Within the "Five-Person Council" of the Holy Eagle Nest Association, there exists at least one high-ranking official from the Bright Church, a fact that Tang Qi didn't need to speculate to know.

After all, during the establishment of the Divine Eagle Federation, the Bright Church was not only deeply involved but also provided tremendous support. In fact, the so-called "Twelve Saints" was a title first circulated by the Church, which later even received the Church's endorsement.

However, some Saints did not covet the Church's recognition, such as Saint Confessor Martin Sims.

Back then, the Church tolerated Sims's numerous provocations due to his merits and his philosophy of "if it's not devout, it's heretical," which garnered a large following.

The Church believed that their concession allowed a considerable number of strong followers under the Holy Confessor to enter the Church and become a force at their command. Among them, the most important was the Confessor's first disciple, the Thorny Sword Saint York Sims.

"From the current outcome, perhaps the allegiance of the Thorny Sword Saint and others back then was a conspiracy?"

Tang Qi's brow wrinkled slightly as he sat at the very bottom of the Colosseum-like circular structure, still able to clearly sense the rage and murderous intent emanating from the clearly Bright Church "Chairman."

Obviously, the Church had also begun to realize that these might have been the layout of the Holy Confessor back in the day.

"Devious! Shameless!"

Thoughts like these probably filled the minds of the Church's higher-ups.

Yet, Tang Qi had another idea. Upon serious consideration, he had already come into contact with the Holy Confessor on several occasions.

"Such a long-term scheme, spanning through 'Hundred-Year Spirit Barrier' that allowed the Mysterious Side to go into complete Concealment, could not possibly be a solo plot by Martin Sims. It's likely that the Saint Prophet Pileus is the main planner."

"With York Sims's defection, other powerful individuals associated with the Holy Confessor are likely in trouble too. Before, the Church only suspected the exposé by the Second Rotten Head and thus surveilled the Thorny Sword Saint and others. But with his voluntary defection, it's as if he directly confirmed the truth of that secret. Wouldn't that cause trouble for the other powerful individuals?"

"Hm? Wait a moment?"

As soon as these thoughts flickered across Tang Qi's mind, corresponding information emerged in his brain.

"It's likely that most of the powerful individuals who followed Martin Sims have long since died, with only the likes of the Thorny Sword Saint, The Last Preacher, the Blind Monk—including strong individuals—surviving over two hundred years, resisting the Spirit Barrier to live on."

"Now that the Thorny Sword Saint has officially defected, the Church will take action against 'preachers' and others, but the trouble is, Evangelist Kenneth Graham is not only a follower of Martin Sims, but also a devout believer of the Order Goddess, and the Blind Monk Jamal, having been taught by Sims, is a believer of the Savior's Son..."

As similar information kept surfacing.

An odd expression appeared on Tang Qi's face, as if he could already see the helplessness and frustration of the Bright Church at this moment.

York Sims, was undoubtedly a staunch follower of the Holy Confessor.

Removing him meant that the other "Legendary Level" and even "Demigod Level" ancient powerhouses, to varying degrees associated with Martin Sims, mostly worshipped not the Lord of Thorns, but other Divine entities of the Light Camp.

In other words, with the Thorny Sword Saint's defection, the Church not only could not perform a great purge of the remaining strong individuals but was instead forced to divert a significant amount of their power to intensify surveillance over these powers.

Clearly, this kind of "poisonous plot" was very likely from Saint Prophet Pileus.

Although these thoughts seemed complex, they flashed through Tang Qi's mind in an instant. As the murderous proposal of the "Rotating Chairman" was put forward, almost immediately thereafter, voices of agreement came.

"Agreed!"

"York Sims is guilty."

"He deserves to die."

"He is guilty of drawing his sword against his comrades."

...

Clearly coming from members of the Bright Church or those with high affiliation, echoing the sentiment in unison.

But the momentum was not as strong as anticipated.

Members of the Holy Eagle Nest Association associated with the Church did not make up a high proportion of the total membership.

From several levels above his seating position, a calm echoing voice came from the seat of a High-level Deacon, distinct from other members in tone; it was probably from the regional Archbishop John Wesley of the Secret Phoenix Branch.

The Rotating Chairman seemed somewhat dissatisfied with the echoing momentum, and the holy yet terrifying light on his misty figure seemed about to overflow.

"Then I call for a full member vote, one person one vote, including the Five-Person Council."

"Wait!"

His words were abruptly interrupted by a tall figure next to him.

This "Chairman" appeared to have an extraordinary height, sitting there majestically, with an aura as majestic and tenacious as a mountain, seemingly completely indifferent to the Rotating Chairman's rage as he interrupted the voting proposal.

"Before we vote, take a look at this."

With those words, he waved his hand and a glow immediately flew to the center of the circular building. In the darkness, it was as if a "live" scene began to unfold.

