Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 788

‘This isn’t some library…’ Lee Myung-hwan had no choice but to agree.

People become lax when they are given freedom, and they tighten up when they are restricted. They can put on the brakes to some extent, but the end result is usually the same.

‘I acknowledge that part.’

The people who initially passed Kang Jin-ho’s test were all sharp as swords. They were determined to throw everything away to become stronger, even their lives. It was only natural that those who had such resolve would be like that.

They devoted themselves to learning even a single stance, and they concentrated all their minds even for a single circulation of Qi [vital energy].

Compared to then?

‘They’ve become a mess.’

There could be several reasons for this.

First, humans are creatures of adaptation.

The training, which was so intense at first that it was questionable whether a human could handle it, had become something they could calmly digest. They had adapted to it.

So, they didn’t feel any particular tension.

Second, surprisingly, Kang Jin-ho hadn’t really pushed them hard.

Kang Jin-ho had told them to be prepared to go to hell, but in reality, he hadn’t tormented them much. It wasn’t because Kang Jin-ho was more tender-hearted than he seemed…

‘He didn’t have time.’

The Clan Lord is busy.

He is incredibly busy. He doesn’t seem to think he’s particularly busy, but watching Kang Jin-ho handle his work from the side, it was enough to make Lee Hyun-soo pale in comparison.

Of course, Kang Jin-ho has the privilege of delegating his work to others, and he doesn’t handle complex tasks but only makes important decisions, so he isn’t as extremely short on time as Lee Hyun-soo… but he’s still busy.

Considering how much has happened in the main clan since they passed Kang Jin-ho’s test, it wasn’t right to blame Kang Jin-ho.

And decisively…

‘They got cocky.’

This was an undeniable fact.

To be fair, Lee Myung-hwan himself had been floating in the air not too long ago.

Passing Kang Jin-ho’s test and becoming his personal guard was a result. Their original goal was to become stronger. So strong that no one could ignore them, so strong that no one could stand against them! To become stronger and stronger.

That was Lee Myung-hwan’s only goal.

But at some point, this goal was shaken.

As Kang Jin-ho’s status rose endlessly, the mere title of being Kang Jin-ho’s personal guard was enough to make those who looked down on them disappear. No, they even became objects of envy.

The sense of superiority they felt whenever they caught a glimpse of gazes mixed with jealousy and envy.

They hadn’t even become truly strong yet, but they had already obtained everything they could have gained after becoming strong. So, they couldn’t help but become lax.

This was entirely their fault.

They had gone down the wrong path.

But it wasn’t too late yet. If they had gone down the wrong path, they could find the right path again. Whether they cut through the forest or go back the way they came to find the fork in the road, they could correct it.

They could correct it, but…

‘Isn’t this correction a bit too much?’

All the Flame Demons were gathered in the main hall right now. But not even a breath could be heard.

Whose eyes were they watching?

No.

Only the Flame Demons were here right now. Kang Jin-ho was supposed to come a little later, but until then, there was no one watching them, no eyes monitoring them. Nevertheless, the hall was as silent as a graveyard.

Why did it become like this?

Lee Myung-hwan turned his head slightly. Looking at those with black eyes and hunched backs, he felt a strange sense of sorrow.

‘Where is human rights?’

Human rights have become more important than anything else in the world, but unfortunately, that concept of human rights has not yet taken root in the martial world. Beating people to establish discipline is now considered a barbaric act even in the real military, but in the martial world, it is accepted as a natural form of training.

How could this not be barbaric?

The reason why the Flame Demons were so disciplined was very simple. A person who is startled by a turtle is also startled by a pot lid, but those who were beaten by Bator foamed at the mouth and fainted at the sight of a pot lid.

Bator’s huge hand, like a pot lid, that had attacked them, left a deep trauma in their hearts.

So, to define the lesson Bator gave in one sentence…

– If you act up, you get hit.

A concept that has been with humanity since its birth.

A concept that has only faded in modern times.

The ignorant and terrible concept that you come to your senses when you get hit, the Flame Demons were showing how effective it was when it was actually put into practice.

It was sad, though.

‘I need to come to my senses.’

The process wasn’t good, and the result wasn’t necessarily good either, but there was one gain at the end of this whole process.

The Flame Demons, who had been complacent, had realized deeply that they were still weak.

There was a huge difference between seeing Bator and actually experiencing Bator. The experience of thinking ‘he must be strong’ and actually getting slapped by his hand and being slammed into the ceiling was definitely different.

Even if all of them attacked Bator, they were not confident that they could win. The confidence they had gained while dealing with the Ilpa faction was literally sent soaring into the sky with one slap from Bator.

What remained was the realization of how trash they were and the backlash against their arrogance.

And…

‘What does the Clan Lord think of us?’

At this point, they couldn’t help but worry about that.

Bator had played with them like toys. And Kang Jin-ho said that Bator would be crumpled into a trash can in 3 seconds if they fought now.

What would the Flame Demons look like in Kang Jin-ho’s eyes?

Wouldn’t it be like watching ants in a cage, not knowing anything and scurrying around, thinking they were great?

The thought sent shivers down their spines.

Perhaps most of this quiet atmosphere was created by such concerns.

‘I wish he would come quickly.’

It was suffocating. It felt like they were suffocating. It was too hard to bear this heavy air.

