As the nominal Southern Pope, the residence of Grandiva’s Pope’s Palace is located at the site of the former Papal residence of Fran during the Hundred Years’ War.

Ongnevia, taken from the name of the first Pope to station here.

In this old town located downstream of the South Nao’an River, countless small churches with spires and towers jutted out, and the sound of bells rang one after another.

Among the visible grand monasteries and churches, the most striking are the five sacred chapels.

They have massive domes glittering with colorful gems and gold and silver spires, enshrining the relics of six Popes.

Outside of the monasteries and churches, almost all open spaces are occupied by half-timbered houses.

The streets are narrow and winding, the houses tall and crowded, leaning against each other, stretching into the distance.

As for the outskirts, there are about a dozen royal castles built with brick and stone high walls, guards patrolling on top of the walls or stationed in the towers.

Behind the arrow slits and embrasures, pairs of watchful eyes are ready to shoot any approaching strangers.

Because behind the royal castles, there is the royal mint of Falan.

Amusingly, Ongnevia is not only the lodgment of Fran’s Pope but also the minting center of Falan.

In reality, the control over the minting and issuing of the gold pounds is in the hands of the El people in the Imperial Council.

But nominally, the Pope has the minting rights of the gold pounds, so Falan’s royal mint was established here.

At this moment, a sound of urgent hoofbeats came from the west, catching the attention of the soldiers on guard, only to see a great flag fluttering in the wind.

"It’s Pope Grandiva, His Eminence Grandiva is back!"

"Lower the drawbridge, open the gates!"

Grandiva, who had hurriedly returned from Huaqiu City, was wearing the not-too-warm Pope’s Holy Robe, draped with a silk cloak.

With a grave expression, Grandiva swiftly rode across the drawbridge gate.

Upon seeing the Pope return with his escort of cavalry, passersby stopped to greet him.

As for Grandiva, this seemingly only in his early thirties but actually fifty-six-year-old Archbishop.

He consistently displayed a benevolent attitude, reining in his horse to wave to the people.

Yet, whenever he reached a street corner out of sight, his face betrayed a tooth-gritting impatience.

These lowlifes, don’t they see he has matters to attend to?

After a bout of galloping, sweat nearly washing away the black dye on his beard and hair, he finally entered the Pope’s Palace at Ongnevia.

About a dozen monks and priests gathered around, bowing to Grandiva in respect.

Grandiva glanced at them haughtily, saying nothing as he proceeded to the second floor.

Several key priests and advisors hurried after him, reaching his study.

"His Majesty Charles VIII demands we hold a theological debate with the Holy Alliance at Red Leaf Hill, to demonstrate the legitimacy of my papal crown."

"What?"

The advisors and priests were taken aback, Horn’s so-called Pope had never been elected by the Cardinals.

Legally speaking, he’s just calling himself Pope for self-amusement.

In Grandiva’s initial plan, he would simply have Falan’s army pressure Horn into submission.

How did it come to this debate scenario?

"Damn Xie Li, actually clutching the Holy Cabinet as he jumped into the Nalore River in winter. Now the body is found, but the Holy Cabinet’s whereabouts are unknown."

Grandiva slammed the table, causing the inkwell to jump and several drops of ink to spill.

If the Holy Cabinet were still around, he wouldn’t have to go through this trouble; he could simply declare "Coronation!"

"Is this His Majesty’s order?"

"This is a joint order from His Majesty and the Prime Minister," Grandiva looked at his advisors, "So, shall we discuss it?"

Although Grandiva rose to power through political shows, without sufficient theological proficiency, he wouldn’t even have the right to perform.

He was well aware that Imperial theology had long reached a dead end.

Nowadays, such theological debates never yield any definitive answer.

The Empire’s history has gone through multiple periods of decline and chaos, during which countless historical facts and canonical texts were scattered in the turmoil.

Later, for the sake of governance and church self-preservation, scholars and bishops clandestinely wrote fake scriptures under the guise of ancient names.

Some went so far as to alter a few words in the scriptures, resulting in completely opposite meanings.

Coupled with words with different meanings across eras and transcription errors, the existing scriptures now frequently depict the Saint Master in contradiction with himself.

For example, the issue of "freedom rights" in Horn’s theological cornerstone theory of the Holy Path has completely different interpretations in existing scriptures.

At one moment, in "Saint Rania’s Life" it affirms slavery saying "those who willingly become slaves will naturally obtain freedom in the new millennium."

