Chapter 1521: Chapter 168 Love Declaration_4
The Pope was slightly taken aback and said, "What could be related to his arrogant behavior today?"
Seeing the Pope inquire, Larthas felt secretly pleased. This was the strategy they had set yesterday evening, now finally coming into play. The reason they had sent him forward was because, aside from the Empire of Sunset City, which everyone disdainfully avoided, the Empire of Tian Jing had the closest relationship with the Church, making it easier for the Church to accept if he represented them. Larthas cleared his throat and said, "It’s like this, Ah Dai told me before that more than four years ago, while he was still training on Tian Gang Mountain, he had a bet with the priest Xuan Ye, which was personally set by the Sword Saint of the Tian Gang. The content of the bet was that if Ah Dai defeated Xuan Ye in the competition five years later, Xuan Ye had to agree to his marriage with Miss Xuan Yue. I think you should know about this." This wasn’t something Ah Dai had told him, neither Ah Dai nor Xuan Yue knew about this matter, he had heard it from Xi Wen the night before.
Upon hearing Larthas’s words, Ah Dai was stunned, and so was Xuan Yue; neither of them knew such a matter existed. Xuan Ye’s face sank. With his intelligence, he naturally understood Larthas’s intentions. With Ah Dai disrupting the wedding, the anger in Xuan Ye’s heart was no less than that of Ba Bu Yi, his fists clenched, and his eyes flashed coldly.
Instead of anger, the Pope felt joy in his heart, only now realizing that Larthas wasn’t adding insult to injury but helping Ah Dai. Yes, with that excuse, it became much easier to handle this matter. He thought, Larthas, you must cooperate well! Ensure you pave the way for me, and his eyes showed a hint of approval. He nodded and said, "Indeed, that’s the case; I’ve heard the priest Xuan Ye mention it before."
Larthas, always cunning, read much from the Pope’s expression and felt instantly relieved, smilingly said, "Judging from the bet made back then, the date of competition should be mid-next year. According to the bet, if Ah Dai wins against the priest Xuan Ye then, Xuan Ye must marry his daughter to Ah Dai. However, now the deadline has not arrived, and Miss Xuan Yue is to marry Ba Bu Yi, Judge of Light, which means priest Xuan Ye breached the bet. When priest Xuan Ye went to the Tian Gang Sword Sect back then, he represented the Church, meaning the Church breached the bet; forgive my bluntness, it’s precisely because of this situation where one woman meets two husbands that today’s scenario has arisen. Speaking of which, the Church itself bears some responsibility, don’t you agree, Pope?"
While secretly delighted inside, the Pope furrowed his brow on the surface, turned to Xuan Ye, and said, "Priest Xuan Ye, I need your explanation on this matter."
Cold sweat dripped from Xuan Ye, he bowed forward, keeping his head lowered, and said, "Pope, this indeed was my negligence. Due to recent appearances of the Dark Forces, I forgot about this matter. Please, Pope, punish me."
After hearing Xuan Ye’s words, Ah Dai finally understood that what Larthas said was indeed true. He felt secretly grateful to his mentor, the Sword Saint of the Tian Gang. Upon hearing Xuan Ye’s words, the Pope angrily scolded, "How could you forget such an important matter? Do you realize how much damage this has caused to the Church’s credibility? Take the priest Xuan Ye away, put him in the Divine Prison awaiting punishment." At this moment, the Pope had to harden his heart to punish his son.
"Wait, Pope." It was still Larthas speaking.
The Pope feigned an impatient look and said, "State Preceptor, what else do you have to say?"
Larthas said, "Although priest Xuan Ye made a mistake, today Ah Dai’s mistake was even more outrageous. Even if you punish priest Xuan Ye, it cannot decide to whom Miss Xuan Yue should marry. In my opinion, let’s bring forward the initial bet, have a match between Ah Dai and priest Xuan Ye now. If priest Xuan Ye wins, Miss Xuan Yue will still marry Ba Bu Yi, Holy Judge, and Ah Dai will be left at the Church’s disposal. But if priest Xuan Ye loses, I hope you can cancel today’s wedding and let Miss Xuan Yue marry Ah Dai. Of course, whether she wishes to marry Ah Dai should be decided by Xuan Yue the Red Robe Priest herself. If she still chooses Ba Bu Yi at that time, I don’t think Ah Dai will stop her. What do you think?"
Ah Dai felt wild joy in his heart. He was confident that with his current strength, he could definitely handle Xuan Ye without harming him and defeat him. His gratitude towards Larthas had reached an extreme. Originally, he had come today intending to disrupt the wedding with a heart ready to die, only wanting to fully express his love to Xuan Yue. Even if it meant dying by the hands of the Church officials, he couldn’t let Xuan Yue marry Ba Bu Yi. This unexpected change made him feel as if he were seeing daylight in the dark woods, and excitement rose in his heart.
The Pope was internally thrilled, glancing at Xi Wen in the VIP crowd, thinking that this must have been planned by you all earlier. However, now there’s no choice but to proceed this way. He feigned hesitation for a moment, then said, "Well, we have no choice now. But even if Ah Dai can defeat priest Xuan Ye, I can only cancel this wedding, and he must still face due punishment."
Larthas held back his inner joy, about to speak, when he heard a somewhat shrill voice behind him say, "Wait, Pope, you can’t let this boy off so easily!"
Larthas and the Pope simultaneously felt a surge of anger in their hearts, looking towards the source of the voice, only to see Quan Yi, dressed in a brocade robe, stepping to Larthas’s side. Initially, Quan Yi thought Xuan Yue must be an ugly girl, and Ba Bu Yi was looking to leap to power by marrying her. Especially hearing Mang Siu announce Ba Bu Yi’s promotion to Holy Judge solidified this thought. But when Ah Dai appeared and Xuan Yue showed her true face, Quan Yi’s jaw nearly dropped in astonishment. He had seen beauties before, and in his harem, there were definitely three thousand beautiful women, but never had he seen someone as ethereally refined and filled with sacred aura as Xuan Yue, more outstanding even than the Elf Princess. Jealousy surged within him; he wished he could kill Ba Bu Yi and Ah Dai on the stage and marry Xuan Yue himself. Seeing Larthas trying to help Ah Dai resolve the situation, he spoke out of jealous hatred to quickly intervene.
The Pope looked at Quan Yi’s somewhat bluish-white face from indulgence, felt a wave of disgust in his heart, and said indifferently, "Then what does His Majesty think should be done?"
Quan Yi performed the standard Church bow of a believer meeting a Bishop for the Pope, said, "Although I wield the power of the Empire of Sunset City, I will never forget that it is the grace of the Sky God that granted me today’s achievements. And yet today, this youth named Ah Dai dared to desecrate the Sky God at the incomparably sacred Light Altar. Quan Yi was furious, even wishing to personally execute this desecrator for the Sky God. Even though the Pope is merciful and has reasons presented by State Preceptor Larthas, we cannot let this desecrator off easily. I believe that if we want to lessen his guilt, we must increase the difficulty of the test."
The Pope said coldly, "Then in your view, how should we increase the difficulty?" Although he was extremely irritated by the little sinister man before him, with so many clergy present, he could not show it.
Quan Yi sneered and said, "In my opinion, let the four Red Bishops test Ah Dai simultaneously. If he can fight them to a draw, then he can be forgiven for his desecration of the Sky God."
