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Chapter 691. Assembling (1)

People would focus on the \'strength\' aspect of a strong person. But martial artists didn\'t simply view experts as physically strong people. When normal people talked about the strong, they meant physically strong. In the eyes of martial artists, though, experts were strong because they were strong human beings, to begin with.

Martial arts became standardized in the modern era. Of course, some cultivation techniques were stronger than average while some others were naturally a bit worse. Even so, people still gradually came to believe that enough effort could overcome such differences.

This was a natural course of action, though. When mixed martial arts competition was first conceived, its primary goal was to find which form of hand-to-hand fighting technique was the strongest. As in, was boxing stronger than kickboxing? Between jujitsu and karate, which one was superior?

However, once enough time had passed, people stopped caring about such things. If a boxer fought and won against a kickboxer, did that victory serve as a convincing proof of boxing being superior to kickboxing? Of course not.

All schools of martial arts had their individual strengths and weaknesses. And everyone already understood that getting stronger through whatever martial arts they had chosen was wholly dependent on each individual\'s talent level and dedication.

The same principle also applied in the world of cultivation. In the past, top-tier cultivation methods were only imparted to direct disciples or those deemed qualified in character and talent. As the era changed, though, people started exchanging more and more information. As they grew to understand more about each other\'s cultivation methods, a theory regarding the ultimate strength of a technique resting on martial artists themselves began gaining traction.

As such, martial artists began venerating strong experts. Despite mastering cultivation techniques that had been largely standardized, martial artists were still divided into \'strong\' and \'weak\'. That might indicate the difference in talent, but the true crux of the matter at the end of the day was \'effort\'.

To explain in simple terms... Let\'s say anyone could become an expert if they cultivated and trained hard for twenty hours every day. At first, everyone would gladly take on this challenge. And they would commit themselves fully.

However, what if they needed to train twenty hours per day for the next two decades? Could they still do it?

The majority wouldn\'t be able to commit like that. Even if everyone shared the same desire to become top-tier experts through cultivation, not many were prepared to forsake everything else in their pursuit of that strength.

The naked truth about these martial artists\' pursuit of strength was to make their lives a little more enjoyable. So, what was the point of sacrificing that life to reach their goal?

This was why martial artists held such deep respect toward those experts who had managed to climb to the lofty heights they couldn\'t reach.

However... The story changed slightly if the attainment of strength had taken another step forward from that situation.

This story remained unchanging for the strong. However, if an expert could enter the realm of \'absolute powerhouse\', things would become a little weirder.

To become a so-called absolute powerhouse, one had to go beyond the aspect of \'effort\'. A martial artist with a \'normal\' mind would never reach this realm through extreme effort alone. No, they needed something else. An X-factor, maybe.

Only by possessing something unique, something that couldn\'t adequately be explained verbally, could a martial artist finally reach the realm of the \'absolute being\'.

There were various ways to explain that unique thing. Some called it paranoia. Madness. Or, if they felt charitable, thinking outside the box.

That\'s right. To enter the realm of this exclusive club of \'absolute powerhouse\', one needed to experience countless lucky opportunities and encounters. But such a journey was only possible if the martial artist had several screws loose in their head first!

Those who reached the zeniths in their chosen fields all had something different about them that set them apart from the herd. And in martial arts, that \'tendency\' was especially true. People wouldn\'t die while trying to research mathematics, but the danger of death during the process of reaching the next cultivation realm grew higher the stronger a martial artist got.

As such, the absolute powerhouses were, with an inevitable certainty, all crazies.

Even those who looked relatively sane on the surface would all boast something \'unique\' about them when you dig deeper into their personalities.

But now...

\'Why! Why are three such people gathering around me?! Why!\'

Zhang Dajing couldn\'t stop all the tears streaming down his face.

What was that? You asking me why I\'m acting like this when only three crazies have gathered around me?

Hey, you don\'t know anything, so keep it to yourself!

Do you think these three are your run-of-the-mill eccentric weirdos?! No! They are superhuman weirdos unrestricted by the law! Their strength isn\'t just on the superhuman level, they can actually be classified as natural calamities!

And three such people are prowling around me! Three!

\'Sleeping naked in the middle of a safari might be more peaceful for my heart than this setup!\'

Compared to these three men, tigers and lions on a safari were more like little kittens. Adorable kittens that Zhang Dajing wouldn\'t mind hugging them while he slept!

Unfortunately, Zhang Dajing\'s wish was just that, a wish. He had no choice but to accompany unstoppable natural disasters. He simply lacked the requisite power to resist his fate.

