525 Raise Your Hand to Ask for Leave

Chen Changsheng walked into the alley. After a few moments, he walked outagain. He stood at the entrance of the alley, seeming rather lost. He hadwalked through the alley two times and seen many restaurants, but he had seennothing like the ‘Fish with Tofu’ written on the slip of paper. Then should he just wait for her to come? He stood at the entrance of thealley, then was struck by a sudden thought. Could it be that to punish hisstupidity, she had deliberately played a trick on him? Yes, that must be it, orelse why would she leave on this slip of paper a location that didn't exist? His emotions were rather complex. The snowflakes descending from the heavensgradually grew larger and the pedestrians on the street and in the alleygradually left to avoid the snow. Because of the feast today at the Li Palace,many people had gone off to the Divine Avenue to see the excitement. Businessfor the restaurants and taverns within Fortune Peace Road was much worse thannormal, and they seemed at the moment rather cold and cheerless. He did not leave, instead waiting in the falling snow by the alley's entrance. …… …… The two sides of the Li Palace's Divine Avenue were illuminated by brightlanterns. As the snowflakes drifted down, the people of the capital that hadcome to watch the spectacle had decreased somewhat. Those who persisted, whenseeing the line of luxurious imperial carriages of the aristocratic houses andvarious palaces entering the Li Palace, felt that this journey had not beenmade in vain. Tonight, the Great Hall of Light where the feast was being heldwas already filled with priests and ministers, as well as the people from thevarious academies and halls. However, that quiet and beautiful hall behind theGreat Hall of Light was still as tranquil as usual. The Pope was attending tonight's feast. He had already exchanged his hempenrobe for the Divine Robe. His right hand held a ladle and he was currentlywatering his Green Leaf. Seeing that the Green Leaf was growing stronger andsturdier, his elderly face revealed a gratified smile. He took a soft towelthat had been placed by the pot and gently dried his hands. On the previous times Chen Changsheng had come to the Li Palace, he hadnoticed the changes of the Green Leaf. Since the Green Leaf World and theGarden of Zhou were the same in that both were stable shards of space and wereimpossible to make larger, he did not understand why the Pope paid so much carefor its growth. Could it just be so that the gate to enter the Green Leaf Worldwould be more stable? Or was it because as the Green Leaf in the pot grewstronger and healthier, the gate between the Green Leaf World and the originalworld would get larger and larger? If this was the case, why did the Pope wantthe gate to the Green Leaf World to get larger? "In the end, this matter is still too great. Does Your Holiness not wish toconsider it a bit longer?" Mao Qiuyu calmly stood behind the Pope, his attitude very reverential, his twosleeves not trembling in the slightest. The Pope placed down the towel and smiled, "Upon hearing your narrative of thebattle on the Bridge of Helplessness, I realized that this child is morereliable than I imagined. You also said before, solely in terms of potentialand future prospects, it's really quite difficult to find a better person thanhim. This being the case, if I pass on the Orthodoxy to him, I can be at ease." Mao Qiuyu was quiet for a while, before replying, "Your Holiness's words aretrue. It's just that Linghai and Siyuan are both well above Chen Changsheng interms of cultivation and qualifications, and back then, those two also receivedYour Holiness's devoted care and nurturing. In my view, those two will find itvery difficult to accept this affair." The Pope walked back to the dais, took down the Divine Crown from the glazedthrone, and placed it on his head. However, he did not grasp the Divine Staffwhich represented the power of the Orthodoxy. In an unhurried tone, he said,"Just count it as me being selfish. After all, this child is the onlylegitimate successor to the Orthodoxy. Moreover, in the future, he will have toconfront this world's most difficult choice, most frustrating helplessness,most penetrating sorrow. This bestowal is just my consolation to him and alsothe compensation the Orthodoxy should be giving to him." Saying this, he slowly turned and began to walk towards that cold, stone wall.As he walked, the stone wall slowly opened, unleashing boundless light. …… …… This was a Night Pearl that had originally sat on the edge of the DewPlatform, illuminating the capital. Due to the weathering of time, it hadgradually lost its shine, so it had been taken down and placed in one of thehalls of the Imperial Palace to serve as a light source. Although this NightPearl was no longer as dazzling as it was in the very beginning, to thememorials on the desk, it was still incomparably bright. The Divine Empress was currently perusing memorials, at the same timelistening to the words echoing through the palace hall. The elderly chief eunuch, his body bowed, stood to her right, very softlyrelaying to her the specific details of this morning's battle on the Bridge ofHelplessness. Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong's battle on the Bridge of Helplessness hadtaken place not long after the early morning, yet both the Pope and the DivineEmpress did not have people report to them on this matter until it was almostnightfall. This indicated that, unlike the view of the entire continent, thesetwo Saints didn't much care about this battle. Even though Chen Changsheng andXu Yourong were their most trusted juniors and were even their successors froma certain point of view, this was still, in their eyes, a trifling matter. "…as the temple sword came from the Sword Pool. Little Principal Chenpresumably left some sort of trick. The Holy Maiden was probably clear on thisbeforehand and so had made her preparations. Yet for some reason, still notattacking his opponent, Chen Changsheng wounded his left arm as a price toforcefully wrest control of the temple sword. Then, once more againstexpectations, he blocked the Holy Maiden's Rhino Horn Finger. If justdiscussing an exchange of swords, he can be considered to have won by half atechnique, but if this were a real battle and it continued, he would probablyhave had no chance of victory. It's just…the Holy Maiden straightforwardly leftin that manner." After saying his piece, the chief eunuch carefully raised his head up andglanced at her, then slowly retreated. The Divine Empress's expression had not changed. This was the case even duringthe vast majority of the time when the chief eunuch was not raising his head.The talent and intellect that Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong had displayed inthe battle on the Bridge of Helplessness was sufficient to shock the vastmajority of the people, but not her. Only when she heard that Xu Yourong hadcomprehended the Sword of Great Light did she arch her brows, seemingly quitesurprised at this. "Truly a stubborn girl." She threw the memorial onto the desk, stood up and walked to the doors of thehall. Her hands clasped behind her, she gazed at the distant light in thedarkness. That place was most likely the Li Palace. Suddenly, Mo Yu rushed in, her expression incredibly grave. She reported thatmatter which had just occurred to the Divine Empress. Quietly gazing at the Li Palace, the Divine Empress smirked, but her eyes werestill indifferent. "It's getting more and more interesting." …… …… The battle on the Bridge of Helplessness had already concluded, but thediscussion brought about by its aftermath could not be so easily quieted insuch a short amount of time. The conversations held between the importantfigures in the Great Hall of Light were still mostly concerned with thismatter. With the insight and cultivation of these important figures, after theyhad calmed down, they were able to recall the scene and understand that XuYourong had refrained from using her Heavenly Phoenix true blood tointentionally suppress herself to the level of a normal person. This wasbecause she wanted to engage in a straightforward confrontation, relying on herstrength, not innate talent, to obtain victory over Chen Changsheng. However,in no way did this mean that they believed Chen Changsheng had an unfairadvantage, because they were also keenly aware that Chen Changsheng had alsonot used his most powerful techniques—for instance, that method he had used toreceive Zhu Luo's strike in that battle amidst the rain in Xunyang City and notdie. Suddenly, solemn and compassionate music began to play throughout the GreatHall of Light. The stone wall in the depths of the hall began to slowly openand emit rays of light, and stone sculptures on both sides of the great hallbegan to glow with light. The people in the hall hurriedly tidied their clothesand arranged themselves in order, humbly bowing towards the Pope as he emergedfrom the stone wall and walked into the light. Under the escort of the head knights and several archbishops, the Pope