Chapter 615. Agitating (5)

“Since I haven't lost my will to fight, will you face me in a fair duel?! I'm dying to thrust this sword into your throat as we speak, you see!” Goh Seong-Hyeon loudly roared, his expression distorted to resemble a furious demon.

His disciples collapsed on the ground were... dead! Indeed, this battle had produced fatalities. Disciples he had nurtured like his own kids were... On the ground, unmoving!

Although Goh Seong-Hyeon was relieved to see some of his disciples fleeing this place as that meant they would get to extend their lives, over half of the defenders had already collapsed on the ground unconscious in the span of a few deep breaths!

And half of the collapsed must be no longer with the living, too...!

Tears began trickling down from the corners of Goh Seong-Hyeon's eyes. “Answer me! Are you going to face me now!”

Kang Jin-Ho stared expressionlessly at Goh Seong-Hyeon.

The elder continued to roar. “Answer me, dammit! You stinking son of a b*tch! How can you mercilessly kill all these people even though they haven't done anything to you?!”

“I killed them?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head, a derisive smirk slowly floating up on his lips. “That's weird. I didn't kill them. You all did.”

Goh Seong-Hyeon flinched nastily at that.

“I've already warned you people, haven't I? I told you to get out of here if you don't want to die. Wasn't it your choice to remain here?”

“...Are you telling us, proud warriors, to turn tail and run?!”

“Why not? Is it too humiliating for you?” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled derisively again.

Humiliating? Really? People who casually spoke of humiliation and shame mostly likely hadn't received the lesson on how scary the world truly was.

In order to keep his neck, Kang Jin-Ho had to repeatedly flee and run. To dodge deadly blades coming for his back, he even threw himself into dirty mud to hide. And there was a time he had to jump off a cliff to survive, too.

Fleeing was humiliating? Now that was a wonderful dogsh*t of an argument. The real humiliation was dying. More specifically, dying at your enemy's hands!

One had to be alive first to be able to do anything.

“Now you answer me,” Kang Jin-Ho quietly growled. “Are you going to praise these dead people?”

“...!” Goh Seong-Hyeon sucked in a deep breath.

“Are you going to praise them for not running away and bravely fighting back?”

Goh Seong-Hyeon faltered, unable to say anything. Of course he couldn't praise anyone. He knew the cruel truth, after all.

There was no such thing as a praiseworthy death in this world. One might be moved enough to applaud the sacrifice of another person they weren't emotionally connected with. However, they would never do that when one of their acquaintances met with a praiseworthy death.

If only... If only they had fled! If only these martial artists didn't spew that nonsense about righteousness and chivalry and ran for their lives...!

'I... I've killed them...'

Goh Seong-Hyeon's teachings had driven these martial artists to their deaths. If only he hadn't spouted his habitual nonsense about justice and all that, these young people would still be alive.

That realization mercilessly ripped Goh Seong-Hyeon's heart apart.

“Did I...?” Goh Seong-Hyeong gasped painfully, but Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly stared back. “I did all this...”

Kang Jin-Ho silently closed the distance before powerfully grabbing Goh Seong-Hyeon's face. Then, he slowly lifted the elder up into the air.

“Kkuh-wuk...!” Goh Seong-Hyeong grunted in pain.

“You're responsible for your own choices. That's why you don't need to take responsibility for these people. That is nothing more than a misplaced guilty conscience.”

Crunch!

Kang Jin-Ho's fingers dug into Goh Seong-Hyeon's skull.

“No need to agonize about their fate. That is not your responsibility. No, you only need to worry about one thing... And that is paying the price for not running away.”

Pop!

After the chilling noise of a ripe watermelon bursting resounded in the night air, Goh Seong-Hyeon's headless corpse tumbled to the ground. Kang Jin-Ho casually dusted his hand to remove the blood, then turned around to leave.

'What a crappy feeling this is.'

This encounter reminded him of the orthodox sect bastards from ancient Zhongyuan. Specifically, those bastards in the higher ranks who busy yapped on about justice and righteousness while sending their underlings to their deaths. And they had the galls to grieve over the losses of lives!

Of course, Kang Jin-Ho knew he couldn't completely criticize them for it. That was simply how they lived their lives, after all. Their tears back then had been genuine.

But that only disgusted Kang Jin-Ho more. Hypocrisy would've been better than that. Sadness was never openly permitted for sacrifices made under the justification of the so-called 'great cause', after all!

Kang Jin-Ho turned his head to look at the demonic cultivators. They didn't dare meet his sharp glare and hurriedly lowered their heads. Their boiling hearts pounding with excitement only until a few seconds ago rapidly cooled down.

