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Chapter 521: Awareness (1)

Kang Jin-Ho sighed under his breath. However, it wasn\'t because he was disappointed or in despair. No, it was because he could barely hide his delight!

—How long... are you planning to lie to yourself?

Kang Jin-Ho could hear it. He could hear the voice of that creature... like always. A creature that was him but also not...!

This creature would stealthily appear and whisper to Kang Jin-Ho in moments like these without fail. Although he stopped trying to consciously separate this persona from his ego some time ago, something that had been separated once already proved to be a lot trickier to merge back with himself.

The creature that slunk into darkness and out of sight whenever Kang Jin-Ho tried to fully merge his personas would slyly rear its head again in situations like this one as if... As if it was having fun.

—You\'re a bloodthirsty devil. Surely you haven\'t forgotten?

\'...I have forgotten it.\'

No, that wasn\'t quite true. Kang Jin-Ho tried to forget, only to be reminded of it time and time again.

His thirst could not be quenched with the life on the surface world. Even if he denied that to be true, Kang Jin-Ho... always thirsted for more blood. Was it because his body was filled with demonic qi? If not, could his nature be the culprit, and he always desired destruction and bloodshed?

Regardless of what the truth was, it was quite ironic.

Kang Jin-Ho, who wanted to create a welfare foundation for the orphans. Kang Jin-Ho, who taught cultivation techniques for the sake of the Martial Assembly\'s survival. And then, Kang Jin-Ho who shuddered impatiently from bloodthirst...

All these versions were still Kang Jin-Ho. Every single one of them.

“I, uh, I... I have... delivered my master\'s... message...” Zhang Dajing faltered and stuttered without even meaning to.

His head was dominated by one thought and one thought only.

\'I want to escape from here!\'

Even now, he dearly wanted to turn around and run from here with every fiber of his being. The only thing keeping him rooted to the spot wasn\'t his sense of duty. No, he was just being faithful to his knowledge of never showing his back to a vicious predator!

Zhang Dajing was terrified. Terrified that if he turned tail and ran, this bloodthirsty beast might pounce on him and sink its sharp fangs into the back of his neck!

\'How... How can a person\'s temperament transform this much so quickly?!\'

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Zhang Dajing thought he had figured Kang Jin-Ho out. His entire reason for staying in South Korea was to monitor Kang Jin-Ho, after all. So he was convinced about being more knowledgeable in everything this demonic cultivator had done up to now than anyone else.

No one evaluated Kang Jin-Ho as highly as Zhang Dajing in the whole Asian continent. He had witnessed things. He had felt things directly. As such, he\'d never dare to belittle Kang Jin-Ho.

However, Zhang Dajing was learning something new today.

\'I have been... mistaken. About everything!\'

As it turned out, Zhang Dajing knew nothing about Kang Jin-Ho. The difference between observing Kang Jin-Ho from afar and standing right before him was like night and day! Something that mere words couldn\'t describe! Zhang Dajing would\'ve never known this without being brutally exposed to this horrifying pressure.

That was when several questions that had been quietly tumbling around in Zhang Dajing\'s head for some time finally got their answers.

Kang Jin-Ho\'s rule was \'lax\', for lack of a better description. So much so that Zhang Dajing sometimes wondered if Kang Jin-Ho really was in control of South Korea\'s Martial Assembly.

Kang Jin-Ho didn\'t hold a position in the Assembly nor physically suppress it. If Bang Jin-Hun or someone else wanted to drive Kang Jin-Ho out by combining forces, they could\'ve easily done so. Even if Kang Jin-Ho was strong, he still wouldn\'t be able to fight against the entirety of the Martial Assembly, anyway!

That was why Zhang Dajing had been frustrated... by Kang Jin-Ho, who didn\'t seem to be aware of how much danger he was exposed to.

If Zhang Dajing was in Kang Jin-Ho\'s shoes, he\'d have built a strong power base filled with loyal supporters to keep the Martial Assembly docile under his foot.

However, the truth was that... Zhang Dajing had been wrong about Kang Jin-Ho being lax.

\'...Actually, Kang Jin-Ho didn\'t need to do anything!\'

The core members of the Martial Assembly had been in conflict with Kang Jin-Ho once upon a time. So, they should have a far better understanding of Kang Jin-Ho\'s true nature than Zhang Dajing. And that was why they wouldn\'t dare raise the flag of rebellion!

