"I've long heard of the monk's great name, and today I have the honor of meeting you." Leaning on a cane, Horn came out from behind the desk and gave Martin a firm handshake, "Please have a seat."

Martin looked blankly at his hand, and Jeanne, standing beside them, laughed and explained, "It's a new handshake we invented, no need to bow or kneel to anyone."

"So that's how it is." Martin wasn't very formal; he casually pulled over a cushion chair and sat down.

"Did Brother Martin come alone?"

As soon as Qianqian entered the room, her eyes widened: "Am I not a person? Am I a person or not?"

Horn turned his head to look at Martin, pointing at Qianqian with his finger, and the three of them burst out laughing.

"No, I didn't come alone. Besides Mr. Qianqian, I brought four companions, all young monks from our Juanist Faction, devout and knowledgeable."

"That's wonderful." Horn pointed to the chairs next to him, signaling for Qianqian and the others to sit.

"Did Brother Martin come directly from Kasha County?" Horn gave a signal, and a small maid struggled to carry a large pitcher, pouring a full glass of water for Martin.

It really was a full glass, with the surface of the water forming a convex shape above the rim.

Martin, who was about to reach for the water, slowly pulled back his hand: "No, I first went to Rapids City to visit Lady Catherine, then traveled by land to Joan of Arc Castle."

"Isn't it possible to reach Joan of Arc Castle from Kasha County without passing through Rapids City?"

Martin was slightly confused by Horn's question: "There are two main roads, one through Rapids City and the other through Tbe Plain. If you take the small paths, there are many routes, but there are also more bandits."

"Those bandits are like grasshoppers after the autumn season; once our people recover, it'll be their day to meet the Saint Master."

Horn spoke lightly, but Martin seemed to hear the sound of blades clashing.

Martin suddenly recalled a famous saying Juanuo had once told him, that a nation in hardship often produces heroes.

Thousand River Valley now too was entering a time of heroes.

From south to north, be it Catherine, Moliat, or Valent Taylor, who was gaining fame in Hotam County, and Horn stationed at Joan of Arc Castle, none of them were to be trifled with.

"How long does Mr. Martin plan to stay at Joan of Arc Castle?"

"About a week, I guess." Martin thought for a moment and pulled out a book titled "The Holy Path Salvation Doctrine" from his bag, "I'm actually here for a friendly exchange between the Saint Father Order and our Juanist Faction."

"I think the Juanist Faction and our Saint Father Order actually share similar views. You have people but no land, and I have land but no people.

You also know how strong our enemies are. Instead of being scattered, joining forces together would be a better choice. What do you think?"

Martin shook his head with a wry smile: "I'm just an unknown little monk; how can I interfere with the dean's decisions?"

"But personally, what do you think?"

"It's such a complicated matter, not something I can ponder over." Martin thought for a moment and added, "If it truly came to that, I would be willing to cooperate deeply."

"How about this, why don't you apply to your dean to send some monks here for learning, and we'll send a group to your place for learning as well, how does that sound?" Seeing Martin hesitate, Horn smiled and said, "Not asking for scholars, even if you send scholars, I wouldn't have much use for them. I need lower-level monks who can write and read and have good character."

"If that's the case, I can give it a try." Martin said up to this point but felt the topic was straying, so he hurriedly pulled it back, "Your Majesty Horn, my main purpose for coming to Joan of Arc Castle is actually for the content of 'The Holy Path Salvation Doctrine'..."

Horn didn't digress further and truly accompanied Martin in theological debates.

Although the Holy Grandson wasn't very cultured at first, he studied diligently even on the treacherous long road.

Although he didn't reach Martin's level of theology, when it came to discussions, his previous life's knowledge and logical thinking made it possible to hold his ground against Martin.

During the debates, Martin found that Horn sometimes had vague interpretations of the classics, yet he always managed to cut straight to the heart of the issue.

He would interpret scriptures from completely new perspectives, and while his reasoning was flawless, the conclusions were often strange, leaving Martin unable to find any flaws.

What surprised Martin the most was the theoretical system of the Saint Father's Association.

He had thought it was an illogical system filled with delusions and emotions.

But through conversation, he discovered that this system, known as "natural theology," despite its roughness, was more rigorous and logical than the current existing theological systems.

Horn explained, "On Autumn Dusk Island, there's a library left over from the Ancient Aer Era, and our theological system is derived from that era."

Martin instantly understood, which made sense; after all, knowledge can't appear out of nowhere.

Compared to the millennia-old, distorted theological system, the more precise and cautious logic of the Ancient Aer Era clearly fit the style of this theological system better.

"Is this library open to outsiders?" Martin asked with a hint of hope.

Horn immediately pulled out a piece of paper: "I can write you an entry permit..."

"Thank you very much..."

"...but I might need you to do a little favor for me." Horn's face broke into a radiant smile, "After all, you're planning to stay here at Joan of Arc Castle for a week."

Sitting up straight, Martin said straightforwardly, "I am willing to pay the price for knowledge."

"Don't be nervous." Reaching from behind the desk, Horn patted Martin's arm and handed him a bound book of "The Holy Path Salvation Doctrine."

Martin took the booklet, which had been simplified but had many unnecessary annotations added, and after flipping through a couple of pages, he realized, "Is this a manual for beginner monks?"

"Yes." Pulling up the blinds, Horn let the light of the setting sun stream in, illuminating the inkwell on the desk in the glow of dusk.

"All my monks are outside spreading the word of our Saint Father's Association and supervising land distribution, leaving a significant gap in the training of new monks."

"You want me to do this?" Martin squinted against the piercing sunlight, "But I'm not a monk from the Saint Father's Association."

"With this copy of 'The Holy Path Salvation Doctrine,' you serve as the second author, and our ideas are similar, so why not?"

With his hands crossed on the table, Horn's expression seemed oddly distorted:

"I'm just asking you and your companions to act as a consulting group, helping us quickly train priests, and I'll pay you a weekly salary of 15 Dinar."

Martin sighed in relief: "I see, but this is something I should be doing anyway. You don't need to pay a salary."

"I must pay; it's a matter of the Salvation Army Government's credibility, what you do with it is your own business."

After writing the library entry permit, Martin carefully stored it, placing it in his pouch.

Horn tidied up the items on the table: "We've been chatting till evening already; time flies.

Let's do this, let me go over the specific duties of the consulting group with you, then we can go eat... don't worry, it's just a small task."

Martin pulled out a hard wooden board and a piece of burlap paper from his pocket, licking the tip of his quill pen: "Please, go ahead."

"After capturing a few monasteries, I have nearly a thousand literate but not necessarily trustworthy monks, noble servants, and scribes in my hands.

They are now all undergoing labor reform with the Trinity Education Team, helping villagers farm by day and self-studying 'The Holy Path Salvation Doctrine' at night.

In three weeks, we'll be assessing those low-level monks who are innocent, have good reputations, and perform well, with the exam content being 'The Holy Path Salvation Doctrine.'

I wish to invite a few of your companions as Masters to give these monks and priests a daily lecture, nurturing their sincere belief in our ideas.

Currently, the Saint Father Association has over forty senior monks who have a deep understanding of 'The Holy Path Salvation Doctrine.'

However, among the more than fifty new monks who have been recommended and evaluated, most were previously laborers by birth.

Oh, by the way, there's also..."

Listening to the talkative Horn, Martin subconsciously stopped his recording, his pen already filling a page, yet he had not even finished dictating.

Is this really just a small task?

Wasn't I just here to visit? Plus, I was only supposed to stay a week. How did it turn into this? He thought in confusion as he was swept along.

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