Descent of the Demon Master
Chapter 729: Migrating (4)

"Master."

Kang Jin-Ho opened his eyes when Vator called out to him. He glanced at the big man. "What's the matter?"

"You look exhausted."

"Hmm..."

If anyone other than Vator said that, Kang Jin-Ho could have easily brushed it aside. However, it was impossible to fool Vator's eyes.

Kang Jin-Ho dismissively shrugged his shoulders. "A lot of things required my attention lately, and it seems I've accumulated a bit of stress as a result."

"Hmm…" Vator furrowed his brow, clearly unhappy with the situation. "Master, I'm aware you're painting a bigger picture. However, do not forget that you're the one holding the brush. If the act of painting this picture harms your health... It'll never be finished."

"...It's not as bad as that," Kang Jin-Ho waved his hand dismissively. At the same time, a wry smirk formed on his face.

'Everyone is lecturing me lately.'

Here was probably the biggest difference between this life and the last one. Back when he was still referred to as Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor, no one dared to speak directly to Kang Jin-Ho. Even though he never forbade such things or punished those who did speak to him that way, that fearful atmosphere still hung around him.

'I guess... It was because of Azure Demon.'

Kang Jin-Ho currently didn't have a confirmed second-in-command. In other words, the 'middle step' people had to go through first before addressing Kang Jin-Ho did not exist.

However, Azure Demon was that confirmed second-in-command in the past. Most reports or advice meant to reach Kang Jin-Ho's ears were usually handled by Azure Demon.

Azure Demon wanted to decrease Kang Jin-Ho's burden, and this was his way of showing his concern and goodwill, but as far as results were concerned... It was the same as putting blinkers and earplugs on Kang Jin-Ho.

In the end, Kang Jin-Ho became isolated from the people below. The only source of contact left for him after that was the handful of the Demon Flames and the fearful gazes of the cult believers who still respected him and tried to obey his commands.

'I was an idiot back then.'

Kang Jin-Ho swore not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

He was unable to predict what all these changes would do to the demon cult. The odds of things working out favorably were there, of course. Unfortunately, believing that everything would turn out okay was an act of a fool.

As was the case with all things in this world, pain would always accompany transformations. No matter how correctly everything was handled, it was impossible to avoid chaos and confusion during upheavals and transformations.

'Besides, no one can say for sure that this is the right course of action, anyway.'

Even though Kang Jin-Ho said all those righteous-sounding things to Chang Min earlier, he had no confidence that they were on the right track. He had to believe that it was.

Strength and coercion were the most useful tools to him right now. Kang Jin-Ho needed to finish everything in the shortest time possible, so the simplest method was to take everyone willing to follow him to Korea, train them like there was no tomorrow, and then put them to work like slaves.

He shouldn't worry about the financial situation or overworking these people to death. If they all kicked the bucket in the line of duty, as long as they had been pulling their weight... It'd be seen as investments paying off.

However... What would doing that leave him with in the end?

Kang Jin-Ho had no thoughts of saying some cliched stuff like how the process was just as important as the result itself. To him, results were unimaginably more important than the process of getting there.

Without results, you couldn't even talk about whether the process was right or wrong. Without achieving a result, no one would care about your process.

Kang Jin-Ho's concern was not about doing things the right way. He firmly believed that, even if the process was harsh and inhumane, it'd still result in something better for everyone in the end. Even if the basis of his belief was flimsy at best.

Knock, knock...

Kang Jin-Ho turned his head toward the door. "Come in."

Chang Min opened the door and respectfully entered. "My liege."

"Mm. I'm on my way," said Kang Jin-Ho, then leisurely got up.

That was when Chang Min and Vator's glare collided mid-air.

"You got lucky, old fart," Vator grunted. "Next time, things won't end so easily for you."

"Hmph. A big fella like you can't even act like a man, I see. No one is more unsightly than a brat who can't accept his loss," Chang Min sharply muttered.

"My loss? After I left you in a state where you should be grateful to me for not breaking any of your bones?"

