Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 514

Leaving the slumped Vinsant and Mathieu behind, the three of them went outside.

Bang Jin-hoon glanced back at the two men, their minds shattered, and clicked his tongue.

‘Poor guys.’

It was their misfortune to have met the two devils walking ahead of him. One of the devils didn’t know the meaning of moderation, and the other was truly a devil in every sense of the word.

The way Lee Hyun-soo coaxed and threatened Vinsant and Mathieu, who were spilling everything, to extract what he wanted—even though they were speaking in French, it was as if he was translating it—was truly devilish.

‘Scary bastard.’

The thought that his skillful manipulation could have been used against the General Assembly if Kang Jin-ho hadn’t been there sent a shiver down his spine. Of course, his gratitude towards Kang Jin-ho deepened even more.

“They have more useful things than I thought.”

“Can we trust all of it?”

“We’ve seen demonstrations, so it should be fine.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho looked very intrigued.

Although he had learned martial arts to survive, he was a martial artist who had reached the level of a grandmaster. He couldn’t help but be interested in martial arts with a completely different system.

“The way they implement it, or rather, that part feels completely different…”

“There’s definitely that aspect. I wonder if we can really harmonize this.”

Bang Jin-hoon couldn’t help but speak up.

“Let me join the conversation too.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled.

“You know, the magic they were talking about.”

“Right. That was really amazing.”

Bang Jin-hoon looked back with a slightly dreamy gaze.

“It was like magic, literally.”

“Because it is magic.”

What they showed wasn’t just magic. However, the basic methods of using the body didn’t pique their interest. It wasn’t significantly inferior to Eastern martial arts, but it wasn’t particularly better either.

Therefore, there was no need to take on the unfamiliarity and incorporate their martial arts. Its effectiveness wouldn’t be great.

But magic was different.

“First of all, aside from everything else, that subspace thing was really amazing.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho fully agreed with Lee Hyun-soo. That was also why Kang Jin-ho was interested in them. It wasn’t just at a mysterious level; it was a very practical technique. He wondered why this method hadn’t been transmitted to the East until now.

Most martial artists use weapons.

After all, the lethality is higher when using weapons than when attacking with bare hands.

However, in modern society, it is almost impossible to carry weapons. If Kang Jin-ho were to leave his house carrying Blue Dew or Red Dew, he would be arrested by the police and end up in a detention center before he could even walk for ten minutes.

Therefore, martial artists had to drive cars.

Here, a dilemma arises.

Where there are cars, people tend to pass by. But martial artists need to avoid people’s eyes. In the end, they have to park their cars in secluded places, take out their weapons, fight, and then put the weapons back in the car… It was quite inconvenient.

If they were attacked in a crowded place, like when Kang Jin-ho faced assassins in the past, they would be forced to struggle even against enemies they could easily handle with weapons.

This is a matter of life and death.

However, if they could learn the subspace technique, all these problems would be solved at once. They could carry their cherished weapons in the subspace and be fully armed. So, how could they not be tempted?

“This technique alone was worth saving them.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded without answering.

‘But that’s not all.’

There were a few other interesting techniques. In particular, the ability to convert natural energy without consuming their own energy caught Kang Jin-ho’s attention.

From Kang Jin-ho’s perspective, when a weakling easily created flames from his hand, he was genuinely surprised. He hadn’t been this surprised since returning to this world.

In the Jianghu [the martial arts world], one had to reach at least the Hwagyung level to produce Samadhi Fire [a powerful flame]. But a martial artist who seemed to be only second-rate by Jianghu standards was creating fire from his bare hands…

Of course, its power was nothing compared to Samadhi Fire, but its efficiency was truly amazing. Kang Jin-ho even wanted to ask how they did it right away.

“It’s not just a matter of usefulness. The martial arts they use are definitely more effective than the ones we use.”

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho also nodded.

He felt it too.

“If we study it well, we might be able to draw some interesting conclusions.”

‘That might be true, but…’

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t say everything that was on his mind.

‘If we study it well, that is.’

This wasn’t a matter of efficiency. It was a matter of possibility and impossibility. Merging two martial arts into one was not as easy as it seemed.

In the Jianghu, those who could do that were called grandmasters. Considering how few people were called grandmasters throughout the long history of the Jianghu, one could understand how difficult this task was.

To expect that from Lee Hyun-soo was like expecting a monkey to type Hamlet by hitting a keyboard. It wasn’t a matter of whether Lee Hyun-soo was capable or not. The conditions were insufficient from the start.

‘It won’t work with just that.’

Incorporating one martial art into another requires the ability of a grandmaster. On this side, there was Kang Jin-ho, who was well-versed in Eastern martial arts, but the martial arts of the person who had to play that role on the other side didn’t reach that level.

