Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1275

“If you believe the Assembly’s rules are unreasonable, come and talk to me. If your complaints are valid, I will always accept them and make revisions.”

Kang Jin-ho glanced at Lee Hyun-soo.

Lee Hyun-soo immediately spoke up.

“Come to me. First, discuss it with me, and if I think it’s reasonable, I’ll report it to the Assembly Head.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Ahn Dae-hyun, who was lying on the ground, with cold eyes.

“If he had come to me to discuss the unreasonableness before he turned to drugs, the situation might have been different. But he turned to drugs and now he’s talking about unreasonableness. Are they the same?”

They couldn’t be the same.

Everyone understood that fact.

“Punishing a murderer with death might be unreasonable. But for a murderer to argue about it is ridiculous.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at those who were trembling next to Ahn Dae-hyun.

“As Ahn Dae-hyun said, they might have contributed to the Assembly. Perhaps they haven’t received the fair compensation they deserve. But if they thought so, they should have raised the issue formally. Using such methods is an insult to those who work diligently.”

Kim Won-hyeok bit his lip.

Kang Jin-ho’s words were right.

Perhaps he could have ended up like that. But that’s a future that would only come after a series of twists and turns. Right now, he was still living diligently within the Assembly.

“The rules can’t all be right. But just because a rule is wrong doesn’t mean it’s okay to break it. We work hard, just like you do. We will listen, consider, and change what is unreasonable. So…”

Kang Jin-ho spoke in a low but powerful voice.

“You must also work hard.”

“Yes!”

A thunderous response erupted instantly.

Kang Jin-ho turned his head and looked at Lee Hyun-soo.

“Continue.”

“Yes, Assembly Head!”

Lee Hyun-soo, who had rushed forward, shouted.

“Go Min-sung, Jo Young-hwa, Park Kyung-ho, Choi Chan-il. Charges: drug trafficking, violence, extortion, embezzlement!”

Other charges didn’t register. Only the words ‘drug trafficking’ made everyone tense.

“Do you admit to these charges?”

Go Min-sung and the others trembled and nodded. They had no choice but to admit it.

Lee Hyun-soo, watching their response, coldly declared.

“According to the Assembly’s rules, the above individuals will have their martial arts disabled, their limb meridians severed, and will be expelled from the Assembly! Furthermore, not only the money earned from drug trafficking but also their current assets will be confiscated!”

Kim Won-hyeok’s eyes widened.

“Isn’t that too harsh?”

The reactions around him were similar. Even though Kang Jin-ho had suppressed the atmosphere a moment ago, the fact that such a reaction was coming out meant that the people here were shocked by the punishment Go Min-sung and the others were receiving.

The confiscation of assets was understandable.

And expulsion from the Assembly was also easily acceptable. Dealing with drugs was the most taboo thing in the Assembly. It was a miracle they were even alive.

But disabling their martial arts and severing their meridians was a different matter entirely.

A martial artist without internal energy [a concept in martial arts referring to the energy within the body] was no different from an ordinary person. But since they had learned martial arts, they could still easily handle ordinary people even without internal energy.

But if their limb meridians were severed?

It would be impossible even to live as an ordinary human being.

For those who had dedicated their entire lives to becoming stronger, becoming weaker than ordinary people was an unbearable pain. It was like cutting off the wings of a bird that had been flying in the sky.

“The ringleader, Ahn Dae-hyun, will receive the same punishment. However, because Ahn Dae-hyun’s crime is severe, he will be expelled from the Assembly and additionally sentenced to twenty years of imprisonment.”

This meant that after disabling his martial arts and severing his limb meridians, he would be locked up in prison for twenty years.

Kim Won-hyeok shuddered at the unimaginable level of punishment.

‘It would be better to die.’

To be trapped in a dark underground prison, unable to properly use his limbs?

Kim Won-hyeok wouldn’t last a week before going insane.

It was fortunate that Ahn Dae-hyun had lost consciousness. If he were conscious now, he would be figuring out how to commit suicide before his martial arts were disabled.

“Take them away.”

“Yes!”

The dazed Go Min-sung and the others were dragged away.

A cold fear washed over the Assembly members watching the scene.

“It’s over, Assembly Head.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded and scanned everyone.

Their expressions were frozen.

Although it wasn’t his intention, this series of events must have felt like a threat to them. A threat that those who broke the rules would be punished without mercy, so they should never break the rules.

He needed to change their misunderstanding a little.

Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth in a slightly gentler voice.

“The rules are the rules of the Assembly.”

“In other words, they are the rules set by those who live in the Assembly. You are the ones who make the rules, and you are the ones who keep them.”

Kim Won-hyeok and the others looked at Kang Jin-ho with puzzled eyes.

“You.”

At that moment, Kang Jin-ho pointed at Kim Won-hyeok.

Kim Won-hyeok flinched.

“A-are you talking to me?”

“Your name.”

“K-Kim Won-hyeok!”

“Speak.”

“……Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged.

“You seemed to have something to say, just say it. You won’t get hurt.”

