Mountain King's cave entrance.
With his identity as the Flame Bearer, no one stopped Mu Yang anymore.
He simply said he wanted to go inside and take a look.
The guards immediately let him through.
This was Mu Yang's first time seeing the Mountain King, Kongamato.
"If nothing goes wrong, it should be a boss from the Natlan region."
Mu Yang judged from the Mountain King's size. It was at least four or five times larger than a regular Tepetlisaur.
It was even bigger than the chicken lord from Sumeru.
At this moment, after the Scions of the Canopy's simple ritual, the Mountain King had already fallen into a stable sleep.
But in this state, Mu Yang found it hard to say it was "still alive."
Before Mu Yang could observe carefully, the Abyss power on the Mountain King seemed to sense danger.
It began to rampage wildly across the Mountain King's body.
"Roar——"
The powerful Tepetlisaur was awakened by the fluctuations of Abyss energy.
The earth-shaking roar seemed as if it would shatter the entire mountain.
The Mountain King's eyes glowed with purple light as it searched for prey everywhere.
Finally, it locked onto the tiny youth before it.
In its eyes, the youth's figure was like a mere insect.
All it needed was a gentle pinch to crush him to death.
The frenzied Mountain King thought so and acted accordingly.
It raised its claw and slapped toward Mu Yang at an unbelievable speed…
As the saying goes, there is smoke but no injury (bushi).
Mu Yang blocked the Mountain King's attack with just one hand.
Failing to land its attack, the Mountain King became even more furious and launched consecutive assaults, all of which Mu Yang easily dodged.
Mu Yang did not counterattack for the time being, because he had not yet found a way to awaken the Mountain King.
If he rashly launched an attack now, he might end up killing the Mountain King, which would perfectly fulfill Trinidad's wishes.
Mu Yang tried several methods to suppress the Abyss, but none could restore the Mountain King's consciousness.
Five hundred years of entanglement had already made them inseparable.
Outside the cave, people from both Trinidad's and the chief's sides arrived at the same time.
Facing this sudden situation, the chief ordered an immediate dispersal ritual to suppress the Mountain King.
Trinidad, however, remained unmoved. What he was thinking was that it would be best if Mu Yang directly finished off the Mountain King in this battle.
If Mu Yang couldn't do it, then what would that prove?
It would prove that the Mountain King had fallen into complete madness and had even killed the newly chosen Flame Bearer.
First it was everyone's dragon companions, now it was the Flame Bearer.
What would be next?
The people dancing under the Sacred Flame Pillar, or the men, women, old, and young of the tribe?
No matter whether Mu Yang won or lost, Trinidad could achieve his goal.
Therefore, while the chief ordered the dispersal ritual, Trinidad's eyes darted around as he thought of his own nasty ideas.
However, Kinich was not considering any of that.
Mu Yang was his friend, and the Mountain King was the one he wanted to protect.
Neither side fighting would benefit him.
So, Kinich joined the battlefield at the first moment.
This move infuriated Trinidad to no end.
However, he immediately questioned the chief, "How many more people have to be sacrificed before you make up your mind?"
"That is the root of the Scions of the Canopy, our spiritual totem!"
The chief still insisted on his own view.
But many of the tribe's elites had seen the frenzied Mountain King in the center of the battlefield.
They began to waver.
After Kinich joined the battlefield, Mu Yang immediately reminded him to try drawing out the power of [Returning the Fire].
Ordinary Sacred Flame had already been tried by Mu Yang and had no effect.
"Returning the Fire?"
It was true that Kinich had inherited the Ancient Name [Malipo].
But up to this day, he had only obtained the memory inheritance.
How exactly was the power of Returning the Fire supposed to be used?
While Kinich hesitated, his Ancient Name [Malipo] manifested and stood in front of the Mountain King.
The Abyss in the Mountain King's eyes began to dissipate. "End me…"
Mu Yang seized the opportunity. "Domain Expansion!"
The ice-and-snow domain rapidly covered the cave. Mu Yang drew his sword and pierced through the Mountain King with one strike…
This sudden scene left the chief outside the cave dumbfounded.
This was not what we agreed on earlier!
Meanwhile, the corners of Trinidad's mouth beside him curled up so high they were harder to suppress than an AK.
But now, facing the situation where the Mountain King had just passed away, he still had to maintain his composure.
Some tribespeople began to denounce Kinich and Mu Yang.
However, only Kinich who was on the scene understood that things were not like that.
He grasped his Ancient Name. "The past of kindling, the present of blazing flames, all are lives that never look back…"
The power of Returning the Fire, combined with the enhancement from Mu Yang's domain, created a spectacle inside the cave.
Pale blue flames burned fiercely within the ice…
"Bukina… you are… the inheritor of Returning the Fire…"
"Why… Kongamato's will once again feels its own body…"
Mu Yang spoke up, "Don't get too happy too soon. Right now, you have only temporarily recovered within my power."
Mu Yang was not exaggerating.
The Mountain King was extremely fragile right now. The slightest carelessness would turn it into powder.
After all, if its consciousness had not been maintained by the Abyss, it would have died hundreds of years ago.
"You mean Lord Mountain King still has a chance to recover?"
Kinich was also confused about the current situation.
After all, it was Mu Yang who had suppressed the Abyss. The Returning the Fire had not been summoned by him, but by the Mountain King's own will.
Mu Yang said he was not sure either, but he could maintain the Mountain King in this state of ice combined with flames.
As for whether it would slowly recover, he could not guarantee it.
Neither the Mountain King nor Kinich had any objections.
After all, as the dragon companion of [Returning the Fire], no matter what had happened in the past,
it could not turn back.
Those frenzied acts of harming others would accompany it as shame as it continued forward.
Even so, it could not turn back.
"Living in humiliation — that is the price to pay."
"I hope that one day, I can once again step onto the battlefield of the Abyss. At that time, Kongamato will trample the Abyss flat!"
After the Mountain King finished speaking, frost began to freeze upward from the soles of its feet.
Trinidad had just prepared to move when Mu Yang's sword swung toward the cave entrance.
"If you want to remove the Abyss erosion from Nanna's body, then stand obediently where you are and don't move."
"As for your little schemes, we'll settle them slowly later…"
Trinidad's neck shrank violently, because a raven that had appeared from nowhere nearly scratched his eyes blind.
And although Mu Yang's sword strike was meant to deter and warn, it had also saved his life…
Clarisse: Hehe, as expected, always bullying me.
And so, the new Flame Bearer Mu Yang became the hero who saved the Mountain King without even holding the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame.
Moreover, from now on, there was no need to hold the Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame anymore.
This time's Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame was changed into a large-scale gathering.
Aside from celebrating the Mountain King's return, it was also to congratulate Mu Yang on his achievement.
However, Mu Yang, the protagonist of the banquet, had already set off on a new journey.
After all, the matters of the Scions of the Canopy tribe had been completely settled.
He had received plenty of rewards from the chief, including future trade routes, various kinds of sponsorship, and the position of the first foreign elder of the Scions of the Canopy.
As for who was squeezed out of that position, there was no need to say more.
Trinidad had paid the price he deserved.
In the Scions of the Canopy's arena of fame and profit, the old man would have no chance to participate in the future.
But Mu Yang had not gone too far.
After all, someone so weak was never truly considered an opponent by Mu Yang.
Completely eradicating him would be too beneath him.
Even before leaving the Scions of the Canopy, he conveniently cured Nanna as well.
He really did it. I'm crying.
Just let the old man live forever in guilt…