Chapter 883: A Conversation That Will Be Written Into History
Chen Changsheng said, "I never intended to put the Southern Streams Nunnery in danger."
"Your Majesty, I have studied you. If it were three years ago, I believe you would never have done such a thing. But as I said before, time can change many things."
Huai Ren spoke with a tone of emotion. "You are different now than you were three years ago. If that night at Snow Ridge hadn't claimed so many lives, if the King of Linghai hadn't gone to the Pine Mountain Military Prefecture, if you hadn't gone to Wenshui City, if you weren't standing by my side at this moment, I might believe your words. But now, I cannot."
"The entire continent knows what you want to do."
"From the Pine Mountain Military Prefecture to Wenshui City, you have been trying to win over the support of the Dao Sovereign and the court outside the capital to your side. You even succeeded in changing the Tang Clan's stance. So how could you possibly let Mount Holy Maiden go?"
"Have you ever wondered why everyone knows what you want to do, yet the Dao Sovereign has not stopped you? Because he doesn't need to care. While you were trying to cut off his arms, his gaze had already fallen here years ago—on Mount Holy Maiden, which should have been your strongest external support."
Chen Changsheng listened quietly, saying nothing.
"Students rebelling never succeed, not even in a hundred years. Even if you persist to the end, the human world will split, and the demon race will take advantage of the chaos to march south. At that time, how will you face the displaced and suffering believers? How will you face the bones by the roadside? How will you face the successive Popes of the State Church? Give it up. I spoke with the Dao Sovereign in the capital. He promised me that if you are willing to relinquish the position of Pope, you may cultivate freely at the Southern Streams Nunnery or Li Mountain, and he will ensure your safety."
Huai Ren looked at him with the pitying gaze of an elder toward a junior, hoping to hear the answer he expected.
Chen Changsheng said calmly, "I cannot agree to this request."
Huai Ren seemed somewhat disappointed and asked, "Why must you oppose your own teacher?"
From the moment he carried the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress down from the Heavenly Book Mausoleum three years ago, this had been a question many wanted to know.
Figures like the King of Linghai, Daoist Siyuan, the Congzhou Military Prefecture, and even the Li Mountain Sword Sect all had reasons to be wary or even hostile toward the court and Shang Xingzhou. But he did not.
Whether viewed through the lens of history or from the standpoint of the common people or officials, Shang Xingzhou had little that could be faulted.
During the events surrounding the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, his methods were ruthless, but anyone seeking to accomplish great deeds would act similarly.
He had indeed used Zhou Tong, but when Zhou Tong died, he issued an imperial decree listing over a dozen of his crimes.
If a war between master and disciple was inevitable, Chen Changsheng could not claim to stand on the side of righteousness.
Back then, he had told his uncle, the Teacher of the Church, that his teacher would not let him live, so he had to oppose him.
Now, as time passed, many things had changed, but he knew this one thing had not.
The battle at Snow Ridge that night and the Lake Garden reduced to ruins were the clearest evidence.
If this were the only reason, he had no right—and should not—drag the entire State Church, including the Pine Mountain Military Prefecture, the Congzhou Military Prefecture, the Tang Clan, the Li Mountain Sword Sect, Mount Holy Maiden, and even the entire continent into this inevitably brutal war. As Huai Ren said, even if he were the Pope, the most powerful man on the continent.
Chen Changsheng certainly did not wish to see such a scene.
But he knew that if he did not want that scene to become reality, he had to prepare for it.
Retreat and compromise would not bring true peace—that was surrender. The truth learned from centuries of war between humans and the demon race now seemed forgotten by many.
He was now the Pope, so he had to bear the corresponding responsibility for the State Church and even the entire human world.
"If everyone thinks this way about me, then everyone is wrong."
On the distant plains, the lines of the Tong River grew darker. Chen Changsheng looked there and said calmly, "I am not doing these things to gain supreme power, nor am I obsessed with killing him for my own safety. Even though he has tried to kill me so many times, I have never thought of killing him. Not because he is my master, but because I know, as you said, that if I try to kill him, the entire continent will fall into chaos. The reason I do these things is simply to ensure that the State Church has the power to counterbalance the court."
Huai Ren said, "If that is the case, why must the State Church counterbalance the court?"
Chen Changsheng replied, "My uncle once told me that good people must be even more vigilant... Vigilance requires corresponding ability; otherwise, it becomes a joke."
Huai Ren understood his meaning and sighed.
"Mount Holy Maiden is far in the south, but the Li Palace is in the capital, very close to the Imperial Palace. We must bear this responsibility. Just as when the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress ruled, without my uncle, no one knows how many rooftops the tide of tyranny would have overturned, how many innocent lives it would have drowned."
Chen Changsheng continued, "The court now needs a force to check it. My master, the elder, needs a threat to his existence. Otherwise, the court will act recklessly, and my master will become a monster. My uncle chose me as Pope because he knew that only I could lead the State Church to play this role well."
Huai Ren said, "But what you are doing now goes beyond vigilance; it looks more like preparing to start a war."
"The Pine Mountain Military Prefecture and the Tang Clan are still just vigilance, or rather, a warning."
Chen Changsheng said, "If the court and my master do wrong and cannot correct it themselves, I and the State Church will correct it for them."
Huai Ren asked, "And your so-called correction means killing people and seizing power?"
Chen Changsheng replied, "Killing is because people like Ning Shiwei, Zhu Ye, and Tianhai Zhanyi deserve to die. The Tang Clan's Second Master colluded with the demon race—he deserves death even more. Seizing power is because the State Church needs that authority. More importantly, the court and my master have proven that the people they appoint are unworthy of wielding that power."
Huai Ren looked into his eyes and asked, "And if the court continues to make mistakes? If the Dao Sovereign persists in these methods?"
Chen Changsheng was silent for a very short time, then said, "Then I will have to find a way to overthrow his court."
Huai Ren sighed softly and said, "In the end, it comes back to this cruel old path."
Chen Changsheng said, "Different paths may lead to the same destination, but the reasons for embarking on the journey are not the same."
Huai Ren asked, "If the ending is the same, does the cause matter?"
"The difference between killing in self-defense and killing for robbery is vast. It matters greatly. I must believe I am right."
Chen Changsheng spoke a sentence he had not uttered in three years: "Because I cultivate the Way of Following the Heart."
The setting sun had already fallen behind the mountains, and the stars had not yet fully revealed themselves. The southern peaks welcomed their darkest moment.
The flowering trees by the cliff swayed gently in the wind, as if surprised by how quiet the space had become.
No one knew how much time passed before Huai Ren said softly, "This is your path, your war. Must you drag the peaceful Mount Holy Maiden into it?"
Chen Changsheng said, "I think this should be a decision for You Rong and the disciples of the Southern Streams Nunnery."
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(This chapter is important. Happy holidays to everyone, and may you grow up slowly. I'm going out for drinks tonight, so this is the only chapter for today.)