Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1582

The sound of bones grinding echoed as Kang Jin-ho clenched his fist. He stared at the veins bulging on his hand and arm before slowly relaxing his grip.

Nothing had changed.

Nothing at all.

No amount of training could instantly increase his power.

But something had changed.

‘I missed it.’

No, he had forgotten.

A martial artist needed more than just martial prowess.

If martial prowess were everything, there would be no reason to fight someone stronger. The outcome would already be decided.

But that was never how a contest was.

Kang Jin-ho had always fought those stronger than himself. He hadn’t been strong from the start, nor had he been a Demonic Celestial [a term for a powerful martial artist] from the beginning.

And he hadn’t always faced opponents of an appropriate level.

Sometimes, he had survived the grasp of someone he couldn’t possibly defeat, and other times, he had taken the head of someone he could only beat once in ten tries.

And each time, he had grown stronger.

But what about Kang Jin-ho now?

The sound of bones grinding echoed again as Kang Jin-ho clenched his fist tightly.

He had strayed a bit, but it was fortunate that he realized it now.

If he hadn’t realized it until this moment, Kang Jin-ho would have undoubtedly faced unimaginable regret in the future.

“Are you alright?”

Kang Jin-ho slightly raised his head.

He then looked at Lee Hyun-soo, who had a slightly anxious look on his face.

“Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no….”

Lee Hyun-soo wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

“You seemed badly injured.”

“I’m fine.”

Kang Jin-ho glanced down at his body. Blood was flowing from the cuts and gashes, but most of them had already healed.

“…What on earth were you doing?”

“Training.”

“…What kind of training makes you like that?”

Kang Jin-ho silently raised one hand.

Lee Hyun-soo tilted his head, watching the scene.

It was at that moment.

人、2■、人、스 人스

—-)

-乂入、•

Kang Jin-ho’s palm began to split open. As if it were being cut by a transparent blade.

Lee Hyun-soo, horrified, stared at the scene with his mouth agape.

Trickle.

Blood flowed from the split palm.

“W-What… what is….”

What on earth did he just do?

An injury?

Of course, he could create one. If Kang Jin-ho’s control of his ki [internal energy] had surpassed human levels, it would be easy for him to damage his body with his inner force alone.

But right now, Lee Hyun-soo couldn’t feel any sign of Kang Jin-ho’s energy moving. Even if Lee Hyun-soo was terrible at sensing energy, how could he not feel any energy while watching the wound slowly form?

“There are cases where people get burned when they grab a hot kettle with their bare hands.”

“Well, yes, but…”

“Even if the water inside isn’t actually hot.”

“Ah…”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded.

He had heard such stories before.

Stories of people who died of hypothermia after being trapped in a warm place, mistaking it for a cold one, or people who got burned after touching something they thought was hot, even though it wasn’t.

“People accept what they feel with their senses through their minds. But if you can change that order, you can also accept what you think with your body.”

“Ah…”

“If you believe it without a shred of doubt, you can’t change the world, but you can change yourself.”

“So, you’re saying that if you completely believe that your hand is being cut by a knife, you’ll get injured even if it’s not actually happening?”

“That’s right.”

“Huh…”

Lee Hyun-soo let out a puff of air.

‘No, I can’t not believe it when I’m seeing it with my own eyes.’

Lee Hyun-soo looked back and forth between Kang Jin-ho’s hand, which was already starting to heal, and Kang Jin-ho’s face, before letting out a deep sigh.

‘Let’s just give up.’

When had he ever been able to understand what that man was doing?

“So, you’re saying you got those injuries from fighting a virtual opponent?”

Kang Jin-ho nodded silently.

‘Is this the ultimate shadow boxing?’ It was similar to how boxers practiced by fighting imaginary opponents. Of course, the difference in level was immeasurable.

“So, who were you fighting? The Red King?”

Lee Hyun-soo was more curious about this.

Even when fighting a virtual opponent, there had to be a suitable opponent for training. But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t think of anyone Kang Jin-ho could fight to get such injuries.

“Me.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Me.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s face went blank.

‘What? Is he saying he fought himself?’

That’s a bit esoteric, isn’t it?

Lee Hyun-soo completely misunderstood the intention behind Kang Jin-ho’s words.

“Anyway, did you get any results?”

“I don’t know.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head slightly.

“It’s just the beginning, so I’m not sure.”

“…Then, is there really a need to hurt yourself like this?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Hyun-soo without answering.

Seeing that look, Lee Hyun-soo started talking first, feeling a bit guilty.

“Everyone is doing their best. If there’s anything lacking in the Guild Leader, we can fill it. We are here to help the Guild Leader, not to be taken care of by the Guild Leader. If you keep training while hurting yourself like this…”

“…I know.”

“Yes?”

“I know.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

“I thought so too.”

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

“Then, right now…”

“Hoo.”

Kang Jin-ho exhaled a short puff of cigarette smoke and leaned back on the sofa.

