Eight more weeks later;
Church of Nuwa, Western Yan;
The church of Nuwa had guests from all over the world, mostly the Bishops and other devotees who had a prominent place in the society. They were all here for the coronation ceremony of the new Supre Pontiff.
The other three Cardinals were busy spending their ti with important guests, especially the nobles and wealthy individuals who fund the church.
Shi En, the favorite candidate for the ascension, was however seen walking in the gardens, with his uncle from Leon Empire who had been staying in this place for the past three months.
The main topic of their discussion was however Mark and the future of Leon Empire.
So ti ago, the previous Supre Pontiff of the Church of Nuwa had sent a letter of invitation to Mark to attend the coronation ceremony in the hopes of building a relationship with Genesis City.
He wanted to expand the church of Nuwa into Genesis City before the ever-dominating Church of Light managed to get in.
More importantly, Mark also accepted the invitation.
The problem however is the fact that Mark is currently at loggerheads with Emperor Shi.
While the Leon Empire was putting up a barricade to protect half of the forest, Mark's robots and Eol's army focused on clearing out the remaining part.
Prince Shi Chong was naturally against the idea of allying with Mark but Shi En doesn't have any personal opinion on the matter. If anything, this half-elf was slightly in favor of his church's decision. However, his views align more with having a strictly business relationship with Western Yan, unlike the political one that the current Supre Pontiff is expecting.
"Look nephew, you don't need to follow what your predecessor decided, who by the way is insane to even think about influencing an arrogant heretic like Lu Zhen. You are going to be the new leader of the church. Once you ascend to the position and receive the blessings of Goddess Nuwa, you can take whatever decision you think it is better. And you are going to be immortal anyways. What's there to be worried about?"
Shi En responded with neither a refute nor an acceptance. Instead, he let out a chuckle, "Uncle, you seem like you are afraid to et Lu Zhen here?"
"Wha…" Prince Shi Chong was taken aback by his nephew's comnt and he stamred as he defended himself, "Who… who is afraid of him? If not for his demigod servants, he would have long been dead by now. I heard that those beasts were guarding the forest. Since he knows that he is vulnerable without their protection, he didn't dare to advance further."
Shi En slightly blankly stared at him and comnted, "he is also the sa as them, just so you know."
"What do you an?"
"He is a demigod. Didn't your father tell you?"
"Uhh…" Prince Shi Chong couldn't speak for a while. His legs started trembling a bit. He quickly grabbed his arms, "Nephew, why did you even invite soone like him to the event? What if he cos and decides to do sothing bad? No one could stop him. I think I should return."
Shi En couldn't help but chuckle at his uncle's cowardice, "actually, this is a good chance to impress your father. See, you understand that I don't return to Leon Empire anyway, whether I get selected or not. You might as well take this opportunity to strike a deal with Lu Zhen to stop his conquest and give relief to your father. Your position will be solidified."
"Yeah, as if I could do that task," Shi Chong scoffed at his nephew's suggestion, "If I was that capable, I would have long sat on the throne."
"But, you were pretty much good by charming ladies and stealing them away from their husbands," Shi En remarked almost instantly, causing the prince to beco embarrassed, "I don't know whether I should take it as a complint or an insult. *cough*"
"Anyway, what you suggested earlier is sothing to be noted of. How about you help out your uncle in negotiating with Lu Zhen? Since you are the host, perhaps, the chances of success will be slightly higher." Shi Chong changed the topic back to Mark, not intending to go on that line filled with argunts about ethics and all.
A few hours later;
The majestic spider-ship landed in the premises of the Church, where Mark arrived with the Grand Prince of Western Yan, Feng Wu, who is also called the true king, considering the fact that he was the one who was administrating the region in place of his nephew, the real king who was a 12-year-old kid.
Leaving the region's protector, the gold dragon, to guard the King, Prince Feng Wu joined Mark in attending the ceremony.
As the representative of the palace, Feng Wu received a great welco from the young deacons of the church and Mark received even greater honor as the chief guest, getting personally welcod and escorted by the current Supre Pontiff to the prayer hall.
