Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1516

Seong Ju-chan clenched his fist after a long time.

‘How long has it been?’

Those who left the Assembly didn’t give up on their lives because they lacked talent.

There were quite a few who, having learned martial arts since before they could even think, realized that the life of struggle didn’t suit them and threw in the towel. Seong Ju-chan was one such case.

But now, Seong Ju-chan wondered if his judgment might have been wrong.

‘Otherwise, I wouldn’t feel this urge to beat someone to death.’

Gritting his teeth.

It seemed that Seong Ju-chan wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

“You little punk?”

“Ha, damn it, I’m speechless. A greenhorn like you, with nothing better to do.”

“Wow, I can’t even beat him up with real emotion.”

The store owners began to voice their anger, one by one.

From their perspective, this was a very mild reaction. Before leaving the Assembly, they would have punched someone in the mouth the moment they met, but now they had learned about law and order, hadn’t they?

If Lee Hyun-soo had seen this, he would have been pleased that the guy who was going to be a neighborhood thug had become a decent person after becoming a franchise owner.

But the problem was that the person on the receiving end couldn’t understand any of that.

“Uh, ah…”

Jeong Myeong-cheol was on the verge of losing his mind.

Think about it.

Being kidnapped in broad daylight and dragged to an unknown place was scary enough, but now he was surrounded by guys who looked like they could kill a few people without breaking a sweat.

Moreover, they were all showing hostility towards him.

Not just Jeong Myeong-cheol, but anyone with a bit of courage would probably wet their pants in this situation. And how much more would Jeong Myeong-cheol, who had been weakened by being alone in the dark, be?

“S-save me!”

“Save you?”

One of the store owners licked a knife he had somehow acquired.

“I’m going to make a hole in your belly and wrap your intestines around your neck. You don’t think about what you did, and you’re asking to be saved?”

“Hey, you little punk! It would be more beneficial to the world to save a mosquito than to save you.”

“Can’t we just kill him? Or smash his head so he can’t talk again.”

Everything they said was brutal.

However, Lee Hyun-soo, watching the store owners surrounding Jeong Myeong-cheol, just chuckled.

“Isn’t that knife the one for cutting bread? Why did he bring that?”

“I think he said he was cutting bread for tomorrow morning when he heard the news and came right away.”

“He cut the bread for tomorrow now? Re-educate that guy.”

“Yes.”

Lee Jong-wook ruthlessly wrote down Lee Hyun-soo’s instructions on his phone.

Someone had brought a bread knife and faced a terrible outcome, but he was unaware of that fact.

Lee Hyun-soo, watching the store owners, shrugged.

“Wow, they’ve become much nicer. I thought they would rush to cut his throat right away, but they’re holding back.”

There were those who looked like they were about to rush forward, but those around them were stopping them.

“Tell Seong Ju-chan to come here.”

“Yes.”

Lee Jong-wook ran forward and called Seong Ju-chan.

“Did you call for me, Manager?”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled at Seong Ju-chan.

“We caught him.”

“Thank you.”

Seong Ju-chan bowed his head.

“No. But I didn’t think you’d really catch him. I heard he’s a third-generation chaebol [a family-owned conglomerate]?”

“Is being a third-generation chaebol a big deal? There must be hundreds of third-generation chaebols in Korea.”

Of course, Taekwang Group was one of the top chaebols, but Lee Hyun-soo wasn’t particularly worried about the aftermath.

Aftermath.

‘That’s ridiculous.’

The current Assembly was not a place to worry about the aftermath. If the Assembly decided to turn things upside down, Taekwang Group would be the one worrying about the aftermath.

“Can we really do whatever we want?”

“Don’t kill him.”

“Hey, would I really kill him? It’s not like he committed a crime punishable by death.”

“Don’t cripple him either.”

“Oh, that’s a bit disappointing…”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled.

“I understand your feelings, but take it easy. It’s true that he’s a jerk, but if you look at it calmly, he hasn’t committed that big of a crime.”

“That’s true.”

“It’s okay to beat him up, do whatever you want. But don’t leave any aftereffects. Think of this as an opportunity to make a person out of him and mess with him appropriately.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Seong Ju-chan smiled gleefully.

“Okay, you understand what I’m saying…”

“I’m the best at beating people up without leaving any aftereffects.”

No, it doesn’t seem like he understood at all?

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’

As long as there are no aftereffects, it doesn’t matter.

To be honest, Lee Hyun-soo wanted to bury that guy in the ground.

It wasn’t because he was angry about what that guy had done.

It was because he didn’t like the mindset of trying to trample on others for no particular reason, just because they were a little bothersome.

‘I don’t have the right to think like this, though.’

Lee Hyun-soo had also lived by trampling on others. He had thoroughly trampled on the weak to achieve his goals.

But…

The difference between Lee Hyun-soo and Jeong Myeong-cheol was that Lee Hyun-soo never trampled on people for fun or to avoid a little inconvenience.

Lee Hyun-soo despised those types.

‘He’s like Kim Seok-il.’

The face of Kim Seok-il, which was etched in his mind like a trauma, came to mind. Lee Hyun-soo, feeling disgusted by the old memories, spat on the floor and looked back at the store owners.

One of the store owners, who had rushed out in excitement, grabbed Jeong Myeong-cheol by the collar.

“How is it? Now that you’ve taken off your fancy chaebol sign, do you see reality a little?”

“Uh…”

“Don’t even think about going back in one piece. When I think about the pain you caused me, I can’t even be satisfied by beating you to death. You’re dead anyway.”

