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Chapter 1086. Charging Forward (1)
“Yes, that’s more like you, master!”
Vator growled menacingly.
“I disliked it! I didn’t like how you tried to calculate gains and losses. I did not care for how you tried to be scheming and other nonsense! That was not like you, master!”
“Yeah, I agree,” Kang Jin-Ho replied calmly but coldly.
“Brats will always stay brats no matter how much you power them up. Nothing will change even if you improve their strength.”
Kang Jin-Ho didn’t respond and narrowed his eyes at Vator.
“Having said all that, I do not appreciate that you’re invading my private training area, master.”
“Is that right?” Kang Jin-Ho smirked weirdly.
If he was still the same person as a few days ago, Kang Jin-Ho would’ve tried to ask for Vator’s understanding. And he had a good reason for being here.
Kang Jin-Ho’s own training ground was right below the Assembly’s HQ—an underground training facility. Lee Hyeon-Su tried to assign the place boasting the best facilities and also the most convenient one for Kang Jin-Ho, but its location proved rather unfortunate.
It being underground limited Kang Jin-Ho’s training options. And it being so close to the HQ was another issue. Kang Jin-Ho unleashing his demonic qi at full blast could easily engulf a building of that size, after all!
If that happened, the Assembly would become paralyzed. After all, there was no way the administrative workers could endure Kang Jin-Ho’s demonic qi, which was something even the Demon Flames found hard to withstand!
In short, that underground training facility was basically a nice but useless ornament.
Since that was the case, Kang Jin-Ho searched for a suitable training area. Any “normal” ones wouldn’t do, since his full power would surely destroy them. Eventually, he settled on Vator’s exclusive training area.
The old Kang Jin-Ho would have tried to explain this situation. But now? He didn't feel like doing it.
“Tell me, Vator. Is this really your training area?”
“...Mm?”
Vator tilted his head just as Kang Jin-Ho’s smirk deepened.
“Everything in the Assembly is mine. Which includes this training area.”
“...Huh?”
Vator began chuckling. However, his eyes were definitely not laughing. No, they were only getting redder and redder.
Like a boar kicking the ground with its front paws to signal that it was about to charge forward, Vator was also showing all the signs of a beast ready to rush toward his opponent at a moment's notice.
“If you don’t agree...” Kang Jin-Ho casually muttered while storing his swords inside his subspace, then glanced at the big man. “Come and fight me.”
“...”
Vator silently stood tall.
‘Yes, this is it!’
Who cared about running their mouths in this situation? Especially when the murderous aura intense enough to nearly tear Vator's flesh off continued to assault him!
Merely facing this aura was bursting tiny blood vessels in the big man’s eyes. A dull migraine had already invaded his head.
‘Is this the famed ability to kill with one’s mind alone?’
The killing intent or the murderous aura was something intangible. It did not exert physical force. A person dying from it meant they suffered a heart attack, rather than the murderous aura causing actual physical harm.
However, there was another realm above that. A realm where the intangible could be transformed into the tangible.
People usually referred to this realm as the “soul sword.”
Simply withstanding the barrage of the murderous aura was enough to injure Vator's physical body. Even the giant with the divine might residing in his muscles was in this state, so it was easy to imagine everyone else dying on the spot after their blood vessels ruptured from this onslaught.
This power! The power that others wouldn’t even dare oppose!
This was why Vator’s blood was boiling with the desire to fight!
“Master...!”
Kang Jin-Ho silently jutted his chin forward.
“I swore my loyalty to you. However! I hope you understand that doesn’t mean I’ll stay weaker than you forever. Well, do you?”
“I’d have killed you back then if that was your intention,” Kang Jin-Ho coldly replied.
“Kuh-huh! Yes! That’s what I’m talking about!” Vator smirked, his eyes completely crimson now. “Take out your swords!”
“Why?” Kang Jin-Ho bared his fangs in a ferocious smirk. “When I don’t need them?”
“I’ll make you eat those words!”
Dark crimson demonic qi gushed out from Vator’s sizable frame as he madly rushed toward Kang Jin-Ho.
A deep smirk spread on Kang Jin-Ho’s face at this sight.
Plenty of martial artists called the Martial Assembly their home. However, only Vator was capable of rousing Kang Jin-Ho's fighting spirit to this degree.
Bang Jin-Hun was not good enough yet to meet Kang Jin-Ho’s minimum standards. Wiggins did meet the standards, but his combat strength fell far behind Vator as he was more of an... “all-rounder” instead.
