Chapter 725. Grappling (5)

Chapter 725. Grappling (5)

"So? How much do you want?" Kang Jin-Ho asked.

"..."

When no one said anything, Kang Jin-Ho's gaze shifted over to Zhu Gang. Blurting out his inner thoughts proved to be a costly mistake.

"Ah... Oh, uh..." Zhu Gang sensed everyone's attention zeroing in on him and shuddered in dread. 'Yup, I'm f*cked.'

Now that things had come to this, Zhu Gang knew he had no choice but to 'discuss' with the demon emperor. Choosing to keep his mouth shut now would be a sign of disrespect.

As his back quickly got soaked in cold sweat, Zhu Gang cautiously spoke up. "M-my liege, when you say how much we want... Are you going to pay us monthly wages?"

"Yes. Why? You don't want to get paid?" Kang Jin-Ho casually tossed a question back.

"B-but, uh... We've never received any salaries before."

Kang Jin-Ho's brows rose up ever so slightly. "What do you mean? You don't receive any stipends?"

Zhu Gang sheepishly looked away. "By the time I reached adulthood... Well, I've never heard about receiving stipends until now, my liege."

Kang Jin-Ho blinked his eyes in flabbergast, his head tilting from side to side before looking straight at Chang Min. "Then... How did they put food on the table until now?"

"...!" Chang Min sweated buckets while nervously fidgeting. No answers wanted to come out of his mouth. He couldn't figure out why Kang Jin-Ho was asking all these questions. 'Stipends? Really?'

As far as Chang Min knew, the demon cult had never distributed stipends before!

"My liege, the individual cult believers are responsible for meeting their living expenses," said Chang Min.

"Then, what does the cult do?"

"T-the cult, my liege? W-well, we do missionary work and also manage the..."

"Let me get this straight..." Kang Jin-Ho abruptly cut Chang Min off. "Basically, you don't do anything. To make matters worse, you get paid by the cult since you're elders and whatnot, but you still turn a blind eye to how the rest of the believers live. Am I right so far?"

"...!" Chang Min was instantly rendered speechless. Well, Kang Jin-Ho was technically right. However, what was so wrong about that?

What Chang Min didn't know was that from Kang Jin-Ho's perspective, this situation was indeed flabbergast-inducing.

Maybe this kind of arrangement might not be seen as strange or unfair in other religious organizations. However, the demon cult was no ordinary religious organization.

Believers of other religions had no problem exercising their faith while carrying on with their daily lives. However, the demon cult believers needed to cultivate in demonic arts, which precluded them from living an ordinary life with the rest of society.

To explain how absurd this no-stipend situation was like... It'd be the same as preachers and priests of other religions who were always stuck in tight schedules not receiving any allowances from the higher-ups.

Who would want to stay devoted to such a religion, then? This was why the demon cult in the past did its best to handle the living costs of its believers. The cult provided the land its believers could cultivate and grow crops on. It also distributed food to its believers if farming wasn't their strong suit.

This system meant the demon cult had no choice but to continue targeting Zhongyuan and its seemingly unending supply of fertile lands. After all, the ballooning number of cult believers meant it got harder and harder to provide enough sustenance for everyone living on the inhospitable and hostile landscape they called home.

But now...!

'Things have regressed quite a lot.'

Kang Jin-Ho grimaced. Of course, he understood how this happened. The cult must've lost its financial wherewithal after it fell from its lofty peaks. Of course, it was time to turn this situation around.

"Your stipends... No, let's use the modern parlance, shall we? You will receive a monthly salary from now on."

"B-but, my liege!" Chang Min urgently stepped up to stop Kang Jin-Ho from going too far.

Making verbal promises was easy, but where would the cult find the money to pay the believers?

"T-the cult's finances are..." Chang Min tried to whisper as quietly as possible so the others couldn't hear him.

Even so, Kang Jin-Ho remained firm. "I will take care of that."

"My liege? How?"

Kang Jin-Ho scanned the crowd before him while replying to Chang Min. "All those who decide to follow me back to South Korea will receive salaries. You need to devote all your time to cultivating in new demonic arts, but worrying about daily expenses will obviously curtail your progress. Listen well. Not just money, but any and all hindrances blocking your progress in cultivation... I will take care of them for you!"

"...!"

Zhu Gang was rendered speechless and could only stare dazedly at Kang Jin-Ho.

