Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1874

Rustle.

A page of paper is carefully turned.

Kang Jin-ho, with an exceptionally serious expression, meticulously examined the secret manual, as if he were engraving each and every character into his eyes.

“Hmm.”

“This…”

Jang Min and Bator, also unusually solemn, scrutinized the secret manual.

Low murmurs, occasional sighs, and scattered exclamations of admiration filled the air.

The first to break the serious atmosphere was none other than Jang Min.

“Impressive.”

Pure admiration was evident on Jang Min’s face.

“Creating a martial art of this caliber is no easy feat. No, creating a martial art itself isn’t easy, but this is definitely something worthy of being called an achievement.”

Wiggins stared at Jang Min with surprised eyes.

Among them, Bator seemed to be the most stingy with praise, but in reality, it was Jang Min who was the most reluctant to give compliments.

For example, Wiggins had always heard Jang Min call him a bug lacking faith, a burden to the Demon Lord, or a pathetic human who just takes money without doing anything. He had never received a proper compliment.

But for such admiration to come from Jang Min’s mouth.

‘It must be more impressive than I thought.’

Unfortunately, his understanding of Eastern martial arts was lacking, so even if he looked at the secret manual, he couldn’t tell what was so great about it. He could only roughly guess from Jang Min and Bator’s reactions.

“Well, it’s not bad, that’s for sure.”

However, Bator seemed to have a different opinion from Jang Min.

“Isn’t this something you can find anywhere? I don’t think it can be called a great divine art.”

Jang Min’s eyes narrowed at Bator’s words.

“That moron. Did his brain shrink along with his head?”

Right.

That’s Jang Min.

Wiggins nodded. Judging from Jang Min’s reaction, it was clear that he wasn’t overpraising to boost Bang Jin-hoon’s spirits.

“Even though your level has risen so much, your understanding of martial arts hasn’t improved at all!”

“…Do you want to check with your bones whether it has improved or not?”

“Shut up!”

Jang Min clicked his tongue and continued.

“It’s not difficult to create a martial art that is unique and distinctive. It’s difficult to create a martial art that looks ordinary to anyone.”

“No…”

“Do you not know how difficult it is to raise the level within that ordinariness? Tsk tsk tsk, with a guy like this…”

Bator tried to say something but then shut his mouth.

Looking at his reaction, it became clear who was right.

‘Director Bang has done something impressive.’

To make that admiration flow from Jang Min’s mouth is definitely not an easy task. So, this achievement of Bang Jin-hoon’s deserves applause.

Yes. It certainly does.

The problem is…

“But…”

Bator’s face contorted as if he couldn’t accept this.

“Why is it so sparkly!”

“Is it a firefly? Huh?”

“Even if he’s a person, putting a bug on him…”

“Then why is it sparkling!”

Bator was disgusted by the soft glow emanating from Bang Jin-hoon’s body.

“Well, if he had a great personality, I’d at least call it a halo. Looking like a third-rate gangster boss, where did he get the light from!”

“…You’ve improved a lot with your Korean insults?”

Bang Jin-hoon sighed as if he was wronged.

It wasn’t like he was intentionally emitting it, and it was shining on its own, so what could he do?

“It is annoying.”

Wiggins wore a wry smile.

“Is there no way to stop it?”

“It’s not like I’m some attention seeker, if I could, would I be like this? I’m dying here! I went to the bathroom earlier, and everyone in the neighborhood knew I was in there!”

…That would really suck.

“What kind of mess is this?”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded with a pleased expression.

“It’s certain that it’s not a halo from religious enlightenment, as Bator said.”

“If the world is one where Director Bang is emitting a halo, then it should end!”

“No, your words are a bit…”

Bang Jin-hoon sighed in frustration. He would usually have fought back, but unfortunately, he didn’t have the energy to spare for others right now.

His attention was completely focused on Kang Jin-ho.

Rustle.

Kang Jin-ho turns another page of the secret manual.

At the same time, Bang Jin-hoon swallowed hard.

‘I’m going crazy.’

Jang Min gave a relatively good evaluation, but he couldn’t relax until he passed Kang Jin-ho’s judgment. The others seemed to understand Bang Jin-hoon’s feelings, and they began to subtly watch Kang Jin-ho’s reaction.

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho finally closed the last page of the secret manual.

Then, he looked at Bang Jin-hoon without a word.

“So, how is it?”

At this moment, Bang Jin-hoon deeply regretted laughing at those who trembled on audition programs.

‘I should have taken some calming pills?’

Calming pills wouldn’t work on a martial artist’s body, but at least it would be psychologically stabilizing. Right now, Bang Jin-hoon wanted to see even a placebo effect, not the actual effect.

“Hmph.”

Kang Jin-ho tapped the secret manual and said,

“You did a good job.”

In that instant, he felt the strength drain from his body.

Of course, he had done his best. He knew he couldn’t have created anything better. But even so, it wouldn’t hurt to have a good evaluation.

“It’s versatile.”

“I focused on that.”

