Chen Changsheng walked into the alley. After a while, he walked out of the alley again. He stood at the mouth of the alley, seemingly at a loss — because he had walked through the alley twice and seen many restaurants, but he had not seen the Fish with Tofu mentioned on the slip of paper.
Then wait for her to come? As he stood at the mouth of the alley, he suddenly had a thought. Could it be that in order to punish his stupidity, she was deliberately teasing him? Yes, that should be the case, or else why would she leave a nonexistent address on the slip of paper?
His mood was rather complex. The snow drifting down from the sky gradually grew heavier, and the pedestrians on the street began to move away. Because of the banquet in the Li Palace today, many people had gone to the Divine Avenue to watch the excitement. The restaurants and restaurants on Fortune Peace Road did not have as much business as usual, and now seemed even more deserted.
He did not leave, but waited at the mouth of the snowy alley.
… …
… …
Lanterns hung on both sides of the Divine Avenue of the Li Palace. Snowflakes drifted down, and the number of people of the capital waiting to watch the excitement had somewhat decreased. Those people who had persisted, upon seeing the luxurious carriages from the manors of the various princes and dukes, still felt that this trip had not been in vain. The Great Hall of Light, where the banquet was being held, was already filled with priests, ministers, and people from various halls and schools. Meanwhile, the quiet and secluded hall behind the Great Hall of Light was still as quiet as usual.
The Pope was participating in the banquet today, and his hemp clothes had already been changed into Divine Robes. His right hand held a ladle and was currently watering the Green Leaf in the pot. Seeing the Green Leaf grow stronger and stronger, a gratified smile appeared on the elder's face. He took a soft towel placed by the pot and lightly wiped his hands.
The few times Chen Changsheng had come to the Li Palace, he had already noticed the change in the Green Leaf. He did not understand. Since the Green Leaf World was the same as the Garden of Zhou, a stable fragment of space that could not grow larger, was the Pope so meticulously protecting its growth just to make the door into the Green Leaf World more stable? Or was it to say that as the Green Leaf in the pot grew stronger and stronger, the door between the Green Leaf World and the original world would grow larger and larger? If this was the case, why did the Pope want the door to the Green Leaf World to grow larger?
"In the end, this matter is still too important. Your Holiness, do you not need to think a little more?"
Mao Qiuyu quietly stood behind the Pope, his expression very respectful, his sleeves not the slightest trembling.
The Pope put down the towel and smiled. "After listening to your account of the battle on the Bridge of Helplessness, I realized that this child is even more reliable than I imagined. You also said that purely in terms of potential and future prospects, it is truly difficult to find a better target than him. This being the case, I can also rest assured in passing the Orthodoxy to him."
Mao Qiu Yu was silent for a while and said, "Your Majesty is right, but Ling Hai and Si Yuan's cultivation and experience are far above Chen Chang Sheng's. Moreover, they were also carefully trained by you in the past. I think it will be very hard for them to accept this."
The Pope walked back to the platform, took the Divine Crown from the glazed throne, and placed it on his head. However, he did not take up the Divine Staff that represented the authority of the Orthodoxy. He slowly said, "Consider me selfish. After all, the only legitimate successor of the Orthodoxy is this child. Moreover, in the future, he will face the world's most difficult choice, the most perplexed helplessness, the most bone-piercing sorrow. Then this title, even if I offer it to him as a consolation, is also a reward that the Orthodoxy should give him."
Saying this, he slowly turned around and walked towards the ice-cold stone wall. As he walked forward, the stone wall slowly opened, releasing boundless light.
… …
… …
This was a Night Pearl that had once illuminated the capital at the edge of the Dew Platform. Because of the wind and rain of time, it had gradually dimmed, so it had been taken down and placed in one of the halls of the Imperial Palace for illumination. Although this Night Pearl was no longer as dazzling as it had been at the beginning, it was still incomparably bright to the memorials on the desk.
The Divine Empress was currently reading through the memorials, at the same time listening to those words echoing in the hall.
The elderly chief eunuch stood with his body bowed. In a very gentle voice, he recounted the specific details of this morning's battle on the Bridge of Helplessness.
The battle between Chen Changsheng and Xu You Rong on the Bridge of Helplessness had occurred not long after dawn, but both the Pope and the Divine Empress had only sent someone to give a detailed report on this matter when it was almost dusk. This meant that, unlike the entire continent, these two Saints actually did not care much about this battle. Although Chen Changsheng and Xu You Rong were their most trusted juniors, and from a certain perspective, their successors, in their eyes, this was still a minor matter.
"… the temple sword came from the Sword Pool, so Little Principal Chen presumably had a backup plan. The Holy Maiden should have known about this beforehand and made preparations, but for some reason, she still wasn't able to subdue him in one strike. Chen Changsheng paid the price of an injury to his left shoulder to forcefully wrest control over the temple sword, and then unexpectedly blocked the Holy Maiden's Rhino Horn Finger. If this was just a discussion of swords, he should have won by half a move, but if this was a true battle, if this continued, he probably wouldn't have any chance of victory, but … the Holy Maiden just left like that."
After saying this, the chief eunuch cautiously raised his head to glance, then retreated to the back.
The Divine Empress's expression did not change. The chief eunuch did not raise his head to look, and the vast majority of the time, she did the same. In the battle on the Bridge of Helplessness, the talent and intelligence Chen Changsheng and Xu You Rong displayed were enough to shock the vast majority of people, but not her. Only when she heard that Xu You Rong had comprehended the Sword of Great Light did she raise her brows, as if she had not expected it.
