Descent of the Demon Master

Flip…

A page was cleanly flipped, then another was flipped almost right afterward.

Gulp…!

Lee Hyeon-Su stared at this spectacle in a state of slight wonderment. The spectacle being… Kang Jin-Ho unhesitantly flipping through a book!

A casual observer would've thought Kang Jin-Ho was disinterestedly perusing a throwaway novel, but no! He was definitely not reading works of fiction right now.

‘Sir… That’s not the type of book you can read at that speed.’

Kang Jin-Ho was currently studying from a university textbook.

He searched for things he could do after the Martial Assembly going legit had lit the proverbial fire in him. And he eventually found it, albeit Lee Hyeon-Su was half-responsible for this discovery since he had recommended it in the first place!

A person couldn't do everything perfectly. And they certainly didn't have a reason to learn about absolutely everything under the sun, either. In that sense, Kang Jin-Ho didn't have to deal with every step in the formation of the company.

Of course, he still needed to have some baseline knowledge. He was supposed to become the company’s chairman, after all. A man like that having zero knowledge in business administration? What a joke that would be!

There was a reason why so many corporations tried to centralize all the decision-making authority to their chairpersons. Even if the executives were whip-smart and talented in running a business, the chairperson still had the final say in how the company was run.

Why was that, though? The reason was simple enough—the buck stopped with the chairperson, that was why!

Everything was fine and dandy when things were going well. However, when things were less than fine, the person in charge of the operations must take full responsibility.

However, who would want to do that when the company wasn't even theirs?

Those who got unwillingly saddled with responsibilities would naturally shrink back.

So, it made sense for the person in charge to have the right to make the types of gambles that most people would have shaken their heads at.

...Which also meant Kang Jin-Ho simply must learn about business management.

Even if his knowledge base never reached the super-pro level, he still needed to have an overall understanding of what was what. Only then would he be able to comprehend the advice and opinions of Lee Hyeon-Su and Lee Hyeon-Ju.

But this…!

‘Whenever he starts something… Seriously, dude. Why don't you know how to do things in moderation?’

Lee Hyeon-Su's stupefied gaze shifted to the piles of books all around, and on top of, Kang Jin-Ho's desk.

The first impression was that Kang Jin-Ho had deliberately created towers of books for fun. Lee Hyeon-Su thought he had seen a few cafes that had decorated their interior like that. Although, unlike those cafes, Kang Jin-Ho was actually reading all these textbooks!

Kang Jin-Ho's preferred study method could only be described as straightforward.

Lee Hyeon-Su said he’d invite a renowned professor as a private tutor, but Kang Jin-Ho shook his head in refusal. His reason? Doing things that way would be too inefficient.

At first, Lee Hyeon-Su was confused. But this scene helped him understand what Kang Jin-Ho meant.

Kang Jin-Ho’s first order of business was to find and collect every textbook related to lectures he’d have attended during university semesters. However, finding and collecting didn’t mean he gathered textbooks used in lectures only. As an example…

When Kang Jin-Ho thought he might need another textbook related to the theory of business management, he went and bought at least ten different famous books on that subject. And then… he read through them all!

‘Is it necessary to do that, though?’

Lee Hyeon-Su could only frown.The thing about textbooks was that they were pretty much the same. After all, each book explained the core theory in a slightly different manner from the others. So, reading ten different textbooks on the same subject would only mean you read the same thing ten times.

However, Kang Jin-Ho seemed to think repeating himself like that was par for the course and read through every single book. And he used his inhuman speed to make up for this staggering inefficiency!

Slam!

Kang Jin-Ho finished another book and pushed it aside. How long did he take to finish that thick book this time, Lee Hyeon-Su wondered.

That book had to be over a thousand pages long, yet Kang Jin-Ho finished it in less than thirty minutes. At that speed, shouldn’t Lee Hyeon-Su worry about whether Kang Jin-Ho was actually reading the book or not?

“Sir… Did you finish that book?”

Kang Jin-Ho looked away from his next book and stared at Lee Hyeon-Su. “Mm?”

“No, well, uh… I was just wondering if you’ve really finished it.”

“I did. Why would I move on to another one if I hadn't?”

“...Of course, sir. I guess you have, then.” Lee Hyeon-Su faltered and fidgeted a bit before asking something else. “But, uh… Can you understand the contents like that?”

“Well, certain things are still difficult to understand,” Kang Jin-Ho casually shrugged. “I do get what these theories are trying to say. However, certain concepts don't seem all that clear on how they could be applied to real-life situations. Still, it seems they might come in handy one day. That's why I'm making sure I got them right.”

“Oh…”

As it turned out, Kang Jin-Ho really was reading them… And understanding them, too.