As if having heard Lee Myung-hwan’s feelings, the door burst open at that moment.

‘Oh, my.’

Perhaps because it was so quiet, the sound of the door opening sounded like thunder. Kang Jin-ho was walking in through the open door as if it were natural.

And Lee Hyun-soo followed behind him.

“Why is it so gloomy here?”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t say anything, but Lee Hyun-soo waved his hand as if the air was stuffy.

‘The sister-in-law came with him, the sister-in-law.’

The person the Flame Demons respected the most was Kang Jin-ho. And the person the Flame Demons feared the most might now be Bator.

But the person the Flame Demons resented the most was Lee Hyun-soo, no matter what anyone said. That man’s taunting was no joke. It was as if he understood better than anyone else in the world how to make people snap.

Kang Jin-ho walked in silently and stood in the center. Then, he gestured to Lee Hyun-soo.

“Hey, bring them in!”

When Lee Hyun-soo shouted, those outside the door carried in large boxes one by one.

‘What is it?’

“Put them in front, in front.”

One box was placed in front of each row.

“Turn them around.”

The people standing in front took out books from the boxes and began to pass them to the back. In an instant, everyone had a book from the box in their hands.

Kang Jin-ho cleared his throat and spoke.

“This is the martial art you will learn from now on.”

“Ah…”

Life returned to everyone’s eyes.

A new demonic art.

They had already learned demonic arts. A new demonic art would surely be a higher-level demonic art than the past. Lee Hyun-soo examined the title of the book in his hand.

‘Mara Blood Flame Art.’

The name alone felt powerful.

Kang Jin-ho looked around at everyone and opened his mouth.

“Questions.”

In the past, questions wouldn’t have come out easily. Kang Jin-ho was such a difficult existence for them. But now, they could say that they had experienced Kang Jin-ho quite a bit, and everyone knew that it was beneficial to ask questions quickly when they needed to.

Someone raised their hand and said.

“Can we learn it just from the manual?”

“That would be impossible.”

Kang Jin-ho answered calmly.

“First, memorize the manual completely. After that, I will adjust you.”

“What kind of demonic art is it?”

Kang Jin-ho smiled lightly.

“It’s a demonic art I created recently.”

The sound of swallowing could be heard.

A demonic art created by Kang Jin-ho.

Everyone here knew how much meaning that word held. Their trembling gazes turned to the manual.

“Um… Clan Lord.”

Lee Myung-hwan also ended up raising his hand.

“Speak.”

“How strong can we become if we learn this?”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho narrowed his brow as if he was troubled. At that moment, Lee Myung-hwan regretted asking a pointless question, but fortunately, the answer didn’t take too long.

“The word ‘how much’ is a bit strange. It depends on who learns it and how. Well, I guess that’s true for all martial arts.”

“Ah… Yes.”

It wasn’t the answer Lee Myung-hwan had expected, but he couldn’t ask any more questions.

“…Isn’t that answer too obvious?”

Lee Hyun-soo interjected, and Lee Myung-hwan’s eyes widened.

‘What’s wrong with that guy?’

He was always the one who turned people inside out, but now he was giving support fire. The sun must be rising in the west…

“If you say that, wouldn’t those trash just assume it’s okay if their level doesn’t rise because they didn’t put in enough effort? I think it would be better if you told them exactly how far they need to go.”

“Is that so?”

‘You bastard!’

That’s right.

There’s no way he would be like that.

He was trying to make the kids work even harder. That’s right. That’s Lee Hyun-soo. Damn it.

Kang Jin-ho pondered for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“Depending on how you learn it, it’s a martial art that can reach the extreme. It can be said to be the highest level among demonic arts.”

“…The, the highest level.”

Was he giving them that incredible martial art?

What was he trusting?

It was common sense in the martial world that the highest-level martial arts were only given to the leadership or those who shared power. Isn’t that why the proud and unruly martial artists were controlled?

Don’t they know how groundbreaking this is?

Usually, it takes more than 20 years for someone who has entered a sect to gain the qualifications to learn the highest-level martial arts. In Shaolin, it takes more than 30 years for someone who entered as a novice monk to enter the Scripture Pavilion. That’s how much you have to prove yourself to obtain the highest-level martial arts.

But he was giving it to them…

‘Holy crap.’

Lee Myung-hwan, realizing that he was holding such a precious martial art casually, hurriedly hugged the manual to his chest. At the same time, the same thing happened in several places.

The manuals that had been handed out had been upgraded to treasures that had been handed out.

“I, is it okay to just give us something like this?”

“It’s that difficult. It’s not an easy task.”

“Ah…”

They weren’t disappointed.

It was natural for the highest-level martial arts to be difficult. Even in games, high-level and low-level players play different games. There was no reason to be disappointed.

The real disappointment… no, the despair came after that.

“But there’s no need to worry too much. Because there’s good news.”

“Yes?”

“Bator has also decided to learn the same martial art. Now Bator will help you a lot.”

In an instant, a hellish despair covered the hall. Some people were about to collapse with their legs giving out.

Kang Jin-ho, with a face that didn’t understand the unusual reaction, turned to Lee Hyun-soo.

“Why are they like this?”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled and replied.

“I think they are too happy. It’s a good thing.”

Lee Myung-hwan vowed to take that bastard’s head someday.