Chapter 675: One Question
All eyes were fixed on the highest point of the Hall of Light.
Looking at His Holiness the Pope and the woman standing beside him, Mu Jiu Shi, many uneasy feelings arose in people's hearts.
Such a solemn occasion—what His Holiness the Pope was about to announce was naturally related to the upheaval at the Heavenly Book Mausoleum. Many had already thought of Chen Changsheng's name.
The atmosphere was tense and uneasy. No one noticed that two figures had emerged from the passageway at the side of the hall.
The King of Linghai and the Daoist Master Siyuan—these two titans of the State Church had been personally placed under restriction by His Holiness the Pope that night and imprisoned in the Dao Prison. Why were they suddenly appearing now?
In just three days, they had become noticeably thinner, their faces pale without a trace of color.
They made their way through the crowd toward the front of the main hall. Finally, someone noticed their presence and let out a low gasp.
Gradually, the gasps grew louder.
The King of Linghai and the Daoist Master Siyuan once again stood at the very front of the Hall of Light.
Archbishop Anlin's face showed shock, while Zhuang Zhihuan's pupils contracted. Only Mao Qiuyu and Archbishop Ling Bai Shi Dao Ren remained expressionless—they must have been informed of this matter in advance.
The main hall was filled with light. Mu Jiu Shi stood on the high platform, at the brightest point, which somewhat affected her vision. Moreover, despite her background and origins, thinking about what His Holiness the Pope was about to announce still made her unable to suppress her nervousness. She did not notice the gasps and brief commotion among the crowd below.
In the next moment, she would become the successor of the State Church, the future His Holiness the Pope.
The current His Holiness the Pope glanced at her, his eyes filled with compassion and affection.
She smiled with slight shyness, but her heart was extremely calm, tinged with excitement, as she eagerly awaited those words.
"Archbishop of the Proclamation Hall, Mu Jiu Shi, has severely violated church law and recklessly spied on the Heavenly Dao. What punishment shall be imposed?"
A tidal wave of gasps and murmurs erupted in the Hall of Light.
The State Church was about to welcome its first female Pope in history—truly astonishing, Mu Jiu Shi thought with a restrained smile.
Suddenly, her expression changed drastically, her face turning deathly pale.
Because only now did she clearly hear His Holiness the Pope's voice.
Severely violated church law? Recklessly spied on the Heavenly Dao?
Wasn't His Holiness the Pope supposed to be announcing her appointment as the next Pope?
How could this be!
What was happening!
Mu Jiu Shi was shocked to the extreme. She whirled around to look at the Pope.
What she saw was still that aged face, those eyes filled with compassion and love.
That compassion and love were not meant for her.
She understood that very well.
She was furious.
"Why punish me!" she said coldly to the Pope.
She looked down at the crowd below the high platform and shouted harshly, "Who dares to punish me?"
The crowd was silent. Those qualified to attend the Light Sacrifice were all important figures in the State Church. They knew very well the background of this mysterious Archbishop of the Proclamation Hall and what her existence meant for the great cause of the State Church in the new millennium. But their silence at this moment was not due to unease—it was because His Holiness the Pope's question was not directed at them.
The various halls of the State Church each had their functions. The Flowing Cloud Hall was in charge of punishments, and the Archbishop of the Flowing Cloud Hall had already stepped forward.
The King of Linghai looked at Mu Jiu Shi, the venom in his eyes burning like ghostly flames: "Thirty strokes of the rod, severance of cultivation techniques, expulsion from the State Church."
These were the written laws of the church code. Anyone in the hall could recite them by heart, yet upon hearing these three sentences, they still felt a bone-chilling cold.
It had been six hundred years since the State Church had executed such a harsh punishment on an archbishop of Mu Jiu Shi's rank.
Looking into the King of Linghai's eyes, Mu Jiu Shi felt her body grow abnormally cold.
She knew she could not stay any longer. With a snort, she turned and floated toward the exit.
She believed that as long as she left the Hall of Light, Shang Xingzhou would surely be able to protect her. The position of Pope had become a shattered dream, but the future could still be salvaged.
However, the moment she floated away from the high platform, she found herself losing control of her body and crashing heavily to the ground.
The King of Linghai, along with several Red Cardinals from the Flowing Cloud Hall, expressionlessly came before her.
...
...
From within the sacred depths of the light came faint, terrifying fluctuations of energy, along with Mu Jiu Shi's furious shouts. After all, she represented the Great Western Continent. The King of Linghai, upon receiving a hint from Mao Qiuyu, used the excuse that the Divine Staff was absent to temporarily set aside the thirty strokes of the rod, but the severance of cultivation techniques... was still a terrifying matter, requiring unimaginable suffering to endure.
His Holiness the Pope did not hear it, and so no one in the hall heard it. Silence reigned like a sleeping ocean.
Supported by Mao Qiuyu and Bai Shi Dao Ren, the Pope descended from the high platform and walked among the clergy.
He looked at these people who had served him for centuries and said, "Three days ago, I said I was going to die."
Sobs arose from the crowd.
"After I die, the position of Pope will be passed to Chen Changsheng," the Pope said.
