Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 571

Life is suffering.

I heard that’s what Buddha said, so it’s probably true.

Even if it wasn’t Buddha who said it, and it just popped up somewhere, Lee Myung-hwan couldn’t help but actively agree with it.

Anyone would sympathize if they saw the situation he was in right now.

“So… me?”

“Then who else?”

“Why me?”

“You’re the representative.”

“…Me?”

There are things in the world that must be denied. But there are also things that are meaningless if others don’t accept that denial.

Lee Myung-hwan swallowed his tears as he looked at those surrounding him.

‘They look like a bunch of petty thieves…’

The guys from the Assembly always had a rough look.

From an image perspective, wouldn’t those who are holed up in the mountains learning martial arts seem simple and innocent?

Even if that’s not the case, they should at least look like they’re wearing tracksuits, like college athletes.

But strangely, the martial artists of the Assembly looked like neighborhood thugs.

I don’t know when that style and fashion became popular, but the Assembly guys thought it was cool.

They all liked to walk around with their shoulders puffed up.

Well, this was something Lee Myung-hwan couldn’t escape either.

It was something he didn’t usually pay much attention to, but being surrounded by these thugs today made him think that the Assembly’s image needed to be refreshed.

Because… they’re damn scary.

Even though they’re already a bunch of ugly bastards, the pressure they’re emitting with their demonic energy is making his legs tremble. Even though he has also learned demonic arts, how can he handle the killing intent that over a hundred people are emitting all by himself?

“…No, why am I the representative? I’m not even one of the older ones.”

“Kang Jin-ho keeps telling you to do it.”

“Huh?”

“So you’re the one giving the orders.”

“That’s right.”

“Then you’re the representative. What does age matter? Am I going to go to Kang Jin-ho and complain that I can’t listen to you because I’m older?”

“No. No one would do that.”

“Then you’re the representative.”

“That’s very persuasive, but how about we re-elect a representative among ourselves? Kang Jin-ho isn’t a stubborn person, so I think he’d listen if we went and talked to him?”

“Okay, let’s do that. You be the representative.”

“No, at least let’s vote…”

The bulky guy looked around and said.

“Everyone who agrees with this bastard being the representative.”

It was like a scene from North Korea. The hands of those filling the space all went up into the air at once. If someone saw that scene, they would have smiled happily, thinking it was a place with great unity.

Well, it’s true that they’re united.

They’re the most united when it comes to screwing someone over. Damn it.

“So… okay, fine, I get it. I understand that you want me to be the representative, but what do you want me to do?”

“Find out.”

“Huh?”

“Hey, we went through hell to pass the test, but if those who failed the test can do everything else, why did we even pass the test?”

Of course, this was a normal reaction.

Humans want privileges. And they want their work and where they live to be superior to other places. It was a very natural reaction.

The problem was that it was embarrassing to say it out loud.

“You want me to question that?”

“That’s right.”

“To whom?”

“It would be nice if we could question Kang Jin-ho directly, but honestly, that guy doesn’t seem to care about that kind of thing… We need to question someone who can actually help.”

“…Who is that?”

“You know.”

Lee Myung-hwan finally shed a tear when he saw everyone smirking.

“What do you want me to do?”

Of course, he didn’t expect a normal reaction.

He didn’t expect a reaction like, ‘So, how can I help you?’ when he came with this kind of business. That would be shameless.

Lee Myung-hwan knew very well that it was wrong to bother someone who was already busy with this kind of thing, even though his colleagues were making a fuss about it.

However….

“What do you want, you bastard!”

“It’s not like I wanted to come here.”

“So, what do you want?”

Well, of course, he could get angry. He wasn’t upset about the anger. What really made it hard for him to endure was Lee Hyun-soo’s gaze, which seemed to say, ‘How can I kill this bug-like bastard so that it will be known that he died well?’

“Then why did you come?”

“…Because I was told to.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s face began to twist. Lee Myung-hwan desperately tried to explain himself in order to survive.

“I know that I shouldn’t be doing this here, but the backlash from my colleagues who feel that their rights have been taken away is too strong… I judged that there could be a problem if things continued like this! I rushed here to report it quickly.”

“Put some saliva on your mouth before you lie, you bastard.”

“…I came because I was afraid of getting hit.”

Lee Hyun-soo made a displeased face.

“So, what do those bastards want?”

“They just want to check how things are going. After all, we passed that huge test, and we’re taking the risk of dying during training, aren’t we?”

“That’s right.”

“Besides, we’re also suffering from the fear that we might actually become demons after learning demonic arts. But since other guys are getting stronger without taking that risk, they’re bound to be furious.”

“Hmm.”

Lee Hyun-soo scratched his cheek with his finger.

At first, he thought these crazy guys were spoiled, but after listening, it made sense.

“There’s no need for you guys to feel sorry for yourselves. If I had to choose one of the three to learn, I would choose Kang Jin-ho’s without hesitation. You guys would do the same anyway.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Then let’s do this.”

Lee Hyun-soo clapped his hands.

“I’ll give the guys on your side the opportunity to transfer to another curriculum.”

