Chapter 1160: Chapter 1160

Seong Ju-Chan asked back reflexively. He quickly realized his mistake and hurriedly clamped his mouth shut and even lowered his head. How could he not, when everyone was now staring at him?

It was rather obvious that everyone would eyeball him when he was the only one among this ocean of people to open his trap and say something!

Seong Ju-Chan’s problem with this situation was that he, too, was a typical Korean. He was not used to so many people paying him undivided attention !

“Sir! I don’t understand what you mean.”

Seong Ju-Chan gasped and almost blurted out, Oii! If you ask politely like that, what will others think of me?

He looked up and stared at the person who said that—Kim Won-Hyeok. Despite everyone’s attention zeroing in on him, Kim Won-Hyeok remained unfazed.

Bang Jin-Hun chuckled slightly. “It’s as you heard. If you want to quit, then you should do it now.”

“...We can just walk away, sir?”

“What, then? Should I ask you for resignation letters, too?”

Now, everyone was looking at Bang Jin-Hun instead.

“Sir! Can we really do that?”

“There’s nothing stopping you,” Bang Jin-Hun casually replied. “From its inception, the Martial Assembly allowed anyone to quit if they wanted to. You can resign whenever you want. It’s always been your choice.”

Bang Jin-Hun was right; the Martial Assembly never forbade anyone from quitting. It was just that anyone thinking of quitting must adhere to one strict condition.

The ones leaving must never use martial arts ever again. Using it would directly lead to paying a hefty price.

Although that sounded like a scary threat, those who could control themselves and mingle with the rest of society would never have to worry about getting tangled up with either the Martial Assembly or the martial world itself.

Some who left the Assembly were caught using martial arts and were punished accordingly. But the majority stuck to that condition and lived ordinary lives.

“But sir? Can we do that when a war is about to break out?”

“That’s precisely why now is the time,” Bang Jin-Hun countered with an airy chuckle. “I’m sure some of you are here thinking, ‘I’m gonna keep walking the martial path even if it kills me!’ Yup, without a doubt. You probably think if you have to die, might as well die as a martial artist.”

Surely, though, not everyone felt that way.

“However, some of you only chose this path because your parents happen to be martial artists. Or you coincidentally ran into a martial master and stumbled into this path. And a fair few probably have no idea what to do next. Am I right?”

Seong Ju-Chan clamped his mouth tightly. He could barely keep his head up while listening. It sounded almost as if Bang Jin-Hun was specifically pointing him out!

“You never willingly chose this path. You don’t have the confidence or assurance that you will keep living as a martial artist, either. You became a martial artist just because. In that case, it’s unfair for us to demand you fight a war with your life on the line. Wouldn’t you agree?”

No one readily replied. However, it seemed Bang Jin-Hun wasn’t expecting an answer in the first place.

“That’s why I’m asking you to quit now if that’s what you want. I ain’t gonna go for a low blow and tell you to risk your lives because you owe us for all the freebies you’ve been enjoying.”

Seong Ju-Chan finally couldn’t hold it back and said something. “Sir! Why are you telling us all this now?”

“Uh... If you hadn’t said anything, we’d have been forced to fight in the war, sir. Wouldn’t you have at least guaranteed yourself an army that way? I don’t understand why you’d say all this when there’s a war right before our noses.”

“Huh...” Bang Jin-Hun scratched his head awkwardly.

He had a good reason, of course. The difficulty lay with verbally explaining it. Wiggins or Lee Hyeon-Su would’ve convinced everyone here with their eloquence laced with quick-witted humor, but not Bang Jin-Hun. He wasn’t born with such a gift.

Since that was the case, he might as well speak what was on his mind, then!

“Because I dislike that idea.”

Bang Jin-Hun casually shrugged. “Maybe because I'm a twisted bastard? If I'm gonna fight and bleed together with someone, I might as well do that sh*t with folks with, uh, whatchamacallit, self-awareness? Is that even right? Like, at least they should care about what they are doing, get my drift?

