Chapter 013: Each Lost in Thought

Du Fan was secretly shocked, feeling a strange sense of being completely seen through. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before smiling and saying, “High Priest Gannon truly has sharp eyes—being able to see through everything about me, Du Fan, at a glance. But, High Priest, I suppose you didn’t summon me here just to assess my strength, did you? I think you must have something more important on your mind.”
Gannon lifted his gaze and glanced at Du Fan, saying indifferently, “You’re right. Please sit down.”
Du Fan looked around and sat down on a broken fragment of a stone pillar.
After Du Fan sat down, Gannon spoke slowly again, “Lord Du Fan, I believe you’re pretty aware of why Ringtone specifically invited you from the Gavin Empire, right?”
Du Fan was stunned. He hadn’t expected High Priest Gannon to be so direct. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “Of course I know. Isn’t it because of Space Tear Slash and Word Spirit?”
“Space Tear Slash? Word Spirit?” Gannon seemed to smile. “So, Lord Du Fan, what do you think I want from you?”
Du Fan snorted and said, “It’s nothing but to make me reveal the secrets of those two techniques, right? Am I correct, High Priest Gannon?”
Gannon slowly shook his head. He stared at Du Fan intently for a few moments before suddenly laughing lightly. “Lord Du Fan, if I’m not mistaken, regarding these two techniques, there’s no such thing as secrets. Even you yourself might not fully understand why you use them.”
Du Fan trembled, almost jumping to his feet. How… how did this guy know?
Taking a deep breath, Du Fan forced himself to stay calm. He stared at Gannon and said slowly, “High Priest, this isn’t funny at all!”
“Just a joke?” Gannon smiled faintly, though his face seemed darker as he smiled. The hand hidden in his sleeve slowly rose. “Lord Du Fan, you’d better watch carefully!”
With that, the High Priest formed his palms into a blade and casually swung it in a certain direction.

As he moved, streaks of intense white lightning seemed to coalesce in midair before slowly advancing forward. These lightning bolts formed a crescent shape, causing everything around them to melt away gradually and disappear into the air. After a while, those lightning-like phenomena finally vanished, leaving behind a deep mark on the ground.

After completing all this, a somewhat amiable smile appeared on the high priest’s face. He stared at Du Fan and whispered, “Lord Du Fan, don’t you find this move somewhat familiar?”

Du Fan’s face paled slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he tentatively asked, “Space Tear Slash?”

Gannon laughed heartily, but there was not a trace of warmth in his laughter. “Lord Du Fan, you have quite good eyesight. You probably only used this move once yourself, right? It’s remarkable that you still remember it.”

Du Fan inwardly groaned in frustration. He hadn’t expected High Priest Gannon to use this move. Then why had they captured him in the first place?

Seeing Du Fan’s troubled expression, Gannon seemed to understand what he was thinking. Still smiling, his face exuded a chill. “Lord Du Fan… it’s just the Space Tear Slash. Why be so surprised? How about you stand up first and slap yourself a few times?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Du Fan obediently stood up and slapped himself hard, his face swelling instantly.

Yet, Du Fan hardly felt any pain at first. He realized that when Gannon spoke those words, he had involuntarily carried out those actions. His mind remained clear, but he lost control of his body in that instant.

Word Magic! It was Word Magic!

That was the first thought that crossed Du Fan’s mind, sending waves of shock through him. This Gannon! This barbarian high priest! Why did he know these two moves? Could it be that he was like him…

Noticing Du Fan’s strange expression, Gannon casually waved his hand. Instantly, Du Fan regained full sensation. Only then did he feel the burning pain on his face. But compared to the terror in his heart, what was that anyway?

He glared at Gannon, swallowed hard, and said in a deep voice, “High Priest Gannon, you know these two moves too?”

