Full-time Creation Master

This is the biggest concession Simmons can make; any more and he would have crossed his bottom line.

Born into a prominent family, rooted in the Holy City system, and born in a Western European country, he was filled with arrogance and prejudice.

How could you make him accept a "lowly yellow-skinned monkey" as an archangel?

For him, it was an utter disgrace.

This is a blasphemy against the faith of the Holy City!

However, Chu Ming's many actions repeatedly proved that the angels were protecting him, and that sacred aura could not be faked.

He had no room for doubt about this, even though he resisted it with all his heart.

What devastated him even more, yet he had to admit it, was that there was a precedent in the history of the Holy City where the Ink Clan had become Archangels, a fact he could not erase.

Among the first archangels, there were members of the Ink Clan;

More than a hundred years ago, there was an archangel of the Ink race who had not yet returned, who left traces in the world.

Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. were able to escape their predicament and truly gain a foothold and grow stronger thanks to the secret support of that Ink Archangel.

Fortunately, that member of the Ink Clan ultimately failed the Holy City's ultimate test, thus failing to truly seize power and also failing to tarnish the Holy City's purity and sanctity.

"If the holy soul of an archangel were to fall upon one of the yellow-skinned monkeys' own kind, even if it were a woman, or a slave who knew how to flatter and fawn..."

Simmons was struggling internally. The evil thought had just surfaced when he suddenly realized it and his whole body tensed up.

"No! Oh no!"

"Saint Shadow Simmons! Are you betraying the faith of the angels?!"

He silently berated himself, a fine layer of cold sweat beading on his forehead.

His hands clenched involuntarily, his knuckles turned white, and his whole body trembled slightly from the struggle of his faith.

"I deserve to die, I'm guilty!"

There's a saying that goes: those who shout slogans are often the ones who believe the least in their own slogans.

In other factions, forbidden spellcasters are mostly just the ones shouting slogans; faith is more like a tool to them.

But the Holy City is completely different. Here, the hierarchy of faith is extremely strict, and no blasphemy or perfunctory behavior is allowed.

Angelic faith and the "oracle" of Heaven form the first layer, an unshakeable foundation;

The will of the returning archangel is the second level, transcending all living beings.

The archangels who have not returned are recognized as "crown princes," belonging to the third level;

And he, a core forbidden spell Saint Shadow Master

It's merely the fourth level of obeying orders and practicing faith; they don't even qualify as having the right to shout slogans on their own.

This is precisely why Simmons's faith in angels is more sincere and pure than that of other forbidden spellcasters, and he is also more unable to bear the conflict between faith and reality.

Andy McDowell, standing to the side, was in stark contrast to Simmons, who was visibly tense.

His face showed no sign of distress, but rather a nonchalant calmness.

He even leaned slightly against the void, his fingertips playing with a wisp of golden flame.

When he looked in the direction of Chu Ming's camp, the friendliness and openness in his eyes were not a deliberate pretense, and there was not the slightest wavering.

This friendliness towards Chu Ming's forces is not a one-off act, but a consistent stance.

Compared to Simmons's suffering caused by his faith, Andy lived with extreme clarity from the beginning, without any hesitation or struggle.

No one knows whether his initial acceptance of Chu Ming as the "Archangel who has not returned to the Holy City" was a deliberate attempt to curry favor after sensing an opportunity, or a natural response after noticing signs of angelic protection.

Perhaps both.

But none of that matters anymore—from the moment he publicly stood up for Chu Ming and reached a tacit understanding with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Chinese forces, there was no going back.

Now, he has long been firmly labeled as part of the "Chu Ming faction".

The world created by Bingxue Xuehua can be found in "Full-Time Creation Master".

This label is ingrained in his very being, and is inextricably linked to his power, connections, and even his life.

Once you embark on this path, it's a one-way street with no turning back.

Denying Chu Ming?

To back down and compromise?

That would undoubtedly be courting death, and would only lead to utter ruin!

Therefore, Chu Ming must be the archangel who has not yet returned to the Holy City!

This is an undeniable fact, and it is the foundation of his livelihood.

Fortunately, Chu Ming was quite understanding and cooperative, unlike those clueless and foolish protagonists in storybooks.

Despite having a heaven-sent opportunity and the advantages of her status, she insists on being pretentious and making excuses, feigning superiority.

His first words were always "I didn't" and "I don't want to lie."

By forcefully pushing away the help that was within their grasp, they not only dragged those around them into a dilemma, but also created unnecessary trouble.

Chu Ming would never do something so foolish as to destroy his own foundation; instead, he would go with the flow.

Actively and vigorously promote the power of light—whether it is the sacred solemnity when purifying evil spirits, or the gentle and powerful protection of one's own forces in secret, every move he makes exudes the aura and demeanor that an archangel should have. Every gesture is in line with his identity setting, and there is not a single flaw to be found.

Faced with the Holy City's probing, observation, and subtle pressure, he always maintained a proper balance, remaining neither arrogant nor servile.

They would not deliberately curry favor with the Holy City's leadership in order to curry favor, thus losing their own principles;

They will not be arrogant or disrespectful because of their special status, nor will they offend the foundation of the Holy City's faith.

This clarity and composure provided Andy with the most solid support for his plan.

Of course, the future is always full of variables. The most crucial thing is that the Holy City's attitude towards Chu Ming is always shrouded in a fog, vague, ambiguous and unpredictable.

The returning archangels had already split into several factions, each with differing opinions and irreconcilable differences.

Conservatives adhere to tradition and oppose Chu Ming, as a person of Asian descent, taking the position of Archangel.

The wait-and-see faction values ​​the signs of the angels protecting Chu Ming and is unwilling to easily take sides;

A minority group, more concerned with the interests of the Holy City, remained open to the question of Chu Ming's identity.

There has never been any explicit instruction to support or deny it.

At the lower and middle levels, the situation is even more complicated by the involvement of multiple forces.

Andy used his network of connections in San Antonio to maneuver openly, while S.H.I.E.L.D. used intelligence and resources to create momentum covertly.

The Zu and Zhao families of the Dragon Kingdom spared no effort.

They not only mobilized internal forces to infiltrate the Holy City system, but also won over a group of neutral lower- and middle-level deacons and mages through the binding of interests.

Influenced by these forces, the attitude of the lower levels of the Holy City system towards whether Chu Ming was an archangel became completely ambiguous, and no one was willing to easily reveal their stance.

Some people felt awe and fear of the angel's protection of Chu Ming;

Some people are watching coldly, waiting for the higher-ups to clarify the direction of the policy;

Some people were also swayed by self-interest and took the opportunity to side with Chu Ming.

But everyone tacitly reached a consensus—if they actually met Chu Ming in real life, no one would dare to openly oppose him or utter the slightest disrespect.

Even those who harbor resentment will only grumble in private and would never dare to voice it openly.

After all, such behavior is truly a righteous way to die.

Offending him would at best result in being purged by Chu Ming's backers, and at worst, it would anger the will of the angels.

In the end, they will only suffer utter disgrace and destruction, and no one dares to risk their future and life.

The appearance of Andy and Simmons made the already complex standoff even more unpredictable, with various forces checking and balancing each other.

Ray, the chief of the Temple of Freedom high in the sky, and Qin Ye and others on the ground all turned their gazes toward the two of them simultaneously.

His aura tightened again, a mixture of killing intent and vigilance.