“What I'm trying to say is, I don't wanna entrust my back to some idiot who doesn't want to be in a warzone and is only interested in running away.”

What a crude way of explaining things that was. However, such straightforwardness made it easier for others to understand his intentions.

“Isn't it the same for you lot, too? Some of you must be thinking this way, right? Who cares about cultivation and whatnot when it's all over after I die? Why would I be stupid enough to join a bloody war?”

Seong Ju-Chan’s head faltered lower. He was almost sure of it now. Bang Jin-Hun must be talking about him!

He shouldn’t shy away from the truth, though. He had indeed received a lot of benefits from the Martial Assembly. But all these things happened because he was forced into becoming a martial artist.

By the time he got old enough to understand what he was doing, he was already a martial artist. By then, it was too late to choose another path in life.

“If you were as worn-out and jaded as me, then yeah, you probably don't have any other choice, but that's not true, now is it? You still have a chance to start a new life away from martial arts. That's why I want you to seriously think about it and not get swept up in the moment and jump into a war.”

Bang Jin-Hun scanned the crowd before slowly nodding.

“But we can’t give you a lot of time to think. Those who wish to quit, come see me at my office before nine o’clock tonight. As for those choosing to stick around, you might get deployed the first thing tomorrow, so prepare yourselves. Circulate your qi to stay in your optimal physical condition, okay?”

Kim Won-Hyeok suddenly raised his hand.

Bang Jin-Hun glanced at him. “What is it?”

“Sir! Will there be no consequences for quitting? For real?”

“What the hell, man? You think I’m gonna personally beat someone up for quitting? Listen here, you dumb sh*t. I’m also about to fight in a war, okay? I also need to conserve my strength.”

“I was asking because I don't understand why there aren't any ramifications whatsoever, sir! By quitting now, isn't that like cowardly running away despite receiving all the financial and material support from the Assembly for free?”

“It’s fine,” said Bang Jin-Hun while dismissively waving his hand. “I ain’t gonna entrust my back to someone who’s not resolved to go all the way just because I’m a cheapskate on things like that. Oh, by the way? I’m not saying these things to belittle anyone wanting to quit. It’s just that, uh... Well, things will be different.”

Bang Jin-Hun sighed before explaining further.

“What happened until now doesn't really matter. Until now, that is. But things will be different from now on. Because you will be doing things for the Assembly instead of just receiving freebies from it. And that's why you gotta choose now. Choose whether you'll stay as a martial artist and remain a part of the Assembly even at the cost of your life or simply find another way to live.

“Let’s be real here, you guys. You can’t even make your mind up unless I do all this for you.”

“So, don’t pressure yourselves and choose. As for those who wish to stay, you better not hurt or insult anyone choosing to quit, okay? ‘Cuz Imma personally beat the living sh*t out of anyone who does that, got that!”

Bang Jin-Hun heard the roaring response, then muttered bitterly.

“Remember this. If you can't make up your mind and end up staying, you won't become stronger. Not with that mindset, anyway. Giving up when you know you can't go any further and have the chance to do so... That takes guts too, okay? I told you, right? Nine o'clock tonight. That's the deadline. If you don't quit by then, well, don't blame anyone else if you die in the war. Do you understand?”

“Okay, good,” Bang Jin-Hun muttered while nodding weightily before turning around to face his right-hand man. “Cheon Tae-Hun.”

“Like I told you earlier, form the squads with those not interested in quitting.”

“Yeah. Doing it early will save us time, right? Some of these guys don't even have to think about their decision, anyway.”

Bang Jin-Hun entered the main building after getting Cheon Tae-Hun's affirmative reply. Once he disappeared from sight, though, a noticeably different spectacle from before instantly unfolded in the central plaza.

Everyone urgently grabbed the people around them and began animatedly discussing what they heard.

In the proverbial blink of an eye, the plaza turned into a quasi-marketplace!

“Hold on! Let me finish the announcement first!” Cheon Tae-Hun shouted at the crowd.

The noise level went down, although not to complete silence. Even then, Cheon Tae-Hun made his announcement regardless as if this was good enough for him.

