Chapter 464: Sending Off (4)
“The path of martial arts is very simple,” said Kang Jin-Ho.
He sounded incredibly calm and composed. And that fact felt like a dagger mercilessly stabbing Yi Myeong-Hwan's insides.
“Someone once explained to me that the path of martial arts is about cultivating oneself. That it was never meant to bring others down. Such a thing is just a secondary benefit.”
A martial artist desperately threw a punch at Kang Jin-Ho's face, but the only reward he got was a counterattack to his jaw. The poor martial artist was flung into the air before crashing unceremoniously on the floor.
Bang!
Yi Myeong-Hwan briefly wondered how a human body could produce such a sound after landing painfully on the hard ground.
“What do you all think?” Kang Jin-Ho casually asked.
Obviously, that was a rhetorical question. However, even if he did want an answer, no one dared to give him one. If they did, Kang Jin-Ho's fist would slam straight into their throats!
“Yes, it's all nonsense.” Kang Jin-Ho smirked softly.
“Urgh... Keuh-huh...”
His mocking smirk was accompanied by the pained whimper of his victims. The martial artists sprayed on the ground could only shudder, unable to stand back up.
“If you want to better yourself, why not join a religion?” Kang Jin-Ho asked. “If that's not your preference, you can also burrow a hole in a remote mountainside and become one with nature. The modern era has plenty of useful little things like yoga to keep you occupied, after all. In that case... Why do you need to cultivate yourself while learning about how to better kill someone?”
'How should I know that?!'
Yi Myeong-Hwan yelled in his head. However, it wasn't just him. Everyone listening to Kang Jin-Ho's rant thought the same thing.
Even if everything Kang Jin-Ho said was true, people who fell victim to his punches wanted to flip the proverbial bird at him right now. Which was understandable since... Well, no one wanted to hear a sermon while getting beaten up, now did they!
“In the end... Martial arts are developed for the purpose of killing or suppressing your opponents. That's it. In that case, we need to face the reality, wouldn't you agree? 'How quickly and efficiently can I rip my enemy's throat out?' That is the only thing you must think about. Everything else is secondary. They are useless to you,” said Kang Jin-Ho while staring at the last man standing before his eyes.
That man in question, Yi Myeong-Hwan, could do nothing but stand there, his complexion as pale as a sheet of paper. He had completely lost any will to fight back.
'What... What am I supposed to do here?'
He had already experienced Kang Jin-Ho's strength before. However, that situation and this one were a bit different. That torture back in the interrogation chamber... No, the 'interview room' happened while Yi Myeong-Hwan had let his guard down. He didn't expect something like that to happen, after all.
That was why, if they were to fight for real... Yi Myeong-Hwan thought that maybe, just maybe, he could put up some resistance even if his odds of victory were zero. But now?
'Yup, I was being delusional!'
If they were to fight for real? Sure, he could do that. But his result would still be the same!
Yi Myeong-Hwan forced his unwilling eyes to scan the carnage before his eyes. At his comrades sprayed out on the ground, moaning pitifully in pain!
When the group arrived at an outdoor training field built in the mountain next to the Martial Assembly's HQ, Kang Jin-Ho looked at the participants and issued a simple-sounding order.
“Attack me.”
Although that came out of nowhere, and left the group quite flabbergasted, everyone here understood what Kang Jin-Ho wanted from them. And then... a mini-war broke out afterward.
The result of that skirmish was simple enough to see. The victims were discarded on the ground like used toilet paper.
Despite attacking with everything they had, not a single person managed to touch a hair on Kang Jin-Ho's body. Even though they were supposed to be the elites of the Martial Assembly's younger generation, filtered through several processes for the right to come here...!
This experience taught them the stark reality of the difference in strength between them and Kang Jin-Ho, something they only had a vague idea about until now.
The shock from the realization was much, much worse than what Yi Myeong-Hwan had imagined.
'The difference was this bad?'
Even more demoralizing was the fact that Kang Jin-Ho wasn't wielding any weapons. Yet, so many people still failed to land a single blow on such an opponent!
Rather than the physical pain keeping these martial artists down, it should be the psychological blow playing the bigger role. After all, even Yi Myeong-Hwan, who hadn't been beaten up yet, wanted to get down on his knees right now!
Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes and addressed the defeated crowd. “Why did you wish to become stronger?”
“...”
“Didn't you regale me with that entertaining story about wanting to survive before?”
'Uhm, Mister Kang Jin-Ho... I didn't say that, you know?'
Yes, that was Choi Jin-Yeong, not me. And that motherf*cker is lying face down over there, you know?!
Kang Jin-Ho tutted. “It's all lies.”
“...N-no, sir. I, uh...”
“It's because you want to trample on your enemies.”
