Chapter 119: The Dragon's Roar
Xia He awoke to the next day. Though she had slept the entire day through, the weariness still clung to her like a shadow.
After rising, she hastily ate a little and exchanged a few words with Ye Yan before slipping back into sleep. The recent flight had truly drained her energy.
Yet, when it came to Ye Yan, her trust was absolute and unconditional. Even knowing she was on Dragon Tiger Mountain, not a trace of worry touched her heart.
Unlike the others—when they opened their eyes and realized they were on Dragon Tiger Mountain, their expressions told a vivid story of panic, almost ready to roll up their sleeves and fight the young Taoists outside. It was only Ye Yan’s intervention that calmed Shen Chong and the others.
Still, their caution was understandable. They ate only a little and then shut themselves away in their rooms, showing no face.
Ye Yan paid them no mind. While guarding Xia He, he was also restoring himself. The exhaustion following the Mastery Awakening lasted about twenty-four hours. Once past that, there was nothing more.
The side effects were minimal.
With this conclusion, Ye Yan felt confident to fully explore the new abilities he had recently acquired.
Activating Mastery should be possible.
Previously, in the vast black sea of consciousness, Ye Yan had successfully ascended to Mastery, but that was purely a spiritual-level advancement.
How activating Mastery would manifest in the real world remained a mystery to him.
The siege against the Wang family was imminent, so Ye Yan intended to familiarize himself thoroughly with Mastery mode in reality beforehand, to avoid panic during the actual confrontation—it was, after all, a new experience.
...
Dragon Tiger Mountain, the rear slopes.
Ye Yan stood alone in a clearing.
A gentle breeze swept past his forehead and the edges of his clothing, lifting his bangs and the hem of his garment, adding a sharpness to his brows.
In this quiet moment, Ye Yan slowly closed his eyes.
The next instant, a vast black tide surged forth from within him, shooting straight into the sky.
His attire swiftly transformed—from a cheap hoodie and work pants into a black hoodie streaked with red stripes.
The clear sky above was instantly swallowed by darkness.
Panicked tourists on the front mountain and terrified Taoists on the rear mountain were enveloped by this shadow.
Within this darkness, Ye Yan’s senses sharpened immensely; everything on the mountain, near or far, lay completely open to him.
He felt like a god of this world.
“Twelve kilometers?” Ye Yan roughly estimated, the radius of this dark realm around him stretching about twelve kilometers.
If he contracted the boundary, it might reach fifteen kilometers—that was the limit.
Controlling a domain of this scale already allowed Ye Yan to accomplish many feats.
Next, he summoned his flag demon within the Mastery domain. The flag demon gained a marked enhancement inside this realm.
Following that came the abilities inherent to Mastery itself.
Having previously utilized the reinforced Soul-Shaking Hammer, Ye Yan skipped it for now.
Constructing darkness was unnecessary to mention—that was the domain itself.
He then attempted to activate several powers: Soul-Extinguishing Palm, Soul-Extinguishing Cannon, and Mastery: Reconstruction, but none could be invoked, likely due to his insufficient mastery over this new realm.
As Ye Yan pondered this, the darkness retreated like a tide, revealing the blue sky overhead.
His body suddenly felt drained, and he staggered.
Using his ability to calculate time precisely, Ye Yan had recorded the entire duration—from activating to deactivating Mastery mode—it lasted only thirty seconds.
Leaning against a tree, Ye Yan remarked wryly, “Well, this Mastery lasts even shorter than Er Dan’s little ‘friend.’”
Lighting a cigarette, he reflected that although brief, he had grasped the fundamental abilities—enough for now.
...
Two days later.
The Wang family mansion.
Within the vast estate, a desolation permeated, silence replacing once joyous laughter.
Two men in black suits leaned against a corner, silently smoking.
Suddenly, the younger-looking man hesitated and asked, “Brother Wang Liang, what’s with the family lately? Everyone looks so listless.”
Wang Liang, a crew-cut youth, sighed, then looked at the younger man recently promoted from a branch line.
“You noticed too, huh.”
“Yeah,” the young man nodded. “Recently, Wang Qing and Wang Hong, the father and son, were constantly quarreling over the distribution of the family's new business ventures. But now, it’s suddenly quiet.”
“And Wang Liao, who was all fired up to challenge for control of the family, has mysteriously disappeared—not even attending the family meetings.”
“...”
“Brother Liang, do you think something’s wrong with our family?”
The youth poured out his doubts.
Wang Liang pinched the cigarette and sighed again.
“Something’s happened, I suppose… mainly because we offended someone. That person made some harsh threats, and now everyone’s on edge.”
“Offended someone?”
Those words widened the young man’s eyes in shock.
He could scarcely imagine what kind of force could shake the mighty Wang family into this state of panic.
In his mind, the Wang family had nearly a century of legacy, with the venerable Wang Ai at the helm, suppressing the supernatural underworld, and a steady stream of talented younger generations.
Their position in the supernatural circle was nearly unassailable.
What kind of power could bring them to such ruin?
“Brother Liang, could it be we’ve fallen out with the Company?”
The young man’s curiosity mingled with disbelief.
He reasoned that only the top figures of the supernatural world—the Company—could make the proud Wang family tremble.
No one else among the Four Great Families could do this.
Wang Liang pulled out another cigarette, slowly lit it, inhaled deeply, and said, “Not the Company.”
“Not the Company?” The youth was even more bewildered.
Wang Liang emphasized, “No. It’s a fierce rival of the Wang family—a bastard named Ye Yan, the Night Watcher. Ever heard of him?”
