hyun-Hwa looked at Davey in shock. "Really? I thought he was an old master using the Anti-Aging Art, someone who lived for hundreds of years..."

"You seem to know a lot about him."

"How could I not know?! He's almost a legend now! Beating a giant gorilla with his strength, killing a century-old spiritual beast, the Crimson Tiger, plucking out the venomous fangs of the RampagingSpider with his bare hands..."

Ye Hyun-Hwa's words left Kwak Mi-Young looking astounded at Davey. "Really... Did you do all that?"

He did not answer, lost in complicated thoughts.

‘Davey, you seem very troubled,’ transmitted Perserque.

'Where should I start from… to resolve this situation?'

"Um... Davey?" Kwak Mi-Young looked at him with concern.

Davey slowly looked up at her. She flinched and averted her gaze.

Kwak Joon-Seong was shocked at his sister's reaction. 'To think... she would do such a...'

"What were you saying?"

"Really... Did you do those things in that cave?" Mi-Young pressed on.

"What thing?"

"Catching the Rampaging Spider's venomous fang with your bare hands..."

"This?" He took out a gigantic spider's venomous fang from his Pocket Plane.

Normally, even with qi to protect the body, the fang's extreme venom would have caused his hand to rot. However, Hercules had forced Davey to taste countless poisons, so he was immune to most of these things by now.

"Good heavens..." She looked stunned.

"Tell me. Are you some thousand-year-old dragon transformed into a human? Maybe a fox spirit or a lesser dragon?"

"Enough with the nonsense, get lost," Davey calmly dismissed her.

As he listened to the spectators’ cheers, his grip on the hilt of his sword tightened and then loosened once mode.

'It's decided then,' Perserque said.

'Yes.' Davey quietly nodded.

Heavenly Destroyer Dokgo Jun wanted to save not the world, but just one person. That was his choice, and denying it would be the same as denying Dokgo Jun himself. Thus, Davey decided to give up on cleansing Dokgo Jun's past. However, if Dokgo Jun's grandson was to use the Heavenly Destroyer Divine Art, it was Davey’s duty as a disciple to cleanse the curse on it. After all, the Heavenly Destroyer Divine Art was at the very peak of martial arts.

The tournament had already begun; there was no turning back now. The tournament featured thirty-three participants from both the Righteous and Evil Paths. With one forfeiting, the rest proceeded in an elimination format, so it was not long until it was Davey's turn.

By this point, it was no longer about Righteous versus Evil; anyone could meet anyone. Only at the end would it matter whether the tournament winner was from the Righteous Path or the Evil one.

"I don't like you."

That was how Davey’s second opponent greeted him.

"I'm Yu Kyung-Son from the Blue Star Sect. My techniques are the Blue Galactic Sword and the Seventy-Two Swords."

He seemed skilled enough, and his qi was stable, but his personality seemed quite dark.

"I watched your first match. I did not expect one of the favorites to lose like that, but let me thank you in advance."

"Thank me?" Davey raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, thank you for the easy win!"

Yu Kyung-Son quickly drew his sword and took an elegant, formal stance. In the eyes of these disciples, prodigies of their own orthodoxies, Davey was nothing more than a lucky bastard who could be easily defeated.

"Pray to your mighty god. Maybe he'll pity you enough to strike me with lightning. Hahahaha!!"

Davey ignored Yu Kyung-Son’s taunt. He simply drew one of his swords and gently touched the blade. He knew that he’d been nicknamed “Lucky Davey” or something like that, but he didn’t mind.

He looked around at the other participants. While he didn’t really have any interest in the tournament, the rest of the contenders were looking at their opponents with keen interest, each with their own thoughts in mind. A nervous young man, a cold-faced girl, another girl with her eyes closed, seemingly indifferent…

‘That blue-haired kid is a true genius.’

A boy with blue hair from the Evil Path was smiling relaxedly, completely hiding his qi.

Davey quietly closed his eyes and slowly lowered his sword.

"Hey, what are you doing? Are you forfeiting?"

The public’s mockery and jeers blew up.

"I knew it from the first round! How could someone like him be allowed to participate in this prestigious duel of the Righteous and Evil Paths!"

"Ha!You think you can rely on luck when you do martial arts? Get lost!!"

As jeers and criticisms poured from all sides regardless of their faction, Davey sighed and finally spoke up.

"I'm Davey O’Rowane, from the Heavenrend Sect."

Suddenly, the noisy surroundings went silent. Those with keen qi senses realized that there was something unusual about his qi, while even those who couldn’t sense qi noticed his ominous aura.

