The Hero Returns

Whooosh'”

Bang, clang, rooooll...

A contestant clad in heavy armor went flying before crashing and rolling on the ground. Every time he rolled, the armor clattered on the floor, making a distinct metallic noise.

This man, an awakener with a nearly two-meter-tall physique, used to boast about possessing the highest defensive capabilities in the world.

He was Mirage Rowoon.

"Crazy son of a..."

"Mirage Rowoon got done in by only two hits..."

"But he fought Gordon Rohan last year and lasted a few minutes, didn't he?"

During the first Ranking Wars, Mirage Rowoon couldn't hold on for long against Gordon Rohan.

Back then, he loudly proclaimed that he was strong enough to endure for one full day even if the whole world became his opponent. In the end, that defeat turned out to be the most humiliating and shameful event in his life.

After that defeat, he began paying even closer attention to the quality of his armor and shields. Despite his diligence, he still couldn't win against Gordon Rohan, but at the very least, he was able to endure for several times longer than before.

That was why Mirage Rowoon thought he would have a good bout with Su-hyeun, and this was the result.

"His defenses were pretty solid," Su-hyeun thought.

Although Mirage Rowoon did give off the impression that he was far too focused on his defensive prowess, he should still serve as an excellent combatant in a large-scale combat situation where he fought alongside many others. However, a solo fight is another story.

The reason for his low ranking was easy enough to explain'”he pursued drawn-out battles where he endured enemy attacks, which meant it would be easier to get a draw than eking out hard-fought victories.

"Still, I didn't expect him to withstand the first hit."

Since Rowoon was known for his defensive strength, Su-hyeun decided to attack with a fair amount of power from the get-go.

However, Rowoon managed to defend against the first attack, then even endured the subsequent attack for a brief moment as well, even though Su-hyeun attacked in a way that would be very difficult to defend.

"And with that, not many others remain," he silently observed.

Only about 10 or so contestants remained. Hak-joon was among them.

"Alright. I've seen all I want to see, so..."

The remaining 10 or so contestants were some of the strongest awakeners in the world.

Not a single one of them ranked lower than the top 30 in the world. Su-hyeun deliberately left them alone to test their skills a bit better.

"Let's finish this."

Step'”

From a certain moment, Su-hyeun stopped being under the barrage of other contestants' attacks and began making his moves.

Hak-joon tensed up. The meaning behind Su-hyeun getting active could only be that he wanted to end this match for good now.

"I won't let you have your way, though," Hak-joon inwardly promised.

He was planning to endure no matter what.

No, wait, the condition Su-hyeun brought up earlier, the one about inflicting him with a small scratch? Hak-joon was going to struggle like crazy to achieve that feat.

"I can still'”I have one more shot left."

The strongest skill in Hak-joon's arsenal was "Qilin," and he had enough energy left to fire one more shot.

He would have to sacrifice every ounce of his magical energy, but that should be enough. Hak-joon slowly concentrated magical energy on his sword and began walking toward Su-hyeun.

That was what he wanted to, anyway.

"Huh?!"

Su-hyeun was gone.

"But he was right there only a second ago, so'”?"

Right at that moment, Hak-joon's vision blacked out.

SMACK'”!

Plop'”

Hak-joon's eyes rolled back from a powerful impact that landed on his temple; then, he simply crumbled to the floor below.

His magical energy gathering on the sword was released and scattered in the air.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. Some awakeners could only blink dazedly, unable to figure out what just happened.

"What was that?"

"Why did he suddenly'”?"

SMACK'”!

Another heavy noise resounded.

It came from very close by, but the moment the awakeners heard that noise, they all ended up in roughly a similar state.

Plop'”

All 10 contestants lost consciousness around the same time and faltered to the ground. Every single one of them got hit in the back of their heads or their temples'”except one man.

"Kugh..."

Hak-joon was trying to force his wobbly figure to stand back up.

Su-hyeun thought that he managed to bring all of them down, so he couldn't help but be a little surprised, "Hey. You alright?"

"Asking me that after hitting me so hard feels a bit wrong, don't you think?"

Crack'”

Hak-joon finally staggered back to his feet, then stabbed his sword on the ground to maintain his balance.

