Assuming there are no problems with the procedure itself, Xilǐ'er generally chooses to follow the procedure.
Therefore, even though he knew that most of the priests in Golden Leaf City Stained Ones, he still chose to investigate them one by one.
After all, it's not a good habit to condemn everyone indiscriminately.
With the "artifact" bestowed upon him by Ed, Xilǐ'er was quick to carry out his investigation and could also deal with some who wanted to rebel, thus making an example of them.
Xilǐ'er spent two days completing the investigation of those Stained Ones in Golden Leaf City, and also sent a fast horse to bring Bishop Alter from Hibiscus Town over.
The chubby bishop initially thought he was involved in an investigation related to the Stained Ones, but upon arriving in Golden Leaf City, he was suddenly thrust into the position of archbishop, a veritable "columnation ceremony," leaving him terrified.
Seeing a group of former colleagues bowing to him, Alter was momentarily at a loss, forgetting even to tell them to stand up.
It's not entirely true that everyone had no objections to a bishop who suddenly rose to a high position with little power or reputation.
However, the Knight and the Soul Returner had already demonstrated their methods to everyone—those dozen or so Middle Tier Stained Ones were now left out in the open, as if stripped naked, serving as the "chicken" in the "kill the chicken to scare the monkey" scenario.
Most of the Pure Ones were completely unaware of the atrocities committed by the Stained Ones until the underground space of the Golden Leaf City Cathedral was opened, at which point they finally believed that what they were seeing was real.
Upon learning the truth, the Pure Ones spontaneously gathered around Alter and became loyal followers of the new archbishop.
They also assured the knights and the Soul Returner that they would maintain order throughout the province and safeguard the Territory Secret Pact of the entire Yiluo'en Province obtained from Burns until the Second Holy See's professionals arrived.
After all, the Soul Returner and the Knights only dealt with the Stained Ones in Hibiscus Town and Golden Leaf City; there was simply no time to visit the remaining dozen or so towns.
However, if they rashly alerted the enemy, it might trigger a series of chain reactions, so the two ultimately chose to have Alter lead his men to maintain stability first.
After sending the Stained Ones, stripped of their power, on their way to the Second Holy See, Xilǐ'er and the Soul Returner chose to leave.
Those responsible for escorting this group were, of course, the most honest, simple, and upright of the Pure Ones among them—the "foolish Pure Ones."
Only such people are capable of escorting former colleagues to perform forced labor, a fact that both Xilǐ'er and [Kunjinkao Tangtangtang] are well aware of.
Having settled all matters in the Yiluo'en Province, Knight Xilǐ'er and his painter retinue once again embarked on their journey, carrying the map they had found at the Golden Leaf City Cathedral, heading towards the next province.
"We've been delayed for quite a while..."
Walking on a road that was relatively flat compared to the towering mountains, Xilǐ'er suddenly said this.
It was almost mid-June, and if the two continued to cause trouble in each province at this pace, it would be difficult to complete Ed's task within the stipulated time.
[Kunjinkao Tangtangtang] silently calculated the time in his mind and said:
"Including travel time, we should not stay in the capital of each province for more than two days, not counting the towns."
"However, the provinces that follow may not necessarily surrender to Ed directly—"
" The Yiluo'en Province's flexible stance is largely due to the fact that it borders the Yiluo'en Province and Fitz Province Aduolin Province cannot be considered a true exclave."
"Although the mountain range in the middle creates a physical barrier, the three areas are indeed neighbors according to the map, but they rarely interact."
Xilǐ'er for a moment and nodded:
"Alright, then we'll focus on publicizing the deeds of the Son of God. As for things like recruiting and absorbing traitors, let's leave that to the people who come after us."
After saying that, he looked at [Kunjinkao Tangtangtang] and suddenly asked:
How are your paintings coming along?
"Very good."
When the topic turned to the work "The Soul Returner immediately became very enthusiastic:
"They have already received a lot of positive feedback from the community of those Soul Returner."
"Hmm? But you haven't even left my place, how come...?"
Xilǐ'er was puzzled by this, so the Soul Returner explained to him what the Root Network was and the relationship between the Soul Returner and the Root Network.
Having gained a general understanding of this, Xilǐ'er couldn't help but marvel, and his knowledge and understanding of the Soul Returner deepened once again.
Having learned from their previous experiences, [Kunjinkao Tangtangtang] and Xilǐ'er became more familiar with each other, and the journey was no longer so stifling. The two began to chat casually.
"Hey, Xilǐ'er, how much do you know about the Southern Empire?"
On the way to the next province, [Kunjinkao Tangtangtang] suddenly asked this question.
Xilǐ'er pondered for a moment and said:
"I have never been to the Empire in person, so all the information I have is hearsay."
"It's okay, it's better than me knowing nothing at all."
"Hmm, I need to think about where to begin..."
Xilǐ'er flipped through his ancient memories and slowly began to speak:
"The history of empires and kingdoms is about the same, with the time difference between their establishment not exceeding one hundred years."
Originally, the southern part of the continent was similar to the northern part, a kingdom ruled by different nobles.
"Later, it seems that due to some unforeseen event, their royal bloodline was cut off, and so the nobles, both high and low, raised armies, all wanting to become the new king."
[Kunjinkao Tangtangtang] nodded thoughtfully, realizing that there was a period similar to the Warring States period in southern China...
So he asked, quite naturally:
"So which family or noble family ultimately won the victory?"
Xilǐ'er shook his head with a smile that said, "You've been tricked."
"Neither. The one who ultimately won and reunified the southern part of the continent was a man named ' Stral.' He was neither a nobleman nor a knight, and he held no title."
"So he's a commoner?"
The Soul Returner was very curious about this; did the game world also have a concept of starting with a bowl?
"It wouldn't really be called that..."
Xilǐ'er seemed to be hesitant, pondering how to define the person's identity:
"Legend has it that Stral himself was actually... well, a 'stargazer,' a profession that has vanished into history. He moved among nobles and commoners, answering any questions they might have."
"Ah?"
Isn't this just charlatanry?
The Soul Returner, who had a keen interest in the history of the empire, never imagined that there would be a "Great Teacher" in this World of Disorder.