Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 851

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled slightly as he watched Bang Jin-hoon on the screen.

‘How fascinating.’

Seeing an acquaintance on screen wasn’t that unusual. Kang Jin-ho had already seen Kang Eun-young on television, and Choi Yeon-ha in the movie theater.

And if he changed the channel, Park Yu-min would often pop up too.

For someone who wasn’t a celebrity, Kang Jin-ho had an extremely high frequency of his acquaintances appearing on TV.

So, it wasn’t surprising to see someone he knew on screen. What was surprising wasn’t that he knew the person on screen, but that the person was as stiff as a wooden block.

“He really doesn’t fit this.”

“I think so too.”

Lee Hyun-soo wiped the sweat from his forehead as he entered.

“This is only the second time I’ve seen someone look so awkward on screen.”

“Second?”

“I’m debating whether I should mention the first. After all, my paycheck is precious.”

Kang Jin-ho gently suppressed his rising curiosity.

‘I shouldn’t ask.’

“Is the broadcast running smoothly?”

“As you can see.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled, looking at Bang Jin-hoon on Kang Jin-ho’s screen.

“Of course, there’s the instructor’s issue, but that’s something I can’t help. As for other issues, Chun Tae-hoon is handling them well.”

“Are there any problems with broadcasting martial arts live?”

“We won’t be doing it live. Today is just a test run. The lectures are already being filmed separately. We’ve finished about three episodes. We’ll probably need to film about 100 episodes.”

“100 episodes, and then it’s over?”

“Yes. The basics will be covered.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes twitched slightly.

‘Basics? The basics are covered after 100 episodes?!’

Lee Hyun-soo smiled wryly.

He remembered Bang Jin-hoon’s expression when he realized that it would take about 100 episodes to complete the basic lectures. Even someone who had put a winning lottery ticket in their pocket and then ran it through the washing machine wouldn’t look so devastated.

‘That’s an enormous amount.’

Come to think of it, it wasn’t that strange.

Generally, even video lectures for civil service exams can exceed 100 lectures when going into depth on one subject.

But the civil service exam isn’t just one subject.

It was obvious which required more learning: the civil service exam, where success or failure is determined by about three years of study, or martial arts, which one must learn and master for a lifetime.

If taught in a master-disciple system, it would take at least five years of daily teaching and practice to learn everything without missing a thing. That’s how vast the content of martial arts is.

“100 hours is only 10 days if you learn for ten hours a day.”

“…That’s true.”

“How long would it usually take to pass on all the secrets of a martial art to one person? At the very least, I mean.”

“Wouldn’t it take about two to three months?”

“Right.”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded vigorously.

“Two to three months is 60 to 90 days. That means you need at least 6,000 to 9,000 hours.”

“Wow…”

Thinking about it like that, it felt incredibly daunting.

“Of course, it wouldn’t actually take that long. Because eighty percent of the time spent learning martial arts is spent moving and embodying it.

Even so, you’d need at least 500 to 1,000 lectures.”

Lee Hyun-soo grinned.

“Actually, it’ll be much easier for Director Bang Jin-hoon this way. If he were to teach directly, he’d have to divide all those kids into groups and teach them, so he wouldn’t be able to leave the General Assembly for at least a year. It’s just hard for the moment.”

Kang Jin-ho just nodded blankly.

“But is that how the orthodox sects usually teach martial arts?”

“Pardon?”

“No, it seems a little different from how I learned.”

“How did you learn?”

“They just threw me a secret manual and told me to master it?”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes twitched.

“In the Demonic Cult?”

“Uh-huh.”

“…Did anyone die during your training in the Demonic Cult?”

“No.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked surprised. To teach in such a reckless way and not have any casualties was truly amazing…

“Not a few, but a whole bunch died. It’d be more accurate to calculate the survival rate, wouldn’t it?”

‘That’s more like it.’

Lee Hyun-soo coughed and continued.

“Martial arts are delicate. If you don’t want your disciples to go wrong, you have to constantly observe them and guide them in detail. Since you have to explain things more thoroughly than when teaching one person, it might take longer.”

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Well, I guess so.”

“Some people might not like it. Especially the masters who used to teach them. They might grind their teeth if they find out about this.”

“Why?”

“They’ll think it’s heretical. They’ll think it’s not proper education.”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

It was incomprehensible.

It would be one thing if it were unprecedented, but video lectures were already widely used in the outside world. So why would there be resistance?

Lee Hyun-soo smiled wryly at Kang Jin-ho’s expression.

“That’s how the world is. People prefer the way they’ve always done things. What changes the world are profits or young people, but the way of training isn’t directly related to profit, and young people can’t voice their opinions in the martial world.”

“Hmm…”

Come to think of it, that made sense.

The ones who lead the world might be the young, but the ones who hold the power are the old. Especially in the martial world, it’s even worse.

