Surviving as the Villainess’s Servant in a Martial Arts Novel - Chapter 74

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 74

Me?

I’m the cult leader?

I’m some apostle of light?

‘Damn, I’m not even a hero of light.’

Even while I was half-dazed, Eom Father’s explanation continued.

“The apostle of light is truly no different from a ‘successor’ who has inherited the will of Myeongja, who came to save us humans through the words of Myeongbu. Since they are the very essence of our school’s true meaning, naturally they become the cult leader…”

“No, no no, wait, wait!”

I belatedly came to my senses and interrupted Eom Father’s words. Then I quickly spoke before hearing anything more outrageous.

“Aren’t you, aren’t you mistaken about something? Me? I learned that Hoe… that thing? I don’t even know how to read!”

“…”

“And you clearly said earlier. That divine art is passed down only to cult leaders through generations. How could I learn something so great? It’s not something you can teach to just anyone…”

“That’s right.”

“Huh?”

I flinched. Eom Father was suddenly glaring with an extremely angry expression.

“Would we teach Hoewuseong-gwangyeong, our school’s treasure, to just anyone? There are few who even know its true nature. Even the incantations are known to no one except the cult leader himself.”

“Right, right, of course.”

“But now I see there was one more person who knew about it.”

“Huh? Who is that…”

Suddenly, a certain fact flashed through my mind.

Another person involved besides Eom Father.

Someone who held the position of being the previous cult leader’s grandson.

That was none other than…

“You, you, you…!”

Sa-hyeon smiled awkwardly and said.

“To be precise, my father knew about it.”

I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t say anything. However, Eom Father seemed to feel the same way as me, suddenly shouting loudly.

“I was completely deceived! When I returned from my business, Hyeon-a suddenly said she remembered a way to save her! Honestly, I was suspicious, but since it was a method the second young master told her, I followed it for now.”

“Ah…”

“Yes, it was really strange. Calling it a treatment method, yet asking me to guide energy according to incantations like learning martial arts, and even telling me to guide it forward one day and backward the next – such bizarre methods made me suspicious!”

“But thanks to Eom Father doing it well, the cult leader came back to life.”

“Save her? I thought you had evil intentions! And then later what? It was actually Hoewuseong-gwangyeong? Oh my, how dizzy I felt when I heard that!”

‘That really would be the case.’

In the end, it meant Sa-hyeon had arbitrarily taught the divine art to me, who had nothing to do with Gwangjin-gyo.

Cold sweat naturally broke out. But why on earth?

I could understand that answer naturally.

“But I had no choice. If it wasn’t for that, my sister would have definitely died. If only she could learn Hoewuseong-gwangyeong, she could live…”

‘Would have died…’

I had expected as much, but having it confirmed through someone else’s mouth left me feeling quite unsettled.

Honestly, at that time I was so desperate to find Young Miss that I didn’t care if I lived or died, but thinking back, I don’t know how reckless it was. I almost couldn’t keep my promise to Young Miss.

‘That I would return safely to her side.’

I had definitely said that.

I secretly patted my chest. Then, as I was resolving never to act recklessly again, I heard the conversation between the two.

“Still, you were too careless! No matter how much you wanted to save her, how could you teach our school’s divine art to just anyone? If Young Master Lee knew, he’d faint from shock!”

“But my father told me directly. He said I could teach it if someone appeared who was worthy of being a righteous and upright ‘hero’.”

‘Me… a hero?’

“And anyway, not just anyone can learn Hoewuseong-gwangyeong. How many have died trying to learn it…”

I asked in surprise.

“Wait, died? You die if you learn it wrong?”

Sa-hyeon shook his head innocently.

“It’s not exactly dying, but that’s one of the conditions. ‘Death’ – it only takes effect when you reach death and your bodily functions have almost stopped.”

‘What kind of martial art is that.’

“Besides, not everyone can learn it just by dying. There’s a more important condition. ‘A soul chosen by light’. In other words, it can only be learned when the soul is cleaner and more harmonious than anyone else’s, but who would know that?”