"Do you want to keep going?"

"No." Hak-joon used one hand to hold the sword and raised his other hand. "I just wanted to walk away on my own two feet, you see."

It seemed that he wanted to keep a little bit of his pride at least.

He must have thought that walking off on his own power instead of getting carried away was a lot less embarrassing.

"Alright. Do that."

Su-hyeun chose not to stop Hak-joon or anything like that. He already knew that the latter wouldn't try to fight back in his current state, anyway.

Besides, Su-hyeun's attention had moved on to someone else by then.

Step, step'”

Someone was belatedly stepping outside the contestant waiting area.

The spectators who had been thinking that the event match was finally over discovered this tardy contestant.

He used to be under everyone's attention thanks to his flashy entrance earlier, but the craziness of the event match meant that they had all forgotten about him until now.

"Sun Wukong?"

"Now that I think about it, there's still one more person remaining, isn't there?"

"I thought he was simply uninterested in joining the event match..."

"Was he waiting for it to end?"

Spectators were feeling a bit down after the event match ended, but this late entrance brought renewed energy into their voices.

Sun Wukong, with Ruyi Jingu Bang slung on his shoulders, stepped up to the arena. He scanned his surroundings while stepping over the fallen contestants, "Hey, isn't this a bit too messy?"

Su-hyeun, standing about a dozen meters away, shrugged his shoulders, "Why don't we wait for a little until things are sorted out first?"

The moment he said that, medical staff hurriedly entered the arena to carry the injured away. Way too many contestants ended up getting hurt and unconscious, so it seemed like they would need a lot of time to deal with the situation.

"I've been waiting for too long, though. You want me to wait even longer?"

"It can't be helped, you know? If we fight now, the battle you've been waiting for might end with a whimper, Third Brother."

"Sure, there are... too many obstacles here that might trip my feet."

Even if Su-hyeun's personality had changed, he still wasn't going to fight while ignoring all these injured people without a very good reason. Unlike Yogoes, humans placed much importance and value on life, after all.

Su-hyeun felt the same way in that regard.

Sun Wukong looked bored as he spun Ruyi Jingu Bang around, "Okay, so? Are any of these punks decent prospects in your view?"

He asked that because he knew why Su-hyeun decided to participate in the Ranking Wars.

And that was why Sun Wukong chose not to butt in during the event match. Su-hyeun wanted to test the tournament's contestants, the top awakeners of the world, and find out how good they were.

"A few of them were pretty decent. The majority was a letdown, though."

"What about that dude who walked off on his own feet? Even I thought he was pretty good, you know? I fought him earlier."

"You're right. And that guy over there," Su-hyeun's gaze shifted over to that one person who didn't participate even until the end, Gordon Rohan. "I think he'll also exceed your expectations."

"What, that Apostle of Heavenly God?"

"How did you know that, Third Brother?"

"There's this smell coming from him that I freaking hate, you see? Not sure how someone like that dude got the Heavenly God's attention, though. I don't think he's what you'd call a pure-hearted person or stuff like that."

After listening to Sun Wukong, Su-hyeun began thinking that maybe his Third Brother had encountered the so-called Heavenly God before.

Gordon Rohan explained it in passing in the past, so Su-hyeun had a rough idea of it. The Heavenly God might not have been one of the Five Godly Sages, but even so, that deity's status was incredibly high.

"Alright, so, we're gonna do this properly this time, right?"

Snap, crack'”

While the arena was being sorted out, Sun Wukong began loosening his joints and muscles.

This wouldn't be their first "fight," but the atmosphere or the tension in the air between the two certainly felt unfamiliar.

"Yes, let's do it properly."

Shu-shu, shushushut'”!

A crimson line suddenly appeared on the arena's edges as he answered.

It was a "device" to prevent the ripples of the battle from leaking outside. However, a simple little sparring session wouldn't have necessitated such a measure.

"Well, now, I'm getting really pumped up here."

"Getting too excited might lead to a big disappointment, though."

"True, you've become far too strong lately, little bro."

Sun Wukong had become so much stronger at an alarming rate, but Su-hyeun's growth rate was even faster. That was what made Sun Wukong smile even wider.

"But that's why I'm so looking forward to this."

