Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1665

It felt as if the world had stopped. The air grew heavy, the earth held its breath. Even the sky seemed to tremble in fear, darkening, darkening as if stained black.

Two figures stood facing each other, locked in a tense standoff.

One, a king who had ruled the Central Plains [a region in China] for decades.

The other, a new king who had appeared like a comet.

Their mere confrontation was enough to silence everyone around them.

Lee Hyun-soo glanced around, observing the scene. Even the directors of the General Assembly had stopped what they were doing, simply staring at the spectacle.

No, ‘staring’ wasn’t quite the right word.

It was more like being crushed under a weight.

Even Bator was watching the two with a distorted face, his eyes vacant.

Lee Hyun-soo understood instinctively.

‘There’s something I can’t feel because I’m too weak.’

The energy emanating from them must be crushing everyone else. Lee Hyun-soo was too weak to even perceive it.

Lee Hyun-soo turned his head slightly to look at Chai Ke-chang.

Chai Ke-chang was also staring at the scene, his face pale and breathless.

“Chai Ke-chang.”

Chai Ke-chang slowly turned his head to look at Lee Hyun-soo.

His eyes were filled with disbelief, as if asking, ‘How can you speak so calmly in this situation?’ with just his gaze.

“I have a question.”

“…What is it?”

“How did you guys get defeated?”

Chai Ke-chang bit his lip.

It was a question he had consciously avoided. And Lee Hyun-soo, knowing this, hadn’t pressed him until now.

If there’s an enemy, you fight them. Why you lost isn’t that important. But now, there was no more room to retreat.

“No. Let me rephrase that precisely.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Chai Ke-chang with a stern face.

“How did Hong Wang lose?”

Chai Ke-chang glared at Lee Hyun-soo with menacing eyes. But Lee Hyun-soo met his gaze without flinching.

A brief, subtle standoff passed, and then Chai Ke-chang let out a deep sigh.

“…There’s no single reason.”

Chai Ke-chang hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“No, there are too many reasons. The compatibility of martial arts, the amount of internal energy consumed, the mental exhaustion from continuous battles, and the perfect strategy they devised.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes flickered slightly.

“Then…”

“If we fought again, the result would be different. I’m sure of it.”

Chai Ke-chang’s resolute words only made Lee Hyun-soo sink deeper into thought.

‘Damn it.’

Hong Wang’s defeat was hard for Lee Hyun-soo to accept. It wasn’t that he thought Hong Wang was invincible, but the image of Hong Wang losing to someone other than Kang Jin-ho just didn’t compute in his mind.

That’s why he thought there must have been some kind of interference in Hong Wang’s defeat.

Whether it was a scheme or someone lending a hand.

In the worst-case scenario, he even considered the possibility of the Black King’s involvement. But according to Chai Ke-chang, Hong Wang was simply outmatched in a head-on fight with Chang Wang.

Lee Hyun-soo’s face hardened.

This was the worst possible outcome.

To have the intellect to manipulate Lee Hyun-soo and Chai Ke-chang, and the martial prowess to defeat Hong Wang in a one-on-one fight?

How was one supposed to beat someone like that?

“…So, Hong Wang lost.”

Chai Ke-chang bit his lip tightly. There were mountains of excuses he could make. But no matter how much he tried to justify it, it would only tarnish Hong Wang’s reputation.

“You don’t understand.”

Chai Ke-chang spat out the words.

“That’s not an ordinary martial artist. It’s not about winning because he’s stronger. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Lee Hyun-soo narrowed his eyes at Chai Ke-chang’s words.

“Even the Demon King wouldn’t be able to stand against Chang Wang. So, we need to start planning our escape now.”

Lee Hyun-soo wore a subtle smile.

“I’m not taking your words lightly…”

“That’s not it.”

Lee Hyun-soo cut off Chai Ke-chang’s words cleanly.

“I’m already checking escape routes. The problem isn’t that, it’s…”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled wryly.

“That guy isn’t the type to back down when he has an enemy in front of him.”

“…That’s nonsense!”

Chai Ke-chang raised his voice, as if he couldn’t understand.

“I understand that the Demon King is strong. I admit that I underestimated him. But even if the Demon King wins against Chang Wang, what about the rest of us? Are we supposed to die for the sake of victory?”

“That’s not a matter of logic, I’m telling you.”

Lee Hyun-soo shrugged.

“At least, as far as I know…”

Lee Hyun-soo’s gaze turned towards Kang Jin-ho’s back.

The back he had seen countless times, and would continue to see countless times…

That back.

“That man doesn’t know how to retreat.”

His skin tingled.

A murderous intent that felt like it was tearing his flesh pressed down on his entire body.

In the midst of that sensation, Kang Jin-ho couldn’t help but smile.

‘It’s been a while.’

This feeling.

He used to feel it quite often.

When he fought Hong Wang, he had already experienced the feeling of facing an absolute powerhouse again. But this one was different from Hong Wang.

If Hong Wang’s martial arts were a continuation of the orthodox path, this one’s martial arts felt like a heretical path. Why someone who followed the path of evil was called a king, and packaged as a descendant of the righteous path, was beyond him…

‘It’s not that different, though.’

When he led the Demonic Cult [a fictional martial arts sect] and fought against the Central Plains, it was the same. Those who were called heretics often claimed to be descendants of the righteous path themselves.

The weak couldn’t handle those words and crumbled, while the true powerhouses turned lies into truth. If no one could point out the lie in front of them, then even a lie became the truth.

Chang Wang was probably the latter.

Kang Jin-ho took a deep drag of his cigarette. The smoke mixed with his breath as he slowly exhaled.

Even in the midst of all this, he couldn’t help but smile.