Kang Jin-Ho leisurely closed the distance. Zhang Dajing desperately racked his brain to search for the right thing to say and escape from this deadly situation.

Before he could do that, though, Kang Jin-Ho silently reached out and grabbed Zhang Dajing\'s throat. The subtle vibrations of muscles, tense with Kang Jin-Ho\'s desire to snap Zhang Dajing\'s neck right now, were transmitted through the latter\'s skin.

“Well, then. Thanks for delivering the message. However...” Kang Jin-Ho smirked quietly. “There\'s something I\'m struggling to understand here.”

Cold sweat drops caked Zhang Dajing\'s forehead. It hadn\'t even begun yet, but his body had already frozen stiff like a death row inmate being dragged toward the electric chair!

Zhang Dajing couldn\'t even imagine what Kang Jin-Ho wanted to say here. Of course, he was smart enough to know that, regardless of what Kang Jin-Ho said, none of it would make Zhang Dajing\'s life better!

“You said your piece, so now I know you\'re an enemy. In that case…” Kang Jin-Ho began snarling quietly like a beast. “...Why should I let you live?”

“...!”

Despair dyed Zhang Dajing\'s face. He didn\'t expect this kind of response from Kang Jin-Ho. After all, it was not him but Vator thrusting the figurative blade under Kang Jin-Ho\'s chin. As such, Kang Jin-Ho the powerful martial artist would consider Vator as his \'real\' enemy in this situation.

Unfortunately, Kang Jin-Ho was not that kind of martial artist. Actually, it\'d be more correct to say he was a wild beast. An apex predator!

Most martial artists who had reached peak realms didn\'t care about those far weaker than them. They couldn\'t even be bothered to find a pretext to take the lives of these weaklings. However, Kang Jin-Ho was different.

He didn\'t care who stood before him as long as he could rip them apart alive!

Zhang Dajing\'s head went blank after he was exposed to violent savagery the likes of which he had never experienced before in his entire life!

\'I\'m going to die...!\'

Watching Kang Jin-Ho lick his lips like a snake suddenly reminded Zhang Dajing of swiftly-approaching death.

Because, it was as plain as day that Kang Jin-Ho wasn\'t searching for a pretext to kill Zhang Dajing but a reason to spare him. Kang Jin-Ho was desperately reining in his desire to rip Zhang Dajing apart right this second!

Zhang Dajing\'s entire body shivered after his brain finally processed that thought.

\'I... I need to think of something!\'

Zhang Dajing needed to find something...! An excuse for Kang Jin-Ho to spare his life! Unfortunately, Zhang Dajing\'s brain had blanked out and didn\'t want to click smoothly into gear. It was as if his mind contained heavily-rusted springs and cogs that creaked and stumbled noisily.

“P-please, spare...”

“Isn\'t this amusing?” Kang Jin-Ho bared his fangs in a toothy smirk. “Your aim is to kill me, right? Yes, your ultimate goal is to kill me no matter what. Yet you thought you could go home in one piece. That is pretty funny, don\'t you agree?”

Suddenly, Kang Jin-Ho yanked Zhang Dajing really close and growled like a hungry beast, his eyes gradually dyeing in an eerie crimson hue. “Did you honestly think you\'d be able to take a step back and enjoy the show? That you\'d be safe? In that case, I should show you the truth, then. Make you understand that your thoughts have been dead wrong.”

Zhang Dajing desperately clawed and pulled at Kang Jin-Ho\'s hand tightly gripping his throat. Unfortunately, Kang Jin-Ho didn\'t even budge an inch.

Not enough oxygen reached Zhang Dajing\'s brain. Thinking became even harder as a result. Eventually, at the end of all his desperate struggle...

The words leaking out of Zhang Dajing\'s mouth were depressingly obvious. “The... the location... Lo... cation...!”

Still, those words managed to attract Kang Jin-Ho\'s interest. “Hmm?”

While cocking his eyebrow, Kang Jin-Ho let go of Zhang Dajing\'s throat.

Plop!

Zhang Dajing collapsed to the ground and urgently wheezed and panted away. As if he was trying to suck in all the air he couldn\'t breathe until now in one go, a loud hydraulic pump-like noise exploded forth from Zhang Dajing\'s throat. “Kuh-huk! Kaaahak!”

Kang Jin-Ho silently stood there, coldly glaring at Zhang Dajing.

“The location! And the date!” Zhang Dajing cried out as soon as his wits returned to him. Of course, he still hadn\'t forgotten about this dire situation.

