Chapter 25: Beneath the Red Official Robe
Today's capital was exceptionally lively.
Shortly after dawn, there was the battle at the entrance of the National Academy, where Chen Changsheng crossed realms to defeat Zhou Ziheng.
This event alone could already be described as earth-shattering.
Yet no one expected that he would then do something even more astonishing.
He took the remaining two students of the National Academy and drove a carriage straight into Zhou Prison. Word had it that he was now inside, confronting that fearsome Lord Zhou Tong.
The National Academy was demanding the release of a person.
Zhou Tong refused to let anyone go.
Upon hearing this news, many citizens of the capital rushed over to watch the excitement. However, unlike the morning's spectacle, Zhou Prison was too heavy with murderous intent, its image in the public mind too grim and sinister, so people dared not approach too closely.
Thus, when those five hundred National Academy cavalry thundered through the streets, there were no accidental injuries.
Soon after, a eunuch chief from the imperial palace arrived, followed by the Vice Chancellor, then Mao Qiuyu, and finally, the carriage of the Prince of Commandery also reached the scene.
No one entered Zhou Prison, not even the alley itself.
Prince Chenliu stepped down from his carriage, glanced at the five hundred National Academy cavalry, furrowed his brow almost imperceptibly, then looked at Mao Qiuyu with a faint, wry smile and said, "This matter has blown up far too much."
Indeed, today's affair had escalated far too much. Everyone knew that the National Academy's new rules regarding the academy tournament were a suppression of the National Academy by the imperial court—or more precisely, by the Tianhai family and those two Archbishops loyal to Her Holiness the Empress. But no one expected the National Academy's reaction to be so fierce and so swift. Having just won the first battle, they wasted no time and went straight to Zhou Prison to demand a person.
Mao Qiuyu, once the Dean of the Heavenly Academy, was now the Grand Archbishop of the Hall of Glory, standing among the six paramount figures.
His presence undoubtedly represented the stance of the Divine Temple. The problem was that even such a great figure stood outside the alley, not entering.
Everyone knew that the relationship between Her Holiness the Empress and the Divine Temple had undergone tremendous changes over the past year, drifting further apart, but at least on the surface, calm was maintained.
With the two saints remaining silent, no one wanted, nor dared, to make the situation more tense, to the point of losing control, because neither side was willing to bear that terrible consequence.
Until the carriage of the National Academy entered that alley.
If something truly happened in that small courtyard today, then the capital, and even the entire human world, would face a major catastrophe.
Inside the small courtyard, Tang Thirty-Six looked at Zhou Tong with great seriousness, even sincerity, and said, "My Lord, I must tell you honestly: Chen Changsheng's fate... is truly excellent, so excellent that it is beyond words. I don't know how Her Holiness the Empress views it, but at least in the eyes of His Holiness the Pope, your fate, my Lord, is certainly not as precious as Chen Changsheng's. If he really dies in Zhou Prison today, do you think His Holiness the Pope will forgive you? And how will Her Holiness view you?"
"Beyond words, is it?" Zhou Tong squinted at Chen Changsheng, his thoughts unknown.
Tang Thirty-Six continued, "And you might not understand him. He can sometimes be incredibly stubborn and foolish. He is truly capable of trading his own life for Zhe Xiu's."
"After all this talk, you're still threatening me," Zhou Tong said with a sigh of emotion. "Is it that my stories in the capital have diminished compared to the old days, so much so that no one fears me anymore?"
Tang Thirty-Six smiled and said, "Think whatever you like."
Zhou Tong barked coldly, "Can you bear the consequences of this matter?"
Chen Changsheng said, "I didn't choose to become the Dean of the National Academy myself. I don't believe I need to bear those consequences."
The meaning of these words was clear.
He was the Dean of the National Academy, and Zhe Xiu was a student on the National Academy's roster. Zhe Xiu had been locked up in Zhou Prison for too long; of course, he had to rescue him. As for the deeper implications behind this matter, he truly couldn't figure them out and didn't want to think about them anymore. So he only needed to bear the consequences that a dean should bear for protecting his student. As for whether this would trigger other severe consequences, that responsibility should fall on the person who made him the Dean of the National Academy, and on the person who had Zhou Tong lock up Zhe Xiu.
In other words, if a storm truly erupted in that small courtyard today, leading to the imperial court and the Divine Temple becoming irreconcilable enemies—even if the world fell into chaos, the demon race took advantage to invade, countless people were displaced, and humanity was cruelly enslaved for ten thousand years, ten thousand years... that would all be the fault of His Holiness the Pope and Her Holiness the Empress.
The small courtyard fell into absolute silence again.
Zhou Tong had never expected Chen Changsheng to mean this. He squinted slightly, and a deep chill surged forth, frosting the petals on the ground.
Tang Thirty-Six and Xuan Yuan Po looked at Chen Changsheng, filled with admiration.
In the Divine Temple, the Hall of Light.
Countless statues of sages, some solemn, some sacred, emitted a faint radiance, gazing at the sky outside the hall.
His Holiness the Pope was also looking at the sky, his expression calm, as if he hadn't just heard what Chen Changsheng had done or said.
"A person like Chen Changsheng, who lacks an understanding of the bigger picture and the overall situation, how can he inherit the National Religion?"
The speaker was Daoist Siyuan, the master of the Hall of Resolution. Standing beside him was Linghai Zhiwang, the master of the Hall of Judgment.
As the two youngest and most powerful Grand Archbishops among the six paramount figures of the National Religion, their attitude toward His Holiness the Pope remained respectful, but their words were very direct.
Perhaps it was also because they were only one step away from the sacred realm and could already see the back of His Holiness the Pope.
When the entire continent believed that these two Archbishops continued to support Her Holiness the Empress rather than stand with His Holiness the Pope because of their indelible hostility and distrust toward the Chen imperial clan, they never imagined that, beyond that, the more important reason was that His Holiness the Pope had decided to entrust the future of the National Religion to that young man named Chen Changsheng.
The two Grand Archbishops could disregard secular power, but they could not disregard the sacred succession.
Linghai Zhiwang said expressionlessly, "The letter from the Holy Maiden is clear. That matter truly has hope of success, which proves that putting pressure on Li Mountain was justified. Zhou Tong has merit in this."
His Holiness the Pope remained calm, saying nothing.
Daoist Siyuan sighed and said, "You should understand that neither the ownership of the Divine Staff nor the throne is our reason for opposing you. Our unease lies in the fact that you and Her Holiness still have decades of life left. Why are you in such a hurry to make a decision?"
This decision still referred to ownership.
The ownership of the Divine Staff and the throne.
Linghai Zhiwang's face remained utterly expressionless, his voice like the deepest ocean, containing unimaginable power: "As for Zhou Tong, if he is killed, all sins will be attributed to him. He should have long known what his mission is."
A moment ago, he said Zhou Tong had rendered great service.
The next moment, he said that if something went wrong in that small courtyard, killing Zhou Tong would be the solution.
The next moment, a voice, somewhat uneasy and somewhat panicked, came from outside the Hall of Light.
Something had happened in the North Military Command Alley that no one had expected.
Zhou Tong had actually let the person go!
(There will be updates on the plane, writing for three thousand miles, with a grand and explosive style.)