Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1080. Discovered (5)

“The Prime Minister didn’t give off the impression of a cooperative man, but...!”

Lee Hyeon-Su nervously gulped his saliva mid-report.

The conference room's layout or the seating arrangement hadn't changed. Kang Jin-Ho still occupied the seat of honor, while the directors were sitting in their usual spots around him.

However, the vibe in the room had noticeably changed. And it was easy enough to see the cause of this change.

Kang Jin-Ho was reclining relaxedly in his seat, his legs crossed rather casually. His posture seemed pretty much the same as before.

However, the people around him could sense it. They could feel that the air about Kang Jin-Ho had shifted ever so slightly.

‘His expression has reverted to what it used to be.’

Lee Hyeon-Su's first impression when he met Kang Jin-Ho for the first time was that the latter was wearing a mask. Why? Because Kang Jin-Ho seldom showed emotions on his face.

However, Kang Jin-Ho became quite “human” after becoming the Assembly Master and experiencing several events. He laughed a lot more, chatted more freely, and even learned to be mischievous, too.

‘It doesn’t feel like he’s gone completely back to how he used to be, though.’

Lee Hyeon-Su briefly wondered if Kang Jin-Ho had gone back to his emotionless monster days but soon realized that wasn't the case. Even then, something still felt inexplicably different.

“I believe the Prime Minister will try his best to meet our demands.”

Kang Jin-Ho rested his chin on his hand while staring at Lee Hyeon-Su. “So...”

“Yes, sir?”

“Your opinion is?”

Lee Hyeon-Su nervously swallowed his saliva again. “I don’t see a need to think of another plan, sir. The Prime Minister is willing to meet our demands, after all.”

Kang Jin-Ho chose not to urge Lee Hyeon-Su on and quietly waited for the rest of the report.

“However, we all learned one crucial thing from this incident, and that is... There are too many variables.”

Kang Jin-Ho emotionlessly asked, “Variables?”

“Yes, sir,” Lee Hyeon-Su nodded. He swallowed his saliva again before trying to finish his explanation. “Just because one minister changed his mind, our plan nearly went down the toilet in the blink of an eye, sir. It’s... Uhm...”

Lee Hyeon-Su was suddenly stuck for the first time in a while, unable to verbalize his thoughts.

How should he describe his sentiments? That he and the rest underestimated the power wielded by the politicians? That didn’t seem enough to convey his feelings, though.

Kang Jin-Ho cocked his head to the side. “Is it because the Assembly’s power isn’t quite adequate enough yet?”

“...Something like that, yes.”

Lee Hyeon-Su thought that Kang Jin-Ho’s observation was closer to the answer he had been searching for.

Even if the politicians wielded great power, they would still have no choice but to do as told if the Assembly possessed even greater power than them.

“My lord, political power is far scarier than you think,” said Wiggins, his expression graver than usual. “This moment was bound to come sooner rather than later. Even though the martial world is not as restricted by the law as other people, as long as we need a land to live in, we can never be free from the system called the government.”

“Mm...” Kang Jin-Ho nodded while softly grunting.

“However, it's not all doom and gloom, my lord,” Wiggins smiled brightly in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. “We still got what we wanted. And the significance of our existence should have been engraved deeply in politicians’ minds by now. Long-term, we’ll have to be on our toes against the administration. For the time being, though? Things should get resolved fairly easily for us.”

“I see. You say long-term?”

“My lord?”

“What do you think will happen long-term?”

“Every country has gone through a similar process, my lord. The choice they all faced was either the government acknowledging the presence of the martial society and learning to co-exist or trying to completely eradicate it out of the country. Most chose the first option, of course. However, I must remind you that some countries have chosen the latter option.”

Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head. “Sir? Didn’t you say that choosing to eliminate a country’s martial society usually led to a bad outcome? Like, outside forces invading, and...”

“Yes, that I did. However, you mustn’t forget something crucial, Mister Lee.”

“Which is?”

“Humans are not exactly rational creatures,” Wiggins firmly replied. “There are no guarantees that politicians will choose the option that benefits everybody. Even if the odds are in our favor, we must never lower our guard. Blindly placing your faith in strangers and hoping for the best is easily one of the most incompetent things you can do.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Kang Jin-Ho rubbed his chin. “Wiggins?”

