Absolute Regression-Chapter 319 : It’s Always Because of the Young Cult Leader
Translator: FenrirTL
Editor/Quality Checker: Saphartlantis
Murim Term Consultant: Kopke
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Chapter 319: It’s Always Because of the Young Cult Leader
That night, Jeong Dae couldn’t sleep and wandered the courtyard. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Geom Mugeuk’s words—telling him to see others properly without bias—kept echoing in his ears.
He hadn’t been able to look at his disciple, So Baekta, without prejudice.
He had only focused on the differences. Was he always like this? He didn’t seem this way before.
He hadn’t seen him clearly and was only swayed by emotions.
‘He changed the Cult Leader’s Hall that much? If he had any respect for me, he wouldn’t have done that.’
But thinking calmly, respect for him and changing the Cult Leader’s Hall were separate matters. He might’ve changed it casually without much thought, or there might’ve been another reason. 1
Right, Geom Mugeuk was right. The answer didn’t lie in his own heart—it lay with So Baekta. He shouldn’t have looked at the altered Cult Leader’s Hall, but into So Baekta’s eyes.
Lost in these thoughts, pacing the front courtyard, a golden light brightened the darkness as the Demonic Buddha stepped out.
“Which of the three Cult Leaders is the one keeping you up at night?”
“The three Cult Leaders?”
“Our Young Cult Leader? The current Cult Leader of the Heavenly Wind Cult?”
“And the last one?”
Ma Bul stared fixedly at Jeong Dae. Only then did he realize the third Cult Leader the Demonic Buddha referred to was himself—the previous Cult Leader. 2
The former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader let out a self-deprecating laugh and said,
“It’s always the last Cult Leader that’s the problem.”
To that, Ma Bul offered a different answer.
“No. The reason we can’t sleep is because of the Young Cult Leader.”
How could they not know?
If it weren’t for the Young Cult Leader, this moment wouldn’t even exist. That So Baekta would still be someone just staring at the Cult Leader’s Hall, wondering, ‘When will I become Cult Leader?’
The thought was chilling.
Gowol would still be bound to the Cult Leader’s Hall. No, since he held the key to the shackles, by now, he might have already left him.
He would’ve been shouting orders to kill Gowol without even knowing what kind of person he was. The idea of living such a cold, empty life sent chills down his spine.
Jeong Dae sat down on a rock—to meet the Demonic Buddha’s eyes.
If it weren’t for the Young Cult Leader, Ma Bul might have lived a completely different life too.
If it weren’t this Young Cult Leader but a different one, would the Eldest Son have become the successor?
Then the Demonic Buddha said something unexpected.
“Honestly, these days, I feel happy.”
The previous Cult Leader was taken aback. Without realizing it, the words ‘He’s gone mad’ almost slipped out.
To think the word ‘happy’ would come out of the Demonic Buddha’s mouth. Well, he was human too—of course he could feel joy. But he hadn’t expected him to express it.
“This feeling of living a life that isn’t mine—it makes me happy. Have I just lived too boring a life until now?”
He had truly begun living a different life—one that had let go of power struggles, one that had brought him all the way here to help the former Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, and one where he received sheets of paper covered in poison diagrams. 3
“I’d never once wondered what it’d be like to live a different life.”
Upon hearing Ma Bul’s words, Jeong Dae suddenly spoke.
“Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever really looked at you properly.”
“!”
Well… up to that point, it was still acceptable. As the leader of a great power like the Heavenly Wind Cult, it was a dream one could naturally have at least once.
The problem was what he said next.
“I believe it’s time to take the first step.”
1 : Like wanting to put his own mark on his surroundings, to make the position his own and not live in your shadow, etc.
2 : It could also have been Geom Woojin XDXDXD
3 : The hardest part of living a new life is taking that first step.
4 : This moment of watching the moon is magnified since I’m listening to the Cloud Atlas Sextext while working on this chapter. Such a great movie. I’m glad to live in an iteration where this movie could be filmed. I could have ended up in a much worse alternate universe.
5 : *Alert level increase*
6 : Hohoho, is that a new ship on the horizon ? XDXDXD
7 : Yeah, nah. Too many flags have been waved.
8 : That also makes them easier to steal… maybe ? Depends on the capacity of the thieves and how long did they plan it.
9 : Oooof. Not your greatest move there, Jeong Dae. Oh well, you’ve changed enough to regret and not repeat it, so it’s fine.
10 : Oh come on !!! Is it like in the Great Before, or The Time To Come, where children to be born need to choose their purpose/spark/dream before being incarnated ? Did they do a flash sale on the dream of unifying the martial world or what ??!! (‘Soul’ from Pixar and ‘The Blue Bird’ of Maeterlinck respectively)
[a]Can't remember what mark
[b]Consider it a tribal mask that boost Illusion Arts