Kim Won-hyeok clenched his fist.

Just the fact that Kang Jin-ho was looking at him made his body tremble. His heart was pounding, and his vision seemed to blur.

But Kim Won-hyeok mustered his courage and opened his mouth.

“I-it’s already been decided, so I don’t understand what you mean by us deciding it.”

“Are you smart?”

“Yes?”

“I’m asking if you think you’re smart.”

“Ah… no, I’m not.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“Even if everyone here was a genius, it would probably take more than ten years to create the rules if everyone had to participate.”

That was certainly true.

Gathering everyone’s opinions was never an easy task.

“So, we used a smart guy to create the first draft.”

“……Yes, yes, please use it comfortably.”

Lee Hyun-soo said indifferently, but Kang Jin-ho neatly ignored Lee Hyun-soo’s complaint.

“Creating something from nothing is difficult, but criticizing and supplementing something that already exists is easier than you think. Humans are beings who can’t live without complaints.”

Kim Won-hyeok nodded.

That was clear.

Even those who had no knowledge of the law could understand whether a law related to them was unreasonable or reasonable.

“So, check the established rules and voice your complaints. Lee Hyun-soo will deal with them.”

At that moment, Lee Hyun-soo’s face turned pale.

“N-no, I’ll receive complaints through the app. I’ll create a bulletin board, so please use that. If each and every one of you comes to me… I won’t be able to do anything. And what could these guys say in front of me?”

“That’s true.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded lightly.

“Lee Hyun-soo will distribute the rules. Check the parts you know and suggest ways to improve them. The Assembly will prepare a reward for those who propose methods that many people acknowledge and choose.”

“Wow… Assembly Head, you didn’t discuss that with me beforehand…”

“I can just give it.”

“Ah, yes. Well, then.”

What could he say when a rich man was spending his own money?

“Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you decide everything. There are parts that I can’t concede. Those parts won’t change even if you complain about them.”

Kang Jin-ho said in a firm voice.

But no one was dissatisfied with that fact.

From the beginning, the Assembly was a system where the Assembly Head decided everything. The fact that he was giving something to the members was already a great decision.

People always wanted more. Someday, they might even try to take away the authority of the Assembly Head, but at least that time wasn’t now.

“And one more warning.”

Kang Jin-ho said in a cold voice.

“There are definitely people among you who have broken the rules and committed crimes. That’s a clear fact.

Not everyone will get caught even if we do an audit.”

His back stiffened.

Even Kim Won-hyeok, who had not committed any crimes, couldn’t help but tense up at those words.

“I’m warning those people. Luck doesn’t last forever. If you think you can continue to evade my eyes, then go ahead and do what you want.”

“I’ll show you what the price is.”

At that moment, Kim Won-hyeok was certain.

Probably, at least for a while, no one in the Assembly would break the rules.

If someone broke the rules after seeing that look and hearing that voice, that person would definitely become someone big. In some way or another.

“Chief Lee, wrap it up.”

“Yes, Assembly Head.”

As Kang Jin-ho turned and sat down in his chair, Lee Hyun-soo shouted.

“We plan to establish an inspection organization responsible for the rules in the near future! It will be like the police within the Assembly. But basically, it will be closer to handling the aftermath rather than surveillance. The Assembly prefers that you voluntarily comply with the rules. That’s why we’re making it possible for you to change the rules. Do you understand?”

“Yes!”

“We’ll upload the summary and original versions of the rules to the app, so everyone download and check them. I’m telling you in advance, if anyone gets caught later and says, ‘I didn’t know how to do that, so I didn’t get it,’ I’ll kill them no matter what it takes.”

“Ask people you know around you to check it. Got it?”

“Yes!”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded.

He could hear someone whispering behind him.

“If we could upload it to the app, couldn’t we have just given it to us that way?”

“He must have wanted to show off.”

“Petty bastard.”

Lee Hyun-soo ignored the words he heard from behind as much as possible. If he got involved with those people, there would be no end to it.

“That’s all. And the Assembly Head has decided to give everyone a vacation in consideration of your hard work. We will specify the period, so choose your vacation dates and submit them within that time.”

The members’ eyes widened.

Vacation?

This was something that had never happened since the establishment of the Assembly.

Chastisement and reward were being handed out alternately in real-time. It was hard to tell whether to laugh or cry.

“We will announce it again in the near future. Dismissed!”

“Dismissed!”

The people who filled the training ground began to leave with awkward steps.

Kang Jin-ho also turned and walked towards the building. Lee Hyun-soo quickly approached Kang Jin-ho and spoke quietly.

“If a murderer can’t punish a criminal, then make them punish themselves.”

“Isn’t that right, Assembly Head?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled and tapped Lee Hyun-soo’s head.

No one could come up with a perfect answer.

The important thing was to strive to approach that perfect answer.

Even if they couldn’t overcome their own dilemmas, there was always a better direction.

Kang Jin-ho sighed lightly.

‘It must have gotten a little better.’

And it would continue to get better in the future.