The Seventh Base

Chapter 898: Chapter 3: Desecrating the Divine

“Coming from a distant, unknown planet,” Xu Mo replied with a smile. He wouldn’t mention Byron Star outside, as its geographical location drew little attention, and bringing it up in this situation might be dangerous.

“An unknown planet?” Solan looked at Xu Mo and said, “Mr. Xu Mo must be joking. Possessing high-level warships, surely Mr. Xu Mo comes from a highly developed civilization, not some unknown planet.”

Xu Mo smiled and nodded, not responding further to Solan. They didn’t seem familiar with each other, and incessant questioning was not polite.

Seeing Xu Mo remain silent, Solan just smiled, not minding it, and instead turned to Lan Jue and Lan Qing, saying, “Governor, I bring good news today.”

“Oh?” Lan Jue looked at Solan and asked, “What good news?”

“Currently, Lansiding Star often faces attacks and is in constant danger. To resolve this crisis and rescue Lansiding Star, I specifically pleaded with the Archbishop of Chloe Province. With divine love, the Archbishop is willing to bless Miss Lan Qing, allowing her to join the Church as a follower and be sent to Chloe Star for blessings,” Solan said. “In this way, Lansiding Star will receive the Church’s protection. I believe that once those dark forces are aware, they will retreat.”

Lan Jue frowned. He had neither requested the Church’s blessing nor considered letting Lan Qing join the Church. The Church was powerful but a separate organization from the republic; the republic was a planetary Federation, while the Church was a religious power. They usually did not interfere with each other, but within the republic, the Church wielded substantial influence.

Now, with Lansiding Star facing difficulties, the Church seemed to want to involve itself by having Lan Qing join, thereby extending its influence to Austin Star, using the Governor’s power to aggressively expand on Lansiding Star and develop numerous followers.

This was clearly the Church’s plan; Lan Qing joining the Church was equivalent to becoming their hostage.

This situation placed Lan Jue in a dilemma. Although Solan was young, achieving the rank of Archbishop at such a young age indicated he was no ordinary character. He might have been sent to Lansiding Star by the Church for experience. As far as Lan Jue knew, Solan was a genius, having achieved a formidable Source Power Level (SS grade) by the age of thirty.

This was akin to the general strength of Church archbishops. The Church’s power came from its intrinsic formidable strength, the Source God Sect. They worshipped the Creator God, or the Source God, believing that God created all the universe’s energies, resulting in the birth of the universe.

The Church had profound research on Source Power. A bishop was already considered high-ranking, being the main Church authority on a planet, equivalent in rank to that of the planet’s governor.

As for the Archbishop, he was truly a significant figure, generally held by a Skywalker, possessing both authority and formidable personal strength. Such a person could not be easily offended, even by a governor of a republic, and needed to be handled with caution.

Lan Jue already planned to let Xu Mo take Lan Qing away, naturally not wanting Lan Qing to be under the Church’s control. He held little goodwill towards the Church; according to historical records, the Church had existed since the imperial era but could not gain prominence until after the Empire’s collapse. Like many other powers, the Church quickly rose during the chaos of wars by wielding supernatural abilities.

But Lan Jue had always disliked the Church, viewing it as overly ambitious and believing it would inevitably seek dominion, as it indeed was now planning and infiltrating everywhere.

Moreover, Lan Jue always considered the Source God Sect’s methods to be overly domineering.

As at this moment, he had not intended for Lan Qing to join the Church, yet Archbishop Solan assumed the decision, even bringing up the Archbishop.

“Mr. Archbishop, Lansiding Star is under the republic’s jurisdiction and naturally protected by it. Besides, we appreciate the Archbishop’s kindness; however, I plan for Lan Qing to pursue her studies abroad, thus unable to accept the Archbishop’s favor,” Lan Jue replied. By sending Lan Qing away, he had nothing more to fear. He was aging and had already lost two sons. Now, apart from Lan Qing, he had few concerns.

Letting Lan Qing join the Church would equate to handing Lansiding Star over to the Church, seen as a betrayal of the republic. The republic would deal with him afterward.

For him personally, it seemed that any choice he made was wrong, reinforcing his resolve to have Lan Qing leave.

“Governor, are you refusing the Archbishop’s blessing?” Solan asked with a smile, though his voice cooled slightly, emitting a subtle chill.

“Apologies, Mr. Archbishop. I have my considerations,” Lan Jue replied. Solan’s assertiveness also irked him. After all, he belonged to the republic, while Solan was a Church member, with no subordinate relationship. Instead, as the planet’s governor, he managed all planetary affairs. In essence, he was the ruler of this planet.

Yet, the Church’s overbearing manner almost made it seem as though they governed the planet.

Xu Mo sat quietly, listening. The matter did not concern him, so he refrained from intervening, being merely a visiting guest unwilling to offend any party.

However, from their conversation, he could sense the Church’s assertiveness, speaking to the planet’s governor with blatant unconcern.

Source: .com, updated by novlove.com