All the power holders in the outside world have is power and wealth. Because it’s a world where they can no longer wield violence.

But the power holders in the martial world have everything. Power, wealth, and violence. And even the power to completely block the future of young martial artists.

There was no way they would welcome change in the world.

‘The higher-ups are always rotten.’

It was the same in the Central Plains in the past [a historical region in China, often used in martial arts stories].

Even though the martial world, where outlaws gathered, seemed freer than the central political world, in reality, there was more scheming to protect one’s position than the power struggles of the political world.

Since they had worked so hard to get where they were, they wouldn’t easily give up their authority.

That’s just how people are.

“So, is there any movement?”

“Not yet.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled.

“No matter how greedy a fox is, it doesn’t go into a tiger’s den.”

“They have complaints, but they won’t act on them?”

“Probably.”

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho thought for a moment and then spoke.

“Even if there’s resistance, nothing will change.”

“Yes.”

“If you can’t adapt to the times, you’ll be left behind. If there’s anyone who wants to stay in that position, whether it’s out of greed or whatever, we’ll have to leave them behind.”

“In a coffin, you mean?”

“I don’t want to be that extreme. Unless they attack us, I’ll let them leave the General Assembly and do as they please.”

“Is that okay? Their influence isn’t small. First of all, the people they control…”

“They won’t follow them.”

Kang Jin-ho gestured with his chin towards his phone.

Bang Jin-hoon was sweating profusely as he explained something.

“The reason they’ve been able to control their disciples is because they monopolized the martial arts that were passed down. But now, there’s no need to learn the martial arts they have anymore.”

Kang Jin-ho’s smile looked pleasant.

“If we’re giving out something better for free, there’s no way they’d choose the old-fashioned way.”

“Indeed.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at the screen with a meaningful gaze.

‘Director Bang probably thought this far ahead.’

Bang Jin-hoon had always argued that there should be a unified martial art within the General Assembly. And that the General Assembly should be the one teaching it.

There was a reason why Lee Joong-geol couldn’t completely unify the General Assembly. Young martial artists learn martial arts from their masters. Once they reach a certain level of achievement, they must seek further instruction in the next martial art.

If they don’t receive instruction from their masters, they can’t get stronger. But who would dare to rebel against their masters?

The heads of each sect or the masters of small lineages controlled their disciples with the small power they held. As a result, young martial artists couldn’t have a say.

They were often treated differently from the 20-year-olds in the outside world, who were treated as full members of society, even though they lacked economic power.

‘To overcome this situation, we need the General Assembly’s martial arts.’

It was a good solution.

Lee Hyun-soo was once again impressed by Bang Jin-hoon’s abilities.

He might show flaws in creating and leading something in detail, but he was talented at grasping the overall context and finding the most important things.

That’s how he was able to do something as enormous as opposing Lee Joong-geol within the General Assembly.

Looking back now, Lee Joong-geol would have won in the end. Bang Jin-hoon’s forces were lacking compared to Lee Joong-geol’s. Even more so if you included Lee Joong-geol’s hidden power. If Kang Jin-ho hadn’t appeared, Bang Jin-hoon would have eventually been purged.

Even so, the fact that he was able to go that far showed how great Bang Jin-hoon was.

At that time, the direction he advocated was also correct. Lee Joong-geol’s way was rotten, and the General Assembly needed reform.

‘He probably didn’t know it would be this way, though.’

Lee Hyun-soo smiled and looked at the screen.

It was a strange feeling to watch Bang Jin-hoon, sweating profusely, explaining the purpose of martial arts.

“Things are changing.”

“Yeah, they are.”

Kang Jin-ho also watched the screen with interest.

‘The world is changing.’

It always is.

Those who cannot see the past do not know how much progress humanity has made. Even those who understand the past as history may have knowledge, but they do not feel it.

But Kang Jin-ho was different.

He was someone who had lived through the barbaric ages. That’s why he could feel how much humanity had progressed and how much the world had changed.

That’s why he could say with certainty.

You shouldn’t be afraid of change.

It might seem like a meaningless change right now, but those small changes accumulate to create a great transformation.

The current changes will also greatly change the General Assembly someday.

“Ah, these bastards!”

Lee Hyun-soo frowned.

Balloons had been popping up intermittently, obscuring the screen.

“They’re in the middle of class, these bastards.”

“What’s that?”

“They’re sending money.”

“••••••Huh?”

Lee Hyun-soo shrugged.

“If something is fun or useful, they send money as a sign of gratitude. It’s a culture from the outside world.”

“Really?”

“Yes. But they shouldn’t be sending it so much that it interferes with the lecture. There’s a way to block it, so I’ll have to set it up for the next live broadcast.”

“So?”

“••••••Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho asked with an extremely serious look.

“How do you send that?”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes were sparkling with amusement.