“Yes?”

“If they’re jealous, they can go there.”

“Ah…”

Lee Myung-hwan took an awkward stance. This was not the answer he wanted. And the others wouldn’t be satisfied with this answer either.

“The problem is that you guys were mistaken in thinking that your lives would be superior just because you passed that one test. Anyway, those martial artists have no concept of social life because they haven’t experienced it. Man, in society, there are tons of guys who pass the bar exam but still struggle because their scores in the training institute are low. You think your whole life is set just because you passed one thing? That’s a joke.”

Lee Hyun-soo said irritably.

“Go and tell them clearly. This is a competition. It’s a delusion to think that you’ll naturally become the core of the Assembly later just because you’ve secured a high position. There will definitely be some useless bastards among you who will fall behind those who have learned other martial arts, even after learning Kang Jin-ho’s martial arts. Don’t regret it later, and work your ass off. You guys have better conditions if you put in the same effort.”

“…Yes.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed as he looked at Lee Myung-hwan, who was answering gloomily.

‘These kids, really.’

He didn’t want to deal with kids. Right now, he was already on the verge of a mental breakdown just from figuring out the movements of the elders and directors. On top of that, there were the tasks that Kang Jin-ho had personally assigned and the operation of the Assembly… He didn’t even have time to sleep.

“You have to take responsibility for what you chose. That’s the right thing to do in principle, but I don’t want to be so harsh. And I have to admit that there were no other options when you made your choice. So, tell them that if anyone wants to move, they can.”

“Um… but, sir.”

“What?”

“Are these all the new courses that are being opened? It would be a problem if another course was created after we moved…”

“For now, that’s all. It seems that the Assembly Leader is thinking about something else, but there won’t be anything else besides that.”

Lee Myung-hwan nodded. If that was the case, then it was time to make a choice.

“Um, and…”

“What else?”

“This is a personal question.”

Lee Hyun-soo glanced at Lee Myung-hwan.

Come to think of it, this guy was quite smart. Lee Hyun-soo, who had become interested, took his hands off the keyboard and looked at Lee Myung-hwan.

“Tell me.”

“It seems like the Assembly is changing too rapidly right now. Is it okay?”

“Does it look dangerous?”

“No, no. I’m just curious. I know that you and the Assembly Leader know what you’re doing, but it still feels a bit uneasy. This Mr. Wiggins is a foreigner, and I heard that he teaches Western martial arts… Young people might like it, but I don’t think the elders will be happy about it.”

A smile appeared on Lee Hyun-soo’s lips.

At a time when other guys were protesting that their rights were being taken away, this guy was looking at the overall plan of the Assembly.

“Not everyone agrees.”

“I guess so.”

“But it’s also difficult to attempt reform within the Assembly. Korean martial arts are limited. I honestly don’t think that Korean martial arts are inferior to those of other places. It’s just that those who have mastered them haven’t appeared yet. But there are definitely disadvantages. That’s because all the martial arts are similar, and their tendencies are the same.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“It’s better to give those who can break through by learning martial arts from other places the right clothes to wear, rather than letting them stagnate by wearing clothes that don’t fit them.”

“But the backlash…”

“What do you think stability is?”

“Yes?”

Lee Hyun-soo opened his eyes wide and said.

“Do you think that an organization is stable if it’s running smoothly and there are no complaints here and there?”

“…I don’t know.”

“It’s the same when you work. If the work you’re doing is familiar and comfortable, then that’s wrong. It means you’re not using 100% of your power. If you’re putting your all into your work, then the work is bound to be hard.”

“Ah…”

“It’s the same with organizations. An organization that only wants to be stable stagnates. And if it stagnates, it rots. An organization must always change. It must be reformed. If reform is impossible from within, then it must be reformed by bringing in factors from the outside. That’s my intention, and Kang Jin-ho’s intention. Of course, it’s also the Assembly Leader’s intention.”

Lee Myung-hwan nodded his head greatly.

This was the right thing to say.

“This is the big picture that Kang Jin-ho is drawing. A small person like you or me can never see the whole picture, even if we die and come back to life. So just do your best where you are. What we’re doing is changing the place you can reach even when you’ve done your best, so that you can go further.”

Something filled his heart. Lee Hyun-soo spoke calmly, but the content was not calm at all. Lee Myung-hwan, who felt the worries that had been piling up in his heart disappear at Lee Hyun-soo’s words, stood up from his seat.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Go.”

“But one more thing…”

“Huh?”

Lee Myung-hwan asked in an awkward posture.

“I can speak English, so can I transfer to Mr. Wiggins’ curriculum?”

“You?”

“Yes!”

“You can’t.”

“…Yes?”

“Everyone else can, but you can’t. You stay there.”

“…Yes?”

“Go.”

“Um…”

“I said go.”

Lee Hyun-soo waved his hand, and Lee Myung-hwan eventually bowed his head and went outside.

Thud.

The door closed carefully, and Lee Myung-hwan leaned against the door, wiping away the rising humidity.

‘How did this happen…’

In the end, he was destined to never escape Kang Jin-ho.