At this moment, seeing Marshal Gu with that smiling appearance, Liang Jintian, to be honest, had an urge to directly punch him.

But, he showed a smile on his face and cordially shook hands with Marshal Gu, exchanging pleasantries without showing any hint of annoyance.

As for Marshal Gu, he too was saying some polite phrases like "it's an honor to have you here" and "your presence elevates this humble abode."

The two of them performed this insincere act, neither showing their inner disdain and dislike for each other.

"It seems the relationship between the Alliance and the Church Court isn't as antagonistic as the rumors say..."

"Yeah, they're both high-ranking officials, don't they seem to be getting along quite well?"

Some young people couldn't help but mutter, as in recent years, with the rise of the Holy Flame Sect, there have been more and more claims of discord between the Church Court and the Alliance.

But now, where's the sign of any discord?

The way they're talking and laughing makes you wonder if they're secretly shoulder-to-shoulder in private.

But such comments were immediately met with sneers from many others.

"Fools! The former Archbishop Qin Lu was removed because of his arrogance, so how could his successor Liang Jintian repeat the same mistake?"

"Exactly! If the Southern Church Court were still in Qin Lu's era, there probably wouldn't even be a Junior Priest attending tonight, yet Liang Jintian himself is here now."

"Gotta say, Qin Lu, who wore everything on his face, was easier to deal with, wasn't he?"

"I agree, this Liang Jintian is quite tricky."

"By the way, isn't Liang Jintian the brother of the Holy Flame Sect's leader Liang Houyun?"

"Yes, Liang Jintian is the older brother, four or five years older than Liang Houyun..."

"Looks like this will be interesting."

Many people on the scene lowered their voices; clearly, from the perspective of these Alliance supporters, Liang Jintian's rise to power brought quite a lot of pressure.

In any case, over the past year, under Liang Jintian's maneuvering, the situation of the Church Court in various Southern settlements has indeed gradually stabilized.

But there's a reason for that too...

Qin Lu's removal was publicly attributed to his retirement due to age, but everyone knew it was just a cover-up to allow Qin Lu to step down gracefully.

Ultimately, for a Professional, Qin Lu's age was far from being a point where he'd be unable to work and need to retire.

In reality, it was because the loss of Church Court followers was too severe over the past years, while the Holy Flame Sect kept growing steadily. Under the brunt of criticism, Qin Lu had no choice but to step down.

Needless to say, the conflict between the Qin Family and Lin Ye, as well as the increasing dissatisfaction with Qin Lu within the Church Court, made his stepping down an anticipated event.

As for Liang Jintian, who succeeded him, not only was he younger, but his image was much better than the perpetually stern Qin Lu, and he was naturally more amiable and approachable.

Thus, within a year of Liang Jintian's appointment, his personal reputation remained quite good.

It's even because of him that the overall image of the Southern Church Court started to improve somewhat.

Of course, there's an objective reason for this too.

Because when Liang Jintian took over the Southern Church Court, it was already the second year of Lin Ye being lost in the Alternate Space.

So the Holy Flame Sect, which was previously expanding rapidly, slowed down because Lin Ye hadn't returned, causing its pace to gradually decrease.

And Liang Jintian's rise to power at this moment allowed him to seize the opportunity, giving him advantages in both timing and geography.

If this trend were to continue, and he could successfully regain the Southern region, the Holy Flame Sect's main stronghold of faith, back into the Church Court's hands, such achievements would surely pave a smooth path for him to ascend to the Pope's position.

However, the good times were not to last. Liang Jintian's smooth sailing encountered a crisis with Lin Ye's return.

The favorable situation of the Southern Church Court under his leadership abruptly reversed with Lin Ye's return, and the previously slowed Holy Flame Sect revived once again.

Crucially, after Lin Ye's return, he stirred up quite a few events.

This made many within the Church Court feel the dread from three years ago once more...

Now, Liang Jintian's appearance at the Shenzhen Professional Center to celebrate the successful conclusion of this year's Second Transformation Skill Divine Hall completion banquet truly had people anticipating what kind of friction would occur tonight.

The de facto Archbishop of the Southern Church Court and the Holy Flame Sect's de facto Pope...

Their confrontation would surely be quite spectacular.

Except for those obviously young and inexperienced participants, who were still thrilled to see so many big shots, those with slightly more status and experience had clearly set aside other distractions and were secretly observing the situation between Marshal Gu and Liang Jintian.

Of course, now there's the most crucial person who hasn't appeared yet.

It's known that the majority of people present came for Lin Ye, but they hadn't seen him yet.

For a moment, everyone seemed a bit puzzled.

"By the way, I haven't seen Lin Ye. Today he summoned the Holy Grace Angel, and I'm really eager to have a conversation with him..."

And in the most central location of the manor, as Liang Jintian chatted happily with Marshal Gu, he suddenly inquired about Lin Ye's whereabouts.

Instantly, those who had been keeping an eye on the situation here pricked up their ears at that moment.

This question was actually on many people's minds.

Even though everyone knew they mainly came for Lin Ye, no one would be foolish enough to openly ask about Lin Ye's whereabouts at the banquet.

Not to mention whether it's useful, but such behavior is unbecoming. Everyone here is of some status, and naturally, wouldn't act in such a way.

However, when Liang Jintian asked this, it didn't come across as suspicious; instead, there seemed to be a genuine reverence for the Holy Light Power.

At least on the surface, it was flawless.

Had it been Qin Lu asking... forget it, that arrogant old fellow wouldn't have likely come at all.

Upon hearing this, Marshal Gu let out an awkward chuckle, his gaze dodging a bit as he looked around, then signaled Liang Jintian to lean over.

Seeing Marshal Gu's manner, Liang Jintian felt something strange, but couldn't say anything, so he leaned in toward Marshal Gu.

Marshal Gu whispered something into Liang Jintian's ear.

Liang Jintian's eyes gradually widened, and he straightened up, feigning shock as he said to Marshal Gu, "You mean... Lin Ye, preparing for the Saint's Prayer, won't be coming tonight?"

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