Chapter 221: Pursuing (6)

Chapter 221: Pursuing (6)

“I’ve assigned the punishment of that man to the Yeongnam Group, my lord.” Cai Kechang bowed his head, tension filling up his face.

Even though this wasn't his first meeting with the Crimson King, even the mere idea of standing in the presence of one of the three kings placed a huge burden on Cai Kechang's shoulders. And no, it wasn't simply because of the difference in status.

Even in this massive nation called China, there were only two other martial artists boasting a similar level of strength to the Crimson King. So, how could Cai Kechang not respect someone who had surpassed countless other cultivators in China and reached the pinnacle of martial arts?

Even if the Crimson King were an outsider with no ties to the Martial Union, Cai Kechang's respect would still not be any lesser.

The Crimson King rubbed his chin. “The... Yeongnam Group, is it?”

“Yes, my lord. It is South Korea's strongest organization.”

“The strongest, you say...?” The Crimson King leaned back against his throne and asked in a disinterested voice, “Is that the only group we have ties with?”

Cai Kechang cautiously pressed his forehead to the floor. “Forgive me, my lord. Our need to keep an eye on the other kings has imposed an unfortunate limit on how much influence we could exert on the minor nation.”

The Crimson King tutted. “I'm not criticizing you, Cai Kechang.”

Cai Kechang kept his head low while swallowing back his saliva. He wasn't a slow-witted man, so he caught the hint of disappointment hidden in the Crimson King's tone. It seemed that the Crimson King was dissatisfied with how Cai Kechang had chosen to handle this matter.

'But... why?'

They were dealing with one person—just one! If this matter involved the destruction of the Korean Martial Assembly, the representative martial arts organization of South Korea, then Cai Kechang would be far more understanding. But it was not, and they were just trying to kill a single individual living on a small peninsula. For such a purpose, mobilizing the Yeongnam Group seemed like overkill, no matter how many times Cai Kechang thought about it.

Yet... the Crimson King was disappointed? How come?

Cai Kechang slightly raised his head and stared at the Crimson King sitting on the throne. It was impossible to glean anything; however, from the Crimson King's languid, eyes-closed expression.

“...Cai Kechang!”

“Yes, my lord!”

The Crimson King slowly opened his eyes. Cai Kechang met those burning eyes and felt his soul instantly freeze up. All that primal savageness contained within made him feel like he was staring into the eyes of a tiger. Why was a man possessing such eyes so wary of some random martial living in a minor nation?

“Cai Kechang, have you ever seen a demonic arts practitioner before?”

“...Demonic arts practitioner, my lord?”

“That's right.”

Cai Kechang briefly organized his thoughts before replying, “Yes, my lord. I've met a few. However, almost every demonic arts practitioner I've encountered did not possess an intact mind. The overriding impression I got was that, as their mind is not stable, they can't even utilize everything at their disposal.”

“Indeed. That's what the majority of the demonic arts practitioners are like,” the Crimson King slowly nodded while leisurely muttering away. “The demonic cultivation methods awaken the latent potential and greatly improve a cultivator's strength in a relatively short period. However, all hasty things have their side effects. The current-era demonic cultivation methods will raise your strength quickly, but you'll have to pay the price of accumulating shoddy internal energy. Those things are nothing more than poison that will chip your reasoning away and turn you into a madman.”

“Yes, my lord. That is also what I know about the demonic arts. There is no reason to even go near a demonic cultivation method if you have the opportunity to master orthodox cultivation techniques.”

“Indeed, that's how it should be. Indeed. However...” The end of the Crimson King's sentence trailed off, prompting Cai Kechang to raise his head again to look. “If the demonic cultivation methods only amounted to that much, how did they survive so many generations and still get handed down until now?”

That question left Cai Kechang mulling his answer for a while. Everyone disparaged the demonic cultivation methods and didn't want anything to do with them, while those who foolishly cultivated them would surely meet their own destruction sooner rather than later. In that case, how did such cultivation methods manage to survive until now?

“My lord, I... have never thought about that until now.”

Kang Jin-Ho's fist flew out like a bolt of lightning toward the Fallen's right hand. The two limbs collided in midair.

BAAAANG!

The resulting impact noise was far too loud and heavy for something created from the collision of flesh and blood.

“Kkuwaaaaaahk!”

The Fallen's right hand flew back faster than when he had swung it. In that blink of an eye, the bones in his right arm were crushed. Several spots in the arm also exploded, causing a fountain of blood to explode. His expression distorted from shock and pain. How did this...?!

Unfortunately for him, he had no time to form his thoughts.

Just as Kang Jin-Ho's left hand returned to his side, his right elbow flew up to smash into the Fallen's chin.

BOOOOM!

A human's figure became airborne. Like a powerfully kicked soccer ball, the Fallen's body flew up in the air before crashing back to Earth and bouncing around several times.

“Kkuwuuuuk...” The Fallen's consciousness nearly abandoned him before rushing back in. And then, indescribable pain exploded from his chin. “Uwh... Uwaaa...”

The Fallen used his still-intact hand to touch his chin. It... felt like his chin had completely disintegrated. His mouth was left agape, and his searching fingers felt the half-torn tongue and several broken and missing teeth among the mess of flesh and blood.

“Hiieeeeek!”

The Fallen hurriedly felt around his face, his entire body a shivering wreck. His headspace was in total chaos. He couldn't figure out what was happening to him right now.

He knew he was strong. Never mind the powerless regular civilians; most average martial artists couldn't even dare to resist him. The Fallen only decided to rely on the Yeongnam Group because that would make his life that much more convenient, not because he was scared of other martial artists. But now—

He could hear someone's footsteps getting closer. The Fallen's eyes began to quiver and twitch.

He didn't want to see. He had no confidence to look up and confirm the presence of the 'monster' slowly closing the distance. However, the Fallen had no choice but to look.

The unseen fear was several times more asphyxiating than the one that could be seen, after all. The Fallen instinctively looked up not to confront his fears but to escape from an even greater fear. And that was when he witnessed it.

He witnessed the figure of Kang Jin-Ho slowly getting closer as the swaying jet-black darkness enveloped his surroundings. And in the center of this darkness were his eyes burning in an eerie crimson hue.

“Euh... Euhhhh...?” The Fallen began crawling backward away from Kang Jin-Ho.

He thought his emotions had all withered away, and that not even a hint of them in his heart had remained. He believed the only emotions that remained were ecstasy and the impulse to murder. But now, the Fallen realized—he had been mistaken.

The emotion called fear, wrapped under a thick, nearly-impenetrable box and buried deep inside his subconsciousness, began seeping out from the gaps of its container and ruled over him. That man with an expressionless face walking closer had finally reminded the Fallen what it was like to be scared beyond words.

Kang Jin-Ho leisurely spoke up, “Not yet.”

‘This is not enough. This much is insufficient...’

‘...Since I've only just begun!’

“Get up.” Kang Jin-Ho quietly growled.

The Fallen continued to urgently crawl away. Kang Jin-Ho watched this response with a twisted smirk etched on his face. He then lightly leaped up and closed the distance in an instant before grabbing the Fallen by his dirty, unkempt hair.

Kang Jin-Ho forced up the Fallen's head until it was right in front of his eyes, then whispered, “Ending it like this is no fun, don't you agree? After all, we still have a long way to go for you to experience the full course.”

Kang Jin-Ho grinned like the devil.