The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Novel

"Arrrgh!! Arrgh!!"

The process that unfolded was so painful to observe that any onlooker would grimace.

Could human muscles and bones truly twist in such a manner? Even in the rigorous practice of martial arts, where painful ascetic training from early childhood was the norm, the sight unfolding before the Peach Blossom Fairy Kwak Mi-Young and the second disciple of the Gongdong Sect, Kwak Joon-Seong, deviated from conventional practices.

Cheon Ji-Hee had been staring into the void as if she wasn’t even present, but hearing these screams, she jerked in surprise. Seeing the intensity of Davey’s treatment, she was shivering.

Bones were dislocated and then meticulously realigned; muscles were intentionally ruptured and then expertly reassembled for recovery. Those who didn’t know what was going on could only assess the situation by the loudness of the screams, but the person actually enduring this torment, Han Ja-Seong, was going through agony no different from death.

"E-Enough..."

"Is that the extent of your desire for revenge?"

"..."

In response to Davey's question, Ja-Seong’s screams stopped.

"Give up here if you want to die without resolving anything. If you’re OK with dying an unexpected and gruesome death, I will stop."

At Davey's words, Ja-Seong clenched his teeth. "Please… go on."

The harrowing screams continued for a long time.

***

"Grandfather."

Kwak Do-Young, renowned as the White Flame Sword Saint due to his sword aura resembling the sun, turned his head. His granddaughter was serving him tea.

"Yes, young one, what's the matter?"

"Are you really okay with this?"

"What are you referring to?"

"Sending Joon-Seong and Mi-Young alone without any additional personnel."

"Hmm... Are you still uneasy about that Western youth named Davey?"

"Honestly, it doesn't make sense. I have seen the martial arts of the Westerners. They also used something similar to our qi." Hyo-Yeong could not hide her anxious expression. "Even if you say it's safe, I'm worried. Frankly, I don't trust that man."

"Well, you’re right. It’s possible that he’s up to no good."

"Then why would you—"

Before Hyo-Yeong could finish her question, the White Flame Sword Saint Kwak Do-Young closed his eyes. He quietly said, "Old age has brought me more than just martial knowledge."

"Sir?"

"How old does that young man seem to you?"

"He can't be more than twenty years old…"

"How then does such a young man have wisdom surpassing even an old man like me?"

"..."

"Isn't it strange in any sense that he does not seem to have any qi?"

"But his qi was…"

"That's right. It was less than that of an ordinary person. As good as non-existent. So, ask again. Have you ever seen a Westerner bring out the strength to capture a demonic beast only with external energy, without using any qi?"

"Grandfather… You mean…"

"I can’t really understand what’s going on. However, if I’m correct about this, he’s achieved two things."

In theory, there existed a realm utterly beyond reach. It went beyond the stage of Ascension and it wouldn't be an overstatement to call this absolute realm a divine realm—the realm of gods.

“According to your words, if an entity reaches an extreme level, it appears to be the exact opposite. So in this case, his qi might appear to be absent.”

If an entity reached the peak of cultivation, their cultivation would appear inexistent in the eyes of others, just like how an ant wouldn't be able to tell whether it was looking at a bigger rock or a massive building.

A human would need to accumulate qi for 60 years to reach one unit of qi. Based on Davey’s battle performance against evil spirits, he would need at least 20 units of qi. This threshold could increase depending on the viewer's level of expertise. For instance, Kwak Do-Young could perceive up to 40 units of qi, and even he, the White Flame Sword Saint himself, could not perceive the level of Davey’s qi.

"Re... Reincarnation...?"

"The probability is low. However, if that's the case, then he’s unlikely to be an enemy. Such a powerful figure would have no reason to hide himself. If he was our enemy, he could have destroyed us by mere virtue of his presence.”

Hyo-Yeong maintained her silence, seemingly unconvinced.

***

"Let me share an old tale."

Seated next to Ja-Seong, who was lying on the ground drooling, Davey tossed firewood into the fire pit and infused some mana. Flames burst out, and a clear light illuminated the surroundings.

Ja-Seong groaned pitifully. "Hurgh... Arrgh... An old tale?" ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novelenglish.net . Fire(.)nᴇt

"Yes. A story about a talentless magician."

