Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 352

Lee Myung-hwan had been skeptical about the existence of a man named Kang Jin-ho from the very beginning.

It wasn’t that he doubted Kang Jin-ho’s existence entirely, but rather, he believed the circulating rumors were likely exaggerated or fabricated, at least logically speaking.

‘Logically speaking, that is.’

The notion that two powerhouses like Lee Joong-gul and Bang Jin-hoon would defer to a young upstart seemed as improbable as a dragon appearing in the middle of Seoul and letting out a mighty roar.

Some might argue it was possible because he was a ‘returnee’ [a person who has experienced a past life or another world and returned], but if all returnees were that powerful, the martial world would have already been unified by them.

They didn’t understand the mechanism by which returnees came back to reality, but having lived through the past didn’t necessarily guarantee strength.

In fact, he had heard that many of them lacked the will to live, having experienced multiple lives.

‘That makes sense.’

After going through the ‘Hell Joseon’ [a term referring to the harsh realities of life in South Korea] experience about three times, the motivation to work hard and live would likely disappear. They would come to accept that effort doesn’t play a significant role in life.

Even if people complained about ‘Hell Joseon,’ the current Republic of Korea couldn’t be worse than any country in the past. There was no way the mental state of those who had experienced such hellish lives multiple times would be sound.

“He’s coming out.”

“Oh?”

Lee Myung-hwan craned his neck.

He saw Bang Jin-hoon and another person getting out of the car.

‘What is that?’

Lee Myung-hwan narrowed his eyes at the man who emerged in a neat suit.

“There’s nothing special about him?”

“Yeah, I guess not.”

If the rumors about Kang Jin-ho were true, he was supposed to be a monster, but the man they saw didn’t seem particularly remarkable.

Rather, he looked rather slender and frail for a martial artist.

Wasn’t the General Assembly full of guys who could crush cans with their pecs, like pebbles on the street? To those accustomed to such a sight, the man who came out with Bang Jin-hoon seemed out of place.

Then there were two possibilities.

Either that man wasn’t Kang Jin-ho, or the rumors about Kang Jin-ho were exaggerated.

“We’ll see.”

Lee Myung-hwan turned, watching Bang Jin-hoon and the man head towards the entrance. They would be coming inside soon.

People’s gazes were fixed on the door. They were currently in the main training hall.

It was called a training hall. If this place were a training center like Taereung [a national training center for athletes], it would be a suitable facility for training. But unfortunately, everyone here was a martial artist, and if they were to train here, the building wouldn’t survive. So, it was just called a training hall, but in reality, it was used more like an auditorium.

Squeak.

The sound of a metal chair twisting could be heard. Regardless of who was with him, many people straightened their posture because Bang Jin-hoon, the Assembly Head, was coming.

Lee Myung-hwan also straightened his posture.

The door opened, and Bang Jin-hoon entered. Following behind him was a young man with a neat appearance.

The first feeling he had was that his gaze was drawn to him involuntarily.

Was it because he was handsome?

Or was it because of the man’s unique aura?

He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

What was certain was that, for whatever reason, his eyes were drawn to the man.

The second feeling he had was a sense of incongruity.

Why?

There was no reason to feel incongruity towards the man.

The man’s actions were natural. Even if he tried to find something strange, he couldn’t. The man acted as if he had been in and out of this place many times.

‘Ah!’

Lee Myung-hwan clenched his fist without realizing it, having discovered the source of the incongruity.

He thought he knew why.

‘He’s too natural.’

His naturalness was the source of the incongruity.

Let’s say Lee Myung-hwan was in Kang Jin-ho’s position. It was his first time visiting the General Assembly.

And when he opened the door and came inside, there were intimidating guys with abnormally broad shoulders lined up.

There were over two hundred people gathered here. To walk in front of two hundred men who could slap a gangster’s face off and act natural?

‘That’s difficult.’

A normal person would be so intimidated that they wouldn’t even be able to lift their head. But that man was walking in as if those people were just pebbles, as if it was his own home.

“He doesn’t seem like much.”

“He looks like a girl.”

But the others didn’t seem to have the same impression.

‘He doesn’t seem like much?’

At least Lee Myung-hwan himself didn’t have the confidence to walk in so confidently. If he were in that position, he would be frozen stiff right now. He didn’t know if that guy was as strong as the rumors said, but it was undeniable that he was a very bold guy.

“Everyone’s here.”

Bang Jin-hoon went up to the platform and smiled kindly. It was a bit different from before. When Lee Joong-gul was the Assembly Head, he had a very authoritarian style.

When Lee Joong-gul entered, everyone had to stand up, and when Lee Joong-gul spoke, everyone had to listen quietly.

There were many complaints that it didn’t fit the modern era, but in the martial world, where discipline was stricter than that of athletes, such complaints couldn’t be voiced.

It was true that authoritarianism had decreased a lot since Bang Jin-hoon took over as Assembly Head. The reactions of those who looked at Bang Jin-hoon were proof of that.

Just as he was thinking that this was a positive thing, Bang Jin-hoon scratched his head and said,

“I’m sorry for making you wait. I was supposed to be here soon, but there was a problem in the middle. I thought it would take about thirty minutes, so I told you to wait, but it took longer. It’s my fault, so please understand.”

