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Kang Jin-Ho tried to speak, but no words wanted to come out of his mouth.

He wanted to deny it. He wanted to say his father was wrong, that he could fully empathize with the pain of those orphans. However...

Something stopped him from saying those words. And it wasn\'t the Seongsim Orphanage. No, it was... the Martial Assembly.

\'My father is right.\'

What kind of a person Kang Jin-Ho was—and what his tendencies were like—could clearly be seen in the way he selected younger-generation martial artists to inherit demonic cultivation methods from him.

He tortured the candidates and ruthlessly pressured them. And then, only those willing to throw their lives away were chosen. What about those who failed his test?

Kang Jin-Ho abandoned them.

To be more precise, he didn\'t abandon them per se but didn\'t even spare one iota of attention to how they were doing. It didn\'t matter to Kang Jin-Ho since he had no more business with those people.

That was a perfect example of the survival of the fittest. The concept of the strong preying on the weak! This was how Kang Jin-Ho operated. It was his mindset from the very start.

\'From where... did things start to go wrong?\'

Vivid disharmony washed over Kang Jin-Ho next.

Indeed, this was Kang Jin-Ho. He would mercilessly train those deemed useful to him to the point of risking their lives, then led them from the front. As for all those seen as useless to him? He\'d wipe them out of his memories. That was Kang Jin-Ho\'s standard way of thinking.

But now, someone like that wanted to establish a welfare foundation? Could there be anything even more ironic than this?

Kang Jin-Ho suddenly had this strong hunch. If he ran a foundation like this, meaning without too much thought given to it... It\'d face a serious existential crisis sooner or later.

In that case, what should he do about it? Kang Jin-Ho had no idea.

If he knew the solution, he\'d already resorted to it by now. He was in this spot of trouble precisely because he didn\'t know anything.

However, at least he now knew how to handle such a situation. If he couldn\'t resolve something by himself or had no answer, he should just ask someone who did.

“What should I do, Father?”

A warm smile spread on Kang Yu-Hwan\'s face when his son solemnly asked him. “Yes, that\'s more like it. As expected of my child.”

This was one of the things he liked about his son. No one could deny Kang Jin-Ho was excellent, not even Kang Yu-Hwan himself. As a father, he\'d sometimes shudder in dread at how excellent his son was in practically everything.

However, despite his excellence, Kang Jin-Ho was never arrogant. If he wasn\'t sure about something or felt lacking, he\'d unhesitantly ask for help. He never let himself fall into the trap of thinking he was superior to everyone else.

This was all Kang Yu-Hwan could ask for. This was how a person would develop into a better version of themselves.

“Son. Do you have an idea where all of your problems stem from?”

“...It must be my personality,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“No. It\'s not that,” Kang Yu-Hwan firmly waved his hand in denial. “It\'s not the issue with your personality. You\'re definitely mistaken about that. Instead of your personality, you can say most of your problems are the result of how excellent you usually are.”

“I\'m sorry?”

“Tell me, what tripped you up the most back in the military?”

Kang Jin-Ho rubbed his chin while digging into his memory banks. “Well, there wasn\'t any...”

“You see?” Kang Yu-Hwan stared at his son with a meaningful smirk. “Most dudes dread the idea of serving in the army, son. The duties you get assigned usually exceed the limits of your stamina, and the prospect of living in cramped quarters with other smelly guys your age gets old really fast, too... People have various reasons to hate serving in the army. However, you never ran into a problem, did you?”

“No, I didn\'t,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“In that case, do you think you can empathize with your fellow soldiers having a hard time?”

Kang Jin-Ho immediately understood what his father was asking here. Obviously there was that incident with Ju Yeong-Gi, but that didn\'t count in this situation. Kang Yu-Hwan wasn\'t asking about an extreme case like that, but whether or not his son could empathize with regular soldiers having a hard time.

And Kang Jin-Ho had only one answer for that.

“I... think it\'ll be difficult, Father.”

“That\'s exactly it, son.” Kang Yu-Hwan nodded weightily. “It\'s not just military, though. Whether it\'s in a university or workplace... People are always having a hard time one way or the other. If you don\'t know how to empathize with why they are struggling and suffering like that, your so-called charity work will always be no better than an insignificant display of pity.”

Kang Yu-Hwan picked up a glass of water and gulped its contents down his throat to quench his thirst, then looked straight into his son\'s eyes.

“What you\'re trying to do is as simple as you witnessing people you care about going through hard times and wanting to change their situation with your own money. That\'s it. You haven\'t given it much thought beyond that.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “...Is that wrong?”

