Descent of the Demon Master

A violent torrent of energy flooded out of the Crimson King's dantian.

This sensation of qi, accumulated over the years, filling him to the brim and gushing out of his skin never failed to satisfy him. Whenever he found the opportunity to throw punches around at will, the Crimson King felt confident enough to even shatter the heavens above.

He was the Strongest Fist in heaven and earth!

Even though this world was vast, only one man dared to call themselves the Strongest Fist. And that man was the Crimson King.

The punches of the Strongest Fist rocked the heavens and obliterated the ground below. All living things offered their worship and respect at his majestic authority. Even the heavens held their breaths in the presence of his might!

However...

Even though the Crimson King was unleashing punches powerful enough to rekindle the fear of death in all living things, his expression was not one of contentment. As a matter of fact, it was crumpled. It wasn't because he was experiencing difficulty, though.

'What... is wrong with me?'

Despite unleashing enough power to rip open the Gates of Heaven, the Crimson King was mired in inexplicable anxiety.

'Why? How?'

His attacks were landing without any opposition. His enemy wasn't even trying to fight back. Even if his opponent today wasn't the demon emperor but the Azure King or the Dark King, the Crimson King was absolutely certain that the victory would be his after he got to unleash this barrage of attacks.

The Crimson King's fist was the Fist of Tyrants. The fist of a conqueror!

Although he couldn't say only he and no one else possessed the perfected, completed martial arts, once he got the upper hand in a fight... No one, and absolutely no one, would be strong enough to defeat him.

'...Kang Jin-Ho!'

The blinding light from his attacks even obscured the Crimson King's vision. The best he could do was barely make out the faintest of faint silhouettes of a person within the sun-like light that would have blinded most people outright.

This figure was falling. It was collapsing to the ground. The man who could legitimately call himself the embodiment of demonic was... gasping for his final breaths. And this scene made the Crimson King's expression stiffen. He... He badly wanted to reach out.

The Crimson King wanted to see the future Kang Jin-Ho after the latter had the time to grow and become stronger. The Crimson King had been looking forward to how much stronger Kang Jin-Ho would've become after finally regaining his former realm and eventually 'perfecting' himself.

What if the Crimson King could recruit that version of Kang Jin-Ho? Then, the entire world would have held their breaths at the mere mention of the Crimson King and the Demon King.

With Kang Jin-Ho joining his camp, the Crimson King would have no more reason to stay in the back to guard against the Azure King and the Dark King.

These Kings would never willingly cooperate or unite with one another. As a matter of fact, they were more likely to bide their time until one of them foolishly bared their fangs, then pounced unhesitantly to behead the other two in one fell swoop.

Knowing this, none of the Three Kings dared to make their first move. Their standoff had devolved into a game of waiting. However, the acquisition of the chess piece called Kang Jin-Ho could definitely end this stifling standoff for good.

Simply by having Kang Jin-Ho in his camp, the combat force of the Crimson King would have been strengthened by at least thirty percent, maybe more. Such a force should have been more than strong enough to conquer the entire world... And then some!

After that, the Crimson King wouldn't have cared whether Kang Jin-Ho swallowed up the rest of Korea or went on to devour Japan. After all, the Crimson King only cared about Zhongyuan. That was his sole focus, his sole desire. He didn't mind whether Kang Jin-Ho devoured the rest or not.

If the list of people who hated the demonic cultivators the most was compiled, the Crimson King's name would be somewhere near the top. His hatred was deep-seated. However, this chess piece called Kang Jin-Ho was tempting enough for the Crimson King to overlook his hatred.

That was why he had made that offer earlier. Even if the Crimson King had to give everything Kang Jin-Ho wanted, as long as he could unite Zhongyuan under his banner... He believed he was making the right call.

The Crimson King also never entertained the idea of eliminating Kang Jin-Ho after he finished conquering Zhongyuan. He wasn't petty or cheap enough to do something like that.

If Kang Jin-Ho wanted to rule Korea, so be it. With that, Kang Jin-Ho could have gradually built up his forces, and when the Crimson King died of old age... He could have targeted Zhongyuan next.

However, Kang Jin-Ho rejected the Crimson King's gesture of reconciliation. Like a fool! Like a... shortsighted idiot!

That was why he had to die today.

Rage filled up the Crimson King's expression again. He had to admit that Kang Jin-Ho's strength had taken him by surprise. On this display alone, Kang Jin-Ho fully deserved the title of the 'demon emperor'.