Lee Hyeon-Su could only chuckle hollowly. He knew Kang Jin-Ho’s abilities had already far transcended the realm of a human being. At this stage in their relationship, Lee Hyeon-Su wouldn’t be surprised if Kang Jin-Ho went somewhere and hunted a dinosaur down!

Maybe he should pity the poor dinosaur for having the bad luck of going up against Kang Jin-Ho. Even a T-Rex would be nothing more than a gecko sipping on morning dew in the front yard when pitted against Kang Jin-Ho.

However, the situation this time was a bit different, now wasn’t it?

Of course, Lee Hyeon-Su also knew that martial artists boasted a higher level of comprehension than most non-martial artists. Most of that was down to cultivation. Or, more correctly, the mind art.

One's cultivation eliminated impurities circulating within a cultivator's meridians and helped them maintain their peak physical condition. Not only that, but it also brought out a cultivator's potential to the limit, too. With all these things happening to a cultivator, no one would mistake them for being a moron.

'Even if that's true, isn't this still a bit over the top?'

Lee Hyeon-Su wasn't sure if he should chalk this situation down to Kang Jin-Ho's unique characteristics. Or maybe all peak experts at Kang Jin-Ho's level were capable of emulating this feat? He had no answer either way.

‘I mean… How would I know when this is my first time looking at a top-tier martial art expert studying from university textbooks?’

Rather wisely, Lee Hyeon-Su decided to give up on understanding this situation. After all, Kang Jin-Ho defied all attempts to understand him, anyway!

All Lee Hyeon-Su should do was accept this situation as-is. Trying to figure Kang Jin-Ho out would only give him a nasty case of migraine!

‘Huh. If he keeps this up, wouldn’t he finish reading all these books by tomorrow?’

The books here weren't just from regular uni lectures but also from MBA courses. Despite their steep difficulty curve, the towers of these textbooks as imposing as fortress walls were rapidly and gradually falling lower and lower.

Lee Hyeon-Su estimated that Kang Jin-Ho probably only needed around two days to completely dismantle this fortress.

Lee Hyeon-Su briefly coughed to clear his throat. “Ahem. For now, reading these books should suffice, but…”

“Mm?” Kang Jin-Ho looked at Lee Hyeon-Su again.

“From the post-graduate level, you need someone to show you the ropes, sir.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, sir,” Lee Hyeon-Su swallowed his saliva to wet his dried throat. “Knowing the theories won’t be much of a help when trying to manage a business in reality, sir. It’s similar to how… Mathematicians can’t really apply their mathematical knowledge to their everyday lives.”

“Mm…”

“To be able to properly utilize your knowledge, you need to at least go through a Master’s course. Many famous universities boast courses related to this subject, sir. If you want, I can inquire about those.”

“I see. Please do,” said Kang Jin-Ho while closing the book’s cover and leaning against his chair.

“Sir… Aren’t you tired?”

“Nah, I’m fine,” Kang Jin-Ho smirked confidently.

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned slightly. “I understand that you wouldn’t have any physical issues. But I’m pretty sure that not even a top expert can deal with mental fatigue.”

Of course, those who mastered the mind art could handle more mental stress than an average person. Even if that advantage was taken into account, though… Wasn't the amount of work dumped on Kang Jin-Ho's shoulders a little too much?

All the work Lee Hyeon-Su dealt with in the past seemed puny in comparison. However, Kang Jin-Ho was ably handling all this work without a single complaint.

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled slightly. “I don’t particularly feel tired or anything.”

“That’s good to hear…”

“And it’s kinda fun, too.”

Lee Hyeon-Su heard the word ‘fun’ and could only stare at Kang Jin-Ho in stupefaction. “Sir… Is reading textbooks fun?”

Even the professors responsible for writing those textbooks and teaching them in their lectures would shudder in dread at what Kang Jin-Ho said. Or they’d jump up and down in joy at the appearance of a heavenly scholar! Whatever their response was, it’d be on the extreme end of the scale, that was for sure!

Kang Jin-Ho shook his head. “These books are boring, of course.”

“Oh. Well, that's a relief." Lee Hyeon-Su sighed under his breath.

It seemed Kang Jin-Ho could still be classified as ‘Human,’ at least for now.

“However, it’s the process that’s been fun for me.”

Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head. “The process?”

“Yeah. I meant the Assembly's transformation,” said Kang Jin-Ho while looking outside the office's windows. His gaze was locked on the extensive mountain range spread out all around the Assembly HQ. Various training fields, created after literally flattening some of the mountain peaks in the area, were visibly filled up with martial artists.

Even from this far away, their vitality and energy could be felt.

‘For sure, this transformation process has been fun.’

