"You guys are pitch black; it's obvious you're up to no good! As the vanguard against vice and corruption, I shall conduct a surprise inspection to see exactly what you all are planning!" Dekan said in a straightforward manner.

"Can someone please kick him out?!" The Cardinal of Frenzy covered his head, shouting in a somewhat desperate manner. What kind of person was this, daring to cause trouble at their Cardinals meeting!

"We cant. Without the Pope present, Cardinals don't have the authority to expel another Cardinal."

"So, you're saying that as long as we have a meeting, this guy will continue to eavesdrop?"

"It seems so."

"What's worse is that not only can he eavesdrop, he can also express his opinions..."

Several Cardinals discussed indignantly. Although their expressions couldn't be seen, it could be guessed that their faces must be as dark as pots.

"Hahaha."

One Cardinal was laughing heartily, already sitting on his own black floating object while holding his stomach. He seemed completely indifferent to Dekan's arrival and instead found it to be extremely amusing.

"You really managed to pull this off, Dekan. I'm starting to like you more and more."

The Cardinals present were well aware of how Dekan managed to infiltrate the meeting. Even if he took Evans' Cardinal Token, he shouldn't be able to use it. However, the Cardinal Tokens had a unique feature. To ensure the absolute power of the Cardinals, if a church member defeated a Cardinal, they could become the new Cardinal. To become a formal church member, as long as a high-ranking official helped Dekan manipulate things behind the scenes, he could bypass the approval process for the Disciple Tokens for formal church members. Once Dekan got the Disciple Token and personally defeated Evans, his Disciple Token would upgrade into a brand new Cardinal Token!

"Dekan!! Get out of here now! Otherwise, even if I have to march straight to the Norton Kingdom, I will revoke your Cardinal Token!"

The Cardinal of Frenzy pointed at Dekan and roared in anger. In this space, they couldn't cause any harm to others as they were all mere projections.

Even for Cardinals, the only way to invalidate another Cardinal was to kill them.

"Through wind and rain, I'll be waiting in the royal capital. Watch how I make your life miserable." Dekan responded with a mocking smile.

"You!"

Obviously, the Cardinal of Frenzy couldn't do anything to Dekan. No matter how powerful a tier 8 Cardinal was, it wasn't possible for them to directly march to the capital to take care of Dekan. If he really went there, he probably wouldn't be able to escape.

"Ah fuck it all! We can't hold Cardinal meetings anymore!"

"Even if he doesn't speak, hes an abhorrence just by being here! He heard all the intelligence!"

While other Cardinals were roaring in pain, holding their heads, Dekan discovered that a black floating stone was getting closer to him, and the Cardinal on it greeted him amicably.

Hey, add me as your friend, kay?

"Does the Cardinal Token have a private chat function?" Dekan asked.

"Yes, it does. Let me show you."

"Thanks."

...

"What the fuck?! How did you two start chatting?! Minos, you bastard! If you don't want to participate in the meeting, just get the fuck out!"

The other Cardinals soon realized that someone was engaging in with the intruder. Already infuriated, they felt like adding fuel to the fire and were eager to clean up their house.

"You idiots, don't you understand the camaraderie between researchers?"

After saying that, Cardinal of Shadow Minos ignored the other cursing Cardinals and began teaching Dekan how to use the Cardinal Token. The temple now became a place where a few people were cursing, and two people were sitting in a corner, exchanging contact information as if they were holding phones.

"Alright, now we're friends, and you can contact me anytime. Of course, since the distance between us is very far, if you want to project your physical appearance or voice, the mana consumption will be extremely high. It's better to send messages." Minos patiently explained.

"Thank you... but are you this friendly with everyone?" Dekan couldn't help but ask. He seemed to find this Cardinal of Shadow Minos quite interesting and didn't mind having a few more words with him. After all, this Cardinal seemed to be capable of normal communication.

"Of course not? I'm only this friendly to friends." Minos replied.

"Don't you think we should be enemies?" Dekan asked again.

Minos: "Can't enemies also be friends?"

"..."

Minos's answer left Dekan stunned.

Dekan: "Are you serious?"

Minos: "Yes."

"In that case, let's consider ourselves friends before we actually meet. But if we meet one day, I won't show mercy to you."

"I'll do the same."

While the two were chatting, the other Cardinals were no longer only cursing Dekan; they even began to curse Minos.

"Before the Pope returns, let's temporarily suspend the Cardinal meetings."

"Agreed."

"I object. You guys are forming small groups and excluding me." Dekan suddenly interjected.

"You object? You piece of shit shut the fuck up!"

"Let me ask you, with this token, am I not considered a Cardinal?" Dekan raised the Cardinal Token in his hand.

"At most, you're a spy! A traitor among Cardinals!"

Dekan: "This statement is incorrect. It's your subjective opinion and doesn't achieve true unity of subjectivity and objectivity. Where did the process of me becoming a Cardinal violate the rules?"

"Are you intending to join us? As a tier 3?"

Dekan: "I don't. I act openly and honestly with a clear conscience. How could I tarnish myself by joining you?"

"What are you trying to say then?"

Dekan: "I just want to advise you to surrender. There's still a chance now. Otherwise, when I catch each of you one by one, youll end up suffering quite a bit."

"Bastard!"

"..."

The leader of the meeting, the Cardinal of Falsity, was so angry that he disconnected himself. Then, the other Cardinals gradually left the temple. The Cardinal meeting of the Resurgence Church was thus forced to terminate.

"Ah, I haven't figured out what the tier 10 Shadow World is all about..." Dekan sighed as he looked at the empty temple.

"You can ask me."

Suddenly, a voice came to his ears. Dekan found that Minos was still standing nearby.

"Is this information that you can share?"

Dekan was somewhat surprised. Obtaining information without interrogation always gave a sense of unearned gains.

"It's nothing important. As long as it's not core church information, I can tell you out of my own accord. But there are some things that youre better off not asking about. Its just like how I dont expect to get crucial information about the Kingdoms Federation from you."

Minos shrugged, giving off a clear sense of separating public and private matters.