Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1691

“Cough!”

Lee Myung-hwan clutched at his mouth, but he couldn’t stop the blood gushing out. It dripped from his hand, splattering on the floor.

‘Like a monster…’

His insides felt completely scrambled.

Defeat?

He didn’t care about that.

It might sound strange coming from him, but the Flame Demons were used to defeat.

During training with Kang Jin-ho, they were defeated daily, unable to even leave a scratch. The same was true with Jang Min. After they got somewhat used to fighting Jang Min, the number of people attacking at once decreased, but it wasn’t something you could call a ‘victory.’

It was just a less painful defeat.

So, he wasn’t particularly bothered by this loss. His opponent was Hongwang, a powerhouse even Kang Jin-ho acknowledged as his equal.

What shook Lee Myung-hwan wasn’t defeat, but the sheer thrill of his opponent’s strength.

‘It’s completely different.’

The strength he felt from Kang Jin-ho or Jang Min was like the sharpness of a honed sword. But Hongwang was more like…

Yeah, a massive blunt weapon.

If Kang Jin-ho would cut, Hongwang would smash.

‘No, more like he’s crushing?’

Anyway.

With overwhelming power and force beyond words, he literally crushed and shattered his opponent.

What mangled his insides wasn’t Hongwang’s strike, but the pressure behind it.

‘There are so many kinds of strength in the world.’

He intuitively understood why experience was so important.

What worked against Kang Jin-ho or Jang Min didn’t work against Hongwang. It wasn’t just about strength.

It was more about attributes or tendencies.

That’s why he was sure.

“Cough! Cough!”

Lee Myung-hwan glared at Hongwang, his eyes bloodshot.

‘I can get stronger.’

If he could train with this guy a little more, he was sure he could break through another wall.

“Weak.”

Hongwang frowned.

“It’s good to have spirit, but that aggressiveness, which is a threat to a weak opponent, becomes a disadvantage at a high level. A warrior who loses himself and rampages can’t be strong.”

Hongwang’s voice was cold.

“You can’t do anything to me with your current strength.”

“Understood.”

Hongwang shook his head.

“You can’t become like the Demon Lord. He’s a man born with a talent I can’t even comprehend. Ordinary humans can’t walk his path, nor reach his level, even if they die dozens or hundreds of times.”

Lee Myung-hwan didn’t argue.

There was no need. It was obvious.

They were aiming for Kang Jin-ho, but none of them thought they could become like him.

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Humans in their own way.”

Hongwang said in a low voice.

“It’s what beasts do, to entrust their consciousness to their instincts and wield their demonic nature to cut down people. He walked the path of Asura [a path of constant fighting and suffering] and approached humanity. But the moment you step onto the path of Asura, you can never return to being human.”

Hongwang said, his eyes lowered.

“So, you must find your own middle way. That point where you can fight as a human, not a demon.”

Lee Myung-hwan bit his lip.

‘It’s a story I already knew…’

Kang Jin-ho also emphasized that to them.

But it felt different coming from Kang Jin-ho and from Hongwang.

This guy had literally walked that middle path his whole life.

“Then…”

Lee Myung-hwan looked at Hongwang, his eyes bloodshot.

“Can we… can we get stronger?”

Lee Myung-hwan’s bloodshot eyes met Hongwang’s lowered gaze.

After staring at Lee Myung-hwan silently for a long time, Hongwang nodded.

“Yes.”

“…Tomorrow.”

“Hmm?”

“…Please, tomorrow too…”

Thud.

Lee Myung-hwan, unable to finish his sentence, collapsed. After he fainted, none of the Flame Demons were left standing.

“…Tch.”

Hongwang frowned at the sprawled Flame Demons.

‘They’re pathetic.’

None of them truly resonated with him. Perhaps none had the potential.

Weak and feeble.

Utterly.

But even so….

‘Who was the last opponent who rushed at me until they fainted?’

He couldn’t remember well.

He was also a warrior. Now, he had reached the realm of ascension and was pioneering his own path, but he needed sparring to adjust his body.

Among his subordinates, there might be stronger ones, but none had faced him with such sincerity.

He had given up on it at some point.

His presence had surpassed that of a human.

The only two options for someone facing a tiger in the mountains without a weapon are to run or die quietly.

There’s no option to fight and win.

Hongwang made those who faced him realize an even greater gap. Who would fight a tiger knowing they would die?

That’s why warriors seek.

Someone equal to them.

Someone who can compete. That’s why Kang Jin-ho and Hongwang couldn’t let go of each other.

But….

“They’re willing to rush at me even if they can’t leave a scratch? Are they trash?”

Hongwang felt a strange emotion from the fallen Flame Demons.

“Tomorrow, huh…”

He strangely laughed.

“Arrogant bastards.”

