"The Shadow Authority you currently possess..."
Feng Qingyao narrowed her eyes slightly, as though carefully sensing the faint, restrained shadow aura that naturally emanated from Shen Yi.
"This Authority is unusual. It differs from nearly every documented shadow-type Authority I've encountered Beyond the World."
"You have all the traits of an ordinary Shadow Authority—concealment, devouring, corrosion, affinity with shadows—and yours seem even purer."
She paused, a trace of puzzlement entering her voice.
"But you also seem to possess traits other Shadow Authorities usually lack, including some that are exceedingly rare."
"I can't sense all of them clearly, but I can't mistake that feeling. It's deeper, closer to primordial shadow."
Something stirred in Shen Yi's heart.
He had vaguely sensed it himself.
At first, he and Wen Ke'er and the others had suspected his Shadow Authority came from Lilith. But through his later experiences, especially his time in the Shadow World and his fusion with the Flame of Continued Combustion, it seemed to have changed in ways he couldn't describe. Many of its rules had been completed, and the Authority itself had become more whole.
Or perhaps it had touched something more fundamental within the concept of shadow.
Lilith herself had been baffled by Shen Yi's power. But with no leads to pursue, she had set the question aside.
Before Shen Yi could ask anything, Feng Qingyao continued.
"An Authority of this caliber might not reach the level of the Flame of Continued Combustion, but its unique nature and potential should have earned it considerable renown among Authority Holders Beyond the World. It should have been recorded among the major Authority lineages."
She looked at Shen Yi and voiced his own suspicion.
"Yet before meeting you, I'd never heard of a Shadow Authority Holder with your characteristics."
"So perhaps your Shadow