‘That’s true.’

“So many cult leaders died trying to learn the divine art. Among all the past cult leaders, only two were unable to learn it. Eventually, Hoewuseong-gwangyeong became a ‘forbidden art’ where only the incantations were passed down but couldn’t be learned.”

‘How terrifying.’

“But somehow, my sister met all the conditions…”

And learned Hoewuseong-gwangyeong.

I couldn’t close my mouth.

What, I passed all those crazy conditions? And it’s a divine art that only two of all the past cult leaders learned while the rest all died?

‘Maybe because I’m a transmigrator?’

If that’s the case, why didn’t you give me special abilities from the start! What kind of closing the barn door after the horse is stolen is this?

And the origin of the martial art I learned was also problematic.

Not the orthodox martial art of a prestigious family, not the special solo transmission martial art of a reclusive master, not even some random street martial art, but the martial art of a pseudo-religion?

And they say I have to become the cult leader by learning that martial art. I forced my trembling lips up and asked.

“I, I see. I understand… But just because I learned Hoewuseong-gwangyeong, do I really have to become the cult leader?”

“You are already the cult leader.”

“But suddenly calling me cult leader… And is it really okay? I’m someone who has no connection to Gwangjin-gyo at all? I’m a complete stranger – is it okay for me to take such an important position?”

“From the moment you learned Hoewuseong-gwangyeong, our followers must believe in and follow the cult leader. That’s our doctrine.”

“No, haa…”

What kind of doctrine is that! As I was desperately pulling at my hair.

“Older Sister.”

Sa-hyeon carefully spoke up.

“I know too. How confused you must be right now. It wouldn’t make sense to suddenly be told to ascend to the cult leader position.”

“That, that’s…”

“Of course, I don’t plan to burden Older Sister for life either. So until I grow up, just until then, please. Older Sister is currently our school’s greatest master.”

“Greatest master… me?”

Me, who gets beaten up even by small fry?

“Hoewuseong-gwangyeong is our school’s absolute martial learning, but it’s also a peerless divine art with no equal in the world. Just entering it makes ordinary martial artists no match, and if you achieve great mastery, you’ll become the number one under heaven with no one in the world to oppose you.”

‘Number one under heaven?’

“I’ll also do my best to help Older Sister safely learn the divine art. So please, thinking of the followers in danger…”

“Wait, wait a moment.”

At the words I heard, I paused.

I had an uneasy feeling.

Thinking about it, similar talk had been continuing since earlier. ‘Traitors of the Central Martial Arts World’, ‘desperately trying to kill’, ‘will wage total war to completely cut off the lineage’, etc.

Even now, didn’t he say Gwangjin-gyo was in danger? A religion called traitors by the current martial world would probably be…

“Ah.”

“Yes?”

“No, well, you know. I’m having an absurd thought, so don’t take it too badly, so…”

“Older Sister?”

“By any chance, by any chance…”

I finally voiced my suspicion.

“Gwangjin-gyo… isn’t the Demon Cult, is it?”

A strange silence fell.

“…”

“…”

I began to tremble more and more.

That’s because Sa-hyeon and Eom Father started exchanging meaningful glances again.

Don’t do that, don’t act so suspiciously. Every time you do that, things end badly. You know I’m right!

Please, say it’s not true…!

“That’s correct.”

However, my shallow hope was extinguished.

Because Eom Father shouted angrily like fire.

“Those wicked Righteous Faction bastards are calling The School a Demon Cult. But that’s wrong. Just because our ideology differs from theirs, they brand us as demons—such unreasonable…!”

“Then, the Seo Family Estate is…”

“Of course it’s not The School’s doing! Currently, The School has absolutely no capacity for such things. We’ve been ruined for so long that the remaining people can barely survive in hiding, so how could we start a war!”

“Ah, ruined for so long… what?”

…What?

When I doubted my ears.

Eom Father’s voice came through with certainty.

“That’s right. Gwangjin-gyo has fallen. A whole 18 years ago!”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————