Hook, Line, And Sinker

One morning like any other, an entirely ordinary young woman without any particularly outstanding features wandered throughout the streets of Jingshan City, occasionally stopping at a stall and buying some groceries. Despite only having arrived here recently, she had already grown familiar with the vendors, engaging in a bit of small talk amidst her purchases.

Towards the end of her daily acquisitions, she shooed off a desperate suitor who had followed her, evidently annoyed by his persistence. Then, finally, she got back to her modest, slightly dilapidated abode. Heaving a sigh of relief, she went to wash the vegetables and unhurriedly prepared herself a fresh meal, living an utterly normal life.

Yet all of this was merely an act, a veneer concealing her true identity and purpose. Whilst those especially trained at seeing through a guise like this would be able to peel back the veil of mystery, none of the Mo branch or their lackeys were capable of such a feat.

Close to a week ago, Vigdis had arrived in Jingshan City, already donning her present disguise. Making use of the runic tattoos all over her body, she was able to transform into any outward appearance which she could imagine, by activating an Illusion Array with her own body as a medium. Of course, Rún like her could make use of a wide variety of Arrays via this method, not just Illusion Arrays.

All this time, she had been steadily gathering intel about the Inner City and the local Mo branch, having figured out which organizations were in frequent contact with them. Due to Core Formation Stage experts being present, she had to hold herself back from acting as recklessly as before, considering her current strength. That was why she hadn't rashly entered the Inner City yet.

Then, about three days ago, she noticed a sudden shift in the previously languid beast which was the city's rulers. Something had alarmed them, causing them to more than double the number of guards on the walls of the Outer and Inner City. There were also more thorough and regular patrols, leading to no small amount of conflicts breaking out whenever some of the soldiers couldn't keep their hands to themselves. Fortunately for them, the civilian population had been beaten into submission for so long that only a few handsful of them dared to resist whatever injustice that they were made to suffer through.

And yet, despite all of this misery, the lives of normal people still continued unabated.

'I wonder what changed. Could my previous actions have been the trigger for this? Have they got into contact with other branches?'

Theorizing about what might have happened once again, like she had done dozens of times before, Vigdis sat down and distractedly ate the meal which she had just finished cooking.

'Considering the lacklustre cohesion of the Imperial Han Family's branches, it's unlikely that they would have exposed their failings to each other. So, I doubt that this change was caused by me. Could it have been another Heaven's Chosen? Or is a war between branches brewing?'

Unable to come to a satisfying conclusion, she rose from her seat and washed the dishes, then she left her home in an effort to explore the city some more. She was still very far from having the full picture or sufficient information, so additional intel gathering was vital.

At first, her day passed by just as those preceding it, without anything unexpected entering her eyes. However, when she walked past a particular section of the wall separating the Outer from the Inner City, at the very edge of her perception, she picked up an unusual sensation.

'Huh? Why are there three subsidiary Arrays in a regular residential area?'

Due to having been born a Rún, she was inherently sensitive to the existence of Arrays of all kinds. This ability had only been further reinforced throughout her pre-Heavenly Succession training. Coupling regular espionage techniques with her 'Array radar', she could very easily sniff out plenty of secrets which others would prefer to keep hidden.

As a result, she stumbled across the Arrays that Theodore had laid out, alerting her to the strangeness of his new temporary home. But because she had not yet entered the Inner City, other than being aware that there was a Concealment, Isolation and Energy Refinement Array at this place, she did not know anything else. Nonetheless, it aroused her suspicion.

'The Hans rarely fortify a place to this extent. Is it a secret descendant of theirs? Or the location of the Mo branch's vault? Perchance... a Heaven's Chosen?'

Contemplating any and all options which she could come up with, she eventually furrowed her brows, a pensive look on her face. Silently, she stared in the direction of the Arrays that she had felt whilst hidden amidst the flow of people meandering through the alleys akin to blood pumping through the body's cardiovascular system.

Scouting that area would indubitably be a risky move. Should she only run into the Imperial Han Family, she was still confident in escaping. Yet, if a Heaven's Chosen was waiting for her there, then it was impossible for her to make any definitive statements.

'But no risk, no gain. I should at least infiltrate the Inner City and take a closer look. If I play my cards right, then I won't get detected at all, even by a fellow competitor!'

Not one to give up so easily, she patiently observed the patrols at the top of the wall, then picked one of the many momentary blind spots which she had spied and dashed up and across the wall before anyone could notice her movements.

Now in the Inner City, she minutely changed her Illusion Array to completely hide her tracks, shielding her from discovery. Unless she directly ran into anybody, it would be very challenging for someone to notice her now. Whilst marks of her passing would still be left behind in the places which she visited, most cultivators would never expect that the one responsible for them was a functionally invisible young woman.