Yi Myeong-Hwan immediately clamped his mouth shut when Kang Jin-Ho muttered quietly.
Kang Jin-Ho wasn't finished as he continued to speak, the corners of his lips curling up into a smirk. “You want to taste victory. You want to feel superior. You want to be satisfied with the knowledge of being the strongest in the room. Like a little kid.”
“...”
“However, sometimes... Being immature is the right answer, even if you can't openly say it. Humans tend to dress up their life's mission or goal in some grandiose fashion. Or, at least try to. Even if their goal is shockingly small-minded and insignificant.” Kang Jin-Ho leaned forward and whispered into Yi Myeong-Hwan's ear next. “You only care about winning, right? You want to win against someone stronger than you. And that will give you the right to shout to the world that you are indeed... the strongest under the heavens. You want everyone to kneel down before you in reverence, don't you?”
Yi Myeong-Hwan wanted to say no, that was not what he cared about. However, he couldn't.
Kang Jin-Ho wasn't wrong, after all. The true reason Yi Myeong-Hwan hid deep inside his heart using various excuses was being laid bare by Kang Jin-Ho's discerning eyes.
“Well, that's not so bad, I think,” Kang Jin-Ho smirked, his devil's voice digging into Yi Myeong-Hwan's hearing. “Being honest with yourself isn't a bad thing. Even if some people might find that... a little uncomfortable. However, being honest with yourself at least once in your life might be a worthwhile thing to do, wouldn't you say? Well?”
Suddenly, Kang Jin-Ho grabbed Yi Myeong-Hwan's throat and raised him high into the air.
“Kkeuh-huhk?!” Yi Myeong-Hwan desperately clutched at Kang Jin-Ho's arm choking him and tried to free himself. However, that arm couldn't have been made out of human flesh and bones. No, it had to be made out of solid steel from how it refused to budge an inch!
The scarcely-believable grip strength tightening around Yi Myeong-Hwan's throat threatened to choke the life out of him!
“However, you won't get to fulfill that dream of yours at this rate. You are all no better than trash, you see?”
Plop...!
Kang Jin-Ho let go, and Yi Myeong-Hwan collapsed to the ground. Even if the blow he received wasn't as crippling as his peers, Yi Myeong-Hwan still didn't dare strike back at Kang Jin-Ho.
And it seemed Kang Jin-Ho wasn't worried about retaliation, either. He stopped paying attention to Yi Myeong-Hwan and scanned the surroundings instead. The defeated martial artists were staring back at Kang Jin-Ho, their eyes distant, lifeless. Weak.
Kang Jin-Ho scowled deeply at those eyes. “All of you are pathetic weaklings.”
“...”
“So weak that looking at your pathetic state is enough to give me heartburn. Let me be honest with you all. I always found it humorous that you'd dare call yourselves martial artists. In the era I used to be in, people like you would never ever call themselves martial artists or cultivators. Indeed, they were nothing more than third-rate local hoodlums.”
Kang Jin-Ho wasn't sure if the martial arts had regressed during the transition to the modern era or if Korea was just pathetically weaker than everyone else. Even if he knew the answer, though, it'd still not change the fact that these so-called elites of the younger generation were weaklings.
“And here I am, willingly stepping up to make you all stronger. Like recycling trash. However, even after filtering and throwing out completely useless pieces of trash, I still don't see much hope here,” Kang Jin-Ho tutted before looking down on Yi Myeong-Hwan. “I remember now... You said you wanted to become like me.”
“...Yes, sir.”
“You want my honest opinion?”
“...”
“You are asking for the impossible,” Kang Jin-Ho coldly muttered. His words landed like a thunderclap in Yi Myeong-Hwan's hearing. “And no, that's not simply because you are a piece of trash. It's the limitation of the martial art techniques you've been cultivating. With such a cultivation technique, reaching my level is impossible. You need at least a shovel to dig out a reservoir, not a little spoon.”
Yi Myeong-Hwan's irises powerfully quaked. If that was true, just what... Just what had they been doing all this time?
“Not only that, but you've been cultivating that low-tier technique for too long. This means it's impossible for you to start from the beginning with a different technique now. You could put in a lot of effort to become stronger in that case, yes. But the best you can do will be reaching Lee Jung-Geol's level. Any more than that would be impossible. Your starting foundation is all wrong, after all.”
Kang Jin-Ho's words were flat, even. Not influenced by emotions. He was merely speaking the truth, after all.
Before coming here, Kang Jin-Ho had already finished determining the cultivation techniques of these applicants. Bang Jin-Hun went out of his way to source the so-called 'traditional' cultivation manuals, allowing Kang Jin-Ho to have an easier time studying and seeing through the cultivation methods these younger generation martial artists had been practicing. And the conclusion he arrived at was...