slowlyascended the dais. Daoist Siyuan and Linghai Zhiwang were naturally amongstthem, and Mao Qiuyu, Archbishop of the Hall of Illustrious Persons, was in thevery back. What surprised everyone the most was that the Divine Staff, thesymbol of the Orthodoxy's authority, was clasped between his hands. Without any long or complicated procedures, Mao Qiuyu calmly began to readaloud the merit Chen Changsheng had performed for the Orthodox Academy. Fromthe Grand Examination to the Mausoleum of Books, from the Garden of Zhou tothis morning on the Bridge of Helplessness, and even the rebirth of theOrthodox Academy—this originally taboo matter of the Orthodoxy—had been listedas his achievements. This had always been a celebratory feast for the Orthodoxy, and of course,what they celebrated were Chen Changsheng's achievements. Mao Qiuyu announcingthese achievements was something that everyone had expected, but what happenedafterwards was something no one, with the exception of Mao Qiuyu and the Pope,had anticipated. After Mao Qiuyu finished reading off Chen Changsheng's merits, he did not actas people thought he would and directly announce the reward the Orthodoxy wouldbestow upon him. Instead, he calmly walked to the Pope's side and then, underthe shocked gazes of all, the Pope extended his hand and took up the DivineStaff, declaring, "Thereby, we grant this blessing unto him." The Great Hall of Light was completely silent. No one spoke because they wereall stupefied. At present, Chen Changsheng was the Principal of the Orthodox Academy. Fromquite a long time ago, he had been the Pope's martial nephew, it was just thatnobody knew of this fact. After the events of the Mausoleum of Books, theentire continent knew of the Pope's plans, knew that Chen Changsheng wouldbecome the next Pope. However, this had all been conjecture or inference. Today, conjectures had been confirmed, inferences had become reality. The Pope had turned over the Divine Staff that symbolized the authority of theOrthodoxy to Chen Changsheng. This was also a declaration to the entire worldthat Chen Changsheng was his successor. The silence in the Great Hall of Light continued. It wasn't because of somestrangeness nor was it indicative that some momentous event would occur—no onewould dare defy the will of the Pope in this place—it was just that nobody knewhow to respond. This was something proper and expected, it had just occurredfar earlier than imagined and they couldn't help but be shocked. Chen Changsheng was only sixteen. Daoist Siyuan and Linghai Zhiwang, those two who were once regarded as havingthe highest hopes of taking up the Divine Staff and succeeding the Pope, hadincredibly unsightly complexions. They had originally believed that they stillhad ten-some years to change the Pope's will, but they had not expected thatthe Pope would not give them any time whatsoever. They were keenly aware of just why the Pope had chosen this time to confirmChen Changsheng's status as successor. If this were before, the new faction of the Orthodoxy, such as the twoarchbishops and their supporters, might be able to use the reason of ChenChangsheng being too young and requiring further observation as an excuse for afew years, thus delaying the Pope's decision. But now, the continent alreadyhad a sixteen-year-old Holy Maiden; what did it matter if there was asixteen-year-old candidate for Pope? Let alone the fact that this candidate for Pope had just defeated that HolyMaiden today. The silence in the great hall continued, but people gradually began to feelthat something was wrong. Even if they didn't know how to react, what of ChenChangsheng? Even if he was also very shocked, at this point, he should still stand up andthank the Pope for this blessing, then accept the well-wishes of everyonewithin the hall. Mao Qiuyu's gaze looked over the hall. His brow deeply furrowed, he askedsomewhat incredulously, "Where is Chen Changsheng?" In a certain corner of the great hall, a hand shot up from the crowd,accompanied by a rather uneasy voice. "He…he…he…at lunch, he was too happy and ate too much. He had someindigestion, so he entrusted me with the task…of asking for leave." Tonight, the Orthodoxy was celebrating achievements, the Pope had come topersonally bestow the Divine Staff and confirm the position of successor to theOrthodoxy…but the person in question was not even here? The Great Hall of Light exploded with discussion and the crowd parted likewater, revealing the person that had just been speaking. Tang Thirty-Six, his head lowered, his hand raised. ……