Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 688

It was perhaps inevitable.

Jang Da-jing knew.

What kind of people the masters were.

Ordinary people focus on their strength. But martial artists don’t see the strong as just strong. The strong that ordinary people talk about are those with great martial power, but the strong that martial artists see are those who are strong as human beings.

With the modern era, martial arts have become standardized.

There might be martial arts that are stronger when learned, and some that are slightly less so, but it’s considered a level that can be overcome with effort.

It’s a natural process.

In the past, when mixed martial arts first emerged, the goal was to determine which martial art was the strongest.

Which was stronger, boxing or kickboxing? Which was stronger, jiu-jitsu or karate?

But after some time, no one cared about such things anymore.

Now, if a boxer fights a kickboxer and the boxer wins, does that mean boxing is superior to kickboxing?

No, it doesn’t.

Each martial art has its own strengths, and everyone understands that how one becomes strong by learning a martial art depends on individual ability.

The same goes for martial arts.

In the past, martial arts were secretly passed down under the names of one-person transmission or non-transmission to outsiders, but as time passed, they began to exchange information with each other. Eventually, the consensus arose that strength was not a matter of martial arts but of the individual.

That’s why martial artists respect the strong.

Even though they’ve learned the same martial arts, the division between strong and weak is not just a matter of talent, but largely a matter of effort.

To put it simply, let’s say that anyone can become strong if they consistently train for 20 hours a day.

At first, everyone tries. Everyone tries hard.

But what if you had to do that 20 hours of training for 20 years?

Could you do it?

Most people can’t. Everyone may want to become strong through martial arts, but they can’t give up everything else to achieve that ‘strength’.

To put it bluntly, the reason they want to become strong is to enjoy life a little more, but what’s the point of sacrificing their current life to reach that point?

That’s why martial artists respected those who had reached a level they couldn’t dare to reach.

But…

If you go one step further, the story changes a bit.

Up to the level of the strong, it’s like that.

But when you cross into the realm of the ‘absolute strong,’ the story becomes a bit strange.

The absolute strong go beyond the aspect of effort. A person with a normal mind cannot reach that realm just by making extreme efforts.

Something extra.

You need to have something extra, something hard to explain, to reach the realm of the absolute strong.

That extra something is expressed in many ways.

Paranoia.

Madness.

Or craziness.

That’s right.

To enter the realm of the absolute strong, you need a lot of luck, but the person learning martial arts must be half-mad.

Those who delve deeply into other fields also tend to have something that sets them apart from ordinary people, but this tendency is particularly strong in martial arts. After all, no one dies from studying mathematics, but the stronger you become in martial arts, the greater the risk of moving to the next level.

That’s why the absolute strong are almost always eccentric.

Even those who seem normal have something that others cannot understand if you dig deeper.

But…

‘Why are three of those guys gathering around me!’

Jang Da-jing couldn’t hold back his tears.

What?

Are you making a fuss just because three eccentrics gathered around you?

These people don’t know anything!

Do you think these guys are just eccentrics? They are powerful eccentrics who are not controlled by the law. And their power isn’t just strong, it’s a disaster level.

Three of those guys are lurking around! Three of them!

‘I’d rather take a nap in a safari.’

Compared to these humans, the tigers and lions in the safari are like cats. They’re so cute, I want to hug them when I sleep.

But Jang Da-jing’s wish was just a wish. Unfortunately, he was with disaster-level beings and had no power to reject his fate.

All he could do was let his shattered mind drift away and listen to the conversation coming through the phone.

[Why haven’t you contacted me! Oh, Great Demon Lord! Your subordinate has been waiting and waiting, wondering when you would contact us, until my bones have turned to dust and my soul is gone…]

“Wait, that sounds like a Korean poem?”

[Since you are in Korea, I must study about Korea. I have dedicated my life to assisting you and recreating the glory of the Divine Cult. Oh, Great Demon Lord!]

His life seems a bit too long, but it wasn’t something to say to an old man who might die any day now.

“You could have contacted me first.”

[Oh, Great Demon Lord.]

“…Huh?”

[The contact information you gave me was incorrect. It says it’s a non-existent number.]

[But I gave you my number correctly, so I thought that if I waited, you would eventually contact me! I never imagined you would be so indifferent! If I had known, I shouldn’t have trusted you, but I should have called and left my number! How could I have imagined that you wouldn’t even know your own number… I, I, I! What blasphemy! Oh, Great Demon Lord, please forgive me! Oh, Great Demon Lord!]

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t turn his head.

He knew. He shouldn’t turn his head now. He could feel the cold gazes of Jang Da-jing and Bator piercing his back.

It was chilling.

The gaze piercing his back was so cold that he could feel a chill he wouldn’t normally feel.

“Huh? You don’t even know your own phone number?”