Full of holes.
Shabby, incomplete cultivation methods full of gaping holes as if rats had been gnawing at them. That was the 'true' form of the martial arts these people had been cultivating all this time. Obviously, the state of the techniques wouldn't have started that way, but so much of them must've been lost to time during generations upon generations of inheritance.
Kang Jin-Ho was able to identify this pitiful state since he used to live in Zhongyuan and could guess the original form of the cultivation methods. However, those who believed their cultivation techniques to be complete since the beginning of their martial journey would have no idea.
Only an expert possessing greater knowledge and a higher cultivation realm, like Kang Jin-Ho, could have seen through this problem.
In that case, was it possible to restore these cultivation techniques? Probably. However, restoring the cultivation techniques to their original forms was a separate problem from fixing the martial artists who cultivated using those incomplete techniques. Not even Kang Jin-Ho could do anything about the latter problem.
“So, the conclusion is simple enough,” said Kang Jin-Ho as he scanned everyone. “Becoming as strong as you hoped for is impossible using normal methods. Even if it wasn't me guiding you but someone else, it'll still be a hopeless dream.”
Out of everything Kang Jin-Ho said, only one thing stuck in Yi Myeong-Hwan's mind just then.
'Wait, did he say... normal methods?'
Didn't that mean it was possible through abnormal methods, then?
“Looks like you are quick to catch on,” Kang Jin-Ho smirked when he noticed the light gleaming in the eyes of the martial artists looking back at him. “Indeed, there is one more way. Making a deal with the devil.”
“...!”
Whether it was Yi Myeong-Hwan or the majority of people here, they all immediately figured out what Kang Jin-Ho was saying.
The deal with the devil? That could mean only one thing for martial artists.
Cultivating through the demonic arts!
“You will have to decide,” Kang Jin-Ho slowly pulled out a tome from the waistband of his trousers. “Choose between becoming stronger regardless of the methods available or protecting your noble ideals. My apologies for forcing you to choose again, but only you can make this decision.”
Kang Jin-Ho lightly tossed the tome on the ground.
“This... is the demonic cultivation method you've heard about.”
The attention of everyone instantly landed on the tome.
“Learn that, and you'll become stronger. However, you'll become a demonic arts practitioner from that moment onward. And I'm sure you're all aware of what that means. I won't force you to make your choice. It's all up to you, after all. If you are not interested, all you have to do is leave and go back to your previous life. That is all.”
“...”
“I've shown you your potential paths. And now, the decision is up to you,” said Kang Jin-Ho. With that, he was done. He turned around to leave.
However, just as he tried to descend the mountain, Yi Myeong-Hwan's loud voice stopped him. “Please wait! Sir!”
Kang Jin-Ho frowned deeply and looked back. “Didn't I say the decision is...”
“No, that's not it, but... Is this the only manual you have?”
“...Mm?” Kang Jin-Ho blinked his eyes.
Yi Myeong-Hwan scratched the back of his head in slight annoyance. “Everyone here has seen you using demonic arts, so why were you trying to set such an ominous mood until now, sir? None of this revelation shocked us, anyway.”
“...”
“I mean, we all guessed what you'd say before coming here, you know? That's not the issue here, but... Sir, is this the only manual you have? There are over a hundred people here, sir. How do you expect us to share this among us? Didn't you make copies of it or something? No, hang on. Don't you know what era we're living in...? Didn't you prepare something like a PDF file?”
Kang Jin-Ho staggered on his feet just then. “P-PD...?”
“Eii…” Yi Myeong-Hwan grunted after realizing that Kang Jin-Ho had nothing else to give them. He picked up the manual and got up. “Looks like we'll have to make copies and then bind them into proper manuals ourselves. We gotta make sure we aren't missing a page or words in the process.”
Another martial artist joined him. “Mm. Should I head to the HQ's accounting department?”
“You think we can bind the copies into books here? Nah, we gotta head to a bindery in town, dude.”
“Yeah, I guess you're right. Let me get a couple more guys to come with us, then.”
“Sure thing.”
Kang Jin-Ho stood there, unable to comprehend what these people were even talking about. What were they planning to do with this secret training manual? Cut it up and copy it?
'These brats will get hit by divine retribution at this rate...!'
Back when Kang Jin-Ho was still in Zhongyuan, people treated books as family heirlooms and wrapped them tightly in the finest silk to ensure no damage would...
“Mister Kang Jin-Ho, what should we do with the original? Do you want it back or you don't mind if we give you a copy?” Yi Myeong-Hwan brazenly asked that question while looking at Kang Jin-Ho.
Rather than replying, Kang Jin-Ho's jaw slightly dropped in silence, his mind blanking out.
Kids these days could be so scary, no?
So scary...
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