Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 600 "The Holy Crowned Pope" Laurent
The holy tower, radiating pure white light, came into Luo Xiu's view so clearly.

Before Luo Xiu stood "Holy Bishop of Fire," Levins, his face filled with reverence and piety. He said nothing more to Luo Xiu, but slowly walked toward the "Tower of Saint Lawrence."

Luo Xiu followed behind Levins.

During their journey, he also saw other bishops and archbishops heading towards the holy tower—

All the saints remained silent on their journey, carrying with them the highest aspirations and devotion to the "Holy Crown" Pope Laurent, just like the "Holy Bishop of Fire," Levins. This devotion was so pure and without falsehood.

As the outline of the pure white holy tower became clearer and clearer—

Luo Xiu had already seen the radiant doors of the pure white holy tower.

The arched portico, formed purely of radiance, stands here—on either side of which stand Templar Knights clad in pure white holy armor. Beyond the portico lies the sanctuary where the Pope, the "Holy Crown," resides. Even from a distance, Luo Xiu can hear the rising and falling sounds of holy hymns.

"We will have an audience with His Majesty."

"We will hear the sacred voice."

"We will carry out the imperial decree."

"..."

The Holy See's choir—located on either side of the Tower of Saint Lawrence—is composed of nuns and monks holding sacred texts, their expressions solemn as they sing aloud.

"Holy Bishop of Fire" Levins, too, has opened his arms, joining in this sacred chant as he marches forward.

"We will have an audience with His Majesty."

"We will hear the sacred voice."

"We will carry out the imperial decree."

Behind Levins, Luo Xiu could already see a pale white glow emanating from the other archbishop in front of him.

The sacred, pure white halo above his head showered down stardust-like radiance. It bathed Levins's figure in pure white, making him appear increasingly clear and "transparent."

During the hymn, Levins received a deeper divine blessing—in Luo Xiu's panel detection of him, the buff effect of [Divine Grace of the Holy Crown] in his "Status" section was increased by about one-third.

Praise and hymns to the "Holy Crown" Pope Laurent would receive a greater boost. So, like Levins, Rosh opened his arms and walked towards the Holy Tower, hymning as he went—

"We will have an audience with His Majesty."

"We will hear the sacred voice."

"We will carry out the imperial decree."

"..."

During the hymn, Luo Xiu also saw that the "Divine Grace of the Holy Crown" in his "Status" section had also received a boost.

All the effects increased, gradually rising from the original 30% to 38%. Luo Xiu indeed felt that the spirituality of his own [Radiance] had become purer and more abundant as a result.

And to be bathed in such sacred chanting.

He and "Holy Bishop of Fire" Levins have also stepped into that pure white doorway.

They have entered the sacred tower belonging to Pope "The Crown" Lorient.

……

The moment Luo Xiu stepped into the Holy Tower.

All external environments disappeared, leaving only the ethereal pure white—Luo Xiu felt a slight sense of weightlessness, and then he felt his armpits being gently lifted.

An angel—or rather, a four-winged angel—came from behind Luo Xiu, carrying him into a purer, more sacred white realm.

Luo Xiu felt himself floating—this feeling lasted for about three minutes.

Until the pure white mist before him dissipated, he finally felt his feet firmly planted on solid ground again, and could see colors clearly once more—

"Holy Bishop of Fire" Levins reappeared in front of Luo Xiu.

Luo Xiu also saw a magnificent wonder, like Stonehenge.

That was Pope Lawrence's "temple".

One after another, pillars radiating pure white light stood before them, rising from the ground around a single central point. It was a four-tiered ring, with the outermost pillar also serving as the seat of the saints—the saints of the "Fivefold Destiny" had already taken their seats amidst the hymns.

The next ring inside has seats that are more spacious than those for the "Fivefold Destiny" Saints; they are seats for the "Sixfold Destiny" Saints.

"Holy Bishop Levins of the Fire Worship" walked towards the inner ring, finally stopping at two empty seats. He turned around and said to Luo Xiu:
"Lord Rosh Carlos, our seats are here."

"Please take your seats. The meeting will begin once His Holiness the Pope arrives."

