Surviving as the Villainess’s Servant in a Martial Arts Novel - Chapter 75

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 75

Gwangjin-gyo.

…fell to ruin 18 years ago.

Then how did that once mighty Gwangjin-gyo come to fall?

Did formidable enemies invade? No.

Did they encounter natural disasters they couldn’t overcome? No.

It was because internal strife broke out among themselves…

“Everything began after the Head Priest passed away.”

20 years ago.

The previous Head Priest suddenly died.

No one knew the cause or reason. Someone who had been in good health just yesterday died overnight.

Gwangjin-gyo was thrown into chaos.

There were many theories – that it was a conspiracy by the Righteous Faction bastards, that there was a traitor among them, that the Head Priest had died from qi deviation while practicing martial arts incorrectly.

However, despite various hypotheses, the reason for the previous Head Priest’s death remained unknown. There was no time to investigate the cause. A more important problem had arrived.

“Unfortunately, the previous Head Priest passed away without appointing a Junior Head Priest.”

That’s where the conflict began.

With no Junior Head Priest, there was no one to immediately succeed the Head Priest, and those eyeing the vacant position multiplied.

At that time, Gwangjin-gyo was divided into two factions.

The ‘Doctrine Faction’ that believed they should maintain their religious character since they started as a religion.

The ‘Reform Faction’ that argued they should change into a martial sect befitting the world, since much time had passed since their religious origins.

“The Reform Faction branched off from the Doctrine Faction. In the past, Gwangjin-gyo’s religious nature was too strong and was viewed negatively by ordinary people, making propagation difficult, so opposing forces emerged.”

Since ancient times, Gwangjin-gyo had been persecuted as a heretical cult in the Central Plains.

They enforced vegetarianism and practiced naked burial, stripping the dead of clothes before burial, which Central Plains people couldn’t understand and avoided.

The Reform Faction argued that to change this perception, they had to abandon the school’s strange customs and transform like Central Plains forces.

“Originally, the title Twelve Warrior Kings was actually Twelve Apostles. But accepting the Reform Faction’s opinion, it was changed to Twelve Warrior Kings.”

“Hearing about it, they don’t seem like a bad sect?”

“Originally, all sects start that way. But later on, why do they all change…”

The Reform Faction initially only advocated institutional reform, but their actions gradually became more extreme.

When perceptions of Gwangjin-gyo in the Central Plains didn’t change easily, they shifted to thinking they should rather dominate the Central Plains and correct their misguided thoughts.

The Reform Faction had been watching for opportunities and building their power. However, they lacked proper justification to attack the Central Plains, and above all, couldn’t act due to strong opposition from the Doctrine Faction.

Then a problem occurred.

“A Central Plains Sect that viewed Gwangjin-gyo as a thorn in their side found an excuse to invade a village where our followers lived. Then they killed all those who had only lived by farming.”

This incident greatly angered not only the Reform Faction but also the Doctrine Faction.

The Head Priest of that time also said he couldn’t overlook this matter and raised an army to attack the Central Martial Arts World, which became the ‘First Jeongma War.’

“From then on, they began calling us the Demon Cult and despising us. Our school has also harbored long hatred toward the Central Martial Arts World.”

They repeated battles for a long time.

However, as fighting continued, different voices inevitably emerged internally.

The Doctrine Faction, which had been displeased with war from the beginning, argued they should make peace even now, while the Reform Faction argued they should fight to the end, asking if they knew how much follower blood had been spilled.

It was then that the previous Head Priest’s sudden death occurred.

“Originally, the Head Priests mediated conflicts between the two factions and played a harmonizing role. But as time passed, the situation only changed.”

“…”

“When a Head Priest from the Doctrine Faction appeared, the Doctrine Faction gained power, and when the Reform Faction produced a Head Priest, the Reform Faction gained power. When Head Priests even began favoring their own factions, the emotional rift between the two factions only deepened.”

The previous Head Priest was from the Doctrine Faction. However, the previous Head Priest fulfilled his original role by promoting harmony between the two factions and finding ways for them to coexist.

To achieve this, he appointed Lee Baek-san, who was from the Reform Faction and the Head Priest’s half-brother.

Lee Baek-san was quite popular within Gwangjin-gyo.

