Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1580

The training grounds of the Assembly were shrouded in darkness.

Kang Jin-ho quietly gripped Red Dew and Azure Dew.

The cold sensation of the swords against his fingertips calmed his mind.

In truth, weapons held little meaning for Kang Jin-ho now.

He could fight as if wielding a sword even without holding one. He had already reached a level where he could generate sword energy and sword intent without needing a physical medium.

Yet, he still held Red Dew and Azure Dew in his hands out of habit.

‘Habit, huh…’

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

To progress and advance meant parting ways with the familiar. It meant changing ingrained habits and renewing oneself from the laziness of repetition.

It was ironic that Kang Jin-ho, of all people, was relying on past habits.

However, he had no intention of letting go of Red Dew and Azure Dew.

He couldn’t move forward with the kind of novelty created in that way. Just as leaves fall when the seasons change, Red Dew and Azure Dew would naturally fall from his hands someday.

Only then could Kang Jin-ho be certain that he had taken another step forward.

“Hoo.”

Kang Jin-ho exhaled briefly and slowly began to swing his swords.

For him, physical training was no longer a form of practice. No matter how much he pushed his body to its limits, all he felt was fatigue. He had long since reached the point that could be achieved through repetition and overexertion.

Yet, he still picked up his swords from time to time because moving his body was more than just training.

‘Chasing after something meaningless.’

Ironic.

And irrational.

Martial arts were inherently like that.

They began with the physical and rational, and then reached the spiritual and irrational. Those who had not strayed from precise laws and causality would, at a certain point, cross into the realm of vague concepts.

Many had lost their way in this sea of concepts.

Think about it.

Those who had reached this realm had already walked every path that someone else had walked. Therefore, they had no choice but to forge their own path.

They didn’t know what was right or wrong, nor did they know where they should go.

How could walking such a path be easy?

If it were a path where one could gain something by simply moving forward, they wouldn’t hesitate. But in this hellish sea of concepts, one could easily lose everything they had by simply taking a wrong turn.

That was the kind of path they had to forge.

There had been others who had embarked on this path before Kang Jin-ho.

Some continued their physical asceticism as they had always done, while others secluded themselves to delve deeper and deeper within. Some searched for the paths of others, while others rejected the path and simply sat down where they were.

Only a handful had navigated this endless sea of martial arts and completed their own unique martial arts.

In the martial world, those who belonged to that handful were called Grandmasters.

Bodhidharma of Shaolin.

Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang.

The Demonic Celestial of the Demonic Cult.

All of them had established and completed their own martial arts.

Creating new manuals or new martial arts was not enough to reach that level.

The creation of martial arts was not as difficult as one might think. What was important was not creating something new, but achieving something that went further.

Kang Jin-ho quietly closed his eyes.

He couldn’t see it.

He couldn’t see the path he had to take.

In the past, when he was called the Red Demonic Celestial, he had not embarked on this path.

He had simply honed what he had, sharpening it to an unparalleled degree.

That alone had been enough for him to earn the name of the Red Demonic Celestial.

But it was not enough now.

If he could be satisfied with being an ordinary leader of the Demonic Cult, if he could be satisfied with protecting his own life, if he could turn a blind eye to everything else… that would be enough.

But he couldn’t do that now.

Because he had things he needed to protect.

Kang Jin-ho opened his eyes and looked down at his hands holding the swords.

‘It’s ridiculous.’

The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it was.

Kang Jin-ho, who had risen to the supreme position of the Demonic Cult leader, yet had never fought to protect anything, a hollow shell of a man, was now struggling to not let go of anything within his reach.

Who would have imagined that a mere decade or so of modern life would change him so much?

Kang Jin-ho slowly raised his head. The black sky, devoid of any stars, entered his vision.

‘There was a time…’

There was a time when he desperately longed for that sky.

For him, the black sky without stars was a symbol of the modern world he could not return to.

Even after returning to the modern world, he had looked at that sky countless times, trying to convince himself that he had truly returned.

‘When was it?’

The moment he began to look at the black sky without stars without any particular feeling.

He had thought he had adapted as a modern person.

He had thought he had mostly shed his past self.

But….

‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch.’

In exchange for pushing away his past self in the Central Plains [a region in China often used as a setting for martial arts stories] and reclaiming his modern self, Kang Jin-ho had lost his fierce past self.

The image of Kang Jin-ho, who had trained in martial arts until his hands were blistered and had wielded his sword with venom, could no longer be found anywhere.

All that remained was just Kang Jin-ho.

Yes. Just Kang Jin-ho.

That was why….

He couldn’t help but think.

Had he really pondered and prepared fiercely?

Had he really tried to protect everything at the cost of everything?

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

He knew better than anyone that he hadn’t.

‘I’ve become complacent.’

Modern life had made him peaceful, but at the same time, it had made him weak.

What would the Red Demonic Celestial say if he saw him now?

– Do you want to hear it?

Kang Jin-ho opened his eyes.

A long-haired man clad in red robes stood before him.

An arrogant expression.

A terrifying aura emanating from his entire being.