“There’s nothing to worry about. I don’t intend to carry everything myself. I can’t anyway.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Kang Jin-ho with a questioning gaze.

“It’s just that…”

“I just realized that I had been excluded from that ‘best’ effort.”

“Guild Leader, you’ve worked really hard. No one can deny your efforts.”

“No one?”

Kang Jin-ho smiled faintly.

“What does that mean? I know it clearly.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes half-closed.

“I don’t want to regret not doing what I can. I’m just doing what I can do right now. That’s all. So…”

Kang Jin-ho crumpled the cigarette pack and threw it into the trash can.

“If you’re going to worry about me, you might as well give me a cigarette.”

“…You want to smoke even with those injuries?”

“Yeah.”

Lee Hyun-soo shook his head and took out a cigarette, handing it to Kang Jin-ho. As Kang Jin-ho took the cigarette and put it in his mouth, Lee Hyun-soo took out a lighter and lit it for him.

Click.

The end of the cigarette burned, and acrid smoke scattered into the air.

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Kang Jin-ho with a slightly worried expression.

A sense of unease lingered in his heart.

‘He’s like the old Guild Leader.’

It was as if the man had changed overnight.

Of course, it could just be that his mood was down due to the intense training, but….

Lee Hyun-soo shook his head.

That couldn’t be it.

For Kang Jin-ho, training was just a part of his daily routine. His personality wouldn’t change from training alone unless there was a major shift in his mindset.

Lee Hyun-soo couldn’t help but worry that Kang Jin-ho’s personality might completely revert to the past.

Of course, it wasn’t that he disliked the old Kang Jin-ho.

He had no likes or dislikes for Kang Jin-ho.

But….

‘It took so long.’

The Kang Jin-ho he had first met and the current Kang Jin-ho were so different that they could be considered different people. And Lee Hyun-soo thought that the change in his personality was the culmination of everything Kang Jin-ho had built up until now.

‘But if he loses all of that….’

It felt like everything Kang Jin-ho had built up in the modern world was disappearing.

The time at the General Assembly, his relationships with people, all of it.

“Hoo….”

Kang Jin-ho exhaled cigarette smoke and then turned to Lee Hyun-soo with a smirk.

“Don’t think useless thoughts.”

“What you’re thinking won’t happen.”

“Do you know what I’m thinking?”

“You’re probably worried that I’ll become like I was before.”

“You’re a bit off the mark. That’s not it.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“That can’t happen. People build up and move forward. They don’t go back. They just reclaim what they’ve lost.”

“That’s difficult.”

“Yeah.”

“At times like this, I realize that you’re an old man, Guild Leader. You usually seem thoughtless, but sometimes you show the wisdom of your years…”

Lee Hyun-soo quickly shut his mouth as Kang Jin-ho’s eyes narrowed.

‘He’s fine.’

Seeing him get annoyed here, it seems like there’s nothing to worry about.

Lee Hyun-soo let out a small sigh of relief.

“Is it because of the Three Kings?”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“If it were because of the Three Kings, there’s no need for you to go this far. I’ll find a way to deal with them somehow.”

Kang Jin-ho laughed.

This wasn’t a sneer.

If Kang Jin-ho had to pick the one person he trusted the most in the world right now, there would be no hesitation. Kang Jin-ho trusted Lee Hyun-soo that much.

And he also knew that Lee Hyun-soo was someone who would keep his word no matter what.

“That’s not it.”

“Then what is it? Why are you pushing yourself so hard?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Hyun-soo quietly and opened his mouth.

“I can’t stand it.”

“…Excuse me?”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes darkened.

Then, the anger he had been suppressing slowly began to rise.

“I can’t accept that I need something else to face someone. Until now, I’ve been deceiving myself that I need to change… but not anymore. I can’t hold back any longer.”

Lee Hyun-soo tilted his head, not understanding Kang Jin-ho’s words.

“What do you mean?”

“It pisses me off that I have to consider this and that to face the Three Kings.”

“If I’m strong, that’s all that matters. If I’m strong enough to kill all three of the Three Kings at the same time, no one will worry. No one will need to run. I won’t need to be more anxious than anyone else.”

“Ah….”

No, that’s true, but….

“I’ve been doing everything else but the simplest solution. I just need to get stronger. Strong enough to fight all three of the Three Kings, strong enough to fight the entire Three Kings faction. Strong enough to fight anyone in the world.”

Lee Hyun-soo swallowed hard.

‘Is he out of his mind?’

It was an absurd statement.

If someone else had said those words, Lee Hyun-soo would have burst out laughing on the spot.

But he couldn’t laugh.

Because the person who said those words was Kang Jin-ho. And because he could feel that what this man was saying was the absolute truth.

“…Guild Leader, you’re really hopeless.”

“It’s hard to deny that.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed.

Usually, what he should do in this situation is to persuade Kang Jin-ho. But he didn’t want to.

“I’ll readjust the schedule and make as much time as possible for you.”

“Hmm?”