Chapter 19: The 3 ancient hegemons
"Who says they don't do the same thing? In some ways they are much worse, they always use threats and manipulations to achieve their goals."
"Aren't we like that in the cult?"
"Of course not, we're much more practical in those aspects" Snorting with disdain, Seojun continued "We have techniques to immolate ourselves, insects that can transform you into slaves and the like. We don't need to do such vain things as manipulating or threatening...we just go, kill and come back, it's simple."
"But they don't manipulate believers?"
"Of course not. Unlike them, we don't worship a non-existent being. Sure, we worship certain things like the moon and the occasional mythical animal, but nothing takes away from the fact that the pillar of the heavenly cult is the existence of the heavenly demon."
"You are the pillar of it all?"
"Not me specifically, but the mantle I carry" Stroking Seojun's cheeks, Sujin continued "The first woman to call herself Heavenly Demon was the one who founded the cult, but it was never her intention to do so, at least that's what the records say. She was just a strong woman who wandered around this area. You have to know that unlike the fertile lands of the empire and its plethora of stores and citizens, the heavenly cult area used to be quite decadent."
"In what way? I saw a lot of land that appears to be fertile outside."
"What you see now is nothing more than the work of many generations" Shaking her head, Sujin continued "In this place there was nothing more than arid lands, rocky areas and a large amount of bandits, assassins and the occasional barbarian settlement"
"Barbarians?"
"A tribe of people who certainly know how to fight and have a great tendency to war."
"And how did they settle the area?"
"The first heavenly demon had a rare trait for these parts, despite being so strong, she never treated anyone badly and always helped those she met. Eventually she managed to make a name for herself and after many situations, the common people of the area started to follow her everywhere and worship her as if she was a protective goddess."
"And she accepted?"
"Not quite, but eventually she ended up agreeing to head the cult that grew over time" Shrugging, Sujin continued "She changed the river courses, trained the commoners to start protecting themselves and without realizing it, the cult became the hegemony of the area."
"I'm sure it wasn't that simple."
"Of course not, there was a lot of betrayals, deaths and tragic shit, but you want to hear about it?"
"Mmmmm... not for now, maybe in the future I'll read everything in more detail."
"Then I continue. After his death, she inherited her abilities and secrets to her disciple, and the disciple inherited it and so it went on to this day."
"Didn't you say that to be the heavenly demon you have to compete?"
"Of course I do, that's why all the heavenly demons have the obligation to take several disciples who are the most talented in the cult and the best among them will inherit the skills and the mantle of the heavenly demon"
"You have disciples?"
"Not yet, but I had to take the ones that the previous heavenly demon had."
"Why?"
"Because I killed her and took the mantle."
"Does that mean you didn't compete?"
"Why would I? I could crush them all in less than a breath."
"Let me sum it all up... the original heavenly demon was a strong woman with a kind heart who protected people. Over time people followed her seeking her protection and eventually began to revere her as if she were a goddess"
"Exactly."
"That veneration grew and ended up forming a cult, and when the situation got out of control, she felt compelled to take the position of leader and thus was born the heavenly cult that everyone knows today."
"That's right."
"She trained several people but she took the most talented ones as her disciples and among them she chose the best and imparted her skills to them so that they could inherit her position."
"Yes."
"And for generations it was like that until you broke that tradition?"
"You're pretty smart" Nodding with a satisfied smile, Sujin replied.
"So you trampled all competition among the disciples of this generation and disdained one of the oldest traditions of the cult?"
"That's right" puffing out her chest with pride, Sujin nodded.
'By god, I'm not surprised that they went to the point of looking for trouble with me in my mother's cave' Swallowing saliva nervously, Seojun commented "Let me guess. There were people who didn't agree with your methods, but since no one had the strength to stop you, they had no choice but to accept that you are the new leader"
"Exactly, aren't I great?"
"Was it necessary to kill the previous cult leader?"
"No, but I disliked that old woman, so I killed her."
"Did that old lady kill the previous cult leader?"
"No, she died in a war against the empire."
"Why didn't you just compete and save yourself the trouble you're in today?"
"It was boring."
"Just because of that?"
"They didn't want to allow me to participate, as the factions were already cemented and the competition was ready to explode. Obviously no one would want a variable that no one knows and to their displeasure, can easily trample them."
"So the best option was to simply sweep everything away."
"That's right."
"I come to feel sorry for those people, it must be horrible to have them ruin your plans and end up throwing away everything they invested for an unknown tyrant."
"Don't even tell me, whenever I see them they always give me a bloody headache."
"Mother."
"Yes?"
"Why did you choose to be a cult leader? You seem to have no respect for their beliefs and you don't seem to care about power or wealth. I don't see a reason why you would take such a stressful position."