Kang Yu-Hwan frowned in dismay. “Of course not. Why would it be?”

“I\'m sorry?”

Kang Yu-Hwan suddenly cackled. “See, I\'m the type who thinks hypocrisy is still better than outright evil. Even if you\'re a hypocrite helping people out for some selfish reasons, it won\'t matter to those receiving your help. Regardless of what, the act of helping strangers should be commended. However, you aren\'t gonna be satisfied by merely helping out, now are you?”

“You saw right through me,” Kang Jin-Ho resolutely nodded.

“If you want to create an even better foundation, you need to experience lots more things, son. And try to understand why people are struggling. If you still don\'t get it after going through all that, then study. That\'s what universities are for. As long as you have the drive for it, you will learn plenty of useful stuff there. If all you care about are your grades, then you will see no value in that place, but... Many things in a university will help you if you earnestly pursue knowledge.”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly nodded in contemplation. Once more, his father was right.

He knew nothing about charity work. Even his current desire of providing welfare was motivated by nothing more than superficial thoughts of, \'Someone with a kind heart and enough funds should create an upright welfare system to assist the children in need.\'

However, that was not enough. Wasn\'t the story similar to cultivation in that regard?

Even if a martial artist knew what the right path was, they would never be able to tread it if they did not put in the requisite effort. On the other hand, having the willpower and putting in enough effort alone weren\'t enough to produce the desired results, either.

If Kang Jin-Ho was serious about this, he needed to pursue knowledge, too.

“I\'m your father, so I\'ll respect whatever you decide to do, son. That doesn\'t mean I\'m gonna sit back and do nothing when you\'re superficially skimming things, though. If you want to do something, do it properly, okay? You get what I\'m saying, right?”

“Yes, Father.” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded away.

That was when Kang Eun-Yeong, who had exited the bathroom without anyone really noticing it, suddenly chimed in. “Heh, does that mean you\'ll gimme a job in your foundation, too?”

“Stop right there before you get a scolding,” said Kang Jin-Ho with a tut.

“...Ah?! But why! You know I\'ll do a good job!”

“Focus on getting up in the morning first, okay?”

“Can\'t help it, though. I\'ve got a ton of stuff to do in the evenings, you know?”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled while picking up his utensils again. For now, he should finish his breakfast first. Still, he had a hunch that the points his father raised would require a lot of time to mull over.

***

Vrooooom...!

Kang Jin-Ho\'s car sped along the road. His brow furrowed as he stepped on the accelerator.

\'Empathy, is it...\'

What a surprisingly difficult homework this was.

Something had always been bothering Kang Jin-Ho. And that was a certain type of estrangement. Kang Jin-Ho was a martial artist belonging to the hidden world. More correctly, a demonic cultivator. And the estrangement stemmed from that version of himself and Kang Jin-Ho trying to live on the surface world.

It wasn\'t simply the result of the circumstances, either. On the surface world, Kang Jin-Ho wanted to provide a good environment and education to kids with disabilities and/or no parents. He seriously pondered how to give them a better life, yet the moment he stepped foot inside the Martial Assembly, Kang Jin-Ho would become a heartless monster who intimidates hapless, innocent martial artists. He\'d make them tremble in terror.

In any other environment, those martial artists would\'ve been treated as geniuses and superb talents. Even then, Kang Jin-Ho still sorted them out like newborn chicks on a chicken farm and selected only the best among them as his underlings.

So... Which one of the two was Kang Jin-Ho\'s real self, then?

Kang Jin-Ho never found this part of him strange until his chat with Kang Yu-Hwan. Which could only mean his father must be right.

\'An insignificant display of pity, is it...\'

Kang Jin-Ho didn\'t even think too long about the foundation business and jumped in with both feet because this was what he felt like doing at the time.

\'Ah... So this must be why.\'

Jo Gyu-Min and Hwang Jeong-Hu had asked several times if Kang Jin-Ho was fully aware of how monumental this undertaking was. And Kang Jin-Ho finally realized he had been missing their point. He only thought this matter would simply require more money than imagined.

How superficial he had been. Way too superficial!

Kang Jin-Ho deeply frowned. There wasn\'t much he could do about the past. Besides, clinging to the past was not constructive. At all. In that case, he must focus on what he should do from now on instead.

\'There isn\'t much of a difference between running a foundation and leading the Assembly.\'

Kang Jin-Ho had changed. That was what he thought and personally believed as well. Since that was the case, wouldn\'t it be wrong to lead the Martial Assembly in the same vein as Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor lording over the demon cult?

