Chapter 1621: Occurred (1)

“Keuk!”

Several qi-clad extended claws flew toward Yi Myeong-Hwan’s face with incredible momentum. Even a slight brush with a single claw should be enough to rip his flesh open and crush the bones underneath!

Yi Myeong-Hwan’s fist rapidly dyed in the distinct hues of pitch-black demonic qi.

CLAAANG!

“Kkuhk!”

He could barely suppress his pained moan. The flesh on his hand, which should have been capable of deflecting a round fired from an anti-materiel rifle with ease, split apart, and crimson blood splattered everywhere. However, he didn't have any leeway to cry out in pain.

The materialized qi jutting out from Chang Min's nails, which were all over a meter in length, were slashing down toward him, after all!

What a monster that old fart was! His vast internal energy reserve, his nonsensical physical strength! The more Yi Myeong-Hwan experienced Chang Min's fierceness, the more intimidated he became at the seemingly unbridgeable gap between them.

“Keuh-euuuh!”

A beast-like growl leaked out of Yi Myeong-Hwan’s throat. His eyes instantly turned crimson in hue as he charged straight at Chang Min.

“Ku-aaaaaaah!”

He punched powerfully while roaring at the top of his lungs. The pitch-black demonic qi, currently circulating at maximum speed possible, covered his entire arm which was rapidly extending toward Chang Min. However…!

BOOM!

Yi Myeong-Hwan flew back faster than when he was charging forward. He wasn’t the only one, however, as the other Demon Flames also targeting Chang Min got cleanly punted away without exception, as well!

“Tsk, tsk!” Chang Min retracted his materialized claw qi, then glared in disappointment at the Demon Flames. “You fools! Even though I repeatedly warned you! It only feels like you've attained greater strength when you let demonic qi take over your body and mind!”

Chang Min’s expression crumpled hideously.

“A demonic cultivator is not someone who gets taken over by demonic qi! No, you’re supposed to be its master, its user! Those who habitually entrust themselves to demonic qi will eventually fail to control it and become lunatics. I’ve told you this multiple times, have I not, you fools?!”

The heads of all the Demon Flames faltered in shame.

“The demonic art is all about walking the tightrope called the limit of your control! You must be able to maintain a state where your demonic nature co-exists with your rational mind without the demonic qi taking over! Only then will you be qualified to call yourselves true demonic cultivators!”

Yi Myeong-Hwan, who was clutching at his side and panting laboriously, cautiously raised his hand.

Chang Min glanced at him. “Speak.”

“Elder, there is something I don’t understand.”

“Mm?”

Yi Myeong-Hwan looked genuinely confused. “I've been thinking that recently, we've almost caught up to you, Elder. Yes, individually, we still have a long way to go, but if we work together… I honestly thought we had a decent chance of winning against you.”

“I see. And?”

“That’s why I can’t figure out how this happened, Elder. If I’m being honest, I think you’re stronger than the Assembly Master. Even he can’t be as…”

That was when a murderous glare stabbed into Yi Myeong-Hwan's face. He flinched nastily and lowered his head, his lips firmly shut. He had temporarily forgotten that saying such a thing out loud would trigger Chang Min.

“How dare you run your forked tongue in my presence?!” Chang Min growled menacingly. “Do I have to rip that tongue out to wake you up!?”

“My apologies, Elder. I wasn’t thinking straight just now…”

“You fool…!” Chang Min loudly tutted away. “Then again, it makes sense why you shabby little fools would feel that way. However, know this! It’s not because I’m worthy enough to be compared to my liege! No, even ten of me won’t be enough to handle my liege’s awesome power!”

His cold glare swept over the Demon Flames while he chewed his words out.

“Even then, you still felt that way. And there’s a simple reason for that.”

Chang Min’s glare locked on Yi Myeong-Hwan next.

“Yi Myeong-Hwan!”

“Yes, Elder?”

“Can you fight an ant?”

Yi Myeong-Hwan tilted his head. What kind of weird example was that? “Uhm… I can just squash it with my fingertip?”