"Truly a stubborn girl."
She threw the memorial on the table, stood up, and walked to the door of the hall. With her hands behind her back, she gazed at the faint light in the distant night sky. That place was probably the Li Palace.
Just at this moment, Mo Yu hurried over, her expression extremely grave. She reported what had just happened to her.
The Divine Empress calmly gazed in the direction of the Li Palace, a faint smile on her lips, but her eyes were indifferent. "It's getting more and more interesting."
… …
… …
The battle on the Bridge of Helplessness had concluded, but it was very difficult for the discussion that had arisen from it to subside in such a short period of time. The main topic of discussion among the important figures in the Great Hall of Light still revolved around this matter. With the insight and cultivation levels of these important figures, once they calmed down and thought about it, they understood that Xu You Rong had not used the true blood of the Heavenly Phoenix because she had intentionally suppressed herself to the level of a normal person. She wanted to rely on strength and not talent to defeat Chen Changsheng. However, this did not mean that they believed that Chen Changsheng had won with an unfair advantage. This was because they were keenly aware that Chen Changsheng had not used his most powerful technique, such as the method he had used to receive a blow from Zhu Xun in the rain in Xunyang City and not die.
Just at this moment, the Great Hall of Light suddenly resounded with the solemn and benevolent music. The stone wall in the deepest part of the hall slowly opened, light spilling out in all directions. The stone sculptures on the two sides of the hall glowed with light. The people in the hall hurriedly tidied up their clothes and solemnly arranged themselves, respectfully bowing to the Pope as he walked through the stone wall into the light.
Under the escort of the Grand Knight Captains and several archbishops, the Pope slowly walked onto the high platform. Daoist Siyuan and Linghai Zhiwang were naturally among them, while Archbishop Mao Qiuyu of the Hall of Illustrious Persons stood at the very back. To everyone's astonishment, the Divine Staff that represented the authority of the Orthodoxy was currently clasped in his two hands.
Without any complicated or lengthy procedures, Mao Qiuyu calmly began to read out the contributions Chen Changsheng had made for the Orthodoxy. From the Grand Examination to the Mausoleum of Books, from the Garden of Zhou to this morning's battle on the Bridge of Helplessness, and even his admission as a new student of the Orthodox Academy — a matter that had originally been taboo to the Orthodoxy — had become a stroke in his record of contributions.
This had always been a celebratory feast for the Orthodoxy, so it was naturally a celebration of Chen Changsheng's achievements. Mao Qiuyu's reading of these was something that everyone had expected ahead of time, but no one besides Mao Qiuyu and the Pope had expected what happened next.
After Mao Qiuyu finished reading out Chen Changsheng's achievements, he did not, as everyone had expected, directly announce the Orthodoxy's reward. Instead, he calmly walked to the Pope's side. Under everyone's shocked gazes, the Pope extended his hand and took the Divine Staff, saying, "Bestow this blessing upon him."
The Great Hall of Light was absolutely silent. No one spoke, because they were all too shocked.
Chen Changsheng was currently the Principal of the Orthodox Academy. Long ago, he had been the Pope's martial nephew, but no one knew that after the Mausoleum of Books, the entire continent knew of the Pope's plans, knew that Chen Changsheng would become the next Pope. But in the end, this was only a guess, a deduction.
Today was the day that the guess was confirmed, the deduction turned into reality.
The Pope had given the Divine Staff, the symbol of the Orthodoxy's authority, to Chen Changsheng. This was also announcing to the entire world that Chen Changsheng was his successor.
The silence in the Great Hall of Light continued. It was not because it was strange, nor did it mean that some great wave would occur. No one dared to defy the will of the Pope here, but they did not know how to respond. This was a matter of course, but it had happened much earlier than they had imagined. It was impossible for them not to be shocked.
Chen Changsheng was only sixteen.
Daoist Siyuan and Linghai Zhiwang, who had once been regarded by the entire continent as the most promising candidates to receive the Divine Staff and inherit the position of Pope, had abnormally nasty complexions. They had originally believed that they still had ten-some years to change the Pope's will, but they had not expected that the Pope would not give them any time at all.
They were keenly aware why the Pope had chosen this moment to confirm Chen Changsheng as his successor.
In the past, the Orthodoxy's new faction, like them and their supporters, might 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 the continent already had a sixteen-year-old Holy Maiden of the south, so what did it matter if another sixteen-year-old candidate for Pope appeared?
And this candidate for Pope had just defeated the Holy Maiden of the south today.
The silence in the hall continued. Gradually, the people began to feel that something was wrong. Even if they did not know how to react, what about Chen Changsheng?
Even if he was also very shocked, he should have stood up and thanked the Pope for his blessing, and then accepted the blessings of the people in the hall.
Mao Qiuyu's gaze moved back and forth in the hall, his brow deeply creasing as he asked in disbelief, "Where's Chen Changsheng?"
In a corner of the hall, a hand suddenly extended out from the crowd, accompanied by a rather uneasy voice.
"He … he … he … was too happy at noon and ate too much. He has a bit of diarrhea, so he asked me to … ask for a leave of absence for everyone."
Tonight, during the Orthodoxy's celebration, the Pope personally bestowing the Divine Staff and confirming the successor to the Orthodoxy … the person in question was actually not present?
The Great Hall of Light was in an uproar. The crowd parted like water, revealing the person who had just spoken.
Tang Thirty-Six lowered his head and raised his hand.
… …
… …
(The next chapter should be out before twelve.)
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