Chapter 107: No Time

Ye Xiu's gaze settled on Nie Li, sizing him up carefully. Was this youth really the legendary prodigy who supposedly knew everything from ancient to modern times? Aside from being a bit mature for his age, there was nothing particularly extraordinary about him.

But just then, a bird made entirely of metal fluttered down and landed on Nie Li's shoulder.

Although the bird was crafted from metal, its eyes were bright and piercing, brimming with what seemed like infinite intelligence. It regarded Ye Xiu with a look of appraisal from above.

"A Spirit Puppet!" Ye Xiu's heart lurched. He had followed Ye Mo for many years and considered himself well-read. He had heard of Spirit Puppets before, but had never actually seen one, let alone knew how they were made.

Only the creator of a Spirit Puppet could become its master.

The fact that Nie Li possessed a Spirit Puppet meant that Nie Li himself was the one who had crafted it. The art of making Spirit Puppets had been lost ages ago — how had Nie Li managed it? And this Spirit Puppet of his didn't have the dull, lifeless eyes described in legends. Its keen gaze clearly communicated that it possessed an extremely high level of intelligence.

If this were an ordinary youth, learning that the third most important figure of the Wind Snow Family had come to visit would probably have left him weak in the knees. Yet Nie Li was studying him with an appraising look, which was truly remarkable.

Ye Xiu began to feel genuinely curious about the young man before him.

"I heard that our City of Radiance produced a brilliant young prodigy who knows everything there is to know, so I thought I'd come see for myself," Ye Xiu said with a faint smile, unfazed by Nie Li's attitude. He carried himself with an air of exceptional composure.

"Senior Ye Xiu didn't come all this way just to 'see for himself,' I imagine," Nie Li replied nonchalantly.

Was this youth really only thirteen or fourteen? He was practically inhuman!

Ye Xiu adjusted his mindset and stopped treating Nie Li as just a child. Smiling, he said, "I do in fact have a favor to ask."

Nie Li had originally assumed Ye Xiu was sent by City Lord Ye Zong to deliver a message. Ye Zong probably didn't want to see him right now, so Nie Li had been on guard. But since Ye Xiu had come on his own to ask for help, Nie Li would certainly oblige. After all, Ye Xiu was the third-ranking figure of the Wind Snow Family — Ye Ziyun's uncle.

"Senior Ye Xiu, please speak freely. I'll tell you everything I know. Since you're Ziyun's uncle, that makes you my uncle too!" Nie Li declared, patting his chest.

At Nie Li's words, the corner of Ye Xiu's mouth twitched slightly. He was beginning to understand why Ye Zong had been so frustrated — this kid was barely old enough, and he was already staking a claim on Ye Ziyun as his future wife?

"Ahem." Ye Xiu cleared his throat and produced a small booklet. "Nie Li, Lord Ye Mo and I came across this during our travels. Can you tell me what exactly it is?"

The moment Ye Xiu produced the mysterious booklet, Nie Li sensed a pure wave of soul energy emanating from it.

This was no ordinary object!

"Let me take a look!" Nie Li furrowed his brow and carefully took the booklet from Ye Xiu's hands, opening it to examine.

The pages were covered with all manner of mysterious text, diagrams, and Runic Patterns, exquisitely rendered.

The Spirit Puppet on Nie Li's shoulder was also staring at the booklet with unblinking intensity.

"What is this? It looks like the writing from the ancient Holy Empire era," the Spirit Puppet said, speaking in a human voice. Ye Xiu nearly jumped out of his skin.

This Spirit Puppet could talk? What Ye Xiu could never have imagined was that the soul sealed within the Spirit Puppet was none other than Ancestor Ye Yan — one of the five founding powers of the City of Radiance!

"And you call yourself well-learned. This isn't Holy Empire script — although it did evolve from the Holy Empire writing system. This is from the Wulan Empire, from the era after the Holy Empire's collapse, when five great empires stood in rivalry," Nie Li corrected.

"Well, I... I had about eighty percent of that figured out..." Ancestor Ye Yan muttered defensively.

"Eighty percent, and what good is that? Can you tell me what this booklet actually is?" Nie Li rolled his eyes.

"It seems to be some sort of technique for controlling Demon Spirits. This Runic Pattern, for instance — it should be a type of Runic Pattern used to dominate Demon Spirits," Ancestor Ye Yan said, secretly pleased with himself. He could still extract quite a bit of information from the pages.

"You got about two or thirty percent right. But knowing a tiny scrap and getting smug about it is worse than knowing nothing at all!" Nie Li scoffed at Ancestor Ye Yan's remarks.

Ancestor Ye Yan fell silent in exasperation. In his lifetime, he had been widely renowned for his vast knowledge, yet here he was, being criticized by Nie Li as utterly useless. His old face couldn't take the embarrassment, so he simply shut his mouth and said nothing more.