Chapter 24. The Young Lord of The Heavenly Demon Church (2/2)
“Oh! Finally!”
Leaving Guardian Ju, who had an ecstatic expression on his face, behind, Gongson Chun Gi began thinking about something else entirely.
‘This is the start.’
What should he teach his disciple? It seemed that the boy didn’t know a single thing about martial arts……. Gongson Chun Gi began to list out all the martial arts that he knew in his brain.
Guardian Ju came to his senses at that point. After looking at the cabin next to him for a moment, he slipped away. He had to be somewhere else.
* * *
“Young lord, this is Um Seung Do.”
“Yes, please come in.”
The door opened, and Um Seung Do walked in respectfully. The moment he saw Cho Ryu Hyang, he dropped down onto his knees.
When Cho Ryu Hyang widened his eyes in surprise, Um Seung Do spoke.
“I heard that you became the heir of the church.”
“Ah…….Yes.”
Rumors spread fast, it seemed. When Cho Ryu Hyang thought that, Um Seung Do bowed down to Cho Ryu Hyang.
“Please forgive this one’s crimes up till now, young lord!”
“……..”
How should he respond to this? While Cho Ryu Hyang was acting a bit troubled over this, Um Seung Do began to talk with a determined face.
“If you want, I will pay for it with my life.”
Cho Ryu Hyang slowly opened his mouth when he saw that Um Seung Do was actually prepared to take his own life.
“……..I really can’t get used to this.”
Was this the so-called way of the martial artists? It was true that Cho Ryu Hyang didn’t really know what he should do when he looked at Um Sung Do. He thought that he would just have to get used to it, but it seemed that that wouldn’t really work out.
What should he do, then? Honestly, he didn’t really have to think of anything. There was an easy solution to all this.
Cho Ryu Hyang sighed, and opened his mouth.
“I’ll forget about everything that happened before. So you can stop. Please stand.”
“……..”
Um Seung Do didn’t even twitch.
He seemed immovable.
Just what did he not like?
When Cho Ryu Hyang was about to ask that question, Um Seung Do spoke.
“You can act as you want, young lord.”
“…….”
“There is no need to act politely to any of us in the future. There is no need to ask us to do anything. Just command us. You have the right to do that.”
Cho Ryu Hyang closed his mouth. When he heard Um Seung Do’s words, he realized just what kind of a choice he had made a while ago.
The heir to the church.
It was one of the biggest positions one could get in the martial world.
Cho Ryu Hyang, who was in a dazed state for a brief moment, looked at Um Seung Do, who was still bowing at him, with a complicated face. He slowly opened his mouth.
“You may……. stand.”
To think commanding someone would be this awkward.
Um Seung Do stood up with frightening speed. And spoke.
“Is there anything else the young lord would like?”
“There is……. nothing.”
Um Seung Do lightly bowed with a polite expression. After that, he opened his mouth to say something.
“The elder wishes to meet the young lord. I’ve been ordered to escort you to him.”
“The elder?”
“Yes. He is one of the eight guardians of the church, elder Ju Sang San.”
Cho Ryu Hyang nodded.
“When do we leave?”
“Now would be the perfect time.”
What was going on?
Cho Ryu Hyang felt a bit suspicious, but he still stood up.
“I will guide the young lord.”
When Cho Ryu Hyang followed Um Seung Do, he was able to see an auditorium far away.
‘What’s this?’
For some strange reason, his heart was beating quite loudly. It felt like something big was about to happen.
Cho Ryu Hyang entered the auditorium with a strange feeling. There, he saw.
He saw the reason why everyone in the world feared the Heavenly Demon Church. A part of that reason was awaiting him.
It was a giant auditorium.
However, the whole place was packed. A total of 5000 people. Everyone in the Gansu branch of the church was waiting here silently.
A breathtaking feeling of solitude.
Cho Ryu Hyang walked up to the pedestal, guided by Um Seung Do.
While Cho Ryu Hyang was looking at these people with a dumb face, Um Seung Do came up next to Cho Ryu Hyang and looked at the people down below.
He then gathered energy from the pit of his stomach, and shouted.
“Heavenly Demon Bow! (天魔仰伏)”
The moment Um Seung Do’s roar rang across the auditorium, the people in the auditorium all simultaneously put their feet together, and knelt down.
Koom–!
A vibration, resembling that of an earthquake, shook the auditorium. After that, they all paused a bit, then shouted.
“The Godly Church Under The Heavens! (神敎天下)”
Cho Ryu Hyang opened his mouth.
A shout that made his hair tremble.
It was his first time seeing this many people gathered in one place, and the aura exuded by each of them was really no joke. It was absolutely breathtaking.
‘This is…….’
It wasn’t a bad feeling. He was surprised by how excited he felt when he stood in front of all these people.
A pool of spit gathered in his mouth, and his body started to get hot. This whole thing was an experience that he couldn’t really put to words.
“Everyone here are the people that will follow the young lord in the future. Please look after them.”
Two old men, one wrinkly, and one big, could be seen next to him. When Cho Ryu Hyang looked at them, the wrinkly old man introduced himself.
“The name’s Ju Sang San, young lord. I wasn’t able to prepare much because of the time. Forgive me…….”
“………”
Since he didn’t know the manners of the church yet, it was kind of awkward for him to speak. Guardian Ju stepped back, as if he realized that.
“If you were surprised by this, I apologize.”
“No, there is no need to apologize. You should’ve at least done this much, after all.”
When Cho Ryu Hyang turned his head, he could see Gongson Chun Gi approaching him with a smile.
“Were you surprised? By just this much?”
How could he not be surprised? Gongson Chun Gi pat Cho Ryu Hyang’s hair a bit, and stood on the center of the pedestal as if this was the most natural thing he could do in the world.
Once he stood in the center, everything went quiet. After taking in the silence a bit, Gongson Chun Gi looked at the 5000 martial artists standing there in rows.
He slowly opened his mouth.
“A heir to the church has been decided.”
A tiny whisper. But there wasn’t anyone in the auditorium, who was unable to hear these words. After saying that, he put Cho Ryu Hyang, who still had a shocked look on his face, in front of him.
“This boy’s the one who will take care of the church for the next hundred years. What do you think of him?”
Uwaaaa-!
The whole area was engulfed with shouts.
This was the first meeting between Cho Ryu Hyang, who would be known as King Shura in the future, and the Heavenly Demon Church, which would be known as the Absolute Religion (絶代神敎).