Chapter 1130. Approaching (5)

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Vator and called out to him.

“Vator?”

The big man briefly bowed at Kang Jin-Ho.

“How is the demonic cultivation going for your pupils?”

“It’s going well, master. Most have mastered the demonic cultivation up to the fourth level. Their progress has inevitably slowed down as their realms continue to improve, but it's still within expectations.”

“

Mm

...!”

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow ever so slightly.

Anyone mastering the Iron Blood Demon Monarch Art up to the fourth level would have been seen as a strong demonic cultivator even in Zhongyuan of the ancient past. Maybe not on the level of the demon cult's elites, but still strong enough to easily surpass the regular cult members, at least!

Securing such powerful combat forces when they knew Japan was about to invade them was great news, indeed.

“Any problems?”

“Kids have become a bit more violent and hot-blooded,” said Vator with a casual shoulder shrug. “However, not to the extent of being out of control. It can’t be helped since they are mastering demonic cultivation.”

Demonic cultivation eroded a person’s humanity away.

Kang Jin-Ho worked on the cultivation to minimize the dangerous parts as much as possible. However, a demonic cultivation technique with its nature amended to be less demonic could no longer be called a demonic cultivation technique.

Demonic cultivation was meant to reward you with the best possible effectiveness for daring to shoulder its associated risks. Eliminating the risk factors could boost the safety and stability aspect of a cultivation method, but it'd also cause the explosive nature unique to the demonic cultivation to weaken or disappear altogether.

“Vator, I want you to step up your monitoring and controlling of your pupils,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Got it.”

“However, it won’t only be you. Lee Hyeon-Su?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Compile a complete, exhaustive list of who’s mastering demonic cultivation. If anyone is living outside the HQ, tell them to move into dorms right away.”

“Understood, sir!” Lee Hyeon-Su grimly nodded.

The demonic cultivation the Assembly’s martial artists were mastering was definitely a lot ‘safer.’ So the odds of them causing serious incidents should be a lot lower than their ancient counterparts in Zhongyuan, who got corrupted to the core by demonic cultivation.

However, did that make them less dangerous? Of course not!

Society had changed a lot since ancient times.

Demonic cultivators going berserk and murdering a handful of people didn't cause much of a stir back in ancient Zhongyuan. People died for no reason in those days, after all.

An entire village disappearing from a bandit raid happened fairly regularly. Meanwhile, gangs of armed highwaymen usually took their victims' lives along with their valuables.

Sometimes, a plague would sweep through a town and completely wipe it out of existence. And people getting into a minor altercation in the middle of a street back then might suddenly yank out their knives and start stabbing each other.

The significance of a few people dying in such a world was completely different than the same number of people kicking the bucket in the modern era.

Comparatively speaking, murders in the ancient Zhongyuan occupied the same level of significance as alcohol-related crimes in the modern era.

That's why the current-day demonic cultivators creating fewer issues did not mean they were less dangerous.

Actually, it'd be safer to assume that the degree of danger had gone up way higher, instead!

“It’s about time they start losing focus,” Kang Jin-Ho calmly muttered.

Humans were all like this. Even if they had resolved themselves and swore to see things through till the end, time would always erode away their resolutions and willpower.

Didn't most people's New Year resolutions last only for a few days at most? Anyone who could stick to their promises for longer than three days deserved a hearty praise.

A resolution was a lot more frail than most people believed.

Even if humans prepared themselves to throw their lives away, that resolution would remain fleeting. For such creatures to stick to their resolutions, they must continuously chide and remind themselves over and over again. If doing so was not feasible, for some reason, they should at least get someone else to do it for them.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Yi Myeong-Hwan next. “What about the Demon Flames?”

“When looking only at their conditions, you could say their story is far more serious than everyone else, but...” Yi Myeong-Hwan smiled bitterly. “We’ve been trying to tire them out completely every day so that they won't cause a problem outside, sir. They’ve been getting drilled hard for around eighteen hours per day. If anyone still has enough energy left to cause trouble after that... Unfortunately, that's not someone we can stop with our current powers.”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded in silence. For sure, tiring the demonic cultivators out to the point of complete exhaustion was certainly an effective management method.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

“Still, sir. We need to consider this one other thing. Tiring them out physically is one thing, but their accumulated mental stress isn’t something we can do anything about. How should I describe this situation... Mm... They are getting frustrated? Something like that?”

Demonic cultivation caused the cultivators to crave violence and bloodshed. Or, more correctly, it made the cultivator crave battles. They thirst after the extreme excitement and exhilaration experienced during intense combat situations.

