Chapter 526: Raise Your Hand to Ask for Leave
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Chen Changsheng walked into the alley. After a moment, he walked out of the alley again. He stood at the entrance of the alley, looking somewhat bewildered—because he had walked back and forth through the alley twice, seen several eateries, but hadn't found any "bean curd fish" mentioned on the note.
So he was supposed to wait for her? Standing at the alley entrance, a thought suddenly occurred to him: Could it be that she was deliberately toying with him to punish him for his foolishness? Yes, that must be it. Otherwise, why would she leave an address that didn't exist on the note?
His mood was complicated. The snow falling from the sky gradually grew heavier, and pedestrians in the streets hurriedly took shelter. Today, because of the grand feast at the Li Palace, many people had gone to the Sacred Path to watch the excitement. The taverns and eateries on Fushou Road were far less busy than usual, and now they seemed even more desolate.
He didn't leave. He waited at the snow-covered alley entrance.
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On both sides of the Sacred Path in the Li Palace, bright lanterns hung, and snowflakes drifted down. The citizens of the capital who had come to watch the excitement had thinned out somewhat, but those who persisted felt it was worth it as they watched the luxurious carriages from various princely mansions and halls file in one after another. In the Hall of Brightness, where tonight's banquet was held, it was already filled with priests, ministers, and people from various halls and institutes. But behind the Hall of Brightness, in that quiet and secluded hall, it remained as peaceful as ever.
The Pope was to attend tonight's banquet. He had already changed his linen robe into a sacred vestment. Holding a gourd ladle in his right hand, he was watering the green leaves in a pot. Seeing the leaves growing more robust, the old man's face showed a gratified smile. He picked up a soft towel placed by the pot and gently wiped his hands.
The last few times Chen Changsheng had come to the Li Palace, he had noticed the changes in this pot of green leaves. He didn't understand: since the Green Leaf World, like the Garden of Zhou, was a stable fragment of space that couldn't be enlarged, why was the Pope so carefully nurturing its growth? Was it just to make the door to the Green Leaf World more stable? Or would the door between the Green Leaf World and the original world grow larger as the green leaves thrived? If so, why did the Pope want to enlarge the door to the Green Leaf World?
"This matter is ultimately too significant, Your Majesty. Don't you need to think it over again?"
Mao Qiuyu stood quietly behind the Pope, his demeanor very respectful, his sleeves completely still.
The Pope put down the towel, smiled, and said, "From your account of the battle at Naihe Bridge, I find this child even more reliable than I imagined. You also said that in terms of potential and future prospects, it's truly hard to find a better candidate. Since that's the case, I can rest assured passing the state religion to him."
Mao Qiuyu was silent for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty speaks rightly. But Linghai and Siyuan are far superior to Chen Changsheng in cultivation and seniority, and they were also carefully nurtured by you back then. I think they will find this very hard to accept."
The Pope walked back to the platform, took the sacred crown from the crystal throne, and placed it on his head, but he didn't pick up the divine staff that symbolized the authority of the state religion. He said slowly, "Call it selfishness on my part, but the only legitimate heir to the state religion now is this child. And in the future, he will face the most difficult choices in the world, the most bewildering helplessness, the most piercing sorrow. So this title is my consolation to him, and also the reward the state religion should give him."
After saying this, he slowly turned and walked toward the cold stone wall. As he stepped forward, the stone wall slowly opened, radiating infinite light.
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This was a night pearl that had once illuminated the capital from the edge of the Sweet Dew Terrace. Over time, due to wind and rain, it had faded, so it was taken down and placed in a palace hall for illumination. Although this night pearl was no longer as dazzling as it once was, it still cast an incredibly bright light on the memorials on the desk.
Her Holiness the Empress was reviewing memorials while listening to the words echoing in the hall.
The old eunuch leader stood bowed at the lower end, recounting in a very gentle voice the specific details of the battle at Naihe Bridge that morning.
The battle between Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong at Naihe Bridge had taken place shortly after dawn. Yet both His Holiness the Pope and Her Holiness the Empress only sent people to report on it in detail near evening. This showed that, unlike the rest of the continent, these two saints didn't really care much about this battle. Although Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong were the juniors they trusted most, and from a certain perspective, their successors, in their eyes, this was still a minor matter.
"...The Zhai Sword emerged from the Sword Pool. Young Dean Chen must have held back a trump card. The Holy Maiden should have known this in advance and prepared for it, but for some reason, she still didn't strike decisively. Chen Changsheng, at the cost of a left shoulder injury, forcibly seized control of the Zhai Sword and unexpectedly blocked the Holy Maiden's Lingxi Finger. If judged purely by swordsmanship, he should be considered to have won by half a move. But if it were a real battle, continuing further, he would have had no chance of victory. Only... the Holy Maiden simply left like that."
After saying this, the eunuch leader cautiously looked up and then retreated to the back.
The Empress's expression didn't change. Most of the time when the eunuch leader didn't look up, she was the same. In the battle at Naihe Bridge, the talent and wisdom displayed by Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong were enough to shock the vast majority of people, but not her. Only when she heard that Xu Yourong had comprehended the Great Light Sword did she raise an eyebrow slightly, as if she hadn't expected it.
"What a stubborn girl."
