Descent of the Demon Master
Chapter 725: Grappling (5)

"So? How much do you want?" Kang Jin-Ho asked.

"..."

When no one said anything, Kang Jin-Ho's gaze shifted over to Zhu Gang. Blurting out his inner thoughts proved to be a costly mistake.

"Ah... Oh, uh..." Zhu Gang sensed everyone's attention zeroing in on him and shuddered in dread. 'Yup, I'm f*cked.'

Now that things had come to this, Zhu Gang knew he had no choice but to 'discuss' with the demon emperor. Choosing to keep his mouth shut now would be a sign of disrespect.

As his back quickly got soaked in cold sweat, Zhu Gang cautiously spoke up. "M-my liege, when you say how much we want... Are you going to pay us monthly wages?"

"Yes. Why? You don't want to get paid?" Kang Jin-Ho casually tossed a question back.

"B-but, uh... We've never received any salaries before."

Kang Jin-Ho's brows rose up ever so slightly. "What do you mean? You don't receive any stipends?"

Zhu Gang sheepishly looked away. "By the time I reached adulthood... Well, I've never heard about receiving stipends until now, my liege."

Kang Jin-Ho blinked his eyes in flabbergast, his head tilting from side to side before looking straight at Chang Min. "Then... How did they put food on the table until now?"

"...!" Chang Min sweated buckets while nervously fidgeting. No answers wanted to come out of his mouth. He couldn't figure out why Kang Jin-Ho was asking all these questions. 'Stipends? Really?'

As far as Chang Min knew, the demon cult had never distributed stipends before!

"My liege, the individual cult believers are responsible for meeting their living expenses," said Chang Min.

"Then, what does the cult do?"

"T-the cult, my liege? W-well, we do missionary work and also manage the…"

"Let me get this straight…" Kang Jin-Ho abruptly cut Chang Min off. "Basically, you don't do anything. To make matters worse, you get paid by the cult since you're elders and whatnot, but you still turn a blind eye to how the rest of the believers live. Am I right so far?"

"...!" Chang Min was instantly rendered speechless. Well, Kang Jin-Ho was technically right. However, what was so wrong about that?

What Chang Min didn't know was that from Kang Jin-Ho's perspective, this situation was indeed flabbergast-inducing.

Maybe this kind of arrangement might not be seen as strange or unfair in other religious organizations. However, the demon cult was no ordinary religious organization.

Believers of other religions had no problem exercising their faith while carrying on with their daily lives. However, the demon cult believers needed to cultivate in demonic arts, which precluded them from living an ordinary life with the rest of society.

To explain how absurd this no-stipend situation was like... It'd be the same as preachers and priests of other religions who were always stuck in tight schedules not receiving any allowances from the higher-ups.

Who would want to stay devoted to such a religion, then? This was why the demon cult in the past did its best to handle the living costs of its believers. The cult provided the land its believers could cultivate and grow crops on. It also distributed food to its believers if farming wasn't their strong suit.

This system meant the demon cult had no choice but to continue targeting Zhongyuan and its seemingly unending supply of fertile lands. After all, the ballooning number of cult believers meant it got harder and harder to provide enough sustenance for everyone living on the inhospitable and hostile landscape they called home.

But now...!

'Things have regressed quite a lot.'

Kang Jin-Ho grimaced. Of course, he understood how this happened. The cult must've lost its financial wherewithal after it fell from its lofty peaks. Of course, it was time to turn this situation around.

"Your stipends... No, let's use the modern parlance, shall we? You will receive a monthly salary from now on."

"B-but, my liege!" Chang Min urgently stepped up to stop Kang Jin-Ho from going too far.

Making verbal promises was easy, but where would the cult replace the money to pay the believers?

"T-the cult's finances are..." Chang Min tried to whisper as quietly as possible so the others couldn't hear him.

Even so, Kang Jin-Ho remained firm. "I will take care of that."

"My liege? How?"

Kang Jin-Ho scanned the crowd before him while replying to Chang Min. "All those who decide to follow me back to South Korea will receive salaries. You need to devote all your time to cultivating in new demonic arts, but worrying about daily expenses will obviously curtail your progress. Listen well. Not just money, but any and all hindrances blocking your progress in cultivation... I will take care of them for you!"

"...!"

Zhu Gang was rendered speechless and could only stare dazedly at Kang Jin-Ho.

'Did I hear him correctly?'

The norm in this world was to pay to gain access to a particular cultivation technique. Once you mastered it, you also had to pay tributes because, well, they allowed you to master it in the first place. But now... Kang Jin-Ho said he'd pay them to cultivate in demonic arts?

