Descent of the Demon Master

Chapter 544. Condensing (4)

Sometimes, a few simple words could leave more room for interpretation than thousands of actions. And those innocuous-sounding words had done just that this time as well.

Confronting Kang Jin-Ho...

The impact of those words went beyond one's imagination. It was no different than letting loose the proverbial cat among the pigeons!

'We... fight that man?'

Everyone in the venue recalled Kang Jin-Ho’s figure. Not just any version of Kang Jin-Ho, but the devil-like figure from that fateful night!

Only silence drifted in the room. This icy-cold stillness gripping everyone refused to let them go. No one here dared to break this silence first.

Despite harboring such dissatisfaction in their hearts, none of these men stepped forward to openly voice it because of Kang Jin-Ho's existence. At least half of the folks attending this get-together would've been thinking about how not to anger Kang Jin-Ho while conveying their message.

But now, someone abruptly brought up the topic of eliminating Kang Jin-Ho. No wonder the atmosphere rapidly fell off the cliff and entered the Ice Age.

“...It will be prudent for us to watch what we say,” said one of the old men. “Do not forget that walls have ears, gentlemen. And rats always scurry about in the shadows. Complaining about Assembly Master Bang can be brushed aside as a group of friends simply sharing gossip. However... Going any further than this has the potential of inviting an untold disaster.”

“However, do you see any other way forward?”

“Director Jo!”

“Did I say something wrong?” The man named Director Jo subtly squeezed the table with his trembling hands. “Yes, yes. I know that Kang Jin-Ho is extraordinarily strong. So strong that I wouldn't even dare think about doing something untoward to him. However... That's about it.”

“What do you mean, that's about it?”

“It's exactly as it sounds, gentlemen. That man... is alone. Just one man. It's not like he has a faction or someone who'd fight for him. We only worked together with him in the past because we all had the common goal of attacking the Yeongnam Group. Without that reason, who among us would willingly side with him?”

Everyone's fearful, nervous gaze locked on Director Jo.

“Let's be honest here, shall we! Do I need to remind you of who we are affiliated with? It's the Martial Assembly! We built this place with our blood and sweat! Yes, we did! Assembly Master Bang Jin-Hun wishes to control the Assembly as he wants? Fine, I can live with that. But we now have some random punk, who's not even originally a member of the Assembly, controlling the organization as if he owns it! Are you telling me you're all okay with this situation?!”

Now that was a painful thing to remind them with! The expressions of all the directors and elders crumpled unsightly.

As far as their affection toward the Martial Assembly was concerned, these men were confident of not losing out to anyone. They had dedicated their youths to building this place, so would they calmly accept some random individual swooping in to snatch it away from their hands? Of course not!

“Let me make one thing clear here. Even if an outsider wants to lead us, I won't mind it as long as that person does it in a reasonable, logical manner! We are not that conceited and arrogant, now are we?” Director Jo's sharp voice dug into everyone's ears. “However, demonic arts?! Are you serious? So, the reward for us sacrificing our lives to build the Assembly is watching it get taken over by an outsider, demonic arts proliferating, and foreigners teaching our youngsters their martial arts? This is a crisis that directly threatens the tradition of our Assembly!”

The old men in the room slowly nodded in agreement. However, no one still dared to speak against Kang Jin-Ho.

'Isn't it exceptional?' Lee Jung-Geol mulled in silence after this meeting helped him gain a renewed appreciation of Kang Jin-Ho's power.

He acknowledged Kang Jin-Ho. Not because of the latter's incredible strength, though. No, what impressed Lee Jung-Geol the most was Kang Jin-Ho's foresight.

The attack on the Yeongnam Group must've been planned well ahead of that fateful night. In that case, the Assembly's forces might not have been required back then.

Still, they had been brought in to prevent the Yeongnam Group martial artists from escaping. However, was there a need for that in the first place? When Kang Jin-Ho never planned to wipe the Yeongnam Group out?

If the plan had always been about killing a large number of enemies with a small team of elites to create panic and confusion, thereby minimizing the unnecessary sacrifices... Then, leaving an escape route would've been the correct way to handle this matter. Those who couldn't escape would become desperate and resist even more, after all. The knowledge of an available escape path was more conducive toward creating panic and confusion as many among the enemy would've tried to turn tail and run in the middle of the fight.

In that case... Why did Kang Jin-Ho handle the Yeongnam Group incident that way? The answer was simple: to demonstrate.

To demonstrate his abilities to the Martial Assembly. It was a warning that said if the Assembly became hostile to Kang Jin-Ho one day, it'd suffer the same fate as the Yeongnam Group!