The best he could do was let his shattered-and-broken mind gently drift away in the passing breeze while eavesdropping on the phone call.

-Why haven\'t you contacted us until now, my liege! Oh, my dear demon emperor! Even as I anxiously wait for my lord, demon emperor, to call upon me once more... Even as the waiting has turned my bones to dust, my spirit has been...

Kang Jin-Ho grimaced as he interrupted the ranting. “Hold on. Why does that sound like a part of a Korean poem?”

-My liege. Knowing you were living in South Korea, how could I not study more about that country\'s culture? I\'ve already sworn to dedicate my life to serve you, my liege, to recreate the glory days of our cult. Oh, my dear demon emperor!

Kang Jin-Ho almost blurted out that that dedicated life seemed a bit past the expiry date, but he held himself back. It didn\'t feel right to say something so rude to a person who might pass on any day now. “You could\'ve called me first, you know?”

-Oh, my liege...

“...Yeah?”

-The contact number you gave me at that time was incorrect, my liege. I was told such a number doesn\'t exist.

“...”

-Even so! I never questioned that you\'d contact me sooner rather than later since you already have in possession my phone number! However, to think you\'d be this indifferent! If I knew you\'d be like this, I should\'ve called you earlier instead of trusting you and gave you another reminder! I never imagined I\'d find a man who didn\'t even remember his own number correctly... N-no! What sacrilegious things am I saying! My liege, please forgive me! My dear demon emperor, I beg of you!

“...” Kang Jin-Ho grimaced, unable to turn his head to look at his companions. Because he could already sense it. He must not turn his head right now since the cold glares of Zhang Dajing and Vator were still stabbing Kang Jin-Ho\'s back!

So cold!

Such was the coldness of their gazes that Kang Jin-Ho felt the chilliness in the air, even though he usually didn\'t get affected by such things.

“Would you listen to that? He doesn\'t even remember his own phone number?” Vator casually muttered to no one in particular.

In life, a man must make many choices. He was forced to make them all the time, then accepted the consequences of those choices. And everyone under the sun must go through the repeated cycle of making right or wrong choices.

If someone asked Kang Jin-Ho what choices he most regretted making, he\'d have a list of things to choose from. And accepting Vator as his underling would definitely be on that list!

“It\'s not like you\'re a caveman, so why... Master, I think maybe you\'re better off living in that past world setting than in our modern era. Shouldn\'t you have already finished acclimatizing to the modern era\'s conveniences by now?”

“N-no, listen. Back then, it hadn\'t been all that long since I got discharged from compulsory military service. And, uh, and it was a new phone, too...!”

Kang Jin-Ho suddenly realized something. Throughout his life, he couldn\'t remember having to explain himself so pathetically like this.

Yes, his memories were probably right about this one. Definitely!

However, at least in this very moment... He had no choice but to do it!

-My dear demon emperor. This servant of yours is greatly worried, my liege. The modern era can be so unforgiving. You may possess the necessary martial prowess to make the heaven and earth bow before you, but strength alone isn\'t enough to stop various trials and tribulations from hindering your journey. Although my liege is reasonable, and you will no doubt eventually achieve what you\'ve set out to achieve... I beg of you to graciously humor this old servant, as I am only too happy to throw my insignificant life away to make your path just a little smoother.

As he listened, a vein began bulging on Kang Jin-Ho\'s forehead. Although the person on the other side of the line was trying to beat around the bush using some flowery words, and he sure was taking a looong way around the bush indeed... However, the caller was implying that even though Kang Jin-Ho was strong, he was also an idiot. In that case, he should employ someone more capable and do as that person told him instead of trying to do things by himself and going through unnecessary hardship like this!

If someone else dared to say that to Kang Jin-Ho\'s face, he\'d crush the rude bastard\'s jaw and ensure the only thing they could eat for the rest of their life was congee. Unfortunately, each and every sentence the caller said was dripping with ardent loyalty, which pretty much prevented Kang Jin-Ho from losing his cool.

“Wow. What a loyal subject that old man is,” Vator muttered in admiration.

He was right. What a loyal subject that man was. The problem was with how intensely loyal he was, though!

Kang Jin-Ho coughed to clear his throat, then frowned slightly. “Uh, mm... Well, I\'m in China at the moment, so...”

-China, my liege? Chinaaaaa?! Did you really say you\'re in China? You\'re actually in this country?!

“Mm. Things have somehow worked out that way.”

