Chapter 27: Conducting the Advancement Ceremony

Under Li Xie's guidance, Laina explained the procedures for conducting the ceremony, and Li Xie got a general idea of what was expected.

His role was quite simple: he would lead Duchess Avril and twelve young priests to the top of the Eternal Tower. Once there, he would leave Duchess Avril and conduct the "baptism" ceremony for her. After that, they would pray together to the Goddess of Life until nightfall. If the Goddess bestowed her divine light before nightfall, the Duchess's advancement would be successful. If not, they would have to repeat the ceremony at the same time next month, and continue until successful.

From this, Li Xie gathered two important points: firstly, he could have one-on-one time with Duchess Avril during the baptism ceremony in the Life Pool; and secondly, as long as Duchess Avril did not advance, he could have this intimate time with her every month.

This led Li Xie to silently pray, "May Master Mian above, please don't let my Avril advance!"

The temple grounds were expansive, and it took about half an hour for Li Xie and Director Laina to reach the base of the Eternal Tower. They arrived with half an hour to spare before the ceremony began.

At the base of the tower, over two hundred priest students dressed in loose gray robes were gathered around. Among them were two figures dressed like Director Laina, wearing pristine white robes with scarves draped over their heads, indicating they were teachers of the priest academy.

In addition to the teachers, there were thirteen individuals dressed in white, but without scarves. Among them, Duchess Avril led the group, and behind her were the young priests selected to accompany her to the top of the Eternal Tower. Each of them held a pure white "Life Flower."

It was worth mentioning their attire.

They wore white chiffon tunics with long and wide sleeves, reaching from the shoulders to their ankles. The garments were so sheer that if they were close-fitting, they would leave nothing to the imagination. Fortunately, the clothes were loose, but one could still vaguely see the towering peaks and the crimson grapes on the mountainside through the fabric.

"Praise be to Master Mian!"

Li Xie couldn't help but exclaim as he approached, immediately drawing curious looks from all the priest students. They all knew that the temple had a male vice director, and today, this young man who had arrived was none other than the infamous Count Xie, the vice director of the temple!

They were curious, but their curiosity was merely directed towards the newcomer, and nobody noticed why Li Xie exclaimed, nor the unnatural expression on his face at the moment!

"Praise be to Master Mian! Praise be to the God of Earth! Praise be to the Goddess of Life! My dear gods! Nobody told me there was a transparent fashion show here! Why aren't they wearing underwear? Clearly, they're trying to seduce me!"

Li Xie couldn't help but smirk inwardly, as he looked at the thirteen figures before him, all of them extraordinary beauties, especially Duchess Avril at the forefront, who was simply unparalleled! And now, they were tantalizing him with their tantalizingly subtle allure!

As someone highly sensitive to blood, Li Xie could feel his blood surging and pulsating, as if drawn towards a certain direction. He felt like a bowstring pulled taut, the arrow poised to be released!

Though he tried to justify himself internally, stating that he had self-control, the allure was simply too cunning!

Inwardly defending himself in this manner, Li Xie then adjusted his clothing to ensure nothing untoward would be revealed, and allowed himself to straighten up!

"Count Xie Li, Vice Director of the Temple of Sacrifice, pays respects to Duchess Avril," Li Xie bowed and saluted, trying his best to focus his attention on the sky, avoiding the three faint points that seemed to be capturing his gaze. With over a hundred eyes fixed on him, he didn't want to be perceived as lustful!

Although between bowing, his eyes had already taken a thorough sweep of each person present, finally lingering on Duchess Avril's body at the same angle as his bow, in that mysterious area!

May Master Mian bear witness, the heavens and earth be my conscience, it was purely because of the angle of the bow, and absolutely unintentional! Although etiquette only required a slight bow, my ninety-degree bow was entirely out of respect!

Duchess Avril furrowed her brows slightly, nodding in return. She was still puzzled as to why Emperor Mercedes VII had summoned this man to conduct the advancement ceremony. However, considering that he was also a priest, and according to the information she had received from Emperor Mercedes VII, this man was also a high-ranking priest, she let go of her doubts.

Being able to ascend to a high-ranking priest must require a pure heart and soul. She concluded that his initial kindness was sincere, and the sudden confession afterwards was probably due to a sudden madness!

This was Duchess Avril's evaluation of Li Xie.

"It's almost time," Duchess Avril's voice was as melodious as a warbler's song. "Count Xie, please change into the sacred robes of the sacrifice."

"Change clothes? Sacred robes of the sacrifice?" Why didn't anyone tell me I needed to change clothes? I didn't bring any!

"Your Grace, it's already prepared for you."

Laina appeared with a garment in hand, walking over to Li Xie.

"If it's ready, then...," Li Xie's words trailed off as he saw the garment that Laina was holding.