When he said this, his expression was very calm, as if he were saying that the Qingxian Hall needed repairs, or that the pigeons in the left courtyard of the Li Palace had been fed too well.
After the Battle of the Bridge of Helplessness, His Holiness the Pope had bestowed the Divine Staff, symbolizing the authority of the State Church, upon Chen Changsheng. Everyone understood what that meant. Now he was confirming it again.
This represented an irresistible will and authority. The entire State Church would spare no effort to uphold these words until Chen Changsheng ascended to the position of Pope.
Led by Mao Qiuyu and Bai Shi Dao Ren, all the archbishops, including the clergy outside the hall, the teachers and students of the various academies, and the Church cavalry, knelt to the ground like a surging tide.
The Daoist Master Siyuan knelt. The King of Linghai knelt. Gradually, calm returned, then devotion, as they began to chant the Daoist scriptures, praising the stars and virtue.
The hall blazed with light.
...
...
"Old Man Yin! My father the Emperor won't let you off! My elder sister will avenge me!"
In the distance came Mu Jiu Shi's furious shouts, gradually turning into sobs, then fading away until they disappeared.
This mysterious princess from the Great Western Continent, once a titan of the State Church, was thus expelled from the Li Palace, and it seemed she would never have the chance to set foot inside again.
The Pope was watering plants.
Only three green leaves remained in the pot, somewhat wilted but still alive. After the dust was wiped away, they regained much of their vitality.
"Why?" Shang Xingzhou's voice carried no emotion.
"Earlier, you also asked why I wanted Chen Changsheng to be Pope," the Pope said, looking up at him calmly. "Because I want him to be."
Shang Xingzhou was somewhat surprised by this answer, his gaze darkening.
This was definitely not the junior brother he had known for nearly a thousand years.
"Brother, you said you came to see me today to discuss the succession of our church... but the State Church is not your church."
The Pope placed the wet cloth by the pool, took a dry cloth to wipe the water from his hands, and said, "If you insist on saying it belongs to any one person, then this is my State Church."
Shang Xingzhou confirmed that his judgment was not wrong.
The Pope of today was no longer the Yin of the past millennium. Why?
Expressionless, he said, "So for the sake of your personal feelings, you completely disregard the overall situation of humanity and the future of the State Church."
The Pope was silent for a moment, then said, "That night on the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, Her Holiness said I was trapped by the word 'salvation.' She was right. If it were the old me, I might indeed have taken the Divine Staff back from Chen Changsheng for the sake of humanity's overall situation and the State Church's future, and then, as you wished, appointed that young girl as the next Pope."
Shang Xingzhou said, "Why can't you do that now?"
"Still the same answer," the Pope said calmly. "I am old, I am dying. I want to live a few days the way I want to."
A man about to die certainly has the right to be a bit unrestrained—he doesn't need to look upon the world with compassion, he can be freer, doesn't need to think about humanity's overall situation, can be shortsighted, and doesn't need to look toward the State Church's future.
He was the Pope. The State Church was his, not anyone else's. He wanted Chen Changsheng to be the next Pope, so no one else should even think about sitting in that position.
This was very convincing.
Shang Xingzhou looked at him for a long time, then suddenly said, "I raised him with my own hands. I know that even if you want him to be Pope, he won't accept it."
The Pope said, "I give the State Church to him. Whether he wants it or not is his own business."
Shang Xingzhou closed his eyes, then opened them, his gaze utterly indifferent: "A dead man cannot be Pope."
The Pope's expression did not change. "You want to kill him?"
Shang Xingzhou said expressionlessly, "Even if it were a little dog, after raising it for so many years, there would be some affection. How could I bear to kill him myself?"
The Pope said, "I have never understood how you could raise a student like Chen Changsheng. Only now do I realize that he was not raised by you."
Shang Xingzhou said, "Everything he has comes from me. Of course, he was raised by me."
The Pope looked at him calmly and said, "If he were truly raised by you, how could you not know how powerful he becomes when facing death?"
Shang Xingzhou's eyes narrowed.
...
...
In the National Teaching Academy's library.
"I was raised by him."
Chen Changsheng said, "When I want to understand him, I can understand him especially well. I know that three days ago at the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, when he let me take away Her Holiness the Saintess's remains, he deliberately left a loose end to stir up trouble. Even if Uncle Master the Pope continued to protect me, there would be people like you who would use this matter to kill me."
Old Eunuch Lin nodded and said, "That's right. Even if I hadn't come to the National Teaching Academy, someone else would have."
Chen Changsheng said, "But there is one question."
Old Eunuch Lin raised an eyebrow. "What question?"
Chen Changsheng raised the sword in his hand, looked at him calmly, and said, "Can you kill me?"
...
...
(Updates have been poor lately, with no explanation. Today I'll give everyone a status report. I took my leader on a trip for a few days, then cut the trip short and came home midway because my mother fell ill and was hospitalized. After several days of examinations and preparations, the current situation is: tomorrow we have the pre-surgery consultation and signing, and we hope to complete the surgery by Saturday or Sunday. When I have time, I will continue writing. If I don't have time or energy, I will let everyone know. Thank you, and I wish everyone good health and family happiness.)