Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1588

Whirr!

The sword is swung.

‘Slow.’ Whirr!

The sword is swung even faster.

‘Slow.’

Kang Jin-ho’s expression visibly soured.

Swish!

The sword moves along the trajectory he had envisioned.

A precise path, a perfect trajectory without the slightest error.

However, the speed of the sword following that trajectory was not as perfect as Kang Jin-ho’s mind desired.

Thud.

Kang Jin-ho’s sword stopped in mid-air.

Slowly lowering his sword, Kang Jin-ho let out a low sigh.

Not a single drop of sweat fell, but a deep fatigue weighed down his body.

‘It’s difficult.’

Turning everything upside down and rebuilding it is not an easy task.

That’s why Kang Jin-ho decided to go back to the basics.

The completion of martial arts.

What is the completion of martial arts?

He thought and thought, but he couldn’t figure it out. In the past, when he learned martial arts, he only thought about getting stronger.

However, the completion of martial arts is not a realm that can be reached by simply accumulating strength. It’s an endless path, but this is a path with an end.

So, what does Kang Jin-ho think the completion of martial arts is?

After much contemplation, he reached one conclusion.

Completion is perfection.

Yes, it’s perfection.

He doesn’t need the strength to destroy the world. Even pushing his demonic energy to the limit and reaching a new realm that even the demons haven’t reached is not completion.

Completion is having nothing more to add.

In other words, it’s one perfect sword strike.

Now that he’s reached a conclusion, all he has to do is put in the effort…

Kang Jin-ho frowned.

‘It’s difficult.’

This is really difficult.

Kang Jin-ho, who never complains about martial arts, felt like this was a path with no visible answer.

What exactly is perfection?

And what does one perfect sword strike even mean?

He drew it in his mind over and over, but he couldn’t grasp it. This was the first time he felt like he was walking through a fog while learning martial arts.

“Hoo…”

Kang Jin-ho quietly closed his eyes.

Then, in his mind, he drew the most perfect trajectory.

A straight line.

No.

A curve?

That’s not it either.

You can’t reach it by drawing such fixed shapes.

‘In the end, it’s me.’

It’s impossible to fully understand and implement the concept of perfection. After all, this is also martial arts.

If there are a thousand people, there will be a thousand kinds of perfection. No, there will be even more kinds of perfection.

In other words…

‘I have to start with myself.’

He has to look back at the martial arts he first started learning, everything he has achieved so far.

When that deep contemplation is over, a line that he hasn’t seen until now will be drawn in Kang Jin-ho’s mind.

“Whether I can follow it is another matter.”

Kang Jin-ho slightly curled up the corners of his lips.

His body felt as heavy as a waterlogged cotton ball.

It wasn’t physical exhaustion, but the constant mental strain that had affected his body. Come to think of it, his whole body was soaked in sweat.

Kang Jin-ho made a subtle expression as he saw the sweat dripping from his sleeves.

‘Sweat…’

How long has it been?

Recently, it even feels like I’ve gone back to when I first started learning martial arts. Back to when I was worried about how to hold the sword, where to place my feet, every single thing.

‘Going around and around to the basics…’

It’s interesting.

Kang Jin-ho had gone through many stages of martial arts with his body. But at the end of going forward and forward, he had returned to the place where he had first started.

A cycle?

Or the basics?

Well.

It feels a little different from that, but it’s not easy to explain in words.

It’s difficult.

It’s arduous.

But it’s not impossible.

There was a clear feeling. If he could somehow hold onto this vague thread and follow it, he could reach the place he wanted to be.

Whoosh.

The subspace opened, swallowing Red Dew and Blue Dew [his swords].

Kang Jin-ho, who had reverse-summoned his sword, took a short breath and turned his head.

“Well, first of all…”

He chuckled as he looked at his sweat-soaked clothes.

“I need to take a shower.”

Splash!

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes as the water poured down.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve showered at the Assembly.’

Of course, the Assembly has a public shower room.

It wouldn’t make sense for the Assembly, which is based on physical training, not to have a shower room.

And thanks to Lee Hyun-soo, who has a cleanliness obsession, and Lee Hyun-joo, who is fixated on the idea that places used by men are always dirty, the Assembly’s shower room was managed like a hotel.

Thanks to repeated expansions, remodeling, and re-remodeling, the Assembly’s shower room boasts facilities that surpass even those of a newly built luxury golf course.

‘Why do they have to go this far?’

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t understand the two of them at all.

A shower room is just a place to wash your body.

It just needs to have good water and not be dirty.

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

‘Come to think of it, it’s always been like this.’

Looking back, this was the norm. He had never really understood the way Lee Hyun-soo or Lee Hyun-joo thought. He just assumed they knew more about modern things than he did and approved without complaint.

So, there’s nothing new about it.

“Hoo.”

Kang Jin-ho took a short breath as he felt the cold water falling on his body. That’s when it happened.

“Ugh, I almost died again today.”

“Isn’t Director Bang being too harsh these days?”

“Why don’t you go tell him yourself?”