Hongwang shook his head, laughing in disbelief.

“I’ll have to make them realize properly tomorrow.”

“No. Tomorrow is impossible, Hongwang.”

Hongwang slowly turned his head.

Bator, already dyed red, came into view.

‘I remembered.’

He remembered who the last opponent was who rushed at him until he lost consciousness, even though they were no match.

Bator glared at Hongwang with gleaming eyes.

“You’re getting old, so tomorrow is impossible. I’ll crush your bones to a pulp, so you should rest in bed tomorrow.”

“Bator.”

Hongwang narrowed his eyes.

“It seems those under the Demon Lord are all out of their minds. Have they forgotten their manners and lost their reason?”

“It’s not that, it’s that you seem to have dementia? I never had any of that from the beginning.”

Hongwang’s face hardened slightly.

Then, he looked at the top floor of the building in the distance.

“…You’re like a human without any sense of propriety.”

At that moment, Kang Jin-ho hid by the window and muttered, ‘It’s not my fault,’ but those words couldn’t reach Hongwang’s ears, no matter how superhuman he was.

Crack, crack.

Bator cracked his neck.

“The master told me to hold back a bit, but I’m a human with a big appetite. It’s not in my nature to just drool when I have top-grade lamb in front of me. You look like you’ve recovered a bit too. Surely the great Hongwang wouldn’t say he can’t fight because he’s sick, would he?”

“Bator.”

Hongwang sighed deeply.

“I could have seen your way of speaking as cute before. But… it seems my training has become a little shallow. I’m starting to get a little angry.”

“It seems like you caught it from that annoying brat at the General Assembly. There’s a guy who’s the best in the world at turning people’s stomachs.”

He didn’t need to hear the name to know who it was.

“Anyway…”

Crack.

Bator’s whole body began to be covered in red energy.

“I can’t hold back any longer, let’s start.”

“…You really have no sense of propriety, Bator.”

Hongwang clenched his fist.

“I’ll teach you some manners as an elder.”

“There are more old geezers older than you here! My temper is something even those humans couldn’t fix! You son of a bitch!”

“…That’s something to be proud of.”

Bator let out a train-like roar and rushed at Hongwang.

* * *

“Hey…”

Hongwang, heading to the shower room, frowned at Kang Jin-ho.

“Don’t the people in this neighborhood know the minimum of manners? Wasn’t Korea the land of courtesy?”

“That’s a bit unfair…”

“Huh?”

“Bator isn’t Korean.”

Then why is Korea getting the blame? They have different races and nationalities.

“It’s a matter of responsibility.”

“…I apologize.”

“And it’s not just Bator!”

Hongwang gritted his teeth.

“What are those guys behind him? What are those guys who think that if they rush at me, it becomes a sparring session?”

“…I’m sorry. The board members are incompetent.”

Hongwang glared at Kang Jin-ho with contempt.

After dealing with Bator, Jang Min, who had been watching, rushed in. After dealing with Jang Min, Wiggins, who said he had something to test, came in with a sly smile and started a fight.

After resolving that, a guy who looked like the leader of the Shanghai Black Society came and started a fight, giggling.

‘Are these guys all crazy?’

Who did they think he was, really?

Even if this wasn’t the Central Plains [a historical region in China], there was no way they wouldn’t know what kind of existence he was, and yet they still came to fight him knowing that. What kind of guts did they have?

“Do you usually deal with guys like that?”

“…Quite often.”

“They’re all out of their minds.”

Hongwang shook his head.

Kang Jin-ho glanced at the training ground on the mountain above.

The board members of the General Assembly, who had lost consciousness and were sprawled out, were piled up neatly.

Hongwang’s ill will was clear from the fact that he had placed Bator on top of them.

“You’ll have to pay for this. Are you ready to face me?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“I don’t mind, but with that body?”

“This…”

Hongwang gritted his teeth.

‘Damn it.’

No matter how strong he was, he couldn’t be in perfect condition after facing Bator and the other board members in a row.

It wasn’t a major injury, but he had to be in perfect condition to face Kang Jin-ho. If he didn’t, the fight would be decided before it even started.

“You’re not doing this because you don’t want to fight me, are you?”

“Do you think they’ll listen to me?”

“…No.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

“…I’m tired too.”

Hongwang, who seemed about to say something, eventually sighed.

“Then let’s fight tomorrow.”

“I don’t mind, but… it’ll probably be difficult.”

“Why?”

Kang Jin-ho pointed his chin at the sprawled-out people.

“Their recovery is at a beast-like level.”

“They’ll probably come rushing again from tomorrow morning.”

Hongwang covered his face with one hand.

‘Damn General Assembly bastards.’

Hongwang thought that perhaps deciding to come here was the worst mistake he had ever made.