There are many choices in life. Humans always make choices and must accept the consequences. Everyone lives by repeating right and wrong choices.

If someone were to ask Kang Jin-ho what the worst choice he had ever made in his life was, he could pick a few, but accepting Bator would definitely be one of them.

“Hey, it’s not like he’s a caveman… The master should probably live where he originally lived rather than in the modern world. He needs to adapt to modern civilization.”

“No, I mean, back then, it hadn’t been long since I was discharged from the military. It was a new phone…”

It was that kind of feeling.

Has Kang Jin-ho ever made such a pathetic excuse to anyone in his life?

Probably not.

He definitely wouldn’t have.

But at this moment, he had no other choice.

[Oh, Great Demon Lord, your subordinate is very worried. The modern world is too harsh. Even if you have the martial power to shake the world, you will face many hardships in your great work with only your power. Although there is nothing you cannot achieve, I, your subordinate, am willing to give my life to make your path a little easier. Please recognize my sincerity.]

A vein popped out on Kang Jin-ho’s forehead.

He was putting it nicely, very nicely… but what he meant was that Kang Jin-ho was strong but not smart, so instead of trying to do something with his lacking brain and suffering, he should just quickly put someone next to him and do what he was told.

If someone else had dared to say such a thing to Kang Jin-ho, he would have crushed their mouth and made them live on gruel for the rest of their lives, but in the face of the desperate loyalty felt in every word and every tone, Kang Jin-ho couldn’t bring himself to get angry.

“He’s a loyal subject.”

Bator’s words were accurate.

He was a loyal subject. Just a very extreme one.

“…I’m in China right now anyway…”

[China? Chiiiina? Did you say you are in China, Oh, Great Demon Lord? Are you saying you are in China?]

“Yeah, that’s how it turned out.”

[When did you arrive?]

“I think it’s been a few days…”

[Oh, Great Demon Lord!]

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes tightly and stepped back. It was a good thing he had put the phone on the table with the speaker on, or his eardrums would have been twisted by now.

‘What did this old man learn to use sound techniques over the phone?’

Although it didn’t actually carry internal energy, it was no less than a sound technique in terms of twisting the listener’s insides.

[China is dangerous. China is very dangerous. Oh, Great Demon Lord, the hatred of the Chinese people towards the demons is more than you think. Oh, Great Demon Lord, I will go there right now. Where are you!]

“Well, I’m in Sichuan…”

[Sichuan?]

“Well…”

[Why did you go to that mountain valley? Why Sichuan of all places…]

That’s where you lived too. No, how can a guy who’s been living in the mountains for a hundred years call Sichuan a mountain valley?

“Hehehehe.”

Bator started rolling around, holding his stomach.

“He’s a really funny old man. I want to meet him soon.”

Somehow, he felt like he shouldn’t let these two meet, but the die had already been cast.

“Where are you?”

[I am in Beijing right now.]

“Beijing?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

Why would someone who had been living hidden in the backwoods suddenly be in Beijing?

“Why are you in Beijing?”

[Because there are many people. And there are many demons there as well.]

“It’s a bustling place.”

[The poor tend to gather in cities. They have to live while avoiding the eyes of martial artists, but they can’t just live by sucking their fingers. Many demons live in Beijing as migrant workers.]

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho frowned slightly.

According to what Bator had told him, Beijing was currently a battleground for the three kings. The area below Beijing was the territory of the Red King, and the right side was the territory of the Azure King.

And the left side was the territory of the Black King. Demons were living in a place where those three forces were fighting?

‘Is it because it’s a border area that they can live there?’

If one force had gained power, it wouldn’t be easy for the demons to live there either. They see demons as rats. If they want to clean a house, they’ll try to exterminate the rats first.

It seemed that they couldn’t pay attention to the demons because their attention was focused on each other.

“Never mind. Then I’ll go to Beijing.”

[If you tell me where you are, I will send someone.]

“Hmm, where I am now…”

Kang Jin-ho picked up his phone and handed it to Jang Da-jing. Meaning to explain.

‘Why me.’

He didn’t particularly want to take the call, but what could he do when he was given it? Jang Da-jing took the phone, took a deep breath, and opened his mouth.

“My name is Jang Da-jing. Where I am right now is…”

[Who are you to dare to interrupt when the Great Demon Lord is speaking! I would not be satisfied even if I tore you to pieces and threw you to the wolves!]

Jang Da-jing froze at the anger that was clearly felt even through the phone, and Kang Jin-ho said quietly.

“He’s my attendant.”

[Speak. I will listen to your insignificant words. Tell me exactly where the Great Demon Lord is right now. If there is even the slightest mistake, I will not let you live.]

Jang Da-jing turned his head and looked at the martial artists lying on the floor.

They look more comfortable, they do…

Jang Da-jing’s sorrow was endless.