Kang Jin-Ho was asking the Assembly to think about it carefully. Would the organization be able to deal with what Kang Jin-Ho was capable of, as demonstrated on that night?

Obviously, his message wouldn't have been this clear-cut back then. Whether it was done consciously or not, though... Everyone here had received that message. Loud and clear.

Kang Jin-Ho's actions that night didn't create one resolution. He probably thought about many different conclusions from his actions and then created the most beneficial one for himself. And that... was the most frightening thing about Kang Jin-Ho.

One must never be hostile toward someone like that. As proof, one only needed to take a look at Lee Jung-Geol. The price of choosing to become Kang Jin-Ho's enemy was Lee Jung-Geol losing everything and being forced into the background.

Lee Jung-Geol's current role had been reduced to providing financial and pragmatic advice to Bang Jin-Hun on leading the Martial Assembly. Or resolving some headache-inducing matters behind the doors for Bang Jin-Hun. That was about it.

'Yes, I'm also somewhat dissatisfied by this.'

Lee Jung-Geol had resolved himself back then. The defeated had no choice but to stick to the role given. If he couldn't accept that, Lee Jung-Geol would've never admitted to his loss or just retired on the spot. However, he did accept it. He even understood how the flow of events would unfold for him.

Until the introduction of Lee Hyeon-Su to the scene, that was. This was a variable Lee Jung-Geol had not anticipated.

Bang Jin-Hun might have taken over the leadership spot, but his ability to run an organization was lacking. Without Lee Jung-Geol's assistance, he wouldn't have been able to operate a massive entity like the Martial Assembly. Even if Cheon Tae-Hun, Bang Jin-Hun's trusted aide, was there to help him, this story wouldn't have changed much.

This had always been Bang Jin-Hun's shortcoming, even when he first began opposing Lee Jung-Geol's rule as the Assembly Master. The executives and managers were all in Lee Jung-Geol's pocket, so joining hands with him was the only way to ensure the stable operation of the Assembly.

On top of that, more problems would've been created while uniting with the defeated Yeongnam Group. In that case, Lee Jung-Geol's presence would've been even more appreciated than ever before.

That had been one of the reasons why Lee Jung-Geol decided to throw his lot in with Kang Jin-Ho. On the surface, it looked like Lee Jung-Geol was willingly stepping down from the Assembly Master position. However, with him still holding onto all the actual influence of that position, did it really matter who was sitting inside the Assembly Master's office?

However, Lee Hyeon-Su's entrance to the scene threw a wrench into Lee Jung-Geol's plans.

As it turned out, Lee Hyeon-Su was a shockingly capable administrator. In the proverbial blink of an eye, he seized the operational authority of both the Assembly and the Yeongnam Branch. And he never antagonized Bang Jin-Hun in the process, either.

The way Lee Hyeon-Su expertly became Bang Jin-Hun's... No, Kang Jin-Hun's right-hand man in no time deserved all the applause Lee Jung-Geol could give.

The consequence of Lee Hyeon-Su's excellence was Lee Jung-Geol having to give up on his already meager role to the younger man.

'If it wasn't for that brat, I wouldn't even be here, in this room full of old men...'

Lee Jung-Geol was only eighty this year, so the idea of being relegated to insignificance so soon did not sit well with him. Like, none at all! His status had risen too high for its own good, which meant Lee Jung-Geol found it impossible to take on a lesser role.

Even if the waves at the back were meant to push the waves at the front forward, doing it too fast would inevitably lead to a flood. And this place was filled with boiling waves about to cause a severe flood.

Lee Jung-Geol covered his lips while pretending to drink his booze. He didn't want the others to see his expression.

The clamoring voices grew louder until they became shouts.

“Since the situation has reached this far, we can't just sit idly by and do nothing, now can we?!”

“Yes! Even if Bang Jin-Hun is the Assembly Master, we have many directors and elders here! Even the President of a country can't do whatever he wants if his ministers oppose him! We're not living in North Korea or something, after all!”

“He's right! At the very least, we need a process where everyone's opinion is considered first. In that case...! Has anyone among us spoken to Assembly Master Bang recently regarding these issues?”

No one replied to that inquiry. The image of Bang Jin-Hun being an unexpectedly stubborn-as-mule, do-as-he-pleased tyrant began spreading among these old men.

“Former Assembly Master, sir! What are your thoughts on this matter?”

Lee Jung-Geol narrowed his eyes. “Even if you ask me...”

“You've been diligently leading our Assembly for decades, sir. While you were at the helm, we didn't have to worry about unruly noises like this. But now, look at this messy state of affairs! It's all gone to the dogs, I tell you!”

Lee Jung-Geol had to work extra hard to suppress his laughter.

