Chapter 517: Training (2)

Chapter 517: Training (2)

Kang Jin-Ho, Bang Jin-Hun and Lee Hyeon-Su left behind the depressed-looking French duo and exited the conference hall. Before leaving, though, Bang Jin-Hun glanced behind him. He tutted softly at the sight of two grown men soullessly staring at the empty air.

'...Yup, I do feel sorry for you.'

The French duo's misfortune was running into the two Korean devils walking ahead of Bang Jin-Hun. One of these two devils didn't seem to have read the memo on 'going too far' while the other dude was... Well, he might be an actual devil wearing human skin!

Weirdly enough, Lee Hyeon-Su was the latter in this situation. Even though Bang Jin-Hun didn't speak a lick of French, he could still make a rough guess while observing the devil incarnate, Lee Hyeon-Su, expertly coerce and threaten Vincent and Mathieu until the French duo gave up on everything there was to give up. Updated chapters at novelhall.com

'What a terrifying bastard...!'

Bang Jin-Hun felt a renewed chill creep down his spine after thinking about how Lee Hyeon-Su's craftiness would've been used against the Martial Assembly if Kang Jin-Ho hadn't been here. And that also made his gratitude toward Kang Jin-Ho run even deeper than ever before.

Lee Hyeon-Su rubbed his chin. “Hmm... As it turns out, plenty of their stuff is more useful than we initially thought.”

“However, can we believe them?” Kang Jin-Ho asked suspiciously.

“Well, we saw them perform the skills, so it should be fine, Mister Jin-Ho.”

“Hmm...” Kang Jin-Ho nodded, his expression displaying how interested he was.

Although he started cultivating as a way to ensure his survival, Kang Jin-Ho still rose to the peak of the era he used to live in. There was simply no way he'd not be interested in martial arts with completely different foundations and frameworks than his.

Kang Jin-Ho crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Should we call this an embodiment technique? In that sense, it's completely different from our ways, so...”

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded weightily. “You're right, Mister Jin-Ho. It does seem that way. I'm wondering if we can even fuse this new knowledge with what we know.”

Bang Jin-Hun butted in after his patience quickly ran out. “Let me in on whatever you two are talking about!”

Lee Hyeon-Su looked back and smiled brightly. “Assembly Master, sir. We were talking about the magic the Frenchmen showed us.”

“Yeah, that. It was pretty amazing, right?” Bang Jin-Hun looked back as if he was still entranced by the performance from earlier. “It was literally... magical, right?”

“Well, sir... It was magic, after all.” Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

Magic wasn't the only thing the Chevalier's Captain and his subordinate had shown off back in the conference hall, but their non-magic physical techniques failed to impress Kang Jin-Ho and Co. It wasn't a matter of whose school of martial arts was superior; the Western way was neither better nor worse in any appreciative measure.

As such, it didn't seem necessary to integrate the Western methods into cultivation methods practiced by the Martial Assembly members, considering the overall unfamiliarity. It wouldn't have been all that effective at the end of the day. However, what about magic?

Lee Hyeon-Su's eyes sparkled. “I'm not sure what to feel about the other abilities yet, but at the very least, that subspace thingamajiggy seemed so cool, didn't it?”

“Mm...” Kang Jin-Ho wholeheartedly agreed with Lee Hyeon-Su's sentiment. He got interested in the Chevaliers' techniques precisely because he witnessed the subspace in action, after all.

That technique was not a mere random parlor trick that looked interesting but didn't have many uses. No, the subspace's practicality seemed genuinely limitless. Kang Jin-Ho even briefly wondered why such a practical skill hadn't spread to the East until now.

Most practitioners of martial arts used weapons of some kind. Weapons boasted a higher killing power than bare fists, after all.

However, walking around with weapons in this day and age was practically impossible. If Kang Jin-Ho walked outside his home with either the Azuremourne or Crimson Destiny, cops would show up in less than ten minutes and arrest him before throwing the proverbial book at him.

That meant the martial artists had no choice but to drive to their destinations. And that was where an existential dilemma presented itself.

Cars drove on roads and streets. And people used the same roads and streets. However, martial artists of the modern era needed to avoid drawing people's attention. So, they would usually park their vehicles in a deserted area and carry their weapons to their destinations, then load their cargo back after everything was said and done... Unsurprisingly, this process was as cumbersome as it sounded.

Like back when Kang Jin-Ho was accosted by the would-be assassin in the department store, being attacked in a crowded place while weaponless could make the battle quite challenging even if the enemy should've been a pushover. This problem shouldn't be dismissed with a casual wave of one's hand since it was literally a matter of life and death.

