Chapter 489 - 105: New Testament Exegesis
Atop the Holy City Summit, a steaming hot pot kept the bitter cold and outside turmoil at bay.
Meanwhile, the Holy City below, and indeed the entire Continent, was plunged into unprecedented turmoil by a decision promulgated through a Papal Imperial Decree.
"A ’Tower of Aofa’ is to be established in the Holy City to select the gifted for the systematic study and instruction of the Path of Elemental Perception, Energy Manipulation, and Material Transformation. It shall exist in parallel with and complement the current Holy System, so that we may explore the world’s secrets, uncover latent power, and prepare for future changes."
This decree, issued in the name of Pope Vesta I, spread rapidly through every level of the Holy City’s institutions. Then, through the Church Court’s channels, it began to sweep across the nations of the Continent like a hurricane.
However, the implementation of the decree was far from as simple or smooth as Murphy’s unilateral decision in the Cardinal Hall had been.
On the contrary, the moment the decree began to circulate, it was like a ladle of ice water poured into a pan of scorching oil, instantly triggering a violent, near-uncontrollable explosion.
Outrageous!
Bizarre!
It’s simply... mad!
This was the immediate reaction of nearly all the low- and mid-ranking Clergy of the Church Court, the Temple Knights, and the countless devout faithful who heard the decree.
The Path of the Wizard!
What was that?
That was the Heterodox Evil Magic written of in black and white in the Holy Scripture of Truth! The very thing that generations of Popes and Saints had repeatedly denounced, that had to be suppressed and purged with holy fire and blood!
The source of sin that corrupted souls, instigated disaster, and betrayed Oriane!
The forbidden knowledge that the Church Court had spent a thousand years warring against, for which countless martyrs had shed their blood, only to barely suppress it into the dark corners of the world!
And now, the Pope’s Throne, Oriane’s highest representative in the mortal realm, was actually going to establish some "Tower of Aofa" in the Holy City—the very heart of the faith, the land bathed in Oriane’s light—to openly teach this evil knowledge!
This was no longer a simple matter of policy adjustment or a shift in ideals.
This was an outright subversion and betrayal of the doctrines all Clergy had recited since childhood, of the bedrock of faith held unquestioningly by billions of believers, and of the thousand-year-old holy mandate upon which the Church Court itself was founded!
Panic, fury, confusion, despair... all these emotions spread through the Holy City like a plague.
The tide of doubt, which began as hushed whispers, rapidly swelled into public discussions and heated debates. Signs of small-scale protests and unrest even began to appear among some of the more radical Cultivators and Knights.
The order within the Holy City faced its most severe challenge since the October Revolution.
But Murphy had anticipated all of this.
Murphy had never been naive enough to believe that a mere paper decree and the threat of force could make the thousand-year-old bulwark of faith come crashing down.
「A few days later.」
The Pope’s Office and the Holy Temple Research Institute jointly issued a notice.
To adapt to the development of the new era and to better carry out Oriane’s holy decree to protect all living things and explore truth, the Church Court will begin a phased process of studying and updating the exegesis of the Holy Scripture of Truth.
This is not a tampering of the holy word. Rather, it is a deep reinterpretation of the ancient scripture, consistent with the spirit of the current age, conducted under the spiritual guidance of the First Pope and past sages and combined with modern understanding.
Almost simultaneously, a thick, weighty tome titled *Holy Scripture of Truth: New Testament Exegesis* was rapidly printed and distributed to the Church Court’s main institutions, the Bishop’s Cathedrals in major dioceses, and important Divinity Schools.
On the title page of this *New Testament Exegesis*, the names of two annotators were prominently listed side-by-side: Vesta I and Holy Sword Murphy.
The main body of the book still consisted of the original text of the *Holy Scripture of Truth*. However, copious new annotations, citations, and elaborations had been added to key Chapters, particularly those dealing with topics like "Heresy," the "Outsider Path," and "Unknown Power."
These annotations, written by Elizabeth in the authoritative tone of the Pope, emphasized a core idea:
Oriane bestowed upon humanity both wisdom and a heart for exploration. All knowledge and power that helps one understand the world, benefit living beings, and dispel ignorance—regardless of its outward form—can be seen as a manifestation of Oriane in a different dimension, so long as it is used for a righteous purpose and with good intentions.
Fear of the unknown and its arbitrary rejection are not expressions of piety, but rather a lack of faith in Oriane’s great power to illuminate all things.
Most importantly, in the new annotations, the word "Wizard"—a term laden with historical stigma and forbidden connotations—was replaced by an ancient and solemn one: "Priest."
The annotations cited obscure passages from ancient volumes of the Holy Scripture. Drawing on historical records from an early era, before the Church Court had completely severed ties with various forms of nature worship and elemental faiths, they argued that "Priests" were originally the "Wise Ones" or "Priests" of ancient beliefs who communed with the great powers of Nature and guarded its balance. Their power, in essence, was another form of Oriane—a "spark of wisdom" scattered across the world at its creation.
It was only later, through long ages of history and conflict, that this lineage was gradually lost or became stigmatized.
As for the "Witchcraft" that had been deemed evil heresy, this new interpretation defined it as "the power of a Priest that has been neither correctly understood nor guided."
The true, systematic "Path of the Priest," which aims to serve and protect, was another road to truth and power under Oriane’s light. It did not stand in opposition to the existing Path of the Priesthood. Instead, they were "different streams from the same source," both serving the sacred mission of protecting all living things.
As for the planned "Tower of Aofa," in the newly issued official documents and propaganda, it was given a name more suited to the Church Court’s context and imbued with a more sacred meaning: the "Tower of Revelation."
The name was chosen for its meaning: "soaring into the clouds, pointing toward the Celestial Kingdom, and inspiring wisdom."