The Hero Returns - Chapter 512
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Chapter 512

Chapter 512: Chapter 512

The preliminary matches were made up of individual competitions.

The participants didnt fight each other physically but still competed to see who would score the most points.

As such, no one chose to fight their competition. After all, if the two people wasted their time and energy fighting, then it would only result in them falling behind the other three in the group.

Sometimes, a monster too powerful for one person to handle would show up in the preliminaries, resulting in competitors working together to overcome such obstacles.

But now

Sun Wukong displayed an ability to utterly upend the script on the preliminaries.

Crunch, boom!

Whoooosh

Noises of monsters falling in droves came from every corner of the forest.

Dozens of cameras were working overtime to capture everything at the moment. The footage being broadcast also had to change drastically to match the action.

And all those cameras were showing the same faces.

What kind of skill is this?

Isnt that, you know, the cloning technique?

Is that why he named himself Sun Wukong?

Well, at least he got the concept right.

And his skill level isnt a joke, either.

The four participants promptly gave up right there and then.

It wasnt because Sun Wukong had produced too many clones of himself.

His main body hadnt even moved an inch from the spot, but more importantly, each of the clones was so strong that one punch from them was enough to kill a monster.

In other words, every clone was strong enough to rival a top-tier S-Rank awakener.

Just who the heck is he?

Only then did they realize something.

Kim Su-hyeun recommended him. Not just anyone could earn Su-hyeuns recommendation.

Hmm Im getting bored, Sun Wukong muttered while standing in front of his fellow four participants.

After hearing his muttering, they finally realized that Sun Wukongs real body hadnt moved an inch until now.

He lightly spun Ruyi Jingu Bang in his hand, but he wasnt even staring at the forest. This should take care of things on that end, so

The unmistakable fighting intent could be felt emanating from his glare.

What about you lot? Are you any good?

Wwait, theres no reason to fight us now, is there?

With things like this, the odds of us passing the preliminary are

Sun Wukong replied disinterestedly, I didnt come here for nonsense like that, you know.

Nonsense like that?

Huh?

From the get-go, these participants entered the Ranking Wars to advertise their names and enhance their value.

That purpose was even tied to enhancing the international prestige of their respective nations, similar to competing in the Olympics or the World Cup. To put it simply, the awakeners competing in the Ranking Wars were like the top representatives of their respective nations.

However, Sun Wukongs goal obviously had nothing to do with any of those.

You see, I want to fight as much as I can. Sun Wukong beckoned at the awakeners, telling them to attack him, So, hurry up. Lets have some fun.

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In the Ranking Wars preliminaries, the matches were supposed to go on for two days in total. Everyone expected Su-hyeun to steal the limelight, but somewhat surprisingly, that role belonged to someone else.

A new face, huh?

He won 4 versus 1, right?

I didnt think anyone not affiliated with the Paragon Guild would be that strong.

But hes Kim Su-hyeuns acquaintance, apparently.

Does that mean hell soon join the Paragon Guild, too?

Sun Wukong was the protagonist of all their gossiping.

Some were already asking if he was the real Sun Wukong, the one and only Great Sage, Heavens Equal. Still, others simply called him a cosplaying weirdo.

Whichever side was the truth, it didnt matter in the end. Both were more than enough to generate so much buzz already.

Of course, the one responsible for all that buzz, Sun Wukong, didnt seem to care about any of the hullabaloos.

Its my loss.

Currently, in the main match of the second round of the Ranking Wars, Hak-joon held up both of his hands. His whole body was soaked in sweat while his complexion was deathly pale.

Everything happened in less than 10 minutes. The arena was utterly wrecked while Hak-joon, normally overflowing with stamina, had exhausted himself to the brink of passing out.

Still, youre pretty good, arent you? Sun Wukong grinned in satisfaction, which hadnt happened in a while.

Although this wasnt a life-or-death struggle, this fight nevertheless proved to be quite enjoyable to him. At the very least, Sun Wukong didnt see Hak-joon as yet another random rabble like the other awakeners.

I heard about you, but wow! Youre really strong, Hak-joon said while rubbing his abdomen, which got hit by Ruyi Jingu Bang early on.

It mustve been ages since the last time he felt such a strong impact force.

He ended up vomiting what he ate before the match. His whole body toppled forward while all the magical energy he roused up got dispersed.

Right after that, he realized how outmatched he was, then for the next 10 minutes, he proceeded to pour out every single ounce of his energy during each of his sword swings.

And then, he lost.

To him, this fight was on the level of just horsing around, Hak-joon thought.

Sun Wukong had been maintaining a grin throughout the fight.

That grin looked so pure. Like a kid having fun in the playground, Sun Wukong thoroughly enjoyed himself during the fight.

That helped Hak-joon reaffirm something.

If it werent for him having fun, our fight wouldve finished much sooner.