-When did you arrive, my liege?

“I guess it\'s been a few days...”

-No, my liegeeeeee!

Kang Jin-Ho stumbled back while squeezing his eyes shut. What a sagely choice he made by putting the phone on speaker and leaving it on the table! If he had been pressing the device to his ear, his eardrum might have ruptured from that sonic blast!

\'This old man...! Just what on earth did he learn to perform sonic attacks through cell phone speakers?\'

Obviously, the phone speakers couldn\'t transmit qi, but the sound coming from it was still capable of mercilessly twisting the listener\'s innards. In that sense, that should qualify as a sound-based martial art technique.

-My liege! It\'s dangerous for you to be in China. Very much so! The Chinese cultivators\' hatred toward demonic cultivators far exceeds even your anticipation! I must head to your location right away. Where are you, my liege?!

“Mm? We\'re in Sichuan, but...”

-Sichuan?

“Mm...”

-Why are you in the middle of the sticks like that? Why Sichuan, of all places...?

This time, Kang Jin-Ho was tempted to blurt out, \'But don\'t you live nearby? Besides, how can a man who spent over a century on a mountainside dare berate Sichuan as the sticks!\'

“Kekekeke!” Vator held onto his gut and fell off his chair laughing. “Hahaha! What an entertaining old man he is! I\'m really looking forward to meeting him now!”

“...” Kang Jin-Ho frowned. He had a feeling that these two should never meet in person, but that dice had already left Kang Jin-Ho\'s grip. He decided to ignore Vator for now and turned his attention back to his phone. “Where are you?”

-I\'m in Beijing as we speak, my liege.

“...Beijing?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. Why would a man who had been hiding in the middle of nowhere for so long suddenly head to Beijing? “Why are you in Beijing?”

-It\'s because many people live here. And many demonic cultivators call this city their home as well.

“Mm? Even though it\'s a bustling city?”

-The poor have no choice but to flock to large cities, my liege. Even though we must avoid the gazes of other martial artists as much as possible, we still have to put food on our table somehow. Many demonic cultivators live in Beijing as migrant workers.

“Hmm...” Kang Jin-Ho slightly furrowed his brow.

According to Vator, Beijing was where the Three Kings were in a battle for supremacy. With that massive metropolis as the center, the south was the Crimson King\'s territory, while to the east was the Azure King\'s backyard. Meanwhile, the west was the Dark King\'s home ground.

To think the demonic cultivators were living in a city where three major factions were actively fighting each other...

\'Hmm. Maybe it\'s precisely because Beijing is a frontier, of sorts, that the demonic cultivators can survive there?\'

A city completely dominated by one faction would\'ve made the survival for the demonic cultivators very tricky. After all, orthodox martial artists treated their demonic counterparts as nothing but rat-like pests. And when you want to clean the house, the first thing you\'d do should be eliminating the pest infestation.

Since the factions\' attention was focused elsewhere in Beijing, maybe they couldn\'t spare the manpower on eliminating the demonic cultivators.

“I see. It doesn\'t matter either way, anyway. Alright, I\'ll head to Beijing myself.”

-Wait, my liege! Please tell me where you are, so I can send people there to guide you.

“Hmm? Where we are, is it...?” Kang Jin-Ho frowned before glancing at Zhang Dajing next. Even though he didn\'t say anything, it was obvious Kang Jin-Ho wanted Zhang Dajing to take over and explain.

\'Why me?\'

Although Zhang Dajing was less than happy about taking over the baton, what choice did he have? After picking up the phone from the table, Zhang Dajing sucked in a deep breath before raising his voice. “Hello, sir. My name is Zhang Dajing. As for where we are, it\'s...”

-How dare some measly random bastard intrude in the middle of the conversation between my liege and me! You bastard! Tearing you apart limb from limb and tossing you to a pack of wolves won\'t be enough to quell my anger!

Zhang Dajing instantly froze up from all the rage clearly detectable even through the phone.

Kang Jin-Ho groaned and spoke in Zhang Dajing\'s defense. “Listen, this guy is an assistant, okay?”

-I see, my liege! In that case, I shall listen to this lowly assistant from now on. Now, speak, assistant! Accurately convey where the noble and great demon emperor is currently residing. If you fail to do so, I swear in my name that you will not be spared!

“...”

Zhang Dajing silently turned his head and glanced at all the collapsed martial artists on the floor. Why did they suddenly look so... envious? Why?

Zhang Dajing\'s sorrow didn\'t seem like it\'d end any time soon.