After all, Kang Jin-Ho was no longer the same man. So, how could he lead an organization in the same manner as in the past?

“Hmm...”

Kang Jin-Ho depressed the accelerator a little harder as his dilemma deepened.

***

A younger-generation martial artist threw open the door and rushed inside the auditorium. “Listen, everyone! The car is here!”

“Heol!”

That announcement prompted every martial artist lounging around to jump up to their feet and hurriedly rouse up and circulate demonic qi.

Yi Myeong-Hwan was one of them. Extreme nervousness quickly dyed his expression, just like his peers around him.

The \'car\' in that announcement could only belong to one man. And that meant... Kang Jin-Ho had arrived at the Assembly grounds!

Kang Jin-Ho was the only person they paid attention to these days, after all!

“W-wouldn\'t he head to the Assembly Master\'s office first?” Someone hopefully asked.

“Even so, we gotta be ready. Imagine him catching us in the middle of taking it easy as soon as he arrived here. We\'ll be dead meat.”

“R-right.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan was feeling the waves of disharmony wash over him. His peers were—mostly—getting more violent and irritable compared to before while cultivating demonic arts. Of course, that was putting things mildly.

If Yi Myeong-Hwan was to describe it more succinctly, their personalities had become dogsh*t lately. In the past, these bastards would\'ve passed off as neighborhood thugs, but now? It\'d be more apt to call them neighborhood crazies! Weirdly, though...

They had become several times more obedient in everything related to Kang Jin-Ho. In a way, it was like looking at a hunting dog frothing at its maw and losing its sh*t at every passerby suddenly flopping to its back and whimpering cutely at its owner.

\'This must be the reason, though...\'

Yi Myeong-Hwan could feel it. He could feel Kang Jin-Ho\'s approach. He could acutely sense the massive and vivid pool of demonic qi leisurely approaching him from the distance. And it was so terrifying!

Yi Myeong-Hwan reflexively clenched his teeth. He wasn\'t sure if this was a quirk of cultivating demonic qi, but sensing the depths of other people\'s demonic qi reserve became easier the deeper his cultivation got. The problem with that, of course, was that he could sense Kang Jin-Ho\'s demonic qi reserve dozens of times clearer than before!

A suitable description would be something like this: there was a devil standing behind a thick veil of fog. This devil was so terrifying that merely looking at it could stop one\'s heart. However, as Yi Myeong-Hwan\'s cultivation deepened, the fog providing some kind of a flimsy barrier was gradually lifting up.

The better one\'s demonic cultivation got, the more vivid the silhouette of the devil became!

“Fuu-woo-woo!”

Yi Myeong-Hwan rapidly breathed in and out. He could sense Kang Jin-Ho\'s presence right behind the doorway now. Meeting King Yama might be less frightening than this situation!

Creaaaak...

The doorway opened, then Kang Jin-Ho making an expressionless face walked inside.

\'Gimme a freaking break, man...!\'

The closer Kang Jin-Ho got to the younger-generation martial artists, the more vivid this feeling became. If their demonic qi reserve was like a small campfire burning in front of a house, Kang Jin-Ho\'s reserve was like an erupting volcano! It felt like that billowing crimson flame reeking of blood was about to burn the entire world down at any second.

If it was allowed, Yi Myeong-Hwan dearly wished to go down to the floor and beg for mercy. As long as he could free himself from this terror, he was prepared to do anything!

“Hmm...” Kang Jin-Ho scanned the younger-generation martial artists.

Suffocating tension and terror ruled over these young men. The improvement in their abilities and demonic cultivation ensured that Kang Jin-Ho\'s hold on these men would only strengthen even further.

“I... wanted to ask you something,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

Yi Myeong-Hwan stopped squeezing his eyes shut and cautiously looked up. “...Eh?”

He couldn\'t help but tilt his head in confusion after looking at Kang Jin-Ho\'s face.

That was because Kang Jin-Ho was making a weird expression. One that Yi Myeong-Hwan had never seen Kang Jin-Ho make before!

“I was wondering if something\'s been bothering you in your lives lately. I genuinely want to help you, you see?”

When Yi Myeong-Hwan saw that forced smile etched on Kang Jin-Ho\'s face, his fear level increased by dozens of times. Rather ironically, Kang Jin-Ho\'s idea of goodwill, which he arrived at after a lengthy deliberation, caused terror to descend on the auditorium instead!