Eight more weeks later;
Church of Nuwa, Western Yan;
The church of Nuwa had guests from all over the world, mostly the Bishops and other devotees who had a prominent place in the society. They were all here for the coronation ceremony of the new Supreme Pontiff.
The other three Cardinals were busy spending their time with important guests, especially the nobles and wealthy individuals who fund the church.
Shi En, the favorite candidate for the ascension, was however seen walking in the gardens, with his uncle from Leon Empire who had been staying in this place for the past three months.
The main topic of their discussion was however Mark and the future of Leon Empire.
Some time ago, the previous Supreme Pontiff of the Church of Nuwa had sent a letter of invitation to Mark to attend the coronation ceremony in the hopes of building a relationship with Genesis City.
He wanted to expand the church of Nuwa into Genesis City before the ever-dominating Church of Light managed to get in.
More importantly, Mark also accepted the invitation.
The problem however is the fact that Mark is currently at loggerheads with Emperor Shi.
While the Leon Empire was putting up a barricade to protect half of the forest, Mark's robots and Eol's army focused on clearing out the remaining part.
Prince Shi Chong was naturally against the idea of allying with Mark but Shi En doesn't have any personal opinion on the matter. If anything, this half-elf was slightly in favor of his church's decision. However, his views align more with having a strictly business relationship with Western Yan, unlike the political one that the current Supreme Pontiff is expecting.
"Look nephew, you don't need to follow what your predecessor decided, who by the way is insane to even think about influencing an arrogant heretic like Lu Zhen. You are going to be the new leader of the church. Once you ascend to the position and receive the blessings of Goddess Nuwa, you can take whatever decision you think it is better. And you are going to be immortal anyways. What's there to be worried about?"
Shi En responded with neither a refute nor an acceptance. Instead, he let out a chuckle, "Uncle, you seem like you are afraid to meet Lu Zhen here?"
"Wha..." Prince Shi Chong was taken aback by his nephew's comment and he stammered as he defended himself, "Who... who is afraid of him? If not for his demigod servants, he would have long been dead by now. I heard that those beasts were guarding the forest. Since he knows that he is vulnerable without their protection, he didn't dare to advance further."
Shi En slightly blankly stared at him and commented, "he is also the same as them, just so you know."
After a while, everyone sat down and the Supreme Pontiff addressed everyone by raising his golden staff, "Now, in a few moments, with the blessings of Goddess Nuwa, I will be naming my successor, who shall inherit this staff of immortality as well as the will of the church. Before that, the final two candidates shall have one last opportunity to appeal to the Patrons who arrive today. It is not only important for the Supreme Pontiff to lead the preachers of the church but also very important for him to work with the Patrons to spread the word of our Goddess to different regions. Hence, all the 26 patrons will directly vote for the candidate they would like to see him to lead the church."
The announcement from the Supreme Pontiff did take everyone by surprise as they were expecting this 341-year-old man to directly name his successor. Instead, he involved the guests without informing them in advance in order to select the new Supreme Pontiff.
At the same time, the four cardinals couldn't help but expect their names to be in the final two. Since the leader of the church isn't going to select his favorite anyway and leave the decision to vote, their expectations are raised up.
Mark furrowed his brows in response to the announcement from the old man which he didn't want to be a part of anyway. He just folded his hands and looked at the Supreme Pontiff as he called out two finalists.
The first choice was obvious, it was Shi En. The second one was a much older guy named Yan Chao, who is over 125 years old and is at the intermediate stage of the legendary realm.
As Shi En and Yan Chao stood on either side of the Supreme Pontiff, the latter asked them to make their final speech for the votes.
Yan Chao was quite passionate. He gave a 10-minute-long speech like a politician who wants to appease the masses, which Mark had only seen in his past life.
Shi En, on the other hand, simply mentioned that his accomplishments were known to the Patrons and if elected, he promised to make his predecessors' common wish of making the church of Nuwa surpass the church of Light.
Mark didn't know about others but he was certainly not moved by their words. He sat there in silence as one after another from the back rows stood up and named the person they pledged their support to.
As if fate is putting Mark in an important position to take some decision, by the time it reached Mark, Shi En was winning by 13-12, and so, everyone had their eyes fixed on the chief guest who could make this a tie or make Shi En a winner.
As the Supreme Pontiff asked him and the entire hall was filled with silence, Mark spared a glance at each of them and spoke, "Personally, I wasn't a Patron of your church and certainly won't worship Mother Goddess Nuwa. So, I'm not sure why you even want me to vote in the first place."
The Cardinals and the Bishops and others felt like their heart skipped a beat upon hearing those provoking words. Some of them gave an unpleasant glare at him and he could feel it.
Nevertheless, Mark couldn't care less about their feelings and continued, "But, since I'm the chief guest for this event and you asked for my opinion, I would say this guy is more suitable to lead the church than that fake on the podium." He pointed his finger at his back row, specifically at Shi Chong, and then added, "Right, Shi En? Or should I say, Shi En who is a pure elf?"
"Eh?"
"Huh?"
"What did he just say?"