Yang Lujia looked around.
No unfamiliar person stood near the spectators. The Grand Scripts surrounding the Trial Ground also remained undisturbed.
"How do I activate it?"
[Close the Host's eyes and perceive the Ink surrounding every existence.]
[Every existence possesses a distinct Ink Signature.]
[Every existence leaves an Ink Signature upon Reality. Each completed Page deepens and alters that impression.]
[The Eternal Quill may guide the Host through the process.]
"No need."
Yang Lujia closed his eyes.
He did not completely know what he was doing, but the moment he focused upon the Ink surrounding the Trial Ground, his perception expanded.
The people around him no longer appeared only as bodies.
Each one carried a distinct Ink Signature.
Some felt rough.
Others felt light, heavy, warm, cold, stable, or incomplete.
The Chronicle Lord's Ink Signature resembled several thick characters written repeatedly upon the same portion of a manuscript. The Junior and Senior Scribes possessed weaker versions, although none were completely identical.
Yang Lujia's Ink Sense continued spreading.
One kilometer.
Five kilometers.
Ten.
It stopped at approximately twenty kilometers from the Trial Ground.
Near the outer edge of that range, he found the hidden observer.
The man stood inside the shadow of an old tree beyond the primary Grand Scripts of the Dragon Brush Sect.
His Ink Signature resembled a silver blade being drawn slowly across silk.
It felt sharp.
It also carried something cold and unpleasant beneath it.
"I found him."
[Confirmed.]
"He is strong."
[The observer remains below the Seventh Page.]
"Then he is not strong enough to threaten me."
[Correct.]
Yang Lujia opened his eyes.
Activating the Ink Sense had taken almost no effort.
He did not know whether that was normal for someone at his cultivation level or whether the Eternal Quill had made the process easier.
[The Host activated Ink Sense without guidance.]
[This indicates exceptional control.]
"That does not sound like a compliment."
[Clarification requested.]
"Showing too much talent attracts attention."
Yang Lujia remembered his previous lives.
People rarely ignored someone who appeared too useful, too dangerous, or too difficult to control. Attention eventually became expectation, suspicion, competition, or fear.
The Verdant Archive would likely be worse.
"If the wrong people notice me again, I may not be able to control what follows."
The Eternal Quill remained silent.
Yang Lujia looked toward the hidden observer.
He had initially considered concealing the girl's Deep Imprint.
Now, another possibility entered his mind.
"How much strength above the Seventh Page would I need to affect that man?"
[The minimum sufficient authority may be calculated.]
"Calculate it."
[Calculating.]
[The lowest recommended level is the Ninth Page.]
Yang Lujia considered the answer.
Using Ninth-Page authority would create Narrative Debt, but it would also allow him to test the restrictions Reality had placed upon him without immediately relying upon his complete cultivation.
"What can I do with Ninth-Page authority?"
[The Host may alter limited parts of the observer's current Narrative.]
"Limited parts?"
[Identity, position, appearance, immediate affiliations, and memories may be revised.]
[Greater alterations will increase Narrative Debt.]
Yang Lujia looked toward the empty seat beside the Chronicle Lord.
The seat belonged to Zhuquan De.
However, the old man had been removed from the Verdant Archive. The position of High Archivist remained within the sect, but the person holding it no longer existed inside the current Archive.
Reality had left a gap.
Yang Lujia smiled.
"I have an idea."
[The Eternal Quill is listening.]
"Make the observer the High Archivist of the Dragon Brush Sect."
The vellum remained unchanged.
"Alter his appearance so that he resembles Zhuquan De."
[Clarification requested.]
"Give him the memories necessary to imitate my grandfather. Make the Dragon Brush Sect recognize him as the High Archivist."
[The Host intends to replace Zhuquan De with an imitation.]
"Reality already removed my grandfather and left his position behind," Yang Lujia said. "I am only filling what it removed."
[The proposed alteration creates a contradiction.]
"That is why I am testing it."
Yang Lujia's smile widened slightly.
The hidden observer had entered the Dragon Brush Sect with an unknown purpose. His Ink Signature also contained enough hostility that Yang Lujia doubted he had arrived merely to observe the trial.