“Okay.” Luo Xiu nodded slightly and followed Levins’s instructions to sit in his assigned seat.

There are a total of eighteen seats in the "Sixfold Destiny Path". At this moment, thirteen people have taken their seats in the "Sixfold Destiny Path" Saint seats along with Luo Xiu.

Luo Xiu also saw familiar faces—two saints he had met at the Songyuan General Church who had conducted his promotion test: "Sun Knight" Ariana and "Director Deacon" Levilan. They would also participate in the final battle and had already taken their seats.

They had already seen Luo Xiu, so they nodded to him, and Luo Xiu nodded in return.

Then, Luo Xiu's gaze shifted to the innermost part of the temple—

Those seats belong to the saints of the "Sevenfold Destiny".

There are a total of five seats.

Three seats were already occupied.

The Second Cardinal, the Radiant Winged Cardinal Yazle Saint-Lerran, sat quietly on the throne, which resembled a piece of white jade. He seemed oblivious to his surroundings, awaiting only the arrival of the Crowned Pope, Lord Laurent.
The Third Cardinal, the Radiant Flame Cardinal Evra Flores, an old cardinal whose hair and beard were the color of radiant golden holy flames, was looking around the temple with great interest, as if searching for any saints who might interest him.
In the third seat sat a holy deacon clad in a red robe. This "Red Deacon," Hardy Lambert, was the second-highest in the Holy Court after the Chief Deacon, the "Black Deacon." He was responsible for recording this Temple meeting and maintaining close contact with the [Supreme] and [Knowledge].

The two empty seats belong to "Sword of the Holy Sword" Monine and "Saintess" Franya.

Although Franya is not a saint of the "Sevenfold Destiny", she has an equal status, so a seat will always be reserved for her.

Luo Xiu observed all of this.

Suddenly, he felt a gaze from the outside—

Above the inner ring of the Holy Throne, the Third Cardinal, the "Radiant Cardinal" Evra Flores, swept his gaze over himself.

Evra had been observing the saints who had come to the temple with great interest, but when their gaze fell on him, the smile on Evra's face disappeared, replaced by a gloomy expression.

He seemed to stare at himself for a long time before finally looking away. But when he looked at the other saints, a smile returned to his face, as if his previous gloom had never existed.

"...?"

Luo Xiu remembered.

The "saint" Franya had once told her that a bishop in the Songyuan City Church had once tried to exonerate "Afonso Durant."

The bishop's method of "exonerating" him involved colluding with heretics to secretly sabotage the Department of Justice. After the matter was exposed, it was only through the personal intervention of the "Third Cardinal" that the matter was resolved.

Looking back now, it was this "Third Cardinal," "Radiant Cardinal" Evra Flores who resolved that matter back then... He must have been dissatisfied with the Church of Sina, and this dissatisfaction may have carried over to himself.

"..." Luo Xiu thought about these things.

Fortunately, the "Third Cardinal" didn't notice him for too long.

Because then, the "Holy Crowned" Pope of Laurent descended amidst hymns—

……

First came the hymns of the choir, descending from the heavens.

This sacred temple, maintained within a divine realm, is bathed in radiant light from the visible sky.

At the very center of the sacred pillar, higher than all the other thrones—atop which a divine figure slowly materialized, its appearance accompanied by a sacred and ancient prayer, like the tolling of bells—

"My comrades."

"We gather here to listen to the hymns."

"The blasphemy will perish, the light will shine forever, and our faith and righteousness will endure forever."

"..."

——Buzz!!!

A buzzing sound filled the air, and Luo Xiu felt a warmth. The spiritual energy of [Radiance], which was overflowing from the outside in, gradually immersed him and enveloped him.

The arrival of Pope Laurent has elevated the spirituality of this place to an unprecedented level of purity.

A true "demigod"!
The one appearing above the central throne is none other than Pope Laurent himself, the "Holy Crown"!

"..."

Luo Xiu stared at him.

Or rather—it would be more accurate to say that we are looking at Him.

He radiated light, and from where Luo Xiu was, looking at Him, one could not see His face clearly.