'Looks like there is little to no security here. Only the Outer City is under constant surveillance.'

It didn't take long for her to come to this conclusion, as upon inspection of this residential district, there were no soldiers here whatsoever. Even those on the walls were exclusively observing the outside. Clearly, the rulers of the city did not expect anyone to successfully make their way into this place undetected.

Relieved, she relaxed a little, yet not enough to possibly slip up. Steadily, she approached the triple Array-protected mansion, scrutinizing it from afar. To be honest, while the Arrays were clearly not too strong, as they had evidently been created with subpar materials, they were intricately made. So much so, in fact, that a cold shiver ran down her spine, the warning bells in her head already beginning to resound.

'There is no way this was made by the Hans! Even in the Rún Family, such skills would be highly respected. There is no other possibility–a Heaven's Chosen is residing here. Are they the cause of the heightened security? If so, they've done a fantastic job hiding in the eye of the storm, right under their noses...'

Slightly unhappy at her rival having a far better abode than herself, with a significantly higher Energy concentration available to them courtesy of the subsidiary Energy Gathering Array which they had erected in their yard, she frowned. While she didn't think that she would be amongst the most outstanding of her peers, to have someone in the same starting world clearly being at least a step ahead rubbed her the wrong way. Nobody enjoys being confronted with direct evidence of their inadequacy, after all.

'What do I do now? Should I search for the vault, empty it and leave this place? Or should I attempt to eliminate this Heaven's Chosen?'

Very soon, she discarded that second option. After all, her competitor had already stolen a march on her. Indubitably, her own cultivation realm would be lacking behind. To fight them now would be a fool's errand. Only after she had grown a lot more by exploiting her Talent could she have any hope of success. With primarily a Growth-type Talent at hand, she suffered from a relatively weak starting period. Later in the competition would it be the time for her to shine.

As she was finishing up weighing her options and ready to depart to a different section of the Inner City in search for her target, she suddenly froze up, a terrifying realization causing her to pale slightly.

'Wait a moment. If I can discover these expertly-made Arrays, then the one who created them is surely capable of noticing the Illusion Array on my body as well!'

Without any hesitation, she sped off into the distance, a fanciful thought flashing past her mind.

'Maybe they are busy, or simply not home?'

Unfortunately for her, her rival had discovered her long ago. In fact, ever since he had entered the city had he taken note of her Illusion Array. But only now that she had practically come to his doorstep had he verified that he was indeed dealing with a fellow Heaven's Chosen.

"What's the hurry? Why not stay for lunch?"

All of a sudden, a calm and collected voice entered Vigdis' ears, their speaker appearing right next to her out of thin air. Although he seemed to be relaxed, she instantly realized that he was on guard towards her–any wrong move of hers would elicit a corresponding reaction from him.

'Damn it! Do I fight? Or do I escape? What should I–'

While she was rapidly trying to make the optimal decision, jolting backwards and away from her opponent, she scrutinized the one who she was dealing with, in an attempt to discover any flaws which she could make use of.

White hair, icy blue eyes, somewhat pale skin, as well as a deep killing intent hidden behind a veil of kindness. Instantly, her already ringing warning bells turned frantic, assaulting her with a deafening cacophony of sounds. Although she had never met him before, she had seen images and recordings of him. Her elders had even warned her about him, as he was one of the publicly recognized most dangerous participants of the Heavenly Succession–Theodore of the Winter Family!

'... I'm fucked!'

Blanking in fear momentarily, her actions halted, her retreat stopping midway. She knew that it would be impossible for her to flee from a contestant of his calibre in her current state. Despite fancying herself a bit of an escape artist, those like Theodore would have many cards to play which could force her to stay, or even utterly overwhelm her. Although she could not feel the slightest hint of Energy from his body, the dangerous aura that he exuded made her blood run cold!

With flight not being an option, only battle was left on the table–yet she knew that she could not possibly win in an armed conflict against a Supreme Pillar's descendant! At least not yet.

'I guess there is still one more thing that I can try...'

Resigning herself to her fate, she made a last-ditch effort. Kneeling down and raising her hands in a gesture of capitulation, she hoped that her own value would outweigh the benefits which Theodore could gain from increasing his Heaven's Chosen Level by one.

"My apologies for the disturbance, Mr. Winter! I noticed the Arrays surrounding your home and wanted to find out what made the area special–now I know. I surrender!"

Sweating bullets, she stared unblinkingly at the smiling devil who would be deciding her fate, internally praying to the Heavenly Empress and the Heavenly Dao. Perhaps one of them heard her anguished pleas, as she didn't need to wait long to receive a response.

"It's alright, I was fishing for you anyway."

Scrutinizing the Rún girl from head to toe, an intrigued glimmer flickered in his eyes, whilst the corners of his mouth rose a little higher.