Sun Wukong always preferred fighting against strong opponents, and Su-hyeun was arguably the best opponent to stimulate Sun Wukong's hunger for battle. Every time they dueled, something about him had changed. He had become stronger, having progressed even further forward.

However, Su-hyeun was also Sun Wukong's younger brother. They had fought a few times under the guise of sparring but never before have they really trained their weapons at each other with the intention to hurt.

"You know that I can't die and all, right?"

"Yes, I know."

"Alright. So let's have a proper go then!"

Rumble'”

Crimson lights began swirling within Sun Wukong's eyes.

Those auras of flame were the Fiery Golden Eyes getting activated.

"If you don't, then I ain't gonna stop until you take things more seriously!"

This year's Ranking Wars was a special stage even for Sun Wukong.

This tournament served as the pretext to temporarily forget about the relationship between the two that precluded a fierce all-out battle.

His anticipation should not be dismissed, of course. Even Su-hyeun was greatly looking forward to today's battle.

"Alright, I hear you, Third Brother."

While the two of them talked, all the fallen contestants strewn about on the arena were finally carried away.

Shortly after that, only Su-hyeun and Sun Wukong remained in the arena.

"Finally. All the obstacles are gone now."

Fwhoooosh'”

Sun Wukong rapidly spun Ruyi Jingu Bang in his grip. "In that case, let's get started!"

The spinning strength equated to how strong one really was. The moment the staff was aimed at Su-hyeun's throat, his figure started moving.

Pah-aht'”

Su-hyeun's figure vanished from the spot, but then...

"Extend..."

While in the middle of making his command, Ruyi Jingu Bang's aim also changed.

"Ruyi!"

Ka-boooom'”!

Giiii-iiing'”

Su-hyeun's sword and Ruyi Jingu Bang's tip collided, causing amber sparks to dance everywhere. Gripping the weapon with both hands, Su-hyeun made a slightly surprised face, "You can follow me, Third Brother?"

Clang'”!

Su-hyeun powerfully deflected the staff upward. Ruyi Jingu Bang was currently only in the extended state but not any wider.

Sun Wukong retracted the staff and gripped it in his hands. While spinning the weapon around, he replied, "I've seen our First Brother use Earth Shrink plenty of times, you know. I might not know how to do it, but seeing where you're going? Pfft."

"Is it because of your eyes?"

"Probably?" Sun Wukong replied while scanning their surroundings. "By the way, will this be fine? Your barrier might shatter at this rate, you know?"

"Was that why you didn't widen the staff? You don't have to worry. This isn't a protective barrier but a large doorway."

"A doorway?"

"Yes. All ripples of energy or object flung out of the arena will go through the doorway and end up in another dimension. Since my magic circle is not designed to absorb impact, you don't have to worry about it shattering."

Even though Su-hyeun didn't say anything too complicated, Sun Wukong still began scratching the back of his head while making a confused face.

Without a doubt, he was just not meant for magic or sorcery, it seemed.

"That all kinda sounds complicated, you know. In any case, I don't have to worry about anything anymore. That's the gist of it, right?"

"Yes."

That was more than enough for him.

Sun Wukong roused his energy once more. Since Su-hyeun said there was nothing to worry about, he didn't have to hold himself back anymore.

"In that case, why don't we have some serious fun then?"

The look in Sun Wukong's crimson eyes suddenly shifted.

The color of Fiery Golden Eyes began to take on traces of golden light, although it was truly faint, and this was what Su-hyeun had been most curious about for a while now.

"Just what kind of changes did Third Brother experience?"

Su-hyeun also began rousing his strength at Sun Wukong's response.

Ruuumble'”

Bzzzik, bzzzzzzikkk'”

Winds wrapped around the Palm Leaf's blade while the divine Flame began lighting up right afterward. As Su-hyeun wielded the sword enveloped in fire and wind, his left hand gripped onto a newly generated Thunderbolt.

"I guess I'll get to find out today."

The preparations were over.

Just like a minute ago, Sun Wukong pointed with Ruyi Jingu Bang and issued his command, "Extend'”"

But this time, he didn't hold back its destructive power.

KA-BOOM'”!

"Ruyi!"