“The location, is it?” Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes.

“Yes! Sir Vator said that he would search for the most optimal place! A place where you two can focus only on each other without worrying about anyone or anything else!” Zhang Dajing desperately spoke, his voice getting as shrill as a scream. At the same time, it could also be seen as pleading. His life was hanging in the balance, after all!

Kang Jin-Ho maintained his silence while staring at Zhang Dajing, but the weighty, oppressive atmosphere still deafened and crushed the latter.

“How amusing...” Kang Jin-Ho bared his fangs again in a toothy smirk.

He was getting a pleasingly strange feeling. Today was the first time something like this happened in the modern era, after all.

Until now, his enemies either targeted him from the shadows or ambushed him. Some got involved with Kang Jin-Ho through a weird turn of events and ended up in antagonistic relationships with him, too.

However, none challenged him openly and head-on like this. Such challenges used to occur frequently back in Zhongyuan, and experiencing one again after so long had roused up this bizarre, hard-to-describe feeling in Kang Jin-Ho.

It felt like his challenger was saying the conclusion didn\'t matter, but the battle itself was the entire goal of the challenge. That feeling was stimulating Kang Jin-Ho\'s mind.

Also, that man named Vator...

“Your master... You\'re talking about the man from the baseball stadium?”

“Yes,” Zhang Dajing nodded as if he expected Kang Jin-Ho to know the truth already.

The truly-powerful warriors could easily recognize each other. Just like how Vator sensed a visceral, overwhelming presence from Kang Jin-Ho, the latter must\'ve sensed something similar, too. Kang Jin-Ho\'s reaction back then amply proved it.

“I\'ll inform you of the location and date, Mister Kang Jin-Ho. And ensure that no one will interfere. That\'s why...”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “So, you want me to spare your life?”

“Yes,” Zhang Dajing unhesitantly replied, having already abandoned his pride. Surviving was his top priority right now.

“Are you trying to make a deal with me?”

“Definitely not, sir!” Zhang Dajing kowtowed again while slamming his forehead on the ground. “I can only beg you for your mercy!”

Kang Jin-Ho silently stared at Zhang Dajing prostrating on the ground before slowly nodding away. “Mm... Yes, that information does exceed the worth of your life. Fine. You can leave after giving me the info.”

“Thank you, sir!” Zhang Dajing raised his head to reveal his swollen forehead. However, he didn\'t feel humiliated or ashamed by this experience. Not at all!

The land he was born and grew up in was vastly different from South Korea. In current-day China—the current Zhongyuan—no one batted an eye even if the strong decided to toy around or crush the weak for fun.

Pride meant nothing. It was a hindrance when trying to protect one\'s life from the ever-changing whims of the strong!

Zhang Dajing cautiously got up and quietly whispered the location and time in Kang Jin-Ho\'s ear. After that was done, Zhang Dajing stepped back and nervously gulped back. “T-then, may I…”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly nodded once. However, that was still enough.

Zhang Dajing hurriedly fled from the scene. As if he didn\'t want to be here, in case Kang Jin-Ho\'s whims suddenly changed again!

Kang Jin-Ho watched the distancing Zhang Dajing until the latter became a speck in the distance. Then, he slowly looked to the side and quietly muttered, “Come out, now.”

There was no response. The street remained quiet, still.

Kang Jin-Ho waited a few more seconds before snarling like a predator once more. “You better show yourself now before I drag you out and tear your head off.”

Mere milliseconds after Kang Jin-Ho\'s threat became soundwaves, an empty space at the side of the street suddenly began to distort.

It was a bizarre, never-before-seen phenomenon, but Kang Jin-Ho continued to glare at it without a hint of fluster or panic in his expression.

The distorted space seemed to stretch and smooth out, then a woman with a familiar face and an older gentleman appeared out of nowhere.

Elena stammered out some kind of an excuse. “I, no, we, uh... We weren\'t trying to... hide or anything like that. It\'s just that...”

Unfortunately for her madly-spinning gears in her head, though, Kang Jin-Ho wasn\'t even looking at her. His attention had been fixed on the older gentleman from the moment they had appeared.

The older gentleman abruptly raised his hand to stop Elena from talking, then addressed Kang Jin-Ho. “Good evening. My name is Wiggins.”

This was the moment of Knight Wiggins of the Round Table revealing himself to Kang Jin-Ho.