‘Let's start... Yeah, with this guy.’

"Using techniques... Shaolin's Hundred Fists, Arhat Qi, Adamant Qi…"

"What?!"

It was not clear why, but the Shaolin Temple was now completely closed off from murim, and no outsiders knew their martial arts. But now, a guy from Heavenrend Sect claimed to use Shaolin's Hundred Fists?

"Ho dare you claim to use the martial arts of Shaolin?! Do you not respect martial families?! I swear on my Blue Star Sect, I won't let you off easily!" spoke Yu Kyung-Son, thrusting his sword forward.

Perhaps because of the rule allowing deadly force or his heightened hostility toward Davey, his sword energy was extremely sharp. However, Davey dropped his sword and simply stretched his arms. His bones cracked as he took a fighting stance.

[Shaolin Arts]

[Adamant Qi]

A golden aura erupted, wrapping Davey’s entire body. As Yu Kyung-Son’s sword approached him, he merely extended his hand toward it.

Clang!!!

A metallic sound echoed as Davey caught the sword between his finger and thumb, stopping it in its tracks. Ignoring his opponent’s shock, he simply yanked the sword hard..

"Ugh?!"

The youngster lost his balance and fell forward, toward Davey. The light radiating from Davey’s hand intensified as his fist moved toward his opponent’s abdomen, and right before he made contact, the golden aura exploded, and the ensuing blast echoed throughout the entire arena.

[Hundred Fists]

[Thousand-Pound Strike]

This strike incorporated the principle of making one’s body one thousand pounds in weight, or even ten thousand pounds. Dokgo Jun had learned this punch from the only Shaolin monk capable of using the Thousand-Pound strike at the time.

Boom!!!!

An attack that targeted the vital organs.

"Urghhhh…." Yu Kyung-Son was flung back, vomiting blood.

"Impossible! Ascended beyond physical form?!"

"Unbelievable! At that young age, he's ascended beyond physical form?!"

As the audience was astonished, Davey slowly unclenched his fist, dissipating the golden qi of Shaolin, and turned away. The mockers who saw him as merely lucky witnessed a totally different display, and they were besides themselves in bewilderment.

And Davey’s next duel only served to astonish them even more.

"Evil Path, Heuk Sang-Moon's direct disciple. Heuk Tae-Go. My technique is Dark Iron Blasting Fist."

"I'm Davey from the Heavenrend Sect. I will be using the Daoist Tai Chi Sword."

Following Shaolin, he was now going with Daoism. Hearing Davey, another wave of shock ran through the crowd. They knew that the Heavenrend Sect utilized a unique martial art known as the Heavenrend Divine Art. Yet now, a member of this sect was using other martial arts, and not just any random ones but the Shaolin arts—and now Tai Chi.

Davey drew both swords this time, and as he gently swung them, qi blades flew out like gusts of wind, leaving scars on the ground. In a flash, the Tai Chi pattern was drawn on the ground.

Heuk Tae-Go’s expression hardened, and among the spectators, Daoist representatives were no less shocked.

"How... How could an outsider know our sect’s martial art?!"

The sealed Shaolin Temple had no one to speak for them, but this was not the case for Daoism. However, Davey ignored them. Sheathing one sword, he pointed the other at Heuk Tae-Go and flicked it.

"W-what?!"

"Let’s do this."

He extended two fingers in a graceful motion and flicked them—and this gentle motion caused the atmosphere around them to stir. A domineering qi wave blasted everything in its path as it turned into a massive whirlwind. The pulling force dragged Heuk Tae-Go from where he stood.

"Ugh!"

Davey flicked the sword in his hand.

Slash...

An intriguing ink-like black pattern appeared with a crisp cutting sound, then disappeared.

Thud...

When that pattern vanished, everyone could see that the fight had ended. One of the Evil Path's prodigies, Heuk Tae-Go, lay unconscious on the ground.

"Im-impossible... Forget about an outsider, how could someone who’s not a core member of our sect use the Tai Chi Ink Blossom...?"

Those who knew the details of this technique were simply stupefied. It was a technique known as the Tai Chi Ink Blossom, as it resembled black ink sprayed on white silk.

Among the stupefied audience, the crown prince of Hwan, Wol Gye-Woo, clicked his tongue. "Hmm, impressive."

"Is there something you need, Your Highness?"

"I'd like a word with that person."

"I will deliver that message."

"Make sure to act courteously and don’t do anything stupid. He might be of great help in the future.” Wol Gye-Woo's eyes glistened. "Also why is that useless girl still alive?"

"That's..."

"Useless. Get lost."

"Yes, Your Highness..."