Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 721

“What should we do?”

“What do you mean, ‘what should we do’?”

“Do we have to go to Korea?”

“Since the Demon Lord wants us to go, I guess we have to…”

The returning voices lacked strength.

A strange atmosphere hung in the chamber.

After the Demon Lord, Kang Jin-ho, revealed his plan, the chamber had been ablaze with excitement. If they followed him, they could become stronger.

It was like sweet nectar after a long thirst. Groups of three or five discussed the future.

However, as the initial fervor cooled, some began to realize the reality of the situation.

Li Xifeng was one of them.

Li Xifeng grimaced as he spoke.

“I’m not going.”

“Brother!”

“Let’s be honest, what makes you think we should go to Korea? What guarantee is there that things will be any different if we go to Korea?”

“Brother, didn’t the Demon Lord promise us?”

“Promise?”

Li Xifeng shook his head.

“It’s not that I don’t respect the Demon Lord. Nor do I doubt his words. But who knows how long it will take to become strong again if we start learning martial arts from scratch?”

“…We can’t know for sure.”

Li Xifeng trailed off.

His voice was filled with lingering attachment, yet it was firm.

“I also want to become stronger. I’m sick of bowing my head to those righteous bastards. It’s my lifelong wish to defeat those damn fools and spit in their faces. You all know that, don’t you?”

Zhu Gang nodded.

The Demonic Cult members all hated the righteous sects.

But among them, Li Xifeng was extremely hateful towards the righteous sects. His resentment towards them was so great that those around him tried to dissuade him.

“That’s why we should go, shouldn’t we? If we go to Korea with the Demon Lord, we might get that chance.”

“Chance?”

Li Xifeng’s face twisted.

“Are you saying we should abandon everything we have now and go to a foreign land for something that might or might not happen?”

“It will happen.”

“Yes, it might. But it might not. Isn’t that right?”

Zhu Gang couldn’t answer.

He believed in and followed the Demon Lord. He had witnessed the divine power with his own eyes.

But that didn’t mean all his doubts had disappeared.

‘The Demon Lord is incredibly strong.’

He had seen with his own eyes how strong one could become if they properly mastered demonic arts.

But was that truly the strength of demonic arts?

Zhu Gang couldn’t be sure.

The Demon Lord was strong.

But was that because of demonic arts?

If the Demon Lord had mastered a different martial art, would he not have been able to display the same divine power?

‘That’s unlikely.’

He was someone who would have become strong no matter what martial art he had mastered.

His respect for the Demon Lord was actually undermining his faith in demonic arts.

Kang Jin-ho would surely provide them with new demonic arts. He had promised it with his own mouth. But could Zhu Gang become like Kang Jin-ho just by mastering those demonic arts?

It was impossible.

There was no doubt that they would become stronger than they were now. But was it right to risk their lives on something they couldn’t be sure of?

Zhu Gang couldn’t blame Li Xifeng for his choice.

This was a gamble with an uncertain future.

Not participating in such a gamble might be a wise decision.

“If I were alone, I might have wavered. No, I am already wavering. But I have a family to feed. This isn’t a dream, it’s reality.”

“I understand, Brother.”

In the end, Zhu Gang nodded.

The same conversations were happening everywhere.

From those who were eager to go to Korea, trusting in the Demon Lord, to those who denied the Demon Lord’s proposal, saying they had to face reality, and even those who were wavering, unable to make a decision.

Though there wasn’t much noise, it was a chaotic mess.

‘They must be confused.’

The sudden appearance of the Demon Lord was enough to create confusion. A being they had only known as a legend had suddenly appeared and was shouting, ‘Follow me.’

No matter how majestic he looked, even if the demonic energy within them naturally pledged allegiance to him, they were modern people. They were not used to pledging allegiance to anyone.

To abandon everything and go to Korea, following a superior who had suddenly appeared, and who they had never known before?

‘It’s impossible.’

Even Zhu Gang, who had directly experienced the Demon Lord and had his soul shaken by his majesty, was feeling uneasy. How much more would the others feel? He couldn’t blame them.

The root of all these problems was that the elders had been too complacent.

The complacent belief that everyone would follow the Demon Lord just by seeing his appearance and being shown a golden future. That belief was causing a breakdown.

‘This won’t work.’

The moment he thought that this could lead to the destruction of the Demonic Cult rather than its revival, a loud voice was heard.

“Everyone, line up!”

Zhu Gang turned his head. The elders were walking onto the platform set up in the front.

‘What’s going on?’

He had thought there wouldn’t be anything special for a while, so why were they telling them to line up?

Zhu Gang reluctantly got up from his seat. It wasn’t a pleasant task, but he had to respect the authority of the elders.

‘It’s cramped.’

The lines were much denser than when they had first lined up.

People who had heard the news of the Demon Lord’s descent were flocking to this place. Thanks to that, the number of people was steadily increasing. As a result, the chamber, which had been quite spacious at first, now felt as cramped as an ant nest.

Zhu Gang didn’t express any particular dissatisfaction and joined the line.