"However, I promise that the cult will take care of the living expenses of any family members you bring along. We will give you a place to stay and even find schools for your kids to attend. If your significant others aren't happy about staying at home, we can also find suitable work for them."

No one could tell when the demon cult had a believers-welfare department set up, but did that matter? When all these extremely shocking benefits were pouring out of the demon emperor's mouth?

Only until a few seconds ago, this underground space was filled with anxiety and confusion, but now? The heat of the bubbling emotions almost morphed this place into a... A press conference to announce a new urban development plan! And the thought burning in their minds was...!

'...Do I need to stand in a queue?'

The demonic cultivators standing at the front of the lines were visibly fidgeting and flinching. They seemed ready to pounce the moment the demon emperor announced, "Now, everyone! All these benefits will apply to the first three thousand applicants only! The first ones to sign the contract will be the winners!"

At this rate, never mind fighting for a spot, these demonic cultivators might even start killing each other, too!

Another demonic cultivator cautiously asked, "A-are you telling us the truth?"

"Mm? Why would I lie to you?"

"...!"

Kang Jin-Ho nonchalantly replied, "Traveling to Korea in such a large group will be tough, but individually returning to China shouldn't be difficult at all. There are various methods, after all. If I can't keep my promise or things aren't the same as the promise itself, you can just come back, can't you?"

The demon emperor was right. It wasn't as if the demonic cultivators were being forcibly dragged to an uninhabited island in the middle of an ocean, anyway. In that case, what could be a problem? If they wanted to return to China, they could just drop by at the nearest police station and shout, "I'm one of those famous illegal immigrants you see on TV!" and the cops would politely deport them on their own dime!

"M-my liege, may I ask why... Why are you willing to go this far for us?"

"This far?" Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. He couldn't understand the question itself. "What do you mean? I'm not doing anything special, though?"

Kang Jin-Ho's genuinely puzzled reaction only plunged the demonic cultivators into a deeper pit of dumbfoundedness.

As ever, Kang Jin-Ho remained oblivious as he continued to explain. "I require your absolute best. I want you to bet your lives and train hard to become even stronger than now. That is the fastest way to revive the demon cult and bring prosperity back to it. And it's also the fastest way to strengthen my forces. That's why I'll eliminate any hindrances and obstacles in your path of cultivation."

Everyone slowly nodded as they listened.

"So, train. Cultivate. I will create the paths for you to grow stronger. I'm not talking about cultivation methods, either. No, I will create the ideal environment, too. The path I will create will reward you according to how much effort you put in. So, anyone who wishes to follow me, do not hesitate."

"E-excuse me...!" Zhu Gang hurriedly raised his hand.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at him. "You may speak."

Zhu Gang nervously gulped his saliva after getting the demon emperor's permission, then cautiously spoke up. "It's not like I'm doubting your promise, my liege, but..."

"Skip the useless preamble, okay?"

"Y-yes, sir! Ahem. Y-yes, I get what you're trying to say, my liege. However, it's not like there are only a handful of us, you know? Is it really possible to pay monthly salaries and even find places to stay for all these people?"

Now that was a fundamental question that directly went for the heart of everyone's uncertainty. However, Kang Jin-Ho only needed one answer to ably drop-kick all the other questions into next Sunday.

"I'm rich."

"...!"

"And a lot richer than you can imagine."

Bizarre flames began burning within Zhu Gang's eyes just then. Although the prophecy's true meaning wasn't what he expected... Actually, it missed his expectations by a country mile, but! At least he was sure of this one thing now.

‘That prophecy... It's all been true!’

The reality turned out to be even more outrageous than the prophecy he grew up listening to. They all thought that it'd be the descent of the one-and-only demon emperor, but the person descending was actually a welfare angel of salvation! An angel with a loaded bank account, no less!

"W-where can I apply, my liege?!"

The previously neatly arranged lines broke down in the blink of an eye as the frenzied demonic cultivators all rushed toward the platform. They started shoving, pushing and pulling from every direction to turn this area into a pandemonium in an instant.

At this passionate response reminiscent of a popular idol's live concert, Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head in confusion before asking Chang Min next to him. "What's gotten into them?"

"..."

How would I know that, my liege?

Oh, my dear demon emperor, you...

1. One yuan is roughly 13.6 US cents. ☜