Chapter 374: Section 161: Factional Strife
White Wings Port.
A team of Empire spies surrounded the entrance of the Life Sect temple, attracting onlookers.
The new member of the spy team had waited half a day without seeing anyone coming out to greet them, and spoke impatiently and discontentedly, “Boss, are we just going to stand here? I feel like I’m being gawked at like a rare animal.”
The boss did not respond but stood rigid like a flagpole, eyes fixed on the temple’s main door.
The new member suggested, “Why don’t we just barge in?”
The temple door had always been wide open, with no obstacles in the way.
“Shut up, fool,” an experienced member of the spy team finally could not help but rebuke in a low voice, “Who do you think you are? The person inside is a bishop of the Life Sect!”
The new member paused, “But we are spies of the Empire. We are here on a mission to investigate foreign divine beings! Even if he’s a bishop, would he dare to stop us?”
“No,” the experienced member sneered, “The spy agency has significant power, and this mission is extremely important. Not just the bishop—even an Archbishop would fully cooperate. By your method, we would quickly complete our mission. But then what?”
“We would provoke a formidable enemy, and incur the disfavor or even malice of a Golden Bishop.”
“What level is your Bloodline? Is it strong? Can you become a Golden Level being in the future?”
“Even if you completed this mission, would the merit you gain suffice to promote you to a position where you could contend with a Golden Bishop?”
The face of the new member grew increasingly pale, yet he still felt indignant, “If I had a Golden Level descent, why would I have joined forces with these extreme spies? But if we are afraid of offending the Golden Bishop, what about the mission? We can’t complete it, and those above us won’t spare us!”
“That’s why we are blocking the entrance, fool,” the experienced member explained.
The new member was startled when finally, the spy chief spoke indifferently, “Don’t worry, they will come out to welcome us in.”
Just as he said that, a nun nanny walked out, her face full of disgust and impatience, “Come in quickly, the bishop has agreed to see you. Don’t just stand at the entrance of the great hall, what do you look like!”
The new member breathed a sigh of relief, following the others into the temple under the lead of the spy chief.
The Life Temple was majestic, entirely constructed from dark jade, exuding dignity but also a secretive vitality.
Both the exterior and interior of the temple were lush with trees and filled with bird songs and floral scents. Walking among them, one could feel a mood of joy.
When they arrived at the reception room, a priest guarding the door stopped almost everyone from the spy team, “Gentlemen of the spy, the bishop will only meet one person.”
Thus, only the spy chief truly entered the reception room.
The reception room was located in the greenhouse inside the temple.
It was surrounded by large floor-to-ceiling glass, allowing a clear view of the lush green vegetation, vibrant flowers, colorful parrots, golden monkeys, and more.
The reception room featured a sofa and a milky-white coffee table, which was empty.
Bishop Hao Fu stood in front of the window, gazing out at the view, with his back to the spy chief.
When he heard the spy chief approaching, he slowly turned around.
The spy chief immediately took the initiative to salute, greeted Bishop Hao Fu, and stated their purpose, “Honored Bishop, you must already be aware of our intent.”
Bishop Hao Fu nodded, “I have already spoken about the matter concerning the Justice Pirate Group, haven’t I?”
The spy chief nodded, “Indeed, but there are still many doubts. For instance, Bishop, you had once covertly funded this pirate group. The reason you gave at the time was in return for a life-saving grace.”
“However, according to a confirmation from the Divination Master afterwards, this reason was invalid.”
“You had previously performed a Resurrection Technique, having already resurrected members of the Justice Pirate Group who died in battle. The debt of saving a life should have been repaid.”
Bishop Hao Fu scoffed, “Divination Master? You should know that their predictions can fail every now and then.”
The spy chief nodded again, smiling, his attitude had been quite positive since entering the temple, “Indeed, Bishop, you are absolutely right.”
“However, I came back to reassess mainly because of an order from Navy Marshal Yan Tan himself.”
“His thoughts are not for us to guess, but he must have his reasons for doing so.”
Bishop Hao Fu pondered silently.
The reception room sank into silence.
After a long while, the chief spoke again, “Honored Bishop, please forgive my audacity. To you, we pose no threat. Look, I am merely a silver.”
“But what about the future where you kept the secret?”
“Because this matter concerns foreign divine beings, our small spy team might be easily dismissed by you, but if it draws in people from the Blood Light Sanction Court, it would be troublesome for you too, wouldn’t it?”
“Blood Light Sanction Court…” Hao Fu Bishop furrowed his brows, then gave a bitter smile, “It’s more than just trouble, I definitely don’t want to provoke that bunch of crazies. You are a competent spy, aren’t bothered that I left you hanging at the entrance of the great hall for so long, are you?”
The spy chief smiled softly and bowed again, “Bishop, you must maintain the dignity of the Life Sect. On this point, it’s rather my honor.”