He was generous and active in character, made friends easily, was unstinting in giving, and would immediately rush to help friends in trouble, earning praise as a true man.

Also, Lee Baek-san was precise in rewards and punishments – he promoted those who did well regardless of status or origin, and gave appropriate punishment to those who failed.

So people naturally followed Lee Baek-san. It was natural that his influence grew rapidly.

“One mistake was that while the Head Priest was wary of Lee Baek-san, he didn’t check him. Lee Baek-san treated the Head Priest very well, and though the Head Priest was cautious of such Lee Baek-san, he didn’t hate him.”

However, Lee Baek-san was an ambitious man.

He was originally someone who would do anything to rise to high positions, and after the Head Priest’s death, he predictably revealed his ambitions.

Even before holding the Head Priest’s funeral, he began criticizing the previous Head Priest. He claimed the previous Head Priest was too weak and had been cowardly, which was why they were looked down upon by the Central Martial Arts World.

He also argued that since the previous Head Priest was from the Doctrine Faction, the next Head Priest should rightfully come from the Reform Faction, and went so far as to recommend himself.

At that time, the person being discussed as the next Head Priest was Lee Hwi, the previous Head Priest’s first son.

Lee Hwi’s people were shocked. Lee Baek-san, who seemed like he would sacrifice his life for the Head Priest before the previous Head Priest’s death, had changed his attitude overnight.

But they couldn’t just watch the Head Priest position be stolen, so the Doctrine Faction didn’t stop protesting either, and eventually conflict between the two factions erupted.

“Originally, they planned to decide the Head Priest through a Position Struggle Tournament, competing in martial prowess. But the day before the promised date, Lee Baek-san raised an army. A civil war broke out.”

The civil war lasted for six months.

In the process, Gwangjin-gyo suffered irreversible damage.

Countless masters died and went missing. Some fled to preserve their lives, others left the school first, lamenting the completely ruined state of the organization.

Even the end of the civil war wasn’t good.

It ended inconclusively when Lee Baek-san and Lee Hwi, the leaders of each faction, went missing.

However, the fallen Gwangjin-gyo couldn’t be rebuilt. Not only people but most of their considerable wealth had been burned or lost.

Thus, Gwangjin-gyo, which had boasted a long history, fell in an instant.

“After the civil war ended, only a few remained in the fallen Gwangjin-gyo. The previous Head Priest’s second son, Lee Jin-won, decided to gather the remaining people and leave Shingang. He said they should go to the Central Plains and build new lives.”

“…”

“But in the Central Plains, hatred toward our school had reached its peak. At that time, the Second Jeongma War occurred and they suffered serious damage because of it.”

“Another Jeongma War broke out? But Gwangjin-gyo was in civil war…”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying! At that time, our school was distracted fighting each other due to civil war breaking out, so how could we wage war? Those hypocrites made it all up!”

Eom Father, who had been fuming for a while, soon spoke dejectedly with a long sigh.

“However, our school’s situation was too bad to correct those lies. When we were barely managing to make ends meet, how could we take time to explain everything one by one? Moreover, on the day they attack our school, even the remaining people might…”

Die.

Eventually, the Gwangjin-gyo followers decided to live hiding their identities. They had been living quietly in Mount Shiwandashun in Guangxi Province until now.

I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.

‘This is real?’

What I had worried about was just becoming the leader of a cult or them being my enemies, but I never imagined there would be such a story.

Even what I knew about the Demon Cult wasn’t true…

I asked with a trembling voice.

“Then, the rumors circulating in the Central Plains until now? That the Demon Cult is stirring and harming and kidnapping people everywhere…”

“It’s false.”

“I heard several, several sects were attacked. Are all of those also…?”

“False. Currently, our school has no such capability at all. Not only our school’s greatest masters, the Gwangjin Left and Right Lion Generals, but among the Twelve Warrior Kings, only a few remain.”

“This can’t be…”

It wasn’t just a cult.

It was a fallen cult barely maintaining its existence.

And now they were even being falsely accused.

A powerless public enemy of the martial world!

And they want me to become the Head Priest of such a place?

‘No way.’

This really isn’t happening…!

Just as I was about to speak urgently.

“Head Priest, you’re looking for someone, aren’t you?”

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