It wouldn’t take more than a few days anyway. Soon, those gathered here would have to decide whether to go to Korea with the Demon Lord or stay here.

“Hurry up. The Demon Lord is coming!”

The elders urgently checked the lines.

Since the Demonic Cult members were not used to lining up in formation, following someone’s orders, it took quite a while to form the lines. Still, they were martial artists with keen eyes, so the result wasn’t bad.

Just when the lines seemed to be complete, a man dressed in black began to ascend the platform.

‘Hoo.’

Zhu Gang took a deep breath.

It was the Demon Lord.

‘This is no joke.’

He had only heard about the subjugation by demonic energy, but he had never experienced it firsthand. Even when he saw Elder Jang Min, he had never felt anything like this.

That’s why he thought it was just a rumor. But looking at the Demon Lord, he felt like he understood what subjugation by demonic energy meant. Just looking at the Demon Lord’s back, he felt like all the rational thoughts he had been having were flying away. Only the urge to follow that person was shaking his head.

‘Let’s calm down.’

Zhu Gang knew. If he couldn’t overcome this urge, he would just become a puppet following the Demon Lord’s orders. He couldn’t lose his ego.

Slowly.

Kang Jin-ho, who ascended the platform at a leisurely pace, sat on the grand master’s chair in the center of the platform. Then, the elders lined up to his left and right.

“Ah…”

A groan escaped involuntarily.

Just by looking at that figure, he could tell.

That person was a born ruler. Or someone who accepted being above others as a matter of course.

The way he leaned back in the grand master’s chair with his legs crossed was so natural.

It was a majestic sight, like looking at a painting. Just by looking at that figure, it felt so natural to follow him.

“Sit down.”

The Demon Lord opened his mouth calmly.

Everyone’s eyes followed the Demon Lord’s lips.

“The story might be a bit long. Sit down. There’s no need to waste energy on unnecessary things.”

The people in line looked at each other.

Was it okay to do that?

“Don’t make me say it twice.”

Kang Jin-ho’s voice was low. But that low voice clearly penetrated everyone’s ears. Those who heard the voice began to sit down one by one. Soon, when everyone was seated, Kang Jin-ho put his hand in his pocket and took out a cigarette.

As he put the cigarette in his mouth, one of the elders took out a lighter and lit it for him.

“Hoo…”

Kang Jin-ho, who exhaled the deeply inhaled cigarette smoke, looked around at everyone and said,

“Those who want to smoke, go ahead.”

His voice was calm, but no one took out a cigarette. Kang Jin-ho didn’t force that either.

“I thought the story might be a bit long. I also think I was a bit hasty, and even though I kept saying that times have changed, I didn’t realize it myself. I thought a little more explanation was needed, so I made this place.”

Zhu Gang looked at Kang Jin-ho with a slightly puzzled expression.

‘He feels different?’

He seemed like a slightly different person from the Kang Jin-ho he had seen so far.

Kang Jin-ho suppressed his opponents without having to threaten them. It seemed that ordinary people also felt that pressure to some extent, but the pressure that the Demonic Cult members felt was on a different level.

Just a gesture made their bodies flinch, and they were often startled just by Kang Jin-ho turning his head. Just the fact that Kang Jin-ho was present in front of them was overwhelming.

But he didn’t feel that way from the current Kang Jin-ho.

‘He’s consciously blocking it.’

He had thoroughly suppressed the demonic energy that was subtly emanating from him.

Zhu Gang took that action as a sign that he wanted to talk without dividing them by rank. Then, Kang Jin-ho looked a little different than before.

It meant that he wasn’t just someone who was leading with force.

“I don’t know where to start. I’m not really good at talking.”

Kang Jin-ho seemed to be pondering for a moment before opening his mouth.

“If anyone has any questions, it would be good to start by answering them. Anyone have any questions?”

No one could open their mouths.

It was only natural.

If someone opened their mouth now, they would have to receive the gazes of all these people, and how nerve-wracking would that be? Moreover, the person they had to talk to in front of them was the Demon Lord, so it was almost torture.

“Hmm…”

When no questions came out, Kang Jin-ho narrowed his brow.

“The reason I made this place today is because there seem to be a few misunderstandings.”

Misunderstandings?

“It’s true that I told you to follow me. It’s also true that I said that if you follow me, you can’t expect anything else, and you should only be satisfied with becoming stronger. But that doesn’t mean I’m forcing you to live like animals. It seems like you misunderstood that…”

Zhu Gang tilted his head.

He felt like the conversation was flowing in a slightly strange direction.

‘What is he trying to say?’

Then, Kang Jin-ho nodded. It seemed like he had found a topic that could open up the conversation.

“So… how much salary do you want?”

“…Excuse me?”

Zhu Gang answered without realizing it.

“Sa, salary?”

Everyone’s eyes shook at Kang Jin-ho’s completely unexpected words.

The Demonic Cult member, who was also the founder of a welfare foundation that had never existed in the world, slowly opened his mouth.