‘The rumor about him putting a hole in Hong Wang’s body wasn’t a lie.’

The murderous intent felt like it was tearing his body apart. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt such a sharp murderous intent since returning to this world.

His hand gripping the Red Tear [a sword] tightened.

His muscles twitched involuntarily, and his heart began to beat wildly. Losing control of his body wasn’t a good sign, but Kang Jin-ho didn’t bother to stop the change.

He took the last drag of his cigarette and threw the butt to the ground.

As if that was the signal, Chang Wang instantly closed the distance and charged towards him.

Whoosh!

As he slid forward, the blood on the ground surged into the air.

Kang Jin-ho bared his teeth and charged towards Chang Wang.

Two streaks of blue and black collided on the ground.

Clang!

Kang Jin-ho’s Red Tear collided with Chang Wang’s hand. The Red Tear, which seemed capable of cutting through anything, stopped in mid-air, unable to cut through Chang Wang’s flesh and blood hand.

‘That?’

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes shone coldly.

Chang Wang’s hand had turned transparent, revealing the bones beneath. Kang Jin-ho knew what that martial art was.

A hand that became harder in proportion to its transparency.

The pinnacle of palm techniques that could crush even diamonds when taken to the extreme.

“Nine Yin White Bone Claw?”

“Huh?”

Crack, crack, crack.

Chang Wang’s hand, which had scraped against the Red Tear, flew towards Kang Jin-ho’s face. Kang Jin-ho tilted his head slightly, dodging Chang Wang’s hand. His hand grazed Kang Jin-ho’s shoulder, tearing a long strip of his clothes.

Clang!

The Blue Tear [another sword] and Chang Wang’s left hand collided in succession. The impact pushed both of them back three steps.

Kang Jin-ho, raising his sword, bared his teeth and smiled.

“So, that still exists? I thought it was lost a long time ago.”

“…You have a keen eye, I’ll give you that.”

Chang Wang smiled wryly.

“If you recognize the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, can you recognize this too?”

Chang Wang lightly raised his left hand.

His left hand began to turn pure white, unlike his right hand. It was completely different from his transparent right hand. It was a perfect white, as if it would rub off if touched.

“…Minor Hand of Demonic Arts?”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes showed interest.

The Minor Hand of Demonic Arts had the word ‘demonic’ in its name, but it wasn’t a martial art of the Demonic Cult. To be precise, it was closer to a heretical art than a demonic one.

It wasn’t strange for someone who had mastered the Nine Yin White Bone Claw to have also mastered the Minor Hand of Demonic Arts. The problem was that Chang Wang was using two different martial arts with both hands.

“Is it a dual-energy technique?”

“There’s no need to bring up such grand orthodox techniques. It’s just a matter of distributing it appropriately.”

Kang Jin-ho bared his teeth and smiled.

‘Is it calculation rather than instinct?’

This guy was definitely not ordinary.

“People are mistaken.”

Chang Wang wore a sinister smile.

“They say I’m afraid of the other three kings, so I avoid fighting them head-on.”

A chilling voice pierced Kang Jin-ho’s ears.

“But I’m just pursuing efficiency. Rather than creating variables by stepping forward myself, I simply crush my opponents perfectly.”

“Your words and actions don’t match.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Chang Wang with calm eyes.

“This doesn’t look perfect at all right now.”

“It will be perfect, Kang Jin-ho. Yes, it will be perfect.”

Chang Wang’s right hand curled like the claws of a raptor.

“With your death!”

“Heh heh.”

The two charged at each other again.

Cawwwww!

The Nine Yin White Bone Claw tore through the air. The sound of the air being torn apart was like the scream of a woman. Even the sound of the air being torn became a sonic attack, piercing the eardrums and shaking the insides.

Crack, crack, crack!

The claw energy of the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, which had grazed Kang Jin-ho, created a huge mark on the ground. It was as if a giant bird, bigger than a house, had scratched the ground.

If one were caught in that monstrous claw energy, they would have to be prepared to be torn into pieces.

But the truly terrifying thing wasn’t the power itself.

Cawwwww!

Along with a ghostly cry, the Nine Yin White Bone Claw was swung again. Dozens, hundreds of transparent hand shapes appeared in front of Kang Jin-ho in an instant.

The Red Tear was swung.

Once, again, and again!

The Red Tear, swung countless times in an instant, created a massive wall in front of Kang Jin-ho. Then, that wall of swords collided with the onrushing claw energy of the Nine Yin White Bone Claw in mid-air.

Boom!

A deafening explosion erupted.

The shockwave sent the debris of the surrounding buildings flying like bullets.

And then…

Whoosh!

With a loud crash, Kang Jin-ho’s body was pushed back.

Kang Jin-ho, lowering the Red Tear, fixed his gaze on Chang Wang’s left hand.

A hand stained white.

The strike of the Minor Hand of Demonic Arts, once called one of the five great palm techniques of the Central Plains, had struck Kang Jin-ho’s sword at the last moment.

It didn’t break through.

Kang Jin-ho’s sword wall had perfectly blocked the attack.

But the Minor Hand of Demonic Arts wasn’t a martial art that tore through opponents.

Throb!

His wrist throbbed.

The moment the sword and hand collided, a cold energy that had traveled through the sword was causing a pain in his wrist, as if hundreds of needles were piercing it.

The evil energy emanating from the Nine Yin White Bone Claw and the yin energy surging from the Minor Hand of Demonic Arts were accumulating in Kang Jin-ho’s body like poison.

Chang Wang looked at Kang Jin-ho and smiled wryly.

“It seems like your smile has disappeared?”

At his relaxed voice, Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth.

“It seems like…”

From his pure white right hand, black demonic energy began to rise.

“I might be able to enjoy this a little.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes began to turn red.