Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1042: In Training (2)

‘Huh? Did I hear him right?’

‘Subhuman idiots?’

Those who didn’t know what Hwang Jeong-Hu was like got flustered by his declaration. Meanwhile, those who knew him couldn’t help but facepalm.

Only Kang Jin-Ho and Jo Gyu-Min remained unfazed in this situation. Everyone else was thrown into a state of confusion and panic, but Hwang Jeong-Hu clearly didn’t care. The Chairman’s gaze was firmly locked on Kang Jin-Ho and no one else.

“Hmm. You’re dressed half-decently today, aren’t you?”

“That I am,” Kang Jin-Ho coolly nodded.

“Good. Now you look like a proper human being,” said Hwang Jeong-Hu with a chuckle. “Yes, people must be honest and sincere. But such qualities are not shown on the surface. Unfortunately, being sincere on the inside where no one can see it is the same as not being sincere.”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly nodded.

Hwang Jeong-Hu looked away from Kang Jin-Ho and scanned the crowd. “That story applies to you, too.”

He stopped talking for a second while frowning a little.

“Whatever your thoughts and mantras in life are, I’m not interested. Whether you like it or not, what shows on the surface matters to humans. However, now that I’ve gotten a good look at you all… You all look like a bunch of bloodthirsty serial killers, don’t you?”

“…!”

The Assembly martial artists nearly fell out of their seats in stupefaction at that unexpected verbal jab.

“Here's the thing,” said Hwang Jeong-Hu. “Running a company does not mean you must spend your life burying your head into stacks of documents and computer screens. No, it means you gotta deal with people and get along with them.

“However, you guys all look like you came here after slaughtering a bunch of people! There's no bloody way a company would function properly with people like you lot as employees!”

Hwang Jeong-Hu fixed his gaze on Kang Jin-Ho again.

“Besides! How can the underlings learn anything when the head of the company is sitting here with such a sourpuss face?!”

“…” Kang Jin-Ho sneakily looked away when the Chairman zeroed in on him as the next target. Unfortunately for him, though…

Hwang Jeong-Hu proved persistent. “Smile.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head slightly. “...Sorry?”

“I said, smile, you dummy.”

Kang Jin-Ho forced the corners of his lips to curl up. His cheeks twitched unnaturally, but at least he was smiling now.

Hwang Jeong-Hu grinned bitterly at this ungainly sight. “See? Can you all see that?”

“Y-yes, Chairman.”

Only after the crowd hesitantly replied did Hwang Jeong-Hu nod weightily. “Whether it’s paperwork or using computers… All those things are secondary, okay? What matters at the end of the day isn’t stuff like that.”

Hwang Jeong-Hu stared straight at the crowd.

“Let me guess. You only came here because you were ordered to. Or you don't know what you're in for but still came anyway. And some of you applied only because you were worried about your higher-ups and their nagging!”

“…?”

“That's you, am I right? Every single one of you!”

Every martial artist here could crush a grown adult without breaking a sweat, yet here they were, all cowering before Hwang Jeong-Hu's mighty aura.

Even though an old man half their size was hurling barely disguised insults in their faces, none of these Assembly members dared to argue back.

Hwang Jeong-Hu remained unflinching.

“A company is ultimately a group of people coming together, okay? The continued survival of a company depends on the people in it. Your higher-ups probably think you guys suck at office work, and that’s hindering the operations, but not me. That’s not what I think. Your company is operating poorly because of your rubbish mindsets, not your crap skills!”

Kang Jin-Ho ruefully licked his lips while listening to this lecture.

Hwang Jeong-Hu was a legendary figure in the business sector. No one could argue against him in matters involving running a business. In fact, a layman should believe Hwang Jeong-Hu if he said he could turn copper into gold!

“Anyone here who believes their administrative skills are bad, I want you to raise your hand,” said Hwang Jeong-Hu.

“…”

The crowd awkwardly glanced at each other, but no one raised their hand.

Hwang Jeong-Hu scowled while roaring loudly into the mic. “What the hell?! Do you need permission from others to raise your hand? Or you don’t know how rubbish your skills are?! Which is it!”

Hwang Jeong-Hu’s furious yell caused quite a few people to flinch nastily, and hands began rising up from the crowd.

The truth was… Almost everyone here was fully cognizant of how lacking their administrative abilities were. Without that, they wouldn't have applied for a training program with an insanely packed schedule. The paperwork within the Martial Assembly wasn't taxing enough to put themselves through this wringer, after all!