Hak-joon grabbed Sun Wukongs offered hand and got back on his feet.

The first of the main match lasted for around 10 minutes. One could say it didnt take that long.

Most of the Ranking Wars matches lasted anywhere between 15 minutes to a few hours. The reason why a match could go on for that long was simplemost of the participating S-Rank awakeners were strong individuals, to begin with, and their strengths closely matched.

However, despite the short length, none of the spectators thought they got short-changed during this match.

Wow

What did we just see?

Could he be the real Sun Wukong? I mean, his staff, it

Didnt he also step on the clouds to fly around?

The spectators of the Ranking Wars wanted only one thing, and that was to be entertained.

The battles between awakeners were much flashier and exciting than any video game or movie. Well, they knew how to use flashy skills, and their physical prowess verged on being superhuman, after all.

Everything was more visceral because the fight wasnt make-believe but happening for real.

Also, the spectators derived additional enjoyment from trying to predict which high-ranking awakeners would fight each other and who would emerge victorious in such a situation.

But now, a rising star announced himself by defeating an awakener of the Paragon Guild.

Third Brother, it looks like youve quickly become a big celebrity.

Eh? I have? Sun Wukong turned his head to look at Su-hyeun. He was back in the participant waiting room.

He was merely competing in the matches since he was told to do so. His head began tilting this way and that, unable to understand why he had suddenly become a celebrity. He was wondering if he had done something amazing to warrant that.

However, to make him understand, first, one would also have to explain the significance of the Ranking Wars and then explain how the people of this world viewed the awakeners participating in the Ranking Wars.

Su-hyeun realized how complicated explaining all of that was going to be. He mulled over his options for a bit, then simply nodded, I think if you go outside now, everyone will start recognizing you.

Huh! Thats gonna get a bit annoying.

You could always use the transformation technique before going out, though. You know how to disguise yourself a bit, dont you?

Eh, Sun Wukong scratched his head while looking annoyed before settling down on a chair. He then popped a couple of biscuits in his mouth. By the way, what were you doing in here?

Do you remember the guy from before?

How can I when you put it that way?

Im talking about Mister Luslec.

Luslec? Mm Sun Wukong combed through his memory bank for a while, then immediately nodded, Aha! Yeah, we did fight side by side.

Ive been trying to contact him, Su-hyeun was fidgeting with the marble Luslec gave him in his pocket. But he doesnt want to answer me.

Is it an urgent matter?

Well, he is the Apostle of Brahma, after all. I wanted to find out if theres been any news, but I cant get a hold of him.

Up until now, it always had been Lusclec contacting Su-hyeun first.

He sometimes showed up for no special reason to visit Su-hyeun. He even replied within a few seconds when Su-hyeun tried to contact him as if he was waiting to be contacted in the first place.

However, during the Ranking Wars, Luslec didnt respond to any attempts at contact as if something was keeping him busy.

I wonder, did Zeus meet Brahma by now? Su-hyeun thought.

Zeus abruptly showed up on Earth to track Luslec down while saying he wanted to locate Brahma. Then, after getting a solid lead, he left in a hurry only to go missing in action, too.

As soon as I wrap things up here, I should try searching for them.

There shouldnt be any immediate problems.

Without needing to find Brahma right away, the frequency of dungeon generation had decreased noticeably. Also, Su-hyeun had already taken care of his primary concernFafnir.

Even Osiris had been dealt with. Out of the Three Destroyers, two of them had died by Su-hyeuns hands.

Okay, so, the remaining ones are Shiva and

It was the last boss whose name Su-hyeun didnt even know.

The One Overlord

Su-hyeun still hadnt found out what the name of the apex of all Predators was. All he knew, for the time being, was that the One Overlord, just like Shiva, could lead a world on the scale of galaxies to their absolute destruction.

Thinking about the One Overlord filled Su-hyeuns head with complicated thoughts.

He wondered half-heartedly if it would be okay to pretend not to have thought about an existence with an unknown presence and unknown name. Still, his anxiety only got more amplified with time.

Should I personally go out to find this One Overlord or something?

But where?

I guess theres no choice but to meet Brahma directly, then.

The most realistic and achievable goal right now seemed like meeting Brahma. There was the connection called Luslec, after all. Not to forget, Zeus was already chasing after Brahmas shadow.

Su-hyeun organized his thoughts and then got up from his chair.

He was up next.

<hr />

Waaaaah!

The crowds cheering was getting louder.

It was the second round of the main matches.

Finally, it was Su-hyeuns turn.

Not only that, but the match-up was also good enough to excite the spectators greatly.

Thomas versus Kim Su-hyeun, huh?

The very first Ranking Wars main match was these two, wasnt it?

Yeah. That match was a classic, too. I wonder whats going to happen this time.

Maybe Thomas will win today?

No way, man.

They were both members of the