People tended to enjoy the sight of certain things changing and advancing in an efficient manner. One only had to look at the abundance of business or theme park management sims in the market to know this was true. However, such sims could never rival reality.

If people could get directly involved, then no video game could rival the fun the process of changing and improving an organization would give them.

The only problem was that you couldn't save the progress or reset the reality if you messed up somewhere.

“Assembly Master… Haven’t you experienced something similar to this before?”

“No, the situation was different back then,” said Kang Jin-Ho while shaking his head.

Indeed, he had prior experience of turning the demon cult into the number one sect under the heavens. However, that achievement shouldn’t be attributed to him.

All Kang Jin-Ho did back then was get stronger. As he got stronger, others around him also grew in strength to match him, which resulted in the demon cult's growth, too. And it was none other than Azure Demon who exploited this growth in strength to propel the demon cult to its prosperity.

That was probably why Kang Jin-Ho never felt proud of the demon cult's evolution. He never felt a sense of belonging with the cult back then. He simply kept training and improving his strength without any clear goal in mind while longing for the modern era he couldn't return to.

However, things were different now.

Now, Kang Jin-Ho could see. He could see the result of his commands and teachings. Unlike in the past, he had comrades with him. Comrades who would share their opinions with him and quickly carry out his orders.

As such, the fun Kang Jin-Ho felt now… This was something he had never experienced before.

Lee Hyeon-Su cautiously raised his voice. “I'm genuinely happy about you caring so much about the Assembly, but… I'm also worried about things getting out of hand, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “Getting out of hand? How?”

“I’m worried about you trying to get directly involved in too many things at once, sir.”

“Oh, that? I’m being careful about it, too. I don’t need another lecture, you see?”

“That’s good to hear, sir,” Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled to match Kang Jin-Ho’s grin.

The truth was that Lee Hyeon-Su also felt fulfilled by these recent developments. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the current state of the Martial Assembly was the result of Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su's hard work.

They worked tirelessly to reform the shocking level of inefficiency and established a proper chain of command and governance system. Thanks to all their hard work, the Assembly had become organized enough to think about going legit for real.

How could Lee Hyeon-Su not be chuffed when he could clearly see the results of his hard work?

“Lee Hyeon-Su?”

“Yes, sir?” Lee Hyeon-Su shifted his attention back to Kang Jin-Ho.

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“I see. Please go ahead.”

Kang Jin-Ho continued to stare outside the window. “Is it really getting better?”

“...Sir, I don't understand.”

“You know, like… Mm…” Kang Jin-Ho scratched his head a little. “Improving our fighting strength and overall efficiency is undoubtedly a massive progress, right?”

“Yes, sir. It indeed is.”

“But… Can we really say this progress is a good thing for them?”

When Kang Jin-Ho pointed outside with his chin, Lee Hyeon-Su turned his head to glance outside the window. He could see the Assembly members busy training away. That was when he figured out what Kang Jin-Ho was worried about.

An organization's evolution didn't necessarily equal happiness for its members.

An organization that continued to charge ahead would start demanding more and more things from its members. Those who couldn't satisfy those demands would start longing for the so-called good old past.

What Kang Jin-Ho was worried about was charging ahead too fast and failing to notice those people in time.

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded and spoke affirmatively. “Sir, I think it’s gotten better for everyone. No, scratch that. It has become better, sir.”

“...You think so?”

“Yes, sir.” Lee Hyeon-Su's voice grew in confidence. “The path you chose to walk isn't only for your own personal gains, after all. If I'm being honest, I still don't get any of the charity work and other welfare stuff you've been trying to do, sir. However, I still believe all those things will eventually tally up and turn the Assembly into a better place overall.”

“You think so?”

“I do, sir. It's like you're extending a helping hand toward us. Even if not everyone is perfectly satisfied, they'd still agree that things have improved a lot compared to the past.”

Kang Jin-Ho silently nodded.

‘Extending a helping hand, is it…?’

He couldn't help but be bemused by Lee Hyeon-Su saying those words. After all, Lee Hyeon-Su had never met Sister Yi, the Seongsim Orphanage's director.

Still, Kang Jin-Ho was relieved to hear Lee Hyeon-Su’s reassurance. In a way, he could still be honoring Sister Yi’s last wish even now.

“I see… Okay. Can you call the others to join us? It’s time to start our meeting,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Sir! I'll get everything ready,” said Lee Hyeon-Su.

Kang Jin-Ho faintly smiled at the sight of Lee Hyeon-Su quickly getting to work before flipping open another textbook.

Working hard, putting in requisite effort… Things like that would eventually culminate in a tomorrow that was slightly better than the day before.

Flip…

After Lee Hyeon-Su left, only the quiet sounds of Kang Jin-Ho flipping the pages echoed in the conference room.

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