“We're moving out,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Yes, sir!”

Kang Jin-Ho and his group left the collapsed defenders behind and resumed climbing the mountain. Yi Myeong-Hwan held his breath and cautiously followed to not get on Kang Jin-Ho's nerves, but his heart had regained its excitement and began beating faster and faster. Calming it down was proving to be harder than he bargained for.

'So, this... is demonic cultivation!'

Emotions were rapidly welling up in Yi Myeong-Hwan's chest. And that emotion was fear. He wasn't fearful of someone else but himself.

When he roused up demonic qi in his reserve to the max during the last battle, this incredible and indescribable excitement washed over his entire being. It was as if he had taken a powerful stimulant. His brain functions paralyzed from this powerful sense of exhilaration as if he could do anything he wanted!

And then, this deadly urge to destroy everything before his eyes rapidly took over his senses.

'Is it really okay to keep relying on this?'

The destructive power was undeniable. Yi Myeong-Hwan had experienced it personally now. The past him would've barely defended against three of Jeong Yun-Seong's sword strikes. However, utilizing his demonic qi allowed Yi Myeong-Hwan to one-sidedly toy with Jeong Yun-Seong.

If he had wished for it, he could've quickly ended Jeong Yun-Seong's life, too.

This enormous power...! Something of this magnitude rendered things like diligent progress meaningless. The warrior's way, years of experience... This power could transcend them all!

Jeong Yun-Seong's swordsmanship was much more polished than Yi Myeong-Hwan's own combat technique. Even if the two men possessed an equal-ish level of combat strength... Yi Myeong-Hwan was certain he'd never win against Jeong Yun-Seong in a duel.

However, demonic cultivation erected a wall that Jeong Yun-Seong could not overcome. This situation was similar to how an accomplished boxer who had perfected their craft would still have a rough time overcoming the hurdle of different weight classes. Things like technique would go out the window when a flyweight was forced to fight a heavyweight. Just a single punch from a heavyweight landing over the flyweight's guard would be enough to knock the latter out, after all!

'Yes, I've become stronger!'

Yi Myeong-Hwan's face became flushed with excitement. Yes, that was right! He had become stronger than before.

Kang Jin-Ho's promise of turning those choosing to follow him strong enough not to lose to anyone... had not been a lie. It hadn't been an empty promise!

Yi Myeong-Hwan sneakily glanced at his surroundings and noticed all the flushed, excited faces around him. His fellow demonic cultivators seemed to have finally realized how much stronger they had gotten and were trying hard to suppress their joy from showing up in their expressions.

'Yup, it's over now.'

Yi Myeong-Hwan realized something important just then. Until now, none of them dared to resist or oppose Kang Jin-Ho. The more they cultivated in the demonic arts, the clearer it became that the difference between them and Kang Jin-Ho was overwhelming and insurmountable. The fear from that realization crushed them so much that they dared not talk back to Kang Jin-Ho.

But now... Their obedience would go even beyond that. Now that these men finally realized Kang Jin-Ho had improved their strength to this degree, no one would even think about opposing him from this moment on. At this rate, they might even unhesitantly jump into a pit of hellish flames if Kang Jin-Ho ordered them.

Of course, Yi Myeong-Hwan would most likely do the same, too!

'Still, I... need an opponent to fight!'

It felt like incessant flames were burning inside Yi Myeong-Hwan's throat. The only way to get rid of this thirst was to fight more... To battle lots more enemies! Enemies that he could go absolutely wild against without worrying about consequences!

Pleasure... Yes, this must be pleasure! Nothing was more enjoyable to a martial artist than realizing they were now strong. No amount of wealth or women or even narcotics could instill such an extreme level of confidence!

Just as Yi Myeong-Hwan began smirking deeply, Kang Jin-Ho suddenly raised his voice to address the demonic cultivators. “Do you think you've all become stronger?”

No one dared to reply as they failed to figure out what Kang Jin-Ho implied with his question.

“I asked you if you thought you've become stronger.”

“...Yes, sir.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan couldn't remain mum when Kang Jin-Ho asked them for the second time. So, he hesitantly replied.

“Then, isn't that a relief for you?” Kang Jin-Ho leisurely muttered. “However, I'm sure it's still not enough.”

“...Yes, it's not enough, sir.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan wanted to become even stronger. Stronger! Much, much more than his current attainment!

Knowing what it meant to be strong now, Yi Myeong-Hwan couldn't see himself going back to his old ways of thinking. Even if he regressed to the past, he knew he'd unhesitantly rush back to Kang Jin-Ho and beg to be taught demonic cultivation again.

