Descent of the Demon Master

"Your parents will be very pleased, Assembly Master," said Lee Hyeon-Ju.

She spoke with assured confidence, but Lee Hyeon-Su's response was one of unbridled panic. Unfortunately for him, though…

Lee Hyeon-Ju didn't give him a chance to fight back.

"You have no idea how important this topic is to our Assembly Master, Chief Lee."

"...Huh?"

"You don't have any personal experience, and that's why you can't understand it, Chief Lee. However, it's a different story for our Assembly Master. No matter how capable he is… No matter how high his cultivation is, he is still no better than a lazy bum of a son who's skipping university and lounging around at home."

Kang Jin-Ho's jaw fell ever so slightly.

'Huh? I… I've never considered that until now. What the…?'

"Imagine your son, who graduated high school with excellent grades, entering a top-tier university. However, instead of studying, he's driving his fancy car to God knows where every single day and wasting his time while his peers are busy building their foundation for their future careers. You can already guess how stressful that might be, yes?"

"Assembly Master? I'm sure you've already noticed that your parents have grown a little colder towards you lately."

"…!"

Kang Jin-Ho couldn't bring himself to respond to her. Not because he hadn't noticed his parents' cold attitude toward him, though. No, it was because he was too busy wondering how much he should amend that qualifier of "a little"!

'Right. Their evaluation of me has hit rock bottom.'

Once upon a time, Kang Jin-Ho was viewed as the shining beacon of hope for the Kang family.

Those days could have been the golden era for him. His family members unquestioningly believed Kang Jin-Ho could do everything well, and he always met their expectations.

But now… How should he go about describing his current status?

His mother nagged him constantly. His father tutted in disapproval. Even his little sister tried to monitor him, her eyes obviously full of mistrust.

As a member of the martial world, Kang Jin-Ho's position and renown had risen at a meteoric rate, yet to the eyes of his family members… He was nothing more than a bum who refused to join the job market for some reason. For now, he had a tenuous protective barrier called "Being a Uni Student" shielding him from harm, but…!

"...Yes, it's been bone-chillingly cold," Kang Jin-Ho quietly muttered.

"I knew it," Lee Hyeon-Ju nodded.

However, Lee Hyeon-Su was still unwilling to accept. "Hold on. Hold on! What do you even…!"

"No, you hold on, Chief Lee! I pleaded with you to let me finish, didn't I! Please stop!" Lee Hyeon-Ju sharply yelled at him.

"...My bad. You can go ahead now."

Lee Hyeon-Ju groaned before snatching up a bottle of water. She gulped several mouthfuls of water, then rolled up her sleeves. "Although the matter with your parents was spoken half in jest, you shouldn't dismiss it as nonsense. If anything, you need to seriously worry about it. Because this issue doesn't just affect you, Assembly Master. It applies to pretty much everyone."

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. "Huh? How?"

Lee Hyeon-Ju turned her attention to Lee Hyeon-Su again. "Chief Lee, do you own a home?"

"...No, I don't. Why?"

"How do you plan to buy one?"

"Can't I save up and buy it when the time is right?"

It was official now. This man named Lee Hyeon-Su was definitely a lost cause. Such was the hopelessness of his situation that not only Wiggins, but even Kang Jin-Ho stared weirdly at Lee Hyeon-Su!

"D-Did I say something wrong?" Lee Hyeon-Su asked in a slight panic.

Lee Hyeon-Ju slowly shook her head. "The normal thing for a person from the surface world is to get a home loan from a bank, but martial artists can't do that. That's because we don't have a job and a fixed income source."

Lee Hyeon-Ju faltered. "B-but we pay our members, don't we?"

"Which bank is crazy enough to look at the suspicious money trail and go, 'Yes, that's your salary!' and start loaning you money?!"

"...Oh."

"Let's be realistic, shall we?" Lee Hyeon-Ju tutted at Lee Hyeon-Su. "This place might have the Martial Assembly written on the entrance, but from the outsiders' POV? It's probably the most horrifying, shocking, hopeless hell containing over ten thousand jobless bums!"

She had a point there. Even though martial artists tried to stay away from the surface world, they still had birth certificates and resident registration cards, didn't they?

Lee Hyeon-Su dazedly muttered away. "Huh. Then… Doesn't that mean the Assembly has been playing a sizable role in the youth unemployment statistics?"

"Yes. Our so-called contribution is probably nothing to scoff at."

"S-so, that means the actual unemployment rate is considerably lower than reported? I guess that's something to celebrate…?"

The country should indeed be happy about this revelation, but from the perspective of the Martial Assembly… What a sorrowful development this was. To think all these hard-working folks had to suffer the ignominy of being labeled as unemployed bums!