“That's right. It's no trouble for you. In that case, would you be able to train the ant to become a better match for you?”

Yi Myeong-Hwan’s expression stiffened a little just then. He had finally figured out where Chang Min was going with this example. Even so…

“It’ll still be difficult to…”

“What if there are dozens of ants, then?”

Yi Myeong-Hwan couldn't help but shake his head. That was still impossible, wasn't it?

“That’s how it is for my liege. You are all so weak that even a second of inattentiveness from him is enough to amputate you by mistake! Yet he has consistently walked the fine line of not injuring you but also toughening you all up!”

“…”

“Going soft on you won't be much of a training. However! My liege always found the right balance of avoiding injuring you badly but still making the task nearly insurmountable for you lot!”

“That… does sound tricky.”

“That's not all, either!" Chang Min deeply furrowed his brow. "My liege also readjusts his strength accordingly when dealing with you one at a time. That's right! He always limits his strength to the most appropriate level that you can handle! Yet you dare question his strength?”

Yi Myeong-Hwan urgently shook his head. “No, that’s definitely not true, Elder! It’s just that what I can sense feels so… different…?”

“My liege can be truly merciless, but he can also be endlessly merciful! I can never catch up to my liege’s level. Even so, I can nurture you fools more easily than my liege simply because I can invest more time into it.”

After all, Kang Jin-Ho had a lot on his plate, didn’t he?

“Now, all of you! Remember this!”

“Yes, Elder!”

Chang Min’s glare grew icy.

“It's good to be greedy. And it's just as good to harbor ambition to reach even greater heights. However, those who get lost in their greed and ambition will sometimes forget who their benefactor is. Do you honestly think everything you've accomplished until now was done through your own effort alone?”

“…!”

Yi Myeong-Hwan clamped his mouth shut.

Had he forgotten about that? Of course not. As long as he was a human being, he’d never, ever forget all the great things Kang Jin-Ho had done for them. Even so…

It's also true that we don't feel as grateful as before.

Training under Chang Min and earning acclaim as the Martial Assembly's strongest combat unit had made Yi Myeong-Hwan and his comrades full of themselves. That much was undeniable.

“My liege obviously didn't guide you fools so that you could thank him for it. However…!"

Chang Min’s glare became even icier. The Demon Flames reflexively shuddered in dread as that overbearing glare landed on them.

“If anyone dares to act arrogantly before my liege, I shall personally teach you that death can be a merciful option for you! Do not ever forget! Everything of the Demon Cult is meant to serve my liege. I will not forgive anyone who dares to forget that.”

Despite his icy glare, he spoke rather calmly. His demeanor wasn't threatening at all. But that only made him even more terrifying, because everyone here knew Chang Min was more than capable enough to make his promises come true!

Just where did his absolute loyalty and faith come from?

The Demon Cult might be called a cult, but it didn't actually worship a deity. No, it served a human being, not some vague concept of a god-like existence. One could say the Demon Cult believers viewed a human as the divine and worshiped this person.

To Chang Min, Kang Jin-Ho was no different from a god that just so happened to look like, well, Kang Jin-Ho the human being.

If Yi Myeong-Hwan was being brutally honest, he… just couldn’t understand why.

Hang on? Now that we’re here…

Yi Myeong-Hwan cautiously raised his hand again.

“Speak,” said Chang Min.

“If I’m being honest, I’m… a little terrified to ask this question, but…”

“Mm?”

Yi Myeong-Hwan nervously swallowed his saliva. “Now that we’re discussing this topic, may I ask you a question?”

“You may.”

“Elder, why do you trust and serve the demon emperor so much?”

“…? What?” Chang Min tilted his head as if he had not expected such a question at all.

“W-well, it’s because you seem to, uh, view the Cult Leader almost as a deity, you see?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Until recently, I thought that was because… Uh, you're from a bygone era, and your advanced age. But now that we've all experienced your capabilities, well…”

Chang Min was someone who had personally built a dedicated app to manage the Cult believers and installed it on his phone. All the training schedules were managed and displayed on the Assembly's website under his supervision. Meanwhile, he was always impeccably groomed in the latest products from the famed brands.

