"That's hard to say. Maybe the reason miracles appeared on him is because God wants to show us this guy's evil heart!"

"Exactly, exactly, how could we possibly guess God's will?"

"The day before yesterday, when this guy was baptized, the cross even fell down."

"Yeah! Maybe God is trying to tell us something."

"Could he be a spy sent by the Dark Cult?"

"Hmm! Seems possible, just look at those shifty, darting eyes of his."

A group of priests started chattering away, their imaginations wild enough to write a whole fantasy novel.

"Since everyone thinks George the servant of God has made a serious mistake, I suggest we expel him from the church, what do you think?"

A glint flashed in Pastor Dent's eyes before he returned to his solemn demeanor, while the ungrateful bastard standing next to me also curled his lips into a slight smirk.

Are these two in cahoots to set me up? Seeing their expressions, I thought to myself.

"I object!" Mark the Priest raised his right hand, which had just been healed by magic, and shouted loudly. The other three battle priests also voiced their agreement with Mark.

Battle priests hold a very special status in the church. They are under the jurisdiction of the Inquisition, and the head of the Inquisition has always been the Pope. So, within the church, battle priests are also known as the Pope's scalpel. In earthly terms, these guys are basically the Pope's enforcers.

To curb the power of the battle priests, the Pope specifically set a rule for these enforcers: each year, battle priests in the church can interfere in church matters at most three times. If they use up all three chances, they must obey the orders of the chief priest in all matters.

"Mark the Priest, what did you say?" Dent could hardly believe his ears. For years, these battle priests had never concerned themselves with church affairs, focusing only on their training. He had called them here today expecting them to just go through the motions, but who would have thought that the battle priests, who never used their authority, would actually speak up at the meeting.

"He said he objects, respected Pastor Dent." Hmph! Looks like I've got someone backing me up. I immediately perked up. I can't have just donated two hundred blue gold coins to the church only to be expelled right after—that would be the height of bad luck.

"Yes! I object! If you priests don't like him, then let him join our battle priest order," Mark said expressionlessly.

"Isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Pastor Dent was at a loss for words, choked by Mark's response. After all, if I joined the battle priests with their special status, he was afraid I might take revenge on him.

The big battle priest seemed not to hear Pastor Dent's words. He walked over to me, looked at me, and asked, "Young man, are you interested in joining us? We all appreciate your strength." As soon as he said this, Pastor Dent's face turned completely dark, and the guy standing next to me frowned slightly. It seemed these two really might be working together to set me up, though I had no idea what I had that was worth all this scheming.

Since I can't get by in the priest order, joining the battle priests doesn't sound like a bad idea. "Actually, I've wanted to join the battle priests for a long time," I said to the big guy with a smile.

"From now on, you are a first-level battle priest." The big battle priest took a small golden sword model, about an inch long, from his pocket and hung it on my chest.

"Since everything's settled, let's return to the sanctuary." Mark stood up and led me, the new battle priest, out of the priest hall.

Back in the sanctuary, the four battle priests didn't say much to me. Each of them focused on their own training.

The more I sat in the sanctuary, the angrier I got. I was clearly introduced by Pastor Dent, so why did he suddenly want to harm me? Two hundred blue gold coins is a lot, but compared to this filthy rich church, it's really nothing. What is this guy scheming so hard to set me up for? I need to figure it out!

"Instead of guessing about others, you'd be better off improving your own strength," Mark said to me, sitting cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed. Who would've thought that someone who usually only cares about training could be so shrewd.

"Mm!" I responded, and imitated them by sitting cross-legged on the floor, starting to cultivate basic battle energy. This was the only thing I could train in at the moment.

Maybe it was because I was angry while cultivating this time, but the weak battle energy in my body suddenly became abundant. The spot on my stomach that glowed white sent streams of energy surging through my body, circulating rapidly according to the beginner's battle energy flow method. Every time the energy made a circuit through my body, it grew a bit stronger. After a while, the energy felt like electricity, and every time it completed a circuit, my body tingled pleasantly.

Dong~~ Dong~~ Dong~~

Just as the energy was surging wildly through my body, the sound of a bell rang out. It was the dinner bell, and as if by magic, my stomach, which hadn't felt hungry before, suddenly started growling. To keep my stomach from protesting any further, I had to stop training, stand up, and head to the dining hall with the other battle priests who had already finished their practice.