"You brat. You said you're from Mongolia, right?"

"...Mm? That's right. So what?"

"Be honored, you brat. Even though you're an uncouth Mongolian marauder, I've still turned you into the symbol of Zhongyuan, a panda bear! That eye patch suits you quite well! Kuh-hahahaha!"

"You stinking old fart!"

"You oversized uncouth marauder!"

That was when Kang Jin-Ho finally intervened by slightly raising his hand. Once he garnered the two men's attention, he quietly addressed them. "Yes, I acknowledge that men need to set a pecking order."

"..."

"I also understand that since you two couldn't finish it, you still want to have a go again to replace the winner. And I even understand the immature desire to prove who is stronger than the other. I'm the same as you two, after all."

"Master?"

"...My liege."

"However," Kang Jin-Ho frowned, his voice more withdrawn than before. "The right time and place also exist for such things. If you claim to be human but still can't figure out now isn't the time or place, are you sure you're humans, not beasts? Do you get my drift?"

"...Yes, I do."

"Yes, my liege."

Vator and Chang Min flinched and quietened down after Kang Jin-Ho admonished them in a quiet voice.

Kang Jin-Ho continued to warn them. "If you raise a fuss about demonstrating your martial prowess again in my presence, I will personally teach you how trifling your strength actually is. Understand?"

Vator and Chang Min sheepishly looked away, unable to say anything. They weren't trying to express their displeasure through silence, though. It was just that they didn't dare open their mouths at the pressure emanating from Kang Jin-Ho!

Vator's trembling eyes landed on Kang Jin-Ho.

'He's gotten stronger again?'

Obviously, he already knew Kang Jin-Ho had gotten even stronger since their duel. Didn't Vator say that Kang Jin-Ho was improving at a phenomenal rate with his own mouth?

However, the pressure Kang Jin-Ho gave off far exceeded Vator's estimation, and the big man reflexively clenched his fists tightly.

If he worked together with Chang Min, could they win against Kang Jin-Ho in a fight? Not in a spar but an actual fight to the death?

Chang Min was strong enough to fight Vator to a stalemate. So, if they worked together, couldn't they defeat Kang Jin-Ho somehow?

Vator's head shouted that yes, it was possible. However, his instincts were warning him not to even try.

'How is this even possible?'

Vator couldn't comprehend this existence called Kang Jin-Ho.

Getting stronger—improving one's cultivation—wasn't like retrieving a hidden cache of emergency funds from under the mattress. Even if Kang Jin-Ho used to be so much stronger in the past, the improvement in cultivation didn't happen with only one's memories or experiences. The 'obvious' process of training one's body and reproducing the old comprehensions must accompany the cultivation process.

'Think about it for a second!'

If a man who had scaled a mountain before attempted to climb it again, he should have an easier time than his first attempt. However, that didn't mean he could fly up to the summit, now did it?

Regardless of how much experience he had, the climber had to use his two feet. Could he reach the summit several times faster than everyone else just because he had conquered this mountain before? Obviously not! Such a thing was realistically impossible.

If it was, returners would have taken over this world by now!

In reality, returners, more often than not, failed to regain the strength of their past lives. The reason for that was simple enough—they had no need to work as hard as before.

After being lulled by the conveniences of the modern era, returners would no longer see the need to bet their everything to become as strong as in the past. Some even entirely gave up on the pursuit of martial arts as a response to how insanely tough their past lives had been.

Their mindset shouldn't come as a surprise. The pursuit of martial arts didn't immediately reward you the more you cultivated and trained, after all. It wasn't like a video game where investing time and money to acquire more exp automatically led to your character leveling up.

Some people might say that if they could go back in time and study, entering famous universities would be a cakewalk. However, if those people were really sent back in time, they would never reach their ultimate goal. That was because someone not accustomed to working hard wouldn't suddenly become a hard worker after their body became younger.

Returners knew better than most people how much they had to give up and how much hard work was required to gain strength. And how painful the process actually was, too. In that sense, it shouldn't come as a surprise that so many of them were reluctant to walk this path again after returning to the modern era.