But Luo Xiu could sense that the Pope was kind and benevolent. The spiritual energy he exuded was not fiery, but rather warm, making people feel good thoughts rising from the depths of their hearts.

At this moment, all the saints rose from their respective thrones and bowed to Pope Laurent, the "Holy Crown."

The sounds of hymns never ceased. Roth was among those bowing to Pope Laurent, continuing the ceremony three times.

The incredibly clear sound then entered Luo Xiu's ears—

"My comrades, please take your seats."

"We will be here to discuss the coming war and what we should do."

"..."

……

In fact, the content of this temple meeting was not much different from what Luo Xiu had discussed with the Templar Knights of "God Hunting" earlier.

Pope Laurent, the "Holy Crown," provided the saints with more details about the final battle. He also personally assigned tasks to some "Sixfold Fate" saints whose roles were not yet clearly defined.

Luo Xiu simply listened; in this setting, he was indeed better suited to listen—the speakers were mostly Pope Laurent, the cardinals of the "Sevenfold Fate," and the "cardinals."

And Luo Xiu also found out—

Pope Laurent had already assigned functions to Emperor Augustusville.

The main task of the saints of the "Holy Court" is to hold back the ten "Pillars of Darkness" of the Dark Duchy, while Pope Lorend will target "Matriarch of Delusion" Arivia. As soon as Matriarch of Delusion appears, Pope Lorend will take action and kill her before she can make a move.

That was the battlefield of the "demigods".

Meanwhile, the saints accompanying the expeditionary forces of Rosh and Kumar, as well as the Winston expeditionary force, also received specific tasks from Pope Laurent.

At that time, Luo Xiu will face two "Chief Executioners" - one is the "Lord of Destruction" of the [Red Lotus] destiny, and the other is the "Slayer" of the [Bitter Tea] destiny.

That was the chief executioner, already identified, who would lead the Black Army to stop the march of the Pine Plains Expeditionary Force, the Kuma Expeditionary Force, and the Winston Expeditionary Force. According to intelligence, a "Pillar of Darkness" might appear and cause trouble for Luo Xiu's expeditionary legion; Pope Lorend warned the relevant saints to be cautious.

In addition, the Pope specifically stated that cultists from the "Holy Kingdom" had infiltrated the expeditionary force and the Black Army. This could cause chaos, but their motives are currently unknown.

"..."

This concludes the Temple Council meeting.

In Luo Xiu's eyes, the magnificent scene before him, resembling Stonehenge, gradually disappeared amidst a sudden burst of brilliance.

The feeling of weightlessness returned, and the "four-winged angel" that had carried Luo Xiu here reappeared. It took Luo Xiu away from the "temple" and back to the starting point of his audience.

The pure white holy tower—Roshu—has returned to its porch.

Also returning here were the saints who had participated in the meeting.

From the pronouncements of Pope Laurent, the "Holy Crown," the saints had gained much insight. They discussed among themselves and the saints they knew, sharing their plans for the final battle. During these discussions, the saints dispersed and returned to their respective quarters.

Luo Xiu did not see "Holy Bishop of Fire" Levins.

He did not see "Sun Knight" Ariana or "Director" Levilan. Among the "Sixfold Fate" saints he met, there were no familiar faces. So he prepared to leave and return to the garrison of the Songyuan Expeditionary Force.

But before Luo Xiu set off and prepared to leave.

"Rossi Carlos".

A voice came from behind Luo Xiu, calling out to him.

Luo Xiu turned around.

His pupils constricted sharply when he saw who was calling him.

He saw the "Third Cardinal," the "Radiant Holy Cardinal" Evra Flores, standing behind him!
Luo Xiu was unaware of when or how the "Third Cardinal" had appeared behind him. He only saw him stroking his flaming beard, scrutinizing him with a critical gaze.

At the same time, Luo Xiu felt himself being enveloped by a furnace-like, intense spirituality.

After a long pause, Evra Flores, the "Third Cardinal," narrowed his eyes.

"You should be glad I didn't meet you thirty years ago."

"The Third Cardinal," Evra, said:

"Come with me, and answer the call of the Holy Crown."

"His Holiness the Pope wants to see you."

"..."

……

(End of this chapter)