Once almost everyone raised their hands, Hwang Jeong-Hu loudly tutted into the mic.

“All of you, who have raised their hands…” Hwang Jeong-Hu pointed to the crowd and growled. “Since you’re not very good at your job, you figured you’d come here and get some much-needed education. Am I right?”

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The crowd sheepishly replied, “Yes, sir.”

“In that case, what have you been doing until now?”

“…!”

Hwang Jeong-Hu's voice grew louder. “You idiots knew you sucked at your job! But you didn't even bother to improve your skills? Were you sucking on your thumbs and doing nothing until now?! Is that it?! Were you just idling away day after day? Or is my assumption wrong?!”

Every person in the crowd clamped their mouths firmly shut. They didn't want to acknowledge it, but Hwang Jeong-Hu was right. His criticism was right on the money!

Most of the Assembly’s administrative staff reached their current posts via similar routes.

They wanted to live as martial artists, but their poor talents curtailed their dreams. They didn't give up on their dream and chose to live a different life. No, their story was more like… Despite being forced to quit the path they desired to walk on the most, these people couldn't overcome their lingering attachment and continued to hold on to the tiniest threads still connecting them to their past.

Even though they had chosen to live on as the Assembly's administrative staff, none of them wanted to spend the rest of their lives as office workers.

“I don't care what industry you work in. The story is still the same. Anyone who doesn't have pride in their work and fails to give 100% will only serve as yet another foothold for someone else willing to crawl their way to the top!”

SLAM!

Hwang Jeong-Hu slammed his palm down on the lectern.

“Look around you. Do you know how hard kids are trying to get a job these days? Do you have any idea how hard they work and study to get good grades and a beefy CV? Those pot-bellied idiots calling themselves directors and whatnot? People like that will never find a job as newbies these days. That's because you can find countless talented and hardworking individuals out in the job market today, okay!

“However! Let me ask you this. You think those talented folks will keep working hard once they get through the door? I'm telling you, that's not how it works.”

Hwang Jeong-Hu weightily shook his head.

“Life is all about persistence. Things don't end just because you achieved something. It's the same story for failures, too. Some people might work themselves to the bone and achieve success before taking their foot off the gas. But here's the deal.

“Even those who don't work as hard as those folks can still taste success if they persistently try their best till the end. However! Have any of you tried your best until now?”

Those words even made Kang Jin-Ho reflect on himself a little.

When the auditorium’s overall atmosphere reached a new low, Hwang Jeong-Hu scanned the crowd before chuckling affably. “My bad. It seems this old fart’s nagging has crossed the line a bit.”

“No, sir!”

“That’s not true, sir!”

Hwang Jeong-Hu nodded in satisfaction when the crowd immediately replied. “Still, let me apologize for getting too riled up in my speech. This is one of the problems you face while getting older, you see? Reining in your emotions gets harder and harder as time goes on.”

The atmosphere became a little more relaxed just then.

“What I want to tell you is this. Even if you walk away from this program with improved skill sets, nothing will change unless you change your mindset first. I'm sure you already know this, don't you? A company has to go with the flow. Even if your skills improve, newbies with better skills will continue to join the company.

“You’ll get pushed out if you rest on your laurels, okay? I’m telling you, you’re gonna get treated like an obnoxious boomer with no skills who only knows how to talk. Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”

“Yes, Chairman!”

Hwang Jeong-Hu sneakily glanced at Kang Jin-Ho before resuming his speech in a firm, booming voice. “Whether you improve your technical skills or administration abilities, it’s all good, I say. Learn as much as you want from this program. However! When all’s said and done, what you must walk away from this place with aren’t those things.

“No, you gotta become someone who keeps improving themselves. Someone who doesn’t wait for others to tell him to learn more. And that’s the ticket for surviving this tricky jungle called life. At the very least, do your best to learn that before leaving, okay? That will be all.”

As soon as Hwang Jeong-Hu took a step away from the mic, a round of thunderous applause exploded in the auditorium. And people weren’t clapping because that was what was expected of them. No, they clapped because his speech had genuinely moved and awed them.

One of the enthusiastic clappers was Bae Jae-Min. He applauded powerfully enough to nearly break his own hands!

Hwang Jeong-Hu was right. Bae Jae-Min knew better than anyone his administrative skills were terrible. Despite knowing about his shortcomings, however… He never tried to improve himself until now.

