Chapter 008: Only Advantages

“Change fate?” Du Fan sneered. “Change whose fate?”
Gannon stared into the darkness in the distance and said slowly, “Well… only by reaching the Gate of the Abyss can you find out.”
“What if I don’t go?”
“That’s your choice…” Gannon smiled faintly. “No one will force you… including me, of course… But then again, shouldn’t Young Master Du Fan also take a clear look at his current situation?”
As he spoke, Gannon seemed to reach out lightly into the void, as if a breeze blew through, dispersing the mist around them and casting a faint light in their surroundings.
Du Fan glanced in that direction and couldn’t help but feel a chill. Countless Nether Wolves appeared in his sight, though they were at a certain distance from the three of them, as if separated by a transparent wall.
Seeing Du Fan’s expression, Gannon seemed to smile again. He said calmly, “But you don’t need to worry. Those Nether Wolves wouldn’t dare come over. Even if I weren’t here, you wouldn’t become food for these lowly creatures. So… Young Master Du Fan, make your choice. For someone like me who possesses the True Eye, an unseeable future is the most interesting one.”
Du Fan instinctively felt something was wrong. Looking at Gannon’s seemingly indifferent expression, he couldn’t help but ask, “Why won’t those Nether Wolves come over?”
Gannon glanced at the wolves, a hint of sarcasm in his eyes. “Just as there are kings, nobles, commoners, and slaves in the human world, there are also hierarchical divisions among magical beasts. Level 1 magical beasts can only appear in their own territories, while level 2 and level 3 beasts would never dare enter those territories. Of course, conversely, a level 3 beast might dare enter the territories of level 1 or level 2 beasts, but when it comes to a level 4 beast’s territory… they can only go around it. Just as nobles disdain to appear in commoner areas, higher-level magical beasts also disdain to enter the territories of lower-level ones… Don’t you think, Young Master Du Fan, that this hierarchical system among magical beasts is similar to that in the human world?”
As Gannon spoke, although there was a hint of sarcasm on his face, it was more often an air of indifference—a condescending indifference, as if a deity were looking down on the human world, or as if a human were looking down on ants on the ground.

Du Fan felt uncomfortable after what he was told and only after a while could he speak in a strained voice, “Are those Nether Wolves first-tier magical beasts?”
“Probably second-tier…”
“Then where is this…”
“It should be the territory of third-tier magical beasts. As for exactly which kind of magical beast’s territory it is, I’ve temporarily forgotten.”
Du Fan sighed and forced a bitter smile—the only option he had. Although High Priest Gannon was right; those Nether Wolves didn’t dare come here, there were even more terrifying creatures here… At a time like this, if he left this mysterious High Priest Gannon, he really wouldn’t even know how he’d die. Moreover, even if he returned to where he started now, Du Fan didn’t dare hope he could walk across the surface of the River of Submersion like this High Priest Gannon.
Being accompanied by the countless bones at the bottom of the river wasn’t fun at all!
“Alright, I’ll follow you…” Du Fan sighed. “But can you answer one question for me?”
Gannon nodded. “Ask.”
Du Fan frowned. “Since you say that higher-tier magical beasts disdain to appear in the territories of lower-tier ones, then why were there high-level Nether Wolves in the mountain path I entered through?”
A faint smile appeared on Gannon’s lips. “Young Master Du Fan is so smart. Why not guess?”
Du Fan snorted and remained silent.
Gannon glanced at him and said calmly, “It’s actually very simple. There are only two reasons why magical beasts leave their territories: the first is to hunt for food, and the second is to find mates… The secret path you took was just a pit used by the Karans to sacrifice to their gods. Naturally, there were no mates for those Nether Wolves. So tell me… what were those Nether Wolves doing there?”
Du Fan shuddered and couldn’t speak.
Gannon continued, “Young Master Du Fan, see how foolish humans are. For some trivial belief, they kill their own people and abandon them in caves, thinking it’s a sacrifice to the gods. But in reality, those corpses end up benefiting a bunch of magical beasts… Isn’t that interesting?”
Du Fan gritted his teeth. “Indeed interesting!”
“Then, does Lord Du Fan want to know where those corpses came from?”
“Those corpses… are they from the annual banquet, where those who fail in their courtship commit suicide?” A voice filled with anger rang out. “Teacher, didn’t you say that such activities can make the great god feel our Karans’ sincerity and bless us with a brand-new territory? Right?”

