Chapter 65. I just don’t like men. (1/2)

Chapter 65. I just don’t like men.

The Heavenly Demon Church was a massive organization with more than ten thousand members.

Because of that, the church was naturally split into four subgroups. These groups were the four families that led the Heavenly Demon Church.

Tian (天), Long (龍), Duan Li (段里), Sunwu (鮮于).

These were the names of the four families.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that these families were the ones that controlled the whole church.

The four families (四大家門).

They were the families which had produced countless Guardians and Popes. They were extremely powerful because of this.

But once Gongson Chun Gi appeared, they weakened considerably.

Gongson Chun Gi.

He was from the Gongson family (公孫世家), which was a small family no one really bothered caring about located in the outskirts of the church grounds.

Gongson Chun Gi was simply a product of luck that came about within the tiny family, so the four families didn’t worry about anything too much.

They just decided to aim for the next spot as the Pope. But something unexpected happened: Some kid called Cho Ryu Hyang appeared out of nowhere, and became the Heir.

This was a little different. The situation was turning a little dire at this point.

At a giant round table inside a certain building, were four chairs, each facing North, South, East, and West. There was an old man sitting in each of the chairs. They were the leaders of the four families.

“We can’t just let this one pass.”

When the old man on the North spoke out quietly, the man on the South nodded.

“Our family agrees.”

“The fact that the Pope took in a disciple is a good thing. But the fact that the boy he took in isn’t from the church…… We really can’t let this happen.”

Even if someone from a different family other than the four families gets chosen as the Pope, they would just grind their teeth and aim for the next spot.

But to think the Pope would bring in someone from outside……. wasn’t this much too dangerous? They could be practically handing over the whole church to a different power.

“Did you talk to the Pope?”

When the man on the South asked this, the man on the North smiled bitterly.

“Of course.”

“What did he say?”

“He said that it wasn’t a topic even worth talking about.”

“…….That’s not good.”

The leaders of the four families simultaneously sighed. Since their opponent here was the Pope himself, normal methods won’t work when taking him on.

The man never listened to anyone around him, and always got his way. The problem was, most of the decisions he had made so far were good ones.

They had nothing to say against the Pope because of that fact.

“This is serious. What if the power of the church gets used by an external force? How terrifying would that be? And if we manage to make a single mistake, the main church itself could get in danger.”

“That can’t be allowed to happen.”

The man in the West opened his mouth.

“We don’t have a way to change anything, though, am I right? There’s no way the Pope would revoke his decision of taking in a disciple from outside.”

Everyone nodded with a dark expression on their faces. Gongson Chun Gi. The man didn’t turn back on any of his decisions. The Pope surely won’t respond lightly if they suggested to him to get a different disciple.

The one who had the most authority in the history the church after the passing of the Heavenly Demon was Gongson Chun Gi. If anyone were to provoke him, their whole family could get destroyed.

“The fact that this Cho Ryu Hyang would become the Heir would not change. But that doesn’t mean that he would become the Pope, am I correct?”

“What do you mean?”

“We will have to employ our final method of resisting.”

“You mean…….”

“We will have to use assassination.”

“Assassination…….”

The day the Heir becomes an adult.

Unless anything happens to the Heir on that day, anyone other than the elders of the church can challenge the Heir, and he would have to take on that challenge without question.

It was the tradition that was made to prove the Heir’s strength. Gongson Chun Gi went through this, as well as all the other Popes that went before him.

It was seen as one of the responsibilities the future leader of the church had to take on.

“Who are we sending out?”

Everyone closed their mouth as soon as someone asked this. Who should they send? Wasn’t this a problem in itself? Just who would go out in order to kill the Heir?

This was a huge problem. The family that would go out would have to take on the wrath of the Pope himself, and they had to have someone talented enough to take on the Heir in the first place.

The four families didn’t take Gongson Chun Gi’s disciple lightly. The child Gongson Chun Gi chose would definitely become immensely powerful in the future.

Was there someone strong enough to kill an expert like that instantly?

“Recommend someone that is able to take on this job. First of all, it has to be a person from our family. We can’t afford to take any chances with this.”

The man on the South stood up and spoke.

“I recommend the Hou (后) of our family.”

Everyone in the room turned towards the man at the Southern seat.

“Are you confident, Danli family head?”

“Of course. But there’s a condition.”

“Condition?”

The head of the Danli family, Danli Muhan (段里無限), took a look at everyone around him, and quietly opened his mouth.

“The next Pope shall come from our family.”

“……..!”

Everyone’s mouth closed up. What the man had just suggested was something hard to take in. As a leader of a whole family, such a condition was hard to agree to.

“This matter’s worth about that much, don’t you think so?”

When Danli Muhan said this, the other three began to think carefully. Was it truly alright for a Pope to come from the Danli family? After a while, they nodded.

“It’s better than having the church being taken over by an external force, isn’t it?”

When Yong Muhwa (龍武化), the head of the Yong family, responded positively, everyone else nodded.

“Alright. If the Danli family manages to succeed, the next Heir of the Pope shall be from the Danli family.”

Danli Muhan faintly smiled.

“Then the matter has been settled.”

Like this, the dark power within the church began to make its move.

* * *

The moment Cho Ryu Hyang woke up, Un Hui took away his blade and sat next to the bed.

“My lord!”

He was worried. Un Hui didn’t sleep for several days, and guarded Cho Ryu Hyang during that time. His worried emotion were clearly displayed in his voice.

Cho Ryu Hyang took a look at Un Hui, and calmly opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry for worrying you.”