Then in "Saint Yang’s Virtues," it says "You were all once slaves during the empire, hence you cannot sell yourself into slavery."

On such issues, it has always been that everyone has their own reasoning, and the Great Duke Council can hardly resolve any issues.

Like the last Great Duke Council, it was a conference in 1270 aimed at restricting "scriptural doubt" activities.

The primary goal of this conference was for everyone to stop "doubting scripture," as such actions only lead to internal exhaustion without yielding any results.

Prior to the fifth Great Duke Council of 1270, despite the rampant chaos among theological sects, there had always been innovations in thought.

Now within Falan, the fiery rise of the mercantilist school, the emerging agrarian school, and even the mathematical school that led to the Falan ledger revolution, all show remnants of the doubting period.

Unfortunately, a Great Duke Council and a hundred years of war completely ended the struggling upward momentum of the theological community.

As for the originally obscure and stagnant Miseria theological system, it has become even more thick and consolidated.

Theologians with aspirations throughout the ages have not failed to consider breaking through obstacles.

Time cannot be reversed, historical records cannot piece themselves back together, and since doubting scripture has been restricted, the space left to them is only in the embroidery of verses.

Grandiva can assert that through layers of construction by past sages, the high tower of Miseria theology has already been built.

And atop this tower, not even a breath of wind, let alone clouds, can penetrate; it is solid as a fortress.

"If you were to face that Saint’s Grandson directly in a debate, your chances of winning aren’t actually that high..." As the chief aide, Feiert pondered for over a moment before speaking.

This aide’s remark actually spared Grandiva some face.

Grandiva had read Horn’s articles in "Truth Newspaper" and "Pope’s Proverbs."

This farmer from the backwoods, where did he learn such complex and profound theoretical thinking?

Grandiva considers his scholastic philosophy level not low, yet he struggles through Horn’s writings.

After reading, if someone were to ask if he could write something similar?

Grandiva could only smile faintly, then go on to curse why his aides couldn’t help him write such brilliant articles as Horn’s aides did.

"But speaking of pulling him down from theological theory to verse interpretation..."

Upon hearing Feiert’s words, Grandiva smiled, this was his strong suit.

The Holy Alliance has only been established for a few years; in terms of interpreting verse classics, if you consider the knowledge base and manpower, it definitely surpasses the Holy Alliance.

The Holy Alliance nominally has many priests, but many of them are actually officials, almost not involved in academic pursuits.

Citing scriptures, summarizing similar principles, then reinterpreting them into conclusions, and using these conclusions as citations in articles.

This is a meticulous task, and at the level of the Holy Alliance, it can’t be accomplished.

This is not Grandiva underestimating the Holy Alliance; as that Saint’s Grandson would put it, these are objective limitations.

No matter how formidable the Holy Alliance may be, these things require prolonged accumulation and purchasing ancient texts.

After discussing with a few aides, Grandiva ultimately confirmed that this plan was feasible.

Soon, they wrote the petition to His Majesty the King according to Grandiva’s instructions.

After reading the whole petition, Grandiva’s thick eyebrows twitched slightly.

Focused on writing why, what, and how to win, but forgot to write where he would win from.

"...what we need is to find a point of attack on the Holy Path’s thought." Grandiva held his hand behind him, using a quill to tap on his head.

Young aide Priest Asote’s eyes lit up: "What about attacking that Demon Monk Gallar’s Holy Grandson identity, but the Saint Master is a virgin... ah!"

Before he could finish speaking, Feiert stomped on the top of his foot under the table, causing him to cry out in pain instantly.

Wondering what the old leader was doing, Asote then noticed Grandiva’s face black as the bottom of a pot.

Oh, almost forgot, this Holy Father claimed to be an Angel reincarnated, and once demonstrated a miracle of levitating an inch off the ground in public.

In his early rural days, he also became famous by performing magic and feigning madness to utter philosophical sentences.

Theologically speaking, angels are a unity of spirit and flesh, with no reincarnation of the soul.

If one uses this to attack Horn, it’s like slapping his own face; Grandiva would never use it.

After much contemplation, Grandiva suddenly slapped his forehead: "Right, isn’t it right here?"

Picking up the quill pen, Grandiva added the final line of small text to the end of the petition.

"...this is about the misuse of slavery and freedom rights in the Holy Path’s ’scriptural doubt debate’... Hmm, this is right, submit it!"