Chapter 2194 - 1187: Junior Priest of Secret Sect (Part 4)

"What’s wrong? Don’t scare me." Yang Xiao really couldn’t take any more scares now; to him, the three words "young priest" felt like an immediate death sentence.

"I know why the Cannibal Buddha wants to take you in as his adopted son." Sheng Yanlin took a deep breath. "Of course part of it is that he appreciates you, but just that bit of fondness is far from enough to go this far. He needs you, needs you as his adopted son, using that identity to achieve his goal."

"Did he mention Ashan Palace, say he’ll build a Holy Temple for you and establish your name there, and give you some golden token or something?" Sheng Yanlin asked hurriedly.

"Yeah, yeah." Yang Xiao panicked. Sheng Yanlin’s words were spot on, not a syllable off; he vaguely sensed that he’d been set up.

"Looks like that’s it." Sheng Yanlin slowly sat down, as if mulling something over.

"No, don’t stop halfway. What exactly does the High Priest want to do with me? He’s not planning to sacrifice me, is he?" Yang Xiao had seen the Dharma Sect’s sacrifice rituals; the scenes were nothing short of brutally gory, leaving him with an indelible impression.

Although the High Priest, the Cannibal Buddha, treated him well enough, objectively speaking, the Esoteric Sect wasn’t much better than the Dharma Sect in essence. Across Myanmar and Thailand, people simply weren’t people; they were goods with price tags, units of materials.

"It won’t go that far. The Cannibal Buddha will use you, sure, but he absolutely won’t harm you. Otherwise you wouldn’t have lived to see today."

Sheng Yanlin shook his head, then asked, "Do you still remember the Martyr?"

"I remember. Isn’t he always at odds with the High Priest?" Yang Xiao had a deep impression of that man; it was him who had prophesied Yang Xiao’s death back then, and had given him a lot of hints.

You could say that the reason he managed to survive in the Nightmare World last time owed a great deal to that Martyr. Yang Xiao had always kept that favor in mind.

But that Martyr had offended the High Priest and had been imprisoned ever since; Yang Xiao didn’t know what his situation was now.

"The Martyr is the core interpreter of the Esoteric Sect’s doctrine, and the inheritor of the sect’s secret lineage through the ages. In terms of doctrine, his status is even higher than that of the Cannibal Buddha as High Priest."

"And the Martyr’s prestige within the sect is extremely high; he’s the spiritual core for many elders and believers. It’s partly because of this that the Cannibal Buddha has long hesitated to make up his mind to kill him."

"Moreover, you might have heard a bit: the Cannibal Buddha’s position as High Priest is somewhat lacking in legitimacy. The Martyr refuses to acknowledge him as the orthodox High Priest of the Esoteric Sect, which has left the Cannibal Buddha somewhat on the back foot all these years."

"Though, given his power and his intimidation, no one dares to confront him to his face, the criticism behind his back has never stopped—especially the rival Dharma Sect, which keeps seizing on this point to make a big fuss." Clearly Sheng Yanlin understood the Esoteric Sect’s history much more thoroughly than Yang Xiao.

"But what does all that have to do with me?" Compared to the Cannibal Buddha and the Martyr, Yang Xiao was still more concerned about his own little life.

"What’s the Martyr’s greatest ability?" Sheng Yanlin asked.

"Arguing with the High Priest." Yang Xiao answered without even thinking.

"Tsk—" Sheng Yanlin sucked in a cold breath and shook his head. "No, it’s his power of prophecy. That’s the foundation that sustains his identity as Martyr."

"Before you came, none of the Martyr’s prophecies had ever failed. But after you arrived, his prophecy was broken for the first time. Do you know what that means?" Sheng Yanlin asked.

"Hey, we’re all on the same side here, so quit circling around. Just say it straight, okay?" Right now Yang Xiao only felt his head pounding.

"You broke the Martyr’s prophecy. That proves you’re the Holy Temple’s chosen one. And if even you, this chosen one, acknowledge the Cannibal Buddha’s rule and recognize him as your adoptive father, then what more can the Martyr say?"

"Either he admits he’s a fraud, that he’s already lost the Holy Temple’s protection and no longer has the qualifications to be the Martyr, or he admits the legitimacy of the Cannibal Buddha’s status as High Priest. Apart from that, there is no second path." Sheng Yanlin laid it out clearly.

"Holy shit, using magic to counter magic." A sudden clarity flashed through Yang Xiao’s mind.

Since the Martyr questions the legitimacy of the High Priest’s position, the High Priest uses him as his trump card to overturn the Martyr’s doctrinal rhetoric—mutual magical bombardment.

At this moment Yang Xiao finally understood. No wonder he’d made so many demands when he came this time, and the High Priest hadn’t even hesitated, accepting them all. Turns out he’d been waiting for this.

It seemed the High Priest hadn’t started thinking about this just yesterday or today; he’d probably settled on this plan long before Yang Xiao arrived.

As for inviting Elder Kunpa to accompany them today, that was clearly to have him join in the performance.

There were some things the High Priest wasn’t convenient to say directly; having Elder Kunpa act as his mouthpiece was much more suitable.

No, Yang Xiao even suspected the idea itself had come from Elder Kunpa; he was the Esoteric Sect’s famed strategist.

"What’s wrong? Finding out you’re being used has chilled you a bit?" Seeing Yang Xiao fall silent, Sheng Yanlin sounded a little gleeful at his misfortune.

"No. The High Priest has been good to me; being able to help him makes me happy." Yang Xiao replied. "This benefits him and it benefits me. Why not?"

"It’s just that if he could have explained it to me beforehand, that would’ve been even better. Then I’d know how to cooperate with him to really put on this show and make that Martyr accept it wholeheartedly."

"If in the future the Martyr can be of one mind with the High Priest, turning blades into silk and peace, then the Esoteric Sect’s strength will surely rise to a new level. The stronger the High Priest is, the more face I’ll have as young priest. Together, we’ll go big and go strong." Yang Xiao spoke with firm conviction.

"Not bad, Little Yang. Your greatest strength is that you live with clarity. You know what to do at what time, you don’t waste energy on inner conflict, you don’t overthink. If it works, great; if not, so be it. You are someone cut out for big things." Sheng Yanlin gave him a thumbs-up.