Lord Valerius's voice, thick with condescending triumph, cut through the quiet of the secluded courtyard in Silverhaven. "Looking for this, commoner?" He held the Sunstone Bloom aloft, its golden light mocking the chaos it had caused in the main assembly hall. His cronies, Kaito and a few other loyalists, snickered, their faces reflecting their lord's smug confidence.
Kenji Tanaka remained silent, his expression unreadable. He assessed the situation. He was alone, unarmed (in the traditional sense), and facing Lord Valerius, who, despite his humiliating defeat in the arena, remained a powerful cultivator, surrounded by his armed and loyal followers. A direct confrontation here, away from the eyes of the Conclave, would be foolish. Valerius would simply accuse him of attempted theft, or worse, assault, using his noble influence to crush Kenji's burgeoning reputation.
But Kenji wasn't just armed with a blade; he was armed with the System. He had the precise knowledge of Valerius's subtle arcane construct from the arena (Chapter 18), and now, the specific Qi signature of the spatial distortion rune used for the theft (Chapter 33). This wasn't a duel. This was a game of wits. And Kenji intended to win.
He activated his Soul Sense (Basic), pushing his spiritual perception to its limits. He could feel the smug satisfaction emanating from Valerius, the malicious amusement from Kaito. He also sensed the faint, almost imperceptible Qi fluctuations around the Sunstone Bloom itself, remnants of the very rune used to steal it. The System was already analyzing these traces, cross-referencing them with its knowledge of arcane arts.
Notification: Arcane Theft Construct Trace Detected on Sunstone Bloom.Recommendation: Initiate Counter-Manipulation Protocol (Discreet Swap).Cost: 0 SP.
Kenji's eyes narrowed. A discreet swap. That was perfect. It allowed him to recover the artifact without a public confrontation, and better yet, to sow confusion and further humiliate Valerius later. The System's protocol was already providing precise instructions: a momentary, localized spatial distortion, perfectly mirroring the theft rune, combined with a subtle Qi illusion to mask the swap itself.
Lord Valerius, misinterpreting Kenji's silence as intimidation, sneered. "Lost your tongue, commoner? Or are you simply overwhelmed by the brilliance of true power?" He began to twirl the Sunstone Bloom in his hand, a deliberate, mocking gesture. "This little trinket will be quite useful for my House's coffers. A pity the Order of Lumina's Grace lost it, wasn't it?"
Kenji's gaze remained fixed on the glowing Sunstone Bloom. He waited for the exact moment. Valerius's attention was fully on him, his guard down, reveling in his perceived victory. His cronies were watching, smirking.
Now.
Kenji executed the Counter-Manipulation Protocol. It required extreme precision, a split-second synchronization of his True Aetherial Roots Qi and his Spatial Blink (Intermediate) skill (Chapter 29) applied in a minute, localized burst. He channeled his Qi, forming a tiny, imperceptible spatial rift directly between Valerius's fingers and the Sunstone Bloom. Simultaneously, his Qi pulsed, creating a subtle Qi illusion – a shimmering, mirror-like image of the Sunstone Bloom – just an inch from the real one.
In that infinitesimally small fraction of a second, the real Sunstone Bloom vanished from Valerius's grasp, slipping through the tiny spatial rift and reappearing silently in Kenji's Spatial Pouch. The illusion, perfectly mirroring the Bloom's golden glow and Qi signature, seamlessly took its place in Valerius's hand. The entire process was too fast, too subtle, too perfectly executed for the human eye, or even basic Qi senses, to perceive.
Lord Valerius continued his arrogant twirl, completely unaware that he was now holding an illusion. The System confirmed: Mission: Locate the Stolen Sunstone Bloom. STATUS: COMPLETE! Reward: Hidden Resource Stash coordinates.
Kenji felt a surge of quiet triumph. The Bloom was safe. The reward was his. And Valerius was about to look very, very foolish. He allowed a faint, almost imperceptible smile to touch his lips.
"I believe, Lord Valerius," Kenji said, his voice calm, clear, and carrying a new, quiet confidence that subtly grated on Valerius's nerves, "that you should perhaps secure your 'treasures' more carefully." He made a subtle gesture towards the illusory Bloom in Valerius's hand. He then turned, and without another word, began to walk away, blending into the deeper shadows of the courtyard, his Stealth Skill active once more.
Lord Valerius, taken aback by Kenji's sudden confidence and cryptic remark, frowned. "What was that, commoner?!" he roared, his voice laced with confusion. He looked down at the Sunstone Bloom in his hand, then back up at Kenji's retreating figure. He snorted. "A desperate attempt at bravado! A commoner's pathetic defiance!" He dismissed Kenji's words as mere bluster, his arrogance blinding him to the truth.
His cronies, Kaito and Jax, exchanged confused glances, but ultimately deferred to their lord's supreme confidence.
Kenji slipped away, silent as a ghost, leaving Lord Valerius and his entourage alone in the quiet courtyard. He could hear Valerius's booming laughter, still arrogant, still self-assured. He could almost taste the smug satisfaction emanating from him through his Soul Sense. Kenji merely smiled. The trap was set.
He made his way back to his dwelling, his pace unhurried. He secured the genuine Sunstone Bloom deeply within his Spatial Pouch, ensuring it was safe and untainted. The System immediately displayed the "Hidden Resource Stash coordinates," a complex series of spatial readings and environmental markers. That would be a mission for another time. For now, the satisfaction of subtle victory was enough.
Later, during the grand banquet in the adjacent dining halls, the atmosphere was one of strained politeness. The theft of the Sunstone Bloom was still the primary topic of hushed, furious conversations. The Elder from the Order of Lumina's Grace sat at his table, his face a mask of profound despair, bemoaning the loss of his Order's most precious treasure.
Suddenly, a cacophony of gasps and outraged shouts erupted from the House of Valerius's table. Kenji, sipping a cup of fragrant spiritual tea, calmly watched.
"Impossible! What is this?!" Lord Valerius's voice, previously so arrogant, now cracked with disbelief and pure, unadulterated fury.
All eyes turned to their table. Lord Valerius, who had been grandly showcasing the Sunstone Bloom to a group of influential cultivators, had just been exposed. The glowing illusion, unable to sustain itself under prolonged scrutiny and exposure to powerful Qi senses in the crowded hall, had flickered and dissolved into nothingness, leaving only empty air in his trembling hand.
A profound, echoing silence fell over the vast dining hall, quickly replaced by a wave of stunned murmurs, then outright mocking laughter.
"The Sunstone Bloom… it's gone!" "He was showing off a fake!" "Lord Valerius, are you… are you trying to steal it and display an illusion?!"
Lord Valerius stood frozen, his face a horrifying shade of crimson, his jaw slack in utter disbelief. He stared at his empty hand, then at the dissolving Qi illusion, then his eyes snapped across the hall, blazing with incandescent fury. They locked onto Kenji, who calmly met his gaze, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips.
"Tanaka!" Lord Valerius shrieked, his voice raw with desperate rage and utter humiliation, echoing through the stunned hall. He pointed a trembling finger at Kenji, his spiritual aura flaring chaotically, uncontrollable in his rage. "You! You did this! You replaced it! You cheating commoner! I will have your head for this!"
But his screams of fury and accusations of cheating were drowned out by the thunderous roar of laughter that now swept through the hall, echoing from every corner. The public humiliation was absolute. The arrogant noble, caught in his own trap, had made himself a fool. Kenji simply took another sip of his tea, a quiet triumph shining in his eyes. Lord Valerius, utterly exposed and disgraced, was now a figure of ridicule, his power briefly, effectively neutered by his own arrogance.