The screen was not only equipped with sound but also very clear from every angle.

And the content was precisely what the "Rotating Chairman" had glossed over earlier: the scene where York Sims entered the "Mysterious" and disrupted the Church's encirclement of the Second Rotten Head.

Most members saw the Thorny Sword Saint's style of combat for the first time.

Indeed, as Rotating Chairman said, he suddenly appeared, interrupting the Church's encirclement of the Second Rotten Head. The most eye-catching part, besides the Thorny Sword Saint unleashing surprisingly powerful combat strength, succeeding in defeating Holy Judgment Knight Lancelot, was also the "change" on the Second Rotten Head.

"Ludwig," who should have died completely after being devoured, took back his body after his head was cut off by Lancelot.

But this Ludwig was acting very strangely.

The aura he released was sometimes his own, and at other times it was grand and powerful, with the Confession Light surging tremendously.

In that ghostly light, the final scene unfolded.

It was Ludwig clutching his head, his facial features twisted in torment, as if he was caught in some soul-splitting State. He looked up and let out an agonizing Roar:

"Who am I, after all?"

Immediately, a horrific glow burst forth, and when everything returned to silence, Ludwig, the Second Rotten Head, and the Thorny Sword Saint had all vanished without a trace.

"Martin Sims's Rebirth isn't fully complete yet?"

"He still has the coordinates of the Land of Divine Fall hidden within him. Would capturing him before he recovers his 'self' not be possible?"

For a moment, this thought sprang up in the minds of nearly all members.

Except for Tang Qi.

His lively, adorable squirrel-like eyes blinked, seemingly enlightened.

As one who understood the "True" secret, Tang Qi was certain that Ludwig was indeed Ludwig, with no such thing as a "reincarnation of the Holy Confessor."

But the scene just now was unimaginably persuasive.

"So, the events that are likely to follow involve Ludwig, who is Parasitized by the Second Rotten Head, facing continued persecution by a large number of Mysterious Organizations, including the Bright Church. However, the Order and Chaos Camp will surely undermine each other, while the Rotten Head will assist the 'Second' leader."

"There will constantly emerge strong individuals like York Sims, interrupting the encirclement by all organizations... In order to save Martin Sims, who has not fully been reborn, even the powers of the 'Saints' may appear."

"This means, for a long period into the Future, the focus of all major organizations on the Mysterious Side will be projected onto the mysterious battlefield within."

"This scheme, this script... utterly shameless!"

Tang Qi was originally very worried whether Martin Sims would be able to bring back the Lord of Thorns to his Divine Position before the Lord of Light's Awakening.

Now, Tang Qi felt a glimmer of hope.

So far, he had not done anything yet, but the plans left by Sims and Piers had already played the mighty Bright Church like a fiddle.

"So, could I possibly win lying down?"

Just as this thought emerged in Tang Qi's heart, he immediately dismissed it.

"The Bright Church may be manipulated for a while, due to Time and an information gap, but with the approach of the Light Festival, the situation is likely to undergo a dramatic reversal, even potentially collapsing overnight."

A chill ran through him, regaining his composure.

Above, the voice of the Chairman who had released the recording continued to ring out.

"Now, the collective decision can be made."

"My choice is... I refuse!"

"Boom!"

Like a giant stone smashing into a tranquil lake.

As this signal appeared, a truly loud chorus of echoes followed.

Then, from the Chairman presumably from the "official" Church, voice after voice echoed.

"I refuse!"

"I also refuse!"

"This is an internal affair of the Church, unrelated to the Holy Eagle Nest Society, I refuse."

"York Sims is a Federation Hero. Whether he is guilty or not should be judged by the Federation Court. The Church has no right to carry out vigilante Justice on him; therefore, I refuse."

With those voices rising, two differently colored pillars of light, each with different growth rates, appeared at the center of the circular building.

Tang Qi looked interestedly at this "voting method"; the white pillar represented agreement to the proposal, while the red pillar signified refusal.

Initially, the two were at a stalemate, but after a few seconds, the rise of the red far surpassed the white.

Seeing that the outcome was already decided, Tang Qi made no further moves and chose to abstain.

"I refuse!"

The last very powerful voice came from a "newbie," like Tang Qi, sitting at the bottom level of the circular building.

As his voice fell, the results of the vote, glaringly obvious, were displayed before everyone, with the white pillar nearly drowned in blood-like red light.

Should they collectively pursue and kill the Thorny Sword Saint?

The answer: Refuse to pursue.

Above everyone's heads, the Rotating Chairman remained silent, as did the other four Chairmen, with no further action.

Just as the atmosphere was verging on terrifying.

The Rotating Chairman's voice, icy cold and unabashedly murderous, suppressed all thunder and lightning, echoing throughout the entire circular building.

"Meeting adjourned!"

…

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