“Are you crazy? He’d make you do two laps of the training ground with your head down.”

“Are you more afraid of the punishment or of losing your hair?”

“Both, you jerk! Both!”

Kang Jin-ho flinched slightly and turned his head.

A group of people rushed into the shower room. The shower room, which could accommodate over a hundred people at once, was instantly filled.

Considering that this wasn’t the only shower room, but so many people had come here, it seemed like training had just ended. The other places must be full too.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Kang Jin-ho looked for a way to get out.

It wasn’t that he was uncomfortable, but that his presence would make others uncomfortable.

So, before they noticed, he should slowly…

“But isn’t the Assembly Head being a bit much too?”

Huh?

Kang Jin-ho, who was looking for a way out, subtly turned his body and moved closer to the front.

The glass partition hid his figure.

“I heard he’s even going to the US military base to teach the Yankees?”

“He’s going global, very global. Could we have ever imagined this before?”

“The Assembly isn’t what it used to be. I’m so proud. Our Assembly Head is recognized even in America, you know.”

The person who spoke first scoffed.

“Hey, what’s the point of being happy? What good does that do for us?”

“What are you talking about? If the Assembly Head’s status rises, the Assembly’s status rises, and if the Assembly’s status rises, we benefit too.”

“How do we benefit?”

“Well…”

There was no suitable answer.

“Hey, look at it realistically. The Assembly Head is just getting busier, and the attention he gives us has decreased. Have you even seen the Assembly Head’s face properly recently?”

“He used to drop by occasionally to give advice and train us, but now he just leaves it to Director Bang and ignores us.”

“That’s because the Assembly Head is busy teaching the demonic flames [a type of martial art].”

“I heard they’re being trained by the elders these days?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. The Assembly Head is busy here and there, so it keeps getting pushed down.”

One person frowned and said,

“But it’s not the Assembly Head’s fault.”

“No, you jerk, look at how you’re cornering me. When did I say the Assembly Head did anything wrong? I’m just saying he hasn’t been paying us much attention lately.”

“That’s because the Assembly Head has a lot to do.”

“I know, I know, you jerk. But I’m petty, so I can’t help but feel a little sad.”

“You’re not a child…”

“But this has been going on since earlier. Wanna fight?”

Kang Jin-ho smiled wryly.

‘This is awkward.’

It would have been easier to resolve if I had made my presence known from the beginning… Now it’s difficult to get out.

Maybe I should just wait until everyone leaves and then sneak out…

“But who’s that guy?”

“Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho moved even closer to the front.

“He’s been there since before we came. Why is he taking such a long shower? Wait a minute… We rushed here right after training, but there’s someone showering before us? Is he slacking off?”

“Leave him alone. It could happen.”

“It could happen my ass! Everyone is training like crazy right now, and he’s slacking off somewhere? I’m gonna crack his head open.”

Uh…

That posture is really good. It’s really good, but…

It would be nice if you could just let it go.

“Hey! Who are you… Whoa! Look at this guy’s muscles!”

“Huh?”

“He’s got lines drawn on his back. How can his back muscles be so defined? What is he? A wild horse?”

“Hey, who are you? I’ve never seen a guy like you before. Hey, turn around.”

“Turn around. Should I turn you around by force?”

Kang Jin-ho let out a deep sigh.

Then, he slowly turned around.

“Oh? I’ve never seen your face before? Hey, you’re kind of handso… so…”

The person who was speaking closed his mouth.

Kang Jin-ho clearly saw his small pupils slowly dilating.

“A-Assembly… Assembly Head, uh… you shouldn’t be here?”

I think so too.

Me too.

“We’re sorry!”

“We didn’t know the Assembly Head was here.”

“I spoke carelessly. Please kill me!”

The members in the shower room all knelt on the floor at once. Kang Jin-ho sighed deeply at the sight.

“No, why are you kneeling…”

“We’re sorry! We really didn’t think!”

“I-It wasn’t our intention.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“Whether it was your intention or not, that’s not the problem. You didn’t really do anything wrong.”

“First of all, I understand that you’re feeling neglected. I apologize for that.”

“No, Assembly Head!”

“That jerk is just spoiled and running his mouth!”

“We’ll take care of killing him!”

What was that last part?

In an instant, sharp glares were directed at the person who had said he was feeling neglected. He couldn’t even lift his head and didn’t know what to do.

Kang Jin-ho scratched his head as if he had a headache.

“It’s no one’s fault, and anyway, I have something to say about that, but it’s a bit difficult here. Let’s finish showering first…”

Kang Jin-ho stopped talking.

The gazes of the members, who were kneeling naked, were fixed straight ahead.

Kang Jin-ho, realizing where those gazes were directed, opened his mouth with a slightly awkward look.

“What are you looking at?”

“Ah…”

The person in the front awkwardly scratched his head. He glanced at Kang Jin-ho and opened his mouth with a slightly embarrassed expression.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that it’s so impressive(?).”

“The Assembly Head is indeed the Assembly Head.”

The person sitting in the back raised his thumb.

“I respect you.”