Past the stone pillars was the Divine Path leading into the depths of the Li Palace.
The teachers and students of the Li Palace Academy, the Temple Seminary, and the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green stood on both sides of the Divine Path, bowing in respect.
A few stories had taken place on this Divine Path, but Chen Changsheng did not recall them and continued forward.
He ascended the long steps, walked past the Hall of Pure Virtue, and finally arrived at that quiet hall.
The night sky had been divided into a well by the eaves, just as it had been in the past, but the wooden ladle by the pool was no longer there, as the Green Leaf was no longer there.
An Hua kneeled, her white ceremonial robes fluttering in the chilly wind, just like her excited mood.
Chen Changsheng nodded in greeting and had her rise.
An Hua walked behind him and helped him put on his Divine Robe, then carefully tidied it up for a very long time.
Chen Changsheng gazed up at the somewhat narrow night sky, at the many stars at the bottom of the well, and recalled the comprehension he had gained while gazing at the sea of stars in White Emperor City.
After some time, he drew back his gaze and said, "Let's go."
With the clear and gentle sound of water washing his heart, he walked to the deepest part of the quiet hall, in front of that stone wall.
The stone wall slowly parted, countless blazing rays of light rushing out, accompanied by the endless roar of waves.
These waves were the sounds of clothes rubbing against each other as people prostrating, but they were also the excited or reverent words of praise.
"Paying respects to His Holiness the Pope."
Countless priests prostrated on the ground like a tide.
Chen Changsheng wore the Sacred Crown and gripped the Divine Staff as he gazed at this sight, his expression very calm.
Starting from the small village of Mount Han, this sort of sight had appeared more and more often.
Just like the most common description: like a tide.
None of this was new to him.
He was used to seeing crowds and seas of people.
This was also not the first time he had stood here.
He stood on the platform of the Great Hall of Light.
This was not the highest place in the Li Palace, but it was assuredly the highest place in the entire continent.
This place was only ten-some stone steps from the ground, but it felt like it was separated by tens of thousands of li. He had already arrived in the Divine Kingdom of the sea of stars.
The pious praises of the Divine and the chanting of scriptures began once more. A solemn and divine atmosphere enveloped the entire Great Hall of Light.
The warm Sacred Light illuminated everything in the hall. Not even the slightest darkness could exist here.
There was an extremely tall stone wall in the [Light Palace].
The sages, heroes, knights, and saints of the previous generation were engraved on it. They were illuminated by the Holy Light and looked as if they were coming to life.
The sages, heroes, knights, and saints of the previous generation looked down on the world from above.
Their gazes were not indifferent, but filled with many real emotions.
Chen Chang Sheng stood in front of the stone wall, within the Holy Light.
He endured those gazes.
He was looking at the world.
This scene was incomparably sacred.
…
…
Chen Chang Sheng lifted the Divine Staff in his hand.
The chanting gradually stopped, and the priests slowly got up, still like the tide.
The [Light Palace] suddenly became extremely quiet. It was as if the sound of the wind that had luckily passed through the formation and brushed against the stone walls could be clearly heard by everyone.
Perhaps it was because before the Divine Staff fell, the sea of people in the hall had already been divided into two sides.
Linghai Zhiwang, Archbishop An Lin, Daoist Siyuan, and Hu Thirty-Two, four Prefects of the Orthodoxy, stood on the right.
Several hundred bishops of the Li Palace and those who had hurried back from the various Daoist churches stood behind them.
There were far fewer bishops on the other side. There was not a single Sacred Hall archbishop, but there were many cardinals.
These bishops all had one thing in common, and that was that they all looked a little old.
No matter where one was, the age and experience represented by this sort of age was a sort of power in itself.
The bishops of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education were also here. More importantly, the Heavenly Dao Academy, the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green, and the Temple Seminary were also here.
Only the Li Palace Academy, which had been greatly influenced by Linghai Zhiwang, was not here. That principal and Su Moyu stood in the crowd, intentionally maintaining a low profile.
Zhuang Zhihuan and the three bishops of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education stood at the very front of the crowd, making no attempt to hide their tracks or thoughts.
Chen Chang Sheng glanced at Zhuang Zhihuan, then turned to a certain corner outside the hall.
The Holy Light shrouded the entire hall, some of it also spilling outside.
A hole was torn in the deep darkness outside the hall, illuminating a certain corner.
Bishop Mei Chuan was there.
No matter how warm the Holy Light was, it could not drive away the chill on his body.
Because he was already dead.
… …
… …
Back when Chen Chang Sheng had just become Pope, he had been expelled from the capital by Shang Xingzhou.
He was an exiled Pope.
Three years later, he returned to the Li Palace. This was his first time presiding over the Assembly of Light as Pope, and he had to confront an extremely thorny problem.
The priests of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education, Zhuang Zhihuan, and the elderly cardinals were all looking at him.
In the eyes of these bishops of the conservative faction, one could clearly see grief and indignation.
Of course, they still maintained a sufficient amount of respect for Chen Chang Sheng and still controlled their emotions extremely well.
Otherwise, Mei Chuan's body would not have been in that corner outside the hall, but within the Great Hall of Light, placed right in front of them.
Linghai Zhiwang expressionlessly looked in that direction, his eyes extremely cold and his complexion extremely unsightly.
After learning of what had happened in the Orthodox Academy, he had been keeping a close eye on the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education and these elderly priests.
He had not expected that they would still transport Mei Chuan's body into the Li Palace and place it outside the Great Hall of Light.
He believed this to be a naked provocation, and of course, it was also a warning to him.
This meant that the Li Palace was not a monolithic block.
The strength of the Orthodoxy's conservative faction still could not be underestimated. There might be some people secretly supporting them.
Linghai Zhiwang slightly narrowed his eyes, his gaze moving back and forth between Hu Thirty-Two and Archbishop An Lin as he thought, just who is that person?
Tonight was the Pope's first Assembly of Light. For such a thing to happen was a great disrespect that he could not tolerate.
But he knew that it was inconvenient for him to do anything, and he certainly could not have people carry Mei Chuan's body away.
There were far too many people who had seen this sight. A method that was too crude might cause some priests to lose control of their emotions.
Of course, he was confident that the Pope's prestige and his own status could forcefully suppress the current situation.
The problem was that the crack would not disappear. On the contrary, it would only deepen.
It was obvious that this was not what the Pope wanted.
Linghai Zhiwang looked at Chen Chang Sheng, suddenly rather expectant.
Many of the bishops in the hall were seeing Chen Chang Sheng for the first time, so they had no opinion on the conflict between the new and the conservative. Most of them were curious, or perhaps expectant.
How would the Pope resolve this matter?
Yes, the one who killed Mei Chuan was the Holy Maiden, and Prince Chen Liu had been the witness for the entire process.
Everyone knew of the relationship between the Holy Maiden and the Pope. She had helped the Pope make his choice, so she had naturally prepared a reason for it.
Logically speaking, Chen Chang Sheng only needed to state that reason and this matter would be resolved.
But for some reason, all the priests, including Linghai Zhiwang, and even the priests of the conservative faction, did not believe that he would do this.
There was no reason, no reason. Perhaps it was because the stories of the past few years had long since proved that he would not do this. (To be continued.)
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