Unfortunately, no amount of training could produce such exhilaration.

Kang Jin-Ho smirked softly. “So, they need to vent their stress soon? Is that it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Got it. I’ll stop by soon.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan smiled awkwardly. To think he'd demand something like this first from Kang Jin-Ho!

The one person the Demon Flames feared the most was Kang Jin-Ho. However, they also waited ardently for Kang Jin-Ho to show up.

In the past, they waited for his arrival because of the anticipation of learning directly from him. However, the purpose of their wait had changed somewhat recently.

To them, Kang Jin-Ho was like a perfect unbreakable sandbag that could not get hurt no matter how many times the Demon Flames attacked with their full power. Better still, he didn’t just defend against their attacks but also countered appropriately, allowing them to feel the exhilaration of a real battle, too!

Such a “sparring” might not be as intense as a real battle. However, only Kang Jin-Ho could make them feel the maximum level of tension even in such a situation!

Kang Jin-Ho smirked. “Pacify them for the time being.”

“Understood, sir!”

“Because they will get their chance to cut loose pretty soon.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan subconsciously licked his lips when he heard that. And Lee Hyeon-Su frowned slightly at this sight. He could see a hint of crimson light flicker within the eyes of the Demon Flames’ official leader.

‘Yup, this guy is definitely a goner now.'

In the past, Yi Myeong-Hwan had this naive and obedient side to him, but these days? With every passing day, the air he oozed grew sharper and fiercer. So much so that even Lee Hyeon-Su felt a bit reticent about having fun at Yi Myeong-Hwan’s expense these days.

But it wasn’t only him, though. As time passed by, the Demon Flames were steadily morphing into true demonic cultivators.

Any improvement to the Assembly’s combat strength was ultimately a good thing. Even so...

Vator’s disciples also mastered demonic cultivation and had gotten considerably stronger, but the Demon Flames were even stronger than them. At this point, no one would scoff at the notion of the Demon Flames being the strongest combat unit in the entire Martial Assembly.

‘Which means I gotta be more strict with restricting them!’

Lee Hyeon-Su grimly resolved himself. No one knew when these crazies would go berserk and cause an unholy mess, after all!

Kang Jin-Ho continued his Q&A session. “Chang Min?”

“Yes, my liege!”

“What is going on with the cult believers?”

“They are pouring their all into training, my liege! Although many still are anxious about living in this foreign land, most family members have joined them now and even finished acclimatizing to life in this place!”

“Hmm... As for their progress rate?”

“Everyone is mastering the provided demonic cultivation at an encouraging rate. Letting the elders learn it first proved the correct solution, my liege!”

“Got it. Keep reminding them to work harder and not to slack off.”

“Understood, my liege! No one will dare let laziness get the better of them!”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded. “And one more thing...”

“Yes, my liege!”

“I heard some not-so-nice stories about your camp recently. What happened?”

Chang Min got up from the chair, then suddenly started kowtowing on the floor. “My liege! The demon cult must never be a place of gentleness and peace. It has granted the cult believers a new life and new homes to finally live like human beings. So, anyone daring to break the cult's doctrine must be punished accordingly!”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly.

He agreed that the demon cult was called the demon cult for a reason. A place's name usually contained its identity.

The poor relationship between the cult believers and followers of other religions in ancient Zhongyuan wasn't the reason why the demon cult was called a cult, not a proper organized religion. No, it was because it meted out cruel punishment to its believers and non-believers alike. Which served to grow the cult's infamy over the years.

Recently, the cult believers committed several crimes. By the sound of it, they seemed to have broken the rules of both the Martial Assembly and the demon cult. Some brought in forbidden narcotics to sell, while some others slipped out of the residential area and into nearby civilian areas to commit heinous acts.

Unfortunately, news of such things didn't surprise Kang Jin-Ho.

Even though they were remnants of the demon cult, the cult believers also used to live at the bottom of the unforgiving and harsh society called China. Even when kindly described, they couldn't be called good people.

Quite a few of them killed people for a living or sold drugs. Some even got involved in human trafficking, too!

For the sake of its revival, the demon cult had no choice but to unwillingly accept these sorts of people. However, accepting them was obviously conditional. And that condition was for these people to stop being criminals and become full-fledged cultivators from the moment they set foot on Korean soil.

Those who broke that pledge needed to be punished.

The problem here was that the punishment proved far harsher than Kang Jin-Ho had anticipated.

