The more they oppose, the more it shows that I am doing the right thing

Chapter 226 The Great Promotion Exam Begins!

Three days later, early in the morning.

The Church's grand examination.

The promotion exam that had captured the attention of the entire nation finally began.

The sky had just dawned, with goose-yellow sunlight pouring down through the clouds that resembled thousands of white rushes, and a thin layer of morning mist still enveloped the city of Farol.

The streets of the Upper City District were crowded with Alchemical Carriages, Order Knights patrolled the blocks to maintain order, and a cacophony of noise rose and fell as newsboys pedaled their moss-green bicycles through the streets and alleys shouting,

"Extra, extra, the promotion exam has started!" Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire

Saints from all over the country who were qualified to take the exam packed the Seven Gods' First Cathedral to the brim, crowding around the entrance and craning their necks to look inside, just waiting for the Order Knights to give the signal to enter the examination hall once the time arrived.

Farol had two major examinations each year, one of which was the initial Saints' exam. Believers graduating from various Minor Saints' Academies needed to pass this test to get their preliminary entry into the Church, so it was also known as the "minor-to-junior" promotion.

The other was this promotion examination.

In some ways, this promotion exam was even more important than the Saints' exam because it related to the Saints' advancement into the Church's administrative and managerial layer, where securing a position was foundational for their future career prospects.

Similar to the Saints' exam, the first phase of the promotion exam was today's cultural written test.

According to convention, this written test was just a formality.

After all, only those Saints who met the standards in both seniority and rank were eligible to take this promotion assessment.

The Saints' exam took place in spring, whereas the promotion exam was in the summer each year.

An Su was one of the few who had just finished the minor-to-junior exam and was now about to start the promotion exam, having traversed in a single year what took most people a lifetime to achieve—but An Su wasn't feeling happy about it today.

On the contrary, he felt a bit horrified.

An Su could sense the murderous gaze currently fixated on him with ill intent, and he could faintly hear the grinding of teeth, as if a ferocious little beast was sharpening its claws, waiting to eviscerate its prey in the next second.

Having keen senses was not necessarily a good thing.

He turned and followed that gaze, spotting the Little Saintess Luojia amidst the throng.

"Hmm."

She turned her head away. Today, the Little Saintess wore a snow-white gossamer dress, the light fabric filtering the orange hue of the sun through a thin veil, turning the warm daylight into a frosty winter sun. Her overall demeanor was cold and unwelcoming, deterring the surrounding Saints who wanted to exchange pleasantries or offer flattery. They dared not speak, instead forming a fan-shaped cluster to the side.

An Su could understand why Luojia was so angry.

This state of affairs had persisted for three days now.

On the morning of the day after delivering the wrong notes, An Su had knocked on the Monastery door, returning the correct notes to Luojia.

An Su still remembered Luojia's expression at that time: her cheeks blushed slightly at first, then the redness deepened until she seemed as if steam would rise from her head, her golden eyes shifting through emotions—from cheerful to surprised, to baffled, and then to embarrassment.

"I... I've already read it," Luojia had said indignantly at the time.

"...I have the second volume if you want it?" An Su had asked tentatively.

"..."

He really hadn't expected that within just one night, the Little Saintess had finished that book labeled "Banned Book Volume One, Prohibited for those under sixteen"—and it was a full one hundred and eighty-three pages!

What a scandal, even beyond the Chaotic Saintess!

As a Radiant Holy Saintess, you wouldn't want the Saints to know about your sneaking glances at the little imperial uncle's affairs, would you?

Feeling An Su's astonished and speechless gaze, Luojia's expression grew even more indignant, and she pushed An Su out the door. For the next three days, she deliberately avoided An Su, giving him the cold shoulder whenever they encountered each other.

Really.

An Su sighed helplessly while the Chaotic Saintess perched on his shoulder and immersed in her book also gave a snort.

The exam was about to begin, and the cat was engrossed in "Radiant Holy See Chapter Three: The Refraction and Redshift of Light," blushing and with eyes wide open, eagerly anticipating the moment she would be able to show off her knowledge in the examination hall.

"Sorry, according to regulations, animals are not allowed within the exam premises," said Priest Paxi of the Order Church, glancing up at An Su, speaking without looking up.

Who the heck is an animal?

The Elf Ael looked shocked, her face a picture of disbelief.

Then, she stood upright, waving her cat paws in protest. As the Chaotic Saintess, she had never faced such a disgrace before.

She had been thinking about securing a position within the Radiant Holy See, no less.

"Little Black, stay here and don't run around," An Su said, taking pleasure in her misfortune. Who asked you to turn into a beast? Surely beasts can't enter the human examination hall.

An Su escorted her outside, but though it was called the outdoors, this place was still the core area of the Seven Gods' Hall, with several Demigods watching over the area. Any trouble from her would immediately expose her.

However, seeing Ael Aelf absorbed in reading, An Su knew she could be peaceful for a while.

After arranging for the animal Ael Aelf, An Su prepared to enter the examination hall with his head held high alongside Lister and Arthur.

"Sorry, according to regulations, animals are not allowed inside," Priest Paxi of the Order Church repeated, glancing up once more, his gaze slanted again towards An Su, repeating his rejection without looking up.

"..."

So it was us three he was calling animals?

An Su looked shocked, his face a picture of disbelief.

Priest Paxi snickered, his face filled with dark lines as he stared at An Su, finding some schadenfreude in the situation. Who asked you to be born as such? If you're born that way, surely you can't enter the human examination hall.