However, this subspace technique would solve this problem in an instant. Simply storing one's preferred weapons in the subspace would take care of the armament quandary facing all martial artists. Since that was the case, how could Kang Jin-Ho not be tempted by it?

Those climbing to the top of a small hill could only see their surroundings, but the ones reaching the summit of the tallest mountain would get to see the entire world. The guidance from those who only saw the surroundings would never rival the high-level experts.

Kang Jin-Ho would always pick his master as the first reason why he became as strong as he was back in Zhongyuan. His master was an extraordinary man, after all!

Kang Jin-Ho had to reach the demon cult's top position first to fully appreciate his master's extraordinary martial prowess. Even after earning the title of 'Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor' and ensuring every member of the demon cult would kowtow before him, Kang Jin-Ho still wasn't confident of surpassing his master.

Reaching such a sky-high realm was the catalyst required to open Kang Jin-Ho's eyes. Now he knew how impossibly large and imposing his master's shadow was. He could finally fathom the extreme height of cultivation his master had reached!

Naturally, Kang Jin-Ho was puzzled by why his master's fame hadn't spread to all corners of heaven and earth. Not the sect master of Wudan who loved to put on airs, not even the abbot of Shaolin who often proclaimed himself to be peerless under the heavens... None of them could hold a candle to Kang Jin-Ho's master.

Receiving guidance from such a master was the chief reason Kang Jin-Ho became the feared Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor. If he hadn't met his master and instead threw his lot with the demon cult from the get-go, Kang Jin-Ho would've spent his entire life as a gopher or a foot soldier of the cult.

That was how important one's master was. And... When judged by that criteria, Vincent was hopelessly inadequate to become a teacher.

'Hmm... The final piece of the puzzle isn't fitting at all.'

Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly. Of course, he understood what Lee Hyeon-Su was trying to do here.

Nothing in this world could faze or frighten Kang Jin-Ho. However, the same story didn't apply to South Korea's martial society. Even if Kang Jin-Ho called this place home, his presence alone wasn't enough to shore up the lacking combat power of this country.

Besides, Kang Jin-Ho didn't believe in the concept of goodness in one's heart. And he believed in the kindness of a group of people even less. Lee Hyeon-Su was right about the utter destruction of this country being around the corner. Since that was the case, Kang Jin-Ho knew the Martial Assembly had to be strengthened somehow.

Imparting his knowledge of demonic arts and acquiring Western martial techniques were all part of that plan. However... If only they had just one person with a better understanding of the Western techniques here to make things easier for everyone involved...!

Kang Jin-Ho sighed ruefully. “Well, we can't have everything we want, anyway.”

“Sorry?” Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head.

“No, it's nothing.” Kang Jin-Ho shook his head and continued to walk ahead.

***

“No, this is not right!” Elena shot up to her feet.

She knew what her position was. And that was of a lowly Pawn.

Elena couldn't do anything meaningful when her opponents were Kang Jin-Ho and the Martial Assembly. Getting too full of herself and butting in unnecessarily would only rub Kang Jin-Ho the wrong way.

If things ended up sideways from her actions, all responsibilities would fall squarely on her shoulders. The Round Table would never forgive her. And Elena would be ripped apart mercilessly as if a pack of hyenas had descended on a hapless victim!

What a blindingly obvious conclusion that was. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the Round Table could predict that outcome. And someone as smart as Elena obviously knew it, too.

However, she still chose to take her chances. Even though she knew what failure meant in this case!

“I need to persuade Mister Jin-Ho somehow...!”

Elena would never do this if personal benefits had been her ultimate goal. Could it be her desire to become a hero, then? Or had she been starving for an opportunity to show off what she could do? It was none of those.

She'd rather let a stray mutt take a piss at those asinine reasons.

The sole reason for Elena's anxiety was the Chevaliers. Despite the threat of imminent death hanging over their heads, the Round Table had seemingly abandoned them.

Elena had no idea what the high-ups of the Round Table were thinking. However, one thing was for certain—the Round Table that discarded its valuable agents like this was no longer an organization she could trust.

Elena bit her lip before yelling in anger to no one in particular. “If the Round Table is unwilling to do it, I'll deal with it myself! I will... rescue them!”

That was when a weighty voice suddenly came from behind to interrupt her. “You seem to have made a bold but risky decision, Elena.”

Elena jumped up in surprise and hurriedly turned around.