“Yes, my lord?”

“What should we do, then?”

Wiggins hesitated slightly. He already knew the answer, but saying it out loud proved a little more difficult than he thought.

‘My mouth is drying up more than usual.’

Every word Kang Jin-Ho said today felt so much weightier and graver than before.

“In my opinion, we should make a few preparations ahead of time, my lord.”

“Be more specific.”

“The current situation won’t affect us greatly. However, that story will no longer be true once the politicians change their minds. They might not be able to eradicate us but cutting off our hands and feet will still be doable within their powers.”

Wiggins sneakily gauged Kang Jin-Ho's reaction for a second before finishing off his recommendation.

“The important thing to remember long-term is getting those people we’re friends with elected and appointed into office.”

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. “You think we should support one of the sides?”

“No, my lord. The odds of 50% is nothing more than a gamble. In order to win this game, we need to ensure that it won’t matter to us who emerges on top.”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded. Wiggins’ recommendation wasn’t difficult to understand. “I see. You want us to support both sides.”

“Indeed, my lord. Although the initial outlay will be quite high, this is a worthy investment for our future in my opinion.”

Kang Jin-Ho continued to nod in silence, then glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su next. “Chief Lee.”

“Yes, Assembly Master!”

“I want you to set up an exclusive department for this task.”

“Sir?" Lee Hyeon-Su blinked in a slight fluster.

“Yes, I can guess that the Assembly doesn’t have anyone capable of analyzing the situation within the political sphere and recommending appropriate countermeasures.”

“Although it is embarrassing to admit this... Yes, you’re right, sir.”

“In that case, recruit some.”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho spoke firmly. “Money is meant to be used. Recruit people that fit our needs and create a department around them. If we're serious about doing this, we should do it properly. Support the department as much as possible so that it can analyze the shifting political trends in real-time and tell us what to do.”

Lee Hyeon-Su bowed, his expression stiff. “I will do as you say, sir.”

Yet another gulp of saliva traveled down his dried throat.

‘He’s genuinely thinking of going all the way.’

Kang Jin-Ho told the Prime Minister that he’d not do anything as long as the line wasn’t crossed. However, what he ordered Lee Hyeon-Su to do just now implied something else.

“Let me clarify myself...” Kang Jin-Ho suddenly spoke again as if he had read Lee Hyeon-Su's mind. “I do not have any thoughts of getting involved in politics.”

Everyone focused their attention on Kang Jin-Ho.

“I'm not going to bite off more than I can chew. And my aim has never been about exploiting the political system, either. Not only do I not have the will, but I also lack the ability to do so. What I'm trying to do here is trying to find ways for us to survive. Remember that when you’re setting your goal.

“Our aim is not about becoming the political heavyweights hidden in shadows but preventing others from sucker-punching us.”

“Understood, sir! We'll engrave it on our hearts!”

Kang Jin-Ho reclined in his seat.

‘It’s not an easy problem to navigate, now is it?’

One precondition could help with resolving things more smoothly.

A country with its administration under the influence of foreign powers could never develop and make progress. History had amply proven this fact.

The rulers of a nation needed to make the best choices available at all times. Their choices might be wrong on occasion, but the cycle of making right and wrong choices was the fuel that kept the human race chugging along.

However, such progress would slow down and stagnation would take hold when those choices developed a certain directionality.

Kang Jin-Ho had absolutely no desire to slow the country’s development for the sake of the Assembly’s own development. Even though his sense of belonging to this country was as faint as it could get, he still recognized himself as a Korean through and through.

Others might not view his actions this way, but regardless of what, Kang Jin-Ho wanted to steadfastly stick to the principle of not retaliating as long as he was left alone.

“Chief Lee Hyeon-Ju,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Yes, sir,” Lee Hyeon-Ju sat up straight and tensely stared at Kang Jin-Ho.

“All the troublesome matters have been dealt with, so wrap up the legalization process as soon as possible.”

“Understood, sir. We’ll get it done before the end of this month.”

Kang Jin-Ho scanned the people inside the conference room. “The rest of you...”

“Yes, sir!”

“We’re upping the intensity. It doesn’t matter if we get dropouts and failures. Push the people under you even harder.”

Bang Jin-Hun sat upright in panic and stared at Kang Jin-Ho. “B-but, sir...!”