Kang Jin-ho’s body trembled involuntarily.

– How novel.

Yes.

It was novel.

To be surprised by his past self, to be flustered by the fact that he had appeared.

It was a ridiculous thing.

Because it was none other than Kang Jin-ho who had summoned him.

The Red Demonic Celestial did not exist in the first place. Kang Jin-ho was the Red Demonic Celestial. Whether he existed as another personality within him, or whether he lived as another being in his mind, all those forms were ultimately just concepts created by Kang Jin-ho.

It was impossible for another person to live within one person.

Even if he had completely acknowledged himself and erased his past self, the Red Demonic Celestial could reappear before him at any time if he needed him.

Just like now.

The Red Demonic Celestial’s gaze followed Kang Jin-ho.

– You’ve become weak.

“…Perhaps.”

– You’re utterly pathetic. It’s painful to even look at you.

Those were harsh words.

But Kang Jin-ho had no choice but to accept them. Because those words were not the Red Demonic Celestial speaking to him, but him, in the guise of the Red Demonic Celestial, speaking to himself.

– Was the modern world comfortable?

– You’ve forgotten, me.

The corners of the Red Demonic Celestial’s mouth began to twist.

A sneer appeared on his arrogant face. The conqueror who trampled and mocked the world with his own two feet mocked Kang Jin-ho, who had his feet on the ground.

– You’ve forgotten what you shouldn’t have forgotten. Despite all that you’ve been through, you’ve ultimately returned to your weak past self.

“I…”

– That’s why I tried so hard not to give you everything, but you haven’t deviated from my expectations in the slightest.

Kang Jin-ho bit his lip tightly. The Red Demonic Celestial slightly spread his arms.

– Look.

– This is the peaceful world you desired. A world where wars never cease, where battles never end, where you lose everything with just one defeat. In this world, you’re living in comfort.

He couldn’t say anything.

Because there was nothing wrong with what he said.

– You pathetic fool.

The Red Demonic Celestial unleashed his aura from his entire body. Kang Jin-ho’s body, which was directly hit by that aura, felt like it was about to explode.

He could tell.

The Red Demonic Celestial was strong.

But the current Kang Jin-ho was also strong. In terms of martial prowess, his strength was now at a level where he could face the Red Demonic Celestial. No matter how much he unleashed his peak power, he shouldn’t be able to pressure Kang Jin-ho with just his aura.

But the result was completely different from Kang Jin-ho’s calculations.

‘Why?’

Why was it so intense?

Why was it so terrifying?

The Red Demonic Celestial was just a process that the current Kang Jin-ho had already gone through. If the current Kang Jin-ho was a more advanced being than his past self, then the Red Demonic Celestial should have been nothing more than a fragment of the past….

Yet, that fragment was now crushing Kang Jin-ho.

With just his aura.

– There was one thing you shouldn’t have forgotten.

Anger appeared on the Red Demonic Celestial’s face. The raw, vivid rage he was directing at Kang Jin-ho felt like sharp blades, cutting through Kang Jin-ho’s entire body.

– The world is a jungle. No matter how much time passes or how much the era changes, that fact will never change!

The Red Demonic Celestial growled.

– What can someone who has given up on being strong protect? Look at you. You’ve lost your fighting spirit and your ambition. What can a weakling like you possibly protect?

“I…”

Kang Jin-ho gritted his teeth.

“I have never given up on becoming stronger.”

– What a joke.

The Red Demonic Celestial unleashed his fighting spirit from his entire body.

– I fought against the world. If the Demonic Cult stood in my way, I trampled them. When the trash of the righteous sects stood against me, I fought against the entire righteous faction.

“And that’s why you fell.”

– Did I fall?

The Red Demonic Celestial sneered.

– Yes, perhaps I did. But what about you? You’re hiding in the blind spots of your enemies, waiting for them to destroy each other. You’re desperately ignoring the fact that they could join hands at any moment and come to erase everything you have.

Kang Jin-ho’s body trembled slightly.

– You might have become human. Yes, perhaps you have. But as a martial artist….

The Red Demonic Celestial looked at Kang Jin-ho with transparent, emotionless eyes.

Kang Jin-ho’s soul felt like it was being pierced by that cold gaze.

– You’ve become trash.

It was scathing.

So scathing that he felt like blood was pooling in his head.

– Were you having fun showing off among those who were indulging in peace and playing house? You’re disgusting, my future self. If I had known you would turn out like this, I would never have wished to return to the modern world.

“Shut up!”

– Is this the life you wanted in the modern world, where you only make enemies of those you can handle and enjoy a moderate game? Kang Jin-ho, Kang Jin-ho. You’ve become such a pathetic being.

“I said shut up!”

Bloodshot veins appeared in Kang Jin-ho’s eyes.

– You foolish one, don’t you understand?

The Red Demonic Celestial’s sneer pierced Kang Jin-ho’s eyes.

– You denied me so much, but everything you’ve achieved now is just you picking up what I’ve already accomplished. You’re nothing more than my remnant.

At that moment, something shattered within Kang Jin-ho.