Intrigued by the story, the Kwak siblings, who were observing from a distance, cautiously approached.

"Let's see… his name was Lee Jun."

"No idea who that is. Is he some kind of third-rate outlaw?" Joon-Seong asked.

"Be quiet, fool."

"What do you—"

Mi-Young smacked him on the back of the head, instantly silencing him.

"Lee Jun… Such a peculiar name."

"Yeah. Because he's not recorded in history."

"How do you know such things?"

"Keep quiet, foolish young lady."

"What… What did you say?"

Mi-Young's expression turned sour.

"The man from the East was the child of a foolish father and the princess of a kingdom."

As Davey talked, Kwak Joon-Seong began to listen more attentively. Was it out of interest? Even Ji-Hee, who had been sitting blankly next to Perserque, looked at Davey.

"The father's name was Lee Yeon-Dal; the mother's name was Yeon Pyeong-Hwa."

At these words, Joon-Seong's eyes widened. "Yeon-Dal… with Pyeong-Hwa… You mean General Lee Yeon-Dal of the Dongju Kingdom, who trampled on many martial artist to become the greatest of his time but sadly died young because he was betrayed—"

"If you run your mouth one more time, the story ends there."

"Ah, I get it! Just continue!"

"The father was indeed a formidable general, and the mother was the daughter of King Pyeong Won. King Pyeong-Won always used to tell Pyeong-Hwa that if she kept crying, she would be married off to the famous fool Yeon-Dal.

"King Pyeong-Won had no idea that his words would have serious consequences. Namely, Princess Pyeong-Hwa, who grew up to become the kingdom's top beauty, suddenly decided to actually marry Yeon-Dal and ran out of the palace.

" Pyeong-Hwa went to seek out Yeon-Dal, she convinced his elderly mother, and they tied the knot. Of course, no one actually thought that the fool Yeon Dal would be a competent husband.

"The story of General Yeon-Dal and Princess Pyeong-Hwa, right… I know their heroic tales, they are even told in my family. The tale is that Princess Pyeong-Hwa taught and supported the foolish General Yeon-Dal, transforming him into a great man. Well, nobody knows what became of them."

Davey smiled. "Yes, that's the story of Yeon-Dal. It’s more or less how it actually happened. One thing is different though: the one who killed Yeon-Dal was a traitor yet at the same time not a traitor."

"What do you mean?"

"It was Princess Pyeong-Hwa's father, King Pyeong-Won."

With these sobering words, silence fell around them.

"King Pyeong-Won realized that Yeon-Dal, the simple son of a destroyed tribe's leader, had been merely pretending to be a fool. King Pyeong-Won killed him for that, and he did not stop there; he tried to kill even the general’s young son."

"..."

"Lee Jun... "

"Pyeong-Hwa managed to escape with her son somehow, but she ended up in a strange place. And that place was… a demonic cult.”

This demonic cult was known as the Illusion Demon Sect.

"The Illusion Demon Sect… the demonic cult that fell at the hands of Heavenly Destroyer Dokgo Jun, known as the most vile entity in martial history… the worst martial villain…"

"The early Illusion Demon Sect was just one of many demonic cults, nothing special. Lee Jun underwent extensive training there for a long time.

"However, he lacked talent. He failed to absorb qi, and what he did absorb would scatter right away. He was a basic example of a talentless individual.

"Of course, even within the Illusion Demon Sect, he was assessed as talentless, and no one paid him any attention. As twenty years passed and Lee Jun turned forty, he was still a mere cult member. By then, his martial skill level was only Second Class, neither more nor less.

Being stuck at the Second Class at the age of forty demonstrated how lacking his talent was. His father had been an extraordinarily talented figure, but the son was the exact opposite. Such stark contrast was a rare sight.

"At that time, the Illusion Demon Sect was increasing its influence and began revealing its ambitions. The master of the Illusion Demon Sect, the Demon God Monarch, conducted an experiment on the cult members who were deemed weak and insignificant.

“He forced a twisted power into the bodies of his underlings, who had practiced dark arts for many years.

"Over a hundred were involved, but only one survived."

