Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)-Chapter 1053: The Declaration of the New Orthodox Academy

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Tang Thirty-Six came a little late.

He had gone back to the house to get a sword and then detoured through quiet corridors and the sea of bamboo, so by the time he got to the forest, it was already packed with people.

The raspberry bushes were in a terrible state from having been stepped on. On the snow, surrounded by the crowd, was Bishop Mei Chuan's corpse, as well as a few striking bloodstains.

Upon seeing this sight, he very naturally put away the Wenshui Sword and asked a teacher, "What's going on here?"

The teacher had a pale complexion as he said in a shaky voice, "I heard that the education overseer disrespected the Holy Maiden… so…"

Tang Thirty-Six was startled for a moment. He did not know that Xu Yourong had also come to the Orthodox Academy, and he certainly had not expected her to kill Mei Chuan.

He asked, "And the Holy Maiden?"

"She already left." The teacher believed that Tang Thirty-Six did not believe his words, so he hurriedly added, "Prince Chen Liu was also present. He was a witness."

Tang Thirty-Six did not understand why that young prince that he so loathed would come to the Orthodox Academy. Did he have an appointment with Xu Yourong?

He gazed Mei Chuan's body and perked his brows as he said, "So it's like that. Then he really should have died."

Su Moyu's voice came from outside the forest, so the teachers and students hurriedly dispersed.

At some point, Chen Changsheng had also arrived.

He gazed silently at Mei Chuan's corpse for a very long time.

Tang Thirty-Six asked, "When do you plan to go back to the Li Palace?"

The Pope naturally had to return to the Li Palace.

He could not push off this moment forever.

When Chen Changsheng returned to the Li Palace, he would have to directly confront the internal problems within the Orthodoxy.

The death of Bishop Mei Chuan would not make the problems simpler, only make the methods used to resolve them simpler.

From a certain perspective, Xu Yourong had already made the choice for Chen Changsheng.

On the side, Su Moyu said, "The Congregation of Light will be held tonight."

Tang Thirty-Six asked, "What will the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education's response be?"

Su Moyu said, "Ever since Principal Mao entered seclusion, the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education has been managed by three cardinals."

Tang Thirty-Six asked, "All of them from that side?"

Su Moyu affirmed, "Yes."

There was a pause, then Tang Thirty-Six said, "Then we can't pick from them."

Both Chen Changsheng and Su Moyu understood what he meant.

Mao Qiuyu was very close to breaking into the divine. In several dozen days, or perhaps even less time, he might succeed.

According to the Orthodoxy's customs, when that time came, Mao Qiuyu would be formally bestowed a holy name. His status would become even more esteemed, but he could no longer be the Archbishop of the Hall of Illustrious Persons or assume any other official post.

Anyone could understand the reason for this.

The problem now was just who the incredibly important position of Archbishop of the Hall of Illustrious Persons would be given to.

"If we exclude those three extremely senior cardinals, the most qualified to administer the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education is Principal Zhuang."

Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six fell into quiet thought.

The Principal Zhuang mentioned by Su Moyu was the current Principal of the Heavenly Dao Academy, Zhuang Zhihuan.

The Heavenly Dao Academy had a very high status within the Orthodoxy, and Zhuang Zhihuan himself was sufficiently qualified in terms of both cultivation and seniority. Moreover, he had always been highly regarded by Mao Qiuyu.

Although the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education belonged to the conservative faction, Zhuang Zhihuan had maintained an impartial and neutral stance in these last few years, efficiently carrying out the assignments given to him by the Li Palace.

From every angle, he was the best choice to be Mao Qiuyu's successor, and Chen Changsheng also had no objection.

But everyone knew how his son, Zhuang Huanyu, had died.

Tang Thirty-Six wanted to object, but he found himself unable to speak. Zhuang Zhihuan was a good friend of his parents, and when he first arrived at the capital, he had been under his care.

Chen Changsheng brought Xue Yejin with him and left the Orthodox Academy, but Tang Thirty-Six remained to handle the aftermath.

He had someone deliver Mei Chuan's corpse to the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education and then called a meeting of all of the Orthodox Academy's teachers and students.

Su Moyu took out a rather old sheet of paper and passed it to Tang Thirty-Six.

It was a list that had been written out three years ago.

Tang Thirty-Six looked at the names on the paper and complained, "Why is it that when it comes to offending people, the job is always given to me?"