“Master!” Vator spoke before anyone else could. “I get what you're thinking of. However, our people are currently mastering demonic cultivation. You know better than us what will happen if a cultivator stumbles in that situation.”

Those walking the path of orthodox cultivation could fall into a severe case of qi deviation if they pushed themselves too hard. However, that wasn’t the only outcome to worry about for a demonic cultivator who misstepped somewhere and fell off the correct path.

For one, their mind could get destroyed. A good example of this was the Fallen, the crazed demonic art practitioner Kang Jin-Ho had to “put down” many moons ago.

Kang Jin-Ho replied flatly, “I've improved the stability of the cultivation techniques, so most of the cultivators should be able to endure.”

“But...”

“You can't take everyone with us on this journey, Vator,” said Kang Jin-Ho, his eyes still and withdrawn. “We're not on some picnic to have fun with family and friends. The threats to our survival are as real as they can get. But we still don’t have enough strength. In that case, we have no choice but to forge ahead even if doing so will create various side effects.”

Vator nodded, his expression hardened and determined. He had to agree that Kang Jin-Ho was right about this one.

‘Yes, we’ve been too soft until now.’

What Vator expected to see back when he decided to trust Kang Jin-Ho and join the Martial Assembly was not this situation. Yes, his strength had improved by leaps and bounds, much more than he initially thought was possible, but what Vator truly wanted was to be involved in something more fierce. More competitive. More on the edge!

‘It seems even I am not immune to peace and tranquility.’

He briefly combed his memories and realized he couldn’t deny it. His old self would have found the notion of cracking jokes and chatting noisily with these people quite ridiculous. And he would have never worried about cultivators getting hurt or dying during their cultivation, either.

Wasn’t that how cultivation was supposed to be? A race where those who couldn’t keep up and maintain their fierceness would inevitably get left behind?

“You are not exempt from this, either,” said Kang Jin-Ho, his expression crumpling a little. “Even if you're directors and instructors now, you must never let up on your own training.”

“Of course. We are doing our...” Bang Jin-Hun sourly muttered, only to hurriedly clamp his mouth shut. That was because Kang Jin-Ho gazed at him as soon as Bang Jin-Hun responded reflexively.

Looking into that cold gaze was enough for him to swallow his words back in a hurry.

Kang Jin-Ho’s eyes were silently asking if Bang Jin-Hun had really been doing his best.

‘...I guess not.’

If this question had been asked of him some time ago, Bang Jin-Hun would have said yes without hesitation. However, he no longer threw his entire being into cultivation. His intensity from when he was trying to establish a new cultivation method for the Martial Assembly was long gone by now.

Why? Because he believed teaching the next generation was more beneficial than improving his own strength.

However, that wasn’t what Kang Jin-Ho was asking about. No, he said he wanted the directors to push the Assembly members even harder while increasing the intensity of their own training regime.

“Sir, I’ll try even harder.”

Such a demand might seem a little cruel. Maybe even unfair. However, it still had to be done if that was what Kang Jin-Ho wanted. That was how the Assembly operated, after all!

“I know it’s not going to be easy,” said Kang Jin-Ho while scanning the directors. “However, sometimes? We don’t have a choice but to push ourselves to the breaking point.”

Bang Jin-Hun weightily nodded. “Understood, sir. We won’t forget.”

Chang Min kowtowed and loudly roared, “My liege! This servant will devote his entire being to upholding your command! And make sure we won’t disappoint you!”

Those who didn’t say anything replied with the sharp, determined glints in their eyes.

Kang Jin-Ho nodded in approval. “Good. You’re all dismissed. You stay, Lee Hyeon-Su.”

The directors got up and filed out of the room except for Lee Hyeon-Su. Once everyone had left, he cautiously asked, “Do you have a separate order for me, sir?”

Kang Jin-Ho smirked just then. And Lee Hyeon-Su reflexively clenched his fists at this sight.

How long had it been? When was the last time he saw that eerie smirk capable of sending deathly chills down someone’s spine?

Merely looking at that smirk was enough to let Lee Hyeon-Su know that Kang Jin-Ho was planning something big.

“Lee Hyeon-Su. There’s something you need to do for me.”

While sensing the temperature in the room plummet, Lee Hyeon-Su weightily nodded in silence.