Only God

"May you also be blessed."

After they had exchanged blessings, Veldor inquired about the topic for this session of the Great Council.

"Is it about the Path of Creation again? What specifically are they going to discuss?"

The local bishop responded without hesitation:

"You are correct; we are going to discuss His Grace under the auspices of the Lord. I've heard rumors that the Great Shepherd intends to establish institutions for teaching the Path of Creation, similar to the Divine College, but with a greater emphasis on the Path of Creation.

And this time, the Emperor will be in attendance throughout."

Upon hearing this, Veldor exclaimed:

"The Emperor will be in attendance throughout? That's quite extraordinary!"

Governing the largest empire in the world, the Emperor of the Danschel Empire, possessed immense authority in secular affairs and consequently had many times more state affairs to manage than other nations. Diligent rulers often tended to their duties day in and day out without much leisure; hence, whenever the Great Council convened, the Emperor would typically only attend the first three days and the last three days. The rest of the time, only the Emperor's representatives would be present.

The Emperor attending the entire duration of the Great Council was very rare.

"Blessed by the Lord, I suspect that the Emperor probably wants to use this educational institution spoken of by the Great Shepherd to cultivate a new class of Nobles."

The local bishop whispered:

"It's said that the educational institution will be governed jointly by the Emperor and the Great Shepherd. I estimate that those who graduate from this institution will be entrusted with significant responsibilities by the Emperor, or perhaps even be directly granted land and elevated to the Nobility, and possibly awarded seats in the Council of Elders."

Having been to Danschel once before, Veldor had a certain understanding of the Empire's politics. Upon hearing the local bishop's words, he sighed repeatedly.

However, after sighing, it was just that. It was only sighs.

Veldor had aged, and no matter how the world might change, it was no longer his place to witness it.

Not long after, Veldor arrived at the capital of Danschel, where he and a group of bishops were received by the Great Shepherd of Danschel and had the honor to kiss the back of his hand.

After seeing the Great Shepherd, Veldor stayed at the Grand Cathedral in the capital.

Late at night, when all was quiet, there came a knocking at the door.

"Who is it?"

Veldor asked through the door.

"It's me, Bade."

The Great Shepherd of Lorondo, Bade? What is he doing visiting me in private?

Veldor was puzzled.

The Church doesn't have just one Great Shepherd; in fact, in every major important city in the world of the True Religion, the Church has its respective Great Shepherds. Great Shepherds are the highest religious leaders in their surrounding areas, and they are of equal rank to one another without any hierarchical differences.

And the Great Shepherd of Lorondo was Bade.

Veldor opened the door to see Bade quickly giving a blessing before entering without further ado.

"May you be blessed, may the Lord bless you, and for the sake of God, I hope you vote against this issue,"

Bade whispered hurriedly.

"What issue?"

Veldor was confused.

"This one, this one about raising the position of the Danschel Great Shepherd."

Bade held a piece of paper in his hand, pointing out a particular section for Veldor to see.

"The Pastor of Danschel should be granted a status and honor similar to that of a Prophet Disciple, for the Empire is the greatest defender of the True Religion..."

After a quick glance, Veldor opened his mouth in surprise.

In this rather lengthy item, only the status of the Pastor of Danschel was mentioned to be enhanced, not that of other pastors, which meant that, should the item pass, the Pastor of Danschel would enjoy a supremely exalted status far above that of other pastors.

"Did you understand? For God's sake, this must not pass..."

After finishing, Bade bid Veldor farewell and turned to leave, evidently having many people to seek out tonight.

Veldor slowly sat back down on the bed, clenching his fists but then, upon reflection, slowly unclenched them.

"I guess I'll just cast an abstention."

The old dwarf muttered to himself.

He felt his days were numbered and had no interest in being embroiled in excessive disputes. Slaier's words still lingered in his mind; life was short and not worth sacrificing for grand causes.

Veldor's thoughts were simple: he was just an ordinary person who had witnessed miracles and should live, age, and die as such.

As for whether what he was doing now was right or wrong, who could really say?

Many meetings tend to be dull and tedious, and the Great Council, sacred and dignified in the eyes of ordinary believers, was no exception.

There was a large attendance at the Great Council; almost two thousand people, gathering almost all the notable figures of the contemporary world of the True Religion. The two Emperors and two Queens of the Empire arrived one after another at the venue, following the Pastor of Danschel's lead in singing hymns. One emperor wore a purple robe and the other a red, using color to distinguish their statuses, while the purple robe undoubtedly belonged to the supreme ruler of the Empire—Constantine VI.

Veldor looked up from below at this secular ruler, so resplendently lavish, like a glistening, serpentine dragon under the sun.

Following various ceremonies, the Great Council officially commenced, and the agenda on the first day often pertained to the determination of heresy.

Ever since the era of the Second Prophet Book and Xilan, the Great Council had existed to seek consensus. Accordingly, thoughts contrary to this consensus were condemned as heretical or heretical ideas. First, they would be ordered to repent; if they remained obstinate, the ultimate penalty would be issued.

Cases involving the determination of heretical or heretical ideas often involved misrepresentations or solid evidence; historically, heretical or heretical ideas causing great disasters were not uncommon, making such determinations necessary.

The topics concerning the determination of heretical or heretical ideas are rather strict, requiring two-thirds of the total vote to pass and take effect, hence in reality, while many may be suspected of heresy or heretical ideas, only a few are actually condemned.

Today at the Great Council, Veldor realized that there were dozens of items related to the determination of heretical or heretical ideas, so many that it was almost impossible to handle them all.

"What's happening?"

Veldor quickly asked a priest next to him. Being a dwarf from Kaelonde, far from the center of the True Religion world, he was unclear about many situations.

"It's because of God's new grace—'Path.'

The new grace, like a massive stone thrown into a calm lake, has generated far too many thoughts surrounding 'Path.' "

The Bishop explained to Veldor.

The reason there were so many determination items concerning heretical or heretical ideas was essentially due to the arrival of God's 'Path.' Diverse views concerning it led to various thoughts; the more thoughts, the more heretical or heretical ideas would arise.

The original Church, like tightly meshed gears, had remained almost static for a thousand years; God's 'Path,' like a frightening lubricant, forced it into rapid motion.

For a while, the Great Council was filled with fervent debates; Veldor watched priests standing up and sitting down, hearing voices come from the east and go to the west. Now aging, he felt dizzy and held his forehead, reciting a few scriptures to calm himself.

The noise of this Great Council was much greater than that of meetings decades ago when everyone was genteel and polite; now, faces were flushed with agitation.

Suddenly, he heard a phrase from a priest defending suspected heretical or heretical ideas,

"I have heard a prophecy that the world will eventually face the apocalypse, and God shall return. He shall be the redeemer for all, and He shall have His Savior."

The voice was loud, as if to suppress all dissenters present, and profoundly solemn, brooking no questioning.