'Seriously? You think we didn't have any problems in the past?'

It hadn't been all that long since Lee Jung-Geol's faction and Bang Jin-Hun's people put down their weapons and made peace. But now, what was that man saying? There hadn't been any so-called unruly noises back then?

What a stupid thing to say that was. Problems were always present, regardless of the era or who was in charge. What was different about this particular problem was that... These old men happened to be the victims this time.

Lee Jung-Geol had been doing his best not to end up like these idiots. Thinking and acting like these men would get him nowhere. So, he needed to be calmer. More objective. More calculating.

“For sure... Assembly Master Bang's way of deciding everything by himself is a little unacceptable. I agree with you all,” said Lee Jung-Geol while slowly rubbing his chin.

“Yes, sir!”

“It is wholly unacceptable, sir!”

“There are two ways to resolve this problem,” Lee Jung-Geol muttered quietly, then stopped talking for a little while. His aim was to heighten this atmosphere even more. Once he confirmed that everyone's undivided attention was on him, Lee Jung-Geol cleared his throat and continued to speak. “The first and obvious way is through dialogue. I could directly speak to Assembly Master Bang regarding all of your accumulated dissatisfaction. Since he's a reasonable man, I foresee that some of our issues will be addressed right away. Although, not every one of our concerns will be resolved that way.”

The old men in the room frowned slightly in dissatisfaction.

Of course, Lee Jung-Geol knew already. He knew that these men didn't want to hear about such a... peaceful resolution. Even if Bang Jin-Hun was the Assembly Master, therefore their boss, he was still young enough to be their first disciple. No one here was afraid of speaking their mind to someone from the younger generation, even if he happened to be their boss!

Lee Jung-Geol raised his voice again. “However...! That method is somewhat lacking in effectiveness. Although I do not wish to acknowledge it, our Assembly is not run by Assembly Master Bang, but... Kang Jin-Ho is effectively its leader now.”

“...Yes, you're correct, sir.”

“Gentlemen, speaking directly to Kang Jin-Ho isn't a bad idea. You may not believe me, but that man is shockingly reasonable. That I assure you. However... Would he and Bang Jin-Hun care enough about us, the directors and elders? Regrettably, I do not think that will be the case.”

“Yes, Former Assembly Master, sir! If they cared about us, we wouldn't be treated like invisible air.”

“He's right, sir!”

“Which leaves us with the second option, then. But...” Lee Jung-Geol clamped his mouth shut.

This was how politics worked. A politician should never utter words that might risk his position. There was a massive difference between Lee Jung-Geol saying the required things and leading these old men forward on his own accord and these people appointing him as their leader without him asking for it. And if he waited a little bit, someone among the crowd would always rise up to perform the latter role.

“We... need to eliminate Kang Jin-Ho.”

Everyone's attention immediately shifted to the owner of that voice, Director Jo.

His expression was as stiff as it could get. “The way I see it, our Assembly is poisoned by Kang Jin-Ho. If we don't do something right now, that poison will spread to the rest of the body in the blink of an eye.”

Other directors and elders began questioning Director Jo.

“However... Kang Jin-Ho is trusted by Assembly Master Bang, isn't he? No, wait. In this situation, would it be more correct to say it's the other way around...?”

“The best way to eliminate the poison is to gouge out the affected part altogether. Blindly searching for an antidote and wasting time will only allow the poison to spread to the heart and kill us all.”

“...But, isn't that the problem we don't know how to solve? We don't have a way to cut that poisoned part off the Assembly's body, after all!”

Director Jo subtly raised his head. “It's... not our role to figure that part out, gentlemen. Since when did we concern ourselves with such matters? After all, we don't have the requisite abilities to do that.”

“Then, who?”

“Well, we've always entrusted the thinking part to our trusted leader, haven't we? Our job has always been acting as his hands and feet. And we only have to do our best to carry out his plans. That's how our Martial Assembly has operated for years, no? Not this perverted version of the Assembly, but the pure one that we all remember!”

Director Jo's manipulative words were good enough to redirect everyone's attention back to Lee Jung-Geol.

The one whose job was to 'think' about such matters... The one meant to lead them forward! Everyone here knew that was Lee Jung-Geol's role.

Lee Jung-Geol coughed to clear his throat. “You're asking me to take on a considerable burden, gentlemen.”

“But, sir. You're the only one who can do this.”

“...In that case, I'd like to ask something first before moving forward with this discussion.” Lee Jung-Geol got ready to test the waters. He could tell now was the time. That he should go for the jugular! “What if I told you that... I know of a way to deal with Kang Jin-Ho? What will you do?”

The atmosphere in the room rapidly became icy.