37: Shadows in the dead of night

Night had fallen deep.

Moonlight, like water, streamed through the dilapidated window frame, casting a cold, silvery glow inside Lin Ye's simple wooden hut.

This was his last night as an Outer Sect Disciple. Tomorrow morning, he would receive his Inner Sect Disciple identity token and robes, officially stepping into that immortal realm that had once seemed so distant.

Inside the wooden hut, snores rose and fell. Several Disciples sharing the room were already deep in slumber, their faces still showing a mix of confusion about the future and reverence for the strong.

However, Lin Ye, who should have been the focus, was wide awake.

He sat cross-legged on the hard, uncomfortable bed board, eyes closed, his mind already immersed in a world only he could perceive.

A light blue System panel quietly floated in his consciousness.

In the [Cultivation Technique] section, besides the familiar Iron Sand Palm and Golden Bell Shield, two new icons, glowing with a faint blue light, had appeared: Wind Control Art and Wind Chasing Sword Technique.

"System, activate AFK!"

Without hesitation, he added both Wind Control Art and Wind Chasing Sword Technique to the background AFK list.

["Dual Background AFK Task Created Successfully!"]

["Task One: Wind Control Art (Not Initiated). AFK Efficiency: Halved."]

["Task Two: Wind Chasing Sword Technique (Not Initiated). AFK Efficiency: Halved."]

["Please set AFK duration."]

"8 hours!"

The moment the command was confirmed, a completely new sensation, utterly different from before, instantly swept through his entire body!

Inside him, it was as if two storms of different attributes were raging simultaneously!

One was the light and agile wind from the Wind Control Art. Tiny, ethereal currents of Qi quietly formed within the Meridians of his legs, like countless joyful little fish, moving and circulating through his Meridians, bringing a tingling, yet incredibly comfortable sensation. He could clearly feel his legs becoming lighter than ever before!

The other was the sharp and fierce wind from the Wind Chasing Sword Technique! Waves of sharp Sword Qi, filled with a sense of cutting, surged wildly through the Meridians of his arms! Each impact was like countless invisible small knives scraping the inner walls of his Meridians, bringing waves of slight stinging pain!

One light, one heavy; one soft, one rigid.

These two new forces, in stark contrast to the heavy power of the Golden Bell Shield and the fierce power of the Iron Sand Palm already within him, yet perfectly harmonized by the System, coexisted without conflict.

Lin Ye was immersed in this wonderful feeling of rapidly increasing strength, filled with an unprecedented anticipation for the Inner Sect life that was about to begin.

However, just as the night reached its deepest point, and all was silent—

His hearing, made incredibly acute by Body Refining, suddenly caught an extremely subtle, unusual sound!

"Sha..."

The sound was like a shoe stepping on gravel, deliberately suppressed to its limit. Had he not been a Body Cultivator whose five senses far surpassed ordinary people, he would never have noticed it.

Lin Ye's eyelashes quivered almost imperceptibly.

He didn't open his eyes immediately, maintaining his cross-legged meditative posture, but his mind had already withdrawn from the System panel, his vigilance raised to the highest level.

At this hour, all Disciples were either sleeping or cultivating diligently. Who would be sneaking around outside? Moreover, the sound originated extremely close to his own wooden hut!

He held his breath, pushing his hearing to its maximum.

"Sha... shasha..."

The footsteps sounded a few more times, hesitant and cautious. They paused for a moment outside Lin Ye's wooden hut window, then moved silently towards another wooden hut, where the top ten Disciples resided.

Something is wrong!

This thought flashed through Lin Ye's mind instantly.

This was definitely not an ordinary night patrol Disciple, nor could it be a Disciple getting up in the night! This surreptitious behavior clearly indicated... prying!

Prying into what? Prying into them, the top ten Disciples who were about to be promoted to the Inner Sect?

A strong sense of curiosity and vigilance surged into Lin Ye's heart simultaneously. He decided he had to investigate!

He slowly opened his eyes, which held not a trace of sleepiness, only a profound, bottomless calm.

He didn't get up immediately, but first listened carefully, confirming that the snores of his roommates continued, undisturbed.

Then, he took a deep breath, and the Qi and blood within his body slowly settled down in an extremely profound manner.

He instinctively applied the perfect control over every inch of his muscles and every trace of Qi and blood, which the System had instilled in him during the AFK of Golden Bell Shield, to its utmost!

His heartbeat, in an instant, became slow and powerful, almost imperceptible.

His breathing became long and faint, like a hibernating bear, without stirring a single breath of wind.

He himself, at this moment, seemed to transform into a cold, lifeless stone.

He slid off the bed silently, the entire process making not a sound.

He walked to the old, cracked wooden wall, pressed his eye to the widest crack, and looked out.

He saw, in the cold moonlight, a thin figure completely shrouded in black, clinging to the wall of another wooden hut like a gecko, seemingly listening intently to something.

The black figure's movements were professional and cautious, clearly an old hand at this.

After prying for a moment, the black figure seemed to have found nothing. He straightened up, raised his head, and vigilantly scanned his surroundings.

By the moonlight, Lin Ye vaguely saw the gloomy face beneath his hood.

It was him!

The Steward of the Menial Servants, Zhang Ping!

Lin Ye's pupils contracted sharply!

How could he be here?!

No sooner had this thought arisen than Lin Ye saw that Zhang Ping, after confirming no one was around, turned and stealthily headed towards the more secluded and darker storage yard behind the Outer Sect area!

A Steward of the Menial Servants, not sleeping in the dead of night, furtively prying on Disciples about to be promoted, and then heading alone to a secluded storage yard... there must be something fishy going on!

Lin Ye no longer hesitated.

He silently pushed open a crack in the door, darted out like a ghost in the dark night, and then quietly closed the door behind him.

He followed the black figure from a distance.

He perfectly blended his figure into the shadows of the buildings and trees. His footsteps were as light as falling willow catkins, making not a sound.

Although Wind Control Art had not yet been initiated, the background AFK had already made his body several times lighter than before.

One in front, one behind.

The two, like specters moving through the darkness, one after another, traversed half of the sleeping Outer Sect area, finally arriving outside a long-abandoned courtyard filled with various miscellaneous items.

Zhang Ping vigilantly scanned his surroundings again, and only after confirming no one was following him did he push open the decayed courtyard gate and slip inside.

Lin Ye did not immediately follow. He waited quietly in the shadows for several dozen breaths, then, like a civet cat, silently climbed onto the low courtyard wall, hiding his figure beneath the eaves' shadow.

He poked his head out and looked into the courtyard.

He saw that in the center of the abandoned courtyard, a figure was already waiting there!

And when Lin Ye clearly saw the robes worn by that figure, for the first time, a truly... grave expression appeared in his usually unperturbed eyes!

The person was wearing... Inner Sect Disciple robes!