Ringo gritted her teeth, seemingly eager to pounce on Gannon and tear him apart.
“Huh… Was that really what I said at first?” Gannon asked doubtfully, but moments later, a cruel smile appeared on his face. “Well, since you all believe it, who can be blamed?”
“So it was also you who arranged for this banquet to be held earlier…”
“Oh, please don’t say it was my arrangement. It was the oracle, nothing more…” Gannon said indifferently. “I didn’t tell you to move up the event; I just told you that this year the great god seems particularly angry. But it was you who suggested advancing this sacrifice… oh… what you call advancing the banquet, wasn’t that also you?”
“Of course. If the banquet wasn’t moved up, I wouldn’t have been able to get the corpses. Without corpses, I couldn’t lure those three demon wolves there. Of course… following past traditions, I applied a potion to the surface of the entity that weakens the magical beasts… It’s just a habit; there’s nothing I can do about it!”
As he spoke, he glanced at Du Fan and said, “See, Young Master Du Fan… it’s all just chance and coincidence. So many coincidences coming together led to our meeting. Isn’t that a strange fate?”
Du Fan smiled bitterly… The other party indeed hadn’t done anything on purpose; it was all just chance and coincidence. But how could so many coincidences form such a complex web to draw him here? What was the ultimate goal?
It seemed his choices were all his own, yet which one hadn’t been made out of necessity? It seemed, without realizing it, he was following his plan… though he hadn’t forced or influenced him. What could have been done with just a simple action had to be made so troublesome and complicated… It seemed his role as a pawn to change fate indeed had great significance!
Ringo couldn’t say a word. She stared blankly at Gannon, unsure of her thoughts.
Perhaps in her heart, being deceived by her respected teacher was more tragic than having her purity tarnished by Du Fan. Du Fan didn’t know how to comfort her either; he could only hold her, looking at Gannon with a sense of helplessness.
Gannon looked at Du Fan, then at Ringo, and suddenly smiled faintly. “By the way… it’s getting late. I need to head to the Gate of the Abyss now. Young Master Du Fan, you don’t have to follow me. I’m not forcing you!”

Didn’t you force me?
You really didn’t force me… It was me who forced myself…
Du Fan let out a frustrated hum. At this moment, though he felt depressed, he simply couldn’t bring himself to say those two words.
Gannon waved his hand and stepped forward first. Du Fan shook his head but had no choice but to follow. The darkness around them was thick; things ten meters away were still indistinct. But compared to where they were before, there were now plants and flowers on the ground.
Gannon led the way, stopping occasionally as if trying to determine direction, yet he never said a word, as if afraid that speaking might affect Du Fan’s judgment and cause even the slightest mistake in his role as a pawn determining fate.
Even facing Reine’s hateful and hostile gaze, he pretended not to see it.
Yet Du Fan felt a faint sense of sickly pleasure. After all, both of these people were stronger than him. No matter how you looked at it, they were completely at odds now, which was only good for him! Only good!
But Du Fan absolutely couldn’t express any of this. Reine already hated him deeply, and now that there was someone she hated even more, his status in her eyes naturally dropped a bit. This way, maybe he would have a chance to form an alliance with her in the future and, if possible, escape Gannon’s “control”…
A thousand thoughts raced through Du Fan’s mind, but none of them were useful in this situation. He was truly at his wits’ end.
Just as he was thinking, Gannon ahead suddenly stopped. As if sighing, he murmured, “Young Master Du Fan, be careful… They’re already here…”
They’re here? Du Fan was puzzled. Could some other magical beast have arrived?