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Chapter 681. Supporting (1)

\'Lee Seong-Hwi, was it...?\'

Kang Jin-Ho recalled Lee Seong-Hwi\'s figure from when he took the Seongsim kids to that amusement park. His brow furrowed automatically after remembering how that man tried to attack him.

That figure left a strong impression in Kang Jin-Ho\'s mind. But it wasn\'t because Lee Seong-Hwi possessed an outstanding cultivation realm or something special about him.

Kang Jin-Ho remembered him because of his... abnormal level of hatred.

This revelation might seem a little strange coming from Kang Jin-Ho, but... Everyone who came after Kang Jin-Ho\'s life all had their own reasons and circumstances.

Some were ordered to kill Kang Jin-Ho. For others, Kang Jin-Ho\'s existence was a hurdle to their goals, so they tried all kinds of tricks to eliminate him.

Out of all those folks, Lee Seong-Hwi belonged in a \'special\' category of enemies. There was no denying that the two of them had gotten into a conflict, but Lee Seong-Hwi\'s hatred toward Kang Jin-Ho could only be described as too extreme.

Even Kang Jin-Ho, a man who never forgave anyone daring to get in conflict with him, failed to comprehend the extreme nature of Lee Seong-Hwi\'s resentment toward him.

Kang Jin-Ho quickly identified the emotion crashing into his mind. It was... anxiety.

From Kang Jin-Ho\'s perspective, Lee Seong-Hwi should be no one special. Compared to Lee Jung-Geol, who used to be his teacher, Lee Seong-Hwi was no better than a little brat. His martial prowess was also nothing to write home about.

Even then, Lee Seong-Hwi\'s extreme hatred and determination meant Kang Jin-Ho should never disregard or make light of him.

No one in the Assembly, and even in the Crimson King\'s faction, would have thought about attacking Kang Jin-Ho in an amusement park full of non-martial artists. Yet, Lee Seong-Hwi unhesitantly did it.

Whether he did that out of whim or everything had been calculated, it didn\'t matter. What mattered was that Lee Seong-Hwi was an enemy existing beyond what Kang Jin-Ho came to accept as common sense of the modern era.

\'...I should\'ve finished him off back then.\'

Out of everyone \'captured\' by Kang Jin-Ho so far, Lee Seong-Hwi was the only one who managed to escape from his clutches. After recalling that fact, Kang Jin-Ho suddenly realized that maybe... Maybe the destiny entangling him and Lee Seong-Hwi together was far graver and more deadly than he had bargained for.

Lee Hyeon-Su continued to speak on the phone.

-It\'s more than likely that Lee Seong-Hwi is targeting you. And you being in China should be an excellent opportunity for him.

“Hmm...”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded after agreeing with Lee Hyeon-Su.

The takeover of South Korea was almost over. Obviously, the Martial Assembly\'s influence didn\'t reach every Korean martial artist, but those outside of the Assembly\'s reach were too scattered throughout the country to impact the overall picture too much. There was no need to question this since Lee Hyeon-Su was quite certain about it.

That meant targeting Kang Jin-Ho on Korean soil should be next to impossible. The best anyone could hope to do was coax an expert even stronger than Kang Jin-Ho, then have the two fight to the death in a remote place... like what Vator tried to do in the past.

However, Lee Seong-Hwi using his wits and personal connections to find such an expert was practically impossible. Which left the only option of the numbers game.

The Martial Assembly\'s influence didn\'t reach China. And public security here was also worse than in South Korea, too. Simply put, China was the ideal place to carry out that plan.

Even Kang Jin-Ho would\'ve chosen to target himself while he was in China if he were in Lee Seong-Hwi\'s shoes. That was the most logical way of handling this situation, after all!

“When you say he\'s targeting me... With the remnants of Lee Jung-Geol\'s forces?”

-That is impossible, sir. I\'ve already thoroughly identified their forces, and they are being closely monitored as we speak. Sure, a small number could have possibly slipped past the net, but a large number of men fooling my eyes and leaving the country? I assure you, that\'s not going to happen. Besides, I don\'t think all of their forces combined will pose a threat to you. They know this as well as we do.

“Mm...!” Kang Jin-Ho contemplatively nodded again.

The demonstration of his power was already over. And they now knew the depth of Kang Jin-Ho\'s strength. Those who knew the horror would actively avoid getting on Kang Jin-Ho\'s nerves. They must\'ve learned their lesson on what kind of retaliation awaited anyone foolish enough to start another coup attempt.

