Shadow Concealment and Lingering Affections

“Disciple?”

“Disciple, where are you?”

Yao Guang’s eyes widened in disbelief, scanning her surroundings, filled with astonishment and confusion.

‘That’s not right; this isn’t Ghost Shadow Steps,’ she murmured to herself.

Turning back, she saw Lin Xingjian had already reappeared a hundred meters away, like a phantom.

He stood there quietly, a childishly boastful smirk playing on his lips.

“Master, what’s wrong? Did I scare you?”

With that, he executed his movement technique once more, vanishing into the shadows with the lightness of a specter.

In just a few breaths, he swiftly returned to his original spot.

“This… this, this, this…!”

Yao Guang stared, utterly dumbfounded.

“You actually learned ‘Dark Concealment’?”

“When did this happen? I knew nothing of it!”

Her voice trembled, shaken by this unexpected development from Lin Xingjian.

“It happened when you weren’t looking, Master.”

“This is merely a minor technique; I grasped it with just a little study.”

Growing even more pleased with himself, Lin Xingjian deliberately demonstrated it several more times before Yao Guang.

Yao Guang frowned slightly, finding it difficult to discern whether Lin Xingjian was merely showing off or if, as he claimed, ‘Dark Concealment’ truly came to him with such ease.

She knew well that ‘Dark Concealment’ was an extremely advanced cultivation method of the Shadow Sect.

It held a crucial position within the Shadow Sect’s cultivation system.

In the past, within the Shadow Sect, every Shadow cultivator with a high success and survival rate was a master of this technique.

The difficulty of ‘Dark Concealment’ lay in requiring practitioners to possess exceptionally high talent and comprehension.

Talented Shadow cultivators could grasp its profound mysteries even in the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment stages.

Those without talent, however, would struggle to comprehend even a fraction of it, even if they exhausted their entire lives reaching the Golden Core stage.

Yao Guang considered her own talent quite good, yet it had taken her nearly five years back then.

She had diligently studied and experimented day and night, only then painstakingly mastering this move.

Lin Xingjian, whom she had never seen practice ‘Dark Concealment’ before, had mastered it with astonishing speed.

‘Such talent is truly terrifying!’

She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

‘This disciple is likely a rare sight for the entire Shadow Sect, perhaps once in a thousand years.’

‘He is pure gold.’

“My dear disciple,” Yao Guang’s eyes gleamed with surprised anticipation, “I knew you were the most outstanding; you truly are the hope of our Shadow Sect.”

“The future resurgence of the Shadow Sect will depend entirely on you!”

Lin Xingjian looked at Yao Guang helplessly.

He surmised that if he didn’t swiftly change the subject, Yao Guang would undoubtedly launch into an eloquent description of various grand blueprints.

Over the years, Lin Xingjian had already grown numb to such speeches.

He quickly reached into his robes, generously pulled out twenty spirit stones, and offered them to her.

‘Rather than listen to her paint grand visions, it’s better to use a few spirit stones to silence Yao Guang.’

“Little mouth…”

“No talking!”

Yao Guang quickly replied, excitedly taking the spirit stones, her face instantly breaking into a wide smile.

“Yahoo!”

“I knew my disciple dotes on his master the most! Now I can go try new delicacies again!”

Yao Guang was ecstatic, the spirit stones in her hand already transforming into a feast of rare delicacies in her mind, causing her to involuntarily drool.

“Master, don’t just focus on eating.”

“Aren’t you curious about how I completed my mission?”

Hearing this, Yao Guang raised an eyebrow, her face filled with confusion.

“Ah? What’s there to ask?”

“You returned unharmed and even gave me spirit stones; the mission must have been perfectly completed.”

“Of course, I trust your mission completion rate implicitly.”

Yao Guang’s face was filled with pride, her chest puffing out slightly.

‘This disciple has never disappointed her.’

“I’m fine, but Junior Sister Wen got injured.”

Lin Xingjian’s expression held a hint of guilt; he lowered his head slightly, and his voice involuntarily dropped.

Yao Guang was startled, her expression abruptly changing, her smiling face instantly turning serious.

“What happened?”

“Didn’t you take Junior Sister Wen to gain experience? How did she get injured?”

Lin Xingjian truthfully recounted the events, admitting his oversight was the cause of Wen Qianyue’s injury.

‘Had it not been for his carelessness, Junior Sister Wen would not have been harmed.’

“Is the injury serious?”

“Not too serious; perhaps a few broken ribs, but her internal organs are fine. She’ll recover with slow recuperation.”

“It would be best to give Junior Sister Wen a healing pill.”

Lin Xingjian described Wen Qianyue’s injuries in detail.

“Hoo…”

Yao Guang let out a long breath, her expression softening slightly, the worry on her face gradually receding.

“You scared me to death, you rascal… next time, be more careful.”

“Your Junior Sister Wen is my youngest disciple, whom I’ve meticulously nurtured; no mishaps can befall her.”

“As you know, the Shadow Sect is not what it once was. The survival rate of every disciple is paramount; we cannot dampen their enthusiasm.”

“If these new forces are severely injured or even perish during their first few missions, it could profoundly affect their Dao hearts, fostering fear and potentially even triggering inner demons.”

As Yao Guang spoke, her gaze gradually dimmed.

She recalled the Shadow Sect’s past glory, remembering the senior brothers and sisters who had fallen in battle.

Lin Xingjian saw this.

Though he didn’t know what exactly his master was recalling, he could sense that the memory was not a pleasant one.

As Yao Guang was speaking, she suddenly saw a lingering shadow swiftly dart behind Lin Xingjian.

Lin Xingjian, sensing her presence, made no reaction.

Wen Qianyue had returned.

“Senior Brother, you walk too fast; couldn’t you wait for me?”

Although her tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction, her eyes were filled with tenderness, devoid of any real complaint or blame.

“Junior Sister, I was just thinking of returning early to report to Master so you could take your pill and recover quickly.”

“This mission was tough on you, Junior Sister.”

Lin Xingjian turned around, looking at Wen Qianyue with gentle eyes.

“It wasn’t tough; Senior Brother worked the hardest.”

Wen Qianyue smiled gently, her cheeks faintly flushed.

Clearly, she was secretly delighted by Lin Xingjian’s praise, even forgetting the pain of her injuries.

Yao Guang watched all of this, sensing an unusual glint in Wen Qianyue’s eyes when she looked at Lin Xingjian.

‘Could it be that Wen Qianyue has reached the age of first love?’ she couldn’t help but ponder inwardly.

‘What’s so good about this boy? Why haven’t I ever noticed it?’

She scrutinized Lin Xingjian, attempting to find an answer in him.

She simply couldn’t figure it out.

‘What charm does this sharp-tongued, indifferent disciple of hers possess to make Wen Qianyue so enamored?’