Mu Yang bid farewell to Kinich.
Fortunately, Kinich himself had no objections regarding the matter of Mu Yang taking on the role of Flame Bearer.
He was even quite grateful to Mu Yang. This way, no one would come bothering him every day to host the ceremony.
He disliked wasting energy on such things.
And now, it was even more so.
Especially after his Beast Realm plan proved unworkable, he needed to find a new way out.
Regarding the Mountain King, Kinich had his own thoughts.
After all, he was the one who had inherited the Ancient Name of [Returning the Fire].
Naturally, he had also inherited Bukina's memories concerning the Mountain King.
No matter what others thought, Kinich absolutely would not allow the Mountain King to die.
Neither would Mu Yang.
That would conflict with his own interests.
Moreover, no one would rush to take the blame after knowing they had been made a scapegoat.
At least Mu Yang was definitely not that kind of person.
Arriving at the entrance of Trinidad's house, he happened to encounter his young daughter arguing with a boy.
The boy said indignantly, "Huni! How can you call Lord Mountain King a troublemaker?!"
"It is a troublemaker! I saw Nanna's wounds!"
Faced with this fact, the boy paused for a moment but still stubbornly insisted.
"Lord Mountain King is sick. It didn't do it on purpose. It was corrupted by the Abyss…"
"How can you be so harsh on a patient? If you don't take back what you just said, there will be a crack in our friendship!"
The boy turned his head to the side, seemingly waiting for Huni to back down.
However, Huni had no intention of paying him any attention.
"Maybe Dad is right. We should all look forward. Our friendship ends as of yesterday, hmph!"
Mu Yang watched the two children quarrel but had no intention of stopping them.
This was a microcosm of the current internal conflicts within the Scions of the Canopy.
And he was looking for a way to resolve the contradiction.
At that moment, Trinidad walked out.
He greeted Mu Yang very warmly, then introduced him to the two children as the new Flame Bearer.
He was an expert at solving problems.
In a few days, Lord Mountain King's illness would be cured.
Hearing that the Mountain King could be cured, the little boy's eyes immediately lit up.
He wanted to say more, but Trinidad sent him away.
His daughter left with him as well.
Trinidad said with a face full of smiles, "The matter of you serving as Flame Bearer has been decided. Next, I will explain the remaining matters for the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame, specifically the part about purifying the Mountain King…"
Trinidad followed the script he had prepared in advance and still tried to deceive Mu Yang regarding the purification.
What he told Mu Yang was that with Mu Yang's abilities, combined with the Sacred Flame, he could completely purge the power of the Abyss in a single attempt.
At that time, the Mountain King would be able to sleep peacefully for a while.
Mu Yang thought to himself: Indeed, it would sleep—sleep until it was dead.
It seemed this old man was determined to make him take the blame.
Mu Yang showed nothing on his face, but he already understood this faction's approach.
What he sought was the optimal solution. Killing the Mountain King was absolutely impossible.
However, he could use these handles from Trinidad to exchange for greater benefits from the chief.
Mu Yang knew that Chief Wayna was no pushover either.
Their meeting this morning had appeared open and aboveboard, yet it had been concealed from Trinidad.
In short, saving the Mountain King was definitely the more profitable choice.
But for now, he still had to make use of his identity as Flame Bearer on the surface.
He could not fall out with the old man yet.
Acting? Who didn't know how…
The Best Actor Mu Yang instantly came online, expressing that he was confident he could remove all the filth from the Mountain King's body and restore its peace.
Trinidad was overjoyed. "It's truly reassuring to see you so confident. In the next few days, please walk around the tribe more and let everyone get to know the new Flame Bearer. If you have any questions, feel free to find me anytime."
After leaving Trinidad's house, Mu Yang planned to observe the adults' attitudes.
Their way of thinking should not be as direct as those two children earlier.
Mu Yang walked down the stairs. In front of him, several young men and women were dancing.
He approached and asked what was going on. It looked like some kind of ritual dance.
"This is indeed the ritual dance for the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame," a young male onlooker replied. As he spoke, he turned his head to size up Mu Yang.
"A new face. Judging by your outfit, you don't look like an adventurer. Ordinary tourists are quite rare among the Scions of the Canopy."
This person was quite sociable. He didn't even need Mu Yang to respond before he continued speaking on his own.
"You really came at a bad time. Lord Mountain King suddenly had something happen, and now they're holding the ritual for the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame."
"Although it's called a ritual, don't think it's some kind of celebration. For you outsiders, it's actually quite dangerous…"
"Wait, speaking of outsiders, I heard that this time's Flame Bearer is apparently an outsider. I wonder what he looks like. Do I have a chance to see him first?"
"You're seeing him right now," Mu Yang replied.
"Where?" The man looked around, but there was only Mu Yang nearby.
"Ah?! It couldn't be you, could it?! Wow, you've really opened my eyes."
The man's exaggerated and comical actions made Mu Yang unable to resist asking, "You seem to care a lot about the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame?"
He looked proud and impromptu performed a segment of the ritual dance.
"Not bad, right? Back in the day, I was quite the handsome guy dancing under the Sacred Flame Pillar. Many girls came specifically to watch."
Mu Yang asked back, "Since that's the case, why didn't you continue participating? You still dance quite skillfully now."
He shook his head. "Because I feel Lord Mountain King's problem is getting more and more serious. It's not just the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame—even the tribe itself isn't very safe anymore." He looked around and lowered his voice.
"The key is, no one above is giving any clear answer on how to solve this in the future. They might be having conflicts among themselves too." After speaking, he smiled at Mu Yang.
Looking at this outsider Flame Bearer who had been pushed out by the higher-ups at this critical moment.
Mu Yang found this person's personality quite interesting.
Moreover, his judgment of the current situation was very accurate.
However, Mu Yang did not answer his question as he wished. Instead, he asked him what he planned to do in this situation.
The man said dejectedly, "I don't know. Maybe I'll find a job outside the tribe? Anyway, now is a good opportunity."
Mu Yang patted his shoulder. "Then good luck to you."
It seemed that within the tribe, besides the faction that wanted to kill the Mountain King and the faction that wanted to protect it, there was also a faction that wanted to run away.
Escapism might be shameful, but it was useful.
But that was not Mu Yang's way of solving problems.
Unless the Mountain King's issue became too difficult to handle, he would still use this matter to exchange for greater benefits within the Scions of the Canopy.
Afterward, Mu Yang visited around the Scions of the Canopy tribe.
Some people said they could not let the Mountain King harm the current people and dragon companions anymore.
Others criticized Mu Yang for not being traditional enough and said Kinich should be the one to protect the Mountain King.
Of course, those who chose to avoid the problem were not few in number. They only planned to live their own lives well.
Since he had asked most of them, it was time to go see the Mountain King in person…