However, Kang Jin-Ho was also naive. Right now, he was writhing in pain as if solid chains had tied him up from top to bottom. If he had given himself enough time to regain his former strength, Kang Jin-Ho might have had a chance. Unfortunately, as he was now... He had no hope in hell against the Crimson King.

The deciding factor was his internal qi reserve. There was no shortcut to accumulating a qi reserve other than diligently and patiently working at it.

The Crimson King boasted the largest qi reserve under the sun, so compared to him, Kang Jin-Ho's reserve seemed pitiful. This gaping chasm was not something that could be overcome with talent or experience.

The Crimson King sucked in a short but deep breath, then clenched his teeth. Qi accumulated in his dantian flooded out like a deluge. He concentrated his energy into his right fist, then looked at the ground below with his bloodshot, wide-open eyes.

More specifically, at the faint figure of the person below!

The Crimson King prepared the final fist strike aimed at Kang Jin-Ho.

“Fuu-huu-huph!”

The Crimson King loaded all of his strength into this one punch.

Even though Kang Jin-Ho was a demonic cultivator, and even though he had rudely trampled on the offer the Crimson King made after swallowing his pride... Kang Jin-Ho was someone the Crimson King had acknowledged.

The Crimson King deemed demonic cultivators more worthless than dirt on the ground, yet he was genuinely impressed by Kang Jin-Ho as a fellow martial artist.

He was about to kill such a man. Of course, the right thing to do was to go all out!

BZZZZZZ!

The deafening noises akin to a swarm of bees beating their wings accompanied the qi concentrating on the Crimson King's right fist. The energy writhed and quaked ominously, making it difficult for the Crimson King and his finely-honed ability to keep this power under control.

The Crimson King's eyes flickered coldly.

“Cha-aaaaaaht!”

He roared loudly while thrusting his fight fist forward. That was when the rays of light pouring down to the world suddenly ballooned in size to slam down harder and fiercer. This frightening power seemed solely designed to destroy this world and everything in it!

This display of the Crimson King's power fully justified why he was called a tyrant. A conqueror. The embodiment of martial might!

KWA-AAAAAAAH!

The light rays pounded down like a huge waterfall. Even if this attack was an actual waterfall and not a beam of qi light, no flesh-and-bone human would've survived it.

The Crimson King's qi reserve definitely exceeded the norm for a human being. No one could possibly resist this attack. Even if Kang Jin-Ho was the demon emperor and his latent potential far exceeded the Crimson King... He should not have any method to protect himself at this point in his life.

The Crimson King was reasonably certain that not even a trace of Kang Jin-Ho would remain afterward. The latter's bones would turn to powder while his flesh shredded apart into unrecognizable bits. The wrecked body would not win against the pressure and quickly turn into broken particles. With that, all evidence of Kang Jin-Ho existing in this land would get wiped out!

The Crimson King gritted his teeth and got ready to punch one more time. But then...

'...What was that?'

His senses discovered something off just then. And that was... an ominous foreboding.

The Crimson King instantly froze when this foreboding suddenly hit him in the face. Why was he feeling that, though? He couldn't understand it at all.

However, he soon found out the source of his foreboding. And his confirmation was as clear as it could get!

'Isn't that...?'

Something was writhing. Something dark and ominous was writhing within the blinding rays of light. What an unrealistic sight that was!

Did the darkness exist? No, it did not, at least not physically. Darkness was not a matter or entity that could do things on its own. That was because darkness was simply the absence of light.

No matter how deep the darkness blanketing the world was, it'd still have to hide away once the dawn broke and the morning sun rose above the distant horizon. This was the undeniable logic of the world. In the end, darkness could only exist where there was no light.

In that case, how was the Crimson King supposed to explain what he could see?

The Crimson King's brows shot up higher. Right in the center of the rays of light, pitch-black darkness was gradually blooming. Instead of urgently fleeing as it should at the first sign of light, this darkness fought back while flicking its sinister-looking tongue!

The burning flames of darkness began billowing and rising up against the pouring light.

'He's fighting back?!'

The Crimson King's expression stiffened. Kang Jin-Ho actually dared to...?

“You insolent bastard!”

The Crimson King's hair suddenly stood on its ends as his expression crumpled hideously. As if he was the reincarnation of Zhang Fei, the Crimson King's previously well-groomed beard stiffened and spread in all directions.

Just as he was about to rouse up another burst of qi, the dark demonic qi snake stopped flicking its tongue and flew toward the Crimson King at an unbelievable speed.