Chang Min was obviously furious at those who dared to break the cult's rules, and to show he meant business, he ripped them apart to death. Not figuratively, either, but he actually ripped them apart, limb by limb!

Chang Min was a gentle, generous father figure to the demon cult believers, but when he lost his cool, he’d morph into a terrifying monster that even the cult elders avoided talking back to.

“Those who dare disobey the demon emperor’s commands do not deserve any mercy, my liege!”

Kang Jin-Ho’s frown deepened. “Even so...”

“And it’s unrealistic to control so many believers with nothing more than cult’s doctrine, my liege! The demon cult has its ways of doing things. Please have faith in me. Allow this loyal servant to carry out your will!”

Kang Jin-Ho sighed deeply.

He knew something like this would happen sooner or later. And that was why he chose not to combine the cult and the Assembly into one and kept them as separate entities.

Chang Min was not wrong. The demon cult was the demon cult. And such an organization had its own ways of handling certain things.

The demon cult survived for over a thousand years because its punishments had always been strict and cruel while its leaders exercised iron-fisted rule over the believers.

What about more modern, more humane ways of handling crime?

The demon cult was teeming with cultivators gone mad from demonic qi, so trying to introduce the rule of law and human rights into such a place would create a hellish criminal organization that made Islamic terrorists look like kindergartners!

“Chang Min...”

“Yes, my liege!”

“I will respect your method,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

Chang Min had steadfastly kept the demon cult going for over a century, even though the organization faced decline after Kang Jin-Ho's death. Arguing about what were the right methods with someone like that was being too disrespectful.

“Still, make sure you deal with the aftermath as cleanly as possible.”

“My liege! I’ll sacrifice my life if I have to! In order to ensure you’re not unduly troubled by our foolish actions!”

Kang Jin-Ho groaned. He oh-so wanted to say that Chang Min didn’t have to sacrifice anything, especially his life, for that.

After that little commotion had calmed down, they moved on to Bang Jin-Hun’s briefing on the progress of online tutoring. Then Wiggins explained the situation with the mages he was nurturing. The final report contained the progress of those who chose to learn Western martial arts from the Chevaliers.

Kang Jin-Ho scanned the people in the room with his withdrawn eyes.

“The overall situation is not bad,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

When objectively viewed, the Martial Assembly was prospering.

While spreading its influence externally, the organization also found its internal stability. Things were improving as quickly as back when Kang Jin-Ho first joined the Assembly and flipped everything on its head.

“However, remember that the bad will always accompany the good. And the bad doesn’t come from the outside. No, laziness and carelessness are the true enemies we must watch out for.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Without a doubt, problems must be festering somewhere in the organization. It’s most dangerous when everything looks fine on the surface. Directors and executives must check and confirm the situation as thoroughly as possible again. Before our Japanese guests arrive, we must ensure everything is ready.”

“Understood, sir!”

Kang Jin-Ho sank deeper into the couch while listening to the spirited roar from the meeting’s attendees.

‘Japan, is it...’

The upcoming confrontation would most likely be an all-out war.

The Martial Assembly already experienced several intense battles until now. But the situation this time was different. It’d be the Assembly’s first all-out war where every member must pitch in.

Overcoming this hurdle should lead to the Martial Assembly acquiring even greater power. The achievement of fighting and winning against the Japanese would instill confidence in the hearts of everyone, and such confidence should serve as more fuel to develop and improve the Assembly even further.

The corners of Kang Jin-Ho’s lips subtly curled up.

‘Things will get more entertaining, then.’

Although Kang Jin-Ho's desire to conquer Japan as punishment ultimately had to be shelved, he didn't feel short-changed anymore. After all, the Japanese kindly chose to waltz right into their own graveyard without Kang Jin-Ho lifting a single finger. Since that was the case, why should he try to stop them?

“Lee Hyeon-Su.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Focus on gaining situational control. So that everyone can go

really

wild without worrying about distractions when the time comes.”

“Understood, sir. We’ll cooperate and coordinate with the military. If necessary, we’ll also even cooperate with the politicians.”

“Good.” Kang Jin-Ho briefly nodded before mouthing a cigarette.

For some reason, he thought he could pick up the acrid odor of blood.

As it turned out, Kang Jin-Ho was unable to lead a normal life outside of the battlefields. Even though the enemy's invasion was pretty much a certainty at this stage, he didn't feel nervous or worried. Not even in the slightest.

In fact, he was getting intensely excited, instead!

When they spotted the chilling smirk on Kang Jin-Ho’s face, the directors and executives reflexively lowered their heads and urgently looked away.