Chapter 235 – Paying Respects to the Pope (2/2)

The spring rain was like many lines blown about in all directions by the lake wind. It fell upon their faces and bodies. They got a little wet, but they were not in too sorry of a state. Chen Changsheng used his hand to push a strand of wet hair covering Luoluo’s eyes to the side.

Luoluo looked at him and giggled.

Chen Changsheng also laughed.

Luoluo said, “Teacher, in a moment, come with me to the Li Palace. His Holiness wants to see you.”

The smile on Chen Changsheng’s face immediately disappeared.

In the evening, a carriage emerged from Hundred Flowers Lane and arrived at the Li Palace.

Guarded by more than a dozen demi-human experts and priests of the Orthodoxy, Luoluo continued on the carriage along that Divine Avenue to the Hall of Pure Virtue, passing the Temple Seminary and the Li Palace Academy.

Under the guidance of two bishops, Chen Changsheng followed a never-before-walked Divine Avenue to the main hall of the Li Palace.

In the blood-red light of the sunset, there was no sense of powerful armies, only gravitas and solemnity.

The priests and students walking on this Divine Avenue realized who he was and made way for him.

At this point, it was known throughout the continent that this student from the Orthodoxy Academy, who had made the capital buzz with his disturbance, was specially selected by the Pope.

Of course, he had been famous before that. No matter what title he carried, such as Xu Yourong’s husband-to-be or the first place upon the First Banner in the Grand Examination, they were all worthy to attract the gazes of the populace. Not to mention that not long ago, he had viewed the entire front mausoleum of the Mausoleum of Books in one day, causing the capital to be bathed in starlight last night.

Several hundred gazes followed Chen Changsheng on the Divine Avenue. Those gazes were complex… shock, admiration, envy, and even reverence.

Yes, the present him was finally worthy of being revered by others.

It had nothing to do with his level of cultivation or strength. It lay in his talent as well as the powerful figures behind him.

Chen Changsheng’s mood at the moment was also very complex.

From the announcement of the rankings in the Grand Examination, he had known that there would be a day when he would be summoned by the Pope.

It was just that he had not imagined that the day would come so fast. He had just come out of the Mausoleum of Books and now, he was at the Li Palace. He felt somewhat unprepared. He nervously thought to himself, in a little while I should ask those questions to ensure I get answers for them, then the Pope will not use his staff to beat me to death.

The numerous gazes that followed him made the Divine Avenue seem endless. Before, he felt somewhat out of place. However, he now was thankful for it, because it gave him enough time to organize those questions in his mind.

Even a longer Divine Avenue eventually had an end. Gates were pushed open one after another. The twilight gave way to darkness, and the Li Palace also grew dark. At last, they finally had arrived in front of the incomparably vast main hall of the Li Palace.

Standing amidst the dozens of sculptures of previous Saints and knights, taking in the solemn and radiant atmosphere, Chen Changsheng was speechless from shock.

Without time to appreciate any more of the atmosphere, he was taken to a side hall. The eaves of this hall extended out much further than normal palace halls, blocking out much of the light from the sky. Not even speaking of the fact that it was the time where twilight gave way to the night, even if it was high noon, this place would still be dark and quiet.

The two bishops retreated without a sound, leaving Chen Changsheng to stand on the stone steps.

This hall had no one else, so it only took a glance for him to see the Pope.

The Pope was an elderly man. He had no crown or staff and he wore a coarse robe made of hemp. At the moment, he was watering a pot that held a green leaf.

This tall and thin old man was impossible to describe in terms of power and prestige, because he had long surpassed a secular concept like authority.