Why? Because he believed there was no reason to do so. After all, wasn’t he supposed to be a martial artist?

The Martial Assembly's administrative department was like the home of the losers who got kicked out of the main storyline. A place where losers weren't even given a chance to make a stirring comeback! What could Bae Jae-Min even do in a place like that? Other than just existing day to day, drifting along?

Even after Kang Jin-Ho joined the Martial Assembly and triggered the organization's rapid transformation, the lives of Bae Jae-Min and his colleagues didn't change much, other than their workload increasing by a bit.

The winds of change carrying people's hope forward that swept across the Martial Assembly didn't reach Bae Jae-Min and his colleagues. Those who got left out of the excitement could only look on enviously at their peers.

But now, here was Hwang Jeong-Hu, telling them that their mindset had been wrong all along. And he was right about that.

Life wasn’t finished because of one mistake. Since Bae Jae-Min failed as a martial artist, shouldn’t he just find different avenues to succeed in life? Wasn’t that how everyone lived their life?

Beating himself down and calling himself a loser just because he failed as a martial artist was such a stupid thing to do. What Bae Jae-Min and his peers lacked weren't administrative skills but passion and the eagerness to improve themselves. They didn't have… ambition!

And Hwang Jeong-Hu had accurately pointed that out today.

‘I’m gonna do my best from now on!’

Bae Jae-Min tightly clenched his fists. Regardless of how this situation came to be, there was no doubt this was an opportunity. He had already wasted so many opportunities until now, so he swore to himself to make this one count, no matter what!

And so, attending this training program had successfully transformed Bae Jae-Min's mindset.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced behind him. He could see that everyone’s expression had changed now.

Being able to stir people and move them into action with even the most cliched of all cliched speeches… Now that was the charisma of a natural leader. Even the martial artists couldn't help but fall for Hwang Jeong-Hu's charisma.

Just as Kang Jin-Ho began chuckling wryly at this development, Hwang Jeong-Hu got off the stage and walked up to him. “Up close, you really do look like a person now, Jin-Ho.”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “That sounds like you didn’t view me as a person until now?”

“Well, you didn’t feel like a person regardless of what you wore, so there’s that.”

“…” Kang Jin-Ho promptly gave up, knowing he could never win in verbal sparring against Hwang Jeong-Hu.

The Chairman of the Jaegyeong Group chuckled, then pointed to the exit. “If you’re free, how about a quick smoke break with me?”

“Mm? But I have to stay for the training…?”

“That’s exactly what I want to talk to you about. Don’t forget, I don’t have a lot of free time, either. And you ain’t the type to come speak to me first, too. Now might be the only time we get to speak to each other, so come with me.”

“Alright. I’m coming…” Kang Jin-Ho sighed, then got up from his seat unwillingly.

Hwang Jeong-Hu glanced at Jeon Byeong-Su behind him. “Okay. Carry on.”

“Yes, sir! Chairman!” Jeon Byeong-Su replied energetically while standing at attention. He waited until Hwang Jeong-Hu exited the auditorium along with Kang Jin-Ho, then climbed up on the stage again, his expression deeply stiff and tense.

‘Come on now! What am I supposed to do if you rile up the crowd like this… Mm?’

Jeon Byeong-Su tensely scanned the crowd, only to flinch a little.

This place was eerily quiet like a morgue not too long ago, yet the atmosphere had been completely transformed. Even though the trainees still didn't ooze the expected newbie's vitality and fresh smell, they began emitting "heat" that was noticeably different from before.

‘Hmm? This isn’t bad, now is it?’

The eyes of the crowd staring back at Jeon Byeong-Su seemed more focused than before, too. Sure, their glares had been scary not too long ago, but that had been a reflection of all the heaviness in their hearts. Now, though? Their fierce glare was laced with drive and passion.

With the crowd like this… Training them should be a step easier.

‘Thank you, Chairman!’

Jeon Byeong-Su sighed quietly in relief, then addressed the crowd, his expression a little brighter.

“I'd like to thank Chairman Hwang for that wonderful explanation. I have nothing further to add. So, let's skip the part about mindset and go straight to the brief overview of what you will learn during this program. And then, we'll start the program right away. Everyone, please do your best to keep up!”

“Yes, sir!”

A cacophony of powerful voices rocked the auditorium once more.

Jeon Byeong-Su grinned brightly while kicking off the briefing.