Chapter 593
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 crowds 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..."
"Its 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 Juns 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 shes alive."
Earlier, Davey had been wrestling with his own thoughts because of Wol Gye-Woos words. As a result, even though he hadnt 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 ones opponent, which meant it was all the more effective if the opponent lived. Daveys act of forcefully stopping his momentum had saved the girls 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 wasnt Wol Gye-Woos 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.
As jeers and criticisms poured from all sides regardless of their faction, Davey sighed and finally spoke up.
"I'm Davey ORowane, 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 couldnt 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 Daveys entire body. As Yu Kyung-Sons 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 opponents shock, he simply yanked the sword hard..
"Ugh?!"
The youngster lost his balance and fell forward, toward Davey. The light radiating from Daveys hand intensified as his fist moved toward his opponents 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 ones 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 Daveys 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 artsand 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-Gos expression hardened, and among the spectators, Daoist representatives were no less shocked.
"How... How could an outsider know our sects 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?!"
"Lets do this."
He extended two fingers in a graceful motion and flicked themand 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 whos 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 dont 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..."