Zhu Gang blurted out a question. "H-how much, my liege?"

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow. "I can't tell you the exact amount right now. I'm not sure how much will be enough to meet your needs. However, at the very least... My plan is to give you enough so that you can support your family."

While saying that, Kang Jin-Ho's head was rapidly calculating various costs. If he took all these people with him to Korea, they would naturally become a branch of the Martial Assembly. And Lee Hyeon-Su would probably welcome them with open arms if the only compensation to use these people's strength was monthly salaries.

The Assembly might be flush with cash, but it wasn't exactly blessed with abundant manpower, after all! The only problems, as far as Kang Jin-Ho could tell, were how to take all these people to Korea and the inevitable culture clash that might lead to friction and conflicts later on. Even then, this was about strengthening the Assembly's combat force. How could he say no to that?

Zhu Gang urgently asked, "R-really, my liege?! Seriously?"

Kang Jin-Ho subtly flinched at Zhu Gang's visceral response. He briefly wondered if he had a slip of the tongue just now. "...Kuh-hum. How much do you usually get paid in your jobs?"

Zhu Gang gulped back his saliva before replying, "We have all sorts of jobs, so it's a bit tricky to get an accurate average, my liege. The closest figure should be around eight thousand yuan for a month's work."[1]

"How much is eight thousand yuan?" Kang Jin-Ho fished his phone out from his pocket, then launched the currency converter. "...Huh? Is this all you get?"

Zhu Gang tilted his head. "...I'm sorry?"

Kang Jin-Ho quickly explained. "Obviously, the exact amount needs to be discussed at a later date, but I can guarantee you that it will be over ten thousand yuan per month. At the very least! I will never give you anything less than that."

'W-what the hell is going on here?'

Zhu Gang was getting mired deeper and deeper into confusion. It felt like he was actively being head-hunted right now!

Since when did the demon cult switch its status as a religious organization to a company? Zhu Gang even briefly wondered if he should start calling the cult the Demon Cult Inc. from now on!

"Any other questions?" Kang Jin-Ho glanced around and asked.

However, no one replied. Since they heard something totally unbelievable just now, these demonic cultivators were wondering whether to take Kang Jin-Ho's words seriously or not!

Eventually, though, someone cautiously spoke up. "A-are you really going to pay us monthly salaries, my liege?"

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at the demonic cultivation and nodded. "Not getting paid until now is the weird thing here. Getting stronger should be a good thing, don't you think? However, you want to get stronger for a reason, don't you? To reach your goal?"

"Yes, my liege."

"If a minimum living standard is not guaranteed, you won't be able to focus on reaching that goal. So, this is how things will pan out. Get stronger. The stronger you get, the more the cult will use you to generate income. Your job is to train and do as the cult commands you. That's it."

Everyone was left utterly flabbergasted. Dumbfounded!

Sure, what Kang Jin-Ho said didn't sound outrageous. No, it was exceedingly common sense. However, none of these demonic cultivators had experienced this so-called common sense actually working out for them, so Kang Jin-Ho's declaration was like a volcano erupting in their minds.

"T-then, my liege? Will the salaries be paid continuously? Every month?"

Kang Jin-Ho rubbed his chin. "Hmm, about that. Before that happens, we'll have to create a more systematic approach to handle the payments."

That was when the disappointed expressions of 'I bloody knew it' formed on everyone's faces. Getting paid once or twice, sure. But every month was, as expected...

"The adjustment in salaries isn't something I can decide on. The finance and HR departments will have to set rules for that. Also... Those who get good results will get their compensation adjusted according to their performance."

"...!"

"Those with abilities should get rewarded to match their performance, wouldn't you say?"

Zhu Gang dazedly stared at Kang Jin-Ho.

'Okay, so... That's our demon emperor, right?'

The prophecized demon emperor, who would descend to the mortal world in times of great suffering and despair and guide the faithful toward the brand-new world!

'That prophecy wasn't about giving us new demonic arts and making us stronger?'

Maybe the demon emperor was supposed to guide them to a welfare paradise instead? Like... Give them employment with enough wages to live comfortably so that they can contribute to the local economy! Who cares if they were all demonic cultivators? As long as the economy could be revived...

'Oops, I got sidetracked!' Zhu Gang hurriedly shook his head. 'In any case, what the hell is up with this situation?'

