Chapter 74
“Me?
Me, the cult leader?
What do you mean, I’m some kind of apostle of light?”
‘What the f–, I’m not some Hero of Light or anything.’
Even while I was half out of my mind, Eom Papa’s explanation continued.
“The Apostle of Light is, in every sense, no different from the ‘successor’ who inherited the will of Myeongja, who descended into the human world to save us at the behest of Myeongbu. Since they are the very embodiment of our sect’s true intent, naturally, the cult leader must–”
“No, no-no, wait, wait!”
I belatedly came to my senses and interrupted Eom Papa. Then, before I could hear anything even more absurd, I hurriedly said,
“Ar-are you sure you haven’t gotten something wrong? Me? I learned that Hweomuseonggwanggyeong thing? I can’t even read!”
“…….”
“And you clearly said it earlier. That divine art has been passed down exclusively to the cult leaders from generation to generation. How could I possibly learn something that important? It’s not something you can just teach to anyone, either…”
“That is correct.”
“Huh?”
I flinched. At some point, Eom Papa was glaring at me with an extremely angry expression.
“Hweomuseonggwanggyeong is the treasure of our sect. Would we teach it to just anyone? There are only a few people who even know of its existence. Furthermore, no one except the cult leader himself knows the incantation.”
“R-right, of course. That makes sense.”
“But now that I think about it, it seems there is one more person who knew it.”
“Huh? Who would that be…?”
At that moment, a certain fact flashed through my mind.
Another person connected to it… Someone who was none other than the grandson of the previous cult leader.
That was…
“You, you, you……!”
Sahyeon gave an awkward smile and said,
“To be precise, it was my father who knew it.”
I was too dumbfounded to say anything. But perhaps Eom Papa felt the same way as me, because he suddenly shouted,
“I was deceived as well! When I returned after taking care of some business, Hyeon suddenly told me that he had thought of a way to save you. I was suspicious, to be honest, but since he said it was a method taught to him by the Second Young Master, I followed it for the time being.”
“Ah…”
“Yes, it really was strange. He called it a treatment method, yet I had to guide qi according to an incantation as if I were practicing martial arts. Then one day he told me to guide it in the normal direction, and the next day in reverse! It was such an absurd method that I knew something was suspicious!”
“Still, because you did so well, Eom Papa, the Cult Leader survived.”
“‘Did well,’ my ass! I thought you had some malicious intent! And then later, what? It was actually Hweomuseonggwanggyeong? Good grief, when I heard that, my vision nearly went black!”
‘Yeah, I can imagine.’
So, in the end, Sahyeon had taught a divine art to me, someone completely unrelated to the Gwangjin Sect, entirely on his own.
A cold sweat broke out.
But why?
I already knew the answer.
“But I had no choice. If I hadn’t done that, Sister definitely would have died. As long as she could learn Hweomuseonggwanggyeong, she could survive…”
‘I would have died…’
I had probably expected as much, but having it confirmed through someone else’s mouth still left me feeling rather bitter.
Honestly, back then, I had been so desperate to find the Young Lady that I had lost all reason and thought I had to find her whether I lived or died. But looking back on it now, I realized just how reckless I had been.
I had nearly failed to keep my promise to the Young Lady.
‘I promised I would safely return to her side.’
I had definitely said that.
I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Just as I resolved that I must never act so recklessly again, I heard the two of them talking.
“Even so, you were far too careless! No matter how much you wanted to save her, could you really just teach anyone the sect’s divine art? If the Second Young Master found out, he’d be shocked senseless!”
“But Father told me himself. If someone worthy of being a righteous and upright ‘hero’ appeared, I could teach it to them.”
‘Me… a hero?’
“And besides, not just anyone can learn Hweomuseonggwanggyeong anyway. How many people have died trying to learn it…”
I asked in surprise,
“Wait, died? You can die if you learn it incorrectly?”
Sahyeon innocently shook his head.
“Technically, it’s not that you die because you learn it incorrectly. Death is one of the requirements. Its power only manifests when you reach ‘death,’ when your body’s functions have almost completely stopped as you approach death.”
‘What kind of martial art is that?’
“Besides, even dying doesn’t mean you can automatically learn it. There’s an even more important requirement. A ‘soul chosen by the light.’ They say you can only learn it when your soul is in a state purer and more harmonious than anyone else’s, but how could anyone know whether that’s the case?”
‘That’s true.’