While Feng Wu sat down on the second with other guests of honor, Mark got to sit in the front row with the four Cardinals. Shi En was one of them who in fact sat right next to Mark.
However, there was absolutely no conversation between them at all. Discover more stories at мѵʟ
Mark stayed silent and had his gaze fixed on the statue of the goddess with the upper body of a human-like and the lower body of a snake. The serpent-like tail coils beneath her.
Soon, the Supre Pontiff of the Church co to the podium. Everyone got up as he spoke that they first prayed for the goddess.
The guests of honor from across the world were all believers of the goddess. They naturally stood up. Even Feng Wu, the representative of the palace had to stand up in respect for the Supre Pontiff, the peak stage legendary realm expert. However, Mark was different.
He neither held the Supre Pontiff in respect nor did he worship the goddess. He alone sat down. The Cardinals couldn't help but furrow their brows in displeasure because of his silence and continuous stare at the statue, the other guests of honor were shocked and so of them were worried about possible conflict over this disrespect, but the Supre Pontiff acted like he didn't see it and proceeded with his preaching.
After a while, everyone sat down and the Supre Pontiff addressed everyone by raising his golden staff, "Now, in a few monts, with the blessings of Goddess Nuwa, I will be naming my successor, who shall inherit this staff of immortality as well as the will of the church. Before that, the final two candidates shall have one last opportunity to appeal to the Patrons who arrive today. It is not only important for the Supre Pontiff to lead the preachers of the church but also very important for him to work with the Patrons to spread the word of our Goddess to different regions. Hence, all the 26 patrons will directly vote for the candidate they would like to see him to lead the church."
The announcent from the Supre Pontiff did take everyone by surprise as they were expecting this 341-year-old man to directly na his successor. Instead, he involved the guests without informing them in advance in order to select the new Supre Pontiff.
At the sa ti, the four cardinals couldn't help but expect their nas to be in the final two. Since the leader of the church isn't going to select his favorite anyway and leave the decision to vote, their expectations are raised up.
Mark furrowed his brows in response to the announcent from the old man which he didn't want to be a part of anyway. He just folded his hands and looked at the Supre Pontiff as he called out two finalists.
The first choice was obvious, it was Shi En. The second one was a much older guy nad Yan Chao, who is over 125 years old and is at the interdiate stage of the legendary realm.
As Shi En and Yan Chao stood on either side of the Supre Pontiff, the latter asked them to make their final speech for the votes.
Yan Chao was quite passionate. He gave a 10-minute-long speech like a politician who wants to appease the masses, which Mark had only seen in his past life.
Shi En, on the other hand, simply ntioned that his accomplishnts were known to the Patrons and if elected, he promised to make his predecessors' common wish of making the church of Nuwa surpass the church of Light.
Mark didn't know about others but he was certainly not moved by their words. He sat there in silence as one after another from the back rows stood up and nad the person they pledged their support to.
As if fate is putting Mark in an important position to take so decision, by the ti it reached Mark, Shi En was winning by 13-12, and so, everyone had their eyes fixed on the chief guest who could make this a tie or make Shi En a winner.
As the Supre Pontiff asked him and the entire hall was filled with silence, Mark spared a glance at each of them and spoke, "Personally, I wasn't a Patron of your church and certainly won't worship Mother Goddess Nuwa. So, I'm not sure why you even want to vote in the first place."
The Cardinals and the Bishops and others felt like their heart skipped a beat upon hearing those provoking words. So of them gave an unpleasant glare at him and he could feel it.
Nevertheless, Mark couldn't care less about their feelings and continued, "But, since I'm the chief guest for this event and you asked for my opinion, I would say this guy is more suitable to lead the church than that fake on the podium." He pointed his finger at his back row, specifically at Shi Chong, and then added, "Right, Shi En? Or should I say, Shi En who is a pure elf?"
"Eh?"
"Huh?"
"What did he just say?"
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