It was too heavy a burden for Vinsant.

Then, the only way was for Kang Jin-ho to learn their martial arts from the basics and reach the level of a grandmaster…

‘That’s not an easy task.’

It sounded simple, but it wasn’t easy at all.

It was difficult for someone who was well-versed in one martial art to learn another martial art with a different method. If the method changed, the energy would be twisted, and eventually, it would clash. That was the danger of Qi Deviation [a dangerous imbalance of internal energy].

Even within the same Eastern martial arts, if one tried to mix martial arts with different methods, they couldn’t avoid the risk of Qi Deviation. What if they learned martial arts with completely different methods?

Naturally, the risk would increase several times over.

If the risk was much greater than what could be gained, there was no need to take the risk.

“Let’s take it slow.”

“Yes?”

“Rushing things will only lead to indigestion.”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded.

He seemed to have understood what Kang Jin-ho meant.

“First, we’ll select a few and see if they can learn what he teaches. We’ll prioritize those who try hard but whose skills don’t improve.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded as if he was satisfied.

“I know what you’re worried about. We’ll proceed with caution, like crossing a stone bridge. If side effects appear later, it will be irreversible.”

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

‘They should have been stronger.’

It would have been better if there was someone stronger. It wasn’t for nothing that so many people in the Jianghu wanted to be taught by masters. In general, a talented person might not necessarily be a good teacher,

but it was different in the case of martial arts. Martial arts were like climbing a mountain.

The higher you climb, the more you see.

Those who climb a low mountain can only see the surroundings, but those who climb a high mountain can see the world. The teachings of those who see the surroundings and those who see the world cannot be the same.

Kang Jin-ho chose his teacher as the first reason why he was able to become strong.

His teacher was strong.

It was only after he became the leader of the Demonic Cult that he realized how strong his teacher was.

Even after gaining the name of the Demonic Heavenly Sovereign and placing everyone in the Demonic Cult under his feet, he couldn’t be sure that he had surpassed his teacher.

Rather, it was because he had risen so high that he could understand.

How vast his teacher’s back was, and how high he had reached.

It was even questionable why his teacher’s name hadn’t echoed throughout the world. Even the head of the Wudang Sect [a famous Taoist martial arts sect], who was so arrogant, and the abbot of Shaolin [a famous Buddhist martial arts temple], who was called the best in the world, couldn’t compare to Kang Jin-ho’s teacher.

It was because he was taught by such a teacher that Kang Jin-ho was able to become the Demonic Heavenly Sovereign. If he hadn’t met his teacher and had joined the Demonic Cult from the beginning, he would have ended his life as just another demonic soldier.

That’s how important it was to learn from the right teacher.

And by that standard, Vinsant was not qualified to be a good teacher.

‘The last puzzle piece doesn’t fit.’

Kang Jin-ho understood what Lee Hyun-soo was saying.

He was a man who had nothing to fear in the world.

But the martial arts world in Korea was different. No matter how strong Kang Jin-ho was, he alone couldn’t make up for all of their lacking power.

Kang Jin-ho didn’t believe in the goodness of humans. And he believed even less in the goodness of organizations. As Lee Hyun-soo said, a catastrophe would come someday. So, before that catastrophe arrived, it was necessary to make the General Assembly strong.

Transmitting demonic arts and researching Western martial arts were all part of that.

If there was just one person with a slightly higher understanding of Western martial arts, they could proceed with things a little more smoothly…

“You can’t have everything.”

“Yes.”

“No, nothing at all.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head and walked forward.

“This isn’t right.”

Elena jumped up from her seat.

She knew it too. She was just a pawn. There was nothing she could do against Kang Jin-ho and the General Assembly. If she recklessly tried to solve things, she might end up provoking Kang Jin-ho.

And if things went that way, she would have to take all the responsibility. The Round Table would never forgive her mistakes and would tear her apart like wolves finding prey.

It was an obvious outcome. Anyone who knew even a little about the Round Table could predict that scenario. There was no way that the intelligent Elena wouldn’t know that.

But Elena chose to take the risk despite being able to predict all of that.

“I have to persuade Mr. Kang Jin-ho somehow.”

She would never move for her own benefit.

Heroism?

Or a chance to shine?

Give it to the dogs.

The reason she was so restless now was because so many chevaliers [knights] were being left to die.

She didn’t know what the Round Table was thinking, but if they continued to abandon them like this, the Round Table would no longer be a place she could trust and follow.

Elena bit her lip and shouted nervously.

“If the Round Table won’t do it, then I’ll just do it myself! I’ll save them!”

At that moment, a heavy voice came from behind her.

“That’s a rather dangerous idea.”

Elena was startled and turned around.