“So many cult leaders died trying to learn the divine art. Among all the previous cult leaders, only two managed to learn it. In the end, Hweomuseonggwanggyeong became a ‘forbidden art’ whose incantation was passed down, but which no one could actually learn.”
‘That’s terrifying.’
“But somehow, Sister fulfilled all the requirements…”
And thus, I came to learn Hweomuseonggwanggyeong.
I couldn’t close my mouth.
No, had I really passed all those insane requirements? And on top of that, I had learned a divine art that only two previous cult leaders had ever mastered, while everyone else had died trying?
‘Is it because I’m a transmigrator?’
If that was the case, couldn’t I have gotten some special ability a long time ago?! What kind of locking the barn door after the horse has bolted was this?
And the source of the martial art I had learned was another problem.
It wasn’t a proper martial art from some prestigious noble family, nor a unique martial art passed down by some reclusive master, nor even some miscellaneous martial art picked up off the street.
It was a martial art from a ”cult”!
And apparently, after learning it, I was supposed to become its cult leader.
I desperately pulled the corners of my trembling lips upward and asked,
“So, so that’s how it is. I understand… But just because I learned Hweomuseonggwanggyeong, I don’t necessarily have to become the cult leader, right?”
“You are already the Cult Leader.”
“No, you suddenly calling me ‘Cult Leader’ aside… Are you really okay with this? I have absolutely no connection to the Gwangjin Sect. I’m a complete stranger. Is it really okay for someone like me to take on such an important position?”
“From the moment you learned Hweomuseonggwanggyeong, we followers are obligated to believe in and follow the Cult Leader. That is the sect’s law.”
“No, haah…”
‘What kind of sect law is that?!’
Just as I was despairing and tearing at my hair…
“Unnie.”
Sahyeon cautiously spoke up.
“I know. I know you must be extremely confused right now. Even if we suddenly tell you to ascend to the position of Cult Leader, it would be difficult for you to understand.”
“Th-that’s…”
“Of course, I don’t intend to burden you with this for the rest of your life, either. So, please, just until I grow up. I’m asking you only until then. Unnie is currently the strongest person in our sect, after all.”
“The strongest… me?”
‘Me? The person who gets beaten up even by random underlings?’
“Hweomuseonggwanggyeong is our sect’s supreme martial art, but it is also an unparalleled divine art in all the world. Just entering its introductory stage is enough to make an ordinary martial artist no match for you. And if you master it completely, you will become the Number One Under Heaven, with no one in the world capable of standing against you.”
‘The Number One Under Heaven?’
“I’ll also do my very best to make sure Uniie can safely master the divine art. So, please, for the sake of the followers who are currently in danger…”
“Wait, wait a second.”
At the words that followed, I suddenly froze.
I had a bad feeling.
Thinking about it, they had been saying similar things ever since.
‘A traitor to the martial world of the Central Plains.’
‘They’re desperate to kill us.’
‘They’ll wage an all-out war to completely sever our lineage.’
And hadn’t they just said that the Gwangjin Sect was currently in danger?
A religion that was currently branded as a traitor by the martial world… Surely, that could only be…
“Ah.”
“Yes?”
“Ah, no, listen. I just had this ridiculous thought, so don’t take it the wrong way. I mean…”
“Unnie?”
“Could it be… could it possibly be…”
I finally voiced my suspicion.
“Is the Gwangjin Sect… the Demonic Cult?”
An eerie silence descended.
“…….”
“…….”
My body gradually began to tremble.
Of course it did.
Sahyeon and Eom Papa had started exchanging those meaningful looks again.
‘Don’t. Don’t make those suspicious faces. Every time you two do that, things end badly. You know how that makes it look like I’m right! Please, just say no…!’
“Yes.”
But my flimsy hope withered away.
Eom Papa shouted furiously,
“Those despicable righteous sect bastards do indeed refer to our sect as the Demonic Cult. But that is wrong! To label us as ‘demons’ simply because our beliefs differ from theirs… what kind of utterly ignorant…!”
“Then the Xiao Family……”
“Of course it wasn’t the work of our sect! We currently have absolutely no means to do such a thing. We have been ruined for so long that it is difficult enough for the remaining members to live in hiding. How could we possibly start a war?!”
“Ah, you’ve been ruined for a long time… huh?”
…What?
Just as I wondered if I had heard correctly, Eom Papa’s voice came with absolute certainty.
“That’s right. The Gwangjin Sect is ruined. It was ruined a full eighteen years ago!”
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