It should be the same story for everyone else here, too!

Kang Jin-Ho smirked faintly. “In that case, fight. Humans are meant to improve themselves through actual battles. Especially more so for demonic cultivation!”

An uncontrollable sense of exhilaration filled up everyone's chest in an instant.

“However...!” Kang Jin-Ho suddenly threw cold water on everyone just then. “I require people who can fight alongside me. Mindless beasts are useless to me. While fighting against your enemies, you must fight yourselves, too! Anyone who loses themselves... I shall personally end your life.”

“...!”

“Even though what I taught you is incomparably safer and much stabler than other demonic arts, do not forget that it is still a demonic cultivation method. If you lose yourself, you will inevitably become a crazed murderer. Cultivating in demonic arts is a constant battle against yourself. If you're going to die, die as a human being. I'm sure none of you want to die as a crazed beast.”

“No, sir!”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded, the corners of his lips curling up even higher.

'This is better than I expected.'

Demonic arts inevitably paralyzed and dulled a cultivator's sanity. Before reaching the zenith of demonic cultivation, Kang Jin-Ho was no better than a walking, ticking time bomb. This was one of the reasons why he held zero fond memories of the demon cult.

No matter how mild-mannered a demonic cultivator was, they would always be more violent and hot-tempered than orthodox martial artists. And this was why demonic cultivators were shunned by others.

Kang Jin-Ho still could remember all the crap he had to experience while forming the Demon Flames because the members had been so violent and vicious. So much so that he was even forced to destroy the cultivation of several members with his own two hands!

However, these modern-era demonic cultivators were markedly different from the Demon Flames of the past.

'I have to admit, it seems education does play a major part in how a person behaves.'

What could be the difference between ancient Zhongyuan and the modern era? The era might have changed, but humans hadn't. As far as genetic makeup was concerned, people back then and now were still the same. However, the difference was still noticeable.

Even though these modern-era martial artists cultivated in the same demonic arts and received the same training, they remained noticeably more 'human' than the Demon Flames from Kang Jin-Ho's demon cult days. Of course, they were far slower in their rate of growth, but... If given a choice between the two, Kang Jin-Ho would unhesitantly choose the option of sane martial artists every single time.

This was similar to choosing between a rifle that might misfire and blow up as soon as pulling the trigger or a completely-safe pistol.

Besides, the story was similar when comparing the combat potential, too. Only those with sane minds could hope to master higher-level martial art techniques and cultivation methods.

The efficiency of a demonic cultivation method shouldn't last that long. And the importance of one's training and enlightenment would grow more pronounced as a martial artist climbed to higher realms. Those who only relied on their instincts would inevitably run into an unbreakable wall and never advance again.

Kang Jin-Ho had a strong hunch that these men would surpass the Demon Flame someday, even if that might take some time.

'However, the problem I have is the lack of time...'

The story for Kang Jin-Ho remained the same whether it was now or back in Zhongyuan. He simply didn't have the luxury of time. If he was serious about using these men as his personal army, finding a way to speed up their rate of growth was a must.

While thinking about yet another assignment to resolve, Kang Jin-Ho addressed the martial artists following him. “Do not lose your sanity while fighting. Winning without using your brain is meaningless. Every time you attack or block... Memorize how demonic qi flows in your body. This experience will only make you even stronger than before.”

“Yes, sir! We will engrave that lesson in our hearts!”

“Well, then...” Kang Jin-Ho looked up at a higher point on the mountainside. He could see Lee Jung-Geol's private residence not too far away. And the thick fighting spirit and murderous bloodthirst were gushing out of the entire building.

The martial artists behind Kang Jin-Ho... No, the demonic cultivators began to breathe faster and heavier after sensing all that killing intent.

Kang Jin-Ho smirked. When he said these men were more sane, he simply meant they were more rational and less prone to violence than the Demon Flames. That didn't mean these modern-era demonic cultivators were not violent, vicious bastards. Not being as evil as a serial killer didn't automatically mean a murderer would be less heinous, after all!

“It seems that place is filled with prey,” said Kang Jin-Ho. That opened the floodgates of demonic qi to gush out of the demonic cultivators behind him. It was reminiscent of starving beasts drooling nonstop at the sight of delicious prey. “Go. Go and show them... Who they are dealing with!”

When Kang Jin-Ho issued his permission, the demonic cultivator suddenly pounced forward as fast as streaks of electricity. Watching them from behind was like witnessing a shower of black meteors falling on unsuspecting Earth below.

Kang Jin-Ho observed this scene with a great deal of interest before following them.

The darkness of the night was only getting deeper.