Of course, Kang Jin-Ho believed he handled them with the proverbial kid gloves. Well, at least compared to the Yeongnam Group incident or when the Japanese came after him on that uninhabited island, that was. Indeed, he thought he did his absolute best to be as gentle as possible this time. For one, he didn\'t personally stain his hands with blood, now did he?

However, that only gifted his opponents an even greater shock. All those targeting Kang Jin-Ho were unceremoniously swept away by the Demon Flames. Those unlucky enough to deal with Vator were slaughtered. Even the former knight of the Round Table, Wiggins, mercilessly crushed the elders.

Folks who thought they only needed to kill the lion got a rude awakening. They now realized that the lion had surrounded itself with tigers and bears before anyone had noticed it. And to even touch a single strand of fur on the lion, they had to go through them first.

To make matters even worse, Kang Jin-Ho was steadily getting stronger even now. In that case, how could those weaklings even dream of targeting Kang Jin-Ho again?

Of course, once enough time passed by to take the edge off the terrifying memories, some idiots would undoubtedly try some other hair-brained schemes again. However, now wasn\'t that time. It was too early. The terror of Kang Jin-Ho ruling over them should be at its absolute peak right now.

Wasn\'t that why Kang Jin-Ho felt confident and comfortable enough to leave Korea for a while?

“That man didn\'t seem all that capable back then, though. Are you implying he has joined hands with a foreign power?”

-It seems Lee Seong-Hwi is in cahoots with Kim Seok-Il, sir.

“Kim Seok-Il, is it...” Kang Jin-Ho grimaced. Another nostalgic name, then. “Are they trying to set up a class reunion or something?”

-I\'d dearly love not to get involved with such classmates, thank you very much.

“I share your sentiments,” said Kang Jin-Ho as a wry grin formed on his lips.

The chain of malicious destiny should be severed as decisively as possible. This was the principle driving Kang Jin-Ho to never spare any enemy holding even a hint of hostility toward him.

Malicious destinies always, always reared their heads again one day to bite you in the rear.

During his time in Zhongyuan, Kang Jin-Ho fanatically kept his guard up and behaved like an irritable hedgehog, yet he still lost his life to Azure Demon\'s betrayal. Even after going through that ordeal, he let a similar thing repeat itself in the modern era.

\'Have I grown too soft?\'

Since the modern era wasn\'t the same as the ancient Zhongyuan, Kang Jin-Ho knew he couldn\'t live like it was still the past. Even so, the foundation of life should still be the same, whether it was now or back then. Kang Jin-Ho admitted that he needed to be a little more civilized, but this matter of being too soft seemed like a separate issue.

-Assembly Master, if I may? How about... coming back to Korea? I understand that there is something you want to do in China, but nothing should take precedence over your safety.

“...No, now\'s not the right time.”

-Assembly Master, please think it over. Yes, considering their abilities, the odds of them endangering you are slim at best. However, you are now in a position where you need to inspect every stone in a bridge before crossing it.

“Yes, I get that,” Kang Jin-Ho sighed deeply. \'This is troubling.\'

This was why taking up a leadership position was so inconvenient. It didn\'t really matter what Lee Hyeon-Su told him, Kang Jin-Ho of the past would\'ve let what he heard in one ear and out the other ear. However, he was now the Assembly Master of the Korean Martial Assembly. He could no longer afford to ignore Lee Hyeon-Su\'s advice and do whatever he felt like.

If that was what he wanted, he shouldn\'t have taken over the position in the first place.

Regardless of what, though... There was something Kang Jin-Ho simply had to do in this place. Going back to Korea now would not help with the matters. That would be the same as harming everyone just to avoid one dangerous situation for himself.

In that case, what should he do?

“...I\'ll take your advice into consideration. I will try to finish my business here as quickly as possible and come home.”

-Understood, sir. I\'ll leave it to your discretion.

“Okay. Later.” Kang Jin-Ho ended the call there, then sighed deeply again. \'Still don\'t want to leave me alone for a minute, huh...\'

Just as one matter was resolved, another one rushed in like a tidal wave. Time seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye while dealing with an endless series of incidents.

\'Lee Seong-Hwi, is it...\'

Suddenly, the corners of Kang Jin-Ho\'s lips curled up.

\'Maybe this is for the better. Since we\'re going to do this anyway... Why don\'t we make it as splashy as possible? And attract lots of attention while we\'re at it, too.\'

The twisted smirk grew even deeper on Kang Jin-Ho\'s face when his thoughts reached that far.

Choi Yeon-Ha suddenly called out to him from a distance. “What are you doing over there?”

Kang Jin-Ho stopped smirking insidiously and hurriedly trotted out of the dark corner of the film set. “I\'m coming!”