Turning an enemy into a cover for Zhuquan De's absence would serve several purposes.
The sect would not immediately question why its High Archivist had disappeared.
Yang Lujia could continue hiding the extent of his own strength.
He would also gain access to the memories and purpose of the infiltrator once the Narrative was changed.
Still, he reminded himself not to become careless.
Possessing the ability to interfere with Reality did not mean he should use it whenever an interesting idea appeared.
One unnecessary alteration might produce consequences he could not predict.
"Use only the minimum Ninth-Page authority," Yang Lujia instructed. "Do not exceed it."
[Confirmed.]
The vellum darkened.
[Ninth-Page authority invoked.]
[Target acquired.]
[Contradiction detected.]
[Narrative revision in progress.]
Yang Lujia felt something move beyond the Trial Ground.
The hidden observer's Ink Signature twisted.
Several portions disappeared, while others were rewritten before his Ink Sense.
Notifications appeared one after another.
[Narrative Debt increased.]
[Current Narrative Debt: 0.91%.]
[Probability of observation from higher Archives has slightly increased.]
[Order has taken notice.]
[Reality expresses disapproval.]
Yang Lujia raised an eyebrow.
"It disapproves?"
[The Host has rewritten a relationship that genuinely existed.]
[The Verdant Archive remembers Zhuquan De.]
[An imitation cannot completely replace the original.]
More information appeared.
[Original Narrative]
[Name: Wen Rui.]
[Affiliation: Devil Moss Sect.]
[Position: Senior Scribe.]
[Region of Origin: Great Moss Frontier Region.]
[Purpose: Investigate the disappearance of forces previously sent to create disorder throughout several regions.]
[The Devil Moss Sect remembers sending those forces.]
[However, due to the Page of Time, its members cannot remember how those forces disappeared.]
Yang Lujia looked toward the distant tree.
"So he came because of the people Grandpa erased."
[Confirmed.]
The next part appeared.
[Revised Narrative]
[Wen Rui is recognized as the High Archivist of the Dragon Brush Sect.]
[Wen Rui has inherited selected memories involving Zhuquan De's relationship with the Host.]
[Wen Rui's appearance has been altered to resemble Zhuquan De.]
[Wen Rui's behavior will imitate selected portions of Zhuquan De's personality.]
[Wen Rui's original Ink Signature has been concealed.]
[A replacement Ink Signature has been created in opposition to the original.]
Yang Lujia examined the revision.
The wording remained clear.
Wen Rui would resemble Zhuquan De.
He would possess enough memories to act like him.
However, he would not truly become Zhuquan De.
"Can you include my grandfather's original cultivation?"
[Request denied.]
"Why?"
[The Host's current Authority is insufficient.]
Yang Lujia had expected that answer.
"How strong was Grandpa?"
The vellum paused.
[Access denied.]
[The designation Zhuquan De exceeds the Host's current Authority.]
[Certain stories cannot yet be read.]
Yang Lujia stared at the final notification.
Zhuquan De had lived inside the Verdant Archive while possessing an identity even the Eternal Quill refused to reveal.
The old man's point of origin.
The Page of Time.
The words inside his notes that belonged to another world.
All of them were connected to something Yang Lujia still could not see.
A familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Little one."
Yang Lujia turned.
Zhuquan De stood near the empty seat.
At least, the man now possessed Zhuquan De's face.
He wore the same old robes, carried an identical script-covered gourd, and looked at Yang Lujia with the same mixture of fondness and irritation.
However, Yang Lujia could still sense the difference.
The imitation was close.
It was not perfect.
"High Archivist?" the Chronicle Lord asked, visibly confused by the man's sudden appearance.
The false Zhuquan De looked toward him.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" he complained. "Did you think I would allow my precious grandson to attend the entire trial without supervision?"
The Chronicle Lord's confusion gradually disappeared.
Reality had already begun correcting the memories surrounding the contradiction.
Yang Lujia watched the imitation take the empty seat.
'So this is what 0.91 percent of Narrative Debt can accomplish.'
The number appeared small.
The result was not.