Damn it, the garment Laina held was immaculately white, but the problem was, it was as thin as gossamer! No need to guess, it was definitely the same as the one Duchess Avril was wearing!

Master Mian above, it was transparent attire!

Li Xie's heart was racing, not that he was shy, but the problem was, a certain part of him was still standing tall. Could he really wear this garment in front of others?

This was so damn inconvenient! What kind of game was this?

"Where's the changing room?" Li Xie hurriedly asked, he had to find a place to solve this great dilemma!

"Your Grace, you can change here. In the presence of the Goddess of Life, our hearts are pure, and so are our bodies," Laina replied.

Li Xie's eyebrow twitched. "Laina, my heart and soul are indeed pure, but the problem lies with my little brother's cultivation!"

"Humph!" Duchess Avril snorted coldly. "In the presence of the Goddess of Life, the advancement ceremony is sacred and pure. If Count Xie feels embarrassed, is it because his soul is not devout enough? If so, Count Xie doesn't have to conduct the advancement ceremony! I believe that even without assistance, I can advance to the Ninth Order Priest!"

In the Temple of Sacrifice, beneath the Eternal Tower, all the priests' minds were the purest. Even if everyone stripped naked, no one would view each other with secular eyes. Their bodies and minds had been dedicated to the Goddess of Life, devoid of any other thoughts. Changing clothes in front of everyone, what's wrong with that? Unless, he himself harbored impure intentions!

After all, Li Xie's presence as the host was Emperor Mercedes VII's command. Duchess Avril was unwilling, just needing an excuse to drive Li Xie away! Now, she could seize upon Li Xie's hesitation to change into the sacred robes as an opportunity, accusing him of impurity of soul and sending him away!

But Li Xie wasn't willing to leave. Even if it were someone else, he wouldn't want to go! It was just that the other party was Duchess Avril. Even if she directly asked him to leave, Li Xie had to find a way to stay!

Seeing him looking up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, a look of piety on his face, "In the presence of the Goddess of Life! My heart is pure, my body is pure! But this garment represents power, status, nobility, wealth! It's impure! I cannot let its impurity taint the sanctity of this place, nor let its impurity defile the pure eyes of everyone present! Please, give me a place where no one is around, so I can shed this impurity."

Ah! So that's why! That makes sense!

Whether teacher or student, everyone nodded and looked admiringly at Count Xie, marveling at his thoughtfulness in preserving the sanctity of the sacrifice!

"In the presence of the Goddess of Life!" they all exclaimed together.

Duchess Avril seemed to agree with Li Xie's reasoning and said, "You can change behind the Eternal Tower."

"In the presence of the Goddess of Life, I will go and restore my purity!"

Li Xie couldn't help but laugh inwardly: "You bunch of simpletons, your minds are only filled with thoughts of the divine. A few words from me and you all believe it! Hehe, speaking of which, if I didn't become a charlatan, it would be a waste of talent!"

Coming out from behind the Eternal Tower, Li Xie had already changed into the sacred robe. This garment, transparent from head to toe, was just as pure as Duchess Avril's and her companions' garments.

"Hey, Your Grace, why are you crying?" Laina noticed the tear marks on Li Xie's face and asked with concern.

Li Xie looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle. "In the presence of the Goddess of Life, her radiance is the great love of the mortal world, the purest truth, goodness, and beauty deep in our hearts! I feel her love and am moved to tears!"

It had to be said that Li Xie, dressed in white, seemed to radiate a divine light from his face.

"In the presence of the Goddess of Life!" Everyone present praised the Goddess of Life in unison, as if they, too, had felt the love of the Goddess of Life!

Of course, Li Xie was completely making things up! He wouldn't tell the truth: that he had cruelly subdued his angry little brother by hitting him where it hurt the most!

Master Mian above, his brother's "eggs" hurt so much!

"Alright, it's about time, Count Xie, shall we go up to the Eternal Tower?" Duchess Avril said.

"Let's go up now!"

Li Xie led the way, with a group of fourteen people entering the Eternal Tower. Inside the tower, there was nothing but a spiral staircase leading upwards. The staircase formed a perfect spiral, with a straight line running through the middle. When the sun was directly above the Eternal Tower, its rays would shine straight down, not touching the stairs, all the way to the bottom of the tower.

As Li Xie and his group solemnly and reverently ascended towards the top of the tower, many places in the Tudor Empire were watching the Eternal Tower. Although outsiders were not allowed into the Temple of Sacrifice, they could still speculate from afar, and no one had the power to stop them.

Prime Minister Elwin Hayes and Marquess Pansen sat on a balcony somewhere, leaning against the window, drinking wine. Both of them had their eyes fixed on the Eternal Tower. Marquess Pansen finished his wine in one gulp and chuckled, "Prime Minister, shouldn't your connections find out about the background of that Count Xie?"