It seemed Kang Jin-Ho hadn't noticed the strange atmosphere rapidly filling up the underground space, judging from how he continued with his explanation. "Unfortunately, I can't guarantee a five-days-a-week work schedule. Ditto for when you can call it a day, too. You can blame the unique quirk of our profession for that. It's not like I can chase away people cultivating and tell them to go home, now is it?"

"Y-yes, that's correct, my liege."

"However, I promise that the cult will take care of the living expenses of any family members you bring along. We will give you a place to stay and even replace schools for your kids to attend. If your significant others aren't happy about staying at home, we can also replace suitable work for them."

No one could tell when the demon cult had a believers-welfare department set up, but did that matter? When all these extremely shocking benefits were pouring out of the demon emperor's mouth?

Only until a few seconds ago, this underground space was filled with anxiety and confusion, but now? The heat of the bubbling emotions almost morphed this place into a... A press conference to announce a new urban development plan! And the thought burning in their minds was...!

'...Do I need to stand in a queue?'

The demonic cultivators standing at the front of the lines were visibly fidgeting and flinching. They seemed ready to pounce the moment the demon emperor announced, "Now, everyone! All these benefits will apply to the first three thousand applicants only! The first ones to sign the contract will be the winners!"

At this rate, never mind fighting for a spot, these demonic cultivators might even start killing each other, too!

Another demonic cultivator cautiously asked, "A-are you telling us the truth?"

"Mm? Why would I lie to you?"

"...!"

Kang Jin-Ho nonchalantly replied, "Traveling to Korea in such a large group will be tough, but individually returning to China shouldn't be difficult at all. There are various methods, after all. If I can't keep my promise or things aren't the same as the promise itself, you can just come back, can't you?"

The demon emperor was right. It wasn't as if the demonic cultivators were being forcibly dragged to an uninhabited island in the middle of an ocean, anyway. In that case, what could be a problem? If they wanted to return to China, they could just drop by at the nearest police station and shout, "I'm one of those famous illegal immigrants you see on TV!" and the cops would politely deport them on their own dime!

"M-my liege, may I ask why... Why are you willing to go this far for us?"

"This far?" Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. He couldn't understand the question itself. "What do you mean? I'm not doing anything special, though?"

Kang Jin-Ho's genuinely puzzled reaction only plunged the demonic cultivators into a deeper pit of dumbfoundedness.

As ever, Kang Jin-Ho remained oblivious as he continued to explain. "I require your absolute best. I want you to bet your lives and train hard to become even stronger than now. That is the fastest way to revive the demon cult and bring prosperity back to it. And it's also the fastest way to strengthen my forces. That's why I'll eliminate any hindrances and obstacles in your path of cultivation."

Everyone slowly nodded as they listened.

"So, train. Cultivate. I will create the paths for you to grow stronger. I'm not talking about cultivation methods, either. No, I will create the ideal environment, too. The path I will create will reward you according to how much effort you put in. So, anyone who wishes to follow me, do not hesitate."

"E-excuse me...!" Zhu Gang hurriedly raised his hand.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at him. "You may speak."

Zhu Gang nervously gulped his saliva after getting the demon emperor's permission, then cautiously spoke up. "It's not like I'm doubting your promise, my liege, but..."

"Skip the useless preamble, okay?"

"Y-yes, sir! Ahem. Y-yes, I get what you're trying to say, my liege. However, it's not like there are only a handful of us, you know? Is it really possible to pay monthly salaries and even replace places to stay for all these people?"

Now that was a fundamental question that directly went for the heart of everyone's uncertainty. However, Kang Jin-Ho only needed one answer to ably drop-kick all the other questions into next Sunday.

"I'm rich."

"...!"

"And a lot richer than you can imagine."

Bizarre flames began burning within Zhu Gang's eyes just then. Although the prophecy's true meaning wasn't what he expected... Actually, it missed his expectations by a country mile, but! At least he was sure of this one thing now.

‘That prophecy... It's all been true!’

The reality turned out to be even more outrageous than the prophecy he grew up listening to. They all thought that it'd be the descent of the one-and-only demon emperor, but the person descending was actually a welfare angel of salvation! An angel with a loaded bank account, no less!

"W-where can I apply, my liege?!"

The previously neatly arranged lines broke down in the blink of an eye as the frenzied demonic cultivators all rushed toward the platform. They started shoving, pushing and pulling from every direction to turn this area into a pandemonium in an instant.

At this passionate response reminiscent of a popular idol's live concert, Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head in confusion before asking Chang Min next to him. "What's gotten into them?"

"..."

How would I know that, my liege?

Oh, my dear demon emperor, you...

1. One yuan is roughly 13.6 US cents. ☜