Gannon shook his head. “Lord Du Fan, it should be me asking you that question… Look… I can use these two techniques as well, and I’m far more proficient at them than you are. Lord Du Fan, what do you think that means?”
Du Fan’s expression changed. “Are you saying I stole them?”
“Stole them? Oh… no…” Gannon said. “These two techniques—Space Tear Slash and Word Spirit—are only known to the high priests of the Great Temple through the ages. Oh, and there’s also another technique called True Eye. That’s the one I used to see through your strength just now. These three techniques are known as the three great secrets of our Kara tribe, treasures bestowed upon us by the gods. Apart from being taught directly by the high priests, no one else could possibly master them… So, back outside Rui City, when you used these two techniques, that’s why Ringtone was terrified… Oh, I forgot to tell you—Ringtone is the heir to the next high priest, which is why she knows these techniques… If it were someone else, even if they saw you use them, they might not necessarily recognize them. But, Lord Du Fan, it’s strange… Didn’t the person who taught you these techniques tell you that True Eye is the foundation of Word Spirit and Space Tear Slash? Without mastering True Eye, no matter how hard you train for ten or a hundred years, you can only learn a superficial understanding of these two techniques.”
“So, I don’t think you stole them,” Gannon said thoughtfully. “I’m just wondering—there shouldn’t be anyone else in this world who knows these three techniques besides me. Yet you, a Rolandian, can use them… It’s really strange… So, Lord Du Fan, would you be willing to honestly explain how you learned them? That way… it would be better for everyone, wouldn’t it?”
Du Fan took a deep breath. “High Priest Gannon, didn’t Ringtone say before that bringing me here was just to make me reveal the secrets of these techniques? Since you, the high priest, already know them, why bother me?”
“The secrets of these techniques?” Gannon smiled lightly. “Isn’t what I’m asking you now about the secrets of these techniques? Oh, and Ringtone seemed to mention earlier that you know some kind of self-destruct technique, right? If forced, are you planning to blow yourself up to refuse me? Very well, let’s make a deal. If you’re willing to tell me how you learned these techniques… then… I’ll send someone to take you back to the Gavin Empire, how about that?”

Du Fan looked at this enigmatic High Priest, suddenly feeling a sense of powerlessness. In front of this man, his own strength was seen through completely. What he had always thought were life-saving techniques seemed like jokes in front of him—his feelings at that moment were imaginable. After pondering for a while, he decided to use a mix of truth and deception. After coming up with his words in his mind, he slowly said, “High Priest, to be honest, I don’t know the origins of these two techniques. The Word Spirit was ‘given’ to me by someone I saved by chance, and as for that other technique, Space Tear Slash, it seems to have been sealed on my magic sword by her as well. So, I really don’t know anything about their origins. I’m afraid I’ll disappoint High Priest Gannon.”

“Is that so?” Gannon replied indifferently. He gave Du Fan another deep look before saying, “Since you say so, Du Fan, I’ll just take your word for it. But I have a few things I want to tell you—things I hope you’ll remember.”

Du Fan said, “Please go ahead, High Priest.”

Gannon looked up at the darkness above, like the sky, and after a moment, sighed. “Du Fan, everything you’ve told me today relates to your own future. Your answers clearly show that you’ve already made a choice for yourself. But I can’t tell whether this choice is right or wrong. I only hope you won’t regret it in the future…”

Du Fan frowned. “What do you mean, High Priest?”

Gannon smiled slightly. “Well… maybe there really is no meaning to it…”

As he spoke, he glanced at Du Fan a few times before suddenly saying, “Well then, Du Fan, shall we end our meeting for today? I’ll have Reine send someone to escort you out… And… it’s better if you don’t get involved in the conflicts among our people, the Karas. Otherwise, there will be endless troubles in the future…”

After saying this, the High Priest gave Du Fan a meaningful look before slowly closing his eyes, as if Du Fan weren’t even there.

Du Fan was puzzled. According to his thinking, High Priest Gannon should have tried every means to make him reveal everything about those two techniques. But now it seemed he didn’t care about their purpose at all—what really mattered was his own answer…

But his own answer? Bullshit. I, Du Fan, have never been consistent in what I say. I don’t even believe my own words, yet you believe them. And you call this a choice? Damn it… Is it really that hard to choose one’s own answer?

After thinking for a moment, Du Fan finally curled his lips and decided in his heart that these shaman priests were nuts, and this so-called “shaman priest among shaman priests” must also be crazy!