She tossed the memorial onto the table, stood up, walked to the hall door, clasped her hands behind her back, and gazed into the distant night sky where light was faintly visible. That should be the Li Palace.
Just then, Mo Yu arrived hurriedly, her expression extremely grave, and reported to her what had just happened.
The Empress quietly looked in the direction of the Li Palace, a slight smile on her lips, but her eyes were utterly indifferent: "It's getting more and more interesting."
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The battle at Naihe Bridge was over, but the discussions it sparked were hard to quell in a short time. The main topic of conversation among the big shots in the Hall of Brightness still revolved around this matter. With their insight and realm, after calming down and thinking back, they understood that Xu Yourong hadn't used the True Blood of the Heavenly Phoenix, deliberately suppressing herself to a normal person's level, wanting to defeat Chen Changsheng fairly with strength rather than talent. But that didn't mean they thought Chen Changsheng's victory was undeserved, because they also knew that Chen Changsheng hadn't used his most powerful methods, such as the way he survived Zhu Xun's sword strike during the rain battle in Xunyang City.
Just then, solemn and benevolent music suddenly sounded in the Hall of Brightness. The innermost stone wall slowly opened, light spilled everywhere, and the stone carvings on both sides of the hall gleamed. The people in the hall quickly adjusted their attire, composed themselves, and lined up to bow humbly to His Holiness the Pope as he walked into the light from the stone wall.
Surrounded by the Grand Knight Commander and several Archbishops, His Holiness the Pope slowly ascended the high platform. Naturally, Priest Siyuan and Linghai Zhiwang were among them. Archbishop Mao Qiuyu of the Hall of Brilliance stood at the very back. What surprised people was that the divine staff symbolizing the authority of the state religion was now held in his hands.
Without any lengthy or complicated procedures, Mao Qiuyu calmly began to read out Chen Changsheng's merits for the state religion: from the Grand Examination to the Mausoleum of Books, from the Garden of Zhou to this morning's Naihe Bridge, and even the new students of the National Academy—something originally taboo for the state religion—had become a part of his record of achievements.
This was, after all, the state religion's celebration banquet, so naturally, it was to celebrate Chen Changsheng's achievements. Everyone had anticipated that Mao Qiuyu would read these out. But what happened next, no one except Mao Qiuyu and His Holiness the Pope had expected.
After reading out Chen Changsheng's achievements, Mao Qiuyu did not, as people assumed, directly announce the state religion's reward for him. Instead, he calmly walked to His Holiness the Pope's side. Then, under the shocked gaze of everyone, His Holiness the Pope reached out, took the divine staff, and said, "With this, I bestow my blessing upon him."
The Hall of Brightness fell into dead silence. No one spoke, because everyone was too shocked.
Now, Chen Changsheng was the Dean of the National Academy. Long ago, he had been His Holiness the Pope's junior disciple, though no one knew it. After the Mausoleum of Books, the entire continent learned of His Holiness the Pope's arrangement and knew that Chen Changsheng would become the next Pope. But that was ultimately just speculation or inference.
Today, speculation was confirmed, and inference became reality.
His Holiness the Pope had handed the divine staff symbolizing the authority of the state religion to Chen Changsheng, which meant announcing to the entire world that he was his successor.
The silence in the Hall of Brightness continued. It wasn't eerie, nor did it mean any upheaval would occur. No one dared to defy the Pope's will here. But people didn't know how to react. This was only natural, but it had come much earlier than expected, so shock was unavoidable.
Chen Changsheng was only sixteen years old.
Priest Siyuan and Linghai Zhiwang, who had once been considered by the entire continent as the most likely to take up this divine staff and inherit the Pope's position, had extremely ugly expressions. They had thought they still had at least a dozen years to change the Pope's will, but they hadn't expected that His Holiness the Pope wouldn't leave them any time at all.
They knew very well why His Holiness the Pope had chosen this moment to confirm Chen Changsheng's status as successor.
If it were in the past, the new faction of the state religion—like them and their supporters—could have used the excuse that Chen Changsheng was too young and needed to be observed for a few more years to delay the Pope's decision. But now, the continent already had a sixteen-year-old Southern Holy Maiden. What did it matter if there was one more sixteen-year-old candidate for Pope?
Not to mention that this candidate for Pope had just defeated that Southern Holy Maiden today.
The silence in the hall continued. Gradually, people felt something was off. Even if they didn't know how to react, what about Chen Changsheng?
Even if he was also shocked, he should have stepped forward at this moment to thank His Holiness the Pope for his blessing and then accept everyone's congratulations.
Mao Qiuyu's gaze swept back and forth across the hall. His brow furrowed deeply, and he asked incredulously, "Where is Chen Changsheng?"
Suddenly, a hand was raised from a corner of the hall, and an uneasy voice sounded.
"He... he... he was too happy at noon, ate too much, and got a bit of an upset stomach. He asked me to... ask for leave on his behalf."
Tonight was the state religion's celebration banquet. His Holiness the Pope personally bestowed the divine staff and confirmed the successor to the state religion... and the person involved wasn't even present?
The Hall of Brightness erupted in uproar. The crowd parted like water, revealing the person who had just spoken.
Tang Thirty-Six lowered his head, his hand still raised.
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(The next chapter should be out before midnight.)