Here he was, unhesitantly committing acts that would\'ve made his mother or little sister beat the ground in lamentation if they ever caught wind of them!

***

After ending the call, Lee Hyeon-Su groaned loudly while leaning against his chair.

\'He... isn\'t going to listen to me, now is he?\'

Lee Hyeon-Su did expect this outcome, though. Kang Jin-Ho was never the type to heed the warning of incoming danger, anyway. At least Kim Seok-Il took Lee Hyeon-Su\'s advice seriously, even if he\'d outwardly pretend nothing could faze him.

If Lee Hyeon-Su were to choose between Kim Seok-Il and Kang Jin-Ho, he\'d obviously pick the latter. He didn\'t even need one second to think about it, either! However, whenever Kang Jin-Ho acted like this, Lee Hyeon-Su couldn\'t help but feel a little sad.

\'Just what crimes did I commit in my previous life...?\'

...For every one of his bosses to try so hard to make his life miserable!

“Urgh... Why don\'t you shoot me first...?”

Lee Hyeon-Su groaned, then shook his head. A look of steely resolve formed on his face next.

\'Don\'t look down on me. I\'m the greatest assistant in history!\'

If the boss was a habitual troll, the assistant should also take that into consideration. That was the role of the true assistant, after all!

Anyone could whine about their bosses not listening to their advice. People called those capable of doing things others couldn\'t as \'competent\', didn\'t they? And Lee Hyeon-Su bet his life on being a competent man.

Even if no one was around to help, and even if the boss was determined to go around causing trouble everywhere... Lee Hyeon-Su had zero thoughts of giving up and crying like a little kid!

\'You just wait and see! I\'m going to stop every little thing!\'

Just as Lee Hyeon-Su began gritting his teeth, someone began knocking on his office door. He coughed to clear his throat, then called out to whoever it was. “Okay. Come in.”

Creak...

The door opened, allowing a familiar man to hesitantly stagger into the office. “Uhm... Did you call for me, Branch Director Lee?”

“That I did. Take a seat.”

“...Yes, sir.”

The latest visitor was Yi Myeon-Hwan. And he was reticent about being here.

\'Why did he call me out of the blue?\'

He cautiously sat on the couch, still unable to hide his unwilling expression. In the list of people Yi Myeong-Hwan wanted to avoid in the Martial Assembly, Kang Jin-Ho took the top spot, while Lee Hyeon-Su was the second. Yi Myeong-Hwan\'s gut feeling told him that everyone calling themselves a member of the Assembly would agree with this ranking.

Lee Hyeon-Su glanced at his guest. “Want some coffee?”

“No, thank you.”

“Mm? You don\'t enjoy coffee, then?”

“No, it\'s not like that, but...”

When Yi Myeong-Hwan couldn\'t finish his sentence and fidgeted, Lee Hyeon-Su could only smile bitterly.

\'Is it that uncomfortable to be here?\'

Obviously, Lee Hyeon-Su was well aware of how other people perceived him. Of course, he wasn\'t dissatisfied with that. After all, it was he who manipulated his image to an extent so that others would be uncomfortable in his presence.

A boss who treated everyone like his family was necessary, but someone who introduced tension into the organization was also just as necessary. Since Kang Jin-Ho would take on the role of introducing that tension... Lee Hyeon-Su decided to take on the role of the mother-in-law instead.

Drip...

Lee Hyeon-Su filled two cups with steaming coffee from the office\'s coffee maker. He placed a cup in front of him, then pushed the other toward Yi Myeong-Hwan. “Want some syrup to go with that?”

“Oh, uh, no, thank you.” Yi Myeong-Hwan apologetically accepted the coffee cup.

Lee Hyeon-Su tried to break the ice next. “So? How is life for you?”

“Sir? It\'s a... There isn\'t any particular problem, sir. It\'d be better if passersby don\'t treat us like monsters, but that\'s the price we must pay, so it\'s fine.”

“Treat you like monsters?”

“Yes, sir. Weird rumors about us have spread around lately, but... It\'s not important enough for you to worry about.”

“I see,” Lee Hyeon-Su nodded but didn\'t try to dig further. He didn\'t want to force someone unwilling to talk. Besides, he had dozens of other ways to find out if he wanted to know, anyway. “Okay, got it. Then, let\'s skip the small talk and get to the main topic. I want you to pick a few useful guys and form a team. Around twenty should suffice.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan tilted his head. “Why?”

“You see, I want you guys to...” Lee Hyeon-Su briefly paused to sip his coffee before continuing on. “...Go to China.”