Chapter Fourteen: The Art of Shadow

"Alright, alright, let's get to the serious matter." After teasing Ye Yan for a while, Feng Shayan revealed the other reason for her visit.

"Here..." She opened her small bag and tossed a worn, black leather book with no title on the cover to Ye Yan.

"What is this?"

"Haven't you been searching for a method to create absolute darkness? After my father heard about it, he kept an eye out for you. This No Light Technique was acquired from outside, you can give it a try."

"But I can't guarantee if it'll work."

"Thanks." Ye Yan accepted it without ceremony.

This was indeed what he needed.

In the years since crossing over, Ye Yan had traveled far and wide, collecting methods and magical artifacts capable of creating darkness, all in pursuit of awakening a higher form of the Night Watcher—Lord of the Night.

During this quest, Ye Yan had journeyed across the land and befriended many people. For instance, Zhao Quan from the World Society, Yuan Tao from All Nature, Gao Nan, Tang Wenlong, and Tao Tao from the Tang Clan. Yet, none of their creations met Ye Yan's expectations, so he gradually lowered his hopes and stopped expecting too much.

Whether this thing would be useful was uncertain, but the gesture itself was rare and precious.

"Don't be so polite," Feng Shayan glared at Ye Yan, annoyed by his apparent closeness masking a subtle distance—it was simply unbearable.

"Alright, then I won't be," Ye Yan smiled and said no more.

"Have you heard about the big event happening in the circle recently?" Feng Shayan asked, sipping tea leisurely.

"Big event?" Ye Yan shook his head, indicating he didn't know. He seldom paid attention to gossip within the circle, especially matters unrelated to himself; he simply didn't care.

Feng Shayan took a sip of tea, her expression saying, "I knew it," then steadied herself and shared the intelligence she had gathered.

"Zhang Xilin's grandson has appeared, and he's right here in Jinmen. Apparently, because of this, people from Everywhere Pass and All Nature got into a fight—on the very day you and Ding Shian had your duel."

"Zhang Xilin?" Ye Yan was stunned, "That Zhang Xilin?"

"Come on, you don't know about this? Who else could it be—of course, it's Zhang Xilin, the source of Qi Physique. The one who, over a decade ago, single-handedly took down more than a dozen masters of All Nature."

Feng Shayan slapped her forehead, exasperated, then explained.

"I think I vaguely remember..." Ye Yan searched his memory; he had indeed heard the name somewhere. But Zhang Xilin was unfamiliar; it was Qi Physique Source that Ye Yan knew, and he had insights unknown to outsiders.

It was simply too long ago.

For a moment, Ye Yan couldn't recall.

"If it's Qi Physique Source, you mean Zhang Chulan, right?" Ye Yan replied.

"Yes, yes, that's Zhang Chulan." Feng Shayan slapped her thigh, then grew suspicious, "How did you know about him? Do you know this guy? No way..."

Feng Shayan was startled.

Ye Yan shook his head with a smile and explained, "I don't know him, but I was idly browsing yesterday and came across this event, so I glanced at it and remembered the name."

He casually made up a reason.

"Is that so?" Feng Shayan was half convinced, finding Ye Yan's reaction odd but unable to pinpoint where.

She had just shared news obtained through internal channels of the World Society—the kind of firsthand information outsiders could only vaguely know, never with such detail.

Yet, considering Ye Yan's wide connections in the circle, friends everywhere, Feng Shayan found it strange but didn't doubt him.

"Alright then." Feng Shayan didn't bother to dig deeper.

Instead, she continued, "My father is actually quite interested in this fellow. We're planning to meet him tonight. Want to come with us?"

Originally, Feng Shayan had just come to check whether Ye Yan was injured. Seeing him lively, she casually extended the invitation.

"Sure," Ye Yan agreed without hesitation.

After all, Zhang Chulan was the chosen one of this world. Claiming not to be curious would be unbelievable.

"But let me be clear, I'm just there to watch tonight. I'm not getting involved in anything else, and don't call me if there's a fight. It's a rare, hard-earned holiday—I can't waste it."

"Fine," Feng Shayan agreed readily.

Ye Yan was now a leading figure in the World Society, his reputation surpassing even her father Feng Zhenghao. If they needed Ye Yan for such a minor matter, it would truly be overkill.

"Then let's meet at Nankai tonight."

With business done, Feng Shayan didn't linger. Her temperament was always brisk and decisive.

If she hadn't brought Feng Yaya along as a third wheel, she might have stayed longer.

But now, she’d rather not.

He had no wish to see that woman.

After sending Feng Shayan off, the living room fell silent. With nothing to do, Ye Yan picked up the No Light Technique and began to read.

Though it was a secret manual, the actual description of the technique covered only two pages; the rest was rambling and miscellaneous.

Ye Yan had little interest.

The book gave no account of the origin or lineage of the No Light Technique—just a minor method, lacking combat capability and highly impractical.

A very peculiar spell.

After scanning a few pages and grasping its basics, Ye Yan sighed inwardly,

"What a useless spell."

He wondered what kind of bored person could invent such an impractical method.

The so-called No Light Technique involved circulating dark-attributed Qi around oneself to create a barrier a few meters wide, blocking all light and keeping the interior pitch black.

The method was simple.

No difficulty in learning it.

Ye Yan succeeded after just two tries.

The black Qi formed a dome like an overturned bowl, enveloping an area two meters around him.

As the barrier appeared, Ye Yan's vision instantly darkened. Everything around was shrouded; raising his hand, he couldn't see his fingers.

The effect was impressive, Ye Yan thought.

He closed his eyes, cleared his mind.

Within the No Light barrier, Ye Yan sensed a stirring deep inside him, yet something seemed to restrain it... blocking its emergence.

He kept trying.

When Ye Yan finally stepped out of the barrier, it was already dusk. He leaned back on the sofa and silently lit a cigarette.

"Still missing something..."

Exhaling smoke, Ye Yan was in a foul mood. He couldn't figure out where he had gone wrong, what he was lacking.

Was it the environment? External factors? Himself?

Or something else entirely.

"It's really hard."

Just one step away, the final step—yet he couldn't cross the threshold.

That tangled, elusive feeling was maddening.

To become Lord of the Night, Ye Yan had endured pitch-black forests, slept in graveyards at midnight, even carried an oxygen tank as spirit beasts dug a deep pit and buried him...

But none of it worked.

"Forget it, I'm done thinking."

Ye Yan pushed aside his chaotic thoughts, changed his shoes, grabbed his jacket, and decided to go out for a change of scenery.