"Could it be…"

That one survivor of the horrific experiment, something that had never succeeded in the history of the Illusion Demon Sect, was Yeon-Dal's son, Lee Jun.

"In truth, Lee Jun was not lacking talent. When King Pyeong-Won tried to kill him with poison, he was saved by his mother. She fled with him, and once they had escaped, she burnt her own lifeforce and used that pure energy to seal his own energy."

"Hmm..."

"The issue was in fact his physique. Yeon-Dal had pretended to be a fool from childhood because he had a body unfit for martial arts. But after meeting Pyeong-Hwa and striving to protect her, it turned out that his weak body was in fact a blessing in disguise, allowing him to become an incredibly powerful martial artist."

Would his son be any different? No, if anything, his son's case was more of the same. His talent was ridiculously lacking, but within him slept power surpassing his father’s. And thanks to the experiments run by theIllusion Demon Sect, his dormant power was awakened.

"Thus awakened, Lee Jun was shocked by his transformation. His previously lacking martial arts abilities suddenly skyrocketed."

He became completely engrossed in the demonic arts.

"He went mad after suddenly gaining power and lacking the mental strength to control it."

He thus became a faithful weapon of the Illusion Demon Sect, deployed in the war against the martial world. Naturally, he could not refuse the orders. Amid the blood storm of the brutal war, Lee Jun faced numerous crises and kept growing stronger. But one day, the Central Martial Alliance used a certain family as a bait for the Illusion Demon Sect. In the aftermath, Lee Jun found a child and… the story shifted.

"The Central Martial Alliance used a family as bait?"

"Yes. The Dokgo family. The family is now extinct, annihilated by the Illusion Demon Sect. But when Lee Jun arrived, he discovered a survivor and picked her up on a whim."

"Dokgo… Wait a minute! Wasn't Dokgo the family of the Heavenly Destroyer?!"

"It was not the Heavenly Destroyer's family. It was a martial family living for justice, righteousness, and alliance."

Upon discovering a little girl among the rubble from the massacre, Lee Jun felt an unfamiliar emotion for the first time while the child cursed at him.

" Later, he understood that emotion was guilt. Anyway, he acted as if he was enchanted. He took the child with him, even ignoring the cult's orders.

"The child's name was Dokgo Yeon. The only sore point in Lee Jun's life, and the only person he loved at over forty years old, that bastard thief.

"Do you know? Lee Jun's name was not even known to himself initially. Those around just called him Jun. And that little lady gave him a last name: Dokgo. She said, ‘If you feel guilty, become my family.’ Pfft, that little lady was not in her right mind either."

"Dokgo's surname and Jun... Could it be…?" Kwak Joon-Seong looked at Davey in astonishment.

"Yes. Dokgo Jun. The man you people call the Heavenly Destroyer."

"That… That can't be! The Heavenly Destroyer was a crazed murderer from a murderer's lineage… a madman…"

"History is written by the victors. The situation back then was quite interesting. The Central Martial Alliance was cautious about leaving any traces about the Dokgo family they abandoned during the war against the demonic sect. As for the Demon God Monarch, he feared not being known as the strongest in his cult.

“Thus, on one side, they conspired to completely wipe out any trace of them, and on the other, to break the spirit of Dokgo Jun.

"All of the Central Martial Alliance plotted from the shadows to target a single child. Can you imagine what Dokgo Jun felt? Was he disappointed? Was he sick of everything?

"Tired of the pressing attacks from the Central Martial Alliance and the Illusion Demon Sect, which both considered him and Dokgo Yeon dangerous, he started to falter. Moreover, the bindings placed on him by the Demon God Monarch were continuously breaking down his body and dantian. He did not expect to survive for long.

“At this point, he made a choice. If things continued like this, he would die. And if he died like this, Dokgo Yeon was certain to be murdered. Therefore, before dying, he needed to acquire the strength to crush everything, even if it meant hastening his own end.

"He chose to discard his life for power. All to save a child. Isn't that funny? A murderous demon who had slaughtered many people of the Illusion Demon Sect was throwing away his life for a single child."

"..."

Had Davey’s words been so shocking? Ji-Hee and Joon-Seong were still complete greenhorns, they didn’t know much about the ways of the world, but even the Kwak siblings remained silent.