Hao Fu Bishop sighed, gestured with his hand for the spy chief to sit down.
The spy chief remained standing until the bishop sat down, then he finally took a seat on the sofa, adopting a posture of attentive listening.
Hao Fu Bishop thought for a moment, then spoke, “The real reason I sponsored that pirate group is actually quite simple. I possess a Divine Art that allows me to discern Bloodline Grades, and through my interaction, I found that Captain Long Fu has a Legendary Level Flame Dragon Bloodline. Not only that, one of the half-giants on their ship possesses a Divine Bloodline like that of an Earth Giant.”
“I tried to recruit them, but Captain Long Fu rejected me. Now it seems that I may have been deceived. After all, Charming Blue Divine Sect is best at deception and disguise.”
A look of realization immediately appeared on the spy chief’s face, “So that’s the reason. Your Excellency, your conjecture is likely true. How could Divine Bloodlines appear so easily? According to our analysis, the Justice Pirate Group is a pawn pushed forward by the Charming Blue Divine Sect, with the purpose of infiltrating the Empire from various channels, spying on imperial intelligence, and preparing for the resurgence of Charming Blue Divine Sect.”
Hao Fu Bishop was noncommittal, “Perhaps that’s the case. I’ve given my answer, now what about the answer I want?”
The spy chief’s expression turned stern, and he took out a scroll from the inner pocket of his clothing, respectfully placing it on the coffee table.
Not long after, the door of the reception room was opened, and the spy chief walked out.
“Let’s go.” He led the spy team and walked out of the Life Temple.
While discussing what they had learned on the way, a new member was very surprised: “Just like that? Did Hao Fu Bishop just give us that answer?”
The new member couldn’t help but question the chief’s decision-making, thinking, “How did this person become the chief, he’s too easily fooled. It feels like we’ve made a pointless trip!”
But the spy chief said, “This is already enough for us to report back.”
He had a feeling that this was indeed the right answer.
The Divination Master would confirm this answer further.
He had another reason for trusting Hao Fu Bishop.
That was the internal factional struggles of the Navy!
The spy chief knew a lot: when the selection for Navy Marshal was initially held, there were four competitors: Yan Tan, Bi Tong, Fang Gong, and Yi Gui.
The struggle for the position of marshal among the empire’s major powers was fierce. To everyone’s surprise, Yan Tan was selected in the end.
Yan Tan, who came from a commoner background and lacked a strong foundation, won the position, and the other competitors all became Navy Admirals. Yan Tan had always had trouble controlling them.
Thus, the three Admirals and Yan Tan became the four main factions within the Navy.
Among the military forces of the Empire, the Navy is the newest. Each of the four factions has complicated and entangled relations with the upper echelons of the Empire.
After being controlled by the Navy Commander, the spy chief was recruited by the Yan Tan faction.
It seemed that Hao Fu Bishop had no connection with the Navy, but that’s not the case.
Hao Fu Bishop is a Divine Officer of the Life Sect, and his support comes from the Duke of Can Xue from the Holy Bright Empire, who not only leads the Min Sen Family but is also a revered deity, worshiped by the Life Sect.
Within the subsidiary nobles of the Min Sen Family, there is a family called the Fangdong Family. The leader of this family, Fang Gong, is one of the three Admirals.
Previously, Hao Fu Bishop secretly boarded a ship, attempting to head to the Wilderness Continent, and ended up being ambushed, which revealed his whereabouts and nearly led to his capture by the Gold and Silver brothers.
This time, the spy chief was ordered by Marshal Yan Tan to inquire about information on the Justice Pirate Group, which in reality, was the initial cooperation between the Yan Tan faction and the Fang Gong faction.
“In that experiment organized by the Life Sect back then, many lives were sacrificed, but indeed, many strong individuals, including Marshal Yan Tan, were selected.”
“Maybe it’s because of such past connections that there’s now secret cooperation between these two major factions.”
“Ah, outsiders can only see the waves on the sea surface, the real complexities lie in the undercurrents deep within the sea.”
The spy chief had many reflections, but he didn’t voice them.
He glanced at the new member in the team.
This guy, thinking too highly of himself, believed that his bloodline and level would one day reach heights similar to his, thus carrying an improper attitude. Not humbly seeking advice from his seniors, such a person…there’s no need to enlighten him. Let him bear the consequences for any future mistakes.
As the spy team left, in the reception room of the Life Temple,
Thump.
A priest’s knees buckled, and he collapsed directly onto the floor.
His hands loosened, and the scroll he was holding rolled down onto the floor, finally coming to a stop at the feet of Hao Fu Bishop.
This scroll, given by the spy chief, clearly recorded how the priest on the floor had leaked information and betrayed Hao Fu Bishop’s whereabouts.