And Chang Min was out of the question, even though he was stronger than Vator overall. Why? Because he was a demonic cultivator.
A true demonic cultivator like him could not oppose Kang Jin-Ho. Not only did he know all the techniques Chang Min might use, but a demonic cultivator was unable to use their full strength against another demonic cultivator ranked higher than them in the hierarchy... For instance, like the demon emperor!
But the biggest issue was Chang Min. He was, well, Chang Min, and that was the problem!
Even if Kang Jin-Ho commanded him, Chang Min would never attack his liege in earnest. Maybe he could unleash all of his strength, but attacking with the intent to kill? That would be expecting a miracle.
That left Vator as the only viable option. Only that big man could quench Kang Jin-Ho’s thirst, even if it was by a tiny bit!
“Kuh-aaaaaaaht!”
Vator punched at the speed of light. It was quite literally a straight punch.
However, no one would dare underestimate it considering the punch's speed and the incredible power contained within. After all, its power was higher than a projectile fired by most tanks!
The correct method of dealing with such an attack was to dodge it, then aim for the opening. However, Kang Jin-Ho didn’t bother to dodge.
Crunch...!
Demonic qi flooded into Kang Jin-Ho’s clenched fist. The fist’s color rapidly grew dark before becoming completely pitch-black from the extreme amount of demonic qi filling it up.
...And then, Kang Jin-Ho punched at the incoming fist of Vator!
KA-BOOOOOOOOOM!
Two fists collided to produce an ear-splitting explosion.
“Kuk!”
Kang Jin-Ho gasped reflexively.
Only an idiot would fight Vator in a straight-up contest of strength. Combining his physical strength, his external arts, and the explosive burst of demonic qi he roused in the blink of an eye would result in a level of destructive power no one could rival.
When analyzed objectively, there could be only one person potentially strong enough to defend against an attack of this caliber, and that was the Crimson King.
However, one's power was not solely determined by one's physical strength alone. By utilizing his speed, techniques, and internal energy, Kang Jin-Ho could easily cut Vator's head off without getting hit once.
Even though that was true...
A smile instinctively bloomed on Kang Jin-Ho’s face. That smile was from this uncontainable joy.
Soul-rending pain traveled from his fist all the way up to his shoulder. It felt like all of his arm muscles and bones got shredded, blown apart, cracked, and ground into fine powder. If his strength had been lacking, even by a little bit, it wouldn't have ended as a mere feeling, either!
As this vicious pain screamed in his mind, Kang Jin-Ho smirked like a terrifying specter.
‘This is it!’
Yes, this was what he was looking for!
He could rack his brain all he wanted for answers that would never come. Nothing would change no matter how much he mulled, imagined, chewed, and pondered.
How did Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor become so strong in the past? The answer was simple enough—surviving countless life-or-death battles!
He kept surviving battles that should have killed him. He fought against enemies he had no chance of winning and cut their heads off in the end.
Kang Jin-Ho's second life was seemingly an unending series of intense battles and life-threatening injuries. By experiencing “death” innumerable times while standing on the paper-thin edge separating life and death, Kang Jin-Ho... no, Crimson Demon, became an all-conquering powerhouse.
What did Kang Jin-Ho lack in this life? It was that feeling. The feeling of all the sensations from the past waking up again! And Vator’s punch was instrumental in that awakening.
Kang Jin-Ho had gotten too strong too quickly. Which meant it became hard to find a suitable opponent.
‘That’s why... You need to become stronger!’
In that case, all he had to do was create stronger opponents. Opponents that were strong enough to make Kang Jin-Ho feel threatened!
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
Vator threw another mighty punch. His power was so stupendous that the mere wind pressure from his punch caused numbing sensations in Kang Jin-Ho's bones!
Kang Jin-Ho guffawed uncontrollably as the humongous fist closed in on his face. He had all the faith in the world that Vator was strong enough to withstand whatever was thrown at him.
And that fact overjoyed Kang Jin-Ho to no end!
***
“...And that will conclude the defendant’s testimony,” said Wiggins.
Kang Jin-Ho silently looked up at the ceiling of his office. His ears could pick up Wiggins’ somewhat aggrieved-sounding voice.
“My lord! Giving your all to training is indeed a commendable act for a martial artist. However, wouldn't you also agree that you have gone overboard this time?”
“...”
Kang Jin-Ho glanced away from the ceiling and at the “victim.”
His gaze locked on Vator, currently wrapped from head to toe in bandages and barely perched on the couch with the edge of his butt. And when Kang Jin-Ho looked at the big man’s bruised and battered face, a soft groan leaked out of his mouth.