"Because you're skilled in offending people and aren't afraid of offending them." Su Moyu earnestly added, "And you like doing this sort of thing."

Tang Thirty-Six pondered this explanation, then concluded, "Although these words sound like you're trying to piss me off, after carefully thinking about it, they truly do have some basis."

The gathered teachers and students of the Orthodox Academy stood in the stone plaza in front of the academy gate, nervously listening to this conversation.

The Pope had visited the Orthodox Academy and the Holy Maiden had killed the education overseer. Anyone could see that something was happening in the Orthodox Academy today.

Just what did Vice Principal Su and the long-absent superintendent plan to do?

Tang Thirty-Six began to read names off the list.

"Zhang Lintao.

"Huang Zecheng.

"He Shuyu.

"Guo Xin.

"Lu You."

……

……

The teachers and students called out by Tang Thirty-Six began to walk out from the crowd, their faces pale and fraught with anxiety.

Three years ago, in the most dangerous moment of the Orthodox Academy, they had chosen to leave. Afterward, they were given permission by the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education to return.

They did not know what Tang Thirty-Six would do to them.

"Go already; what are you standing around for?"

Tang Thirty-Six suddenly felt rather uninterested, adding, "In the future, don't let me see your faces in the Orthodox Academy again."

The ten-some teachers and students lowered their heads as they walked out of the academy, their faces sullen. Although they were somewhat reluctant, they did not dare express it.

Tang Thirty-Six suddenly remembered something and said, "Teachers, remember to return all the salary that you've been paid tomorrow."

These words caused the legs of those teachers walking toward the academy gate to go soft.

One of the banished students finally couldn't help but speak out in anger, "Then will you also be returning our tuition fees?"

Tang Thirty-Six smiled at the student and said, "If you dare to accept it."

Several of the teachers were scared out of their wits. They hurriedly grabbed the student and dragged him out of the academy, afraid that Tang Thirty-Six would change his mind if they were too slow.

Outside the Orthodox Academy, Hundred Flowers Lane, which was normally already quite lively, was packed with spectators today.

Seeing those dejected teachers and students being banished from the Orthodox Academy, especially two of the younger students, who were weeping nonstop, the crowd could not help but feel a little sympathetic.

Tang Thirty-Six had never left any room for error in his actions, so he could not possibly miss out on this detail. He had long ago sent a smart and eloquent teacher to stand at the academy gate and loudly recount the reason these teachers and students were being expelled, recounting the siege of the Orthodox Academy from three years ago so vividly that the crowd felt like they could see it taking place right before their eyes.

The gazes aimed by the crowd at those teachers and students instantly changed, and some of them even cursed and spat in front of them.

Tang Thirty-Six did not much care how miserable the future lives of these teachers and students would be.

He was extremely aware that neither the five other Ivy Academies nor any of the ordinary academies would dare to take these people in.

He was more concerned over the fact that the current Orthodox Academy was not the Orthodox Academy from three years ago, and it was still not the Orthodox Academy that he and Chen Changsheng wanted to see.

The gates closed, blocking off the cursing and chatting from Hundred Flowers Lane. Drifting snowflakes fell over the abnormally silent campus.

A hundred-some teachers and students stood in the snow, not moving a muscle.

Tang Thirty-Six was rather pleased to see this.

"Several years ago, when His Holiness the Pope walked into Hundred Flowers Lane, this place was very quiet. The name 'Orthodox Academy' was completely covered in ivy, the school was awash in weeds, and broken walls could be spotted wherever one looked. This place was even more peaceful than the outside, the peace of death. The Orthodox Academy of that time was truthfully just a grave."

He gazed at the teachers and students and said, "Later on, Princess Luoluo, Xuanyuan Po, and then I came one after the other, and this place gradually began to come to life. I can say without shame that we and His Holiness the Pope changed all this, let the Orthodox Academy gain a new life."

Su Moyu felt rather emotional as he thought of those stories from back then.

Tang Thirty-Six added, "Since it is a new life, it naturally isn't the old one."

The teachers and students stared at him in a daze, unclear as to what he meant by those words.

"I hope that all of you can understand this point."

Tang Thirty-Six had a calm and firm expression.

"The current Orthodox Academy and the Orthodox Academy from several decades ago… have nothing to do with each other."