The person who grabbed his collar threw Jeong Myeong-cheol down.

Thud.

Jeong Myeong-cheol, who had fallen to the floor, looked around with unfocused eyes. The way his mouth was hanging open showed how terrified he was.

But…

The way people confront fear is different for everyone.

“You, you bastards!”

“Oh?”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Jeong Myeong-cheol with renewed interest. As if that wasn’t enough, he scurried over and squeezed between the store owners.

Jeong Myeong-cheol was struggling with a look of desperation.

“What did I do so wrong, you bastards!”

“Huh? Look at this guy?”

“He was acting scared just a moment ago, was that all an act? Wow, what kind of guy is this?”

“He says he didn’t do anything wrong?”

Jeong Myeong-cheol gritted his teeth.

The sound of something breaking inside his mouth was dull, as if he had ground them too hard.

“Everyone does that! If I hadn’t done it, wouldn’t someone else have? This damn place is like that! Why are you guys, who don’t know anything, picking on me!”

Lee Hyun-soo grinned as he watched Jeong Myeong-cheol struggle.

‘That’s more like it.’

That’s how it’s fun to educate someone.

To be honest, he had been feeling a bit let down because he had been following along too obediently until now.

“You bastards, do you think you’ll be safe? Kill them, you bastards! I’ve memorized your faces. Do you think you’ll be able to live if I get out of here? Do you know who I am? I’m the grandson of Taekwang Group! You damn bastards!”

“Oh my, how scary.”

The store owners chuckled.

It seemed that Jeong Myeong-cheol didn’t know that his status or background was not a threat to them at all.

Well, how could he know?

Just as the store owners hadn’t seen a person like Jeong Myeong-cheol, Jeong Myeong-cheol had probably never met anyone who ignored his background.

“Are you wronged? Wronged? Don’t talk nonsense! If you’re wronged, you should have power! You damn bastards, you and I are different races. We’re different from birth! So why should I care about what you think? Why should I? Don’t talk nonsense!”

Jeong Myeong-cheol, exhausted from shouting, coughed and grabbed the floor. After coughing for a while, Jeong Myeong-cheol spat phlegm on the floor and glared at everyone with gritted teeth.

“You commoner bastards, worse than dogs, don’t know your place! Do you think I’m someone who would be treated like this?”

The store owners sighed as they looked at Jeong Myeong-cheol.

It was to the point where they couldn’t communicate.

“Let’s beat that guy half to death and start.”

“We can’t just leave him alone. He’s the type to cause big trouble.”

That’s when it happened.

“That’s not entirely wrong.”

At the voice from behind, the store owners straightened their backs and stood at attention.

“Open up! Open the way quickly, you bastards!”

At someone’s shout, the store owners turned around and moved to the sides, opening a path to Jeong Myeong-cheol. Then, a person walked calmly along that path.

Lee Hyun-soo stuck close to Kang Jin-ho, who was walking out of the crowd. Lee Hyun-soo took out a cigarette from his pocket, put it in Kang Jin-ho’s mouth, and quickly lit it.

‘Oh, that sycophant.’

‘Why was that guy born now? If he had been born in the Joseon era [Korea’s last dynastic kingdom], he would have been a perfect eunuch.’

Lee Hyun-soo, who completely ignored the store owners’ dissatisfied gazes, took a step back and followed Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho, who had walked leisurely, squatted right in front of Jeong Myeong-cheol and met his gaze.

“No. You’re right.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly exhaled cigarette smoke, moved the cigarette from his mouth to his hand, and smiled lightly.

“I agree. If you’re wronged, you should have power. No one listens to the grievances of the powerless. That’s how the world is, what can we do about it?”

Jeong Myeong-cheol glared at Kang Jin-ho with bloodshot eyes.

“What did I do wrong…”

“Don’t get me wrong.”

Kang Jin-ho looked directly at Jeong Myeong-cheol and said.

“I have never once said that you did anything wrong.”

A heavy murderous aura pressed down on Jeong Myeong-cheol.

“Do whatever you want. That’s your right. But you know…”

Kang Jin-ho put the cigarette in his mouth and took a deep drag. Kang Jin-ho, who exhaled the smoke again, smiled with the corners of his mouth curled up.

“It’s my right to do whatever I want with you.”

“…What?”

“Are you wronged?”

“If you’re wronged, you should have power.”

Jeong Myeong-cheol’s body trembled. Kang Jin-ho lightly smiled as he watched Jeong Myeong-cheol’s eyes, which were moving erratically, not knowing where to go.

“I agree with what you said. Those with power can do whatever they want. That’s how you’ve lived your life so far. But…”

Kang Jin-ho extended his index finger and pressed it on Jeong Myeong-cheol’s forehead.

“It seems you haven’t considered the possibility of meeting someone stronger than you.”

“Those who try to kill their opponents must be prepared to die themselves. It’s the same thing. Those who try to trample on others must be prepared to be trampled on themselves. That’s how the world is.”

“I, I…”

“So now, feel it. What it’s like to be trampled on by someone stronger than you. I just want to trample on you. Let’s not bring up any flimsy reasons.”

Kang Jin-ho patted Jeong Myeong-cheol’s shoulder.

“Then, good luck.”

Kang Jin-ho got up and turned around, and the store owners surrounded Jeong Myeong-cheol again.

Kang Jin-ho threw the finished cigarette on the floor and headed towards the building.