‘Nope, he couldn’t withstand it in the end.’
Kang Jin-Ho had to admit that he went slightly overboard.
‘Actually, I should be honest and say it’s not slightly.’
After all, he almost killed Vator, didn’t he!
Kang Jin-Ho slowly turned his head and stared outside the window. He could see the half-destroyed mountainside in the distance.
‘Ehm...’
That was also a bit excessive, now wasn't it!
The training area Lee Hyeon-Su spent a pretty penny to construct was completely destroyed. No wonder Lee Hyeon-Su was sitting in silence with the expression of a man chewing on some kind of excrement.
Wiggins continued with his chiding. “My lord. Sir Vator is a precious combat force of the Martial Assembly. Please treat him with more care next time.”
“Mm...”
Kang Jin-Ho faltered just then. Wiggins was right. Vator was one of the directors of this organization, after all. Beating up someone of that importance to that degree would surely cause some level of operational issues.
Thankfully, though, someone stepped up to defend Kang Jin-Ho.
“Don’t be absurd, Wiggins!” Vator gruffly responded. “I feel very good right now!”
Wiggins tutted loudly. “...You know that’s not normal, yes? In fact, it could be a sickness.”
“You are not a real martial artist, then!”
“If that's what it takes to be called a real martial artist, I will have to politely decline. Thank you very much.”
“How pathetic!”
“...”
Wiggins didn’t say anything and simply shook his head.
‘You can still talk in your state?’
How could a man beaten to a pulp still be so lively?
The truth was, though, that all those bandages weren't meant to treat Vator's injuries. The bandaged look was deemed more palatable than a shirtless giant walking around with black-and-blue bruises all over his body, and that was why Vator was forced to stay in this appearance.
‘Still, how could my lord beat up one of his retainers to this degree?’
Beat up a regular person like this, and you’d go straight to jail. But Vator was not a regular person. Just how many blows would it take to land Vator in this... wretched state?
Wiggins wasn’t quite sure whether to commend Kang Jin-Ho for beating up a giant to this degree or Vator for surviving the beating of his life!
“My lord, I...”
“Mm!” Kang Jin-Ho raised his hand slightly to cut Wiggins off. “Blood rushed to my head. That’s all.”
“Even so, isn’t this a little too much?”
Kang Jin-Ho turned his head away from Wiggins. “Vator?”
“What is it, master?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No, of course not!” Vator firmly replied. “You might have been guilty had you used your weapons. However, you did not. It is my fault for not besting you in a battle of naked fists! A hand-to-hand fighter losing in a fistfight against a swordsman and whining like a pathetic fool? A fool like that should thrust a blade in his throat and kill himself!”
“...Oh.” Wiggins clamped his mouth shut as if he had nothing more to say.
“I can’t figure out what you consider is excessive.” The corners of Kang Jin-Ho’s lips curled up while asking Wiggins. “Tell me. Am I excessively stronger?”
“...?”
“Or are you all excessively weak?”
The expressions of the directors crumbled ever so slightly. It didn’t matter who said it, the label “weak” was perhaps the worst insult imaginable to any self-respecting martial artist.
“If you think I'm being unfair, all you have to do is get stronger. If you want to argue that I've gone overboard... defeat me first before running your mouth. This is the Martial Assembly, not some corporation with an HR department!”
Wiggins grew tense as he stared at Kang Jin-Ho. What the latter said wasn’t important. No, what really mattered was the intent, the true meaning, behind those harsh words!
Kang Jin-Ho continued his lecture. “In the martial world, one's strength matters above all else. Don't try to hide your lack of strength behind sundry techniques and tricks. Become stronger. That's all.”
“...I shall engrave your lesson to my soul,” said Wiggins with a grim nod.
Kang Jin-Ho glanced at the Englishman. “Wiggins?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“It's your turn tomorrow.”
Wiggins swallowed his saliva in silence.
Kang Jin-Ho leisurely got up. “From now on, report only when you absolutely need my strength. For everything else, you guys use your discretion.”
Once Kang Jin-Ho left the office, the directors exchanged strange glances with each other.
“Just what...”
“What do you mean, what?” Vator smirked deeply. Or, at least he tried to. Instead, he began scowling as if the injuries inside his mouth got aggravated just then. “It means you lot will end up looking like me very soon!”
“...”
Although no one could be sure of what was happening, it seemed gale-force winds were about to blow through the Martial Assembly.