Simply put, his entire vibe was as far removed from that of a religious zealot as it could humanly get.

“You found it odd? That I am so blindly loyal?”

“Y-yes, sir.”

Chang Min chuckled in dismay. “That must be one of the stupidest things I’ve heard in my life.”

“…”

“Listen, you lowly insects. What is a deity?”

“A deity? It’s…”

Chang Min didn't wait for the reply to finish and yelled loudly. “Humans worship certain gods because they possess absoluteness, and because they supposedly favor us. In other words! It's because humans believe a deity possessing absolute authority would make their lives happier and help them out if they are in a tight spot! Whether that's in this life or the next!”

“…I see.”

“Since that’s the case, why can’t my liege also be my god?”

Yi Myeong-Hwan’s eyes opened slightly wider in surprise.

“My liege possesses absolute power. And he even changed my life for the better! So, I ask you once more. Why can’t he become my god? When he had finally descended to the mortal realm after centuries of waiting?”

Yi Myeong-Hwan genuinely didn’t know what to say here. Eventually, he muttered out, “But the Assembly Master isn’t a god, you know?”

“And do you even know what a god is?”

“…”

Chang Min loudly tutted again. “That's what every religion is like. You're supposed to believe what you want to believe. It's up to you to decide which god you wish to worship. There's no need to belittle other people's religions, and that's why it's pointless to question my god. Because it's my choice to accept him and serve him as my liege.”

So steadfast! Such was its firmness that not even a needle could pierce Chang Min's logic.

Should Yi Myeong-Hwan praise Chang Min's faith or something for being so adamant? At least one thing seemed certain at this point: there would never come a day when Chang Min questioned his faith. Not even by a little bit.

“It's the same story for you fools, too! If you can't devote yourselves to my liege, then at least become useful tools! Even if you are unwilling to worship him as your god, you should still be thinking of repaying all the favor he has shown you!"

The Demon Flames animatedly nodded away.

“Of course we will, Elder!”

Crack!

Chang Min tightly clenched his fists. “To do that, you must become stronger. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, sir!”

“You’ve rested enough, so it’s time to resume. You all better believe that none of you are walking home today!”

That provocation triggered dense killing intent to flood out of the Demon Flames’ glares. Chang Min grew genuinely delighted by this sight.

Yes. Very good!

For sure, it felt rather rewarding to guide these Demon Flames. The demon emperor said he prioritized selecting those with a will to become stronger. And sure enough!

Their innate talent might be lacking, but their willpower easily trumped their insufficient talent. If they maintained the fire burning in their hearts, these people would soon become “completed” articles—as in, the true Demon Flames as mentioned in the Demon Cult's history, whose job was to serve the Cult Leader as their personal troops.

For that purpose, you must all become stronger!

Chang Min knew. He knew that the war against the Three Kings was too close to be avoided. Once he had realized that, he practically gave up on nurturing the Cult believers to focus exclusively on strengthening the Demon Flames.

The rationale behind his choice was simple enough: to Chang Min, Kang Jin-Ho’s safety meant much, much more than the Demon Cult’s safety.

The way he saw it, the Demon Cult could always be revived as long as Kang Jin-Ho was alive. However, without Kang Jin-Ho? It wouldn't matter how many Cult believers survived the war, as the Cult would fall into chaos eventually before becoming a footnote in history books.

That’s why we must protect my liege, no matter what!

The Demon Flames were meant to act as the Cult Leader's bodyguards. In other words, their job was to stick close to Kang Jin-Ho during the upcoming war and protect his life. And they had to become much, much stronger for him to be safe.

Chang Min shouted at the Demon Flames. “If you can't get stronger than this, just go kill yourself and save me the trouble!”

“Uwaaah-aaaaah!”

Yi Myeong-Hwan roared like a beast while pouncing on Chang Min.