Like an actual snake charging out of its cave to pounce on a juicy prey!

***

KA-BOOOOOOOM!

“Uwaaahk?! Fuuuu*k!”

Zhu Gang yelped out all sorts of colorful language while rolling on the ground. Yet another shockwave hitting him like a truck turned the poor man into a pinwheel spinning endlessly against his will. Even if he wanted to regain his balance, how was he supposed to do that?

As a martial artist, it was an absolute honor to witness the battle between the demon emperor and the Crimson King. In fact, he should count himself fortunate.

Sure, he would never comprehend what was happening over there despite looking at it with his eyes and feeling it on his skin. Even so, being able to burn this spectacle into his memories and setting it as his ultimate goal would help Zhu Gang grow stronger at a pace incomparably faster than before.

...If only he could witness it from a bit further away, that was!

'It's getting dangerous! No, hang on. It's already dangerous!'

A battlefield where so much light qi was being unleashed should be way more dangerous than a warzone in the middle of an enemy bombardment. However, the real source of danger was actually Demon Servants like Zhu Gang!

The shockwaves from the two men's visceral collision tossed the Demon Servants in the air like small throwing pebbles, only for their helpless figures to painfully crash-land on the hard ground. And they had to do this repeatedly, too!

“Fuu-woook!”

At least Zhu Gang managed to survive until now thanks to finding an escape path after the second shockwave had flung him away, which allowed him to put some distance between himself and the battle between the gods. If he had stayed there like an idiot, he would've turned into a thoroughly flattened lump of meat by now.

'What about my liege, though?'

When he sobered up, the first thing his body did was immediately turn his head in one direction. Despite being some distance away, Zhu Gang still felt the powerful impact force. In that case, what about those stuck in the middle of that explosion?

Could any human beings made up of flesh and blood withstand the shockwaves? Zhu Gang would've turned into an unrecognizable mangled corpse, but what about the demon emperor? Even someone like that...

Zhu Gang's searching eyes quickly spotted a clear figure of a man. The pier had vanished without a trace, leaving only the wide-open expanses of the ocean to fill Zhu Gang's view. And that man, with his arms calmly resting by his side, was seemingly standing on the ocean.

'That's... the Crimson King.'

The way the Crimson King was resting his arms looked so natural. Even then, Zhu Gang still noticed it. He noticed the stream of blood trickling down the Crimson King's resting arm!

How bizarre was this? The Crimson King was bleeding. A god was actually bleeding?

Zhu Gang suddenly had an epiphany just then. He realized that the Crimson King was human just like everyone else with blood coursing through his veins. That should've been rather obvious, yet Zhu Gang had to confirm it first to accept it. That was how godly and inhuman the Crimson King looked in his eyes until now.

'Okay, he's there. What about my liege?'

Zhu Gang's eyes quickly shifted to the other side of the Crimson King. And that was when he saw another man standing there. This man's appearance was a bit different from the Crimson King's.

The demon emperor was submerged in the ocean up to his knees with his swords resting by his side. His entire body was covered in blood, too.

Indeed, that crimson liquid was blood, so...

His appearance seemingly hadn't changed, yet it had undoubtedly changed.

Kang Jin-Ho was subjected to such an incredible amount of light qi. All the blood soaking him until then couldn't have lasted during the attack. It must've evaporated completely. In that case, whose blood was soaking the demon emperor now?

Wasn't the answer far too obvious?

Zhu Gang gritted his teeth. He hadn't noticed anything when he first spotted the Crimson King. After looking at the demon emperor's state, though? He finally realized it.

The Crimson King was standing on the ocean's surface. He was literally walking on water. That didn't seem any special or shocking at this point. If someone told Zhu Gang that the Crimson King could fly, he wouldn't have doubted the claim.

What enraged Zhu Gang was the image created by the demon emperor being submerged in the ocean up to his knees and the Crimson King standing on the water's surface. From a distance, didn't it look like the demon emperor was kneeling before the Crimson King?

Zhu Gang's fists tightly clenched, his vision getting cloudier. He didn't hesitate to lick the boots of others as long as it helped him. He firmly believed that things like pride did nothing for his survival.

Even then, this sight caused his blood to circulate backward. Even though he wasn't the one being humiliated... No, maybe that was why Zhu Gang's rage was growing beyond his control!

Before Zhu Gang could do anything, though...

Kang Jin-Ho slowly raised his head.

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