"It's not like martial artists don't have surface world friends and family members. In some cases, the immediate family members might know about your identity as a martial artist but not the rest of your relatives. That happens quite often, doesn't it? It's no wonder why they loathe the idea of holiday seasons."

As he listened, Lee Hyeon-Su realized he fully empathized with those martial artists. "Right. They must be constantly bombarded with, 'You should also get a job soon.' Urgh…"

"Now you get it. And your mom will constantly remind you of how her friend's son got a job in a major corporation."

"...Yup, that will be hellish, alright." Lee Hyeon-Su grimaced and nodded away. He had finally understood the severity of this situation.

Although this exchange had a vibe of a jokey banter, everyone here tacitly understood the crux of the matter. To be a functioning member of society, one required an identity and position. However, one had to discard those two factors to become a member of the Martial Assembly. That seemed like an unreasonably steep penalty.

Lee Hyeon-Su turned his head to stare at Kang Jin-Ho. "I think Miss Lee has a valid point, sir."

"Mm…!" Kang Jin-Ho contemplatively nodded.

'It's true that humans need a title of some sort.'

He already knew how much of a difference a single title attached to one's name could make. After all, he had plenty of opportunities to observe the extreme difference between being famous and being a nobody back in Zhongyuan.

"Mm, got it. Anything else?"

"It's crucial to create a point of contact," said Lee Hyeon-Ju. "It's impossible to hide the Martial Assembly's existence forever, sir. If we tried that till the end only for our existence to be suddenly revealed to the public… I assure you, we won't be able to handle the fallout.

"In that case, we should make enough preparations ahead of time, sir. I can't say whether these preparations will come in handy in a hundred years or in the next five years, but one thing is for certain… The sooner we do this, the better."

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded. "I understand. Is there anything else?"

"I've covered the major advantages, sir. Of course, there are many other minor benefits to consider," said Lee Hyeon-Ju, her hands trembling ever so slightly.

Kang Jin-Ho noticed her hand tremors. Even though she was trying to stay confident, it seemed there wasn't much she could do about all the nervousness naturally flooding into her heart.

He looked into her eyes again. "Very well. Then, what are the disadvantages?"

"Money, sir. We must pay a lot of money."

What a straightforward yet deeply painful disadvantage that was.

Lee Hyeon-Ju explained quickly. "Becoming a legitimate business entity means we must reveal the state of our cash flow to outsiders. All the profits generated from this flow will then be taxed accordingly."

"...And we must take on this burden willingly? Is that it?"

"Yes, sir. Because we stand to gain much more," Lee Hyeon-Ju nodded. She didn't let up and continued to ride her momentum. "There are other disadvantages to consider. Once we become a legitimate company, our cash flow must be monitored even more strictly. In other words, we must give up on all the side earnings from extralegal activities."

"Give up, as in completely?"

Lee Hyeon-Ju shrugged. "Well, I'm sure we can continue those activities. As a matter of fact, it might not be all that difficult to carry on. However, it's more than likely that you will have to stand before a throng of reporters one day. Of course, being surrounded by countless reporters taking a million and half photos of you is an extraordinary event no normal person will get to experience in their lifetime, so…"

"...Nope. No thanks." Kang Jin-Ho resolutely shook his head. He had zero desire to participate in such an event.

"Various combinations of issues will crop up, but in my opinion, the biggest problems will be these three, sir,"

Lee Hyeon-Ju sat up even taller in her seat.

"The first problem will be the issuing of taxes. The second problem is the risk of coughing up all the back taxes as a consequence of publicly registering the Assembly. The amount for that will be absolutely enormous, sir. And finally, growing closer to the surface world means we will be exposed more than ever before. It's about that much."

"You shouldn't make light of that, though." Lee Hyeon-Su sighed deeply. "Growing closer to the surface world and being exposed more means the risk factor will go up significantly, too. Don't you know what will happen when the surface world and the martial world come in contact?"

"Yes, I'm aware of the dangers. However, Chief Lee… Things are already dangerous for us."

"…"

"In my opinion, the continuous losses incurred while in hiding are much greater than the potential losses incurred by revealing ourselves. Please know that I wouldn't have brought this matter up if I believed it could be brushed aside. I know full well how my department will be swarmed with work once we go ahead with this recommendation. And I know how people will resent me for touching a hornet's nest and needlessly complicating matters.

"However, I still honestly believe it is worth all the trouble to go ahead with this recommendation, sir."

Lee Hyeon-Su spoke like a lawyer making her closing argument.

Kang Jin-Ho turned his head to stare at Wiggins next. "What do you think?"

"Well, although that was a little unsophisticated…" Wiggins grinned brightly. "I believe this avenue is worth exploring, my lord. As long as we go about it smartly, of course."

"Smartly? What do you mean?"

