Descent of the Demon Master

Hyeon-Ju shook her head.
“No, Grandfather.
We ’ve already lost.”

“How can you say that?! When I ’m still alive and kicking like this!”

”Grandfather, you must face reality! ” Lee Hyeon-Ju sighed and tried to convince Lee Jung-Geol.
”Not many among our supporters are willing to shed blood and fight for our sake, Grandfather.
When the real fighting starts, they ’ll most likely stay under the radar. ”

”But that will be the same story for Bang Jin-Hun, too! He doesn ’t have the charisma to unite and lead people, so who would want to risk their lives for him?! ”

“But Bang Jin-Hun built his power base with that possibility in mind, Grandfather! Obviously, he ’ll have more people willing to take up arms for him!”

“M-mm…!” Lee Jung-Geol gasped in pain.

“And how are you going to stop Kang Jin-Ho?”

The mere mention of Kang Jin-Ho ’s name was more than enough to instill fear into Lee Jung-Geol ’s expression.
It felt like his heart would lurch and splutter until it stopped dead!

’Kang Jin-Ho…! ’

Lee Jung-Geol ’s head was telling him that Kang Jin-Ho couldn ’t be stopped.

Even if he mobilized every warrior he could find, Kang Jin-Ho still seemed impossible to stop.
That was how otherworldly that returner ’s martial arts attainment seemed to Lee Jung-Geol.

“Stinking returner bastards…!”

’Order ’ existed in this world.
However, these damn returners came back to the modern era after experiencing the past just to throw the world into chaos.
Sure, most returners kept to themselves without becoming a problem, but this bastard named Kang Jin-Ho was different.
He wanted to stand in the open and shake up the world.

“Even if we managed to stop Kang Jin-Ho, our forces, with our strength depleted from the battle—we won ’t be able to defend against the Yeongnam Group ’s assault.
That means the Martial Assembly will get absorbed by them in the end, Grandfather!”

“…!”

“There is no other way, Grandfather…”

Bang Jin-Hun would never give up.
And it meant Lee Jung-Geol had to give up and walk away.
That was the only way to save the Martial Assembly he had spent his entire life protecting and nurturing.

”…You say there is no other way? ” Unfortunately, rage had clouded Lee Jung-Geol ’s eyes again.
”Since when did you become a weakling who only knows how to spew such nonsense! ”

“Grandfather!”

“I ’ve built this Assembly with my own two hands! But now, are you telling me to hand it over to a bastard without fighting back?! I will not do it!”

“B-but…!”

“I already said I will not do it, Hyeon-Ju! Didn ’t you hear me?!”

Lee Hyeon-Ju ’s expression hardened.

’He has changed…! ’

This old man in front of her eyes wasn’t the same grandfather she knew and loved throughout her life.
The ’Lee Jung-Geol ’ who remained cool-headed no matter what and tried to make the best decision was no longer here.
He had long been replaced by a man stained deeply by the greed of a decrepit senior citizen!

’So, this was why…! ’

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Lee Hyeon-Ju squeezed her eyes shut.
Back when Bang Jin-Hun started raising a ruckus about Lee Jung-Geol needing to vacate his position, she figured that the man was simply blinded by his thirst for power.
She thought Bang Jin-Hun was bad-mouthing her grandfather out of his desire to become the next Assembly Master.

However, she was wrong.
Her grandfather was…
already no longer the person she knew.

’I should ’ve recognized this sooner…! ’

If she had recognized it earlier, then perhaps, they wouldn ’t have been reduced to this state…

“Grandfather, we need to protect the Assembly, at the very least!”

Lee Jung-Geol roared unhappily, “What ’s the point of protecting the Assembly after it falls into the wrong hands?!”

”It ’s still better than watching it dissolve, don ’t you know that?! Do you want to see the Yeongnam Group uniting the Korean martial world? ”

“…Right.
That was it, wasn ’t it?” Lee Jung-Geol suddenly stared at the empty air in stupefaction after the name of the Yeongnam Group triggered something in his head.
“When you think about it, all this began not with Bang Jin-Hun or Kang Jin-Ho.
No, it all began…
with the Yeongnam Group.”

“G-grandfather…?” Lee Hyeon-Ju tilted her head in confusion.
What was the point of saying that when it was already too late?

Lee Jung-Geol ’s gaze slowly shifted to his granddaughter.
“Do you know why the Yeongnam Group suddenly gained prominence and influence?”

“I ’m sorry?” Lee Hyeon-Ju blinked her eyes.
Where was her grandfather going with this? None of that was important right now, after all!

Despite her confusion, Lee Jung-Geol paid no mind to his granddaughter ’s reaction, as if he didn ’t care about her reaction in the first place.
”It ’s because they borrowed power from the foreigners. ”

”Foreigners…
and their power? ”

Lee Jung-Geol powerfully nodded.
”Yes, foreigners and their power! It was because they received support from Chinese martial artists! That was how they managed to quickly grow their strength! So, if the Korean martial world falls into the Yeongnam Group ’s hands, Korea will basically become a vassal state of China! ”

“That means…
We ’ll have to prevent that, at the very least.”

”Indeed, we have to prevent that, ” said Lee Jung-Geol as his eyes gleamed dangerously.

A rush of anxiety quickly washed over Lee Hyeon-Ju after she noticed her grandfather ’s expression.
She had never seen Lee Jung-Geol make that kind of face before.
And it simply did not suit her beloved grandfather, who used to be so benevolent and gentle.

While making the face of a man who had lost to his greed and madness, Lee Jung-Geol broke into a sinister cackle.
“Yes.
I can see it now.
I was approaching this problem incorrectly from the beginning, wasn ’t I? Those bastards were playing a coward ’s game, so it was stupid of me to oppose them in a forthright and open manner.”

“G-grandfather…!”

“If they resorted to borrowing the foreigners ’ power, then…
All I have to do is do the same.”

Lee Hyeon-Ju ’s eyes quaked powerfully.
“Grandfather, no!”

Lee Jung-Geol ’s expression gradually transformed.
His burning eyes slowly cooled down, and a benevolent smile soon formed on his face as if he had returned to his old self.
“Child, you don ’t need to worry anymore.
This grandfather of yours will sort out everything very soon.”

“What are you going to do, Grandfather?”

“I told you, you don’t have to worry anymore.”

“…Grandfather, please snap out of it! What ’s gotten into you?!”

“Hahaha, this child…” Lee Jung-Geol lightly clapped his hands, prompting several men in black suits to enter his room.
“Gentlemen.
Things will get troublesome if this child goes around blabbing her mouth, so…
Confine her for a while.”

“Yes, sir!”

Lee Hyeon-Ju cried out as rough hands started grabbing at her shoulders.
“No, Grandfather! You mustn ’t! You need to stop!”

“Do not worry, child.
And get some good rest while you ’re at it.”

“Grandfatherrrr!”

Lee Jung-Geol watched as his granddaughter was dragged outside the doorway, and then he muttered to himself, “Time to…
revert everything to how it used to be.”

Even if the method this time wasn’t righteous!

From the Assembly Master ’s office, the plan to plunge the world into chaos and confusion was set in motion.

1.
From Mister Google: “Doljabi is a tradition where the child is placed in front of various items or objects (Usually 6 – 8 items).
Then, the child is encouraged to grab one or two items from the set of objects where each choice represents a certain future of the child with respect to his or her career or lifestyle.” ☜