However, what was up with Kang Jin-Ho?

Vator had never witnessed Kang Jin-Ho training like mad before. Sure, he seemed to devote most of his free time to meditating, but... But, if one could become super-strong through meditation only, who would want to go through harsh training?

Despite the obvious lack of physical training, Kang Jin-Ho was still getting stronger at a truly frightening rate.

Their battle took place only a short time ago. But the small difference between Kang Jin-Ho and Vator had grown during that brief window of time to become a yawning chasm that the big man wouldn't even dare try to cross!

'Just how much stronger are you planning to become, master?'

Vator had a hunch. If Kang Jin-Ho really was that Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor, the unmatched, unrivaled demonic cultivator responsible for ushering in the dark ages in history called Dao of Demonic Under the Heavens...! Then, he should be strong. And he should become stronger in the future, too.

Even then, wasn't this way too fast?

How was it possible to chase after the peak of strength he had reached in the past life this quickly? When he must've spent decades cultivating back then? And...

And what would happen after Kang Jin-Ho regained all of his former strength?

Vator's expression crumpled as an unyielding fighting spirit burned brightly in his heart.

'I have not given up yet!'

The fact that he was loyal to Kang Jin-Ho hadn't changed. However, Vator simply could not sit back and let himself stagnate after that defeat to Kang Jin-Ho. This was the matter of his pride as a martial artist!

Unlike Vator, though, it seemed Chang Min felt Kang Jin-Ho's strength through his entire body and was deeply moved by the experience. Watching him shudder uncontrollably like that made Vator wonder if his emotional state had been uncalled for.

"M-my lieeeege!"

Kang Jin-Ho grimaced and took a step back. "...Stop looking at me like that."

"Yes, I will obey!" Chang Min bowed, then stared back at Kang Jin-Ho with eyes filled with

envy and awe.

'Indeed, as expected of my liege!'

When Chang Min first met Kang Jin-Ho, the demon emperor's strength was nothing to write home about. Even though Chang Min was confident that the one and only Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor had finally descended, it was also true that he was stealthily worried about someone that weak having enough strength to guide the demon cult to prosperity once more.

That was why he wanted to join Kang Jin-Ho's side as his escort as soon as possible and spread the lost demonic arts among the cult believers.

But now? Chang Min was now thoroughly convinced.

'I was being disrespectful!'

With the descent of the demon emperor, Chang Min was no longer in a position to make plans. As a matter of fact, he no longer had the right to make any decisions! Only the demon emperor had the authority to decide on the future direction of the demon cult.

Why? Because Kang Jin-Ho was the one-and-only Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor!

Without a doubt, this noble being would soon regain his martial prowess that helped him become a legend. And then, he'd guide the demon cult into prosperity. With that, the name of the demon cult would echo proudly within heaven and earth once more!

Just like how things were back in the ancient past!

Kang Jin-Ho turned toward the doorway. "Let's go."

"Yes, my liege!"

Kang Jin-Ho took the lead, and Vator and Chang Min making determined faces silently followed behind. It was as if they were loyal retainers of a king. Or maybe royal guards escorting their liege!

Behind Kang Jin-Ho was a duo of dignified white-haired old expert and a giant with a physique unmatched in the entire world. Anyone would gasp in shock and admiration at this spectacular sight.

Unfortunately, there was one person in this room who couldn't enjoy this spectacle worthy of a museum-piece painting.

"Uhm, e-excuse me...?" Zhang Dajing dazedly reached out. However, after failing to touch anything tangible, his hand slowly faltered. "I, I'm also here, you know...?"

Please don't treat a living, breathing human being as invisible air! Please!

Zhang Dajing listlessly pushed himself off the chair and chased after the heroic trio. Even though being treated as invisible air was depressing, that didn't mean he wanted to remain in that office all by himself, either! He was kind of scared, after all!

"L-let me go with you!"

Zhang Dajing hurriedly chased after Kang Jin-Ho.