"I wanted the skills you inherit with the position."
"Were they worth it?"
"I became at least 5 times stronger thanks to this inheritance."
"You killed the previous cult leader while being 5 times weaker?"
"She was a tough old lady to deal with, but she had more arrogance than skill."
"And how did you inherit the skills if you killed the heavenly demon?"
"There is a shrine that the first heavenly demon created, there her legacy is imparted."
"Then it certainly paid off" Nodding with understanding, Seojun continued "So unlike the other factions who worship supposed kind gods and act like hypocrites, you guys do everything straightforwardly and the entire cult worships the heavenly demon for being their protective pillar"
"Exactly."
"The righteous factions are the same?"
"In a way yes" Nodding, Sujin continued "In the old days there were only a handful of great powers, most of them were wandering warriors or mercenaries"
"They are in the empire?"
"They are two sides of the same coin"
"And how did they bring them together?"
"The martial goddess, an existence from the same era as the first heavenly demon and they say their strength was very similar. She united all the powers and founded the murim alliance, who are now our eternal enemies."
"The murim alliance? I thought their enemy was the empire."
"I told you they are two sides of the same coin. The empire while they have strong people, they are not even remotely close compared to us, and the only thing that keeps them in hegemony, are their millions of soldiers. After all no matter how strong a person is, it is almost impossible to win holding a war against such numbers."
"You would win?"
"Of course I would, but I could hardly secure my life, and it's very likely that everyone with me would die.... Although the murim alliance is within the empire, they are really two different forces that to this day coexist thanks to a mutual agreement not to meddle in each other's affairs. The murim alliance leads everything that has to do with martial arts, and the empire leads the entire secular world. Two sides of the same coin."
"And yet no one breaks that agreement?"
"Of course they do, it's not at all uncommon for them to kill each other from time to time. They also had the occasional war between them, but everything always results in the same thing, both forces being 'friends'"
"There are only those 3 forces?"
"Of course not, there are numerous tribes that deserve our caution and there are several small powers that if united would cause trouble. Even our cult has several clans and powers under our jurisdiction, just as the empire has several kingdoms under its command. You have to understand that the only thing that moves this world is interests and force, it serves us to have lackeys to do the dirty work and it serves the empire to annex smaller kingdoms to its ranks, either by hook or by crook."
"There is only one empire?"
"At least to the best of our knowledge, but we've always had the feeling that there must be something beyond the sea, even more so if you think about the sword I gave you."
"And kingdoms?"
"The empire absorbed all the kingdoms, they exist in name only now and are nothing more than vassals."
"So the cult is an enemy of two of the three great powers?"
"Exactly."
"How is it that the cult still stands against such a disadvantage?"
"Many times we were on the brink of extinction, just as many times we almost destroyed the empire and the murim alliance, but it is practically impossible to eradicate us"
"Why?"
"We have headquarters scattered all over the place, and most of them are so secret that practically only I know of their existence. We have our people widely scattered and hidden, even if they destroy the main base, we can always recover it after regaining strength for a while" Thinking for a few seconds, Sujin continues "The cult is more than a territory and its power. For our people we are their main pillar and the reason for their peace, believe me when I tell you that even the peasants are willing to sacrifice themselves for the cause."
"The empire is the same?"
"The empire is something more complicated... many think that the empire is the influence of the royal family, but really the empire is its citizens. Many times we eradicated royal families and although the empire often collapsed, it didn't take long for another family to take power and raise it up. When I talk about the two great forces, I am not talking about a particular group, but about the existence of the force itself. The former enemies of the cult died a long time ago under our hands, and although the forces now have the same name, they are just a group of people who took power when the old administration fell."
"So there is no war anymore?"
"Of course there is war, people never forget and always rise up again, whether for revenge or for interests, they always repeat the cycle again."
"And they haven't tried to use another name?"
"Of course they have, but people are stubborn and it has practically become an obligation for the names to be kept"
"There are also heirs of the martial goddess?"
"Sadly no" Shaking her head, Sujin continued "Her legacy disappeared a long time ago in an internal war of the murim alliance."
"Internal war?"
"They assassinated the greatest talents the murim alliance factions had. That ended up starting an internal war and then it turned out that the culprit was the empire, and finally they went to war with the empire and both ended up almost disappearing. During that process the legacy of the martial goddess was lost."
"It was just lost and that's it? Someone must have taken it."
"That everyone knows, but a long time has passed since that situation and to this day no one has ever appeared with the legacy of the martial goddess, so almost everyone has come to the tacit understanding that it is very possible that the legacy has been destroyed or divided."
"Divided?"
"If a legacy is lost, even a small part of it, it is very likely that the whole legacy will lose its function. For example, it will do no good to have a sword technique if the movement technique that complements it is missing."
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