“Anyone who doesn't have to think about staying, please head to the training area number two. We'll start assigning you to different squads.”

One of the martial artists asked back, “Can we go right now?”

“No, wait for about half an hour. We haven't finished our preparations on that side yet.”

That must be the end of the announcement, because Seong Ju-Chan could see Cheon Tae-Hun stepping down from the podium. But that sight only made Seong Ju-Chan’s emotions even more complicated.

He glanced at his friend next to him. “Hey, Won-Hyeok?”

Kim Won-Hyeok looked back. “Yeah?”

“What are you gonna do?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m heading to training area number two.”

“...Really? You aren’t even gonna think about it?”

“Think about what?” Kim Won-Hyeok scoffed. “I'm a martial artist. I've proudly lived my entire life that way, so you think I'm gonna get sh*t scared and run away now? I can never live with something so humiliating hanging over my head, man.”

“But Director Bang said it takes guts to choose the other path, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, sure. But that’s the story for other folks. To me, that’s not courage. I might die tomorrow, but I’ll remain as a martial artist till the end, okay? And you know what? I’m gonna survive and reach even higher realms.”

“What about you, then? Are you quitting?”

Seong Ju-Chan frowned deeply. “I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

That was when Kim Won-Hyeok slowly shook his head. “This is just my opinion, but it might be better for you to quit now.”

“...What makes you say that?”

Seong Ju-Chan's eyes followed Kim Won-Hyeok's pointing chin. That was when he finally noticed the sight of over half of the crowd in the plaza heading to the training area number two. Even though they knew there was still half an hour to go, they must've thought it'd be a waste of time to mill about doing absolutely nothing.

Kim Won-Hyeok tutted. “See? That’s the kind of folks who chose to stay behind.”

“So, just quit it now, man. If I’m being honest here, I kinda get what Director Bang was trying to say after taking a good look at you. You’re a good friend, but I still don’t want to entrust my back to you in a warzone.”

What a biting commentary that was. However, Seong Ju-Chan couldn’t argue back.

How could they do this, though?

Everyone knew people would die during the war. And there was a real possibility of every Assembly member not making it out of this war alive. Despite knowing that, though, how could all those people unhesitantly step into the warzone?

Seong Ju-Chan couldn’t even imagine it.

“It's fine,” said Kim Won-Hyeok while dismissively waving his hand. “Nothing will change by telling me how you feel. Don't worry, I'm not trying to insult you or anything like that. Even if you quit, we'll remain friends. Things might change if the Assembly orders me to stop hanging out with you. Still, I will never look down on you or insult you. You simply made a choice, that's all. So, yeah. Think about it.”

Kim Won-Hyeok then turned around and hurriedly headed to the training area number two.

Seong Ju-Chan bit his lip, hard, at this sight.

‘If a war really breaks out...!’

People would die. And there was no guarantee that one of those people wouldn’t be you.

Were those idiots underestimating how dangerous a war could be? Or was Seong Ju-Chan reacting too cowardly to the prospect of war?

...If the answer was none of the above, maybe he was secretly a coward and didn't even know about it?

‘I can’t tell. I have no idea!’

By now, around two-thirds of the plaza's crowd had headed to the training area. As for the remaining people... About half of them also left, although in a different direction to who knows where. And then...

Those who didn’t know where to wander off could only stare at the ground, their expressions unreadable.

Indeed, they had no courage to look anywhere else but the ground. Simply locking eyes with others was enough to burn their faces in shame, after all. Why? Because they knew what the other was thinking right now.

Remaining here was like an admission of their shamefully weak minds, and that knowledge alone made it nearly impossible to look away from the ground.

Seong Ju-Chan groaned loudly, then dragged his feet to leave the plaza. He still hadn't made his mind up yet, but one thing still seemed clear to him. He couldn't remain in that plaza anymore.

Seong Ju-Chan noticed the darkness overtaking the setting sun’s amber glow in the skies and squeezed his eyes shut.