Of course, there were some who were dissatisfied, but no one openly expressed their dissatisfaction.

“The reason I asked you to wait today is… because there’s someone I want to introduce.”

Bang Jin-hoon glanced to the side.

“This is Kang Jin-ho. He’ll be working with you a lot in the future. Mr. Kang Jin-ho?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho took a step forward at Bang Jin-hoon’s words and bowed lightly.

“I’m Kang Jin-ho.”

Lee Myung-hwan looked at Kang Jin-ho with a dumbfounded expression.

‘Is that it?’

Wasn’t there supposed to be an introduction or a reason why they had to gather people to introduce him?

The others seemed to feel similarly, as there was no particular reaction.

“Since we’ll be working together a lot in the future, I called you all to get to know his face. Uh…”

Bang Jin-hoon looked back and forth between Lee Myung-hwan and Kang Jin-ho, as if he had nothing more to say, and then opened his mouth.

“It’s not officially decided yet, but he’s scheduled to join the board of directors, so please follow him well.”

“Board of directors?”

Lee Myung-hwan asked back without realizing it.

The hall was quiet due to the tense atmosphere, so Lee Myung-hwan’s words were heard very clearly.

“Is there a problem?”

When Bang Jin-hoon asked back, Lee Myung-hwan was flustered and looked around. People’s gazes were focused on him. Lee Myung-hwan sighed, realizing the desire in those gazes.

It had become awkward to just back down.

“No. It’s just that it’s a bit strange that someone you’re seeing for the first time today is joining the board of directors. If he’s a director, that means he can give us orders, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“It’s a bit… uncomfortable to take orders from someone we’ve never met before. It’s not like this is a normal situation, and there are rumors that we’ll be fighting the Yeongnam Assembly soon…”

Lee Myung-hwan glanced at Bang Jin-hoon.

If it were the old Lee Joong-gul, he would have been in big trouble for voicing such complaints as a mere member. He wondered if it was okay to say this much, as he hadn’t fully grasped Bang Jin-hoon’s personality yet.

“Hmm, is that so?”

But Bang Jin-hoon just hesitated, looking troubled.

‘It works.’

Lee Myung-hwan, realizing from Bang Jin-hoon’s reaction that he wasn’t particularly offended by his words, slightly raised the intensity.

“It’s a bit much to ask us to listen to someone who doesn’t even have a sense of camaraderie.”

Lee Myung-hwan looked back slightly, signaling for support. Then, everyone started talking to each other, and the hall quickly became noisy.

As the murmuring continued, Bang Jin-hoon sighed.

‘The situation has become a bit awkward.’

If they had arrived on time, the resentment wouldn’t have grown this much, but the problem was that the time had been delayed too much. Even if Bang Jin-hoon were in their position, he wouldn’t have good feelings towards someone he had waited this long to see.

And fundamentally, Lee Myung-hwan’s words weren’t wrong.

The conflict with the Yeongnam Assembly was no ordinary matter. For martial artists to fight each other meant risking their lives. Even if they tried to minimize the damage, there would be casualties. And quite a large number of them.

So, who would accept it if the person in command of such an important matter was a young kid they had never seen before?

This wasn’t the military. Command wasn’t secured through rank. Everyone had their own school of martial arts, and they had created their own command structure through agreements between those schools. So, if a random guy suddenly appeared and went over their heads, they couldn’t have good feelings about it.

“Uh…”

Bang Jin-hoon, who was about to say something, turned his head slightly.

“What should we do?”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged his shoulders at the cautious question.

“Weren’t we just here to show my face?”

“Still…”

“I don’t have any intention of giving orders, and I don’t intend to ask you to listen to me. And I didn’t even want to be a director, but you said unnecessary things.”

“…I thought it would work a little.”

Bang Jin-hoon clicked his tongue.

For Kang Jin-ho, it was enough to just show his face, but that wasn’t the case for Bang Jin-hoon. He needed to strengthen the relationship between the General Assembly and Kang Jin-ho, which was vaguely connected through his relationship with Bang Jin-hoon.

‘Was it a reckless move?’

It was something that could have been done slowly over time, but the fact that the conflict with the Yeongnam Assembly was imminent seemed to have made Bang Jin-hoon impatient.

Now that it had come to this, he should take a step back…

“And isn’t the board of directors a position that requires skill? It seems a bit much to bring someone who hasn’t been verified into the board of directors.”

Bang Jin-hoon’s eyes widened slightly.

‘What was that guy’s name again?’

Gong Young-gil stood up from his seat and raised his voice.

“He seems too young. Is it okay for him to join the board of directors? I think other people might feel bad. His skills need to be verified.”

There’s always one.

There’s always a person in the world who can’t stop at the right place and takes one step too far.

Bang Jin-hoon forcibly suppressed the laughter that was about to burst out.

“So… you’re saying you can’t accept Kang Jin-ho because he doesn’t seem skilled?”

“Yes. He just looks weak.”

“Is that so?”

Bang Jin-hoon smiled.

“Then, do you want to fight him?”