Descent of the Demon Master

ke care of it herself.
Like reporting to the cops or something.”

“Kang Jin-Ho, I didn't know you were so heartless.”

“I'm not generous enough to get my hands dirty for the sake of some strangers.”

He had been like this since Zhongyuan.
You would have to take on a considerable risk by getting involved in other people's business in that place.
Kang Jin-Ho certainly didn't feel like doing that for total strangers, even if there was no risk of injury to him in this particular case.

“Fine! I'll do this myself.” Han Se-Yeon bravely stepped forward.
“Excuse me! Can you let that lady go?”

“What is this now?” One of the thuggish men surrounding the scared woman scanned Han Se-Yeon from top to bottom.
“Oi, little lady.
Stop bothering us and go home, okay? Leave.”

“Just let her go, will you?”

“Man, these kids are beginning to get on my nerves.” The man began taking large steps toward Han Se-Yeon.
Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly stood in front of her to shield her from danger.

Han Se-Yeon asked him.
“I thought you were leaving?”

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“The story will be different when my friends are in danger.”

“Really?”

Kang Jin-Ho ignored her for now and addressed the man.
“You.
Scram.”

“…?”

“Or it’ll end up badly for you.”

The man let out a hollow chuckle.
“The f*ck? This kid must be insane.”

Right after muttering that out, the man threw a vicious punch at Kang Jin-Ho.

“Ah!” Han Se-Yeon screamed in panic.

Kang Jin-Ho frowned deeply at her ear-piercing shriek.
He found that way scarier than some random punches.
He dodged the attack and lightly smacked the back of the attacking thug's neck.

Tap!

The man crumpled to the floor along with a weak, deflating noise.

“Hah?” Another thug, this time with long hair, witnessed that sight, and his jaw slightly dropped.
He then ordered the other thug.
“Hey, go and deal with that one.”

“Got it.” The third thug wearing a pair of jeans rushed straight at Kang Jin-Ho.
But he also crumpled to the ground in the middle of his dash.
That was because Kang Jin-Ho's hand had struck the back of his head, too.

After taking these two men out of commission, Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brows.
He was not enjoying this 'fight' against ordinary people with no martial art training whatsoever.
This situation was similar to each side bringing different weapons to a fight—one side brought along a loaded gun and started shooting from afar while the other side came bare-handed.

Even though he felt this way, Kang Jin-Ho still entered the alleyway because there was something he wanted to confirm.

“You aren’t some ordinary kid, eh?” The long-haired man slowly walked up closer to Kang Jin-Ho.
“An attack that light isn't enough to knock people out.
That is, if you purely relied on physical strength alone.”

His words subtly hinted at so many things at once.

“You are a martial artist,” Kang Jin-Ho muttered, his eyes sharply gleamed.

There was one—there were martial artists in the modern era!

After he returned to the modern era, something began to breed doubt in Kang Jin-Ho’s mind.
The study of martial arts had been widespread in the past, yet why couldn't he find a trace of it in the modern era?

There were probably many reasons for that, the most obvious one being the rate of progress in martial arts couldn't keep up with the advancement in modern weaponry.
You would need decades of training to become a martial arts expert, but becoming a firearms expert was different.
Even an ordinary person with little to no training could pick up a gun and turn it into a weapon of wanton slaughter.

The power of modern firearms was nearly unstoppable unless you were a high-level expert.
Knowing this, who would go out of their way to train in martial arts?

This could have been the reason why cultivation techniques had gotten lost in the flow of time.
But that still left one lingering unanswered question in his mind—the methods of combat might have shifted its focus onto firearms rather than hand-to-hand fighting, but would that really be enough of a reason for clans and individuals mastering various cultivation techniques to completely disappear from Earth?

Shaolin Temple had become a tourist attraction, while Wudang became the headquarters of Taoism in the modern era.
Why were the protectors of those institutions not cultivating the ways of martial arts? Kang Jin-Ho couldn't understand it.
But now…

His question was finally answered.
He could sense internal energy, qi, within this long-haired man.
His cultivation was obviously raised systematically, too.
Kang Jin-Ho was certain that this long-haired man didn't randomly pick up some secret cultivation manual off the ground and taught himself using it.

Kang Jin-Ho muttered, “I see, so there’s another one.”

“What do you mean by that, kid? What, you thought you were the only one?”

“No, that's not it.
I'm just glad.” A grin crept up on Kang Jin-Ho's lips.
One of the things he couldn't satisfy in the modern era so far was his thirst for martial arts.

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He had been deliberately avoiding training and cultivating in the modern era.
He couldn't see the need for it since he had no place to use his improved power, nor did he have a rival to compare himself to after reaching a new realm of strength.
What was the point of mastering martial arts in such an era, then?

But now, he discovered that people capable of recognizing the progress in his martial arts still existed in the modern era.

Kang Jin-Ho asked a question, “Who is your master?”

“What's it to you, kid?” The long-haired man sneered.

Kang Jin-Ho couldn't bother anymore and dismissively waved his hand.
“Scram, then.”

“…What?”

“You better go and bring your master here.
You are no match for me.”

“What was that, you little sh*t?”

Instead of a verbal reply, Kang Jin-Ho quietly glared at the long-haired man.
The latter involuntarily flinched.

Humans could only see and decipher according to what they knew.
As such, those without knowledge of martial arts could not sense the 'aura' Kang Jin-Ho was emitting.
Maybe they could pick up on an unexplainable sense of dread or an ominous sense of foreboding, but that would be their limits.

However, those familiar with cultivation had also received training to sharpen their senses.
They trained themselves to pick up on even the faintest traces of bloodlust.
They could also detect movements through aura alone—that was how sharp their senses were.

And that was why the long-haired man could tell; he could tell how dangerous Kang Jin-Ho was.
More accurately, he could tell how terrifying the slumbering beast within Kang Jin-Ho was!

“Y-you…!” The long-haired man stumbled backward.

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes.
“You can leave.
I won't do anything to you.”

“Euh…!” The long-haired man felt humiliated but he couldn't do anything about it.
Just being in front of Kang Jin-Ho made it difficult for him to breathe.

'Just where did this kid?!' 

The long-haired man thought to himself.
Not even his master could emit this type of dangerous aura.
In fact, he had come across many martial artists so far, but not a single one gave off a similar vibe as this teenage boy.

‘This sinister vibe!’

Other cultivators gave off clear and pristine auras, yet what Kang Jin-Ho's figure emitted evoked a sense of pure terror instead.
It became painfully obvious that the latter was definitely not someone to be trifled with.

“Urgh!”

Kang Jin-Ho heard a pained gasp coming from behind and glanced back.
His friends were shuddering in fear from the aura he had released.
His aura was so concentrated and dense that even the ordinary people with duller senses were being affected by it.
Noticing this, he immediately withdrew his aura.

“…Ah!”

The inexplicable sense of liberation prompted several gasps for air to come from his friends.

Kang Jin-Ho shifted his gaze back to the long-haired man.
“Scram.”

“…”

“Take your goons with you, too.”

“Understood.” The long-haired man bit his lower lip, then lifted up his two companions off the ground.
Before leaving, though, he turned his head toward Kang Jin-Ho.
“We'll see you again.”

Kang Jin-Ho smiled brightly.
“I'll be waiting.”