“Somewhat familiar,” the youth replied, still confused.
“You’re young, mostly stayed in the village, unaware of family affairs. But most of the older Wang family members know that name like a nightmare haunting them.”
“He represents the darkness of the Wang family.”
“Darkness…”
Wang Liang’s tale sounded strange but piqued the young man’s curiosity fully.
“A few years ago, a young family member named Wang Lin…”
Seeing his eager expression, Wang Liang spoke freely about the past grudges between Ye Yan and the Wang family.
Within the Wang family, it was no secret.
Anyone curious could learn it easily.
“So, because of this Wang Lin, our family ended up at odds with Ye Yan, the Night Watcher?”
“Exactly.”
Wang Liang nodded.
“That guy’s outrageous. Who’d have thought that inexperienced kid entering the supernatural world could rise to a hero-level in just a few years?”
“Anyway, the Wang family’s in trouble now. Even the clan head is powerless against him.”
...
Wang Liang’s words shocked the young man deeply.
He had thought the Wang family was an unshakable powerhouse in the supernatural circle, commanding respect everywhere.
Now, to think his family was being crushed by just one man—it was unbelievable.
What kind of demon was this?
Just then, from beyond the high walls, a sudden clamor of shouts and battle cries snapped the young man from his thoughts.
“What’s happening? Enemy attack?”
His mind raced, but before he could think further, a young man in a Peppa Pig hoodie, pale-faced, strolled in calmly outside the main gate.
“Who goes there?”
As the mansion’s enforcer, the young man’s first instinct was to intimidate and repel the intruder.
But the moment he saw the newcomer, it felt as if the sky darkened, an endless shadow surged forth, and within it, a pair of turquoise eyes gazed at him from afar.
Though the newcomer made no overt moves, that casual glance alone sent chills through the young man’s soul, freezing his limbs.
He could not summon even the will to resist.
“Heh… So this is the Wang family’s defense? Pathetic,” Ye Yan said, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes as he looked at the pale, trembling youth.
Had he known the Wang family was this weak, he wouldn’t have hesitated.
Without wasting words, Ye Yan hurled a Soul-Shaking Hammer at the two frozen Wang family men nearby.
“Bang…”
With a burst of black light on impact, the hammer’s terrifying power detonated.
The dark glow expanded, engulfing the two Wang family men, devouring them utterly—leaving not so much as a trace.
After ascending to Mastery, although the ordinary Soul-Shaking Hammer couldn’t replicate the small nuclear blast effect of the reinforced version, its power had significantly increased.
Ye Yan wielded it with greater ease.
As the black light faded, without a word, Ma Laowu, trailing behind Ye Yan, hurried over to retrieve the hammer.
“Brother Yan, your weapon.”
Ma Laowu respectfully held out the hammer.
Ye Yan could only shake his head in silent exasperation.
Though this was not the first time he saw Ma Laowu’s sycophantic behavior, it still left him speechless.
Among all his flag demons, this one was certainly the most distinctive.
If not for his pig-like face, Ye Yan might have thought him a total bootlicker.
Ah, whatever.
But Ye Yan didn’t bother caring.
He hadn’t forgotten his purpose.
Gripping the Soul-Shaking Hammer, he strode through the gate towards the inner courtyard.
“After today, the Wang family and its patriarch Wang Ai will probably no longer exist in this world.”
...
Inside the courtyard.
Wang Ai sat solemnly in a wooden chair, quietly admiring a landscape ink painting spread upon the table.
The painting was simple: atop a mountain cliff coiled a massive azure dragon, its head and tail intertwined, lifelike scales gleaming under golden sunlight as if ready to leap from the paper.
Yet, the dragon’s eyes were hollow, as if missing something vital.
Wang Ai sat upright, his weathered hand gently stroking the scroll, a trace of nostalgia in his gaze.
“Never thought this treasure left by our ancestors would one day be needed.”
“But there’s no choice. The Wang family now stands at the brink of life and death. No matter how precious the treasure, it only gains meaning when wielded.”
“If the people perish, the legacy will only benefit others.”
...
Lost in thought, Wang Ai’s eyes remained cold and indifferent despite the approaching shouts of battle outside.
In his right hand, he lightly grasped a brown-red long brush with silver-white wolf hair.
He sat there, unwavering, staring toward the door.
Until the faint sound of steady footsteps approached from outside.
The footsteps reached the door.
Paused.
Creak—
The closed door was pushed open from outside, and first into Wang Ai’s sight was a pale, slender hand, followed by Ye Yan himself.
Upon seeing Ye Yan, Wang Ai spoke slowly, “So, you’ve come.”
Ye Yan scanned the room, then Wang Ai seated before the desk, nodding subtly.
“Yes.”
Though mortal enemies locked in a life-or-death struggle, their meeting carried none of the expected hostility, more like old friends reunited.
Wang Ai showed no surprise at Ye Yan’s arrival.
“You came sooner than I expected.”
“Is that so.”
“Would you like something to drink?”
Wang Ai looked up, asking Ye Yan.
“No, let’s hurry and finish this. I have a flight at five tonight.”
“You’re still as impatient as ever.”
Wang Ai smiled, shaking his head.
“Still, you’re right. Since there’s no turning back, let this ink and wash banquet begin early.”
He lightly lifted his brush and touched the hollow eye of the painted azure dragon.
As the ink spread, the painting burst with radiant light.
The dragon’s roar thundered deafeningly.