“It doesn’t seem to have any particular risks, and anyone can learn it. The level itself has limitations, but this martial art won’t be the final martial art of the General Assembly [a martial arts organization], so it can’t be called a disadvantage.”

Bang Jin-hoon bit his lip tightly.

Kang Jin-ho was saying exactly what he had thought.

“You can start the transmission right away.”

“Th-thank you.”

Bang Jin-hoon bowed deeply.

“So, there aren’t any points that need to be improved?”

“Personally, I’d like to fix a few things…”

“Because you focused too much on stability, the range of application feels narrow. This can be fixed appropriately.”

Bang Jin-hoon nodded again.

In the past, when he created the basic skills of the General Assembly, Kang Jin-ho helped him because of that point. If he could handle it similarly this time, there wouldn’t be any major problems.

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

“It won’t take long.”

“Thank you. Really…”

Bang Jin-hoon bit his lip as if he was filled with emotion.

How could he not be?

In any case, this was the greatest achievement of Bang Jin-hoon’s life. He didn’t know if he would ever surpass this achievement, but at least in his life so far, he had never accomplished anything greater than this.

Confidence is built on performance.

Now, Bang Jin-hoon could finally have true confidence in his martial arts and his life.

“But, Master.”

“Huh?”

“Why is this sparkling!”

Bator said with a disgusted expression.

“A secret manual is a secret manual, isn’t something wrong? I’ve never heard of such a case in my life.”

Kang Jin-ho scratched his cheek.

His gaze turned to the soft glow emanating from Bang Jin-hoon’s body.

“I have heard of it before…”

“Huh? You’ve heard of it?”

“But it seems to be a different case from this…”

A chuckle escaped from Kang Jin-ho’s lips.

“Well, it’s not bad. You won’t be in the dark at night.”

“Isn’t that the problem! It’s like I’m advertising my location to the whole neighborhood!”

Bang Jin-hoon shouted as if he couldn’t live like this.

“Is there no solution?”

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho laughed as if it was amusing.

“Enlightenment is not only an act of reason but also an act of the body.”

“Yes?”

“The general image is that you suddenly realize something big, but in reality, it’s closer to gradually progressing through constant contemplation.”

“Ah…”

“Otherwise, there would be no reason for Buddha to train for so long.”

Wiggins tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

“What does that have to do with this?”

“So, what I’m saying is that enlightenment can come through the body, not just the head.”

“The body has moved on, but what you’ve learned hasn’t reached that enlightenment. Maybe if you train and learn what you need to learn from now on, it will naturally get better.”

At those words, Lee Hyun-soo flinched and turned to look at Bang Jin-hoon.

“So, you’re saying that’s what it is?”

“What?”

“When you see something like a game, when the experience points are all accumulated and you need to level up, there’s a function that shows it like that. Telling you to quickly allocate the next stats.”

Kang Jin-ho’s face had a strange expression.

‘It’s kind of plausible.’

This isn’t a game, so that’s not likely, but the meaning was somewhat similar.

“The body has moved on, but the mind hasn’t caught up.”

At Jang Min’s words, Bator burst out laughing.

“I’ve seen all sorts of things in my life. Should I say this is also like Director Bang?”

Kang Jin-ho slightly defended Bang Jin-hoon.

“Creating a martial art and mastering it are separate issues.”

“…What does that mean?”

“Since we’re talking about games, I can explain it with games. Just because I created a game doesn’t mean I’ve played it myself.”

“Ah…”

“I might know all the strategies, so I could finish it quickly if I just started, but if I actually play the game, I’ll see things differently from when I was creating it.”

“So, you’re saying that he just needs to master it?”

“That’s right.”

Bator nodded.

“Then that’s a relief. It means I don’t have to keep seeing that terrible glow.”

“…Is it that terrible?”

“To be precise, it’s not the light that’s terrible, it’s the fact that you’re the one emitting it that’s terrible.”

“If someone who looks like an angel emitted light, it would be plausible. But this is…”

“If I’m emitting this much, it’s this much, if Bator emits it, it’s horror, horror! Cosmic horror!”

“What, you punk?”

Bator and Bang Jin-hoon started arguing, pointing fingers at each other. Jang Min and Wiggins stepped in to stop them.

Slurp.

In the midst of the chaotic situation, Kang Jin-ho silently sipped his coffee.

‘Anyway…’

The subtle scent of coffee calmed his mind.

‘I’ve overcome a big hurdle.’

He was lucky.

In fact, Kang Jin-ho didn’t expect all of them to overcome their walls. Because belief and reality are separate.

But they had wonderfully met his expectations.

‘Now it’s my turn.’

Kang Jin-ho’s hand, holding the coffee cup, tightened slightly.

As much as everyone has worked hard, now he too…

“No, seriously, how can Bator say someone’s face is fierce? Are there no mirrors in Mongolia? Huh?”

“But this guy? I’m less fierce than you!”

“Where did you leave your conscience, where!”

Kang Jin-ho smiled gently.

‘Should I just beat them all up?’

Kang Jin-ho thought that might be the best way.