"It's not necessary for us to do all the legwork to become a legitimate corporation. Don't we already have willing volunteers for that?"

Willing volunteers? Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. Did they have people like that? "Mm? Are you talking about the… Jaegyeong Corporation?"

"Hmm… Ah, yes. Jaegyeong. They can be a valuable advisor during our transition. But, no, it's not Jaegyeong, my lord. It's not necessarily the best idea to fully expose our existence to them. Maybe a handful of top-level executives, yes. But the lower-ranked management? We should avoid that."

"I see. Then, what?"

"Of course, it should obviously be the Korean government, my lord."

"...The government?"

But why would they? Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head in confusion.

Wiggins responded to his lord's confusion with a slick smile. "You could say that this is an excellent development from the Korean government's perspective. Here is a group of highly-suspicious people responsible for hoovering up considerable wealth from the country's economy. The government can't touch them despite knowing the truth. They even had to assist this group with covering up the flow of ill-gotten funds. But now, such a group is volunteering to cough up taxes."

"...Yes, that sounds about right."

"The government shouldn't have any reasons to refuse the idiots willingly walking into its hungry maw. So, I'd wager that they will shower us with various favorable conditions. We can take advantage of that by 'requesting' them to overlook the profits earned up to this year and help us regain the Assembly members' citizenship registration that must've gotten rather ambiguous over the years.

"Of course, in return, we will have to promise them to reveal as much information about our finances and pay taxes on time from now on."

Kang Jin-Ho silently turned his head and stared at Lee Hyeon-Su. The latter signaled back with his eyes, saying Kang Jin-Ho should just nod along.

Kang Jin-Ho stuttered ungainly. "...T-that sounds good."

Wiggins rubbed his chin. "Hmm… In the end, these explanations are ultimately meaningless, aren't they? After all, your task boils down to this, my lord. Will you go ahead with it or not? Regardless of what you choose, our role is to do our very best to carry out your will. And we will work our butts off to create the best version of the Assembly. So, to reiterate…"

Wiggins grew somber as he stared directly into Kang Jin-Ho's eyes, his slick smile already gone.

"The choice ultimately rests with you, my lord."

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded away. "I will need time to think it over."

"Of course, my lord. Please take your time."

"Wiggins?"

"Yes, my lord?"

"In case I decide to go ahead with this… I want you to think about what we need to do."

"Mm? Should I assume that you've made up your mind already?"

"No, I haven't, but…" Kang Jin-Ho looked up at the ceiling above. All those small patterns up there tried to disorient him. "I have a good idea of what I'll end up choosing, you see. I've been thinking about something for a while.

"Changes can be scary. And cumbersome, too. But that's always been the case whenever you are about to cast away all the familiar things and choose a different path to walk on. And these feelings will only get worse if your current life has been good to you until now. Even so…"

As Kang Jin-Ho spoke, conviction gradually filled his expression. He scanned his audience with determination next.

"I know that those who fear change and try to stay still will get left behind. Maybe this change will work against us in the future. However, if we allow the fear of that possibility to paralyze us, we won't be able to make the necessary progress for a better future."

"Yes, my lord. Your words are indeed wise," said Wiggins with a satisfied nod.

"You've made the right decision, sir," Lee Hyeon-Ju smiled brightly while tightly clenching her fists.

However, Lee Hyeon-Su remained silent and expressionless. Kang Jin-Ho glanced at him. "If you have any objections, I'd like to hear it."

"Assembly Master, sir."

"Mm?"

"I'm supposed to be your advisor. And my advice is meant to assist with your decision-making process."

"…"

"I will follow you regardless of your choice, sir. If the direction you chose makes little to no sense, it's my job to make it make sense somehow. Once you've made your decision, don't doubt yourself with other opinions and give us your orders."

Although the way Lee Hyeon-Su said those things seemed a little strange, Kang Jin-Ho still perfectly understood what he wanted to say.

The corners of Kang Jin-Ho's lips curled up. It felt like the Assembly had changed so, so much compared to the first time he showed up here. All those changes eventually led up to this point, and now…

The Korean Martial Assembly would change even more.

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. "Got it. Let's get a move on. All of you, find the best way to make this happen."

"Understood, sir!" Lee Hyeon-Ju nodded hurriedly.

"Of course, I will help, too," said Wiggins.

Kang Jin-Ho leisurely sank deeper into the couch's cushions as Lee Hyeon-Su, Wiggins, and Lee Hyeon-Ju got up to leave.

'Things are busier than ever.'

The Assembly's transformation had been rapid. And it'd only continue to change. Failing to keep his wits about him would mean even Kang Jin-Ho could get sucked up and chewed out by this rapid change.

'Even so, this isn't bad, now is it?'

They were steadily moving forward. Little by little.

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